Magi: The Kingdom of Magic

Season 2 of Magi, in my opinion, falls short of the first season.

It takes the three characters through a mediocre arc and then decides to focus on each of the characters individually. Problem is, one of the characters becomes the main focus while the others get put on the back burner. By the end of the season, the back burner characters have developed without us seeing it happen with each of them gets about 3-4 episodes. This leaves much to be desired as far as character development is concerned.

As for the main focus, I felt like I was watching Harry Potter for ... a good part of the season and was pretty disinterested, but the season does pick up near the end which has me excited for the next season. I also would like to mention that the new characters are very interesting once they get into the swing of things.

If you liked the first season at all, I suggest watching this season to prepare you for the third season. Things are about to get interesting. It's just too bad that the season starts off kinda slow, then focuses on someone (suddenly Harry Potter), and drops off the other characters until near the end of the season. At least, the season ends with you wanting more Magi. It did for more anyway. Cheers.

I love Magi. Out of all the shounen anime and manga that I have come across this is probably my favorite and the best so far. I say this because the main characters aren't OTP and it's not about nakama power or big ass battles. This is about who can be a political wiz in a world that's in disarray with slavery, poverty and war on the rise. In a world where magic exists and you don't know who your friend or foe is.

It's great because it gives you a look as to the political structure of the countries that Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana ... go into and how the current systems are faulty. I will be honest, personally I prefered the first season more compared to this one because I really like Alibaba and Morgiana's stories in the show. However, I do see that this season was in many aspects about growing Aladdin as a more powerful magi and maturing up the blue haired pervert XD it did that beautifully while also introducing new characters and making them well rounded even if they are only supporting characters.

I also enjoy the expansion of the the Magi world. That not only are their people with Djins but also those with magical power who aren't always the top dogs of the food chain. Compared to the first season where it seemed as if those with magical power had a lot of power and influence in the world, this season showed that their are two sides to the same coin.

As someone who reads the manga, I would love if they did another season for this series because OMG, the twists and turns and emotional rollar coaster that this series has developed would be an amazing feast to behold in anime format.

That is why if you really enjoyed the second season and you really want to discover the things that Aladdin knows, I suggest reading the manga series. You won't be dissappointed.

A catastrophic collapse and blunder is what the kingdom of magic can be described as. It takes a weird direction in terms of storytelling, character building and world building and centers it around a conflict that is brought upon due to mere selfish desires. The first season subtly built its world through political conflict, internal strife between characters, and eccentric disney like environment/setting. The Kingdom of magic deviation from it's predecessor seemed like a wild decision because any viewer can tell from the first few episodes that Magi was taking a new approach in how it continues to build the world and characters. However, it ... felt very superfluous because frankly, there wasn't enough screen time to continue meandering between characters and conflicts. However, the biggest fall was the central conflict because it developed from one's prejudice and was really underwhelming to create the abomination that was the enemy.

Now the story begins right after the Labryinth of Magic, which directly involves the 4 people we follow in the beginning segments of the show. Now my problem right off the bat was how much screen time there was between the side characters. It seemed to have a lot of unnecessary interactions and most of the time didn't yield anything directly related to the story. There is way too many side characters for there to be any time to devote to all of them while still keeping up with the main core which is Alibaba, Aladdin, and Morgiana. The story maintains its comedic nature, relying heavily on chibi mode and funny reactions amongst the cast of characters. It feels at some points that the show didn't take itself seriously with many tropes that feel out of place, such as blushing for no reason. I can't comprehend what the writers were thinking when they decided to take the route of splitting the main cast. Of course, due to the nature of the story, it made sense that they wanted to split but it was a tall order to get enough screen time to each of them. What we have left is a convoluted plot that has many plotholes as well as one minute wonder insignificant characters.

But it wasn't all bad, there is a certain disney charm that Magi has with good characters that mesh with the setting. Midway, the tone of the story changed from stopping a bad guy to a more inquisitive theme. It came out of nowhere, but it was handled well with a combination of humor and lightheartedness while also having an undertone theme of mythical beings coexisting with humans. It explores prejudice within civilization and questions which side is truly evil or good. I feel like it came out of nowhere though, because there was nothing like this in Labyrinth. Is self desire the true evil within every living being? While it's not directly answered, it does give viewers something to challenge analytical thought processes.

