Management of a Novice Alchemist is a charming new anime series making its debut in the Fall 2022 anime lineup, having vague elements of both the isekai subgenre and the "cute girls doing cute things" paradigm, all with the alchemist Sarasa Feed leading the way. She may be a teenager and novice alchemist, but she's no pushover. It's really the opposite.

Novice Alchemist sets up Sarasa as a passionate underdog character -- a highly motivated girl who has everything to prove in the big, wide world, but it only took three episodes to realize that Sarasa is pretty OP after all. She's not invincible, but it's also clear that Sarasa can handle most of the expected challenges of this job. Only a few particular obstacles still stand in her way.

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How Sarasa Feed Exceeded All Expectations

Sarasa Ford magic hands

There were hints of Sarasa Feed's borderline OP status in the first episode of Novice Alchemist, such as how Sarasa graduated from an elite school with a high dropout rate and barely broke a sweat. Sarasa also cleverly made a highly advanced potion for her final exam -- one even more complex than what the exam called for. Now, Sarasa keeps acting humble as a novice alchemist who has nothing but a stack of books to her name, but the last few episodes proved otherwise. Not only does Sarasa have strong charisma as a likable new neighbor in this remote town, but she can also easily handle any physical challenge that comes her way. She's already the town's best doctor and swordswoman.

Sarasa learned the ways of the sword from her previous master, and unlike Tanjiro Kamado, she didn't need two years of grueling training to become capable of slaying beasts like magical fire bears or hellflame grizzlies. She can already outperform dedicated fighters such as Iris and Kate -- adventurers who are in their late teens or so -- and she can even outperform fully grown men like Andre in battle. That's astonishing, and there's still more. In Episode 3, when Iris was brought into Sarasa's alchemy shop as a medical patient, Sarasa barely even flinched at the sight of Iris' severed right arm. Instead, she got work despite her nervousness, calmly and efficiently serving as a doctor and patching up Iris' many injuries with ease. It's not just any cash-strapped teenager who can seamlessly reattach someone's arm. Clearly, Sarasa is someone special, and her new employee and friend Lorea thinks so too.

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The Challenges That Sarasa Feed Still Faces

Sarasa in tavern 2

It may seem that Sarasa has already reached the level of skill that a young protagonist like her would spend a whole anime season striving to achieve. If handled wrong, this would turn Sarasa into a stale character who reached a plateau much too soon, but the Novice Alchemist anime still has a few tricks up its sleeve. It's already clear that becoming a great warrior or alchemist is not Sarasa's real goal; she is striving to become a successful business owner, and on that front, Sarasa has plenty of ground to cover.

Any skilled, successful anime protagonist can experience satisfying growth and face many relatable challenges if they focus on the area where they are weakest. Even the most outrageously OP isekai protagonist can become a relatable underdog if they challenge themselves so that their formidable skills can't help them. Even the mighty Rimuru Tempest is like that, being an unbeatable magical warrior who is a rookie when it comes to statecraft, diplomacy and international politics -- a challenge where his combat power means little. The same is true for Sarasa Feed, whose real challenge is all about money, the logistics of running a shop and exploring the wilderness around her. Sarasa's sword skills, advanced potions and new squad of friends are all just tools for this challenge -- the real work still lies ahead.