The Irregular at Magic High School
The Irregular at Magic High School is a Japanese web novel series by Tsutomu Satō. It was published on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, a web novel website, from October 2008 to March 2011. 32 volumes of the light novel were released by Dengeki Bunko from July 2011 to September 2020.
The story takes place in the 2090s decade of Japan where technology has allowed magic to exist, and follows Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba, siblings who enroll into the First High magic high school. They attempt to live their daily lives in peace while keeping their connections to the infamous Yotsuba clan secret, but Tatsuya is shunned for his apparent ineptness while Miyuki attracts attention for her magical abilities.
In 2013, each story arc received a manga adaptation with varying manga artists and publishers. That same year, an anime television series adaptation by Madhouse was announced, and aired from April to September 2014. The Irregular at Magic High School franchise has been localized for English by two companies; the light novels and one of the manga adaptations are licensed by Yen Press, while Aniplex of America licensed the anime series. The anime series was simulcast on four networks, and was later made available on Netflix. An anime film featuring an original story by Satō premiered in Japan in June 2017, while a second season taking place after the anime series by Eight Bit aired from October to December 2020. The season was simulcast on Funimation and Hulu. An anime television series adaptation of The Honor Student at Magic High School by Connect aired from July to September 2021. A film adaptation of the series' "Reminiscence Arc" aired in December 2021. A third season premiered in April 2024. A new anime film adapting the series' "Yotsuba Succession Arc" arc is set to premiere in May 2026.
In October 2020, a direct sequel called The Irregular at Magic High School Magian Company began publication. Set after the events of Volume 32, the sequel focuses on Tatsuya and the others after their graduation from high school. A spinoff sequel called New – The Irregular at Magic High School: Maidens of Cygnus began publication in 2021. Its focus is on Katsuto Juumonji and the revelation of a new family member.
The light novels have been well received. The series ranked seventh in Sugoi Japan's 2015 polls, and have been one of the top selling series in Japan with 22 million copies sold. In addition, its manga and anime adaptations also appeared on top-selling charts. The anime adaptation had mixed reviews. While the complex technicality of magic within the series was praised, the exposition was criticized for being unclear and poorly executed.
Synopsis
Setting
The series is set in a world with an alternate history, where magic exists and has been refined through modern technology. However, the ability to use magic is determined by genetics, limiting the number of magicians in existence. Following a 20-year long Third World War that reduced the world's population to 3 billion, the world's superpowers have shifted to four nations: The United States of North America, the New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Alliance, and Japan. In Japan, the magic community is informally governed by the Ten Master Clans in lieu of the government. Due to the limited number of magicians, they are treated as a commodity and forced to enter magic-related schools and professions. Nine magic high schools exist in Japan; they each specialize in different aspects of magic and are simply referred to by their numbers.Plot
The story follows Tatsuya Shiba, a bodyguard to his sister Miyuki Shiba, who is also a candidate to succeed the leadership of the Yotsuba clan, one of the Ten Master Clans. They enroll into First High which segregates its students based on their magical abilities. Miyuki is enrolled in the first course and viewed as one of the best students, while Tatsuya is placed in the second course and considered to be magically inept. However, Tatsuya's technical knowledge, combat abilities, and unique magic techniques cause people to view him as an irregular to the school's standardized rankings.Characters
Main
;Tatsuya and Miyuki are siblings of the same school year and children to Tatsurou Shiba and the late Miya Yotsuba with Tatsuya being 11 months older than Miyuki; their parents had a loveless forced marriage, and when their mother died, their father married his mistress, Sayuri Furuha, leaving the siblings to live by themselves.
Maya Yotsuba, their aunt and current leader of the Yotsuba Clan, was the reason Tatsuya was born with the unique magic to decompose, reconstruct, and detonate matter. Out of fear of his powers, the Yotsuba Clan leadership of that time argued for Tatsuya's death, forcing Miya and Maya to take measures to ensure his survival: the first was Miyuki's creation with genetic enhancements in utero, who would act as a seal to Tatsuya's power; the second was to magically dull Tatsuya's emotions except for his familial love towards Miyuki; and the third was to assign Tatsuya to be Miyuki's bodyguard to develop his sense of loyalty towards her. During a family vacation in Okinawa, Tatsuya warded off an invasion by the Great Asian Alliance and joined the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion which is headed by Major Kazama Harunobu. At some point during his life, Tatsuya commercialized revolutionary magical technology through his family's company, Four Leaves Technology, under the identity Taurus Silver. He is voiced by Yuichi Nakamura and Alejandro Saab.
Miyuki is considered one of the strongest magicians in the world and is a candidate to become the leader of the Yotsuba Clan. Her specialty is freezing magic, and she can freeze a person's consciousness. In addition, half of her magic casting ability is used to seal Tatsuya's powers. Before the family vacation in Okinawa, Miyuki treated Tatsuya as coldly as other Yotsuba Clan members. Afterwards, she began to warm up to him, and when Tatsuya saved her life, she devoted her entire existence to him. It evolved to the point where she disdains the touch of other males and expresses jealousy of females around Tatsuya. Genetically different from Tatsuya despite being born from the same parents, Miyuki professes her love to him following their engagement under Maya's orders. She is voiced by Saori Hayami and Anairis Quiñones.
