Tokyo, Japan – Manga Up! Global, Square Enix’s international manga app, has announced the addition of Sōta Takahata’s manga adaptation of Ezogingitune’s light novel series, Cast-off Magic Tool Researcher is Actually an S-rank Mage (Hisentōshoku no Madōgu Kenkyūin, Jitsuwa Kikakugai no S-Rank Madōshi), to its platform. The new series became available to readers on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
New Series Details: An Underestimated Genius’s Isekai Journey
Cast-off Magic Tool Researcher is Actually an S-rank Mage introduces Werner, a brilliant and dedicated magic tool researcher at the Sage’s Academy, the Empire’s premier institution. Despite his invaluable contributions, Werner is unjustly expelled by a jealous chancellor seeking to monopolize his inventions. However, the Academy quickly falters without his unparalleled expertise, as Werner’s theories prove too advanced for anyone else to comprehend.
The story follows Werner as he navigates his new circumstances, attracting attention from various powerful figures, including a dragon maiden and a princess. Armed with formidable spells and magic tools, Werner aims for a relaxed life of research, surrounded by apprentices.
The manga is based on the light novel series by Ezogingitune, known for works such as I Became a Legend After My 10 Year-Long Last Stand and The Strongest Wizard Becomes a Countryside Guard After Taking an Arrow to the Knee! Zenji Yotsuya is credited with the story composition, while Sōta Takahata handles the manga’s artwork. The first compiled volume of the manga was released in Japan in September 2024, with the second volume slated for September 5, 2025. The series falls under the genres of Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Isekai, and Slice of Life.
Manga Up! Global: A Growing Digital Platform
Manga Up! Global, launched by Square Enix in July 2022, serves as the international version of its Japanese manga app, which debuted in 2017. The platform was created to meet the increasing global demand for online entertainment content and provides readers with faster access to English translations of popular ongoing series, often with simultaneous releases alongside their Japanese counterparts.
The app offers a vast library of titles, including over 200 series across various genres such as romance, dark fantasy, and more. Notable titles available on Manga Up! Global include The Apothecary Diaries, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, Vermeil in Gold, and A Dating Sim of Life or Death. In April 2024, Manga Up! also introduced “Vault Pass,” a subscription service offering unlimited reading for a majority of its catalog, marking a shift from its previous chapter-by-chapter digital currency model.
The platform is accessible on iOS and Android mobile devices, and in December 2024, Square Enix launched a web version of Manga Up! Global, allowing users to access the entire catalog directly from their web browsers after creating an account on the mobile app. This expansion aims to provide greater flexibility for manga enthusiasts worldwide.
