Oct12
Welcome to the world full of magic
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ASDFGHJKL IT’S MAGI ANIME. *cough* Anyhow, I’m not here alone. Because I know it’s bad manner to appear again alone after such long hiatus, I’m tagging Magi with flock of other Metanorn writers. Oh, how I miss this place <3 |
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anaaga was the one to introduce me to Magi, so here I am tagging this with her and telling you guys to get into this series. Aladdin is THE most adorable shota ever. Seriously. |
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Kukuku time to check out something I was originally going to pass on because it really looked a bit boring, but whatever it really is great to try new things on the bright side this is produced by A-1 Pictures and they always do such amazing work…anyway please join me, Sushi, Kara and Anaaga for the first epic and crazy impressions of Magi. |
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Magi sets itself apart from the competition with it’s flavor. It’s not often we get a show inspired by Middle Eastern mythology. The series follows the adventures of a enigmatic boy named Aladdin, his magic djinn friend Ugo, and a youth looking for riches, Ali Baba. They set out to explore dungeons, large towers that started appearing fourteen years ago. They are said to hold untold treasures within them. Though a question still begs to be answered. Is its flair enough to make this show worthwhile? |
Staff & Production
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Mangaka & Director // If some of us notice (I didn’t), the art is somehow similar to Sumomomo Momomo. Magi’s author is Ohtaka Shinobu, hence the shared art style. Unlike Momomo though, Magi is centered in a magical world, not the modern-day Japan. Seeing the sudden change in her work, one can only guess that Ohtaka is trying something new that’s different from her previous work. Guess what? It works! While it still can’t rival some of the best-selling shounen in Japan, it gained enough recognition to the point where it’s made into anime. Woohoo, animated Arabic bishies! Now the question is, will the anime be as good as the manga? I can do nothing but put my hope on Masunari Koji, the Director for Magi. I haven’t seen any of his previous works, so I don’t know whether the anime will end well or not. It seems that Kamichu! And Uchuu Show e Youkoso were decent, so maybe his directing Magi might not be a bad thing after all. Maybe. |
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Key Animation // A-1 Pictures is one of the foremost studios when it comes to animation production. It’s no surprise that Magi is a wonder to behold. The bright colors evoke a storybook atmosphere that fit well with the show as a whole. I was impressed with the scale of the set pieces, from the large foreboding towers and the huge man eating plants. The most impressive aspect of the art was the genie and how fluidly it was animated. The mutating blue mass spectacularly took shape into large hands or an oversized giant. I’m looking forward to seeing the quality to stay top notch going forward. |
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Music // Generally Shounen anime has some of the best soundtracks for just about everything ranging from the dramatic, Action and comedic moments and for the wonderful world of Magi, A-1 Pictures recruited the likes of Shiro Sagisu who I always related towards everything and anything Bleach. However, Shiro has done plenty of musical scores for the new Evangelion movies. Personally I prefer the musical works of Yasuharu Takanashi who does everything for Fair Tail and several seasons of Precure. Aside from all the background music we have an opening performance by SID called V.I.P, but I only know of them because they did opening thirteen for Bleach and opening five for FMA Brotherhood. For the ending theme Magi producers went with Nogizaka46 with Yubi Boenkyo and they are basically new. However, I can’t wait to get my hands on the official soundtrack for this series because it is quite awesome! |
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Seiyuu // Ah, where do I even begin with the seiyuu? The entire cast is just amazing. For Alibaba, we have Kaji Yuki (Shu in Guilty Crown, Sion in No.06, Haru in Accel World) playing his usual pitiful male lead role. Of course, with that, come the role’s inevitable transformation into some sort of badass, so I’m looking forward to seeing Kaji’s performance for that. Lord knows he has enough practice. Tomatsu Haruka is getting good work this season as well since she has the role of Asuna in SAO, Shizuku in Kaibutsu-kun and Morigana in this anime. If this episode was any indication, she should be doing just fine in Magi. Now, Aladdin’s seiyuu threw me off. Ishihara Kaori voices him and while I’m not surprised at a woman doing the job, I’m surprised that it’s the same woman who did Madoka’s voice in Lagrange. After this episode though, I can confirm that she was an excellent choice for the anime and Aladdin is the most adorable thing ever. So overall, the three leads all have great seiyuu. I’m looking forward to seeing Kanazawa, Sugita and Fukuyama (among other star seiyuu) in their roles as more characters are introduced~ |
Magi’s 1001 Magical World(s)
