The Infinite Mage

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9.0/10


Infinite Mage is a unique story that I can’t really make any connections with any other manwha I had previously read. Which, considering the sheer quantity I have sadly seen, is quite an achievement and compliment. Throughout the story, I was invested in every character along the way and their journeys, especially the protagonist.

Unlike other fake protagonist who the author makes “smart” by using convenient scenarios, the mc has experienced a strenuous life without the unnecessary forced events, giving him a presence fitting of so. He accepts things for what it is and overcomes. Along with this, he is unbelievably talented but nothing is ... ever forced in this manwha — Though seeping with talent, he isn’t strong at all and still has to learn the basics. The rate of progression and power balance in this manwha, especially, is one of the best I’ve experienced.

Not only that, it’s an emotional roller coaster by being comedic or heartfelt at times. If there was anything holding this back, it would be the lack of action and conformance to usual cliches in the plotline. Despite that, the characters are all vast and different that it makes up for some of the faults.

This definitely caters towards readers who enjoy slower progressions with developing relations over combat heavy readers. Despite me being the latter, I still appreciate the greatness in front of me.

PS: This is a review on a story I have continuously read, so my memory + feelings are not nearly as well reflected on ones I have read in one session. Feel free to correct me if I misremember anything.


Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired + A Huang-Teizan Original)
10 - God’s penmanship
9 - Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 - Instant bookmark
7 - Entertaining
6 - Good to pass time
5 - Why are you reading this?
4 - Bad.
3 - Typical garbage.
2 - My head hurts.
1 - Retirement is a thought.
0 - “Did they even give you a story?!”

Reviewer Rating 10/10
One of the top-tier Mahnwa I have read so far, a very high potential to become a masterpiece
You should definitely read this if you are looking for
• A Unique story which you have never read
• Beginner MC who trains hard to grow stronger instead of being OP from the start
• Fantasy Manhwa with a world full of magic
• Magic School (Author used lot of maths in this manhwa)
• School life with competitions, rivals, love, etc..
• Awesome artwork with good fights
• Something which will let you binge for hours
...
Its not your regular manhwa where the MC is OP from the very beginning and life is easy.
Artwork is really awesome, its not on the level of red-ice studios but still very solid.

In the beginning of the Manhwa the story might not interest majority of the people, but it keeps getting really good later, Once MC joins the Magic school its insanely good.

The Infinite Mage, at its core, is a story about your talented protagonist showing and figuring out his OP powers and talent for the world to see. But this is slightly different in a way that most OP protagonist will progress; it involves a linear and unique perspective in advancing the protagonist's power.

Yes, he's OP to a certain extent, but it required a certain level of effort and brain power to realize his "insights" and power about the magic. The story, in this case, mostly centered itself around the protagonists' exploration towards the magical system that their world had, and oh did I forgot to ... mention that the magical system itself is quite unique? It involves many unique logical system that is fresh and unique on its own, which is definitely an element that made me appreciate this story is even more.

Please note that I'm rather new in exploring the realm of manga/manhwa, but as a new reader this surely blew my expectations. As a lover of magical systems, this had been a wild ride for me.

The plot itself progressed linearly, with a solid plot threads to keep things engaging. The plot relies on the protagonist talent and the magical system as its main device, which worked pretty well in my opinion.

Lastly, about the characters, I also think that it's pretty solid on its own too. Sure, it's not like high class three-dimensional characters like you see out there, but the author had established the personality, core motivations and interactions pretty well too.

I recommend reading this if you wanted a solid entertainment filled with unique magical system and protagonist solid progress towards greatness that is not really "forced" in a way that is overwhelming and too unrealistic.

My score: 8.7/10
read: 39 chapters
Recommended? If you are looking for a fantasy power progression manhwa that isn't your traditional OP mc, a definite yes!

