Have you ever wondered how being a close relative of an isekai’d person would feel? Imagine a little brother of yours asking about things nobody has taught him, or looking serious and meditative at the tender age of three. Active, sporty tomboy Marie, a daughter to small-town gentryfolk, experiences this with her little brother Shion. One day, he starts asking strange questions over the dinner table. Thrilled after learning from their father that fairies and monsters are known to exist, he inquires about “magic.” But he is in for a big disappointment: Though it has fantasy trappings, this world is even less magical than ours. Magic doesn’t exist here, not even in stories, not even as a scam, not even as a word. So Shion retreats even more into his inner literary world, fleeing from their lonely life in the secluded countryside. But Marie won’t have that. She really cares about him, more and more as they grow (“Please don’t go down the accursed route”, I mutter to myself). When she discovers a lake that shines in the night with lights that some people do not see, she wonders if this might have to do with Shion’s “magic”…

Oh, anime. Just why? And I was liking it, too! A weak point of many an isekai is that everything is about the main character, living in a world made of cardboard. Watching Shion grow up from an outside perspective countered that, and made reincarnation mysterious again. Marie doesn’t know that an entire previous life of experiences and ideas separates her little brother from her. Discovering magic through experiments is an interesting concept, too. The graphics are strong, and the music is good: the opening in particular made me smile a lot. The personalities of Shion and Marie are well depicted, and though some small moments irked me a little, the way they overcame their differences was endearing. But then, the mammoth in the room reared its head and kept rearing it for the last ten uncomfortable minutes, culminating in Shion forswearing marriage to always be with his teary sister and receiving magical powers when he embraces her. So, down the accursed route we go. Will they? Won’t they? Were they childhood friends, I’d love to find out, but I’m really averse to this concept. Too bad, though.

Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World is available on Crunchyroll.