The story is set in an alternate world where society is stabilizing after a conflict called the "Witch Hunt War" almost wiped out humanity. An organization called the Inquisition was established in order to combat the remaining Witches and keep objects called Magical Inheritances from falling into the wrong hands. The protagonist, Takeru Kusanagi, is a student aspiring to be an inquisitor, purely for the monetary benefits of it. Hopeless in every area except swordsmanship, he acts as captain of the 35th Platoon, nicknamed the "Small Fry Platoon", which is full of odd people much like himself.
Due to the dysfunctional nature of the group, the platoon is in a hopeless position with zero points and on the verge of failing their year. However the status quo of the group changes when an ex-inquisitor named Ootori Ouka is forced to join their ranks. Thus, Takeru and the rest of the 35th platoon is thrust headfirst into the conflict between Witches and the Inquisition.
The anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll
where it can be legally viewed. The novels have yet to see any form of official localization, but scanlations exist for all the currently released volumes (barring the two side volumes).
Anti Magic Academy provides examples of these tropes:
- Absurdly Divided School: The Magic Academy is separated into two distinct halves; the East side administrated by Mother Goose and the West side administrated by Elizabeth. The East side promotes magic for defense, healing, and industrial purposes. On the other hand, the West side only allows for pure-blooded mages whose lineages date from before the Witch Hunt War. As a result, discrimination from the West side mages towards the mages of inferior lineage and demihumans is very strong in the campus.
- Adaptation Distillation: The anime, which adapts the first five volumes of the light novels, has multiple fights cut outright, foreshadowing and explanations for the setting being omitted, and two arcs have their order rearranged. Many character plots early in the series are diminished or cut out entirely as well. Some important characters, or their relationships with the protagonist don't appear.
- After the End: At the end of the Witch Hunt War, the crash between the two most powerful Sacred Treasures left much of the planet uninhabitable and killed nine-tenth of mankind's original population. It took the humans 150 years to reconstruct and rebuild society.
- Always Someone Better: Takeru is often on the receiving end of this, though he is happens to be this to other characters as well. Though to be fair it is hard to match up power level wise to people who existed 150 years back, where the strength standard was much higher.
- And the Adventure Continues: The final bonus story ends with the now adult members of the former 35th Test Platoon setting out to the South Pole to fight Nazi remnants and look for a Suginami host body that they can transfer Kiseki's soul into.
- Anti-Magic: There are many forms of this in the world, though the effectiveness differs depending on what you use.
- Anti-Magical Faction: The Inquisition, tasked with stopping illegal activity regarding Witches or magical items.
- Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Takeru is mocked by nearly everyone for his dedication to the sword in an age of magic and guns.
- Arch-Enemy: Laugh Maker for Ouka, Haunted for Mari, Alchemist for Ikaruga, and Sougetsu Ootori for pretty much everybody.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: While hunting a pair of criminals on a motorbike, Ouka lists their crimes: "On suspicion of illegally trading a D-ranked magical artifact, obstruction of justice, illegal possession and use of firearms, and riding a motorcycle without wearing helmets, you two are under arrest!"
- Artifact of Death: Magical heritages are considered this by the setting. While this may not be the case, the general attitude of humans makes them all out to be this way, despite many possibly being harmless.
- Attack of the Town Festival: Mephistopheles' Evil Plan is to create a giant magical circle around the Anti-Magic Academy that will enslave everyone inside it. She was the one who organized the Witch-Hunt festival in the first place for the sake of her plan.
- Baby Trap: Usagi attempts to pull one on Takeru so that he would marry her instead of Reima, a childhood friend of her that is also a total Jerkass. Fortunately for him, it's interrupted by Mari, Ouka, and Ikaruga all walking in on them. Of course, they assume he was the one taking advantage of her, and all three get angry but for completely different reasons, such as Ikaruga being mad she wasn't told about this so she could watch them have sex.
- Badass Normal: Usagi is the only member of the team who is not powered by some kind of artifact or doesn't know magic, but she still manages to keep up with the team with her sniping skills and high-tech weapons.
- Balanced Harem: One of the best examples there is. Every female member of the 35th platoon participates in all the story arcs, is always relevant, and has Ship Tease with Takeru who cares about all of them equally.
- Battle Harem: All the girls in the 35th platoon have a special set of abilities that help in battle and they all have Ship Tease with their captain Takeru.
