The test to become a kafna isn’t an easy one and Theo honestly isn’t sure about his chances. He’s studied for years but after randomly breaking into tears in one part of the exam and failing another part with his group mates his hopes are low.
But Theo’s optimism and good nature are what has kept him going through years of trial already, so he’s at least going to make the best of the situation and explore the city of books while he’s there.
There aren’t any true surprises waiting for the reader in volume 3 of Magus of the Library: the revelation that Theo’s magic is quite strong makes sense given the title, that there is growing unrest in the world makes sense given how the narrator has been framing Theo’s journey since volume 1, and even the reveal that Theo’s new furry animal companion has a secret felt expected given a few of its’ rather un-animal like reactions in the story (something not shared by other animals, even the magical beast Theo knew in his hometown). That isn’t to say that the story is boring, just that Mitsu Izumi is doing a very thorough job at laying the ground work for every part of the story before following through.
I was a little surprised why none of the other test-takers Theo had met in volume 2 appeared in this volume — I didn’t even spot them in the backgrounds. It felt as if Izumi was setting them up to be reoccurring side-characters and perhaps they will be, along with the other test-takers Theo spends a lot of time interacting with in volume 3 (and other new characters I spot on the cover of volume 4). I’m a little nervous about that idea since this would make for a large cast and while sure, plenty of manga pull off large casts perfectly well, it’s not the easiest thing in the world!
It’s also true that Izumi tries to flesh out even minor characters to an amazing degree so these characters may actually be one-offs; readers already had a good sense of who Theo’s adoptive sister Tifa was from the previous volumes, even if the story doesn’t spend much time with her, but volume 3 gives her a few short but powerful scenes even though she will likely never be a major character in the series. It’s another sign of Izumi’s thoroughness, a determination to establish a firm grounding for all of the characters (Tifa is clearly the most important person in Theo’s life and her feelings shape Theo’s own) so that the rest of the story can flow naturally.
I think a lot of my continued trepidation about this series that keeps me from embracing it as fully as I want to comes from an odd place: webcomics. I’ve been reading webcomics nearly as long as I’ve been reading manga and I’ve read countless series that start off with a great idea, fantastic art, cool characters, and then either fall flat on their faces or fall off the face of the Earth, (as in “all personal information about the creator has been scrubbed from the internet,” this has honestly happened to quite a few series I’ve read).
So that shapes how I approach any new series these days, with excitement but also a fair amount of trepidation! Of course, a manga being serialized in a magazine and published by one of the bigger publishers in Japan is a very different situation from a comic being done as a passion project in an artist’s free time (for one major thing, being paid to create and possibly having paid assistants as well makes a bow out less likely). But at the same time, as more and more places simulpub manga in English, us English-language manga readers get to see just how many series do seem to “wrap up” more quickly than expected; even all of this isn’t a guarantee that a story will get to play out in full!
I truly do want Magus of the Library’s story to play out in full. I want to know about the coming conflicts between the races that Theo will certainly help mediate in the future; I want to learn more about Theo’s unusual heritage and about magic in general; and heck this volume introduces literal dragon librarians in the last few pages and I want to know more about THEM! I continue to love the art as well, sometimes I think people over-glorify pretty libraries in the real world but in a fantasy world I am in love with the opulent architecture and all of the other little details in the clothing and scenery that Izumi constantly sprinkles in. Honestly I wish I had a guide to this elaborate world handy because it’s getting a little difficult to remember which name and appearance goes with which race, but fortunately that’s not an impediment to understanding or enjoying the story. It would just be nice to have all of that information in one place instead of flipping back and forth between three different volumes.
I want this story to continue, to wildly succeed (Witch Hat Atelier fans would adore this story and I hope more of them will check it out), but since I don’t hear anyone else talking about Magus of the Library, it will be a little while still before I let out my breath and feel like this series can truly be what I’m hoping for.
