Ranked #45

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (Manga)

*Note*: I watched the first season of Magi before I got into the manga. While the anime is very good, aside from the Balbadd arc, it is very different and much more rushed than the manga. I highly recommend both, but the manga is definitely the one I prefer.

Magi Labyrinth of Magic is something unique in the popular long-running shounen manga category alongside such renowned works like One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and Fairy Tail. I may not be the best person to compare Magi to those works, but I must say that from what I know about all of them, none of them come anywhere near being as intellectual as Magi is. Despite not being a psychological manga, Magi still manages to look at what is right or wrong and what is good or evil through a historical perspective. In my mind it stands alongside psychological manga and anime such as Death Note, Shinsekai Yori, and Shiki by asking the real important questions about humans and society. This is not a story about who can beat the shit out of who by becoming the strongest in the world. It uses social issues from human history such as discrimination, slavery, monarchy vs. republicanism, and many more topics. At around 180 chapters, this manga does not have a clear end in sight, but it sure as hell knew what it was trying to accomplish right the first few chapters even before the central conflict was ever mentioned.

Story – 10/10

Wait, this is a shounen/action manga with no end in sight, how can it earn a 10/10 for story? Magi is all about the story. Characters come together from all across the known world (and even farther) to join together in this ever-growing tale. Characters who seem to be just be there for filler end up serving a purpose and even show up later (the trio of thieves in the Balbadd arc for example).
The story of Magi begins with Aladdin, who is a Magi which is a human who can draw in the Rukh (the energy that creates everything in the world) from around him and use it as magic. Normal humans can only use the rukh from within themselves to use whatever powers they have (magic, the power of metal vessels given to them by Djinns, etc.). Aladdin meets a boy, Alibaba, who is working for an oppressive boss. Alibaba dreams of one day being able to capture a dungeon (these mysterious “buildings” that began appearing in random places all over the world a little over a decade ago) and becoming rich. But Alibaba does not want to be rich just to become rich unlike most of the people who are wealthy and greedy. He has personal reason that I won’t give away involving his home country and his childhood friend. At first Alibaba just wants to use Aladdin’s amazing Magi powers to achieve his goal, but, along with the Fanalis (red-pink haired people with incredible physical strength) Morgiana who was a slave that the two of them helped free from her sadistic master, they eventually become friends and agree to travel the world together (yeah that plan still hasn’t really happened because of a lot of stuff that gets in the way). But that stuff that gets in the way is all very interesting and is really what the story is all about: how the main characters Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana and eventually the prince Ren Hakuryuu, come together with everyone they meet in order to protect this world that is being threatened by a mysterious group known as Al-Tharmen. Al-Tharmen is causing chaos all around the world by influencing people and helping struggling countries either by offering them weapons, money, power, or all of the above.
From there, the world unfolds and the great story that Magi has only just begun becomes a fantastic tale of rebellion, magic, war, and friendship (well it is a shounen/action manga of course it has friendship as a strong aspect).

Art – 10/10

One great thing about Magi is the emotions, whether comedic or dark. I really love the way the art portrays the characters during the humorous scenes (they get scarcer and scarcer as the story progresses though if you’re looking for a lot of comedy then try Fairy Tail not Magi). This manga (as well as the anime) really do an amazing job with the darker aspects of this story, and trust me there are a lot. This manga is actually pretty gruesome at times (Morgiana can kick straight through huge mutant animals and come out the other side). This manga has plenty of blood and the author is not afraid to show it all. The action scenes are also very well done, but of course with any action manga suffer a little in ways that the anime can portray a bit better. Still it’s not a problem at all and I am definitely not saying they are poorly drawn by any means. Most characters (especially Aladdin, Judal, Cassim, Jafar, etc.) have really great and unique characters designs. Some characters look a little similar, but mostly just because of the lack of color. The only ones I can think of (like Sinbad and Mu Alexius) have not actually appeared together so far so it does not pose a problem.

