Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Dec 31, 2012

12 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

hellwyr (All reviews)

201 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

First of all I didn't expect anything from this anime. As I read the description I thought " not another anime, show, movie, about fair tales... who wants to see this .... " But due to the lack of any good anime and thanks to a nice review I've read, I thought I will give it a try.

So I got hooked right away.

After the first minutes I wasn't sure yet if it was a childish anime or if it was made for a broader audience. After watching 12 epsiodes I can tell you its for a broader audience, so no worries!

Story:
Let me tell you, its not 1001 nights as the description states. Its an anime which is set in ancient times (actually bit later propably in 1200..). Magi borrows names and phrases from various known stories like 1001 nights for example.
But this Anime has nothing to do with 1001 nights, only because the names are the same doesn't mean anything. So if you don't like simple fairy tales, dont worry this is all about a fantasy world in post-ancient times with a lot of magic. It also borrows things from other mythologies like Celtic mythology, Chinese mythology..etc.

The Story takes place in a time of chaos and where war ravages and the spirit of revolution is in the air. Where magic has awoken anew. Magic created dungeons all over the world. By conquering those dungeons you can get immense powers. New kings get crowned, people stand up for their rights and people go on adventures.
In this world the main protagonists; Aladadin, Alibaba and Morgiana; try to find their own ways and try to take part in these historic times.

Characters:
I think all characters are nice and you will get fond of them very easily. There are three main characters, which are very well done. Their development is not exaggerated and not underdeveloped. The characters have time to change but they stay true to their key elements. Even though there might be various anime cliches form time to time above all as Alibabas character design is considered, but the anime never got consumed too much into any anime cliches. Actually when you are at the brink of thinkin that this anime turned into another boring "Emo" cliched anime, it doesnt fail to turn the tables and get you hooked even more.

Art+ Sound:
I like the art very much, also how they portray the emotions of the characters, It makes you laugh sometimes and gives the anime a unique flair. The sound is nothing noticeable tho...

All in all, this Anime is really worth watching. It reminds me of those old epic anime I loved so much, and why I started watching Anime in the first place. But it only reminds me of if! It hasnt conquered my heart fully yet, Ive only seen 12 episodes so far there is still a lot of space above this anime and beneath it. I gave it 10 points filled with a lot of hope that it doesn't disappoint me after those 12 nice episodes. ;)

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Oct 25, 2013

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Yoaken (All reviews)

196 people found this review helpful

From someone who has watched countless shounen, it becomes typical to look at a show labelled "shounen", and dismiss it as mundane and cliche. But with every new addition to this vast genre, there are always shows/manga that stick out more than others.

Thankfully, Magi does this.

Story: (9/10) With a setting based on Arabian Nights, you can expect (or at least hope for), a gripping narrative. Thankfully, Magi is structured so that the focus on the two main protagonists (Alibaba and Aladdin) is well orchestrated, and has a unique vibe to it. Through this, the story can become very dark and gripping, while not losing the narrative. What differentiates this from other shounen is the political aspect. As a king, you must reign. But how will you do it? Through this question the different nations and factions can interact in a believable environment, without it ever feeling like the author is asking you to pretend they would do that.

Art: (8/10) Most shounens typically fall under long broadcasting widths. While this allows for a developed story, the art tends to suffer long-term. Thankfully the animators have cut the show into a one season arc, while providing room to adapt more chapters if need be. For this reason, the art is well developed. Backgrounds are detailed and varied, with character models being round and developed. There are few jagged edges apparent, which helps realism. The battle scenes don't suffer with still shots (too much), and motion does not degrade the animation. It stays fluid throughout, with the exception of the comedy scenes. Through these, the show takes a different animation style. While humorous in a way, it detracts from the overall value. I don't see the joke through their expressions, but rather, through the goofy way they're drawn.

Sound: (9/10) One of Magi's strong points. Both openings provide a gateway into Arabia, with a melody and vocalist that resemble the middle eastern style. It opens the door to the show, making the transition to background music worthwhile. With this, you experience a variety of festival soundtracks, battle hymns, and adventure tunes. The depth and well execution of sound makes for a more enjoyable watch. This is followed by the endings which slightly devalue the soundtrack. While not bad, they don't carry the show to the end. Had they been chosen better, the desire to continue watching would have been more apparent.

Characters: (10/10) The characters in a show must be well rounded for the plot to work. No matter how great a set piece, it won't work without strong protagonists. And Magi delivers. Alibabba is a naive individual with to much idealism. This pushes the plot forward. Aladdin is a childish yet strangely deep character. His character shifts add emotion to the story. Morgiana is the strong, shackled female who can offer great moments through her actions. This trio has a well-blended bond that works. Their conversations kept me through the show, eager to see how they will handle future situations. The background characters, of which there are to many to name, are stunning. They have unique personalities, and offer believable lines that push the narrative further. Each new individual can hold their own as a main character, and you can care for each one of them. They're so developed you almost want to root for the bad guy.

Enjoyment (9/10) I spent a week watching this show to prepare for the second season. After finishing, I was impatient waiting for season 2. This show was well worth the time put in, and will absolutely have a lasting effect on your view of how a shounen should be.

