Reviewed by Alicia Glass

The unneeded third wheel in the classic isekai trope, Ken Usato is stunned to discover that while he may not be the Hero the Kingdom of Llinger summoned, he can be heroic with his newfound ultra-rare healing magic!

So, the classic eternal battle between the human Kingdom of whomever, against the current Demon Lord and his multitude of minions, features a whole cast of well-known characters – the King of course, his family with at least one Crown Prince/ess, his Royals and Nobles, usually a whole bunch of badass Knights, Mercenaries, Magic-users of every color of the rainbow, archers and expendable foot-soldiers and the like. What most adventuring isekai actually try to veer away from, is the realities of the battlefield, the stench and the horror, the dead and dying everywhere, and the very real danger any good healer has to face in order to do their duty as a healer.

And this is where Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic absolutely shines, somehow mixing the reality of the battlefield healer’s situation with the almost-innocent adventurous joy of your favorite isekai. So, let’s dive headfirst into this!

The head kids of the Student Council back on Earth, Suzune Inukami and Kazuki Ryuusen, along with the ride-hitching Ken Usato, are transported to the Kingdom of Llinger by summoning circle, to fight the inevitable demon lord attacking the kingdom. And while the Kingdom, even willing to use forbidden magic to summon these new Heroes as they are, is thrilled at the enthusiasm of Inukami and perhaps even the reluctance of Kazuki, they are absolutely terrified at Usato’s advent of healing magic. It’s all suddenly and rather violently explained with the introduction of Rose, a healer herself, head of the Rescue Team battlefield healers and known to be an exceptionally brutal and eccentric trainer. Much to his chagrin, Rose gleefully scoops Usato up and deposits him into the most grueling training regimen of his entire young life!

And thus the training from hell, because that is quite possibly literally what it is, begins in earnest. Usato groans about the severe physical aspect of the training, as there is almost no magical training involved at all; he gets tossed into the Darkness of Llinger, a forest known for killing monsters and carnivorous plants, only to come out of it boasting a new blue grizzly companion; Blurin, as the large grizzly cub is named, instantly becomes a very large part of Usato’s running and training regimen.

All of this is effectively useless without actual battlefield experience, and monsters are fleeing the forest because the demon lord and his kin are encroaching, so we the Rescue Team really have to hustle! Rose has every intention of training a “subordinate who will never die”, haunted as she is by underlings she couldn’t save in her head of the Kingdom of Llinger’s army Knight past, and she dubs Usato eventually fit for the job, informing the King of such herself.   

But what happens when the war, or at least the first major skirmish, begins in brutal violence, and the Rescue Team has no choice but to wade in? As it turns out, not only is Usato blessed with super strong healing magic and the training to now use it pretty well, he begins to use these powers in ways no one’s ever thought of before, offensively even. Imagine, using healing magic to create such things as what Usato unimaginatively names the Ultimate Healing Punch, but to save the Black Knight, an enemy combatant who Usato firmly believes is actually worth saving and converting.

And who’s to say Usato’s wrong? Rose, despite never coming up with such a thing on her own, is nevertheless extremely proud, and considers her trust and faith in Usato and his wrong ways to use healing magic completely well-placed.

Find out what other wrong ways Usato and pals will use his healing magic, on Crunchyroll now!