Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Harem, School Life

Sub-Tags: Banishment, Reincarnation, OP, Strong Lead

A Mage That’s Anything but Inferior!

The first of JNC’s new license pre-pubs to finish, the best way to describe the first volume of this series would be short but sweet.

Following on well-trodden ground, the premise revolves around Abel, a mage with amber eyes, who, upon helping the hero’s party defeat the demon lord is kicked out. Sick of the treatment those with amber eyes get, he reincarnates 200 years in the future, only to find that magic has become scarce and those with amber eyes outcast for completely different reasons.

The series isn’t anything you haven’t read before and stacks every trope under the sun in one of the shortest light novel series going. Ultimately, I think this is why the series is so hard to review; even though I enjoyed the story, I can’t exactly praise it for its original story developments.

In the Company of Nobles

The first half of the volume gets the majority of tropes leaning on the more annoying side of the line. Featuring a newly reincarnated Abel alongside Lilith, a demon child he once saved, now turned maid. The two hole up in a residence belonging to a local noble. These make for Abel’s first interactions in the new, modern world, and it’s fair to say he strikes up a fair few controversies.

On the slightly more negative side, the trope of duelling a stubborn, pig-headed noble raises its ugly head as the climax of this half of the story. Beyond making an enemy for later volumes, it provides little else other than catharsis for his actions.

However, there are plenty of positives to be found in this half, mainly in the actions of the local noble’s younger son, Ted. He’s a well-thought-out character using the evidence he sees to not judge Abel by the colour of his eyes but instead see him for his true abilities. As a result, he becomes Abel’s first friend in the modern world (even if Abel doesn’t agree).

Lilith is also set up as an intriguing character for the series. Throughout her 200 years of solitude, she has made quite the name for herself and has put a fair few important people into her debt – these are likely to become more apparent as the series progresses.

A Mage’s Connections

It’s Abel’s prospective academy life, the second half of the story, that has the most positive aspects to focus on.

Abel can be considered a rather cold personality and can be seen being indifferent to many characters throughout the volume. So, what’s great about this storyline is the attempted softening of this persona.

During the academy entrance exams, Abel has the opportunity to become closer friends with Ted and open the possibility of friendship with one of the hero’s descendants, and classic tsundere, Eliza. Invaluable connections if he’s to open up to the modern world experience.

Overall, whilst Inferior Eyes contains many of the genre’s overwhelming tropes, the series, nonetheless, remains enjoyable. With the series ending with Abel gaining new connections in the modern world, I remain hopeful that something good can develop from this.