- Beach Episode: The second half of episode 9, when the Small Fry platoon goes to a beach to investigate the unusually long summer season there caused by a monster.
- Big Bad: Sougetsu Ootori, also known as Loki, who happens to be the current god of the world.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Due to his nature as a god, Sougetsu is capable of tracking the location of all magical heritages since they are technically considered a part of him, since they are a part of the world.
- Book Dumb: Takeru, good at the sword, but not good academically, or really anything that doesn't involve swinging a sword at something. There are various points where the other characters have to explain something to him that would otherwise be common sense in the setting.
- Bookcase Passage: The student council's Secret Room is hidden behind a bookcase and it's opened through removing one book.
- Book Ends: Volume 2 starts with Mari being transferred in as a temporary member of the platoon, and then ends with her officially transferring in.
- Born Winner: Mari in terms of magical potential, Captain Kurogane because he was born a hero's vessel, Takeru due to his demon soul though this gives him far more trouble than it is worth.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: The girls of the 35th platoon love using Takeru's "I'll carry half of your burden!" line whenever they can.
- Breather Episode: Episode 9, a much needed one from the previous episodes which focuses on Ikaruga's past.
- Brick Joke: In volume 3 when the group is making fun of Mari for thinking that a dragon exists in the outskirts. Turns out there was one, though one artificially created by the Alchemists.
- Bridal Carry:
- In a panic to run away from King Arthur's ultimate attack [Knights of the Round Table], Takeru picks up an injured Ouka and carries her bridal-style. While both are aware it's embarrassing, the situation is too critical to really pay attention to it.
- Mari gets carried like this twice by Takeru. The first time he takes her by surprise and she ends up like a gibbering mess. The other ends up with her giving directions while having her eyes closed and snuggling up to him in bliss.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Takeru often complains about this, with the platoon doing their usual antics while traveling to a place most consider a death sentence.
- Catchphrase: Takeru has "I'll carry half of your burden" which he uses a lot in the early volumes, and his battle field introductions which he constantly does at least once per volumes.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The story noticeably takes a much darker tone as the less pleasant secrets of the Inquisition start coming out.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Whenever a weapon or item is referenced, it's going to be important later.
- The Chessmaster: Sougetsu and Nagaru are described to be similar to one another because of this trait. Though people consider Nagaru a benevolent version.
- Classified Information: Vlad is unable to tell Ouka much about his previous owner. Mostly because his last owner was her father, and the founder of the Heretic Alliance.
- Cliffhanger: Volume 5 ends with one as Takeru passes out from using his God Hunter form, and her and Mari are forced to follow his master to the Witches side; with the volume ending with him overlooking the Magic Academy.
- Clingy Jealous Girl:
- Mari, Ouka, and Usagi all show signs of this from time to time. They end up butting heads with each other a few times because they feel the other girls are attempting to woo Takeru more aggressively than they are.
- Though Kiseki doesn't show this openly herself, subconsciously the demon inside her is very jealous of Ouka, and attacks her because she's "stealing" Takeru away.
- Clothing Switch: The volume covers of the Another Mission side stories had the girls of the 35th Platoon wearing each other's clothes. Mari and Usagi in the first, Ouka and Ikaruga in the second.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The Inquisition's standard procedure with captured witches, and what happens to Kiseki during the time she spend detained by the Inquisition.
- Crapsack World: It's easier to count the things that are not horrible in this world.
- Crossover Cosmology: While the series draws from all sorts of myths and historical figures, Norse Mythology has a much greater influence in the setting. This is because the Norse world was engaged in a war with the normal human world, and the two world's collided to create the current setting.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Happens from time to time, mostly against mooks and generally anyone fighting Kurogane.
- Cybernetic Mythical Beast: The climax of Volume 3 features a mechanical dragon, created by Ikaruga's half-sister Isuka through Alchemist's technology and Legend Summoning, a Summon Magic that calls extinct magical beings.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Every member of the 35th platoon, as well as other important character in the series. The world of AntiMagic is a pretty cruel place.
- Takeru is skilled at swordsmanship to the point of being incompetent in every other area because his family is a clan of demonhunters so they made sure to pound swordfighting skills into their children. This was in order to teach them discipline because their souls are literally that of a demon, due to a curse on the family. Not only that but he has a little sister who is considered a SS ranked danger by the Inqusition and kept in solitary confinement and experimented on. She killed their family and more than 300 people in the village against her will because her demonic body fulfills her every wish; plus all she wants is to die by her brothers hands and is otherwise immortal because of the demon.
