Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is a Japanese fantasy adventure manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Ohtaka (Sumomomo Momomo: Chijou Saikyou no Yome). An anime television adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired in Japan from October 2012 to March 2013 and a second season titled Magi: The Kingdom of Magic aired from October 2013 to March 2014.
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic depicts a fantastic middle-age world, where slavery is common and people are born to live and die unequal. Suddenly, there appear mysterious tall towers called "Dungeons". Any person who is able to conquer a Dungeon becomes very powerful and as wealthy as a king,maybe even more, so even a commoner can become a king. The series focuses on a commoner named Alibaba, who has big desires. But to change the cruel world and make his desires reality, he will need to conquer one of the dungeons, which might cost him his life. Will he manage to do so and uncover the secrets behind dungeons appearing all over the world?
Magi’s story-line is something quite unusual for the anime industry: there are many themes from pre-Islamic Arabian and later Islamic mythology in this series. And because of these high-stakes Magi either is horrible, or as epic as it claims to be. In my opinion, Magi won that high-stakes game and managed to become one of the most epic adventures ever. Indeed, it has a somewhat slow start because of the Alibaba backstory, which might make you think that the series is boring, but it is not. After the Alibaba’s backstory, the series becomes real fun to watch; many characters are being introduced, the story-line does not want to even stop for awhile, it keeps providing you with more and more facts about the world of Magi.
Art wise, even taking into consideration that the series aired in 2012, even for today the animation is awesome. The character designs, background, action scenes, everything looks perfectly well-drawn. Even animation is unique in Magi. Sound wise, another surprise. A good OST is one of these things, which makes series epic. Not only is the OST composed by Shiro Sagisu, you should know the name, if not, find his music pieces on youtube, you will not regret it, but also the series is voiced by voice actors, who did one amazing job. What I mean is that sometimes you have that feeling that voice actors are either too lazy to do their job, or they just cannot. In Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic the voice actors made this series real, thanks to their work, you will be worried for the characters and will want for the series to get a happy ending.
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic has a wide range of characters, who are very different from each other. They all receive enough character development and are very interesting to follow. There are three main protagonists: Morgiana, who is not a very talkative type, but later becomes an absolutely different character, who is not afraid to show her real self. Alibaba is a 17-year-old boy, who seems to be greedy at first and only thinks about money and good payment, later proves to be a person that values human lives a lot. And finally Aladdin, who undergoes some big character development. Anyways, there is nothing I can criticize character wise. The only problem, however, is that some supporting characters could have gotten a better development. But this is not something you should worry about.
Enjoyment wise, Magi is a must watch, both 2 seasons and a prequel about Sinbad. It is definitely one of these series I can call ‘epic’: the animation, the story, the OST, the voice acting, the characters; everything is on the level. The only problem I have with that series is that in 2019 there is still no 3rd season for the main story-line. And that is pretty much the only thing I can criticize the series for. However, it should not be the reason for you to skip the series. Do give it a try, yes, it is somewhat slow, but then it becomes amazingly entertaining to watch.
All in all, 10/10. A must see for all fans of epic adventures.