The characters severely suffer from superfluous interactions and lack of screen time. It's hard to say something like Magi wasn't long enough, because it was 25 episodes, the equivalent of 2 seasons. I believed that some characters got too much screen time, such as one in the beginning arc, and Aladdin's arc. It seemed like they just so happened to be there when the main core gets caught up in trouble. Although, they do provide internal conflict amongst each other due to difference of opinions and statures. However, my biggest problem was the splitting of the main core. The incredibly reduced screen time amongst them is the biggest change from Labyrinth and much of the charm of the show came from their interactions and resolutions. It seemed like a way to eliminate characters with a lot of screen time so it can focus on the main one. I really disliked that because the ending rolls around and we're left to assume that the separation of these characters built them up individually enough for the conclusion. It was a cheap tactic and I didn't like it one bit. However, the show still had it's comedic touch among the main core, which is great because it shows a dynamic relationship between each other.

I loved the soundtrack of Magi. It has a middle eastern like OST and what better way to implement that than a show that relies on its setting to continue it's story. There were many tracks that I feel is good enough to listen to as a standalone track and it overall enhanced action scenes, more intimate scenes, and brought life to the huge world. The sound effects are good and the voice acting is good, so no complaints at all from the sound department. Animation is good too, albeit a bit confusing due to it's grand scale of what's happening. There is just so many power moves that it can look like it's lagging a bit.

Maybe with the exception of Psycho-Pass and Darker than Black, Kingdom of Magic is one of the worst sequels to a good series I've seen. It's poor execution of it's story direction leads me to believe that the writers are catering a target audience that I'm unaware of. It's separation of characters is the most catastrophic decision that could've happened in a show like this, where the main core was vital to the success of conflicts. Labyrinth had a existential undertone theme that was only explored minimally in Kingdom, which I see as a missed opportunity. Kingdom is a disappointment from a character standpoint, and a hit or miss from a story telling standpoint. The pacing was incredibly lackluster and slow and it sporadically shifted to incredibly fast, which makes the ending more laughable. Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, failed to utilize what it had to make it a powerhouse anime.

At first, I was a bit reluctant to watch this second series, as many recent ones have been much worse than the original (freezing, chuunibyou, etc.). But, this was not the case with Magi: The Kingdom of Magic.

Side note: 10/10 for me is not perfect, it just means I had no reason to mark it down.

Story: 9/10
As an avid fan of the first season, I was greatly surprised by the story (in a good way. Each character's story was intriguing and helped build a lot of tension for the ending. Now, the main reason this is a 9 a not ... a 10 is Morgiana's story. Her story was lightly touched on and she kind of just appeared at the end where all the characters gather which made it a bit cheesy. The ending was left open, mostly because the manga needs to produce more content, and I was left yearning for more.

Art: 10/10
One of the most memorable things in this anime was the comedy for me, and the art fabulously complemented it. As with the first season, there were many moments where the character's art completely changed to match the comedy. (I don't really know what it's called) Also, the fighting scenes were smooth enough so that I didn't notice anything bad.

Sound: 10/10
The 2nd ED in particular is one of my favorites. But, both of the OP and the 1st ED were also good. I don't really pay too much attention to the soundtracks during the anime, so I can only really tell if it's repetitive or doesn't match the animations, which in this case, was not repetitive and went well with the animations.

Character: 9/10
With such a large cast of characters and somewhat banal villains, I find it hard to care about any characters besides the main ones. But that being said, the main characters were expanded on splendidly and are quite different than they were at the end of the first season.

Enjoyment: 10/10
For me, some animes take a while to get interesting or have some boring episodes, but Magi: The Kingdom of Magic didn't. From the very first episode, I was hooked. Aladdin's story in particular was one of the best I've seen and left me wanting to watch the next episode.

Overall: 10/10
This anime was by far one of best I've seen in a while. I'd definitely recommend it to others.

If you're stuck wondering if this is worth you're time, as I often am, don't hesitate to give this one a go. You won't regret it.

Bing bong, here we go again.

Perfection at its damn finest, Magi

Story:
I do not want to give ANY clues to the story since it's so beautiful and you gotta experience it yourself. Whoever thinks that Shounens are just fighting needs to watch this. The story is great and its world-building is even better. Legit the anime version of Avatar or something. 10/10

Art: It's A-1, they made SAO which had really good art but a total shit story. So obviously character art is real good! Magic seems exponentially better than other animes and more polished than its first season. The chibi version is even cuter in ... some ways and in some of the scenes I was genuinely impressed by the way the art was performed. 10/10

Sound: Bruh, wanna hear some clinky clannks? some nice skdooshes of magic or some boingies from boobas. Well here it is! Good sound entirely but.. No ear-rape bass? 8/10

Character: Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana are the new Armin, Eren, and Mikasa except they're significantly dumber. Sinbad is basically Levi if he was Erwin. Basically, top-tier characters with some top tier story make some top tier TV. 12/10

