Anime Recall: Magi

Common Name: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic / Magi: The Kingdom of Magic

Score: 8/10, 5/5

Length: 2 Seasons of 25 Episodes

Genre: Action, Comedy, Adventure, Shounen, Super Powers

Summary: Scattered across the world, magical labyrinths build by the ancient and mysterious Magi are said to grant great power and wealth to the one who can brave the labyrinth's trials and win the favor of its guardian Djinn. Isolated from the world for a time, the young mage Aladdin has set out to see the world with his guardian Djinn, Ugo. Looked down on by the rest of his town, Alibaba Saluja has sworn that he will one day conquer the labyrinth in his town and become a great kind. One of the last remaining members of her tribe of inhumanly strong people, the slave Morgiana holds little hope that she will ever truly be free. Lastly, the forsaken prince of a great and powerful magical kingdom bent on world domination, Ren Hakuryuu, has sworn that he will one day take vengeance on his family and lead his country in the right direction. Perhaps the Magi's ancient labyrinths will hold the keys to granting the wishes of these youth, or perhaps they will learn that they possess a fate far greater than their personal wants.

Review: Y'know, I joked earlier that my nits to pick with various shows might just excuses to dislike a show that I just didn't jive with me. In Tide-Line Blue I said the story of the show was ruined by its whiny characters and a pointless obsession with "the hero's journey" plotline. In Jubei-chan I similarly complained about how the use of name drops without good reason is just lazy character writing. So, why is it that when I watched a shounen adventure battle anime that features those very issues I didn't really have a problem with it? Sure, those are still nits to pick when it comes to Magi, but they don't feel nearly as offensive with this show. I wonder why.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot that was just because I had bigger fish to fry

when it came to this show being offensive.

While I'll admit to liking it here and now, I'll also say that this definitely isn't a show for everyone. I will judge no one for turning away from this anime in the first couple episodes because it definitely has some issues. Apparently, I just have a high tolerance for ten-year-old boys fondling women and watching bedazzled djinn boobs bouncing around without a care in the world. Either that or I was simply willing to look past these kinds of senseless moments of titillation for the sake of marveling at the magic and wonder that is rife in this show. Despite having a myriad of nits to pick with Magi, it did a great job building on a world that incorporated Arabic, Chinese, and even European and Greek magical themes toward the second season. While the details of how magic in this world worked and what Aladdin's connection to the djinns had to do with it all are very slim, it offered enough for the concept to be engaging, if not believable.

Granted, most of that magical rapture is centered on the enigmatic, magical generator named Aladdin.

A good portion of what made the show engaging though was the manner in which it told its story. Namely, we're given a few episodes at the start to introduce the main characters of the show: the mage Aladdin, the underdog hero Alibaba, and the slave Morgiana. In these first couple episodes, we learn who they are, what they're all about, and then get some solid development for them as the plot moves ever onward. Then, all of a sudden, they all go their separate ways to continue on their various quests until they are given the opportunity to run into each other as friends once again or misguided enemies if they fell prey to the wrong side's propaganda. After this point, the trio mostly stick together because they feel bound together by both fate, friendship, and maybe a few other emotions too. All while this goes on, however, the plot also takes moments to catch us up on what all the other big factions in this world are up to. Most notably, we are drawn to the strife between Sinbad's nation of magical misfits and the Kou Empire which is bent on domination for some reason. While that might sound like a lot to keep track of, particularly in the second season which adds a few more factions to keep track of, managing all these characters is actually fairly easy since they are all visually distinct but similar in some cases to show the connections some of these characters share.

At the end of the day, though, the only characters that really matter are

these three goofballs since it is their story after all.

While these zany and lovable characters are engaging in their own right, I will say this show had a stroke of genius in its decision to make their stories connected but distinct, like three different colored strings woven together. I say this is genius because, had Magi focused on only one character for a long period of time, the show would have likely grown dull and predictable since each story follows a very similar arc. To put it another way, all of these stories, varied though they might be, can be boiled down to various twists on the typical hero's journey story. For example, despite having an enigmatic past, Aladdin's story is almost that rising and falling action storyline told verbatim. We start off with a kid who is functionally a nobody with a neat gimmick that lands him in the company of other people on some greater personal journey. Along the way, he grows through both hardship and loss--namely the loss of his magical tutor and guardian. Determined to live up to the expectations of his mentor and those around him, he continues to grow until he can be called a hero. Alibaba's story is almost identical in that regard but his story is both interrupted and influenced by the life he led before meeting Aladdin. This little twist on the story makes his story a far more personal tale that will only make him grow even stronger as time goes on. Lastly, Morgiana's story is almost identical to the shape of most female hero stories seen today (think Hunger Games, Divergent, and Graceling). Full of personal conflict and indecision, Morgiana's story is about her finding strength and confidence in who she is by staving off the demons of her past and those within her while also finding a love she will happily devote herself to. The story of Ren Hakuryuu, on the other hand, is presented as being similar but ultimately separate from their own, thus removing him from the trio. While his story is also one of growth, like the main trio's, his doesn't serve as a benefit for himself and others. So, rather than being a hero's journey story, his slowly changes into a story of vengeance or even what could be called an "anti-hero's journey."

Let's just say it's the kind of story that should be vaguely familiar

to some and that it doesn't go well for anybody.

While there is a vast range of other characters to latch onto and focus on as this show goes on, it is ultimately their story. It's a story full of joy and pain in equal measure as well as one about royalty, inheritance, and the magic that keeps this whole world chugging. It's honestly a lot of fun and fascinating to think about; too bad we're never going to get the answers we want from this show. Just as the second season started to pay on the foreshadowing checks it was writing early on, the show just kinda ends with jack shit resolved. If memory serves correctly, it actually ended IN THE MIDDLE OF A MASSIVE BATTLE once the trio was reunited once more and showed off how strong they'd all gotten during their separation. As much as I'd like to hold out hope that the anime will one day continue, the spin-off about Sinbad's youth kinda killed what little hope I had left. Still, I'll admit agian that I liked this series. It was fun, action-packed, quirky, and gave me a look at a magical world vastly different from anything I've seen up to this point. I might have a million nits to pick and a resigned understanding that a lot of people will likely avoid this show for good reason, but I'll still give it a half-hearted recommendation. Who knows, I might actually pick up the manga now that I've been reminded how this show entertain

#Review #Recall #action #Comedy #Adventure #Shounen #SuperPowers