In polls by Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, both Tatsuya and Miyuki ranked as one of the most popular light novel characters. Outside of the franchise, Tatsuya and Miyuki also appear in the video game Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax.
Supporting
Tatsuya's group
Tatsuya's group consists of seven classmates whom he spends time with in his daily school life. They often assist Tatsuya during investigations and dangerous situations.- is the daughter of the Chiba clan's leader and his mistress, which has created a strained relationship with her family. She has a tomboyish and optimistic personality, and is considered one of the best sword fighters in the clan. Her magic is used to enhance her sword and combat techniques. She considers Mizuki to be her best friend and has a crush on Tatsuya. She is voiced by Yumi Uchiyama and Erica Mendez.
- , commonly referred to as Leo, is the grandson of a Fortress Series modified magician. His grandfather was one of the few survivors of the Fortress Series' instabilities, which causes early death or psychosis. Leo inherited his grandfather's physical augmentations and fears he may also have inherited the Fortress Series' faults. During combat, Leo uses voice-activated magic to fortify objects or his body to augment his combat abilities. He is voiced by Takuma Terashima and Mick Lauer.
- is a girl with a disposition called Crystal Eyes which allows her to see components of magic invisible to most people. Her ability mentally strains her, requiring her to wear glasses to control her vision. She has a timid, calm, and feminine personality. She is voiced by Satomi Sato and Xanthe Huynh.
- is Erika's childhood friend, a prodigy from the Yoshida clan which specializes in magic dealing with spirits. Years prior, Mikihiko failed a summoning ritual, which caused a psychological block and prevented him from using magic effectively. His involvement with Tatsuya restores his confidence, allowing him to regain his magical talents. He is voiced by Atsushi Tamaru and Landon McDonald.
- is a descendant of a group of extinct magicians referred to as the Elements. The Elements specialized in one of the six elements of magic and had loyalty genetically embedded into their genes. Honoka uses light magic, and her genetic loyalty is directed towards Tatsuya. She is voiced by Sora Amamiya and Kimberly Woods.
- is Honoka's best friend and daughter to an extremely wealthy man. Shizuku is a mature and tactful girl who rarely shows emotion. She inherited her mother's talent for oscillation magic. She is voiced by Yuiko Tatsumi and Ryan Bartley.
- is the niece of Honami Sakurai, Miya Yotsuba's guardian. Both Minami and Honami were artificially created by the Yotsuba to serve the clan as bodyguards, and they specialize in barrier type magic. Minami is Miyuki's junior and serves as her maid and second bodyguard. She is voiced by Kiyono Yasuno and Emi Lo.
Student Council and Disciplinary Committee
is the student council president during the Shiba siblings' first year at school. She puts on a coy and innocent facade but is actually mischievous and highly perceptive. Mayumi is talented as a sniper and her form of offensive magic involves firing dry ice as projectiles. During the course of the story, she manipulates Miyuki into joining the student council and Tatsuya into the Disciplinary Committee. She develops an attraction to Tatsuya and places him in awkward situations for fun. After enrolling into Magic University, her twin sisters, Kasumi and Izumi Saegusa, enroll into First High. Mayumi is voiced by Kana Hanazawa. and Maureen Price.
Two people work alongside Mayumi during the year. The first is who is the leader of the Disciplinary Committee. Mari has a tomboyish personality but becomes completely feminine in front of her boyfriend,, who is also Erika's next oldest half brother. For combat, she uses a whip-like blade and magically manipulates chemicals. The second is, the leader of the Extracurricular Activities Federation. Katsuto is the next head of the Jumonji clan and inherited the clan's barrier magic, Phalanx: an impenetrable and perpetual barrier used for defensive and offensive purposes. Both the Saegusa and Jumonji are members of the Ten Master Clans, forcing Mayumi and Katsuto to be politically involved with the magic community outside of school. Mari is voiced by Marina Inoue and Amber Lee Connors, Naotsugu is voiced by Susumu Chiba and Howard Wang, and Katsuto is voiced by Junichi Suwabe and Kaiji Tang.
During the Shiba siblings' second year, Mayumi is succeeded as student council president by, a timid and youthful-looking girl. Azusa has an interest in magic engineering and suspects Tatsuya is secretly Taurus Silver. She is able to use a unique magic named after her, Azusa Dream, to forcefully pacify people. Mari is succeeded as chairman of the Disciplinary Committee by, an impulsive and good-natured girl. She is engaged to, an androgynous and timid boy, and loves him dearly. Azusa Nakajou is voiced by Saki Ogasawara and Michelle Marie, Kanon Chiyoda is voiced by Saori Onishi and Vivian Lu, and Kei Isori is voiced by Sōma Saitō.