Enjoyment: VERY MUCH AMAZING!! I usually set a limit on how may episodes I watch for a day bcuz of school but with this.. I binged 15 episodes in one day. Now if that doesn't sound good, it's because it's not because I was hungry the entire time. Watch much, eat not much, die very much. 10/10

Overall: Ok, now let's do ze maths.
(10+10+8+12+10)/5 = 50/5 = 10
VINDICATED AAHH

Story (9/10): Magi: The Kingdom of Magic is a continuation of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. The show starts off at the end of the first season, Aladdin and his friends are on their separate paths to go after their own personal goals. Unlike the first season, this season will be an overarching storyline that will primarily be centered around Aladdin and the country of Magnostadt. Like the first season, dark themes surround this anime ranging from war to discrimination and imprisonment.

Characters (9/10): In the second season, more characters have been added to the show. Because of this, I will only discuss vital characters pertaining ... to the plot.

Aladdin is still childish but he's growing up. He is shown to be much wiser and skillful as he uses of his newfound experience during combat. Unfortunately, as the story progresses (and secrets are revealed) he will become conflicted in his sense of right and wrong.

In this season, Alibaba and Morgiana have now been downgraded to supporting cast members in order to make way for new characters. At the very least, both of them do have their own episodes concerning their desired goals before the story shifts back towards Aladdin.

Titus Alexius is a student of the Magnostadt Academy who later becomes Aladdin's friend. Because of his situation/condition, he sees life as precious and seeks to make the most of his life by protecting his friends.

Scheherazade is one of the three original Magi of this world who is the High Priestess/co-creator of the Reim Empire. Her backstory intertwines with that of Titus so this is all that I can say about her.

Matal Mogamett is the main antagonist of this story arc. The character development for him is very good. He is a very discriminative anti-villain who will stop at nothing to maintain the current status quo of Magnostadt and the magicians who live there. His reasons and actions are so well developed that it just blurs your moral perception.

Supporting Characters: There is even more supporting characters than the first season. Again, each one of them have unique personalities and values. Unlike the first season, many of the new characters have minor backstories/development. This is justified seeing as how most of them are soldiers or participants in the coming conflict so not much backstory is needed.

Art/Animation (10/10): The art/animation is modern. The characters are drawn with extremely detail when in their Metal Vessel/Household Vessel forms. The backgrounds are also very detailed and colored brightly. The same goes for any battle scenes that take place; the animation is very fluid.

Sound/Music (9.5/10): The sound/music was good. The opening theme music was exciting, upbeat and joyful like in the first season. The second opening theme music was more emotional. The soundtrack over the adventure and battles were also really good.

Enjoyment (9/10): I enjoyed it. But by the series' end, my desire to watch more has become insatiable; especially due to the massive cliffhanger ending; which I felt could be completed with a few OVAs.

Summary/Overall (9/10): The story was good and exciting. The character development is excellent. The music is also very good. The amount of satisfaction after watching this is very high.

Review #12

certainly an improvement on the first season.
what I liked:
less focus Alibaba and his whining
more focus on Alladin
anti-racism message *clap clap clap*

What I didn't like:
not enough morgiana ahhhh

Also, the animation was still arse, the fight's dull and anti-climatic, and too much of "talk no jutsu".
... I mean why go all DBZ with your flashy sword moves, when you could have solved the whole conflict by just having a hearty talk while sipping some tea preferably.
no, really I had lot's of problems with how the conflict get created and then resolved in this anime, they didn't really flow well and felt unnatural, the writer could have written them more solidly, with more emphasis on political reasons behind them, yeah the "slavery is bad, hatred, destiny" thing get boring really quickly.

Magi review

I love this show and I can’t express how much I adore the three main characters Alibaba, Aladin and Morgiana ,so I decided to put all of my love and raw emotions this show delivered to me into words.

You go into a bookstore and from the thousands of books laying in the shelves you stood upon a particular book with a unique and vivid cover . At first you are hesitant to buy it not being sure of what to expect from its content. Once you open that book you will find out how wrong you were to judge it just by ... its colorful cover. This is Magi , a book that should not be judged by its cover but for its rich and beautiful content that it offers for its readers.

Reading through the pages you will discover a fantastic world, a world filled with dungeons , djinns , metal vessels , household vessels, ruckh, magoi and many other references from the Arabian culture and history. The story is what will captivate and persuade you to finish that book, it’s a story about encounters , about the virtue of friendship ,about forming bonds and trust, a emotional story about love, family told through the help of our three main characters experiences Alibaba, Alladin and Morgiana.

