Magi: The Kingdom of Magic – 24 – 25 [END]

The audience isn’t the only one that’s having a headache because of the last episode

 Has it already been two seasons already? Magi seems like one of those anime that never ends. …Not that that’s a bad thing. I’m just surprised that it’s over already.

 

Really Kara? I think it feels like forever. It’s probably with the amount of episodes they spent on Aladdin’s training. More talk, less action, and I’m not too good at listening to explanation. Not that I like the action at the end of this show… But oh well, it’s finally ending. Let’s see how they’re going to fix this mess.

 

Best smile for nightmares

Ren Gyouken // Surprise! Gyokuen is not only from the other world, she was around during the destruction AND a Magi. Have they ever stated this before? I have a feeling that they might have, back in that fight between her and Hakuryuu. Or if they haven’t, yeah, that’s how things are. Also, Gyokuen may or may not have an Electra Complex, though that’s a different story altogether. In all seriousness though, she pretty much orchestrated everything that happened here and then… just kind of sat around and let things take their course. She added commentary and exposition too, of course. So yeah, the way she’s have her character revealed, she’ll definitely be a (if not THE) final boss for Aladdin to face in the future. …And if you were wondering just how insane she was, seeing her cry/shout/whatever about the “Father” was a pretty good indicator.

Aladdin’s Identity? // If Gyouken knows who Aladdin is, then I’m sure he does has something to do with Alma Torran. The question now is, how far is he involved with Solomon? Was he directly involved with the whole accident, thus explaining the vivid vision of the calamity, or maybe he’s sent to this world just to give Solomon’s message? His identity is still unknown too. Just who is he? Many claimed that he’s the reincarnation of Solomon, and it makes sense seeing how Solomon resembles him in some way . In the manga, Gyouken mentioned him as a proxy of Solomon also (not reincarnation. Damn you Crunchyroll), so it’s a possibility that he’s just a vessel for Solomon’s power. And for those who read the manga, you know who Aladdin really resembles in Solomon’s timeline so… Is he Solomon’s son with Sheba? Damn it, all these theories are giving me a headache. Whatever he is, I’m sure he has some direct connection with Solomon, and Gyouken will do anything do destroy him due to his connection with Solomon.

Scheherazade & Titus // Scheherazade’s sacrifice was a huge thing. It was the death of one of the 3 (okay, 4) most influential people in the world, and nobody minus Aladdin and maybe the people from the empire even knew it happened. Though this isn’t entirely the anime’s fault, since the manga didn’t really acknowledge it any more than this either (though it did spend a bit more time on Titus’ death). Though despite not sharing much screentime over the last two episodes, both Titus and Scheherazade had a rather important relationship that came full circle in the last episode. The two shared a cute mother/son relationship, and in regards to that, feels natural that Scheherazade would refuse the right to another life in order to let her son take her place. …Because apparently Magi can do that. (Though maybe this helps even things out in regards to Gyokuen, because that woman is seriously overpowered.) So at least Titus has a happy ending, and Scheherazade seemed more than happy to let her son take over in her place. And hey, this also works out well, if only for the fact that Titus is infinitely easier to spell than Scheherazade. Oh, and it’s important to note that it was Ugo who oversaw all of this. He’s obviously important in regards to Solomon, and having him interact with Scheherazade/Titus at the end only affirms that.

Mogamett’s Repentance // One of the most important highlights of the last episode and probably one of the most heartbreaking moments in Magi. Though he was able to release himself from his cage, whether his Rukh is purified or not is unclear since he only walked out from the tower, where the Depraved Creatures are waiting for him. There was no Phoenix or shining Rukh outside the tower too, so my guess is that Mogamett finally accepts his punishment and joins the other Depraved Creatures. Yes, it’s sad because being on the depraved side is never a good thing in Magi. But at least, he was able to come to terms with his inner conflict. Yes, he might have been fallen already, but at least he was able to get some peace within himself. Besides, this moment inspire Aladdin to do some surprising things that even Al-Tharmen wouldn’t expect him to do *wink at manga readers*

This dude is plotting something

Sinbad’s Dark Side // Finally FINALLY his evil side is out goodddd I’ve been itching to see this moment and it’s FINALLY here. After so many hints, from his Half-Depravity state to his conversation with Ja’afar, it’s confirmed that Sinbad has the potential to be one of the main bosses in Magi. God, he’s just so… Evil to the point where he’s taking advantage of Yamhaira’s weak state after Mogamett’s death just for his political move. This bastard. Mogamett also (somehow) warns Aladdin of Sinbad by stating that even some of the most powerful people will always make a mistake. This can foreshadow something big that might happen because of Sinbad. And now the question is, how bad is that big thing going to be? Will it involve many non-human soldiers? Will it involve many deaths? There are many possibilities of this something big that will be caused by Sinbad, but whatever it is, I know there won’t be any good coming out from it.

Nice eye makeup bro

Judal & Hakuryuu // Well, Hakuryuu didn’t ever join the battle, but I guess he kind of put in the effort to watch it from afar at least. …Okay, not really. It’s safe to say now that he’s thoroughly abandoned his original path in life. Instead, he’s decided to hang out with Judal, which is an interesting combination, but is probably not a going to be good one as far as the main trio is concerned. They’re going to have to face Hakuryuu sometime in the future if he continues on this path, and he’s probably already screwed himself over. As the series has shown us so far, pretty much nobody who has been manipulated into using the Black Rukh has ended well. Just look at what happened with Cassim, Dunya, and now Mogamett. None of them are alive anymore. Of course, this also means that it doesn’t seem to matter that Gyokuen’s latest attempt to summon the forces of darkness didn’t entirely work out. She has more people who are playing right into her hands. This whole situation is pretty sad, since the whole reason Hakuryuu fell in the first place was because he wanted to murder Gyokuen.

There was definitely something wrong with the pacing for the last two episodes. There’s a huge gap between how the manga played out at this part, and how the anime seemed. Where it seemed like one badass thing after another in the manga (which maybe felt that way since the chapters were spaced out), the anime moved a bit too fast, and it seems like they used up most of the budget before this. There was no time to stop and marvel at just how badass the displays of powers were, because the anime threw them all in there with no room to breathe. Plus the emotions never seemed as tense as they were depicted in the manga (though maybe some of this was due to personal interpretation). While the beginning of the anime felt better paced, things were less than impressive at the end since it felt too rushed. But hey, it wasn’t a total failure (they didn’t ruin everything) and they got the main messages across, so there’s something. A season 3 would be welcome. …Though they really need to work on how they end each season, since things always seem to be rushed or changed in comparison to the original story

It’s not only you, Kara. I’m really disappointed with the animation at the end of the show. What I don’t get is how the animation got better only slightly at the end of the last two episodes. It’s as if they literally have no money to make the most badass scenes pretty (and this is weird considering the success the first season had). The good thing though, they were able to keep up with the manga plot despite of the horrible animation. All the important characters are able to be introduced despite of the little tim in the last two episodes. They also almost got everything right in this season, not skipping any important scene, and they left of the story at the most crucial moment that will continue to the Second Balbadd Arc and Alma Torran Flashback Arc. I see some people complain about the lack of politics in this season, but those who read the manga will know how heavy the politics will be in Second Balbadd Arc. Anyway, I’m happy with how A-I tried its best to stay true to the manga. I would have been happier if they can spend more on the animation, but I guess it’s too late now. I can only pray for a season 3 that also stays true to the manga… But with better animation.

See you in Sinbad no Bouken!