Overall: (9/10) Magi is a show that should be watched, for it offers a well developed plot that's backed by great sound, art, and characters. For those into shounen, this'll be a guaranteed favorite. For those wanting to get into the genre, it's a good starting point. And for those opposed of the genre, you're missing out.

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Apr 2, 2013

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Stark700 (All reviews)

143 people found this review helpful

So, you believe in magic? Whether that answer is a yes or no, Magi sets itself as an unique series of a classical adventure for anime fans. It's a wonderful experience and there are many ways in which Magi portrays its adventures with its cast of characters. Now, get ready because Magi might just be something to refresh your weekend with its old school themes and premise.

Magi (also known as Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic as its full title) is a manga written by Shinobu Ohtaka. The series takes place in an universe that has has desert artwork scattered all around. As such, its theme read more

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Oct 21, 2012

3 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

AnimeGuruTV (All reviews)

94 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

MAGI IS AMAZING!

ok first i must say that before i saw episode 1 i was under the impression that Magi would be similar to Fairy Tail. the reason i thought this is because both clearly have magic involved but the difference is:

Fairy Tail = Fanservice + Magic + Action

Magi = Magic + Action + Psychological + Fantasy

When watching Magi, it feels like a combination of Sword Art Online and Mirai Nikki. the reason i say this is SAO and Magi are both produced by A1 Pictures and both are Fantasy Based. Magi is similar to Mirai Nikki in the way that they both have read more

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Mar 23, 2014

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

BlackSwordsmanPT (All reviews)

93 people found this review helpful

I´ll start this review by saying that i haven´t read the manga yet, im saying this because many people say that the anime isn´t on the same level of the manga and that it is a bad adaptation missing out chapters and giving bad explanations about how things work. So keep in mind that i´m doing this review having only the knowledge given by the anime.

Story/Setting/Combat depth - Ok, so i´m not only reviewing the story and world here but the combat depth too, because i think that it´s an important part on any battle anime.

SETTING

The story is set in an alternate recreation of the read more

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Feb 14, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

AlexJetski (All reviews)

34 people found this review helpful

Shows like Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic really catch me off guard. It's so rare nowadays to see a battle shonen that delivers a feeling of exploration without getting too caught up in itself. Is it perfect? Of course not, but if there's one thing it gets right is its sense of adventure.

Magi takes place in a vast fantasy world with a ton of tie-ins to 1001 Arabian Nights. The setting is huge, spanning across many diverse countries, which presents an enthrallingly enormous scope. Aladdin is a young boy who some call a Magi, and the story follows his journey for self-discovery alongside his friends Alibaba Saluja and Morgiana of the Fanalis, who each have responsibilities and dark pasts of their own. Dungeons have been rising around the world, and the conquerors of said dungeons gain the power of a Djinn, which is basically an elemental genie. They are risen by those called Magi, who are said to be the ones to shape the world. Only three are supposed to be around in one era, but Aladdin, for some reason or another, is seen as the fourth. Along their journey, they encounter people of many kinds, ranging from the Kou dynasty which is essentially Magi's take on China, to even such figures like Sinbad of the Seven Seas. Yes, the allusions to that old desert fairy tale book, no, not the bible, are many, but seeing such a setting in an anime is extremely refreshing and gives way for some awesome locales and set pieces.

The art, albeit mildly inconsistent, if nicely detailed, and the character designs are fitting, memorable, colourful and just generally well crafted. The palette really captures the scorching desert heat as well as the cool city nights, making for a very immersive experience. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the fight choreography. There's a very clunky feeling to a lot of the battles due to awkward shot composition and somewhat lazy animation. The only times the fights actually impress me are when Morgiana gets involved, which may be because the animators are forced to work with punches and kicks rather than actual weapons. A1 Pictures has a bad habit of using cuts to avoid animating motion, which can get quite jarring when used frequently. If you're looking for a big budget action show, then Magi may not be for you, although the aesthetics do a fantastic job of sucking you into the world.

Furthermore, many fights become very anticlimactic thanks to the overly fast pacing. Many of the villains get demolished only minutes after making their debut. This lack of tension becomes especially apparent during the final battle. Some are just downright silly, with the villains getting as laughable as an old man on a floating wheelchair, and some very out of place fanservice. There are a lot of cliches to be found in general.

Despite this however, the show isn't completely generic, and this is mainly true in the surprisingly well founded cast. On the surface, Aladdin is your typical naïve shota, but he has an exceptionally mature mentality in regards to society, and knows when to let others act rather than himself, showing a lot of wisdom. There's a lot of strong personalities in Magi, the highlights being the charismatic Sinbad, and the feeble yet lovable Hakuryuu. Judal is just the right level of crazy, and is a good contrast to Aladdin's light-hearted nature. Most of the humour will be hit or miss, relying on a lot of boob jokes, but there's a lot of heart to be found.

A big theme of Magi is fate, and what it means to accept one's destiny. While there could've been a lot more done with it, the show does a very good job of showing how one's destiny can doom them into despair, or as the show calls it, depravity. Alibaba's relationship with Cassim is not only engaging to watch, but both grow a lot over the course of the show, as does Morgiana as she works through her past as a slave.

