I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic

Liam is very sweet and kind, especially considering that he's a ginger. He learns that he can use magic one day. He takes to it so rapidly that his eldest brother is jealous. The family is facing hardship - they're on the brink of ruin! So, dad is thrilled: Liam has fantastic earning power, now. Big bro, Albrecht, just wants him gone, so he gives Liam the hook-up with the HA - Hunter's Association.

Based on a manga & light novel, IANOTBORSIMAWTMM is a 2025 studios release that is rated 6.08 on MAL. It is 1 season consisting of 12 23 -minute English subbed episodes. This is a simple story where everything works out just so, without too much trouble, and Liam has a pretty easy time of things. It's on a kid level - I have listed some cautions, but this is geared more towards younger people than adults. For the most part, it's lackluster, but it does have a couple magical moments.

Right away, before Liam walks through the HA's door, he meets Aquage Asuna. She's strong, assertive and happy. She's his kinda person. They make a great team. They're slaying monsters and racking up the 💴. Asuna's friend, Jodi, joins them. Both Asuna and Jodi enter into a pact to be Liam's "familiars." They must obey him, but they also become more powerful and they can even share power, now. I think cautioning kids to never trust anyone enough to give away all their power would be an important thing to interject here. The show doesn't explore the dark side of anything, however.

Liam has also caught the attention of Princess Scarlet. She requests an audience with him and he amuses her so much that she grants him the title of Baron. He technically outranks his dad, now. Albrecht is going to ugly places in his mind, now. Albrecht is completely out of luck, though. Liam is the Harem-master of this show.

Liam is out there rescuing Fae and collecting allies. When he makes a familiar contract with a being, that being levels-up. Wolves that could talk and walk upright turn into people with wolfish features. The little Tinkerbell types that were flying around turn into beautiful Elvish women. Soon he's collected enough familiars, allies and strays that he sets them to building a town. They actually build a nation before the end.

Liam starts working on the ultimate armor so that they can defend themselves. The first threat that they face is the vampire horde. Normally, vampires turn to dust in sunlight, but this group has a leader, Dracula, who has leveled-up their powers. They can attack during the day. Dracula might be Liam's trickiest foe, but Liam proves to be quite formidable. When he forms a contract with the Vampires, I could only wonder: What will they eat?

Pixies, Wolf Girls, princesses, he's collecting quite the collection. That black scary dragon is a chick, too; Radon is the supreme being that is guiding him through all of this. The show is simply cute, for the most part. They appear to have stolen Charmander and Foongus from the Pokedex.

Here's the bad news: Liam is a bit boring. The story moves like a power point - going from one power, Familiar, sexy-kitten, or ancient treasure to the next thing. It stutters through everything more than it flows. It's on a kid level, but even kids shouldn't look at the world so simply, with this much naivety. Nearly everyone Liam meets wants to be his Familiar. This means they cannot refuse any order. No matter how wonderful a person appears to be, if that person isn't a loving, all-powerful & personal God, I don't think it's a good idea to relinquish full power to them. This whole idea is actually very disturbing to me.

It qualifies as a cheap escape, nothing more. I considered abandoning it but I don't regret finishing it. The primary reason I am regretless is that I was totally enthralled with ep11 when they made roads. He puts the pavement over mithril (a nod to Tolkien) which bolsters magic. He may be able to supply every citizen with light, water and heat this way! Unfortunately, ep12 was back to being more dull than not.

The art is not bad at all. People are often drawn in closeup. They used fine lines and an attractive combination of colors. Backgrounds are intermittently ornate or simple. One shot of triple height stained glass is lovely. He is given a ring that absorbs all the contents of books - how awesome (I could only think about how much Mistress Frieren would love that!). The most awesome-est thing of all is the infinite cube. He can store the whole world in there. It's a hoarder's wet-dream.

In all, it's more mundane than magic, but Liam is a noble that we all can cheer for.

QUOTES🗣

I'm not afraid of failing. Failing means you didn't succeed. It' s not a big deal.

Many people cannot make the wise choice. The higher a person's status, the more their pride interferes, causing them to make wrong choices.

Human pride is a troublesome thing

Too great a favor leads to problems later.

📝Authors: Miki, Nazuna (Story), Akisaki, Rio (Art)

IMHO〰🖍

📣6 📝5.4 🎭7.3 💓4 🦋4 🎨7 🎵/🔊6 🔚6 ▪ 🌞7⚡4 😅2 😭2 😱2 😯1 🤢2 🤔4.5 💤9 🤗3.5

Age 11+ with the following cautions: Sexual content 2/10, Violence and gore It tame as far as sexual content goes, but ep10 is a beach day and also a salute to the booby brothers. Bikinis & bouncing bosoms abound. Rated: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Re-📺? On to the next one!

This is a harem-like isekai that has no reason to exist.

A Japanese man dies, and is reborn into the body of a 12 year old child. His family is noble, but on the brink of losing it. That story could be interesting, but is mostly ignored.

Instead it follows the protagonist, Liam, as he easily becomes a very powerful magic user, given everything he needs, when he needs it.

It's difficult to figure out who this is for. Young teens would be bored by the nation building, while older teens bored by the lack of action. While there are some lingering shots of legs and cleavage, it's probably not enough to satisfy those who watch these shows for that reason.

Avoid.

The anime has promise. The MC is a pretty typical isekai protagonist but his position as a young noble does require him to handle things a different way than say an adult isekai. The magic he learns isn't quite as flashy as I would like, but the abilities make sense and he uses them well. The fights are pretty bland and repetitive with the exception of how the caterpillar monster is handled.

The pacing is problematic though. He gains a powerful ally or piece of equipment every single episode. He moves at light speed securing respect throughout the world even by just episode 6. His companions are voiced by amazing and talented voice actors, but they don't really feel that impressive or likeable.

They tried to go the reincarnated as a slime route with the naming and evolving creatures route but they feel pretty much the same with the exception of their aesthetics after, and the main party's abilities. They did extend this to humans and equipment which was a bit different though.

Overall it's just not a super memorable show so far. The world building is pretty good, but the characters feel too bland to stand out.