So far as single episodes of Wistoria go, “He Said He Would No Longer Hang His Head” is perfectly solid entertainment. After defeating the monsters that got summoned for the trial last time, Will is put under the microscope yet again for his perceived inferiority. He has to battle a bunch of ooze-things that can only be killed with direct application of magic, which our hero obviously cannot do without the help of his fellow mages lending their own energy to be absorbed by his sword. It’s a decently fun battle that establishes the new challenges Will must overcome in this new arc. After that, we even get some of that precious character development I’ve been longing for so much this season, as Julius of all people leads the charge to intensify Will’s training and master the Wis power that the Magia Vander are all so obsessed with. Granted, Julius makes it clear that he’s only sticking his neck out for the “no-talent” to brown-nose Elfaria and boost his own prospects, but hey. Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth, here.

However, as a larger piece of the grand Wistoria puzzle, as it were, this episode definitely suffers from pacing and narrative issues that this new Tower storyline threatened to bring with it when the “Prologue” officially ended. While I explained in earlier reviews how I can appreciate the “one step forward, two steps back” approach Wistoria is taking to Will’s advancement in society, since it obviously parallels the real-world frustrations with academic and professional roadblocks that this anime is clearly commenting on with Will’s journey, it can still make for frustrating television on a week-by-week basis. We’ve spent one-and-a-third seasons watching Will fight to prove himself and his powers to the people in charge of the system that has been set against him since day one, and it’s a little irritating to watch him have to go through the whole process again just because the Magia Vanders are so clearly only interested in exploiting the one aspect of his talents that suits their needs and expectations.

Again, this is obviously intentional on Wistoria‘s part; Will himself collapses in frustration over this feeling of being so stuck despite all of the work he’s put in. Still, the show is denying us a lot of the traditionally satisfying narrative milestones that a more typical hero’s journey would be supplying by now, and not much that is new or interesting is being offered in its place. Take Elfaria, for example. This is a character that the show has been teasing forever as Will’s ultimate goal, and you’d think we’d finally be getting the opportunity to see the pair interact and even work together now that she is supposed to have the opportunity to recruit Will directly into her ranks and support his climb to the top. For what feel like very arbitrary reasons, though, Elfaria is still stuck on the sidelines to do nothing but throw tantrums over Will’s treatment without actually doing anything to intervene or even resist.

In this sense, it isn’t just frustrating that the story of Wistoria feels like it is spinning its wheels when it should be kicking into the next gear. It’s gotten to the point where it feels like practically every single facet of society and the natural laws of creation within the universe of the show itself are actively trying to screw with Will, just for kicks. Even when it doesn’t make a lot of sense for everyone in charge to be acting like petty, shortsighted dillweeds, Wistoria insists that, no, it’s true, the whole damned world is really just out to get Will, specifically. I know that we’re meant to see his growing friendships and increasingly potent network of support as the true strength that Will is developing, but I don’t know if that will be enough to carry this entire story through to the finish line.

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Wistoria: Wand and Sword is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.