For a shonen, Magi delves into a lot of dark themes, but they're handled in a very black and white way, making it difficult to really take something away from them. Every villain bar one is just evil for the sake of being evil, and it's hard to get behind some of the messages when they could only help out in a fairy tale. I wish that more effort was put into making things seem more realistic, but in a way, that's a part of Magi's charm. It's not trying to be a social commentary, but rather a fun adventure, with some darker overtones to appeal to an older audience.

The second opening really makes this apparent with it's sense of wonder. Overall, the soundtrack is quite good, and it brings forth a distinctive Arabic flare while utilizing a lot of modern instruments, the electric guitar in particular. A lot of battle tracks are quite memorable as well, my favourites being Valse Hot and Enfin Apparu.

In the end, Magi season one is a solid watch if you're a fan of a massive setting and well founded characters, as long as you're not looking for the most mature story ever told. There are a few plotholes here and there, but compared to others in its genre, it holds up substantially well. I give Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, a 7/10.

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May 28, 2015

21 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

Riktheprick (All reviews)

25 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

The series starts off light-hearted like many modern series to come out these days, but starts to get serious rather quickly with a nice pace. The world building is nice and breathing compared to many series that make lack-luster attempts these days, and I could even go as far to compare it to the Full metal Alchemist series for a general feeling towards character development and story. Unfortunately, the series turns to absolute rubbish at episode 16 where the whole politically focused plot turns out to just be a really cliche story about "muh darkness", as mysterious masked men try stop them for the sake read more

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Jul 22, 2016

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

Treima (All reviews)

21 people found this review helpful

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is a tale of friendship triumphing over all odds. Perhaps you have heard this kind of story told elsewhere. If so, you've probably heard it told better, too. Magi is all over the place in terms of pacing and tone. Even the morals of the story seem quite in conflict with the methods used to tell it. Above all, it's just dumb and boring, which are two death sentences for an anime from this viewer's perspective.

Magi is about two boys. Aladdin is an impressionable, airheaded young Magi, or wandering mage. He comes across a golden-haired and golden-hearted street urchin named Alibaba, and they go on an adventure through a massive labyrinth called a "dungeon", becoming fast friends. Along the way, they encounter a mysterious and strong-legged slave girl named Morgiana, which completes their trio as they endeavor to right the world's wrongs with the phat lewts they obtained by raiding and "capturing" the dungeon.

It's right here that I should make it clear that Alibaba is perhaps the worst shounen hero I've ever seen. His character shifts between whining interminably about the state of the world, declaring it impossible to change, and attempting to change the world through perhaps the most idiotic and sure-fail ways he could come up with. He is perpetually gullible, all-too-willing to put his trust in other people with blatantly obvious "hidden" agendas. Say what you will about how stupid Naruto is, at least he didn't turn a blind eye to Sasuke's gradual descent into darkness. In contrast, Alibaba's childhood friend from the first arc might as well hold a giant flashing neon sign over his head that says "I will die and/or turn evil" for how unsubtly the series depicts him, but Alibaba never once takes the hint.

In this first arc, we are also introduced to Sinbad, a character that has already become a legendary king and dungeon-capturer by his own hand. He pledges his aid to helping Alibaba liberate Balbadd from the clutches of its fat, stupid king. It is at this point that the series starts undermining its own tension, because Sinbad is ludicrously overpowered compared to literally everyone else, and has eight underlings of various shapes and sizes that are also exponentially stronger than our main characters. There is no quicker way to undermine a character's personal arc than by introducing another character who could snap his fingers and solve everything for them.

The second arc takes place in Sinbad's kingdom of Sindria, where our trio have decided to take the demigod-level king up on an offer to train and hone their abilities. Never mind that Alibaba's country was teetering on the brink of collapse when they finished the first arc! That's not important now! There's adventure afoot!

This series undermines itself so often that at this point I stopped caring and just kinda tuned out any of the dialogue. I became totally disengaged from the subject matter, and was just resigned to seeing this to its conclusion. I didn't miss much. Sinbad continued to faff about and allow the villains in the series to openly taunt him to his face, kill hundreds of innocents, and splash him with some kind of curse mark that turned half his face black, only for him to reverse the curse instantly in the season climax.

So why did he let himself get cursed? As he put it, "to make Alibaba more motivated to clear the next dungeon". Never mind that Alibaba himself has been afflicted by this same curse, which is actually a very real threat to his life or at least his sanity. Sinbad decides to fake sick so he can do nothing and shift the onus of "saving him" onto a blonde idiot, a blue-haired idiot, a traumatized former slave who does all the figurative and literal "heavy lifting" of the group, and a cowardly prince whose only real use is as a literal meat-shield.

So if the characters and story are disappointing every time you turn around, is the action any good? Well, there are quite a lot of fight scenes in Magi, and they're universally bland shounen-style nonsense, where whoever has the most plot-induced immortality will win. A lot of time is spent developing this complex and verbally dense system of magic, but it all boils down to brightly colored energy blasts and sword swings crashing into each other, with the good guys winning through the power of friendship (read: powers pulled straight out of their asses at the last possible second). What makes this more insulting is toward the end when abilities are plagiarized wholesale from Naruto and Fate Stay/Night.

