Magi: Kingdom of Magic is sequel of its predecessor Magi: Labyrinth of Magic based off the manga of the same name. It’s important to note that the series is a direct sequel hence watching the first season is imperative to get an understanding and appreciation. The first season concentrated its style on adventures, politics, and personal intuitions. This season instead focuses on discovery with our main characters as they go on separate journeys of development while major conflicts that developed from its backgrounds erupts and escalates into warfare.
Discovery is only a simple word to describe Magi but it focuses on that aspect centering our main protagonist, Aladdin. As young as he is, Aladdin is a kind boy with full of potential. He is a Magi, a character of great power that is known to “shape the world". For Aladdin, he is still young and trying to climb the ladder to adolescence. His first steps involves going to the kingdom of magic known as Magnostadt. From there, he learns about the true essence of magic. Through training, he discovers exactly what is a Magi and its purpose. At the same time, Aladdin earns the respect of his friends, classmates, and instructors. Among these new characters are Titus Alexius, a bishounen with great potential and his roommate Sphintus. The sequel focuses on their relationships from rivals to great friends. They also discover secrets that can change the world they know forever. At the same time, it’s surprising that watching this anime almost feel like you’re a kid again. Aladdin is studying at a magical academy where he learns magic. Although vastly different from what you may have learned during your school years, the effort that Aladdin puts through can be admirable. His die-heard attitude to not give up and become a stronger person sets a great example for a character. At the same time, people wants to see Aladdin succeed. They want to see him make a difference. Magi or not, Aladdin is a boy that has influenced others for the better and that’s appreciable on many scales.
Of course, Magi isn’t just about magic or Aladdin. We also can’t forget about Aladdin’s best friend Alibaba, Morgania, or Hakuyuu. The four are like the ingredients of a dish and even leaving one of them out will change the flavor. In this sequel, they go their separate ways in what is known as the “World Exploration arc” that chronicles their discoveries. Alibaba improves his own skills through training and becomes something he always dreamed of. Similar to Aladdin, he earns the respect of his peers as he shows the world who he is. On the other hand, the journey that Morgania and Hakuyuu feels a bit different that doesn’t necessarily follow the ‘growing up’ theme. Instead, they find out about both truth and horrors. Hakuyuu also goes through a drastic change that can leave some sour taste in our characters’ mouths.
Similar the style of most shounen, Magi divides its story into arcs. The first arc in fact feels like the adventurous stories that the audience might be more used to. After all, Magi always felt like a classic with its Arabian Nights Days setting. The story arcs often incorporates a variety of feelings to not just describe but show how the world of Magi is like. Our main characters discover how their world functions after various encounters with adversaries and obstacles. It challenges not only physically but mentally as they realize some grim truths to their world. This shouldn’t be surprising however. Magi always liked to dance around the concept of world building. Take the kingdom of Magnostadt as an example. Its cities is colored with details and magic on the outside but also holds dark secrets in the inside. The sequel adapts a format for the characters to explore kingdoms with their previous experience while writing new chapters to their lives.
As much as adventurous Magi can be, there are also mysteries relating to the whole term itself. Exactly, what is a “Magi”? What is their purpose? Why do they exist? Some of these questions will be explored in depth with focus on not just Aladdin but also other characters. Meanwhile, the audience will also learn about some grim histories relating to our main characters’ past. It’s definitely not something pleasant nor forgettable. Later events also leads to greater struggles between nations as the world of Magi become a battlefield twisted by egos and ideologies. Despite the series takes place in a fantasy setting, there’s also some themes that explores identities and more of the human nature. Discrimination becomes one such theme as Aladdin learns about the dark secrets of Magnostadt and the stories of Fanalis.
Although Magi can be wistful and classic as it sounds, the show sometimes doesn’t take itself seriously. The comedy on most parts is presented well matching the moods while other times feel forced and gets in the way. Thankfully, there isn’t too much fan service that are distracting. Rather, they are usually replaced by humorous dialogues, expressions, and moments where we can’t help but laugh. This could serve as a double edged sword in some cases as the comedy might not suit for everyone’s tastes. Furthermore, some of the dialogues lacks any real feelings and at times feels dragged. Magi does however introduces more focuses on romance. It’s unusual for this series but it occurs early on that may take viewers by surprise. Unfortunately, the romance aspect feels abrupt and lacks any depth because for what it is, there just seems to be a lack of connection. Also for its worth, a few episodes of the story arcs doesn’t fit well together or feel predictable and dragged. The first arc doesn’t feel very attractive or unique in any aspect with its more oceanic setting. Some supporting characters also just seems to be there rather than being main players of the story. Prominent characters introduced previously from season 1 such as Judal and Sinbad also gets lesser role in this sequel that may make fans feel disappointed. There is also hidden maturity themes such as incest subtext and childhood scenes where we might not want to remember for what it is.
Once again, A-1 Pictures handles the visual production. There’s the fun atmosphere with the artwork and accurately depicts the way a magical kingdom should be as. However, the character designs’ face expression at times lacks excitement. Some of it comes off as blend humor. Other times, it seems forceful with the mood. The action scenes on most standards is decent and matches well in coordination to the battle sequences. Most of the character designs also reflects its Arabian theme well. All of them have their own distinctive features whether it’s Titus’ feminine like face, the Felianis tribe’s flamboyant scarlet hair, or Scheherazade’s fairy like stature.
The soundtrack does its job well on most parts. It mixes a Middle Eastern and Arabian theme together to perform a nature that can be appreciable. The OST features a new set of tracks that captures moments of emotions, climatic, or humorous. Both OP songs of Magi also performs well with cases of foreshadowing and montage of its many characters. Similarly the ED songs presents scenarios where our characters look on ahead and faces the world they are in. Finally, the voice acting for most characters expresses well especially for Titus, a character that sometimes can be mistaken for a female.
Magi: Kingdom of Magic is not just a story about witchcraft and wizardry. It’s about a journey that chronicles the stories of our characters. We find out how they progress through by watching rather than reading a form of autobiography. At the same time, it’s easy to understand the story with its basic concepts and world building. There are times the series might seem off balance with its excessive comedy and cheesy dialogues. However, most these cases doesn’t directly disturb the story as a whole. Magi doesn’t just focus on ‘saving the world’ with friendship and power. Instead, it focuses on development and characterization that makes its journey most welcoming.
