English Dub Review: Wistoria: Wand and Sword “The Eve of the Grand Festival”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
The whole academy is buzzing about the upcoming festival, but Will hasn’t entered any of the events due to his lack of magic.  Instead, he focuses on his studies and earning money for tuition.  Then, a top student from his year shows up where he works.

Our Take:
It’s not a magic academy anime without a school festival, and Wistoria is, unsurprisingly, no different.  The previous episode teased that the Grand Magic Festival is approaching, described as a competition between the four tower factions.  Will’s incredible sword skills would’ve made him a perfect candidate for the festivities, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.  Due to his embarrassing appearance during his second year, Will hopes to skip this year’s festival to focus on his studies.  However, it appears that he might not have a choice.
This is due to one of the top students advancing to the Upper Institute, Julius Reinberg, who specializes in ice magic.  Like Sion, Julius is a self-centered jerk who is also racist towards dwarfs, as if one magic-using asshole is terrible enough.  While working at the tavern during his night shift, Will defends the dwarves from Julius, who arrives to belittle them.  Following their brief duel, Julius decides to face Will at the festival and threatens him to be there.
Before watching this episode, I didn’t think there’ll be another character who’s more of a scumbag toward Will than Sion and Edward.  However, “The Eve of the Grand Festival” proved me wrong with Julius, whose heart is literally as cold as ice.  Fortunately, the episode also showcased more of Will’s kindness by defending the dwarves from Julius’s racist remarks.  Will only agrees to participate in the festival for one reason: to make Julius suffer the consequences of his actions by beating him in the competition.  While the series may be heading towards familiar territory with the school festival element, Will’s kind personality and Colette’s acceptance toward him are still enough to overpower some of the academy’s heinous students.