And thus we get to my next big issue with this series: the word "subtlety" is completely lost on the writers and animators. You can easily tell by a character's dress and method of speech whether they are good or evil. (Protip: good characters are attractive and smile a lot!) I couldn't tell if this series was aimed at children or adults. It pairs simplistic, heavy-handed morals that would fit on a poster in a kindergarten classroom with buckets of gore, complicated palace intrigue, and ecchi fanservice obviously intended for a more mature audience. In trying to appeal to both kids and adults, it makes itself inappropriate for the former and insults the intelligence of the latter. This is not how you do this.

I had the misfortune of watching this dubbed, in which I got to hear a lot of high-profile English voice actors I had a lot of respect for embarrass themselves. The only bright spot in this is Cristina Vee as Morgiana, which also matches the fact that she's the only character I found myself able to care about. The sound design is perfunctory. There's nothing special in the sound effects or music to get you interested in what's going on, and the OPs and EDs are such forgettable tripe that I skipped them routinely.

There are some bright spots. Visually, the show is very bright and colorful, further selling me on the idea that this is trying to ingratiate itself to a wide audience. The character designs are unique and definitely inspired by Arabian folklore, which is definitely special as far as anime goes. The cityscapes are largely gorgeous when shown in wide-panning shots, although everything looks remarkably samey when the characters are wandering the streets.

But the greatest sin that Magi commits, more than anything that I've listed above, is just that it's a big long snore. There's no weight to the fighting scenes, and no real reason to care about the political stuff going on in the shadows. It is trite and unoriginal in every way except the setting. You can predict the events of every episode almost down to exact detail five minutes in. Please avoid this series if you value your time.

Until next time, Ko Empire bills are not accepted at this establishment.

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Nov 17, 2013

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Bear1211 (All reviews)

23 people found this review helpful

So after much hype from compatriots of mine I finally decided to watch "Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic". My friends who have watched it previously loved it. Praised it even. It quickly become one of their favorite shows, and told me it was fantastic. So did their hype build this show up too high? or Did it achieve what I was told? Well a little of both.

Story: 6

A shounen if I've ever seen one. The story is the usually, a run of the mill group of hero's trying to overcome adversity, and fight against the big bad. It's a formula that most Anime under this genre follow, and that isn't really a bad thing. It's fun, and entertaining. It also has some much needed flare from the addition of using characters from the Arabian Night stories. Sadly being fun doesn't really make it fantastic. Yes I enjoyed my time in this world and enjoyed the adventure, but it just didn't do anything beyond the template. This isn't the worst shounen I've ever seen (I'm looking at you Naruto), but it certainly isn't the best. Besides being generic, it also was plagued with some pacing problems. Some of the arc's lasted way to long. I should also note the thick level of cheese in some of the more "emotional" scenes. The sound designer blared away a lot of the tragedy or serious nature of these scenes with some overbearing music (more on that later).

Art: 7

It isn't gonna win any awards for it's art assets, but they were good for what it was. The show was filled with bright vibrant environments, and wonderfully designed characters. Some of the CG here and there was shotty, but besides that nothing to really complain about.

Sound: 5

Usually the OST to shows don't bug me. I either love them or just shrug, but this was pretty bad. Sometimes less is more, and I don't think the director understood that. When something serious or tragic is happening I want to be able to be taken by the moment. Usually music in any medium adds to the characters and the situation, but not here. For instance in one scene their was something that was meant to be really heartwarming and serious, but this freaking "heroic" trumpet comes in and smashed the scene all together. It was just over bearing, and made something sad into a cheese fest. The only reason that this score isn't much lower is because some tunes were alright, and the voice acting was fair. But my god I hate it when something takes me out of a story like that.

Characters: 7

Quite the lovely ensemble of heroes. Now I assume as the story continues this score will go up. Since this isn't the complete tale there are obviously some characters that aren't fully developed or realized. The ones that we currently have are all fairly enjoyable. Alibaba and Aladdin are fantastic. Oh and Sinbad is fabulous, and a God among men. I could use a little more from Morgiana, but she was still alright. Now for the main problem I had with the characters. The villains were so meh, besides the wonderful midriff Magi known as Judal they just didn't do much. I know they will probably go into more detail about them as the story moves forward, but as of right now the whole "evil organization" thing is pretty lame.

Enjoyment: 8

The more I think about it the more I actually liked the show. Even tho some parts made me question "why this arc was lasting 7 episodes?" or turning to my brother and saying "Yo look at that ass pull" I still had a ton of fun.

Overall: 6.6

Though it wasn't as good as my friends made it out to be "Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic" was still a fun ride. If you like shounens then I suggest giving this one a shot. If they aren't really your thing, but are just looking for some fun in the Arabian sun then I would also say go for it. Although it had some short comings and pretty horrid sound track, Magi's loveable cast of characters and entertaining world help make this adventure one worth going on.

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May 9, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

-Toko (All reviews)

18 people found this review helpful

Magi is an anime that you've most likely seen before a million times unless you haven't seen anything in the medium. We have the family of tropes here! Everything from characters taking five minutes preparing a single punch only at the end to scream a ludicrous nickname such as "Rebel Power Punch" while the opponent stands still blinking at him to the power of friendship making everything better because friendship powers.

Magi does all of these overused tropes quite well. For a fan of action centered anime, it is a fun watch. But there're two major things that bothered me. The obvious one is the read more

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May 13, 2013

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

NostalgiaCrisis (All reviews)

17 people found this review helpful

I heard of this anime plenty of times, but never gave a bother to try it just by looking at the title picture, shame on me.

