First Impressions / Magi

「戦闘民族ファナリス」 (Sentou Minzoku Fanarisu)
“Dungeon Clearer”

Man, Ryosai really boils my blood. I resisted muting my screen at the moments that he was spouting out nonsense about finding pleasure and fun from suffering. Good riddance, and thank Solomon it was an OHKO (one-hit knockout) from a bitchslap. The antagonists of Magi have so far brought nothing but one-sided rage to me–but as a tradeoff, they have been temporary in their existence.

But wait! I don’t hold it against Magi for having such shallow antagonists, for their actions have introduced to us many honorable characters who have so far, outshined their one-sided and selfish rivals. Hakuei and Baba both demonstrated tremendous willpower and steadfast adherence to their beliefs this week, with Hakuei being even more steadfast that I have no choice but to admire her dedication. This show continues to grow better with each episode as the actors reveal themselves for the main conflicts ahead.

First off, it’s amazing that Baba stayed alive even with such a fatal wound–any other character age would probably keel over on the spot! I suppose it was the years of experience fighting off invaders that grew this old lady’s willpower, but man, I am loving how her spunk didn’t go away, even at her deathbed! When characters fight for what they believe in, we feel good, but it is when characters fight with a passion in the face of fatality that we completely empathize with their ideals. Baba, to the very end of her life, fought to keep her family together in what small way she could. Even with blood dripping towards the ground, she reprimanded her own clan so that they could be saved, so that her grandchildren would see a family whole. What makes her intentions especially believable to me is the setup of her character–rather than a spunky youth that has yet to have seen the world, Baba has earned her respect throughout her life, even though it is not explicitly mentioned. Her secondary character status also makes her mortality all the more real, as the protection of plot armor does not guarantee her safety in deathly situations. Her sacrifice then becomes real to us, rather than as an idiotic attempt by a protagonist who will not and cannot die. Baba, you will be missed, both by the characters and us, for standing up for your family to the death.

However, Baba was not the only other heroine that shone today. Hakuei, though a more youthful character, has definitely proven her ideals with her actions and the limits that she pushed. Even though Ryosai did everything in his power to tarnish the rosy goals of the princess, she kept her calm and did not waver. She believed in the honesty of others and defended that honesty to a near-death experience (though as a side note: my Djinn, how durable these main characters are!). Perhaps the moment that she proved herself best was during the confrontation with the Kouga clan and her refusal to dodge. I was VERY surprised that she took that blow and risked her life, relying on the person to not absolutely kill her. Instead of distrust, she placed faith in the humanity of mankind, and physically stood for her ideals. It’s a powerful statement and risk that she took, also without plot armor, that truly strikes a chord both with the Kouga clan (that’s good-natured at heart) and with ourselves (who applaud Hakuei for being a badass).

But where Baba’s story ends, Hakuei’s only begins. Interesting implications arise as Hakuei has been deemed by another Djinn, Paimon, as a “potential king” of sorts. Whilst Hakuei may be a great person to take up any sort of rule, it has also been hinted in previous episodes that Ali Baba, and perhaps more, have been chosen as “potential kings”. This is exactly the reason why I do not hold Magi back for its shallow protagonists thus far: I can already see there will be tension between well-meaning characters, creating multiple “worthy victors” that make for a more interesting story. Magi so far has attempted to handle conflicts with diplomatic means, only resorting to physical conflict when all else fails. I’m looking forward to how the various characters will give, take, ally, and reluctantly oppose each other, all to reach this common goal around becoming “king”.

Next week, we get to see what many people have been waiting for: an episode focused on Morgiana! Finally, we get to see a little insight into the quietest, yet significant character of the show.

 

Preview

35 Comments

  3. So many tense and amazing moments this episode, so far IMO this is the best episode in the show, Baba’s death indeed left its mark on the characters and viewers alike .. i’m glad she didn’t just die unceremoniously at the beginning of the episode, but she fought her pain and severe injury in order to preserve the lives of her clan people .. fantastic character.