In Magi is not all about the fights it’s more about the reason behind them giving a meaning to the characters who take part in those battles. Be it for a dear friend, be it to protect the country you love , be it for your family , everyone has a reason to stand up and fight for its own cause . In Magi there is not such thing as a villain or hero the anime let’s its audience to decide who is the real villain or hero by presenting the circumstances and reasons for each conflict.

What’s the most important thing in a story? Well the characters they are the essence that make the story attractive and Magi doesn’t disappoint us in that domain. The characters are the main reason why you should watch Magi. They have unique and vivid personalities , they provide a lot of entertainment and their stories manage to bring fourth the raw emotions from its audience . They are times when you hate the characters , times when you love them , times when you laugh and cry with them , times when you are amazed by their skills and courage, this is what the characters are supposed to do for its audience in Magi to tell their story through their experiences and overcoming their inner struggles across the development of the story.

Magi has something else to offer for its audience other than beautiful colors and fights. Something that holds a deep meaning for the world and plot in Magi called The Ruckh. Divided in two main categories:
The White Ruckh who represents the flow of life and guidance of fate which has its origin from the hope , dreams and happiness of all living beings in that world.The Black Ruckh who represents those who defy the guidance of fate and fall into depravity , which has its origin from the despair , misery , and fuels of hatred of all livings beings in that world. These two forces are the main conflict for the plot and story in Magi and have different traits and types of using them. Also Magi offers an insight on some aspects from the politics and economics and using them for the characterization and plot.

In conclusion this anime is something that will hold a special meaning in your heart after watching it, its story and characters will draw forward your raw emotions and tears will flow down on your cheeks , you will love and hate at the same time the characters and finally you will have a great time enjoying the good comedy and well executed fights. I Fucking love this anime!

Overall 8/10

Very unique story and it was unbelievably good. I've never seen another anime like it and I still want more, but I feel like the second season lacked a little of that which made the first season superb.

Does the second season top the original? The answer is yes, - yes it does, launching off straight from where the last season ended, Kingdom of Magic takes you on journey that forever changes our characters and world forever.

Even though most of setting stays the same throughout, new locations and factions are presented from the magical city of Magnostadt to the deadly Reim Empire that's based upon the real world's Roman Empire as well as including nations from the previous series like the Kou Empire and Sindria, while also being given an in depth look at there working to get a sense of scale onto ... how powerful these nations are and how they effect the Magi World, this is a great addition to the series as it helped immerse me in the world and care more for it.

Now on the other hand the start of the plot was a little disappointing, as it did something I hate which was show the end or close to the end of series at the start of the show which was totally unnecessary. Other then that though the story is fantastic and well written taking each of the four main characters on different journeys to better improve there characters, well for the most part as Morigiana and Hakuryuu barely make an appearance, having very little screen time but on the other side Aladdin and Alibaba become the driving points of the plot have great amount of detail being put into there growth even if Alibaba's is shorter, but nevertheless these characters help drive you through a fantastic plot full of twists, fun battles and new interesting characters through interesting and fun arcs even if it was a little predictable. Though even though the ending was great it does cliffhanger and unlike the first there's no next season in sight which was a disappointment.

As I've just said out of the four main characters only three get any real development and out of those three only the one getting vast amounts of screen time which is Aladdin who as said before has good screen time and development changing from that small naive child from the first season to a wise magi, while others like Hakuryuu and Alibaba get good development that helps shape there new personalities for the rest of the season. While with Morigiana, I'm not sure what happens with her as she is only in a few episodes where nothing really happens which was a disappointment.

But on a brighter side the support characters flourish in this series once again, well new ones do and some older ones, such as older characters get new back-story, in particular members of the Kou Empire (Kougyoku) are given a much needed back story though other characters like Sinbad don't. But leaving the old behind, lets focus on the new, with newer characters being shown at every corner that are all fun and interesting to look at while story or two that helps drive the plot forwards.

Speaking of fun to look at, characters designs in this show are as great as ever, with new character looking unique and refreshing and old characters getting re designed which helps keep the feeling that the world of Magi gives out. The art in a similar fashion while remaining the same looks better and animation is faster and improved.

Which can also said about the soundtrack as well, which resonates well with the world the anime has build and makes you feel at home, but this can not be said of the Openings and Endings, as I found the first opening and ending to be boring and forgetful like they where missing that spark that made the the first enjoyable, but on another side the second opening and ending help capture that again.

In conclusion, the Kingdom of Magic is a worthy second season and is a must watch for people who loved the first. Even if is held back by a few errors.

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic,
Having watched both The Adventures of Sinbad and The Labyrinth of Magic I was really excited to carry on to this. The Magi series is fantastic and really enjoyable.

This season picks up where the first left us, Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana and Hakuryuu completed the dungeon and have gathered back together with Sinbad in Sindria.
They've grown a lot since arriving there, but it's coming to the time where they need to set off on their next adventures.