- Ouka had her entire adopted family killed by a witch, and not only that she was controlled by the witch to do so while remaining completely conscious of what she was doing.
- Mari was an orphan who was taught the good ways of magic by the director of the orphanage, until the place was burned down, the director killed, and she was forced to join the group that did it because the children were held hostage. Made worse by the fact that in reality they were killed along with the director, and the voices she heard over the phone to confirm thier safety were just clones made by the necromancer who killed them. Adding to that was the discrimination, and the constant fear she grew up with while being a Witch.
- A Day in the Limelight: Volume 7 is one for Ouka and the rest of the Platoon while Mari and Takeru where attending Magic Academy during Volume 6. Also gives Kyouya some spotlight that begins his redemption arc.
- Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: Most guns used by the Inquisition use mithril for the bullets, which serves as a basic but effective way to fight magic in the world. Later on Usagi also gets bullets that store spells like Mari's Aurora Magic or Antimatter.
- Distant Finale: The epilogue of the light novels takes place five years after the end of the final battle.
- Driven to Suicide: In Volume 7, after Mimulus refuses to run away with her adoptive father from the Pureblood Party's military base in Grey City, Mr. Wallenstein shoots himself in the head right after unlocking Mimulus' true memories and turning her back into Laugh Maker.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Takeru can't help but stare when he walks in on Mari drying herself after a shower; not knowing what to do since it was the first time a girl didn't immediately hit him for it.
- Emotions vs. Stoicism: Haunted has an argument with Isuka about this early in Volume 3. Haunted finds it disgusting that Isuka only asked him to kill all the normal scientists in Alchemist's fifth lab because her logic dictated they were useless for her goal. Haunted argues that humans should kill other humans while feeling a strong emotion, claiming that makes the death of those killed less "pitiful." Isuka, for her part, doesn't see any value on taking actions based on emotions since Design Children like her have been made to not feel any emotion that causes irrationality so they can focus completely on scientific research.
- Fantastic Fighting Style: The Kusanagi Style, a near-extinct school of swordsmanship taught by the Kusanagi Clan. It has two styles; the True Light Style designed to fight humans and the Double Edged Style that was developed to fight monsters and demons before those creatures went extinct.
- Flashback Effects: When Ouka is recounting the murder of his family by a witch, the flashback scene has a reddish tint, distorted sound and an overall creepy tone.
- Foe-Tossing Charge: Battle Driving, a running technique of the Kusanagi Style where the user bends their body forward and unleashes quick but effective slashes while constantly running, using the crushing momentum instead of the slashing motion itself.
- Functional Magic: Magic has some pretty solid rules and foundations in this world.
- Formulaic Magic at its base form requires the memorization of its procedure typically in form of a chant. Ouka's abilities with Vlad allows her to dispel any magic sequence she knows the procedures to.
- Magic Users memorize spells in the form of Attributes which cover a wide breadth of the traditional elements as well as other forces. Certain wizards can specialize in a single attribute to amplify their strength.
- Runic Magic: Magical attributes and spells can be physically implanted on pieces of parchment or other objects to be invoked later at the user's convenience. An example of these are charms such as the Highway Fairy charm that can boost vehicle performance used by common criminals.
- Magical Heritages are magically enchanted items that contain one powerful spell like charms but more powerful and non-temporary. The academy students are tasked to confiscate Magical Heritages Rank F-C to gain points.
- A-Rank Magical Heritages and higher are referred to as Lost Type Magical Heritages that can take the form of books or formidable weapons such as Haunted's Nacht. They also have what is known as Intrinsic Magic that are spells inherent to the object itself that can be cast without need for a user.
- Certain wizards are born with what are known as Ancient Attributes that typically cannot be replicated by others and are inherent to their abilities. Most of the stronger characters in the series armed with Magic have these. For example, Mari's Aurora Ancient Attribute and Haunted's Despair Ancient Attribute that bestow them with unique spells. Might also count as Older Is Better.
- Summon Magic and Necromancer: Haunted's area of expertise where his Ancient Attribute allows him to summon creatures from his Belladone Garden. Mari can also beckon the call of creatures to her aid as well.
