Magi: The Kingdom of Magic – 14 – 15

inb4 doujinshi

I don’t get how I’m always late for Magi (probably because of the yaoi eroge I’ve been playing for the entire week), but this week’s episode contributes to my laziness to blog it.

Since I read the manga, I knew that this part of Magnostadt was going to be animated sooner or later, and it’s the part that I dislike the most (the reason why I was so reluctant at watching it last week). It was so… Gruesome. When I read it in the manga, I literally wanted to vomit in disgust for what Magnostadt did to the Goi. Then I wanted to burn all the Goi alive for what they did to the magicians. It was just… Horrible. I’m glad the anime really toned down the scenes, because it was much worse in the manga.. It was depressing.

Besides of the scenes that are pretty graphic for once-so-innocent Magi, the reason why I didn’t like this part is how it gives me so much emotional conflict. Of course, what I don’t like from this is what makes this part shines the most. There are so many ideas and beliefs conflicting in here, clashing with each other like angry soldiers. The audience, as the third-party, sees the flaws of these ideas and the blindness of the idealists, those who believe in those ideas without ay consideration of its flaw. This is what happened to Moghamet. He was broken because he didn’t anticipate the flaws of his beliefs, and these flaws broke him when they were exposed to him in the cruelest ways. The same goes for the Goi who only drank and do nothing in the underground city. Yes, they spent their days in pure “bliss,” but obviously they should’ve known that there will be risk for such lives, and in their case, their lives and magoi. Annddd the goi were kind of mean to the magicians before too (it was kind of dumb to be mean to magicians, but I guess it’s human nature to fear something beyond their capability). So yeah, their scenarios might seem tragic, but they had it coming.

But… I’d be lying if I didn’t feel bad for these characters. They have their own circumstances; their situations are not as ideal and simple as they seem. There’s more to them than just blindly believing what they believe in. This is where I feel conflicted. I know what these characters are lacking, but I understand how these characters are feeling. I know why these people are acting like this. Besides, isn’t it a fact that everybody have their own truths? What these characters do might look wrong to us, but for them, they’re right. There’s no absolute right or wrong here. Just… People blindly doing what they believe in.

While Moghamet and the Goi doing their things, it seems that Titus is starting to waver whatever mission he’s supposed to do. Not exactly wavered, just extremely distracted with some of the most normal things in life. Which brings this question: who or what is Titus? It seems that he’s related to the Lehm magi, but she didn’t get married or anything. And she’s a magi. The normal things we take for granted becomes something extraordinary for him, and this means that he’s someone who was not raised like a normal child. Was he confined or something? He seems to sympathize with Nina who haven’t seen the outside world. In fact, he sympathizes too much to the point where he’s planning to visit her again when he has the chance to. Just… Who is Titus?

Ugh, that was painful to watch. For my heart, of course. I wanted to slap these characters to bring some sense to them, but I can’t help but sympathizing all of them. Oh, the pain of being a third-party.

As it can be seen, I was very emotional when I watched these two episodes. But I bet I’m not the only one because that was just ugh. What I do like from these episodes is how the mangaka did a brilliant job at providing the perspectives of the characters in the story. We get to see Goi’s side, and we get to see the magicians’ side. It brings balance, since this means that the audience can decide which side they want to take after seeing all the parties involved. Of course, these kind of things would lead to heated debates, but that’s where the mangaka succeeded. She was able to put the stories together in such a way to the point where the audience stars to care for the characters, making them feel closer to the characters. And of course, getting more attached to the characters means getting more attached to the series itself. So smart of Shinobu Ohtaka.

Another thing I like is how the audience can see so many things packed in one perfectly like this. The budding friendship between the three and the humorous conversation among them, the internal conflict felt by Titus and Aladdin, the mystery vibe given by Magnostadt, the disturbing brainwash system disguised as education in the academy, the pitiful state of both Goi and magicians, and so on. I just love how everything is mashed together without making the story looks awkward. Episode 14 & 15 are painful, but they’re definitely great, even better than the previous episodes. At least, for me. What do you think?

Preview: Seems like Aladdin is getting some new “lesson” from the blond magician

No more spanking?

About anaaga

Have read 418 BL manga and continuing.