For Magi's genre (adventure/fantasy) I think it successfully filled those roles.

Story 9/10:
The anime's about a boy named Aladdin who is joined by his friends Morgiana and Alibaba. The anime contains magical powers but is not centered only around magic. There is also sword fighters, along with fist fighters etc. I won't mention the "plot" because that's a spoiler, but the anime is sort of adventurous and in the settings of empires/conquerors.
I very much enjoy settings where empires, kings, queens, princes and princesses exist. Not for the monarchy though, moreover, for the ability to conquer lands and the idea of warfare. The entire setting of the story, with modern day morals and an outdated century makes the story great. The idea of self government, world government, and dictatorships are portrayed very nicely. Although some people were expecting a story more similar to Aladdin's lamp, they were probably disappointed, but just because the anime doesn't relate to that story doesn't mean it's bad. It's an entire different series of its own so it should not be compared.

Art 9/10: Art is pretty good, the quality is certainly better than some other anime. The colors show out the most, the character art is not bad, the magic is well done.

Sound 9/10: Average sound, sound effects are good, op/ed are also good.

Character 9/10: The characters are likable, there's many different types of characters which would appeal to viewers. Typical protagonist hero, but not as stereotypical as one would believe. Aladdin's sort of a clueless child, but not stupid which makes him likable. Personally, I really enjoy the presence of his friends Alibaba and Morgiana. Thankfully none of the characters hold in "secrets" like obvious secrets where the need to tell someone or bad things will happen. That annoys me greatly, when characters know they should obviously get help, but act as if by trying to treat themselves alone they won't hurt anyone.

Enjoyment 10/10: The anime gets better as it progresses, I find the battle scenes very enjoyable. Keeps me on my toes wondering what'll happen. It's pretty flashy fight scenes to, sorta cool :).

Overall 8/10:. I found it worthwhile to watch and entertaining. It may not be the best anime, yet it's certainly no where near the worst, and it is enjoyable as any other anime I'd recommend.

The anime fell off from the manga towards the end, I think it's fine to drift away from the manga, as long as the anime itself is good. Although the ending may have been disappointing to some, I'm curious to see what it'll bring in the second season. If the anime simply ended as it did, without a second season then perhaps my rating would change, but it did not. I do wish the story stayed with the manga, but hey things change and I'm not going to automatically assume "wow anime destroyed good job" without even giving it a shot. That's just ignorant. Keep in mind if the author of the manga finds it acceptable to deviate away from the manga in some episodes, then no one should be saying "they screwed it all up" since it didn't follow an exact plot line they desired to occur.

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Oct 13, 2014

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

BanjoTheBear (All reviews)

16 people found this review helpful

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)

Something that has bugged philosophers for generations is the idea of a little thing called "destiny." Do we have control over our own fate? Is everything we do just predetermined, with the outcomes already an inevitability? It's a strange topic because in reality we don't fully know the answer. In Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, the show would have you believe that while "destiny" may guide your path, you alone have the ability to change its course.

STORY

M:L (what I'll be calling it from now on), begins with our star Alibaba having a chance encounter with Aladdin. Both boys read more

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Nov 23, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

UsaagiTsun (All reviews)

14 people found this review helpful

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This is the script for my video-review of the show over on youtube, so if you don't wanna read it, listen to me talk about it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn7Wk9_TudM

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Magi is a shounen fantasy adventure, but this time, it's one borrowing not only themes from the arabian one-thousand and one nights, but many other countries as well!
It is based on an ongoing manga by author Ohtaka Shinobu and was adapted as 2 TV series spanning 25 episodes each.

The adaptation by A1-Pictures contains the first 110 chapters of the manga, staying mostly true to the source material, was directed by Masunari Koji and aired in Fall 2012.

In Magi's read more

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Aug 18, 2014

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

aikojazz (All reviews)

14 people found this review helpful

I just finished this anime and I'm breathless. It is amazing.

Story 9/10
Magi has unique Arabian setting, with on characters from 1001 Nights. In short, it is about a young magi Aladdin and his chosen king's candidate Alibaba along with a former slave Morgiana developing their power while traveling to different places. A lot of things comes their way but they make a lot of friends and allies as well.
The concept of magic (magoi) here is interesting. It comes from the nature, and goes back to the nature when we dies. I can accept the logic. The dungeon and djinn are well thought and had never been brought up before in other anime, I find it makes this anime unique.

While it brings typical issues like bad guys vs good guys, they address it in such a way that makes us wonder about what we think is right. People have their own goals, but the way they achieve it may be harmful to others or helpful. Magi reminds me of this.

Art 9/10
Regarding Art, I'm not just talking about character design. The character designs are very colorful, stands out and memorable. The characters from Balbadd and Sindria have clothing suitable with the Arabian theme while the characters from Kou Empire have touches of oriental / East Asian feel, making it easier to recognize who is who.

The background and sceneries are fantastically done with eye-pleasing color palettes and amazing details, I feel is one of the best works from A-1 Pictures. The animation and visual effects is also considered fluid for that year, especially the magoi, battle scenes and facial expression.

