Magi 16-17

The conclusion of Balbadd Arc

Sorry for the late post, I was super busy with clubs and all even though class starts next week. Ugh. Stupid poll voted me as the secretary for my club’s next event. Why.

The Conclusion

Yup, Balbadd’s arc actually ended in episode 17 with a touching conclusion. It started in episode 16 where Alibaba was cornered by Judal and his powerful magic. The background music, even though it gave lots of negative impact to the pace in episode 16, was able to blend with the feeling of despair Alibaba had during his fight with Judal. Seeing the corrupted Cassim inside the black Djinn also worsened his spirit to defeat the Djinn. Disposing the friendship that existed until now, there’s no way Alibaba could do that, right? Everything seemed to be hopeless, and Alibaba was about to lose… Until Aladdin came to save the day. With his magic, Aladdin was able to create miracles that helped Alibaba and the citizens of Balbadd as a whole. If one think about it, this scenario is extremely cheesy. Despair and loss until the a savior butts in seems like a typical script for the shounen genre, but it plays a major role in the world of Magi. It emphasizes heavily on the word “fate” and its “flow,” so the whole savior-after-some-trouble is something that’s to be taken seriously in this show. That scene tried to show that even when mankind is at its lowest point, fate will work out somehow. Follow the flow of fate, and it will not abandon you. Everything will work out its best if you just get along with it. While I have some problems with this idea of Magi‘s, I’d say episode 16 did a perfect job at emphasizing the importance of the flow of fate. Them characters shouldn’t mess around with it.

Let’s get to the actual conclusion of the Balbadd arc, which was the confrontation between Cassim and Alibaba. Finally, they had a proper talk, spilling each other’s feelings and letting out what they’ve buried deep inside their hearts. After so many years, Cassim and Alibaba were able to connect with each other again, and their misunderstandings solved. Honestly, seeing the “what if” Cassim imagined broke my heart. Those things could’ve happened, if Cassim didn’t take the dark path. If… he worked hard and led an honest life. If… Alibaba stayed as a prince and changed Balbadd internally. If… Cassim didn’t burn the government’s treasure room. All of those “what if”s… Oh man, ASDFGHJKL they really got me there. Damn, Al Sarmen for interrupting with fate. Either way, it’s good that they made up again, even though one of them is gone with the Rukh now… And now that I think about it, didn’t everything happen for the best? If Cassim didn’t burn the government’s treasure room, Alibaba wouldn’t have escaped and ventured outside the palace. If Alibaba stayed, he wouldn’t have seen the wonder of a city without monarchy. Balbadd’s government wouldn’t change until now, and those who live in the slum would be stuck there, not able to have their saying at changing the government. So, really… Didn’t everything turn out for the best? Even though lives are lost and damages are done, the change done in Balbadd was definitely worth it, isn’t it? I’m not the type of person who like the idea of “sacrificing one for all,” but for once I have to agree with it. Besides, those who are dead would’ve been happy seeing the change in Balbadd now, won’t they? So yeah, the flow of fate might have been interrupted by Al Sarmen, but it tried it best at giving the best for mankind.

Aladdin & Wisdom of Solomon, Judal & Al Sarmen

Ehm, now that Aladdin has the ultimate weapon aka. Wisdom of Solomon, he looked as if he has grown already, right? The maturity Aladdin gained can be seen when he guided Alibaba with his words and magic. Aladdin is really amazing now. Though, I’m not so sure about his innocence. As it has been said before, Wisdom of Solomon is the knowledge of entire world, meaning that Aladdin went through some quick guidance about the world, etc. Doesn’t that mean Aladdin finally knows who and what he really is? What if… Aladdin’s existence is not of the current era in the Magi world? Well, that’s pretty obvious, considering how he has been locked up in a library/maze. But, poor Aladdin for having such a tremendous knowledge by himself since Ugo is no longer there to support him. Wisdom of Solomon is pretty awesome, but I pity Aladdin, a little kid, for taking such a huge burden upon himself.

Judal is another case though. From the flashbacks, it seems that Judal was stolen by Al Sarmen when he was a baby, thus explaining his horrible attitude and the lack of resistance from Al Sarmen’s control. His past with Sinbad isn’t revealed yet though. As for Al Sarmen, the organization and its structure is finally revealed. It basically consists of middle-aged to old men with three females as the leaders. They have this weird symbol (I haven’t researched it yet) in the middle with Judal lying on top of it, making the impression that Judal is a sacrifice somehow. The goal of the organization is to resist the flow of fate and spread darkness throughout the world, but I’m pretty sure every members have their own agenda. Magi version of the Illuminati?

Screenshots

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It was an amazing conclusion for the Balbadd Arc, all my emotions and tears were invested in these last two episodes. I was a little bit worried about episode 16 because it was… pretty horrible. The action in episode 16 was so dull, and the BGM was making it even worse. I don’t know man, but the animation quality in episode 16 dropped into a dangerous rate. Compared to episode 15, it was just awful. It was probably for episode 17 though, rescuing the whole arc with its beauty. Man, even Sinbad’s action was a treat for the eyes. It makes sense for them to invest in the end since it’s the last episode for Balbadd’s arc and all… /sob/ Anyhow, Balbadd Arc was wonderful. It stayed consistent with manga, including all the feels it gave. Now let’s see how Sindria Arc is going to be!

Preview: Welcome to Sindria