Haridama Magic Cram School

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Atsushi Suzumi Publisher Del Rey

Welcome to an enchanting story about a boy with special powers. He doesn't realize that his magic abilities can be quite powerful if he practices, his best friend has faith in his talent, and the headmaster of the school he attends believes that this boy has true potential to be someone great. Sound familiar?

Well, I'm not talking about that boy with special powers, but Haridama Magic Cram School definitely has a bit of a Harry Potter-esque feel to it. In place of Harry we have Kokuyo, a young sorcery student known as an obsidian-a wizard who needs the help of an enchanted sword in order to cast spells. Kokuyo is feeling a little inferior, because other wizards who don't need the aide of a sword look down on obsidians as the bottom-of-the-barrel when it comes to magic. However Kokuyo's teacher Sekiei is trying to ensure him that all that matters in sorcery is your willingness to try and your strength will follow. Joined by Kokuyo is his childhood friend Harika (also an obsidian) who is determined to prove that obsidians are not as weak as some may think. Both Kokuyo and Harika are at the apprentice stage in their school of sorcery and are working their hardest to achieve level 1 status in order to be 'the most powerful sorcerer in the world'. Their determination qualifies them to enter an exam to achieve the next level in their training, which involves a written exam and skills test. The skills test is an obstacle course of potentially dangerous magnitude that involves carefully crafted spells and quick thinking. Students from other schools are joining in on the test, and act as the mean bullies who mock and ridicule.

Haridama Magic Cram School is the classic story of the underdog triumphing over the big bad bullies. While it's well written and entertaining enough,  J.K. Rowling has staked her claim with plots of heroic young wizards in training. Also, Haridama Magic Cram School is a single story in itself, rather than separated into volumes like most mangas. My problem with this is that I didn't think it left much room for character development, and the story seemed to wrap up kind of abruptly. It's still a fun read though, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for a simple fantasy-type tale.