The Archmage Returns After 4000 Years

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I had to write this review because every other review is slobbering all over this manhwa like crazy and acting like it's the second coming of Christ himself.

This manhwa does nothing new, it is extremely unoriginal and while the art may be pretty to look at but it's boring to see at this point. Redice Studios has over saturated the market to such insane degrees that this art is just average, it is the very least you should be expecting from a manhwa nowadays and is nothing worth giving the authors a pat on the back over.

You would hope that something action based ... like this would at the very least have some cool choreography, and neat spells, since it's about mages and stuff but no. For the first part of the series you essentially see the mc spam the most uninteresting moves in the world while characters cream their pants about it. The author is basically trying to gaslight you into thinking any of this is even remotely good. It's not.

There's also another thing about this that is extremely grating visually, the entire cast is extremely drab. The mc himself is a pain to look at, it's boring and very visually unappealing. This goes for the rest of the cast as well, besides the girls that the author clearly wants to incorporate into the harem, everyone looks like background characters and have the bare minimum thought put into them, I can't say the same for much else about the series though.

The villains and random groups you see in this world are so garbage, it is painfully clear that the author is just insanely lazy and isn't even trying to make an interesting story worth reading. You will come across about 7-8 villains and groups very early on in the series, and the author doesn't even try to name these characters and group. He straight up calls them crap like "death edge city gang of death" and other equally stupid titles, one could argue that this is more of an attempt at humor. I digress. It's pretty obvious this is another mass produced manhwa meant to make money, with zero thought or care put into it whatsoever. It's laziness they try to play off as comedy, and it does not work.

It's so rushed to put out that there are scenes where one panel is a guy with a scar on his right eye, and then in the panel immediately after it, the scar has disappeared. These are just unacceptable mistakes to me, I know it's easy to overlook in manhwa since this medium is like the fast food of reading. But I can't let that slide when so many other aspects of the story are so brazenly lazy and border on plagiarism.

Moving onto the MC, the mc is extremely two dimensional. He is passive to a fault 80% of the time and will do nothing until the author wants to throw a giant giga demon at him for him to kill to wow the audience. He's not fun or compelling at all, the only thing he ever talks about is money and milfs.

I do not mind lecherous main characters, they can be insanely entertaining and even endearing. This one though? Not so much, the author obviously doesn't understand what makes those types of characters fun to read. Just saying "haha I wanna sleep with a milf also I like money" is not enough to make him funny.

There's only so many ways I can say this manhwa is boring and mediocre so I'm going to end this review here.

if you've been left with the void from reading countless short, unfinished, and recycled plot manhwas I can highly recommend The Archmage Returns, I'm honestly shocked I haven't heard more about it and really only stumbled upon it just going through the Manhwa on MAL. Typically I feel the desire to read a lot of Manhwa because I am just looking for something to pass the time, just some simple entertainment, most of the time I get that in a recycled unoriginal format (Not that it's all bad of course). I did not know that what I would be getting from The Archmage Returns would ... be a well thought-out world filled with interesting characters and interactions. As of now, having read 143 chapters, I can say that it has drastically outperformed my expectations and I hope you give it a read.

Bottom of the barrel returner story. I usually enjoy this genre but damn I couldn't even make it through S1. Even as a simple action webtoon it feels dumbed-down compared to others. The dialogue is atrocious with characters acting more like malfunctioning robots than human beings. The character interactions are so bizarre and nonsensical it's hard to take anything in this seriously. The MC is insufferable and acts like a frat house brat instead of a tortured 4,000 year old warrior who just escaped hell. Every scene is just an excuse for the MC to show off his incredible powers and make goofy faces. If ... there is a story here I couldn't care less. Given that a new returner story seems to come out every day, I would say the value of this one is practically zero.

Not gonna lie, but i like this manhwa until they mess up in season 3 like there is no turning point for me to comeback and read this again. Lets begin from beginning of this manhwa

Free Spoiler Section :

Story : Its like typical hero to zero to hero story, story of reicarnation you could say, like the title he comeback after 4k years to take revenge upon his enemies, it has comedy which its good but get really tonned down and awkward later chapter, its like author lose sense of humor author give earlier. He likes milf but again got toned down after few ... chapters later, which for me, really big thumb down for me, because pretty rare to find mc that like milf (i like milf also). Story wise i would say not bad also not good, so many plothole also. (Please read spoiler section for more details)

Character : very inconsistent, i know i know there is char development but again very inconsistent, like i said in story section, he likes milf and later point he doesnt like milf anymore. Also most of side char lose his brain more chapter we in, which throw me off, side char cant think for once about all of it and take the most stupid decision

Worldbuilding : Pretty good, well crafted, well explained for me, its good enough for me

Overall : i give this 6/10 but tbh the score could be higher if plothole answered and give brain to side char, its typical hero to zero to hero story, dont get your hope so high like me, i drop this because i dont enjoy this anymore (Read spoiler section if u want the answer) Again this is purely opinion



Spoiler ahead (Spoiler section)

Season 1 : Start with typical academy arc thingy, when mc try to find who is his enemies for very long time and get power and friend toward the process, everything looks like build up i see some many stuff happening here, like comedy like fight and everything. It is perfect for me, even though there is plothole not that many though

Season 2 : This is where, the mc fight the demi god mini bosses everywhere, but in process he found out that the current body he possesed is different, so he can wield 2 power that contradict each other in the same time, its pretty wel done, in this season where the peak.

Season 3 : Here we are, i hate this alot, so many plothole, so many plot armor, side character who smart enough previous season suddenly goes brainless in second. Dont forget that mc somehow fuse divine power and mana, the power that he swear to not wield earlier season, he wield it at the end. Side char said he's going to become demigod if he absorb the power even more but yea do it anyway, and he indirectly become a god, i think this story about a mage who can defeat demi god without help demi god power. Definition of if u cant fight them join them. I reallly hope this is ending to be honest but its not sadly i could be another 2 season.

Final thought : biggest let down for me after tbate

If you enjoy magic fantasy, leveling up, and a plot filled with anticipation (though a bit predictable in hindsight), this series is worth a read. Overall, the story has a good flow. I’ve made it up to chapter 56 without pausing or feeling the urge to switch to another series, which is a good sign. That said, it’s best not to set your expectations too high. It’s a decent read, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.

The main character (MC) is male, but his personality doesn’t resonate with me. I enjoy seeing characters grow significantly, and up to chapter 56, his development has been minimal since he ... is already kinda ___.
I would have enjoyed it more if the story had focused on a younger character/boy who could have experienced more growth, like the one introduced at the beginning of the story (T-T).

if this story kinda taken route of "heavenly demon instructor" or "SSS-Class Revival Hunter" or kinda a fusion between mc and that boy but its fine.