Character 10/10
We will meet with names we are familiar with like Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Sinbad. However, the characters are different from their original Arabian story. In my opinion, Magi has very well developed character. Each of them has interesting back stories (even the bad guys like Judar and Cassim) that make you understand why they do things and their reasons make you sympathize with them. In addition, the seiyuus who voice them are top notch and did great job!

Sound 7/10
I am not really a fan of the openings and endings except The Bravery, but it is memorable. Some of the rock BGM by Shiro Sagisu did increase the tension during fights but I caught the same song being played again and again.

Enjoyment 9/10
Although I have watched a lot of anime with shounen genre, I bet this is one of those I will remember. I enjoyed a lot of fun and squealed a lot too (yeap, to Aladdin's cuteness, Alibaba's resolve, Morgiana badass moments and of course Hakuryu)

Some people who read the manga complains that it is too short, yeah although I didn't read the manga I feel the last few episodes indeed feel rushed. Aside from that, the pacing in Magi is nice, relaxing and funny, then tense and exciting during battles and wars.

Overall, I like Magi and recommend this to you who like fantasy anime with magic and battles which is not too long, while still maintaining good story and characters with depth.

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Oct 11, 2014

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

MajorJett (All reviews)

14 people found this review helpful

When i think Magi, i think action and comedy perfectly blended in together into one beautifully presented adventure. Not only did magi has stunning visuals and amazing choreography in fights, but the voice acting also seemed perfect, requiring no time to "get used to their voices" like some dubs and subs have. Now to preface i did watch magi in sub (don't even know if there is a dub) and let me tell you i could close my eyes and fall asleep to those damn voices man. Casting was near perfect with only a few moments where i thought (his voice doesn't really fit that characters look). Now if you want to know my absolute opinion feel free to check the conclusion down at the bottom.

Story: 9/10
The story in Magi is on par with those that are claimed to be the greats. It's essentially about a kid who is called the Magi, Magi are "Magicians that shape the world". By using Magoi (the power created from harnessing Rukh), they are able to control these Rukhs that come naturally from the earth. Magi have the power to summon Dungeons, and to lead people in there. Magi bestow the magical items found in Dungeons to the people he leads. This essentially means that Aladdin is the center character with "side kicks" however don't go into this anime expecting the show to be completely centered around Aladdin with no character development for the others. All the characters in the story are fully fleshed out and are not in anyway neglected. As far as the story's fluency goes it proceeds from event to event in such a way that if feels normal, nothing feels too rushed and nothing feels like its being dragged on for way too long and each event feels like it has a purpose and develops each character thoroughly.

Art: 10/10
What is there to say? The visuals are absolutely stunning, the art design was very Egyptian style. There are two predominate styles of art here in Magi, the first style is the usual art where the characters are shaped normally and everything is fabulous. Then there's the art style that's normally shown in times of comedy where all the characters bodies are 2d and have an extreme amount of emphasis on how their feeling for example if Aladdin is happy he will turn into a squishy ball as he rubs up against the boobs of a random citizen. The lighting and clarity are an amazing selling point for magi as well. Everything seems to be where it should be, flickering fire torches reflect on their clothing in real time. The background in Magi is also extensively done, there was no lack of effort when it came to putting in detail into the background.

Sound: 9/10
My god did Shirō Sagisu NAIL THE MUSIC. To give you some context Sagisu is the composer for Magi, you may know some of his work as he was the composer for most noticeably Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach and more recently Black Bullet. Now i will say this now if you want a soundtrack that includes music that displays the characters emotions you may not be too satisfied with this OST. This soundtrack targets the scenes and emotions of the overall context, this means no slow and sombre music unless the scene calls for it, not the character. This by no means is to hammer on Sagisu's music. He captures the feeling of battle perfect with such tracks as "Enfin Apparu", "Valse hot" and for a more situational feel of "Notre empire". Sagisu nails the music and i tell you right now when i was done with Magi i instantly downloaded the OST onto my computer and still listen to it this day.

Characters: 9/10
As i previously discussed in the story section all the characters in this show are fully fleshed out and on top of that no one feels like they have been ripped out of your typical shounen genre and made into a strict character archetype. Now this means that your not gonna be sitting there thinking "This character's only purpose is so the show can have that specific archetype" instead you'll be thinking about that characters reason for being in the show (and trust me they flesh out everyone's reasoning as to why they are in the show). Each character has their specific morals and emotions that clearly separates them from each other and also clearly shows why they act the way they do. The design of each character is perfectly don't as well as the symbolism in each character such as their hair. All in all i thoroughly enjoyed the ways the characters interacted with each other and easily got emotionally attached to each character to the point where i would be on the edge of my seat every time they were exposed to danger.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Ok so lets make this clear, if i could be bias and list things off my personal enjoyment i would give everything in this anime a 10. Unfortunately this would be a crappy review if all i said was "THIS ANIME IS F@#KING LEGENDARY". But when i really think about it, i can't really be specific about my personal enjoyment. Absolutely everything about this anime made me when to go on google and look at everything i could, go on youtube and listen to everything i could, talk to friends to debate about everything i could. This anime sparked so much enjoyment out of me from the perfectly crafted action scenes and the perfectly placed humor that made me thoroughly enjoy everything this anime had to offer.

