Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic Review

This was not on my “to watch list” and the manga was not on my “to read list” any time soon. After seeing countless reviewers and other anime fans bring this up in some way or another. Some did not like it, with a majority rather enjoyed it. So I took a different approach to a show that has already been out and read the manga, which I really enjoyed. After reading and enjoy the manga chapters, which was well over a hundred and it only took about two days to read, I would think that the anime would be just as enjoyable as the manga. Well, was I right?

 

The Plot:

            The story begins as a young boy, Aladdin is traveling on his way. One day he runs into a young man named Alibaba. The two become quick friends and after an occasional mishap they need to whip the debt clean in order to avoid enslavement. To do this they dive into a dungeon, where it is then revealed that Aladdin is a Magi, a person who is meant to train great kings. Their adventures are it if they are together or apart. The story follows there adventures as they soon discover that there is much more going on as well.

 

The Characters:

Aladdin:  Is the Magi, although very young, he is very powerful when it comes to controlling Magoi and magic. Magoi is one thing that exists in everybody. Magi can control it within themselves and others. He is the youngest out of the main characters. At the start of the season he is ten years old, but by the end is around eleven.

 

Alibaba Saluja: He is Aladdin’s friend and King Candidate, the person that Magi train to be great kings. He alsoalready has royal status as the Third Prince of Balbadd Kingdom.  His djinn, is Amon a fire djinn, which he can then create a black sword of fire.

 

 

Morgiana: She was a former slave that Aladdin and Alibaba saved. She is of the Finalis Tribe of the Dark Continent (finalis has several different spellings and is different depending on the source for the name). Being of that tribe her hair and eyes are red (at least in the manga, the anime they are lighter and more pinkish) as well as being very strong compared to most people, this is more in the legs. She starts out a little quite, but when she is needed she can be very demanding and kind at times. She is very grateful to Aladdin and Alibaba for rescuing her and constantly wants to prove her worth to them.

 

Hakuryuu Ren: For starters although he arrives in the final quarter of the season, he is a main character later on in the series since his appearance. He is another King Candidate for Aladdin and is part of the Kou Empire. He has the djinn Zagan, which can heal wounds.

 

Everything Else:

            As I mentioned I read the manga for the series before actually watching it. I have only done this for a few series however this is for one that already aired, so it is a first. All the other times the anime was announced or before the anime was even announced. Going in I knew what was going to happen and knew what would happen at this point. At times when they made small changes it made things interesting. These were small and the reason they were not in the manga at the time was due to the knowledge not being known or the creator had not created it yet. This stuff would only be known if you read the manga beforehand, and in no way effects the series as a whole. At the same time there was the event that lead to the dungeon capturing at the end of the season the reason for going was a lot different compared to the manga, this was to give a way to cover the two arcs so the story would not remain unfinished if it was not to get another season as well as make it more of a grand scale battle like, instead of what it really was in the manga.

The music is one thing that I enjoy the background music is what I am trying to say. It is nice to get something different each time, unlike some series where it is just the opening or the same tune over and over. This is different with the music changing each time. There are not many series that I can remember when thinking about the background music at times, some are easily noticeable, while others you need to focus on to tell if there is a difference.

 

Good and Bad Points:

+ Sinbad’s first appearance was done well in the anime and stuck to how it was portrayed in the manga

– The Balbadd Arc is very long and can get boring

+ The Balbadd Arc introduces a lot of key information and characters

+ How magic is explained is different compared to most fantasy series in general

? Sinbad can steal the show sometimes (not really sure if that is a good or bad thing)

+ Jadar is a good foil to Aladdin

+ The characters age, six months passed before Balbadd arc and then six month passed after Balbadd arc

 

Final Score: 90/100

This is under the fantasy series, and this score was taken from the fact that the Blabadd arc although long, and at times a little boring, it did introduce a lot into the story that makes up for it. If you like fantasy based series and have not checked this series out, then give the first few episodes a try.

 

The series is licensed by Aniplex of America. It is free to streamed sub on Crunchyroll and dub on Hulu. I will be doing the second season for review sometime next month, as I finished reading the manga that the second season covers.

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