Square Enix announced on February 20th that an anime adaptation of Arata Shiraishi and Kentarou’s manga Rakudai Kenja no Gakuin Musou: Nidome no Tensei, S-Rank Cheat Majutsushi Boukenroku (From Overshadowed to Overpowered: Second Reincarnation of a Talentless Sage) will air in July 2026. An official website was opened with information about both the staff and cast.
The story is summarized as such:
Ephtal is originally a human from modern Earth. After being reborn in a world where magic is real he attempts to master the art. However, after a lifetime of study Ephtal realizes he lacks any talent and dies burdened with regret. Yet even this is not the end for our hero! Four centuries later, he is again reborn in the same world with magic. He has retained his name, memories, and even the power he managed to accumulate in his last life.
In a twist of fate, this new era is one where magic is in serious decline. Where as Ephtal was an unremarkable failure last time around, he is now one of the most powerful magicians in the world! Can he take advantage of his new circumstances and achieve those dreams which he could not in two previous lives?
Anime studio EMT Squared will produce the series with Hisashi Ishii (Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear) serving as series director. Deko Akao (Komi Can’t Communicate) will handle script composition. Hideki Furukawa will be providing character design.
For the main cast, Shūichirō Umeda (Hikaru Indo in The Summer Hikaru Died) will play Ephtal. Reo Osanai will play main heroine Anastasia. Haruka Shiraishi (Aspira in Golden Kamuy) will voice the magician Merlin.
Arata Shiraishi launched his isekai fantasy series as a light novel on the website Shousetsuka ni Narou in 2018. Kadokawa picked up the series and published it in eight volumes from October 2019 to March 2022. Artist uodenim provided illustrations for the published volumes, which at the time of this article has more than 1.8 million volumes in circulation. Kentarō would begin adapting the series as a manga in September 2019 on Square Enix’s Manga Up! service, with the eight volume released in July 2025.
Are you excited for an anime adaptation of “From Overshadowed to Overpowered”? Leave a comment below!
