First Impressions / Magi

「王子の責任」 (Ouji no Sekinin)
“The Prince’s Responsibilities”

My my…if Sinbad tried, he could easily wipe the floor of any empire he wished. What’s surprising is that he doesn’t, instead resorting to bloodless means. Perhaps this is how Sinbad has managed to earn the trust of a Fanalis and a closet brutal killer: surprising many with his unorthodox, yet honorable approaches.

It is clear that Sinbad “joins” the Fog Troupe in an effort to reconcile both sides, having seen both of their goals as fairly legitimate. While re-establishing trade to Sindria is a national concern for Sinbad, saving Balbadd’s impoverished is another concern–troubles that Sinbad believes to be connected to something larger and more sinister. To meet this end, Sinbad sees Alibaba as the potential for reconciling these two conflicting sides–as a prince and a hero of the people–to save Balbadd through diplomacy.

Alibaba won’t have an easy task, as opposition from Ahbmad and Kassim highly distrust Ali Baba’s methods for finding resolution. Despite efforts to find a clean conclusion, one of these two forces–maybe even both–will have to go down through force.

Kassim’s inner hatred for the settled classes clouds clouds his openness to diplomacy. Like as stated last week, Kassim’s true goals boil down to revenge, while saving the people happens to be a secondary goal. Although Sinbad presents a sensible, though out of the blue, solution to the crisis, Kassim grudgingly accepts due to this inherent distrust of the settled. However, there are hints that Kassim is already planning for negotiations to break down, having whisked himself away into a more enclosed area towards the end of the episode. Unfortunately, the way the anime is currently framing Kassim’s character–a character blinded by hatred–isn’t looking so well. I don’t predict that Kassim will have a good ending or undergo a character change, but rather is doomed to a dark fate…perhaps to release Ali Baba from his past deeds.

However, Kassim has been a good antagonist thus far, having dark, yet understandable and somewhat justified reasons for his actions. Ali Baba’s father made mistakes during his reign, but those mistakes hit the impoverished the hardest, causing Kassim to lose everything. It is understandable that rage against an injustice could last a lifetime, especially if it claims his loved ones. It is clear to Kassim that the country will collapse if no one does anything, but it is his methods that will ultimately be his downfall, corrupted by the hatred he never asked for. Thus, we cannot hate Kassim for what he does, for he attempts to do the right thing, but in the wrong way and abusing the wrong people. It is a dilemma that enhances the meaningfulness of Magi’s plot in terms of emotional value.

Meanwhile, on the political side of Balbadd, Ahbmad, the fat king, refuses to make peace with the lower class and Ali Baba for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Ahbmad simply comes off as a terrible person, hinted at being jealous of Ali Baba even as a teenager. Although his brother Sahbmad urges the king to treat Ali Baba and his ideas with respect, rooted dislike for Ali Baba’s upbringings prevents him otherwise. However, even if Ahbmad were to have character, the influence of the Kou Empire is deeply rooted in the monarchy. Judal and his companion, “The Banker”, have come to the palace of Balbadd, probably to maintain their influence on the politics of the state. Such an encounter does not bode well for our protagonists, as Aladdin detects black Rukh emanating from Judal, indicating an inevitable battle in the near future. Not much is known about these two characters, but given that Judal has that dark of a Rukh aura, unseen in any other antagonist thus far, we can assume they have considerable power and influence across multiple countries.

How the current conflict will unfold is unclear, or to what extent, but the anime has setup themselves for an epic conflict soon to come. The major players are ready to use force if necessary, and I predict a rebellion is imminent for Balbadd, caused by a people whose hopes will most likely be crushed again.

 

Preview

42 Comments

  1. Ahbmad is utterly disgusting. I hope Kassim plunges a knife in his fat throat to slice that arrogance and spite out of him by lethal means and I hope he enjoys every moment of it while that fat monstrocity suffers in anguish as the life is sucked out of him

    dimasok
    Reply

    1. Hatred begetting more hatred in the attempt to change for the better through means of violence and resentment. You are playing right into their hands and going against the great flow of the world.

      KoroshiyaKi
      Reply

      2. @dimasok
        if you didn’t know already your lack of respect for religion is quite offensive.and

        “These sort of people only understand pure, hard violence”

        try putting yourself in their shoes if you can’t understand why violence doesn’t solve anything.

        shadowalker
        Reply

      6. Some people may be incorrigible or they just may be more foregone than people are willing to try and reform. But that is besides the point when dealing with this problem. Is kill or be killed your only options? Is there any real worth in making Ahbmad a focal point of hatred? I thought this had already been covered in Fate/Zero, but I guess the question needs to be broached again. Ask you to ask yourself, what does it mean to be a king?

        KoroshiyaKi
        Reply

    2. You don’t have to stoop down to the level of people like Ahbmad in order to get rid of them, true strength is marked by the ability to forgive or at the very least refrain from acting like the corrupted … Alibaba doesn’t have to do that grizzly display of senseless violence let alone consider enjoying it like you suggested .. that’s just wrong and would mark Alibaba’s first step towards becoming a tyrant just like Ahbmad.

      He simply needs to orchestrate a revolution that unifies all the people of Balbadd who were hurt by the monarchy, get the army out of the way (without starting a civil war .. Aladdin can clearly help with that .. Ugo is quite convincing) and overthrow Ahbmad then throw him in jail for his crimes against the people .. simple and clean.

