Management of a Novice Alchemist

If you’ve ever dreamed of giving up the daily grind, opening your own little shop and living a quiet life surrounded by magical ingredients, Management of a Novice Alchemist might sound like the perfect anime.

Of course, as Sarasa Feed quickly discovers, running a shop isn't quite as easy as it sounds.

Management of a Novice Alchemist follows Sarasa, an orphan whose parents were tragically killed by bandits. When she meets a travelling alchemist who inspires her, Sarasa decides that she wants to follow the same path.

She spends five years training before enrolling at the Royal Alchemist Academy, with one big goal in mind: become a successful alchemist, open her own shop and, ideally, make enough money to live a comfortable life.

And after watching the first three episodes, I have to say that this is a surprisingly charming little anime.

A Promising Start

I watched the English dub for my first three episodes, and thankfully the voice acting is pretty solid. There aren't any strange or distracting accents that pulled me out of the experience, and the cast generally fits the characters well.

The animation is also clear and colourful without trying to do anything particularly flashy. It works well for the show's relaxed slice of life atmosphere.

Sarasa herself is an interesting protagonist. She's definitely naïve at times, but she's also extremely competent when it comes to alchemy. She's not the sort of protagonist who needs everyone else to constantly save her, which is refreshing.

The series feels like a light comedy mixed with a magical slice of life story, although there's a little more adventure hiding underneath the surface.

One of the things I particularly like is that Sarasa can't simply sit around running her shop. She needs to find rare and dangerous ingredients to keep the business going, which gives the story a reason to occasionally leave the cosy village behind.

And, so far at least, I haven't come across any of the particularly pervy tropes that can sometimes appear in fantasy anime.

Episode One – Welcome to the Shop

The first episode introduces us to Sarasa's past and her ambitions.

A travelling alchemist visits Sarasa's village when she's young, inspiring her to become an alchemist herself. Sarasa is particularly interested in whether being an alchemist can actually make her money – which tells you quite a lot about her priorities!

After five years of training, Sarasa takes the alchemist examination.

Things don't exactly go according to plan when she discovers that she's been given the wrong ingredients, meaning she has to improvise and produce an expert level potion instead.

Naturally, Sarasa absolutely smashes the exam.

Despite spending years at the academy, she hasn't really made any friends, and after graduating she decides that she wants to make her own way in the world.

Her master, Ophelia Millis, gives her an enchanted bag capable of carrying all her books and equipment. Ophelia also helps Sarasa obtain an alchemist shop in the countryside.

There's just one tiny problem.

The shop is an absolute dump.

Surrounded by the wilderness and potentially valuable ingredients, it sounds like the perfect location on paper. Unfortunately, the building itself is a run down shell.

And that's where episode one ends.

Episode Two – Fixing Up the Dream

Episode two picks up with Sarasa arriving at her new home and discovering just how isolated she really is.

The village is tiny and barely has anyone living there, but Sarasa is determined to prove herself to Ophelia.

She starts exploring the surrounding area and discovers that there are plenty of wild ingredients nearby. She also explores the house and finds a surprising amount of leftover equipment.

Thankfully, the previous owner even left behind a cleaning seal, allowing Sarasa to give the place a much needed makeover.

She soon heads into the village to buy furniture and meets Lorea, a girl around her age who works at the local general store.

As Sarasa begins interacting with the villagers, we get to see the close knit nature of the community. However, there's also a sense that Sarasa is feeling the pressure of suddenly being completely on her own.

Then Ophelia turns up.

Sarasa learns that if she wants to collect some of the really rare ingredients, she's going to have to be prepared to fight for them. This leads to a rather unexpected sword fight between Sarasa and her former master.

The villagers eventually rally around Sarasa, helping her repair the fence, sort out the garden and generally get the shop into something resembling a functioning business.

Sarasa also hires Lorea as her shop clerk.

Finally, the shop is ready to open.

And then, naturally, someone comes crashing through the door needing help.

Episode Three – Things Get Dangerous

Episode three gives us our first real taste of the danger that comes with Sarasa's profession.

Sarasa saves a gatherer named Iris, but quickly makes it clear that treating her injuries isn't going to be cheap.

The gatherers aren't exactly thrilled when they hear the price, but eventually they understand why Sarasa is charging what she is.

Once Iris has recovered, Sarasa and the others discover what caused her injuries and decide to go after the creature responsible.

This leads them to the Hellflame Grizzlies.

However, Sarasa discovers something rather unexpected when she begins harvesting ingredients from the creatures. The bears aren't simply attacking for no reason – they're suffering from a lack of food and have become frenzied.

Rather than leaving the villagers to deal with the problem themselves, Sarasa gets involved.

The villagers and gatherers band together to take on the Hellflame Grizzlies, with Sarasa showing just how ridiculously powerful she can be.

She makes short work of the boss class grizzly and even manages to save Lorea in the process.

By the end of the episode, word is quickly spreading around the village about their new resident alchemist.

So, Would I Keep Watching?

After three episodes, I'm pleasantly surprised by Management of a Novice Alchemist.

It's not reinventing the fantasy genre, but it doesn't really need to. There's something quite relaxing about watching Sarasa try to build a life for herself while simultaneously discovering that owning an alchemy shop isn't quite the peaceful retirement plan she imagined.

The combination of slice of life, comedy, fantasy and occasional monster hunting works surprisingly well.

I particularly like the fact that Sarasa is both inexperienced and capable. She has plenty to learn about running a business and living independently, but when it comes to alchemy and fighting monsters, she's more than capable of holding her own.

The village setting also gives the series a nice sense of community, and I'm interested to see how Sarasa's relationships with the villagers develop as the story progresses.

After only three episodes, I'm not completely sold on it yet, but I definitely enjoyed what I watched.

My score so far: 6.5/10

It's a charming, easy going fantasy anime with enough adventure underneath its slice of life exterior to keep things interesting.

Would I continue watching?