It's a new term at Kimberly Magic School, an academy with an 80% survival rate. Immediately we are introduced to the school's magical compound and our two main leads, Oliver Horn and Nanao Hibiya. Nanao, in particular, sticks out in her samurai garb and nonchalance toward danger (and most social cues), which is saying something since this is already an odd world filled with talking plants, magical creatures, and a busty, threatening headmistress. Because it chooses worldbuilding over backstories, the fantasy series doesn't seem as formulaic as it could be. But it does expertly set up the dangers the students will experience in the next seven years. It's also interesting that the magical students rely on swords instead of the usual wands; the possibility of even deadlier fights later in the series makes it an easy draw.

As a young samurai taken from the throes of war and placed in a magical school, Nanao is the most interesting aspect of the anime. With hair that changes when battling and numerous scars across her body, her presence is unexpected at first, but as the world expands (and swords show up left and right), her advantage changes the dynamic. In these spring-infused visuals, the sinister trials awaiting our main characters are a mystery worth sticking around for (especially after seeing a troll pummel a dog - guts and all).