Manga Recommendation- Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Written by: Micha

If you’re looking for something casual to read when you’re craving for an interesting Shonen which you’ll later forget about after a while when the wind is blowing in the opposite direction, then you’re in the wrong place because Magi is marriage. Only read this manga if you’re willing to genuinely commit to a crapload of brilliance which is only served by the best mangas around.

But why am I-a person with a constipated relationship with appreciation-expressing my admiration towards a creation by another person?

Get this. I will review this incredible manga in a number of categories, which is a bit different than how ClayDragon usually does it but I think you can follow me. If you can’t, you can indulge yourselves in the ever stretching nipples of this very attractive Djinn.

Yes, I really wanted to show her to you.

Plot: 

The manga is set in an ancient world with characters inspired from a variety of nations including ancient Rome, Egypt, and the Arab world. Many of the arcs of the series are adopted from the famous Arabic fiction novel 1001 Nights ( ألف ليلة وليلة yes, I can read Arabic, I rule), and henceforth, the main protagonist; Aladdin who was secluded in a mysterious solitary room at the beginning of the series meets Alibaba and Morgiana with whom he’ll go on adventures to capture dungeons and explore the mysteries and moralities of their world.  

Characters:

Here are brief descriptions of the Three Main Protagonists:

Aladdin. 

Much of the plot revolves around Aladdin, because he’s the main character and it’d be silly if it didn’t. He’s one of the five Magi in the current world, who befriends a djinn named Ugo while he was confined in the Room of Fortitude. Much of Aladdin’s background is still a mystery, except the fact that he comes from an alternate world called Alma Torran which was destroyed.    

Aladdin is kind and extremely charming as he makes friends and form relationships very easily. And despite being 10 years of age at the beginning of the manga, he's quite a pervert at times, which I think adds more charm to his personality. To be honest, my only beef with him that he’s too young. 10 years old, really? Although, I suspect that they made him so because of the inevitable time leaps. However, eventually I got used to it, anyway.

Alibaba Saluja. 

Alibaba was your average kid living in the rural slums, surrounded by drunkards, oppressed women, and illegitimate brats. Many illegitimate brats. In a kingdom of pretty much backwards rulers with a pyramidal economy, Alibaba discovers that his father is actually the king, making him the third prince of Balbadd. Again, as I mentioned, illegitimate brats. And followed by an unfortunate series of events, he left Balbadd and went off to travel which would lead to his encounter with Aladdin.

Morgiana 

Every two-men team needs a chick. That’s what shonen teaches us, anyway. And this manga has one too, and she’s Morgiana. And unlike other female third wheels, Morgiana had an extremely dark past that involved her being sold on the slave market to a man who brutally abused her which resulted in her being terrified of him. She was later saved by Alibaba who offers her to travel together with him and Aladdin.

Magi also has other very dynamic major characters that deserve to be mentioned, including Cassim, Yunan, Sinbad, his Eight bitches, Judar, Titus, Scheherazade, Prince Hakuryuu (not really, he’s a pain), Prince Kouen, Kouha, and Solomon.   

However, one thing that really does bugs me is the number of good characters they introduce that goes unacknowledged. Pretty much a lot of characters with great potential end up like Tenten from Naruto; shallow-ed and ignored.  They also tend to introduce more characters that one can keep track of, you'd be lucky if you remember they're from the Magi manga.

Character designs and art: 

I'm aware that I’m not awarding points to any categories, but damn if I’m not giving the character designs a 10/10. The designs are on par- if not, better than- the popular mangas like Bleach, Naruto, OP, or Fairy Tail. I have honestly never seen such beautiful artwork in manga in a while.

The art is clear, yet elaborate and detailed. The mangaka does not seem like a newbie at all, even during the earlier chapters. Although, Shiggins did mention that some of the creatures look very ugly and disgusting, but personally I believe that he’s just being a dick. You should judge this one for yourself.    

Humor, romance, and fanservice: 

They can be a little bold with these aspects, and had gotten me annoyed most times when they try the fanservice. But the good news is it doesn’t happen as often. Although, when it does happen, they do take the liberty to go commando. The romance can be pretty sweet if it lasted a few panels instead three consecutive chapters. Yes, it happened. It was a turn off. It felt like a filler. I try to focus on the silver lining during those torturous moments. It’s a test of human patience.

The humor is, well, hilarious. Magi has a knack for crude jokes and hilarity that usually involves a nude male character. And before all you males cringe and turn the other cheek, let me remind you of this stimulating lady Djinn again. Better? Me too.

What to expect:

In case you might file me for a lawsuit for getting you in to something you weren’t expecting, here are some of the things that you should prepare yourselves for.

Number one: Traps. Lots of it. Many of the males tend to have long hair (often with braids), and most of them usually prefers to wear pretty outfits as if they’re actually challenging you to guess their gender. This, however, may be good news to my fellow yaoi shippers.

Number two: Child slavery, labor, and abuse. One of the many reasons that drew me to this manga is the dark themes they seem to adopt. I like that shit. And child abuse dominates a portion of this series. There are characters who punch the living daylights out of kids just because they can. There are scenes and stories of children being used as slaves, manipulated and exploited for the benefits of other people. It’s awesome.

Number three: This manga is written by a woman.

Number four: Politics. You can actually learn a great deal of the dynamics and operation of politics and economy by reading Magi. The series tackles the politics of kingdoms, corrupted governments, and the struggle for power and world domination, and how it all affects the people at the very bottom.    

Final verdict: 

Read it.

Micha: [Co-founder]













Micha likes to broadcast her terrible drawing skills to the world on her DeviantArt account and talks about her life long ambition of making Yakushi Kabuto a woman, on her Skype; michasucks. Yes, with the dot. She will also respond to e-mails on her michamichamicha@live.com because Amber forces her to.

 Also, she now has an ask.fm. Here's your chance to harass her.