MAGI: The Labyrinth of Magic (The Labyrinth Of Magic Magi) Ohtaka Shinobu Images

Animation Production: Lay-duce (OVA) & A-1 Pictures (TV series)

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is an action, adventure and fantasy Japanese manga series written by none other than Shinobu Ohtaka, the same man who brought us the sensational Sumomomo Momomo.
It was published in the Weekly Shonen Sunday since June of 2009 with 22 tankobon volumes released so far.
Koji Masunari directed the anime adaptation of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic together with Hiroyuki Yoshino and A-1 Pictures.
The anime was scheduled to premiere last October 2012 which shortly ended on March 2013 with 25 thrilling episodes. Madman Entertainment together with Viz Media and Aniplex America licensed Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic for a North American release.

PLOT:

The story is set in a middle-age world where all living beings possess an essence known as the “Rukh”. When someone dies, the Rukh within them returns to the huge flow of Rukh and gives life to all subsequent living beings in an eternal cycle of rebirth called ”Fate”.
After having spent his entire life in the confines of his room, Aladdin decides to explore the world which he keeps reading in books.
In his travels, he bumps into one Alibaba Saluja, an aspiring young man with big ambitions. Fourteen years ago, auspicious tall towers mysteriously appeared out of nowhere.
These unusual towers are said to house immeasurable treasures. Aside from these treasures, these dungeons is also said to house a powerful magical being called a “Djinn” which can give you power if you can subdue it.
Alibaba hopes of conquering one of these dungeons to get wealthy and live a luxurious life. With the help of Aladdin, a mysterious young boy with unusual powers, they were able to conquer the dungeon and acquire the powers of Amon.
It wasn’t till later did Aladdin discover that he is actually one of the very few Magi, a powerful magician destined to choose the rightful kings to a country all the while protecting the flow of fate.
Follow Aladdin and Alibaba as they continue the battle to keep the world in its right path.



CHARACTERS:

Aladdin is the strange young boy with mysterious powers. He was confined within his room his entire life with his good friend, Ugo, a Djinn who was left in the care of Aladdin. He is later revealed to be a “Magi”, one of the few powerful magicians that is destined to protect the flow of fate. Due to his rather kind and cheerful personality, he is able to easily make friends and forge alliances. Despite being somewhat of a naïve little kid about the world, he can oftentimes come off as remarkable wise for his age offering advice and insight for others. Being a Magi, he is able to gather the Rukh to power his magic. He is later known to be as the “Red Magician” for he specializes in flame and heat magic.


Alibaba Saluja was once the former prince of the Balbadd Kingdom. He was originally from the slums but when his mother died, his father, the King of Balbadd, took him in as the third prince. Growing up into royalty, he was taught the Balbadd’s Royal Fencing which he incorporated into his fighting styles. He is oftentimes portrayed to be very cunning and petty when the situation calls for it. Despite all of that, Alibaba can be extremely loyal to his friends even risk his own life to save his friends. With the help of Aladdin, he was able to conquer the 7th Dungeon and acquire Amon’s powers, the Djinn in Qishan. Alibaba is an extremely strong and capable swordsman. It wasn’t till later that he discovered that he has two types of magoi inside him which he later learned to control to further strengthen his magic. He is able to produce and manipulate fire which he gained from subduing Amon. With enough training, he was even capable of performing a Djinn Equip which gives him more power and control over it than he usually does.


UPDATE:

At the end of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, A-1 Pictures announced that they are working on a sequel to the show.
The second season titled “Magi: The Kingdom of Magic” was scheduled to release on October 2013 with 25 episodes.
On another note, Shinobu Ohtaka, the creator of Magi, mentioned in his blogs that he was working on spin-off of the series titled “The Adventures of Sinbad” which began serialization last April 2013 and there have been 4 tankobon volumes released so far.
It wasn’t long after that Yoshikazu Miyao is working on the OVA (original video animation) to it with the same name. As of Sept 2014, there have been 2 episodes released thus far.


Other similar shows in the magic genre include Fairy Tail, Rune Soldier, Slayers, Sorcerer Hunters, Legend of the Legendary Heroes, Soul Hunter, Kaze no Stigma, MAR Heaven, Witch Hunter Robin and Orphen to name a few.


source: Zerochan; written by carllustre87