[DreamSword]

One of the few things I knew about Wizard going in was that pretty much everyone agreed that the "Phoenix Arc" was one of, if not the best in the show, and while I can certainly see why... I hate to say it, but it does fall short to me.

Don't get me wrong, I did still overall like the four-parter, but its momentum was essentially killed by the last episode, which I felt was really mishandled.

For example, my dislike of Beast aside... why not have him be the one to put Phoenix down for good? It'd finally give Beast's' character a purpose, gives a logical way for Phoenix's' revival powers to be bypassed, and, as hilariously cruel as Phoenix getting hurled into the sun is, it's like... dude, most big bads don't even get it that bad man, dang.

Not to mention, Haruto beating himself up super hard over the situation, while I wouldn't go so far as to say it's not warranted, it's definitely weird to see him take this harder than the various other times he's put his friends in serious danger. Heck, he constantly neglects the Homonculous Girl, despite his promise to her that took place before the start of the show.

Plus, I actually rather liked Phoenix as a villain, so having him get yeeted at the halfway point just means they got rid of a character I liked ontop of having just introduced one that I super don't care for. Double ouch.

But! In the interest of not sounding like a total grouch, here's all the stuff I liked about the arc!

• Beast was barely in it, meaning the character dynamics I've grown to like got to continue to shine
• The Dress Up Ring is hilarious
• Haruto's' characterization being that of a full blown hero, making him very likable.
• Rinko doing some honest detective work, ontop of Phoenix feeding her misleading information made for a really cool character interaction
• White Wizard(who is totally not a bad guy) having awesome spells and a cool Driver.
• The special effects and fight choreography continuing to be top notch.

So yeah, overall a good time despite some shortcomings!