You get to see them grow separately and together in this season which is really nice. They keep their promises of adventuring together, though they ... also set out for their goals alone. Seeing them go off by themselves but always striving to make the others proud adds a lot to the feeling of the anime. They maintain their close friendship even while miles apart.
You get to see them learn a lot more about themselves and become stronger, mainly with the goal of being able to protect each other and all the good people they've become friends with along the way.

Aladdin is just as pervy as always. Seeing him make friends with Titus and Sphintus is great, he gathers friends that are very similar to each other. They all have something to fight for.
I do wish there was more of a focus on what Alibaba and Morgiana were doing while they were all separated. Finding out there was a year gap toward the end, it didn't feel that way at all which gave it a bit of a disconnect. If it was portrayed better time-wise then that would have been good, but you can see the amount of time reflected in the growth of their powers so that kind of makes up for it.

The battles in this felt a lot greater, with the amount of people and armies battling and also how much stronger they've become.
Seeing everybody gather at the end was really impressive and one of those great goosebumps moments.

This season was a bit better than the first in some ways, like stronger story and growth.
It all came together really well and the end trails off so there's a possibility of another season which is great. It was really fun and exciting to watch and I'm very hopeful for more.

I liked the 1st season of the show so I continued watching the second one hoping that it will be awesome as the previous.

Story:
It goes on from the last season and it starts nicely with the trio alibaba , aladin and mor everyone goes to train themselves so they become stronger , but you will not see them until the last episode together and nations fighting for the land it all goes away just for this certain enemy , the most thing that made me dislike the story that every time aladin goes to a fight he tries to rescue everyone I wish that at ... least for once he just snap and unleash hes true power.
6/10

Art:
Good just like the last Season.
8/10
Sound :
The same as last season.
8/10
Characters:
The anime got a potential for being the best in characters but they didn’t show at all for 24 episode last one all came and show their all moves I didn’t feel it because I didn’t know them and feel their story like the people who came with king Sindbad.
7/10

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed but the problem is that I compare it to the 1st season that’s why I didn’t like much like the previous one.
7/10
Overall: 7/10

Well, I am very late since I just made an account yesterday.

If you have watched a lot of anime, you'll acknowledge that the plot for Magi is one of a kind. Only this anime will fall under the theme, "Arabian" with magic and intense action.

This anime left me speechless. I've re-watched this for a lot of times already, and still, it doesn't fail to make my heart pound. This anime has a special place in my heart, along with FMA brotherhood.

I am not good at making reviews, but please do watch this. This underrated anime deserves A LOT of love and recognition.

Before I get into this, keep in mind that this is a review for all of Magi up to this point, not just season 2.

When I was first introduced to Magi, I could only think, "great, an anime ripoff of Disney's Aladdin." Like come on. It's in an Arabian desert setting, it has magical blue wish-granting genies, and to top it off, one of the main characters is even named Aladdin. How they didn't run into copyright issues for this I will never know. But the more I watched Magi, the more I saw it grow into its own. I watched it meet, and often ... exceed, all of my expectations of what constitutes a good piece of entertainment. But looking back, I can't say I can pinpoint any aspect of the show that truly wowed me.

STORY - 7.7/10

There's no doubt that Magi has a very good storyline. It follows a journey through a surprisingly well fleshed out world filled with both dream-like fantasy and well-defined realism. Through this world, some genuinely interesting ideas about fate, class, and friendship are explored, and it's not afraid to get into the darker side of things. One of its most impressive features is its vast number of kingdoms, each with fully functioning governments and economies that really help showcase all the major themes of the show. But in general, the storyline seems to just wander around its world without any major focus or backbone, and it's often hard to see what it's really trying to accomplish. This also lets it drag at times, like in the middle of season 1 and and the beginning of season 2, where the pacing takes a hit. But overall, Magi tells a very impressive story, especially in the second half of season 2 where all its strengths culminate.

CHARACTERS - 7.5/10

Characters are a bit of a mixed bag for the show. On one hand you have characters like Titus, Hakuryuu, Morgiana, and Matal, who all have very engaging arcs and motives over the course of Magi. But on the other, main characters like Aladdin seem to pale in comparison. Aladdin, while fun for a lot of comic relief, doesn't really have much depth to his character at all. Side characters are similarly mixed, with some being really interesting, like Gyokuen, and others being comically bad, like Abhmad. All in all though, there's definitely much more good than bad going on in the character department, with solid characterization and development across a very wide range of characters.