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Setting // I’m in love with this world. Middle Eastern mythology doesn’t often get it’s fair shake in anime. For that alone it makes this setting novel. It’s not afraid to go all in on its mythos. Everything from the desserts, the djinns, the slaves and the flying carpets it makes it feel ripped straight from Arabian Nights. I feel as if the show could air in Farsi, it would. When the creators believe in their world so much, it naturally trickles into the audience. As a viewer I can buy into this universe and sojourn on an adventure with Ali Baba and Aladdin whole heartedly. |
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Magic & Kingship // So one thing about Magi that they didn’t really cover was the concept of kings. …No, not quite the K Kings. These are different kings and the whole plot of Magi is about deciding who is going to rule the world (lord knows what the K kings are there to accomplish). I’ll keep this short since Magi will be revealing this eventually, but the gold djinn holders are an important part to the plot as well as Ugo himself as the holders of the objects are the ones who are entitled to decide who rules the world. The dungeons play a large role as well since that’s where the djinn objects are found in the first place. As for filling the holes between those points… you’ll just have to see yourself. I can guarantee that the plot for this manga is really good though. It just all depends on the staff to make the anime just as good. |
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Imperfect Caste System // This is something that will always be mentioned again and again in Magi. How should a slave be treated? Should there be slavery? How should a king respond to his unhappy citizens? Is it okay for a king to do evil for the sake of his people? Is it okay to change fate? These kinds of questions will be the kinds of questions that Magi will raise up. The first episode stars with slavery, but later on, the issues raised as the story progresses will become heavier and darker. And this will be involved with magic and kingship. A lot. Of course, these questions are not without reason. While trying to solve these moral problems, our three characters (I didn’t say who) will learn from them in order to become better… Characters. That’s it, no more hints from me. Anyhow, by using Magi, Ohtaka tries to raise some of the isuues with the caste system in this world and tries to find the resolutions of it. That’s pretty smart of her, I’d say. |
Characters
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Aladdin // So if you haven’t guessed from my words above, I think Aladdin is the cutest thing ever. As for how the anime portrayed him, I think they did a great job with it (and not just because I died HNNNNNGing over his chibi form). He’s a childish character who doesn’t really understand the world (…there are reasons for this), but in ways, he’s wiser than anyone else there because he’s not bound by social norms. This episode was a good example since he ate food at the beginning that wasn’t his and just kind of threw a very expensive batch of wine to a plant monster/pissed off rich people. At the same time though, he could see that Alibaba was lying to himself. …There are better examples of the wise part later in the series. Also, he has that giant headless blue friend, Ugo. …They’ll get to explaining that later, I swear. |
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Alibaba // Right off the bat I can tell that Magi has some really interesting looking characters just based on designs alone and after that unique introduction of Aladdin we meet a young blond guy named Alibaba Saluja voiced by Yuki Kaji! I know I always have a personal beef with Yuki because he voices a lot of wimpy depressing guys, but this time he is voicing a semi comical character and for some reason whenever he plays the wacky roles he can make me laugh for hours; however near the end Alibaba showcased plenty of emotion and it didn’t come off as whiney or annoying this time! So I will give Mr. Yuki Kaji a round of applause for doing such a great job with this role so far, but I can’t wait to hear the Hanazawa Kana character which I assume is introduced later in the series? Anyway great voice acting all around for me! |
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Pink-hair Slave // There isn’t much to this pink haired slave. For now she seems to be a character that will be joining Aladdin and Alibaba on their journey into the tower. Maybe she’ll be a love interest for Alibaba, which would add a nice romantic aspect to the show. But considering this series shounen roots, it might just be teased at forever with nothing bearing fruit between them. I don’t really mind as seeing her transform from a slave into an adventurer should be rewarding enough. |
Fosh’s Mighty Meme
Impressions
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I don’t see the plot moving in an interesting direction. It displays the typical shounen fluff wrapped up in its unique setting. It plays on the genres most tried and trued themes, honesty and friendship. I wish it hinted at something more. Maybe my expectations are just a bit unreal. All I see now is just two guys going on an adventure to get rich.This might not be all that bad going forward. Sometimes a deeply intricate plot takes away from a flavorful setting. If that were the case then I’d rather just enjoy Magi’s wonderful storybook world. Hopefully it can strike a balance between these two aspects to create an engrossing series. |