So when it comes to power progression there is two main approaches as you probably already know if you have read fantasy action manga or manhwa more than a few times: the underdog story where the protagonist starts from the bottom or the "over-dog" OP mc story in which the protagonist has all the tools for success whether its (most commonly) reincarnation or a video game interface, absolutely steamrolling through power progression. Infinite Mage fits into the underdog story type in ... the sense that it has a protagonist that comes from an underprivileged background and constantly has to go up against society to achieve his dreams, but he also fits the OP mc category as he is tremendously talented and once he gets to the "proper" learning section of the story he sets himself apart from peers almost immediately, however, he does not possess any of the classic manhwa tropes of overpowerednesss except unusually innate prowess combined with years of nothing but basic training. It takes its time with both of these elements and creates a refreshing blend, letting the protagonist struggle at low points but also blast through with his talents in a charming manner at others. It has a relatively slow progression compared to other manhwa of its genre but it is by no means a slow burn. When reading this unlike the synopsis, the art, and the title could suggest at first glance do not expect a power fantasy and instead take delight in how it sets itself apart from others of its kind (like another review said though it barely has any action in it so far so bear that in mind.) Without getting into any specifics this is the general gist I can provide and if you want to go in completely blind I would say to stop here and read it for yourself. A reminder that it gets better as it goes on.


To talk more about the specifics and observations on what sets its apart and makes it good I would say Infinite Mage's protagonist Arian Shirone is a major strong point of the manhwa: he has a strong moral compass and a unrelenting sense of friendship aka a shounen protagonist, but he is more mature as often seen in manhwa protagonists. He isn't afraid of being seen as vulnerable; and he cries, laughs, remains cold and calculative at moments, but also can be whimsical and goofy then back to badass if he wishes and he really is a four dimensional dude over all. He isn't a deep character with profound motivations or anything, however, he is allowed many moods that do not contradict each other and that makes him 100 times more fleshed out than your average protagonist. His allowed vulnerability also sets this story apart from a power fantasy, which if is what you were looking for, I would choose a different story.

I also enjoyed the set ups and pay offs of some character introductions such as the slow friendship (that I will admit was wonky at times) between Rian and Shirone and also the point in the story when Amy becomes relevant again. I think the strong male friendships played out in Infinite Mage are something the medium has been lacking and it makes me happy to unexpectedly find it here: best I can describe is it very much reminds of the Lord of The Rings hobbit friendships. The story allows many different perspectives to intervene throughout: so even though I hated Amy at her introduction, I was interested in how she "left her delinquent days" back and was trying to start on a clean page as a mage.

I have to also comment that while the magic system isn't the most ingenious and original system thematically and aesthetically, it still has considerable effort put into expanding it especially later on in the school arc of the story. It has a good pace on how much it unravels information, and it doesn't rush into the deeper lore straight away. However, I did find that the magic system at the beginning was really flat on its own until the school arc. So when it claims that it is a deep system at the start, I had a hard time believing it. Nonetheless, the weird philosophical commentary (that matches the story's strong purist moral compass) that is alongside the magic system definitely prevents it from being completely unoriginal, especially like I said at the start.

Finally, I have to mention how the art and characters designs are quite great. It is expected from this studio to provide high quality material but even then, strong sets of character designs should be appreciated as it is quite hard no matter the experience level. I especially enjoyed how Shirone's appearance changed in the first 20 chapters as he grew up. The backgrounds are detailed and the key poses are well illustrated.

Anyway overall, so far Infinite Mage is a fantasy manhwa with a fleshed out story that holds strong promises for its future. Through small alterations to the formula of a OP mc story, it creates a refreshing narrative.

tl;dr of this story is that it's a super-talent getting into what is basically manhwa hogwarts that only nobles are allowed to enter and absolutely destroying some petty nobles's egos along the way, on his way to become the first commoner mage.

(review at end of S1)
Infinite mage is a love it or hate it kind of series. The premise isn't anything too extraordinary, and the execution is good, but what really sets it apart is the amount of explanations provided for the worldbuilding. When the author sets the story in a magic school, they REALLY mean the school part. Math is an integral part of the magic system, as is physics, and you're expected to be able to understand and follow those explanations to understand both the combat and research. Now I can see why this would turn some people off, but if you like that ... kind of stuff, you'll be in for a treat. The art is good, the story is good, the characters are good... whatever your instinctual reaction is to them mentioning operating with logarithmic counting as a way to make magic go brrrr but even more, should be your clue as to whether you're going to enjoy the series or not. Personally, I really like it.