ART - 6.4/10

As far as the art goes, it's pretty good. Like I said earlier, the world has some interesting settings which look nice and colorful. There's nothing mind-blowing going on here though. The fights generally look pretty average, with some being better and some being worse. It does the job and it's more than good enough.

SOUND - 5.3/10

The soundtrack also does the trick, but it definitely leans towards a more average quality. It isn't very memorable at all and listening to it alone doesn't do much for me. I'll give it some points for matching the Arabian aesthetic and for combining a lot of different instruments and voices. The voice acting is also sufficient, but nothing really stood out there either. Same for its openings and endings.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT - 7.4/10

So in the end, did Magi end up being a diamond in the rough? (Heh, see what I did there Aladdin fans?). I'd certainly say so. It really has no bad aspects, and for what little it may lack in art and sound, it more than makes up for with its gripping storyline and broad range of well developed characters. While I can't say that its ideas changed my life or that its moments moved me to tears, I'm confident that it'll satisfy anyone who's looking for some high quality entertainment.

I really enjoyed "Magi: The Kingdom of Magic". When watching "Magi: Labyrinth of Magic", I was introduced to a lot of characters, and was able to learn about the main characters and their importance. I found that when watching "Magi: The Kingdom of Magic", there was a lot "self improvement" between the main characters. The main characters learned more about themselves and how they could successfully follow there own paths. I do not believe that the anime balanced the amount of "self improvement" time for each character. Otherwise, I found the art and characters amazing. I felt that the story was an excellent continuation of ... "Magi: Labyrinth of Magic", and I loved seeing additional challenges and adventures. I especially loved learning more about characters that had been briefly discussed in the 'Magi: Labyrinth of Magic". I enjoyed the anime greatly, and recommend it to those who enjoyed "Magi: Labryinth of Magic"! Currently there is no season three, but I really hope that it will be made!

The Kingdom of Magic is Magi's greatest season and an absolute masterpiece. And I'm going to tell you why without spoilers so you can read this review, especially if you haven't watched it yet.

Not since Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood have I binged a series this hard. (FMA: Brotherhood still holds the record for my biggest binge; 31 episodes in a day, basically watching half of it in less than 24 hours)

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic is filled with complex characters, to both love and hate, with very few being purely evil. The two OPs in this are both great and fun, and you will never ... want to skip them.

It takes the trio in Labyrinth of Magic; Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana, and builds on them even more in this season while introducing new characters to love, more challenges to overcome, and powerful, intriguing enemies to face. The political intrigue of Labyrinth of Magic is still present in this season but feels dialed back a little, while still holding its presence. Like the previous season, it isn't afraid to separate our group for them to explore their individual struggles and desires;

Morgiana wants to see her homeland.

Aladdin wants to become a more powerful mage, rather than just relying on his Magi abilities for power, so he can be of more help to the world and his friends.

Alibaba wants to become strong enough to take back his kingdom, which includes learning to better harness his Djinn and even how to hold himself as a leader.

We get to see them tackle these goals both together and alone, sometimes their journies give them the power to handle situations they must handle along the way, allowing us to see how far they've come. It makes for a fun journey in which we get to see and experience their growth both literally and figuratively.

The art is fairly simplistic in this anime; nothing very realistic, but not so simplistic it seems barebones or abstract. It's a middle-ground between the two. This allows it to be very detailed when it needs to be, as well as colorful and filled with personality, and also show something grounded and serious when required, as this show also explores dark concepts about humanity.

Showing both these good and bad sides through the characters and plot, which this show does well, gives a complex story that will get you thinking. Very few villains in this anime are simply black and white in means of who is bad and good; being driven to do bad things because of their bad, horrible experiences/past and choosing to be hateful/evil rather than just simply being a bad person or coming out of it a better person. This makes them seem more human and gives them that complexity, which makes it thought-provoking and interesting. This story doesn't use "simplistic evil" as some others do for their villains.

Overall, you will be on a roller-coaster ride watching The Kingdom of Magic. You will laugh, cry, be enraged, maybe even confused. Characters who you thought were evil may do something that doesn't seem at all like something a villain would do. One of the heroes may do something questionable, or even against their nature. Their intentions may even be pure. But much like humanity itself, it's complex, rather than simply black and white.

However, this anime shows how much of a difference kindness can make in the world, and how much humanity can make a difference when we're not constantly fighting and feuding with each other, but that doesn't mean those have done wrong aren't punished for their actions, or don't have consequences to face. You will most definitely be inspired by this anime, especially when you finish it. I most certainly was. And the animes I give a 10/10 are the ones that go that extra mile and inspire me. I hope Magi: The Kingdom of Magic does that for you too.