Characters – 10/10

Alibaba, Jafar, and Aladdin are my personal favorites so far, but the character cast keeps expanding and amazing characters and added into the story. At 182 chapters, Magi does have a damn large character cast. One thing this manga does well is not focusing too much on the main quartet. In fact, only a couple arcs have even had all four main characters (Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu) all together. In most arcs they go their separate ways and it is their interactions with the people they meet they is really important. Do not expect Alibaba or Aladdin to be like Luffy or Natsu and just steal the show and defeat the main villain in each arc, because that’s not how this manga goes. It’s a joint effort from everyone that wins. The minor characters in this manga are great: Sinbad and his eight generals (Jafar is in them and I love how he keeps Sinbad, one of the most overpowered people in the world, in check and actually scares Sinbad), the Ren family (aside from Hakuryuu there are several other extremely powerful men and women who have all captured dungeons), and the people of the many other nations like Reim (obviously based off the Roman empire), Mognastadt, Balbadd, etc. This manga gives an equal amount of time to all of the minor characters whether they are recurring or not, allowing you to connect with all of the interesting and unique characters that this story has in its vast world.

Enjoyment – 10/10

This manga is just amazing. It’s amazing to me how it can deviate from the usual shounen/action genre and become so intellectual (it’s not deviating to the point where it becomes something like Evangelion in the mecha genre but still…). All of the characters are intelligent and unique, and the art allows the deep emotions they are feeling through loss and despair, as well as happiness and success to be shown to their fullest. Magi the Labyrinth of Magic is something I recommend to anyone who enjoys intelligent manga about society or anyone who enjoys shounen/action manga as I don’t think most people from either group will be disappointed. If you like things like Fairy Tail, One Piece, or Blue Exorcist or if you enjoy things like Shiki, Code Geass, or Shinsekai Yori, then I fully recommend Magi to you, and you may want to check out the anime as well. read more

When I first read Magi, I assumed from the cover that it was of a cute little boy doing cute things, something to read to pass the time between weekly updates of other manga. However, Magi has been a charming surprise with the depth of its storyline and the efforts it puts into its setting. While it is, to some extent, a manga of a cute little boy doing cute things, Magi ambitiously tries to reach out on social issues such as politics and slavery while maintaining some humanity on every side of the issue.

=Story (9)=

Magi begins as an episodic story of the individuals affected or touched by Aladdin, an enigmatic child with a headless djinn/genie and an omnipresent childlike innocence. Yet author Ohtaka Shinobu's ambitiously aims to weave the characters of these short stories together on a setting that ranges from the Middle Eastern Coast of what is clearly an allegory of the Roman Empire to Arabia, the Central Asian Steppe and as far East as the Chinese Kou/Huang empire. Characters present in each story remain present, returning to later relevance far later into the story. The main focus of the story, though, is on Aladdin and Ali Baba, a boy who starts out as a low-ranked merchant but slowly discovers his potential as Aladdin's candidate for the Heir to King Solomon. Based loosely on the Thousand and One Arabian Nights, Magi's story is primarily based in Arabia and Persia, but explores locales such as Balbadd (an allegory for India), the nomads of Central Asia and hints to later inroads into Africa and the Chinese Huang Empire, exploring issues such as imperialism, internal politics, economics and slavery. The strange thing about Magi is that many of the issues are not in fact resolved through fighting. Though many of the plot resolutions can be shounen-esque, there have only been one or two truly Shounen fight scenes, with many conflicts resolved through politics, mediation or economics, all of which play a role in the many nations of the continent. Plot strings seemingly left behind are in fact picked up later, and Magi's narrative flows smoothly and logically while providing an ample amount of humor. If there were any problem to the story, it would be simply that the mangaka seems to be either too afraid or unwilling to sometimes let go of characters, even when their death would be expedient for the plot. Overall, Magi's plot, while stereotypical in one or two instances, is gently surprising and shows a shounen manga that nevertheless does not always try to resolve every insurmountable problem with hot bloodedness and fighting.

=Art (10)=

Magi's artwork comes off as deceptively cute on the onset. The characters are drawn gently in a style that comes closer to that of a slice of life manga than an anime that seeks to confront serious issues. Yet Mangaka Shinobu has demonstrated the ability to draw out a darker tone while preserving the overall artistic integrity of the text. While Aladdin always retains his usual adorableness, the increasing grimness of characters such as Ali Baba serve to show not only their increasing maturity but also the results of the crises that they have been forced to confront. Magi's Art is endearing and charming when it wants to, but serious and grim when it needs to.

