Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 920 Discussion

Well, what to say? I really enjoy this novel. First thing I want to say is that it is a school life comedy, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. Basically think of it just like any school life manga or novel, but in a setting of a magical world. You will not get drama, villains or battles of good vs evil type of things. It IS a comedy first and foremost. There are fights and conflicts, and some of them are indeed life-threatening, but most conflicts are just "kids adversity" type, at least until around chapter 700 when the second year starts. Afterward there is a bit more action and a bit more danger, also the world opens up a bit more. We also get a bit more background on MC's family. However, I would say it's still not really an action novel, but mainly a comedy. There isn't really a sense of danger to the MC, so don't go in expecting some big action drama.

Quick synopsis summary. MC finished grad school and seems to have gotten a doctorate degree, judging from the flashbacks. He was completely burned out from school (any grad student can relate) and wanted to take it easy for a while, but died and reincarnated in a magical world. He wanted to live a leisurely life, but according to his family rules he has to get himself a profession, which they will help with, but then he will be basically on his own. He told his father he wanted to be a magician because it seemed to be the most laid-back profession and so he was sent off to a magical school.

Since MC has worked his ass off in his previous life, he wanted to get easy grades now. So what he did, he selected classes with the fewest number of attendants so that the average of the class is low, and he could get an easy A in them. The problem is that he has an absurd amount of mana and that he selected the hardest classes and he showed talent in them.

Now, because of the differences in his mindset and because he doesn't know magic there are many misunderstandings and things play out contrary to what he actually wants. Instead of a leisurely life he attends absurd number of classes and does absurd amount of work. In addition the academy itself is crazy and has crazy rules and education style. The core of the novel is the interactions of students and professors and how MC tries to fit in all of that.

Basically, this is a nice novel if you want to get a good laugh and want to take a break from some s*upid drama. Yes, this novel is not perfect and there are some things that make no sense (like setting up students to fail). But it works here because this isn't a serious novel, but a comedy.

One of the biggest positives for me in this novel is that chapters are long and full of content. The pacing is also quite good, there is a good flow and there is almost no jumps back and forth in the timeline. Overall the writing is quite good.

Some of the things that I don't like is that MC doesn't really have self awareness and the writer sacrifices MCs character and storytelling for the sake of comedy sometimes. But this isn't as bad as in some other novels, so overall I would say it's acceptable.