Story: 10/10
Art: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10

OVERALL: 10/10; Magi's best season and an absolute masterpiece. (A-1 Pictures, please get Season 3 out before I die)

For such a highly regarded franchise my wife and I found season 1 of Magi to be mediocre and overrated. I ended up giving it a 7 and you'd be very hard pressed to convince me it's better than that. Also, we've had pretty poor experiences with season 2s as an in general. While there are of course exceptions to every rule, we've found in the large majority of cases- Knights of Sidonia, Log Horizon, Attack on Titan and many others- that season 2 frequently tends to be worse than season 1, so we did not have high hopes coming into this particular anime when ... neither of us loved the initial season in the first place. Thankfully, this appears to be one of those uncommon cases where a show's second season really and truly is superior to its predecessor.

While this show is still flawed and imperfect, it very clearly does a number of things better this time around and has patched up some of its biggest holes from before.

Strengths of the show include very strong background/environment music, which I also praised in season 1 (though there is one track in particular that, while lovely, gets recycled a bit too much), solid voice acting, much better pacing than its predecessor, a noticeable improvement in the visual effects (especially for the spells being cast) and a lot more action/adventure elements than the sometimes slow and political season 1.

Weaknesses include the exclusion of hugely likable and important characters- the two egregious examples being Morgiana and Sinbad- for an enormous chunk of the anime, immature boob humor as was present in season 1, lack of emotional depth (the show repeatedly tries to hit you in the feels and present emotional scenes/situations, and I commend the effort, but in my opinion it falls flat in this regard) and a major case of "YuGiOh the Abridged Series Syndrome" where the end of the anime is largely comprised of characters using their super special awesome mega ultimate attacks! It also has a bit of "Pokemon The Anime Syndrome" where a character does something nonsensical, convenient and against the rules of the game/show but then a different character immediately explains it away in conversation with another character.

Because of the much better pacing, stronger development of the characters it chooses to focus on (though character development as a whole leaves a lot to be desired, but this is inevitable with a cast as enormous as this one), increase in action/suspense and sharper visuals I can say definitively I enjoyed watching this quite a bit more than I did season 1.

I think Morgiana being criminally underutilized was definitely a mistake and I think the ending of the anime was acceptable but underwhelming with only the bigger picture plot being resolved and all the interpersonal plot threads left dangling in the breeze, but overall it was a largely positive experience.

If you enjoyed the first season I see no reason you'd not enjoy this as well as it's simply better. I still don't think this franchise is among the very best adventure anime series of all time as many people do, but it's a solid series worthy of a watch.

OBJECTIVE RATING- 8
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 8

The first season of magi is the best, at the level of hunter x hunter or other great anime. But this second season is horrible, the first half is fine, but then the story has many holes.

We dont see the progress of the protagonists of alibaba, morgana, or aladin. Alibaba is going to train and we don't see them until the last chapters. Morgana, Sinbad and the third magi are extinct characters and wasted. Aladin is doubting here and there, his role in war is poor.

Too much screen time for supporting characters who wanted to tell something that never came, like aladin's roommate. ... The second half is rushing to finish everything so fast that I didn't know what was happening. History is a maze full of excuses. There is no balance between chapters, or they are slow or fast.

Explosions, power ups that suddenly dominate everyone, humor in unnecessary moments ... And the enemy ... is the same black mass of fullmetal alchemist.

The animation continues to be good, the music no better than the first season.

Its not a masterpiece. Its absurd and sad because they had a lot of potential to create something great, but they fall into the enjoyable average.

Story - 9
The story of Magi is such an adventurous experiment from start to end, with the evolution of the characters, setting, and general happiness of the town changing as the events due in a way that feels very natural.

You can understand and sympathize with (nearly) every character, and the actions that drive the story and the events seem genuine, if a bit exaggerated.
Art - 7
Nothing special, pretty generic, with a couple cool looking scenes (Mainly Ali Baba's """fight""" with Sinbad). Next
Sound - 5
Again, nothing special, but the music specifically is so impartial and impending that it didn't help me engage at all, but at ... least it wasn't bad.
Character - 10
All of the characters, even the 1-off villains, have an effect on the characters and are themselves interesting characters. None of the main characters are boring and seeing it from one of their perspectives makes the mind blow greater when the other does something surprising.
All of the characters are very lovable and are hard to hate even when they aren't on your favorite character's side
Enjoyment - 10
I very much enjoyed this show, because I'm a simple girl. I get fights, I get cute boys, I get great characters, Im gucci.
Overall - 9
Although I enjoyed the show, there are enough flaws for me to understand why someone wouldn't and some of which put me off a tiny bit.
I very much suggest this title, I enjoyed it very much and still adore it.

