English Dub Review: Wistoria: Wand and Sword “Twelve Secret Ice Magics, El Glace Frosse”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Will is under attack.  Julius is using one of the Twelve Secret Ice Magics invented by the genius mage Elfaria.  The arena falls silent in shock and admiration.  But no one knows Elfaria’s magic better than Will, and his counterattack starts now.

Our Take:
Now that Sion has finally been dealt with, it’s time for the match we’ve all been waiting for!  Without any more interruptions slowing Will down, the protagonist finally faces Julius to determine the winner of the Crown Attack event.  However, it’s far from an easy fight, as Julius has two new tricks up his sleeve that could turn the tide of the battle.  The first is what we saw in the previous episode, Ars Weiss, in which Julius can make illusions of himself.  The other is El Glace Frosse, a series of twelve ice magic spells created by Elfaria.  Fortunately, Will’s knowledge of magic, mainly Elfaria’s, gives him the advantage to overpower Julius’s powerful ice magic.
Sadly, it turns out that this whole battle is for nothing, as the true winner of the event, Wignall, takes the crown during the struggle.  While I would like to see Will win, it’s satisfying to watch Julius get a massive dose of karma.  That cold-hearted bastard deserves to get punched in the face more than Sion.  Yes, that actually happened, and it was glorious to watch.  More importantly, this episode benefits profoundly from its direction and stellar animation regarding its action scenes and character-driven moments, especially Will and Elfaria’s relationship.  As a result, the show’s school festival arc became another solid reason why magic tournaments are always better than doing schoolwork.