=Characters (10)=

Based loosely on tales from A Thousand and One Arabian Nights, the characters of Magi are, while outwardly similar, quite different in execution. Aladdin, the cherubic "magi," comes off not as either the confused boy of the original narrative or the mildly immature man-boy of the Disney adaptation, but a talented boy whose initial lack of skill never affects his immovable faith in the goodness of humanity. Ali Baba, meanwhile, changes from a greedy boy who exploits Aladdin for his gifts to a tortured individual both haunted by the past he has left behind and inspired to improve the futures of those around him. Other characters, such as legendary hero Sinbad, stick slightly closer to their original counterparts, with Sinbad's tendency to lose whatever he gained in his last adventure sometime before his next illustrated in a comedic light. Author Ohtaka, however, bolsters her story with a host of original characters, all of which have their pasts and motivations, from Balbaddian street urchin (and Ali Baba's childhood friend) Kassim to the two aesthetically similar but ideologically divergent princesses (the highborn, idealistic pacifist Hakuei and the politically unsteady and pragmatic Kougyoku) of the Huang Empire. Furthermore, the mangaka makes an effort to humanize even those who are clearly in the wrong, keeping them from simply becoming caricatures--a slave trader is revealed to once have been a slave him/herself (I really couldn't tell); a cruel master whose innocence was once subverted by his master; the Dual Salujas, kings of the oppressed citizenry of Balbadd. Each individual in Magi's narrative comes off as their own character, with stories that the average reader can sympathize with, even a little bit.

=Enjoyment and Overall=

I was absolutely surprised by the depth of Magi's narrative and characters and liked it immensely. After reading realistic seinin manga full of grimdark suffering and gore and reading idealistic shounen stories of hotblooded (but improbable) problem resolutions, Magi's idealistic tone but realistic mindset was a welcome alternative that really allowed me to keep smiling from chapter to chapter. I do not often rate 10s for enjoyment, but Magi definitely deserves this praise. An underrated manga that is willing to confront real issues without giving up its optimism. read more

This is my 2nd review and grammar nazi are not welcome here bye bye. I first looked into Magi when it was recommended by a friend and i thought at the beggining was is this but after a few manga chapters i was amazed by the depth of the characters, emotions and compelling story.
Story:9
the first chapters are kinda surprising because we are introduced to this world where slavery is a common thing. it also taught us a lot about the cruelty of humans toward this slaves but then the story becomes so much more and begins taking big depths. the manga is very original. The One Thousand and One Arabian Nights are a unique source of inspiration and, as such, Magi brings forth new ideas to the table. These ideas include the types of magic used, new ways of fighting, and unique creatures
Art:9
The art in the manga often takes advantage of the good and evil conflict by using contract between black and white. This theme is prevalent throughout the manga. The excellent use of shading to relay emotion contracts the lack of detail that is, unfortunately, common in the artwork. I have often seen half drawn characters in the background, some have arms in strange, unnatural positions while others are simply missing an arm but its still easy to forget and it isn't that noticeable.
Character:10
This is where Magi shined for me in the great characters that it has. first we have Aladdin a cheerful main character that at some times can also be a super awesome badass. then Alibaba a boy with a dark past who can be weak but can also be strong at first a coward then a person with a brave heart also filled with royal blood. Then we have Morgiana the only badass tsundere that i've actually liked a character that is pretty original and can kick some serious ass you'll always be happy when shes shown in the manga and shes not the tipical tsundere trust me. the antagonist fits the role perfectly. The other characters are quite good and the other girls in the story are badasses and quite awesome.
Overall
Ill give magi a perfect 10 one of my favorite manga of alltime. Read it i promise you wont be dissapointed. Its probably one of the most underatted series out there you could also check out the anime but it has skipped some parts so i reccomend more the manga. pardon me for my bad english if i spelled some thing wrong.
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So reading about this manga i thought Aladdin, that dude that grants wishes right? So i thought it would be somethings along the lines of that type of story. Boy was i wrong. I decided to give it a try cause the anime was coming out soon and everyone said to read it. And let me tell you i am so glad i did.

Story:9
I'm not gonna explain what the story's about (you can go on wiki for that) but i will comment on it. First of all i love the story, at first it sounds like a lot of other manga and anime around but it really isn't! It turns out way different and I've never read another anime like it. I wont give it a 10 cause its not perfect but its pretty darn close to it.

