Magi: The Labyrinth Of Magic Anime Review

Magi: The Labyrinth Of Magic
Information:
Other Names: マギ The labyrinth of magic
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Writer: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Director: Koji Masunari
Music: Shirō Sagisu
Type: Manga Adaptation, TV Series
Length: 25 episodes, 24 min per episode approx.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Shounen
Rating: PG-13
Air Dates: 7th October 2012 - 31st March 2013
Alternate Recommendations: Arslan Senki & Fullmetal Alchemist


Synopsis:
The story follows the travels of a boy named Aladdin around a strange land in which mysterious ruins called dungeons are said to house priceless treasures. Aladdin meets a friend, Alibaba, who strives to conquer a dungeon and obtain its treasures. Through all the meetings and partings he experiences along the way, Aladdin will also learn of his own fate..

Review:
Magi is a well-orchestrated shounen anime with a gripping fantasy world that really sucks you in. After taking various settings and characters from the 1000 and 1 Arabian Nights stories, and combining in with a rich fantasy world has created a setting that is unique and full of detail that feels real. The story of Magi set within this world is rich with character development and fantastic storey arcs that start with idea of the main characters exploring, and conquering a Labyrinth a mystical tower that holds riches and legendary djinn, which is what Aladdin and Alibaba set out to after the first few episodes, but what follows after is a roller-coaster of gripping narrative that successfully links each story arc without you knowing.

Each arc is well crafted to advance the main characters development as well as carry different themes they possess from slavery to discrimination and finally to fate. These themes are well crafted into the story, which helps bring serious events into fruition through good character interactions and well done fights. But we must remember that this is a Shounen so the outcome of most of the fights are predictable and tend to end in the same way which can be a little annoying but doesn't ruin the experience as much, as it could have done.
By the end of the series your left feeling amazed and ready for more; even though the end ends in a cliff-hanger there is a second season which is a great relieve.

As said before each arc mainly centres around one character and usually runs through that character's back-story that caused great emotional reaction within myself thanks to, each back-story featuring dark and depressing themes; whereas other main characters are kept more as sidekicks but they are still essential to the plot and help that leading character on their journey.

But leading from this, I would just like to say that the characters in this show are great, they are well designed having interesting appearances that are unique in one way but also bear resemblance to characters in 100 and 1 Arabian Nights, this helps create some truly fantasy looking characters. But this could also be said about the characters personalities as well with main characters Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana having unforgettable and unique personalities that don't feel cliché, but not only that they all get great development over the course of the series that makes you feel like they actually grow as people.
But this is not kept just by the mains as supporting characters are surprisingly well done having great appearances and personalities that makes each individual feel unique and fit into their role very well, from the cool king Sinbad to the greedy, tyrannical king Abhmad and beyond, these characters are one of the main focuses of why this world truly shines.



The art used in this anime is fairly good, having a great art style that fits the show nicely and good animation which creates great fights sequences and overall character movement though the mouth animation can look a bit odd at times.
The soundtrack is the most prominent part of the series as it simply beautiful with each track mixing in well with every available theme and scene in the anime. The opening is great as well - well at least the first one as it captures the sense of adventure within the show while showing a great opening animation that feels the same well while the second opening didn't do as much for me although the second opening animation was still great to watch and the ending songs I only listened to once and never listened to again as they weren't exciting or fun to watch.

In conclusion you should match this, Magi is a great show with amazing story, characters and soundtrack with only a one animation problems, some uninteresting ending songs and its demographic holding it back. It is a must see that is unforgettable and unique.


Final Score:
Setting/Story: 9.4
Characters: 9.4
Animation/ Art: 8.5
Sound: 9.8

Final Score: 9.3/10







Ranking System:
10 = Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9= Near Perfect
9 - 9.5 = Excellent
8 - 8.9 = Very Good
7- 7.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad
 1- 1.9= Unwatchable