Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

This is a rare anime where it is not heavily Japanese influenced. Overall, the show is an Arabian story but the people just speak only Japanese. It is heavily originated from the One Thousand and One Nights story. But don't expect this anime to be like the book. The plot is around finding a king that unites all the counties under one reign. We follow the adventure of three characters.



Aladdin

He is a Magi, who controls Rukh (life energy) and guides the next king who will unite the countries. Isolated from the world, he later comes out and meets Alibaba. He is a sweet and kind kid who loves big breasts (it's the truth). Though he is a kid, he is also wise and tries to help those who are in unfortunate situations.

Alibaba Saluja

The young boy who is seen as the happy hard worker. At first he seems cunning and greedy, but you get to understand his character as the plot develops. When you watch the series, you may notice that he is mostly confused and goes down the wrong path. But as the main character, he comes back showing good prevails.

Morgiana

The young girl whose actions speak louder than words. Once a slave, she was freed thanks to Alibaba and Aladdin. She is the strongest and knows who to fight, proven to be useful compare to other girl characters. She says few words and shows little emotions, but as the stories progress she becomes brighter.However, she dreams of going home to the land where her people are.

Hakuryuu Ren

The serious boy who was traumatized by a loved one. And surprisingly he is also a cry baby (spoiler). Different compare to his other relatives from the Kou Empire, he is not all about conquest for now. In the plot he is shown to struggling as he tries to be useful and stronger. Also he is interested in one of the characters...

Sinbad

The all powerful man who has conquer 7 dungeons (magic place where you go through trials but in the end rewarded with riches and more). He started his own country where gathers a variety of people. His  rule is being peaceful but will use violence if needed. He is shown to be a great leader with a bad drinking habit.

There are so much more characters than mentioned, and I mean a lot. But these are the characters that appear most often and have a significant part in the plot. You really need to watch this anime to truly appreciate all the characters.

When I first saw this show, I seriously though Aladdin and the Genie (Disney). Boy was I wrong about that. Really this show did not meet my expectation, in a good way.

Though the story is completely different from 1001 Nights, but the manga/anime does take some characters and ideas from the book. It is interesting how the story unfolds while being completely different.  So don't be quickly to drop this anime.


The animation is well done, probably not lacking anything with that. Also its similar to the manga art, so nothing too drastic. Also interesting is the setting, instead of the typical Japan, we see a different world outside. Whether if its China, India, or Fantasy, it is a change from the norm.

The voice actors are ok, nothing really special. All of them seem to match their characters and play the reactions well. However, I do have a problem with Aladdin. It just be me but I really hate how high his voice is right now. I know how young boys have higher voice but still...

The music is ok. Really, there are some music that are kinda of random, like a sudden jazz to band fare. Also the good one can be sometimes be overplayed or just in the wrong scenario. Especially during the climatic scene. I just felt the music was too much during the Balbadd Arc, but maybe it was to bring  up the hype. The opening and endings were decent. However, not a big fan of the endings, but the openings are much better MUCH BETTER.

There are some big differences between the manga and anime. When I mean big, I mean a change in the main plot. However, it was decent, maybe getting a little ahead but bearable. Personally I feel like the manga was better since the plot afterward made more sense. However, the show does have a second season so wait until then.

This anime is well done, just having a second season means something. When you read the manga, it is a definite reader. I especially love the way how the characters grow on their own instead of a large group together. So this would probably be a good anime to watch if you have the free time. However, you may get bored during some of the episodes. Personally, I was not a big fan of the Balbadd arc, but it does have its moments.

This show does touch some sensitive topics like slavery and fate. This show does shed light on slavery being a serious issue. Also show a way slavery starts to the impact it has on society. Wow fate, another topic, is such a big thing in this anime. In the end, should we follow or go against fate. We all have to realize that we cannot change fate. But we do have the choices to make our fate. May sound hypocritically but fate is solely based on your choices.