Art:9
I don't care what anyone says, i find the art adorable. Its drawn in a great way that shows emotion on all the characters so well, chibi's are even added in at time which for me makes it all the more lovable. The settings are also drawn amazingly with it done great for the time period they are in.

Character:9
I love all of the characters i really do. But i wont give it a ten because sometimes i feel they don't get much development. The main characters all get fantastic character development. But i find the side characters are always the same and never seem change for better or worse.

Enjoyment:10
I enjoyed this manga so much, its one of the manga i enjoy most in the world. Whenever i finish the newest chapter i always find myself wishing for more and waiting for it to come out as soon as it can.

Overall:9
It is my favorite manga but i know its not perfect so i give it a 9.

Now if you haven't read it GO NOW! If you don't like it you can always drop it right? So you've got nothing to lose i recommend everyone to try it (its got something for everyone.) read more

This is my first review ever, so don't expect something big. Oh well, let's go...

"The mysteries hidden in the unknown world, uncountable, meetings and partings, the ultimate treasure that grants one's every wish..."
You can find this quote in almost every book about 'Aladdin and the Magic Lamp' or 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. Magi - Labyrinth of Magic is just another story about hidden treasures, but it's not just ordinary tale. The thing that fascinates me the most in this manga is that the mangaka mixed up popular characters from popular tales - Aladdin, Alibaba, even Sinbad and Ja'far.


Story - 8/10
The only reason why I didn't give 9/10 to this series, is because if the cliche story. "A pure hearted little boy travels around the country, gathers friends and together they'll find the greatest treasure in the world" Familiar...?

Art - 7/10
As expected from Ohtaka Shinobu (Sumomomo Momomo). The art is okay, but I wouldn't mind if she make it a little more shounen-is, after all this is adventure manga. The art would be fine if the manga was romance one...

Characters - 7/10
A carefree main character, a thief and a slave. Good, but not enough...

Enjoyment - 8/10
Something is special about this series to me... It may be a cliche, or whatever, but I'm not going not drop it soon. I wouldn't mind if this manga gets an anime adaptation.


Overall - 8/10
Read it. Now. Go! read more

The first time I saw this manga, I was like; wut? 1001 nights theme? Aladdin and Alibaba combined? Looks interesting. And I started reading it. The story began with Aladdin, a young boy that traveled across the desert to find a 'metal vessel' for his 'friend'. In his journey, he met many friends and learned about his fate as a Magi.

Story: 8
The couple of chapter in the beginning made me laugh, and stunned. It taught us about the meaning of human rights and slavery in the country. The Baldadd arc made us saw the government from the eyes of the slums. It'll make you pity the poor people and how they struggle from their current economic problem and fought the royalty, to the point of risking their own life. The reason I gave it 8 was because the story is a bit out of the first plot and sometimes the plot ran too fast.

Art: 9
I totally adore the art. It’s really cute, for a shonen manga. The details for the backgrounds are also stunning, and it’s not rare that there are a whole page displaying the view of a city or a dungeon that filled with details and stuffs. Ohtaka Shinobu-sensei (Sumomomo, momomo) also able to make the characters from super cute, too the beyond ugly figure. The expressions of the character are also hilarious, and the clothing of the character matched the theme very well.

Character: 10
Because hard-boiled main character is too mainstream. Ohtaka-sensei made the main character (Aladdin) a cute little boy that can be ridiculous, yet being a gentleman at the same time. Alibaba, being Aladdins first friend, is a man with a dark background, yet can still being cheerful at all time. He’s not the type of a strong man, and yes, he could be really weak. But there are also time where he can be helpful and strong. Morgiana, the manliest girl from the entire series, is a total badass with a poker face. She’s really strong and not the type of clingy, tsundere, and all-talk girl like a typical shonen manga heroine. The other characters had their own unique personality, the antagonists can be a real jerk and fits the role. The girls are badass, and not the weak type princessess who always seeking for help.

Overall, I’ll give Magi a 9 out of 10 for being epic. It’s a really worthy manga to read and you wont dissapointed. Go read it eventhough the chapters are keeping up. Or go watch the anime. Last, I’m sorry if my English is bad.
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Magi is my favorite manga. Why? It's all written here.

Story - 10
A young boy, Aladdin, referred to 'Magi' by the villagers, is setting off in an adventure to find out about himself. Along with Ugo, a djinn he once found and his friends, he travels around the deserts and villages. He must bypass thieves, knights, lords and oh, so evil kings.