Overall: 9.5/10
Ok so maybe i tend to over rate anime based on my emotions but so what! If your like me and have emotions that outweigh logic than you'll look past all the flaws of this anime and be absorbed by its brilliance. I fully recommend watching this anime as it will pull you away from all the slice of life and romance and really give you something to watch and be in awe of.

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Apr 5, 2013

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Radeon (All reviews)

14 people found this review helpful

Magi: the labyrinth of Magic's first few episodes were pretty good; it was cute, funny, charming and awesome. Sadly, it didn't stayed like that for the whole series. For the first half of the series, 1-13 was at pretty watchable. The second half was the main weak point of the anime; all those cute and funny moments disappeared on the second half (14-25), and the ending wasn't that great. Though, it was a happy ending, but still, it was a crappy happy ending.

Story? Story is pretty good, Aladdin, a Magi meets a young boy, Ali Baba an Aladdin helps him fulfils one of his dreams; completing a dungeon. Then comes my favourite character in the anime, Morgiana. After completing the dungeon, she was set free from slavery with the help of Aladdin and Ali Baba. After all that dungeon-exploring in the first few episodes, Aladdin soon goes alone into different territories and the main topic of discussion was, War. War always sprouted from hatred. War is main topic of the entire series. Though, most of the excitement starts fading away when it was in the Balbadd arc; it's not bad, but it's at least, watchable.

Main focus in the Balbadd arc was Ali Baba and his friend Kassim. Flashbacks start appearing in the series, Ali Baba's and Kassim's past begins to unravel. These flashbacks weren't too bad, I found it pretty interesting to watch. The action scenes in this arc becomes a pretty boring. Surprisingly, there was a filler episode about Sinbad and one of the Princesses of Kou somewhere later in the series; and yes, it was pretty boring, and most importantly, pointless. I think, the whole story of the anime strayed far off from the manga's point of view somewhere in episode 20, or probably even earlier than that.

A-1 Pictures is starting to make a name for itself(or they already had) for making terrible original endings. First anime I've watched from the same studio (as far as I can remember), was Ao no Exorcist, and yes it had a lot of potential to become a great anime, though its biggest flaw is its ending. The studio's biggest mistake has always been the same: starts off good in the first half, terrible second half, then accompanied with a terrible original anime ending. What happened to Ao no Exorcist, also happened to Magi - Labyrinth of Magic. I guess, history really does repeat itself.

Characters? Magi uses characters from the Arabian nights, making them look more awesome than the actual person from the stories. For example, take a look at Ali Baba in the original Ali Baba and the forty thieves tale. and try comparing it to the Ali Baba in the anime. Look how they awesome they become. My favourite character is Morgiana, a tough chick. First 20 episodes, I watched Magi because of the plot. Then after that, I felt that the plot became somewhat rushed and strayed off from the Manga. So in the later episodes, I watched Magi mainly just because of Morgiana. Also, Aladdin and Ali Baba are both likeable main characters.

Sound? The opening and Ending theme were so-so, and the voice-acting were pretty awesome. But the background music was very epic, especially during the fighting scenes.

Visual? Though, its visuals are pretty good, but not always. The quality of visuals sometimes end up looking pretty bad, where characters faces look somewhat different. But overall visuals are decent.

Conclusion? Though, I find Magi to be very awesome in the earlier episodes but somewhat boring in the later episodes, so I find it a little difficult for who recommend it to. obviously enough, if you like prefer the shounen/action genre, Magi is definitely a good choice. Though, it's definitely not recommended for everyone.

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Aug 22, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

Anim3Punk (All reviews)

13 people found this review helpful

Initial Review for Newcomers: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is loosely based on One Thousand and One Nights (more commonly known as Arabian Nights). A boy named Aladdin has been bestowed with great power and with his friends, he will help save/protect the world. Over the course of their adventure, they encounter treasures, magic, women and... social and political injustices. Over the course of this anime, dark themes of slavery, poverty, corruption and war occur. This anime expresses these themes in a similar fashion to another well known show (Yes, I'm referring to Avatar: The Last Airbender; although Avatar's dark themes are lightly touched and read more

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May 12, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

ichiban_alex (All reviews)

12 people found this review helpful

Magi is certainly not the best shonen anime ever made, but it is certainly enjoyable.

The primary selling point, especially in the first half of the show, is definitely the setting and cultural aesthetic. Magi showcases lands inspired by various middle eastern and asian cultures, primarily those of historical Islam and China. The show establishes itself as separate fantasy world, so keep in mind that it is not trying to be historically accurate despite the inspiration from "1001 Nights."

The animation is bright and colorful which compliments the fantastical settings, powers, and more outwardly cute art style. In addition, most of the character designs are neat and memorable; standouts include Hakuryuu, Judal, Sinbad, and his eight generals. The only aspect about the style that was irksome was that the characters' faces tended to be homogenous, with both male and female characters based on the same model. Voice alone seems to determine gender, and hair style and eye color determine identity. Of course, these trends are nothing new in anime, but the frequency of their occurrence makes it jarring, nontheless. (Notable exceptions include Sinbad and a couple members of his posse, but that's about it).

The actual story was decent enough, but nothing groundbreaking. It seemed to meander, but I suppose it's composed of arcs, however small and loosely defined. Magi doesn't really pick up until the last fourth of the show, which is problematic from a plot and pacing standpoint. However, the world, powers, and characters are good enough to carry the show on its own. Even when the show attempts a large-scale plot, it is ultimately the characters that make it worth watching.