    Hakuei also had her share of awesome moments, from Djinn aided magical-girl-esque kick-ass transformation with wind powers, to her impressive confidence in-front of the Kouga swordsman trying to attack her, to her genuine anger when she grabbed a sword and tried to challenge Ryosai to a duel despite her desperate situation and exhaustion .. all in all i certainly want to see this character more and more … her Djinn Paimon isn’t any less interesting than her .. surely live up to her name sake (a Djinn made of Love and Chaos) with her wind powers, looks and remarks (i will only help Hakuei whom i have fallen for XD) .. although i have to say i didn’t expect to see pierced exposed nipples in a show like Magi XD

    Also good to see Aladdin doesn’t suffer from the “i don’t want to kill anyone even the bad-guys who are murderous maniacs” syndrome that many shonen heroes suffer from .. when he gets serious .. HE GETS SERIOUS .. he blew up a bunch of guys with his magical spell (called “Infigar” which means explosion .. and yeah it’s in arabic) then he proceeded without a hint of hesitation to smack-punch Ryosai to his sorry humiliating death .. now that’s how things are done … and better that he came to terms with his identity and is moving on from that to discovering how this whole “selecting the next king” business actually works … in fact i think they intentionally made Aladdin unable to fully summon Ugo (i.e his missing head which looks weird no matter how many times i see it) just to overshadow some of the plot points that the Djinn talk about whenever Ugo encounters one.

    And nice to see someone still remembers Goltaz and he actually turned out to be a member og the Kouga clan which is a nice way to tie loose ends together.. RIP Goltaz.

    HunterWulf
    Reply

    1. Same here, i was so glad Aladdin brought down the juggernaut on him without a second of hesitation like some other retarded shonen heroes who might actually have forgiven him just like that (becasue “ooooh they just can’t kill anyone”) …. but Aladdin just blasted his soldiers with powerful explosive magic and then super-smacked him …. BAM .. it’s over .. i like decisive character when they get serious XD

      HunterWulf
      Reply

  6. It was fitting that the Anime paused long enough to show Ryosai’s contorted body in his death. Aladdin’s actions were
    not done in anger, but were very deliberate, calculated, and without remorse. This make him much more dangerous
    than a character who acts/defends on impulse or emotion. This ain’t no kiddy show.

    This episode advanced Aladdin in a couple of significant ways: he knows he’s a Magi and he’s made allies that I’m sure
    will be relied upon later. Too, I love the introduction of the new character, Paimon, and the two Djinn’s seem well acquainted.

    This has really turned into a very rich adventure series.

    Yes, an episode focused on Morgiana!

    mac65
    Reply

    1. It is indeed really nice to see the main character be the voice of reason (and not one driven only with good intentions and heart; i.e. instead of panicking about not seeing Alibaba the second he is teleported after all, he is pretty calm about it especially for a shounen hero and feels that he’ll see him again and just goes with the flow). Though even as a kid who is wise beyond his years (along with “manly interests” lol but I digress) he still questions and has that strong sense of wanting to be a part of family in a way that is still very characteristic of his actual age. The fact the he has a mixture of optimism of very strong willingness of not seeing people die needlessly, his natural intelligence, and any lack of self conflict asides from identity issues because he is so young makes him a unique character so far.

      That said, I am also looking forward to Morgiana’s episode 🙂

      Fen
      Reply

  7. Man, even Hakuei was saving her ex-soldiers from being hit from the deflected arrows, which was draining her energy, and yet they were all ungrateful to actually still attack her…she’s kickass. Does anyone know if these characters reappear later in the manga? I hope so.

    marsh381
    Reply

    2. Show Spoiler ▼

      Yoyo
      Reply

    3. Show Spoiler ▼

      Globule
      Reply

  16. TOOO SHORT, they should have at least lengthen it since it was with my FAV character from magi.

    well, I am more curious how they plan the next episode. For those who had read the manga first, you should know there should be two lovely girls that were supposed to appear in chapter one and would……well if you read the manga you would get my point.

    L002
    Reply

  20. So Ryosai did die right? If so Aladdin has earned many more points from me , it’s nice to see a hero who knows that some things can’t be forgiven. I’m looking forward to seeing how his meetings will change Aladdin as the series continues.

    HakumeiJin
    Reply

  22. To be Honest, i was fearing, since the Last Scenes showed us the Arrow Attack. That this Episode turn into more Blood and Kills. But Lucky, the “bad Men” and Allies got what he/they deserved and everything turned out well. i think i got Hooked to this Show

    Germanguy approve this Show.

    Germanguy
    Reply

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