Art 9
Simple, good. The effects may need extra detail but all good!

Character 10
Now Aladdin is not your ordinary, wanting to know who he is, depressed boy - He is a happy youngster enjoying his adventures with his friends. No matter the danger, Aladdin will be there for you even if you just lost a coin! He is there to make others happy and under peace. I'm sure everyone would like him.

Other characters such as Ali-Baba, Judal, etc. I may do another time. I'll make sure to update and make a best description w/out spoilers.

Enjoyment 10
Final thoughts - This is a magical adventure for everyone to enjoy! Though if you intend to rush, go for the (ongoing from Oct 2012) anime. Still good either way!
Will Aladdin know himself? Will he make everyone and his "family" happy for a lifetime? Let's set off!

Overall 10/10 read more

Magi, First Impressions,

I really think the idea being in the desert is very unique and the story about some treasure seems pretty interesting. I think it is funny through how the names of the main characters are ones of famous people like Aladdin and Alibaba from Alibaba and the 40 thieves, look him up, he's real.

Story - 9 Great:
I like the story so far and I think it is very funny how at first Alibaba turns Aladdin into his slave at first, but as he sees how useful this kid is he decides to become friends with him to go in search of some treasure.

Art - 9 Great:
I like the art, it feels like I am reading an anime, but I don't like the people with overly exaggererated body proportions like that fat rich guy had. It just doesn't appeal to me unless everybody is a little off then I consider it normal.

Character - 9 Great:
They feel like an older brother little brother relationship kind of like Kamina and Simon from Gurren Lagann. I think they are funny and Aladdin's friend is a little weird but I am expecting a very interesting character from him. Other than that I don't know of any enemies of girls yet.

Enjoyment 7 Good:
Okay, so as you saw I thought this manga was interesting, but it has yet to make me enjoy it at first glance, so I will be reading on waiting for it to impress, I have high expectations for it.

Overall 9 Great:
Can't wait to read on and dive into this one. I love the idea of this and it will be exciting to see where this one goes. read more

I don't generally look for manga to read, and again with this one I only became aware of it due to its anime. Being the impatient guy that I am once I saw it, it took me a couple of days to read through all 160 releases. And I say it's a time well spent.

Magi begins as a cute series that tells us the story of Aladdin a magi who doesn't know anything about himself as he travels the world to discover the world and himself. His only companion a musclebound djinn who doesn't have a head and lives in his flute.

At first the episodic looking series slowly begins to show us an overreaching arc, as we see that there is more to magi, djinn and rukh. Though the series a shonen manga through and through doesn't shy away from the fact that the Magi world has its fare of darkness. With its amazing character depth and development I need to say that the anime could easily reach the level of Fairy Tail or One Piece if done right. And so far it seems to be going in that road.

If you have the time and want to have a good time, this series is for you. Especially if you're into mystical stuff. read more

I always saw this being updated quite often but had no intentions to read it until recently, what an idiot I am for not checking it out sooner.

Welcome to Magi!
We follow the adventures of Aladdin who's quest is find out who he really is and what his goal in life is about, it's that simple.... plus the dungeons that appear round the world that hold huge amount of treasure, magic, djinns, action, polictics, slavery etc etc.

Throughout the series Aladdin comes across other characters that soon become major players in the series as well, like Alibaba and Morgianna. The world is very rich in detail where we start off in the deserts, then towards more greener highlands, tropical islands and magical kingdoms.

The characters are very likeable and unique to boot, where you have the shy and quiet Morgianna who's stronger then 5 goriallas, to Alibaba who loves women but always manages to fail. Their development is shown throughout the series while facing their murky pasts to become stronger physically and mentally, and it's done very well.

Artwork is your standard but very rich, especially the colour pages or spreads.

It took me a few chapters to get into it at the start, but when I got into the first dungeon and the story unfolded, that when I was hooked and kept reading like a small pebble rolling down a mountain to finally become a huge boulder. Right now I'm like a blood hound waiting for the next chapter, it's that good!

9/10 Lackluster for the first few chapters but after that it's down the yellow brick road.

Note: Currently there's 159 chapters released but only 153 chapters have been translated, so there's usually a new chapter out everyday until it catches up.

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