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What in the world did I just watch? I can sum it up in one word AMAZING! I have no idea why I mean just based off looks I thought it was going to be a series aimed at younger kids, but while I was watching Magi I just couldn’t help but think of Fairy Tail because of the magic themes, but the character designs are from Toshifumi Akai who worked on Sword Art Online, Kokoro Connect, FMA and lots of the Idolmaster which has me quite interested. So what else? Ohhh right I died laughing when Aladdin started to speak and instantly I thought his voice sounded so damn familiar! I found out later that it was Kaori Ishihara aka Madoka from Rinne no Lagrange. I swear that left me stunned because if you saw the episode Aladdin often talked about how much he loves boobs! So thumbs up A-1 Pictures for choosing such a great actress for Magi, but of course we have a Hanazawa Kana character in the line up somewhere as well as Yuki Kaji, Yui Horie, Jun Fukuyama, Ono Daisuke, Sugita Tomokazu and many more! So yeah I am fully prepared for the next episode and the rest of the series. |
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I found the animation a bit on the iffy side (which isn’t really a good sign since episode 1 is normally where the companies blow the budget), but this was enjoyable nonetheless. The voice acting was good, and I really enjoyed the OST that I heard this episode. …The OP and ED songs aren’t appealing to me though, unfortunately. Hopefully the changes to the storyline make the plot flow a bit better because I KNOW that Morigana isn’t supposed to be there, even if I don’t remember much else about the first few chapters. They did a good job of introducing (what I consider) one of the main themes of the show: how more than half of the rich/powerful people in Magi are assholes, so it’s a good start at least. Magi is a pretty long manga, so I’m curious to see how long this anime runs for. …Especially since the animation budget needs some work. |
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To be honest, I wasn’t impressed with the first episode at all. Just like Kara, I was pretty disappointed with the animation for the first episode. It feels so… Ordinary. Too ordinary. If episode one is already like this, imagine how the future episodes will be like! That and with the fact that anime Aladdin feels annoying somehow, I actually have no problem with the first episode. Heck, it was entertaining. It’s been a while since I’ve watched such colorful anime. Even though Aladdin feels annoying, his innocence definitely reminds me of my adolescent days, and remembering about my childhood was such a pleasant moment. And the whole friendship thing? That was so cheesy I actually blushed when I watched the scene. Nevertheless, the light and colorful moments (before the story gets darker) were fun. It’s childish, but there’s something magical about Aladdin and his innocent way of thinking. Perhaps Magi’s magic is already working on me. Now let’s see if the magic can last until the end. |
Preview: Something about dungeon?
Related
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: 600-699 and Wingman with 655 comments
I am enjoying this show. I like every bit of it
artwork is so adorable
story is bit mundane but the setting makes it appealing to me
and the characters are cute over the edge
i was originally planning to read the manga, but i guess i can wait till i finish watching the anime series 😉
aladin oh aladin why art thou so adorable 😀
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Agreed! The artwork is quite cute for certain characters and yeah I am not to familiar with most of the middle eastern myths but I am in it for the magic! I just want Magi to become something epic and crazy like Fairy Tail!
MOE MOE Alaaaadinnnn-chan~
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
You’ll be surprised at the amount of secret the shota holds.
You should read the manga where they will stop the anime. The current manga arc is just full of mind-blowns
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
Very excited for this anime since I’ve been waiting for it for a while. I love the character designs and the world itself is very vibrant. Can’t wait for Morgiana to join the group. ^_^
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I wasn’t really digging it from just previews and trailers, but there is just something about it that make me want MORE! I can’t wait to see what happens with this series.
Ahhh yeah Morgiana looks like a cool character and YES! Design wise everyone looks nice…well the main cast anyway >.>
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Morgiana had a great debut, unlike Alibaba. I’m sure the anime fandom is loving her right now
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Looks like fun but I’m a bit skeptical so the “3 episode rule” is now going into effect.
I’m kind of interested to see how Alibaba plays himself out. But from I see and because of his “type A” personality, he might turn greedy. His apparent need for money suggests he has self-esteem issues. He doesn’t base his value on solid ground but rather on meeting standards. And rather than by his own value as a person, he’ll value himself and what he does by money. “What’s it worth, what did it cost, how much do they earn, have and spend?”. People like that spend or give money as a way of showing love or affection, a way of dealing with their insecurities. At least he temporarily ignored that mindset to want to save the girls.