- Words Can Break My Bones: The ability to invoke Witch Hunter armor comes from chanting. Relic Eaters on their own are forms of Magic from Technology as they were created by Sougetsu to combat witches by granting non-magically gifted humans a source of magic. Relic Eaters also invoke Instant Runes
- Religion is Magic: Theurgy stands at the pinnacle of magic and comes with the territory of the God-Hunter Forms of Lapis and Gungnir.
- Alchemy Is Magic: Can be counted given how the Alchemists' goals in the series is to recreate the magically gifted Elf race through their remnant cells and reintroduce them back into the world after going extinct.
- Gecko Ending: The anime adaptation ends on a completely original ending that saves Kiseki, a feat that practically took the entire series.
- Genre Shift: The series gives off the impression of being yet another Unwanted Battle Harem with a supernatural school setting during the initial volumes where the focus is on the protagonist Takeru interacting with the girls of his platoon and there's a notable amount of Fanservice, although the series still has very dark themes and the heroines all have some form of baggage to deal with. From the fifth volume onward, the story moves into full-on action drama as the series gets more serious and the harem comedy elements start to subside.
- Goodbye, Cruel World!: In Volume 7, Mr. Wallenstein shoots himself in the head and leaves behind a note addressed to his adopted daughter Mimulus, telling her how much he loved her. Usagi finds it shortly after the suicide and also finds the drafts of a mentally disturbed Mr. Wallenstein describing his horror at the deranged murderer Laugh Maker that Mimulus turned into after regaining her memory.
- Great Offscreen War: The Witch Hunt War was a great war between inquisitors and witches that devastated the world. The series takes place 150 years after the war ended and it's referenced a lot.
- Gun Twirling: Done by several members of the Inquisition when drawing their weapons.
- Guns vs. Swords: The protagonist Takeru is one of the very few swordsmen left in a world where almost everyone uses guns. He learned the Soumatou technique, which makes him fast enough to cut bullets, so that he could prove a sword can win against a gun.
- Half-Identical Twins: Takeru and Kiseki Kusanagi are opposite-sex fraternal twins; Takeru is a guy and Kiseki is a girl. They're described to not look that much alike, though.
- Harem Genre: Downplayed. Takeru is a guy in a platoon full of attractive women who get lots of Ship Tease and Fanservice with him. However, the 35th Test Platoon is treated as a group of True Companions before a harem, with their bonds of friendship and familial love being more emphasized than any potential romance, and as the story becomes more serious, the harem-style moments become much less prominent.
- Headbutt Thermometer: Lapis places her forehead against Takeru's to check his temperature in Volume 6. Takeru points out Lapis can check his temperature without touching him because they're magically bound together, so Lapis admits she was just flirting.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: While Takeru normally wears a helmet in his Witch Hunter form, for the final battle in the anime, Takeru loses the face-concealing helmet.
- Hereditary Curse: Centuries ago, the ancient onmyouji and the ancestors of the Kusanagi Clan made a pact that resulted in a family curse that has been afflicting the Kusanagi bloodline for generations as the price they paid for eradicating demons from the world. To prevent the demons from reincarnating into other humans, the members of the Kusanagi Clan became the hosts of the demons to keep them sealed. The men are born with the bodies of humans that contain the souls of a demon. In reverse, the women born into the clan have bodies that turn into a mass of demons while holding the soul of a human. According to the final epilogue, however, Takeru eventually has a child who was born free from the curses in his family.
- Hot Springs Episode: The second chapter of Volume 8 has the 35th Platoon and Nagaru staying at an inn where they fool around at the hot spring. Since it's a mixed bath, there's plenty of Fanservice antics between Takeru and the girls.
- How We Got Here: The opening scene for the first episode of the anime is the Small Fry platoon laying down in defeat by a Monster of the Week, right as Lapis appears in front of Takeru. This scene is played out again near the end of episode 2.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Implied to be the case for Ikaruga, though her upbringing by Alchemist certainly had something to do with it as well.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: When Ouka lists the crimes of two escaping criminals, they object when she says they're not wearing a helmets while riding a motorcycle, because she's not either. She promptly responds that she's fine with the punishment she'll get from that.
