The Spring 2024 Light Novel Guide

The Water Magician

What's It About? 

Ryo is delighted to be reincarnated into the fantastical world of Phi, where he thinks he'll get to live a quiet life learning to use his newfound water magic. Going with the flow here, however, means something very different. Ryo is immediately pitted against the wild lands he winds up in and the slew of deadly monsters that call the remote subcontinent home. You'd think he'd forget about taking it easy when he's stuck fighting for his life, but lucky for Ryo, he's naturally optimistic, clever, and blessed with the hidden “Eternal Youth” trait. Twenty years pass in the blink of an eye, and each encounter along the way pushes him one step closer to the pinnacle of human magic. Little does he realize that's only the opening chapter of his tale. A fateful meeting soon thrusts Ryo to the forefront of history, forever changing the course of his life... Thus begins the adventures of the strongest water magician the world has ever seen—who also likes to do things at his own pace!

The Water Magician has a story by Tadashi Kubō. English translation by Kashi Kamitoma. Published by J-Novel Club (March 14, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

Lauren Orsini

Rating:

Did anyone else read My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George when they were a kid and vowed to run away from home and live a self-sufficient life in the forest along with their trusty pet hawk? That's a high I've been chasing since childhood, and I nearly found it between the pages of The Water Magician. For the first half of the book, protagonist Ryo lives alone in the jungle, building up his magic and survival skills to make his life in the jungle more comfortable. Then, after a handsome man washes up on the beach near his home, Ryo once again makes his way back to civilization and never stops making dumb jokes the whole time.

This is a reincarnation isekai story, but Ryo's past life hardly matters. After Truck-kun does his job, an archangel introduces Ryo to his next life—and his new affinity for water magic. Ryo professes that he'd appreciate a slow life, so the archangel plants him in an uninhabited subcontinent to live in solitude, hunting for his food and practicing his water magic. Ryo's magic is unexpectedly scientific: for example, to heat water, he must imagine the molecular structure of water vibrating more and more quickly, which should fascinate science nerds. His other daily activities include hunting, foraging, and befriending/facing off against local fauna. I found it interesting to see how Ryo solved practical problems, like constructing a rice paddy outside his home, with his scientific brand of water magic. This light novel's stunning illustrations recreate Ryo's daily exploits with beautiful, crystalline imagery.

And then comes Abel, a swordsman Ryo rescues. Abel wants to return to his hometown, but he can't make the trip alone. So Ryo comes with him, and the pair battle their way through the jungle, and then the mountains, until they reach the Adventurer's Guild, turn in the magic stones they found in all those wyverns they one-shotted, level up their ranks, and oh look, it's suddenly a very cookie-cutter isekai story that you could find anywhere. Add in a recurring joke about Ryo's hatred for the adjacent “Debuhi Empire,” (which mystifies his comrades but means “fat person” in Japanese), and this novel is not only not unique, but boorish besides. You also won't be surprised to hear that Ryo is (yawn) the strongest person in the Adventurer's Guild. So much for this story's strong start. This is only the first volume, but I won't be reading the second.