Reign of the Seven Spellblades 2023 / A magic school anime promising violence out the gate

It’s a new term at Kimberly Magic School, an academy with an 80% survival rate. Immediately we are introduced to the school’s magical compound and our two main leads, Oliver Horn and Nanao Hibiya. Nanao, in particular, sticks out in her samurai garb and nonchalance toward danger (and most social cues), which is saying something since this is already an odd world filled with talking plants, magical creatures, and a busty, threatening headmistress. Because it chooses worldbuilding over backstories, the fantasy series doesn’t seem as formulaic as it could be. But it does expertly set up the dangers the students will experience in the next seven years. It’s also interesting that the magical students rely on swords instead of the usual wands; the possibility of even deadlier fights later in the series makes it an easy draw.