Tags: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, School Life, Slice of Life

Sub-Tags: Strong Lead, Character Growth, Romantic Subplot

Kunon Sets Out to See!

The Boy with the Hero’s Scar

One of the latest titles in the Yen Press roster, Kunon Can See, follows the story of Kunon, one of the few to suffer from a condition known as the Hero’s Scar. A result of a lingering curse from the defeat of the demon lord, the Hero’s Scar specifically targets descendants of the original heroes, often having them born with parts of themselves missing – in Kunon’s case, he’s missing his sight. 

Kunon is quick to learn that the Hero’s Scar isn’t worth all the prestige, and suffering from a weak body and constant sympathetic sighs has left the young noble numb. His joyless demeanour makes it difficult for those around him as his views are grey. As an aside, his grey view of the world makes the first chapter a rather difficult read. Thankfully, this changes as the protagonist is introduced to magic.

With Magic Brings Life

Learning magic opens a world of endless possibilities for the suffering young noble. While only able to start off with beginner-level magic, the variation in its properties ends up helping Kunon to realise that magic can solve his biggest problem – curing his blindness by obtaining magic eyes.

With a new goal in mind, Kunon becomes a changed man. Gone is his sense of grey to make way for a happy, frivolous and mischievous young man.

As a result of his change, Kunon has been experiencing nothing but positives. Relationships with his fiancée and family have improved, and he’s able to make fun games of anything (even if this comes with a heavy scolding!). Moreover, these positives aren’t only experienced by the characters but the readers as well. Alongside Kunon’s frivolous nature comes a change in the writing to paragraphs filled with a strong comedic undertone.

Kunon Can See Too Much

As Kunon’s sense of boyish wonder continues unabated, his newfound happiness hasn’t failed to go unnoticed. His scheme of turning the royal palace into an ice rink, in particular, garners a lot of attention. Whilst this attention brings good and bad, it helps him progress, especially when members of the court sorcerers see his actions as nothing but pure potential.

The resulting meeting between the two finds Kunon’s growth expand under the expertise of Zeonly.

A rather curt member of the court sorcerers, Zeonly’s tutelage ends up being the final piece of the puzzle for Kunon. Yet another tutor to teach things outside the box, his slow but sly method of showing Kunon how to create 3D formations added magically to his already high technical attributes and strong sense of touch, finally formulating the solution to creating magic eyes.

Despite the story’s difficult beginning, Kunon Can See gets off to a strong start. Progress is the key to the volume’s success. Whilst it may not seem like it at first, every new attribute and feature ultimately ends up advancing his goal and helping to create his very own magic eyes.

Furthermore, the story showcases Kunon’s progress entertainingly. Filled with a strong comedic undertone and enjoyable characters introduced along his journey, the author successfully engages the reader into a vivid world filled with pain and pleasure in equal measure.

As the first volume leaves off with Kunon heading to magic school and his magic eyes working a little too well, there are plenty more misadventures to come for the series.