Speaking of which, Alibaba is adorable and a protagonist worth rooting for, and Aladdin's draw is how he is often wise beyond his years. However, the perverted boob jokes involving Aladdin definitely detract from the integrity of the character. Honestly, most of the chibi comic relief in Magi just seems strange and out of place. The third protagonist is Morgiana, a former slave girl and definitely the weakest of the main trio (in regard to personality and character; she is definitely physically stronger than the other two). She is just simply uninteresting. Now, the show does go to great lengths to flesh out her development, but it means nothing if the character is uninteresting to watch. Unfortunately, it just makes the development seem contrived.

Sinbad is by far the most charismatic and appealing character, and all of his generals are equally so. It's a pity that we didn't see more from them, as small bits of information about their backstories and personalities caught my attention. Sinbad definitely delivered from a character standpoint, but we didn't see enough of him fighting with his djinn equip powers, which is just odd considering that his dungeon capturing adventures and resulting numerous amount of djinn vessels are kind of his claim to fame. Also, there was a startling reveal about him in the last episode, but of course there was no time for the show to go into that. I hope that the second season explores Sinbad and his generals' developments more.

All of the conflicts in Magi are sorted into black and white, often literally! This is certainly the show's biggest, most glaring problem . The rukh (essentially glowing spirit butterflies) are labelled as a force of good while the reverse "black" rukh are only seen as evil. Which is strange, as the black rukh only make people fall into "depravity." It is natural for a person to have moments of moral lapse, pining for revenge, feeling angry, greedy, etc., so it seems odd to just rule these feelings off as evil, especially to the point where feeling any of these in a small amount essentially leads to magical self destruction.

In summary, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is colorfully animated with rich and diverse settings, characters, and powers. However, don't expect anything too groundbreaking in terms of story and quell any hopes for moral ambiguity.

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Apr 14, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

camcam111 (All reviews)

11 people found this review helpful

First off, this anime is AMAZING, you will not regret watching this...

If you’re interested in the world of magic, political struggles, and wild life-changing adventure , as well as visually stunning artwork, then Magi: Labyrinth of Magic is the anime for you. Despite, its cutesie like appearance, Magi actually takes the show on a slightly darker path than expected, thus leaving the watcher surprised and wanting more. Magi follows the journey of young Aladdin, and his friends Alibaba and Morgiana, as he tries to figure out who and what he is, all the while making new friends and stumbling into magical battles. You can’t help read more

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Mar 11, 2015

25 of 25 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

SovietPsycho (All reviews)

11 people found this review helpful

Only saw the first season of Magi, which is the labyrinth of magic. I had many thoughts while watching this.... and I wished to share them with y'all. Hopefully this will entice you to watch the show, as it had for me. I have no doubt that this will be a great watch for you if you can connect with it, and if not, then it is at least an enjoyable and solid watch. So, moving on, here are the thoughts I had while watching this show.

All throughout the show I couldn't help but feel as though they actually had a plot.... Magi, using the power of the rukh which are the spirits of the people. When I had heard this, I couldn't but feel as though this had a meaning behind it. It had a solid explanation and one I could connect with. Usually I would like to explain how I could connect to this, but on a personal basis, and on a more subconscious basis, I cannot explain how. When you watch Magi you will know if you had connected to it or not.

This show also had a very adventurous spirit to it, it wasn't episodic, it followed one story one path and had that adventurous feel to it. Some things are indeed explained but can be easily overlooked when you are caught up in the joy ride of Magi. It's a solid watch for anyone who has no interest in some of the things that Magi talks about. And about that... I had connected to those beliefs on a deep level, and I would like to share this with anybody. For those who are willing to watch this, this story will be an amazement to how deeply it talks about its subject (trying to keep as little spoilers as possible).

The fighting had a solid feel to it, and you felt as though anybody wasn't obviously stronger than the other. To put into more precise terms, everyone has their own specialty. Of course there are those that are flat out stronger, however, it feels as though everyone has their own specialty, and no one's simply "Weak."

I would like to bring up this point, I wish to get this across. This show brings up some very deep and serious topics. You relate this show to a slice-of-life romance drama anime and it feels as though their problems are almost petty compared to those in this show. You can tell that these are things anyone could easily fall into it if given the same circumstances... When you connect with this show, you'll start to feel yourself choke up at some points (at least for me I did). You can understand their pain and reasoning and it's not very hard to interpret. Fate, destiny, to curse it and say screw it all. Magi is a show not to be simply taken lightly, it talks about many serious topics that go on a spiritual level and on a subconscious level. And even if you don't connect with this show, if you enjoy anime, you will definitely enjoy Magi.

PS: The music choice was very bad at some points.... This was a reaccuring thought all throughout my watch with Magi and I couldn't help but say it at these last few moments. However the music alone was very nice to listen to, like the openings and endings. There were some plot holes, the character development and plot development were great, the story had an adventurous feel. The story was not jacked up as "IM OVERPOWERED TIME TO WRECK YOU ALL!" But it actually felt as though there was development in it. You can connect to the characters and feel their pain and understand their circumstances. This was a very enjoyable watch... I hope you all enjoy.

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