As for the seiyuus, there sure are a good bunch here. Ishihara Kaori, Yuki Kaji and Kana Hanazawa are good start offs. We also have Junichi Suwabe as Lord Jamil and from what I read on ANN, Daisuke Ono, Yui Horie (Nisemonogatari’s Tsubasa Hanekawa) and Keiji Fujiwara aren’t far behind.
It’s like things are warped for me. I can’t really accept Aladdin as a guy right now because of Ishihara Kaori using her moe girl voice which I recognize off of Rinne no Lagrange’s Madoka. It would’ve better if she tried a more masculine voice like Eri Kitamura did with Mahiro in Haiyore! Nyaruko-san. And it’s also hard to accept Alibaba because he looks so girlish even though he’s played Yuki Kaji yet the voice is still a match for the character.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah that is a good general rule for new anime! Especially stuff you aren’t really into but willing to try? I did that with who is IMOUTO last season…I normally pass on the “incest” shows…
Oh yes! Alibaba might befriend Aladdin to use him, but of course something will happen between them to get them closer as friends! I get the shounen vibes all over Magi so far or something like that I mean in the end it will be about the power of friendship I think…
Voice cast was a shock to me! Hana Kana, Jun, Yuki, Ono and Yui? Damn that list reminds me a bit of Phi brain S2! They had just about everyone and now K is doing the same creating the best season for voice actors xD
TRUTH I love Madoka’s voice, but her Aladdin voice is so girly…then again a lot of young “boy” characters are voiced by girls! Even in the english dubs most lead shounen’s are girls like Naruto and Luffy while Ichigo and Natsu from Fairy tail are male actors…I sort of agree if Madoka did a “boyish” voice it might work or swap actors like you said xD
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Alibaba is… Well, he’s not a character one can like right away, seeing how his debut is just not something lots of people favored. But since his back story isn’t told yet, maybe you can wait until episode three or when Alibaba tells his story
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Oh hahahaha, they perfectly got the right voice for Alibaba. His character type is right up there with Shu and Haru, you just want to give them a good kick.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yep! I hope Yuki Kaji can do something new with Alibaba and not bring us another depressing male character…Haru and Shu had lots of ISSUES >.<
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I went all (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ over Alibaba’s VA. Alibaba starts suckily, but he’s just so damn awesome now!!!!!
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
I found this anime really nice. Can’t wait to see more.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I know right? Magi is a lot of fun! I want more~
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
*magi brofist*
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 109 comments
just wait until you will see episode 2 it will be cool and will show some action as well some character devloment
POWUH: iLurker with 13 comments
Being a fan of the manga, I was overjoyed when the anime was announced and I’m really glad that I’m enjoying the anime as well. The first episode was a great start. Although I didn’t expect them to leave out those parts in the manga and add changes (I was actually expecting them to follow the manga more), the way they played it out was brilliant.
I guess the only down side for me was Aladdin’s voice (I was expecting something not so..high-pitched?). I didn’t know what to expect for Morgiana’s seiyuu, but she’s doing a good job so far (or rather, I haven’t seen her talking much xD) however, I was more impressed by her in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. I was totally blown away when I found out she was the one that voiced Asuna from SAO too. As for Kaji Yuki, I think he’s doing alright. Perhaps I’m being biased because I like Kaji Yuki and Alibaba but I wish that people won’t assume Alibaba’s personality based on the characters he has voiced before. It’s not like ALL characters he had voiced are whiny or annoying and to judge on a person’s personality based on just one episode and the seiyuu’s past characters..
I’ve seen others complaining about the ED song too..I can’t say I like the sont..It wasn’t exactly very fitting but I suppose the cheeriness was to..it’s hard to explain but I was thinking it somewhat suited the way the episode ended and in the ED animations, they all looked really happy xD
@BlackBriar
It’s true that it seemed like Alibaba would be the sort that measures value with money..but in that sort of society and even now, to survive, it’s inevitable that he had to do what he did. He’s not exactly insecure..its more like he has regrets and a past he wished he could change but can’t. He has an interesting and complicated past. You’ll understand why he’s like this now and doing what he’s doing for money after you’ve seen it. I assure you that it’s worth watching/reading on ;D Believe me, you will see him grow and change (and see his manlier and cool sides. He’s not girly.. s: )
I apologise for the lengthy comment and thank you if you’ve read it till the end xD
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I think lots of us feel weird about Aladdin’s seiyuu. Sure, she was able to bring out the cheerful aura Aladdin is supposed to have, but remembering how Aladdin is a male, it feels… Unusual, somehow.