「新たなる来訪者」 (Aratanaru Raihousha)
“A New Visitor”

Ren Kougyoku, a vicious psychopath who could annihilate anyone who stands in her way…unless it happens to be a hot guy. Thank you Sinbad for saving Balbadd’s impoverished from the impulses of a mad woman, nonviolently to top it off. Although this princess of the Kou empire has gotten off o the wrong foot by potentially killing off Ugo, her tsundere attitude already indicates her gray nature. It is scary to think though of how much power she wields through her guard, compared to her fellow sister (I’m assuming), Hakuei. The three elites that assault our beloved main characters have a mysterious and imposing aura about them, which is backed by strength and agility that match the Fanalis, and training that challenges a royal sword style. I don’t know whether we’ll learn more about these shrouded characters, but they sure will create an even bigger fight in the near future, if Kougyoku hasn’t killed everyone in her rage mode first.

However, it is not the military prowess that has made this episode, but rather the political agenda of the Kou Empire finally being revealed. As I stressed before, the politics were slowly unfolding in the background as the action ensued, but now the story has finally merged the two together…making for an intriguing dilemma. Not only are Sinbad and Ali Baba fighting against a corrupt monarchy, but are fighting an entire nation…one of the largest of the world of Magi. It is clear now that the Kou Empire intends to cripple Balbadd’s economy enough for invasion and assimilation, with Judal and Banker at the helm. Contrasting heavily with Hakuei’s peaceful methods, Kougyoku hasn’t much respect for the people her nation seeks to conquer–both have the same goal of uniting the world, but their reasons for doing so are polarized. I predict that with the politics in full swing, we’ll be seeing more internal conflict of the Kou Empire, with disagreements on key issues that could hell, possibly lead to a civil war. Of course this seems far into the future as an end-game sort of scenario: most of the world hasn’t been revealed yet, and the roles of the Magi in the current age haven’t been clearly set in stone. It does excite me though at the potential plot the future holds, since well executed political conflict in the midst of shounen action…that’s something I want to wrap myself around!

But we may see a climax even in the near future, as Sabhmad, the good-hearted yet spineless messenger, warns of the slave state Balbadd is about to become. I didn’t expect such a quiet character to start playing a role that advanced the plot, but in retrospect, the show dropped signs beforehand of his innocence. In the future, I’ll have to note these subtle signs such as one single line…for Magi is well written enough to take advantage of these subtleties. It’s interesting to witness yet another conflict within the government, only that Balbadd’s situation will resolve itself within the next few episodes. With Morgiana pissed to the max, shit’s going to go down against Abhmad as Sindria (with reinforcements coming soon) and the Fog Troupe team up to what’s looking to be a coup against the current government. It looks like Aladdin and Ugo will be taking the sidelines for now as this political conflict unfolds, as Ali Baba undoubtedly will have to face some hard issues in the next few episodes to come…the biggest of which is the strange absence of Kassim. It is obvious at this point that Kassim will reappear and cause havok in our protagonists’ plans, but how he will do so, up to speculation. If I had to take a guess though, Kassim will probably retrieve more powerful instruments (from his supplier…which I can guess is Banker) in order to stop Ali Baba out of pure hatred.

The Balbadd arc has definitely shaped up to be our first major arc, with political tensions climbing constantly, waiting to explode in civil war. But can Sinbad avoid such bloodshed with his diplomacy? His silver tongue may be able to stop a crazy princess, but will it sway those corrupted by greed?

 

Preview

38 Comments

  1. A great episode, need I say more? If you wanted action, they gave you, and intense. They put the taste in your mouth, and make you crave for more, only to end it as soon as possible and you find yourself falling off a cliff down under, screaming “I WANTED MORE ACTION!”, damm that Kou princess, I can’t wait to see Alibaba act cool like that 😀

    Cliff hanger episodes hurt the most 🙂 So I said dying for next episode two weeks ago, I was so badly eager for last week’s, and now I’m melting for next!

    Thanks for the review! Morgiana’s further involvement with Alibaba and Alaadin, I have a feeling, might shape well now.

    Regards,
    M

  2. Man, this episode was so over the top. The music when kougyoku attacked was so badass and terrifying at the same time.

    As a person who have read the manga I just can’t wait for what is coming, and believe me, what is coming is so really good. This is a story many people should read and learn from.

    projectnoa
  3. Man, this is why Sinbad is the High King of the Seven Seas. However, no one seem to see his face, they only heard of him.
    So we have elephant, leopard/cheetah, and a monkey? First 2 is easy, the last one is hard to guess.

