The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Volume 2 Review

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic has made its anime debut! There’s no better time to get caught up on the source material for the series, so with that in mind, let’s take a look at Volume 2 from One Peace Books. 

Toward the end of Volume 1, our protagonist Usato found himself on the battlefield when the Demon Lord’s army attacked and that’s where the story picks back up here in Volume 2. While he’s running around healing whoever needs it, fellow heroes Suzune and Kazuki are on the front lines trying to take out the leader of this attack. 

Our heroes find themselves confronted with the Black Knight, a foe who is protected by a suit of dark armour that seems to resist any kind of attack! Worse still, not only are attacks ineffective but the damage they would ordinarily inflict gets reflected onto the attacker. At this rate the heroes will find themselves swiftly taken out and with Usato nowhere near them, are they destined to die in their very first fight?

Thankfully, that’s not the case as Usato is given a vision of the two being killed and charges ahead to save them just in the nick of time. Luckily for him, while regular physical and magic attacks don’t work on the Black Knight, it seems that healing magic does. Once again, Usato uses his magic to fight which is seen as the wrong way to use his talents… 

So, Volume 2 begins by throwing us into the action and then scales back to a more relaxed pace afterwards. We learn that Usato saw the vision of the heroes dying thanks to a fox Beastkin called Amako who has magic that allows her to see into the future. She’s come to the kingdom to find a healer to help her mother who can’t be healed by normal means and is unconscious back in the girl’s home country. 

Thanks to her magic, Amako knows all about Usato and chooses to help him save the heroes to gain his trust and try to convince him to help her in return. But to help her mother means returning to her home country and that’s not a short journey by any means. With the Demon Lord’s army having attacked once already, Rescue Team Captain Rose is understandably against letting Usato go on a journey when there are people there who need his protection. 

However, to put a stop to the Demon Lord, the King recognises that they need to turn to the surrounding countries for help and has drafted letters asking for assistance. To show how serious he is about the request he chooses to send Usato, Suzune and Kazuki to hand-deliver them, one by one. This includes visiting the Beastkin land, which gives Usato the perfect excuse to repay Amako for her help and save her mother. 

On the whole, this instalment of the series is much better-paced than Volume 1. It still has a long lull in the middle, but I think that can be forgiven as it does spend the time setting up for what’s to come. as with the first book, it ends not long after the heroes have arrived in a new country which is a significant hook to keep readers on board for #3. 

I’m not sure if this is being influenced by having watched the anime, but it feels like the characters are a lot more lively here too. Their interactions are entertaining and they feel less one-dimensional than before. They’re not perfect of course; Usato is still completely oblivious to his strength and Suzune exists to nerd out about everything to do with being in a fantasy world, but they’re still characters you enjoy spending time with. Worldbuilding helps significantly too, as there’s more to get invested in now we’re seeing more of the other countries and how they differ from the one our cast was summoned to. 

I still wouldn’t say this has done anything to make it stand out from other light novels in the genre, but I think if you’ve been enjoying the anime or you liked Volume 1, then you certainly won’t be disappointed by where it’s going. The fact that it’s actively improving since its debut leaves me hopeful that it will remain this entertaining right up to the end of the series in Volume 12 (which sounds like many volumes, but surprisingly isn’t for an isekai).  

As mentioned earlier The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Volume 2 comes to the West thanks to One Peace Books. This release sees the translator change hands from Kristi Fernandez to Hengtee Lim and on the whole, the book reads a lot better than the first. 

It’s easier to follow who is speaking, which was a big criticism of mine with the previous book, and there are more breaks to indicate the passage of time or a scene change too. It seems the change of translator has been good for it, combined with what seems to be better editing (although there’s no editor credited anywhere). Some of this may also be that the author’s writing simply improved, giving better material to work with, but credit where credit’s due to One Peace Books for any and all work they’ve put into improving it on their side as well. 

Volume 3 of the series is already available in English with #4 following in early May. One Peace Books is also releasing the manga into print, which is currently up to five volumes if that’s more to your taste. The anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll as part of the Winter 2024 season. 

Overall, The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic’s second volume is an all-round improvement on its first outing. It’s smoother to read and capitalises on the better components of the series. There’s a solid mix of action, comedy and world-building which is sure to satisfy readers, no matter which element you appreciate the most.

Our review copy from One Peace Books was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).