Wistoria: Wand and Sword Volumes 11 and 12 Kill Off a Main Character
The off-screen death of a main cast member marks a tonal shift for the series, testing whether the story can sustain reader investment after removing a character who had been central to Will's social dynamic since the beginning.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime UK News, Anime Corner.
A review of Wistoria: Wand and Sword volumes 11 and 12 from Anime UK News reveals a major character death that reshapes the ongoing arc. In volume 11, protagonist Will Serfort has joined the Thunder Faction under Zeo Thorzeus Reinbolt after the events of volume 10. The new students are tasked with investigating their clans to find a traitor from the Goetia organization who aided a previous attack. During the investigation, Julius Rainberg, a key ally who became friends with Will, is killed off-screen by an enemy mage named Shade. He leaves behind a clue for Will before dying. Volume 12 deals with the aftermath: the cast grieves while still needing to identify remaining traitors. Will receives one-on-one training from Zeo but struggles to concentrate due to distrust. The review gives the two volumes a 7 out of 10, praising writer Fujino Omori's realistic depiction of grief but expressing disappointment at the abrupt off-screen death of a character who had been important to the story since early volumes. Artist Toshi Aoi continues to illustrate the series, with translation by Alethea and Athena Nibley and lettering by AndWorld Design. The manga remains ongoing in Japan with 15 volumes published, and English volume 13 is scheduled for September.
Julius Rainberg is voiced by Tetsuya Kakihara in the anime adaptation, which is currently airing its second season. The review notes that Julius had been a major part of the story since he and Will became friends in earlier volumes, making his off-screen death feel abrupt and disappointing to the reviewer. The reviewer writes that "having been such a big part of the story since he and Will became something resembling friends, it's hard to believe that he'd be written out like this."
Writer Fujino Omori is also the author of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Danmachi). The review credits Omori for depicting the cast's grief realistically, saying he "doesn't try to hurry along to the next part of the story." Artist Toshi Aoi continues to illustrate the action scenes and worldbuilding that the review calls a "good balance."
The English release is handled by Kodansha USA. Translation is by Alethea and Athena Nibley, with lettering by AndWorld Design. The review notes there are no color pages in these volumes, but bonus pages provide additional worldbuilding detail. The manga has 15 volumes published in Japan as of the review, and English volume 13 is scheduled for September. The series surpassed 3 million copies in circulation as of February 2026, per the anime coverage.
The review gives the two volumes a 7 out of 10, expressing disappointment with how the arc handles Julius's death but stating that "this is still the Wistoria we know and love" for continuing readers.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.