    Tingster013
    1. You mean High King of the Ladies’Man. Well, you get to see why. LOL
      As for Ahbmad, UGH! What a BUS*ER!! Not only did he betrayed his citizens but also put them into slavery. How did he become a king again? Just because he is royalty? Oh Man oh man! How I which he could be put down soon, like VERY soon.

      zleihsh
    2. the universe of Magi doesn’t have things like photos,cameras,internet and while a name maybe spread from mouth to mouth and become famous, the person’s face does not, so it makes sense tht ppl seem to hav heard about Sinbad, but doesn’t know what he looks like.

      shadowalker
  4. I love how they shape-up the politic in this arc and especially give some economic lessons. See, this is why people should pay more attention to the value of money. It could brighten/wore a country’s future!

    zleihsh
  5. I love the princess already. She went from badass (taking out Ugo in 1 shot) to all shy & cute the next moment /o/
    Also, Sinbad, you’re the man.
    Alibaba has a lot to learn from him lol.

    *v*
      1. No, she isn’t.

        I’ve teared down through 150 chapters of the manga and it’s official. It is the next great Shonen series everyone was waiting for, with lots of action, drama and laughs. It comes at a good time now that Bleach is on its final moments and Naruto is not too far from the end.

        Exukvera
    1. Princess is the best, the next arc has some good moments.

      As per above posters, this is the series to watch, and the manga to follow!

      I just hate the release schedule. It has had too many hiatus recently and they are just about to start a huge arc.

      Nanashi
    1. I blasted through the manga and she gets very adorable later. I won’t even put anything in a spoiler tag to prevent any horrible spoiling just in case. Oh to hear how HanaKana handles some of those line will be fun. I worry that we won’t get to that point depending on how long the anime goes.

      MacrossFan
  6. Great job showing the contrast between Sinbad and Alibaba in this episode.
    Also, stuff happens and people get hurt. A serious side to this.

    I still want to know more about Ugo – what happened to him.

    Zanibas, I hope, that if this series is as long running as some believe,
    that you’ll be able to continue to blog it. It’s cool to get in on the
    ground floor of a series like this.

    mac65
  7. With sons like Ahbmad & Sabhmad it’s no wonder the previous King searched out Alibaba. One is a slimeball & the other while good nature is unfit for Kingship due to what I guess is an extreme form of shyness.

    Good story, good characters & subtlety educational to boot…Magi is great! I’ve long since given up effort to build up episodes for later watching, it’s now one of the main things I look forward too on Sundays!

    fatalblue
  8. Is Magi (the manga) published every week? I always felt it was 2 weeks – month between releases in Japan sometimes

    At this rate, the anime will catch up to it very very quickly. Not looking forward to potential filler or “anime original” ending, I feel the manga is just too good to ruin like that.

    Nanashi
      1. The great evil of animating an ongoing shounen manga. The Magi anime is blowing through 4-5 chapters with every episode and will quickly catch up. The way Naruto and Bleach handled the issue by having tons of filler arcs or having tons of repeat material from previous episodes actually turned me off to those series. There is just no good way to handle this dilemma. If it is true that Magi is only going to be 24 episodes, then it is going to be an abrupt and jarring ending of some kind or another.

        MacrossFan
  9. LOL!!! XDDDD

    Wow…this show just keeps getting better and better. Awesome fights, awesome characters, funny moments and a deep story. This series should be on top along with One Piece, but I wonder, why didn’t they make this into a long running anime series? I think this show deserves it more than any another show, so I’m curious as to why they limited the number of episodes. Are they worried that it won’t sell well? Along with Girls und Panzer and Jojo Bizarre Adventures, and some other shows, this is my favorite show this season and I want it to go longer. I hope they would make a “Magi Brotherhood Kai” or something in the future. This show deserves hundreds of episodes.

    Just Passing By
  10. I like how Alibaba’s indecision is shown to stem from the fact that he’s unwilling to step on other people’s toes in order to do what needs done. This shows that he has a gentle personality rather than being weak willed, unlike that unmentionable from Guilty Crown.
    The subtle assessment of Alibaba’s actions from Sinbad’s perspective really shows the difference in life experience that the two have, and that Sinbad expects great things from Alibaba in future.
    Else, he wouldn’t have backed up Alibaba to meet the king or settle the people’s worries in his place.

    Random Hobo
  11. The fact that they introduced the economic aspect was great. So they were actually using economic means to weaken Balbadd instead of using military force. The Kou empire does have brilliant strategists.

    Kougyoku himegimi’s sword is just awesome!

    Kiiro

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