      HunterWulf
      Reply

    3. *Insert Morgiana “I don’t give a crap” death stare* Are you serious…no…are you still flipping serious? Since episode one each week we’ve been shown a something unique that hasn’t been explored that much in the world of anime and you still think its not interesting? I feel sorry for your choice of what you deem as “good” in a show.

      marsh381
      Reply

  3. I really should have marathoned this arc. I don’t want to wait a week to find out what happens next!

    (And no, I’m not going to just pick up the manga…I don’t have the time for that >_<)

    Stilts
    Reply

    1. I know right? LOL, but seriously, is it me but Jafar is the one who is not in the wrong? I feel a little bad for him, forced to play the “bad-guy”, what a sad mom-figure. LOL

      Next ep: Judal!!!!!

      zleihsh
      Reply

  6. I loled at THIS!!! XD

    Ahbmad reminds me of the Tenryuubitos of One Piece. I hope we will see something like THIS in the next episode or in the future.

    I was already impressed with what Morgiana can do but Masrur’s display of strength was DBZ level!!! Well considering how strong Morgiana is with her small frame it shouldn’t have surprised me but watching Masrur move despite his stature is quite unbelievable.

    Also it seems that next week the two Magis will have a showdown. Can’t wait!!!

    Just Passing By
    Reply

      3. I agree Morgiana’s “Sugoi” was really cute, but I don’t like the MasMor shipping. If they where to get together then their daily conversation will be like this:

        Masrur: “…”
        Morgiana: “…Um”
        Masrur: “…Hmm?”
        Morgiana: “…Mmm!”

        Or something like that, so I hope it doesn’t happen. But I still like them both individually.

        Just Passing By
        Reply

  8. Life Lesson #21 :: Let the Wookiee Fanalis win!

    I wasn’t expecting Sinbad to join the Fog Troupe.

    I feel it clearly. I must stop this man no matter what. — Aladdin

    What we’ve seen to date is Aladdin’s thoughtfulness before acting, IOWs, he waits for the antagonist to play their hand first
    before taking action against them. This line is interesting in that he’s still learning about himself, but he immediately knows
    when an “equal” threat appears and it looks like he will go on the offensive against Judal.

    I think next week will be more back story on all of the new antagonists, at least that’s how the flow’s been —
    and I’m looking forward to it!

    Thanks for covering Zanibas!

    mac65
    Reply

  9. I thought this would interest followers of the series —

    gg sometimes puts TL notes that don’t appear on the screen (at least with my player). For example, the last line was –

    Aw man, another weird guy takes the stage!

    and the ASS file contained –>

    Dialogue: 0,0:24:23.65,0:24:27.06,Default,,0,0,0,,Aw man, another weird guy takes the stage! {the word he uses here is “koi”,
    which means definitely #8 here: http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/71255/m0u/%E6%BF%83%E3%81%84/.
    Basically, a guy with a very distinct personality and/or someone who is obsessed with something.
    Both of these fit Judal, but they are hard to sum up in one word!}

    I’ve been extracting the SUB’s file and using it as a reference (it’s quicker to search for things by text than trying to seek
    through the video). It’s great when I run into unexpected things like this – it adds some insight.

    mac65
    Reply

  10. Just wondering, does Judal refer to the arabic word of ‘Jidal’ which means ‘conflict’?

    I loved this episode. I thought it made me love the series even more and even raise it up a notch. I love Alibaba’s charecter and story, but I don’t think Kassim’s abuse of Alibaba’s kindness is yet settled, well not to me. I don’t like how Kassim acts. It seems like he will rebel at some point.

    I love Sinbad’s obvious maturity versus Alibaba’s still young and inexperienced behaviour. I am really liking that relation between the two.

    That ugly Ahmbad must be slapped silly! I hate him -_-‘ is he a man? because he looks like a womanlol

    I cant wait for the next episode. Thanks for bringing this up weekly, it helps the butterflies in my tummy rest XD cheers!

    Mi-Chan
    Reply

    1. I also try thinking of the Arabic meaning behind the words.

      For instance, the first evil guy was named Jamil, Arabic for “pretty” — self named for a guy, it has the connotation of shallow narcissism. I totally called his fate from that.

      Judal = jidal = conflict; Isnan = Insan = people; Dunya Mustashim = “world, in state of restraint”

      Rukh = Ruh (soul/spirit/”oneness with God”); Aladdin = “glory of the religion”

      Kassim = divided; Zaynab = desert flower, Hassan = “doer of good”

      Ahbmad = Ahmad = “highly praised” (from root HMD, that is)

      Others are probably meaningless of course. Jafar = stream/river, Masrur = happy/joyful, Sharrkan = “evil that happened” (sharr kan), Yamuraiha (ambiguous) = “the day she left” (yom raiha) or maybe “the smell of yams”, Leila = the night, Fatima = “one who abstains” or “nurse of babies” (woman’s name), Nadja = tender/delicate (or Slavic for “hope”), etc etc etc But I have a feeling some of this stuff ain’t even Arabic. Have I committed a sin? After all, sin bad. (TM)

      hoiut
      Reply

  13. Kassim cause the country to be thrown into turmoil by betraying Alibaba and “kill” his father. He created Fog Troupe to steal from the rich people and spend the money themselves. Basically, he is the typical asshole that everyone should hate since he is the cause of everything that happen to the nation. Yet, he is the victim here too, the government dun give a damn about the people, just want the money. Conflicted feeling about Kassim. Kassim is in for the money only, and the obvious jealousy of Alibaba.

    Sinbad is smart about joining the Fog Troupe, no wonder he is the High King of the Seven Seas.

    Tingster013
    Reply

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