I feel like Magi: The Kingdom of Magic is a slight improvement over the original season (which I quite liked). I want to give this an 8.5, but half points aren't permitted. So I settled on an 8 instead.

STORY - 9/10:

While the characters were really what helped push a first season that was a bit weaker on story, those elements are reversed here. The second season spends most of its time following Aladdin. We get brief glimpses of Alibaba and Morg, and they each make a triumphant return towards the end of the season, but we're really focused on Aladdin here.

Aladdin is at the magic ... school in the magical country (I'm not even going to try to spell the name out). He's there for a few reasons: he wants to improve his magical skills; he wants to investigate potential links to Al-Thamen; and he wants to find out more about the way the magical vs non-magical citizens live. The story starts out a little weak, with a weird pirate arc taking up the first few episodes. I guess they wanted to give us a little adventure with the team before everyone split up. But once we get into Aladdin's story, the pacing picks up nicely.

As with the first season, Magi really dives into some dark themes. I wouldn't consider death to necessarily be a mature theme, as its present in a lot of material aimed at children (Bambi, Old Yeller, etc.). But Magi goes into some really sinister areas: the idea that there are different classes of citizens (they touched on slavery in season one, but this stuff goes way beyond that); the idea that people are essentially being farmed for their souls; the idea that these people willingly chose that in exchange for an easy life and the mage's protections - is it okay to treat someone like dirt if they've given their consent? These are some really deep ideas to be presented in a shounen series. It adds a lot of emotional heft and complexity to a plot that would otherwise be pretty straightforward.

War breaks out towards the end of the season, and it's actually quite interesting to try and determine which side is in the right. The Ko Empire's militaristic ideals aside, you could really make an argument for either side between the Rem Empire and the magical academy. Which is how wars usually work. We really get to see Aladdin shine towards the end, once he takes the crystal off and unleashes his full power. And by the final battle with the dark void, where just about every djinn-equipper in the world shows up to fight, we get to see some pretty cool action.

Art - 8/10:

The art and animation are solid, if not spectacular. There's a bit more fanservice this season, with Aladdin's instructor's boobs playing a major role in his motivation. But the fight scenes and the magical spells all look great.

Sound - 8/10:

I watched the English dub again. I liked most of the voices. The OST was good. Not much to say here.

Character - 7/10:

Like I said earlier, I think this section is the biggest detraction to the second season. Character was the strength of the first season, but because we're now spending 90% of the time with just Aladdin, we have to meet a whole new host of characters. And, unfortunately, they don't seem as interesting or nuanced as the first season's characters.

Titus is probably the guy that we spend the most time with, and its clear that the show wants us to consider him the emotional anchor. But given his backstory, he's really just a child, exploring the world for the first time. He's a likeable, endearing character, but he's a simple character.

The director the academy (again, not even going to try to spell his name) is probably the most interesting character we meet, but he's kind of despicable in a lot of ways. In terms of themes, it's quite intriguing (and repugnant) to see how he views humans with no magical ability. He treats them with absolute indifference, like they're animals or objects. Aladdin is confused by the fact that the director seems like a genuinely warm and caring person until he realizes that the director holds these views. We get some nice backstory through the use of flashback scenes that show the director as a caring individual who wants to use his magical powers to help all humans, but loses that love and positivity along the way.

Aladdin himself continues to grow, both as a character and a mage. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's nice to see the incremental development of Aladdin. You can clearly see how he will one day be a true Magi, a leader of humans.

Alibaba gets a couple episodes and Morg gets one, which is enough to give us a taste of what they've been up to, but their development occurs mostly off-screen.

ENJOYMENT - 9/10:

I ripped through the second season pretty fast. Part of that was because I wanted to watch Iron Fist on Netflix, and I liked to finish the show I'm watching first. But I genuinely enjoyed the second season of Magi. It's a fun show with a lot to enjoy. And I liked the pacing this season. By focusing squarely on Aladdin (who probably had the most interesting story out of the three anyway), it lends an air of mystery as to when Alibaba and Morg would re-appear. The story handles that aspect quite nicely, and it leads to great moments when they do eventually re-appear. Not having Sinbad around for most of the season was a bit of a downer, as he was probably my favourite character from the first season. But he gets some pretty epic moments in the final battle, so that was nice.

OVERALL - 8.5/10

This season was an 8.5 for me. But since MAL doesn't allow half-points, I'll give it an 8 here and a 9 on my list to split the difference. Magi is a definitely a typical shounen in a lot of distinct ways, but it has a mature air about a lot of the themes that it delves into. It hits satisfying emotional beats, has mostly likeable characters, and offers up an interesting setting based on the Arabian Nights. All in all, I would recommend this show to most people.