"The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic" is a popular Japanese light novel series written by Kurokata and illustrated by KeG. The story follows a young man named Mori Yuuto who is transported to a fantasy world where he possesses a rare healing magic ability. However, this healing magic is quite different from what is typically seen in other fantasy works. As the title suggests, Mori Yuuto's approach to healing magic is far from conventional. Instead of using it to heal wounds and cure ailments, he mainly uses it for his personal gain or for comedic effect. This unique twist on healing magic sets the story apart from other fantasy novels and provides a fresh take on the genre.
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (Web Novel)
Usato was never meant to be summoned to another world, but when a chance encounter with two perfect people from his school means he’s standing on top of their summoning circle, he ends up there anyway. Unlike them, he has no aptitude for great feats of magic. He’s a healer. But in this kingdom, healers are under the thumb of a tyrant named Rose . . .
This was awesome. Usato basically gets kidnapped twice: once into the fantasy world, and once into Rose’s squadron. Technically, she’s running the kingdom’s Red Cross. Their job is to run out into the battlefield, “kidnap” injured fighters, and bring them back to the healer’s base for treatment.
In Rose’s perspective, that means her subordinates need strength, endurance, stamina, and the ability to take a lot of pain. So she trains them with the most hellish boot camp imaginable, because after all, they can just heal themselves . . .
“I push myself to my very limits and use healing magic. Then I push my healing magic itself to its very limit, until I can no longer use it. I repeat this over and over.”
This leads to one of his friends commenting later on a fight he had:
“It was all hand-to-hand combat without any magic… I don’t blame you for being surprised. After all, Usato is a healing magician that’s all brawn.”
One joke is that Rose’s whole squadron is basically ogres, as anyone who actually makes it through her training comes out mentally twisted and physically buffed past the point of being human. Usato, as Rose’s favorite, ends up as her second-in-command.
Overall this was so much fun I’m going back to read it again now that I’ve caught up to the last released chapter. Highly Recommended.
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Novel Volume 2
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Novel Volume 2 features story by Kurokata.
Usato gets his first taste of battle after surviving the hellish training of the rescue team! Making the most of his newfound abilites, Usato aids the injured and heals the wounded, but danger lies just around the corner for his friends, Suzune and Kazuki!
The two heroes find themselves face to face with the Demon Lord army’s black knight, a foe equipped with a terrifying, ominous suit of dark armor that’s seemingly impenetrable to any and all attacks. When their efforts amount to nothing, Suzune and Kazuki are left with their backs against the wall—the black knight’s blade getting ever closer.
To save his friends, Usato will have to make healing magic his weapon and use it the “wrong” way to topple this ostensibly invincible foe.
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The Wrong Way to Write About Using Healing Magic
The nature of Japanese light novels is to be simple, easy-reading, disposable literary entertainment. By design, light novels are only barely more literary than manga comic books. Moreover, light novels are typically rapidly written first drafts featuring the barest minimum of editing. Thus light novels frequently contain errors in narrative continuity, technical composition errors, and other minor flaws. What they lack in literate, artistic substance they compensate for with creativity and entertainment value. The “isekai” sub-genre, stories about characters whisked away to unfamiliar new worlds, has arisen as one of the most popular genres of Japanese fantasy literature, especially since the early 1990s. The abundance of stories within the isekai genre naturally distills into more praiseworthy and admirable literary works including the Mushoku Tensei and Sword Art Online franchises, especially poorly written novel series including Isekai Meikyuu de Harem wo and Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, and everything in-between. While not terribly poorly written, the first volume of author Kurokata’s light novel The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic falls into the vast and deep well of mediocre isekai fantasy novels primarily because the entire book is nothing more than an extended and particularly dull prologue.
The trope of a protagonist being accidentally caught up in an isekai hero summoning ritual has been utilized in other light novel series including Miya Kinojo’s Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers, Yuka Tachibana’s The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent, and Ren Eguchi’s Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. Unlike comparable titles that apply a unique, creative twist, the first novel of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic regrettably doesn’t do anything unique or compelling with its scenario. In fact, the novel does very little at all.
Three Japanese high school students are magically teleported to a sword & sorcery world to defend the Llinger Kingdom from invasion by the Demon Lord. But only two of the transposed students were targeted by the summoning spell. The story’s protagonist, Ken Usato, is an unintended extra caught up in the mix. However, his status as a “plus one” has no impact on the story development. Within the first novel, the three teen heroes spend their time training to strengthen their magic casting abilities. Then the Demon Lord’s army begins its invasion. Then the novel ends. Lamentably, the novel contains almost no action whatsoever although the story is not a slice-of-life fantasy. The novel’s intriguing title, “The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic,” has practically no relevance to the novel’s story. Characterizations are superficial and minimal. Protagonist Usato introduces himself as someone with no hobbies. Yet, seemingly contradictorily, shortly later he refers to himself as having a “gamer’s brain.” He’s also oddly, consciously homophobic for no explained reason. His male upperclassman Kazuki Ryusen is pure-hearted and described as “innocent.” Usato’s female classmate Suzune Inukami functions half-heartedly as comic relief in a story that’s doesn’t need any. She’s also a bit difficult to empathize with since she’s characterized as a girl who pities herself because she’s too good at everything she tries. The only other significant character in the novel is Rose, Usato’s mentor. While she does get one detail of background, she functions more like a prominent supporting character than a main character.