- Lighter and Softer: The anime's lack of exposition and word building avoids to mention just how many students died in the Einherjar fight and how many of the surviving students quit because of it.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: In Volume 9, Kiseki is held captive by Alchemist, where she and Hyakki Yakou are kept under control by trapping her consciousness in a dream where she's happily married to her brother Takeru. Haunted causes her to break out of the dream by making her remember the suffering she went through and her true wish to destroy everything Takeru holds dear to force him to die with her.
- My Name Is Inigo Montoya: Every volume, Takeru loves to introduce himself as a practitioner of the Kusanagi Double-Edge style during the start of a climatic battle. Seems to be a common trait among users of the Kusanagi styles, with Kanaria and Orochi also displaying that habit.
- New Transfer Student: The cover for both Mari and Lapis, the former though officially transfer in later, though the latter doesn't actually participate much to due her status. Though oddly in the anime adaptation Mari doesn't wear the school's uniform and opts for her own instead; while in the novel she wears it to look the part of a freshmen student.
- No Romantic Resolution: The light novels end without showing Takeru hooking up with anyone. The final epilogue in an extra volume does mention he married someone, but it doesn't name who it was.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: The Mass Production Type Relic Eaters Guillotine receive their magic power from the witches who have been captured and experimented on by the Inquisition.
- Powers via Weapon: Since regular humans can't use magic, inquisitors have Relic Eaters that are magic artifacts in forms of weapons (most of them guns) that grant them a magic Powered Armor to fight against magic users.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The titular The 35th Test Platoon. Led by Book Dumb officer, filled by outcasts.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Pretty much everyone who is in a position of power is perfectly capable of kicking your ass to show why they are in charge; for both the Inquisition and Valhalla.
- Rule of Funny: In order for a tumble to happen, Mari and Ohtori apparently manage to cross half the room while falling over, and Takeru has to have somehow stepped forward offscreen for them to knock him down.
- Sadly Mythtaken: There are some liberties taken with the mythological aspects. But somewhat justified since the world used to be like ours, until it actually collided with that of the Norse Gods.
- School Festival: In the Festival of Fools arc, the Anti-Magic Academy holds the Witch-Hunt Festival where the students get the very rare chance to earn points through sells. However, it's soon revealed there's an Evil Plan by Usagi's abusive fiancé and a witch behind the festival.
- School Swimsuit: Ikaruga puts Mari in a school swimsuit, plus cat ears and tail, for their cosplay cabaret in the School Festival.
- Sexy Santa Dress: Mari and Usagi are forced to wear strapless Santa mini-dresses for their mission early in Volume 5.
- Silver Bullet: In Volume 4, Usagi uses silver bullets specially designed by Ikaruga to kill the witch Mephistopheles that possessed Ouka's body.
- Spin Attack: The Kusanagi Double Edged Style includes some of these:
- Mantis Slope, a technique where the user jumps down from a high place and rotates in the air. It uses the resulting body weight and centrifugal force to give the user power akin to a cannon.
- Single Wheel, a full-rotational sweep that has the user unsheathe and draw the blade from a low angle to slash a full circle in a single motion.
- Spit-Trail Kiss: In Volume 6, a naked Lapis kisses Takeru to show him her memories, leaving behind a strand of saliva when their lips part.
- Spot the Imposter: In Volume 4, Ouka's body is possessed by the phantasmal witch Mephistopheles. Usagi must shoot Mephisto's host to get her out of the body, but Mephisto pretends that she's Ouka and Takeru now is the one possessed to throw Usagi off. When Usagi is having doubts, Takeru tells her to shoot them both to make sure she gets Mephisto. This lets Usagi know Takeru is the real one.
- Suggestive Collision: Happens quite a bit, but almost disappears entirely as the story gets progressively more serious.
- Team Title: The series is named after the 35th Test Platoon, which consists of the main characters.
- Training the Gift of Magic: The reveal of the Magic Academy shows that magic is a trainable art to those who have the gift.
- The Unreveal: We never learn which of the girls married Takeru and gave birth to his child.
- Will-o'-the-Wisp: Mari summons some of these during the battle against Haunted in Volume 2. Mari also charges them with her Aurora magic, but it puts a great strain on her.
- Wizarding School: A Magic Academy exists, in the isolated areas that are incapable of being reached by the inquisition within the Sanctuary. Takeru and Mari are briefly students in one for a volume, before heading back outside.
- World of Action Girls: About every major female character can kick ass. The men like Takeru, Kyouya, Hayato, Haunted, and Orochi are really powerful too, but the females considerably outnumber them.
