Hello generic shounen, we meet again. This time, the random number generator has chosen to borrow Arabian Nights themes rather than the standard ninja/samurai/mecha/whatever thing, but it doesn't matter. The hero will scream as he slashes away, people will call out the name of their special attacks, and you will need a third grade education to follow the plot. Screw you Magi, screw you. Your good animation does not excuse not trying.
People will talk about how awesome Magi is, and it is true compared to other generic shounen shows - the animation is fantastic... oh wait, that's the single advantage. And fight scenes don't last multiple episodes (*cough*Naruto*cough*), so there's two. You know what the real problem it has? Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is plain better in every way. The kid is less annoying, the fan service is better, there is more style in the art, the writing is better, it admits how hilarious the "determination beats everything" idea is, and it was made five years before. And didn't bother with more than one season, thank heavens.
Sure, people talk about how the whole Arabian theme is awesome. It's not bad, but not good either. It is a backdrop over which things happen and nothing more. If it would have changed the plot some, then it would have been cool. Instead, all the effects of it are in the art. And even then, it really doesn't change much beyond the way people dress and castles. Still, it's actually good for what it tries to do.
Perhaps it is how shounen as a genre has been overdone. I've seen it all, and am particularly unforgiving in how I view it. The PG attitude is annoying, but within those constraints, Magi does well. If you haven't grown as tired of it as I have, perhaps this may come off as too critical. Still, anything you can play on your smartphone while viewing and not miss anything important can't be considered good in my book.
Writing (Story and Characters):
What can I say, shounen writing is usually terrible and Magi is no exception. It started out rather decently, but once you get used to the premise, you find out that it really doesn't do much creatively. It may be better than Dragonpiece Shipuuden, but since that is an extremely low bar, that changes nothing about the fact that this is the achilles heel of both the genre and the show.
The story is generic. Painfully so at times. There's the occasional attempt to look as if they might at some point stray from the formula, but it never does. Slavery is bad, m'kay. We get it. Yawn. Another superpowered villain requiring yet another power up of the hero. Yawn. It's dull, a product more than anything creative, and a complete waste of what is an interesting premise.
Don't get me started about the characters. This time, the kid is the perv, the hero is capable and not an underdog, and a girl kicks stuff. The arcs are completely standard. The backstories all have the required amount of angst. The villains are all nefarious types. Ugh. It is a very standard thing, done in a very standard way. The execution is good, I guess. Still, the cast is balanced in a way you'd expect.
I really wish I could write more about it, but... that's it really. Generic shounen writing that has nothing special to it other than the setting, which becomes irrelevant fast enough. You could do worse, and it is executed rather well all things considered. It's just the formula, for good and for extremely bad.
Art (Animation and Sound):
Solid all around, and at times truly great. The setting is wonderful, I'll give Magi that. The concept art is very good. There is a lot of upside to how the artwork was done, especially from a technical perspective. There are some great ideas as to how the magic looks (the glowy butterfly things are rather neat), and the show manages to be impressive from a visual standpoint. Really, artwork gives the show a life it doesn't deserve.
From a visual standpoint, Magi is brilliantly done. The concept art is well done, the character designs are generic yet executed very well, the movement is usually fluid, and there are only minor technical faults. Among the technical faults are the gimmicky scenes where scrolling through an unmoving picture is a replacement for drama, every single combat visual quirk you will ever see. It's over the top, yet still manages to impress.
Audio is over the top and extremely unashamed of that fact. We get the standard shounen voice acting, a generic soundtrack that fits the show rather well, and effect use that is a bit heavy handed but strong all the way through. Of course the voice acting is annoying to everyone high school or older. That is just the way shounen goes, and naturally, Magi isn't an exception to this rule as it tries to follow the formula too wel. It's above average in the audio department, but doesn't manage something special.
Artwork gives life to the world of Magi, but it doesn't make it nearly as special as it could be. While it is technically good, it doesn't manage to be exceptional. Perhaps I'm setting too high a standard, but whereas other shows like Attack on Titan create a unique world with a distinct feeling behind it, this show fails. A yellow/blue color palette is a classic visual contrast and makes the show feel more impressive than it actually is, but it gets tired. Perhaps that is the problem when the art sticks to the writing instead of trying to elevate it.
Overall:
Magi is yet another generic shounen show. Visually, it is great, but other than that it has no distinguishing features. I can't recommend it to anyone who doesn't want a standard shounen show with good execution.
Screenshots
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