As if the novel knows that its narrative development is thin and boring, the novel tries to inject sub-plots and nuance, but the efforts are irresolute and perfunctory. Halfway through the novel, the story introduces animal mascot characters although these characters don’t do anything nor serve any narrative purpose. As if resorting to cliché, the novel’s first chapter drops the revelation that the Llinger Kingdom treats healing magic users as useless trash, evoking the treatment of the Shield Hero in the Rising of the Shield Hero novels, yet as soon as it’s mentioned, this plot point is forgotten. Knight Commander Siglis announces that he has a matter to discuss with Rose, yet when he goes to meet her, he says nothing of significance to her. In a brief passage a fox girl relays a prophecy to the protagonist. Then this plot point receives no further development. The novel introduces a threatening black knight yet doesn’t bother to give him a name nor have him do anything prominent. In fact, the entire novel’s world building is perfunctory at best. The novel’s magic system essentially gets no detail or explanation. The country neighboring the Llinger Kingdom is simply referred to as “neighboring country.” The demon lord has no name or motivation beyond, “Demon Lord.” The briefly appearing bandit leader is such a cliché that he comes across as a parody instead of a legitimate character.
The narrative also contains other continuity errors. Rose has only one eye, yet the novel contains the descriptive lines, “All I could do was avoid meeting the eyes of this woman who savagely smiled at me,” and, “All I knew was that her eyes were filled with contradiction.” In the first half of the novel Rose makes multiple similar statements including, “If someone dies, revive ’em.” Yet later in the book Rose asserts, “If you die, you’re done for,” and, “I know I can’t bring my boys back to life.” Usato describes the palace’s training ground as “a big open space,” yet then says, “While I was scanning the area, I saw a black-haired girl in the corner of the room.” What room? He’s outdoors.
Other flaws within the novel may arise particularly from the English translation. At one point Rose asks, “Capiche?” without explanation for why this resident of an alternate world would be familiar with Italian language. Similarly, the black knight says, “My bad,” which seems like a distinctly Earth expression used by a character presumably not from Earth. The translation contains numerous minor errors in punctuation and capitalization, but most casual readers won’t notice them. The novel is expressed in the first-person perspective typical of light novels except for one brief scene that switches into third-person perspective. Frustratingly, the novel regularly switches narrator without notice or signal. In at least one occasion the reader must read at least six paragraphs to figure out that the storytelling has shifted to a different character’s point of view.
The novel contains no references to nudity or sex and only brief description of graphic violence. The translation includes a few instances of “Sh*t,” one “god*mnit,” and one “son of a b*tch.” The translation also retains Japanese honorifics when appropriate, including “senpai,” “-chan,” and “-kun.” The novel also includes a reference to “tsuchinoko” that may be unfamiliar to readers lacking awareness of Japanese folkloric monsters. One Peace Books’ official English translation of the first novel includes a double-page color character introduction illustration, a color page illustration of the black knight, eleven monochrome illustrations by artist KeG, and one monochrome character concept design illustration.
The isekai fantasy sub-genre can be highly entertaining because it can be very immersive and very gratifying. Readers interested in dipping their toes into the field should be advised to begin elsewhere. Die-hard fans of the isekai genre who are willing and prepared to read everything they can may find some satisfaction from The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic. Thanks to passable writing, the novel isn’t completely awful; however, while this series may become more exciting and interesting in subsequent volumes, the first novel is 219 pages of redundancy and almost nothing happening.
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This unique twist on healing magic sets the story apart from other fantasy novels and provides a fresh take on the genre. Throughout the novel, Mori Yuuto uses his healing magic in various unconventional ways. For example, he uses it to clean his home, cook meals, and even as a party trick to entertain others.
This often leads to humorous situations and misunderstandings, as the residents of the fantasy world are puzzled by his unconventional use of healing magic. However, as the story progresses, Mori Yuuto's unusual approach to healing magic begins to have unintended consequences. The novel explores the limitations and potential dangers of using healing magic in the wrong way. It delves into the ethical implications of using magic for personal gain and the importance of responsibility in wielding such power. In addition to the comedic aspects, "The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic" also incorporates elements of adventure and romance. Mori Yuuto embarks on various quests and encounters different characters who challenge his unconventional use of healing magic. The novel also explores his relationships with other characters, particularly his growing bond with a warrior girl named Tina. Overall, "The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic" is a light-hearted and entertaining novel that offers a unique twist on the traditional fantasy genre. With its relatable protagonist and humorous situations, the novel provides an enjoyable reading experience for fans of fantasy and comedy alike..
Reviews for "Healing Magic Gone Awry: A Cautionary Tale"
1. John - 2 stars - The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic was a disappointment for me. The pacing was incredibly slow, with a lot of unnecessary and repetitive scenes that contributed nothing to the overall plot. The protagonist was unlikable and lacked any sort of growth or development throughout the story. The world-building was lacking, leaving me confused and disconnected from the setting. Overall, I found this novel to be tedious and unengaging, making it difficult for me to recommend it to others.
2. Sarah - 1 star - I really struggled to get through The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic. The writing felt sloppy and poorly edited, with numerous spelling and grammatical errors that were distracting. The characters lacked depth and personality, making it difficult to care about their fates or invest in their journeys. The dialogue felt stale and unnatural, further contributing to the overall lack of immersion. The plot itself was predictable and unoriginal, adding nothing new or innovative to the genre. I found myself forcing myself to finish this novel, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a truly engaging read.
3. Michael - 2 stars - The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic had potential, but it fell flat for me. The story was riddled with cliches and tropes, making it feel unoriginal and uninspired. The protagonist was frustratingly naive and made poor decisions, which made it difficult to root for them. The pacing was inconsistent, with long stretches of nothing happening followed by rushed and underdeveloped plot points. Additionally, the dialogue felt forced and stilted, lacking the natural flow and authenticity that I look for in a novel. Overall, I was left unsatisfied with this read and wouldn't recommend it to others.