A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special Volumes 4 and 5 Review
Noemi10 •
A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special first debuted in volume format in the English language in 2022, and since then Yen Press has released a volume almost annually. As some readers might have forgotten what has happened so far, let’s recap the story.
In a fantasy world which is slowly being occupied by shadow realms—parallel worlds that appear and make the areas uninhabitable—Desir has miraculously travelled back in time to his magic academy days, before the Shadow Labyrinth destroyed humanity. Now, he’s set on not letting humanity make the same mistakes as the past and to not lose his comrades ever again. To do so he needs to overcome the hatred between commoners and nobility and find and train his old comrades so that they can face and survive whatever comes their way.
After passing the exam to become members of the Alpha Class—a class full of the strongest noble students— commoners Desir and his two teammates Pram and Romantica are training relentlessly as Desir knows that the first shadow realm they will have to face will appear shortly. Right on schedule, they are ready to venture in with their newfound teammate Azest, a magic swordswoman who is also a noble, but who luckily doesn’t believe in the supremacy of the nobility. In this shadow realm, the team is split up as all the members need to face and overcome their own goals set by the shadow realm before they can officially clear it and go back to the ‘real’ world. However, Desir encounters problem after problem, and it’s here that the camaraderie falls into place.
Although Desir has now taken care of the hurdle of their first shadow realm, he needs to prepare for the next mission, which will be catastrophic if he’s not able to stop the enemy before it’s too late.
As in previous volumes, these ones are full of adventure and action as Desir and his companions need to clear the shadow realm. Readers have got to know Desir as the man who holds the entire world on his shoulders as he’s the only one with the knowledge of what’s to come. He’s gathering comrades and gaining the upper hand whenever he can, but he’s not really working as a team member as he feels he should shoulder all responsibilities. It’s in these volumes that Romantica, Pram and Azest show him that he can count on them to overcome the obstacles they face. They are not as strong as him (yet), but they keep improving and surpassing their past-life selves, albeit they don’t know it. They are all growing, not just with their physical and magical abilities, but as people and as a team as well.
While Pram and Romantica were characters who joined Desir’s team from the beginning, readers met Azest as an ‘enemy’ as she used to belong to another team full of nobles before switching. It seems she’ll now be a staple in Desir’s team and in the storyline, and the readers can look forward to figuring out who she really is, as Azest might not just be a noble… Another character readers can expect to meet really soon is the Saintess who takes an interest in Desir. This happens when Master Zod, the head of the magic tower, mentions him and his results in clearing the shadow realm, which show the history of what happened in the Holy Empire before its disappearance.
The art tends to be somewhat simplistic with basic backgrounds, but the characters’ faces are drawn in greater detail to express their emotions. Although each volume is filled with battles, bloodshed is kept to a minimum and I wouldn’t consider this series to be gory.
A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special is written by Usonan and illustrated by Wookjakga. It started as a webcomic on Tapas, and although the series is complete on the platform, it’s still ongoing in the volume format published by Yen Press in the English language with translation by Micah Kim. The first season of the anime is available on Crunchyroll, and Season 2 is in production with an approximate release in 2026. Volume 6 of the manhwa is scheduled for release in April 2026.
Our review copies by Yen Press were supplied by Yen Press and Diamond Book Distribution.
