I honestly would prefer a hard magic system that has the subtlety of a soft magic system. The author should know how the magic system works, yes, but a lot of the intrigue of magic comes from it being mysterious. The more the reader knows about the magic system, the less it feels like magic and the more it feels like science.

I knew the difference between hard and soft but for science-fiction. I guess it applies to magic too. Of course I prefer magic Hard, or to have it some Hardness at least. It makes it easier to make predictions or imagine what may happen and dream.

Oh shit, I forgot. My beloved Dune has a "hard magic" setting. Those books are mostly sci-fi, unline Star Wars, but all that ESP stuff (a more complex version of what the lab kids can do in Akira) is kinda prominent and follows stringent rules.
The "extended cut" fan edits of the 1984 film are pretty respectable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirGc7DRJi0

The Denis Villeneuve adaptation will be legendary, I can already feel it but will it make money...?

Pre 2009 Star Trek (back when it tried to make sense) is a curious case btw. It set fairly hard rules for the sci-fi but the fantasy elements, greek gods for example, just showed up.

Sure you are. He even shot lightning from his fingers.



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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
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