Magi – 09

[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_05.17_[2012.12.04_22.50.04] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_09.29_[2012.12.04_22.55.19] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_22.28_[2012.12.04_23.08.35]

Without a doubt, Magi seems considerably more interested in dabbling in politics than your average shounen.

[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_01.01_[2012.12.04_22.46.58]Magi continues to slowly unveil its truly massive cast in relatively coherent and entertaining fashion, following the trend of giving us a brief look at the new character, then focusing elsewhere for a while before showing us what they’re truly made of.  This was clearly the episode for Sinbad to step up and prove he was more than a part of the background, and he did just that.  But while his prowess with a blade – and his magically-aided fists – was expected, more interesting was his practicality and political acumen.

[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_03.43_[2012.12.04_22.48.29]One thing that’s surely been obvious to Sinbad since he rode a bottle into Balabadd was that this is a regime on the way out – a bloated, corrupt despot loathed by the people at its head, those people ready to turn against it given the first opportunity.  Which, of course, the Fog Troupe provided.  Given that Sin – with some help from Masrur and Ja’far – made mincemeat of the Troupe in battle, including Alibaba and his djinn, he could easily have turned them over to the King in exchange for reopening trade.  But seeing the big picture, he figured Alibaba represented a better long-term bet – and promptly asked the vanquished Alibaba to “allow” him to join the troupe.

[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_04.03_[2012.12.04_22.48.50]I found Alibaba’s rationale for agreeing to lead the bandits to be a bit weak, to be honest, but I suppose it’s admirable on some level that he was unwilling to write off the folk of his childhood.  Kassim is clearly bad news in every respect, but it was interesting to see that when it came to Sinbad fighting Alibaba, the Rukh clearly sided against Aladdin’s friend – and the little magi did nothing to interfere.  Of course with common foes to do battle with they have common ground – against the corrupt King, and against Judal (who we saw a few episodes ago) who appears to have black Rukh surrounding him.  I can only assume that signals he’s a major baddie, and a bigger threat than some fat, gout-riddled King of slums who has a very short lease on power.

[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_06.17_[2012.12.04_22.51.04] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_07.58_[2012.12.04_22.53.48] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_10.20_[2012.12.04_22.56.10]
[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_11.31_[2012.12.04_22.57.21] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_12.02_[2012.12.04_22.57.51] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_13.12_[2012.12.04_22.59.01]
[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_13.27_[2012.12.04_22.59.16] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_13.38_[2012.12.04_22.59.28] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_15.17_[2012.12.04_23.01.07]
[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_17.32_[2012.12.04_23.03.22] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_17.56_[2012.12.04_23.03.46] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_20.03_[2012.12.04_23.05.53]
[Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_21.40_[2012.12.04_23.07.29] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_22.07_[2012.12.04_23.08.13] [Commie] Magi - 09 [B3D6746D].mkv_snapshot_22.26_[2012.12.04_23.08.32]
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6 comments

  1. A

    When it comes to politics, this show is up there. Probably second only to Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon.

  2. A

    This just a guess for fun about who the banker is. Kaassim or hiss thought to be dead sister.

  3. T

    Holy crap Magi got its own section I never thought I'd see the day!

    I think that Alibaba's reasoning being weak (yet at least honerable in a sense) was kind of the purpouse since Aladdin, during his monolouge, did relate this back to the nomads in relation to not truly knowing what to do but battle *a trait that has really made me like Aladdin sofar I must add*

    I can simply assume Judal to be a wild card at this point to the current conflict and hopefully to lead to Aladin, Alibaba and Morgiana to finally travel together as a trio.

  4. A

    "the Rukh clearly sided against Aladdin’s friend"

    No the Rukh only sides with the magi; it doesn't do anything for humans. This was explained by Sinbad himself in episode 7. What Aladdin saw in the Rukh around Sinbad was that he didn't have any ill intentions, hence he decided not to intervene in the fight.

  5. m

    Yeah. That's the same feeling I got from the Rukh scene.

  6. s

    I found Alibaba’s rationale for agreeing to lead the bandits to be a bit weak

    This anime didn't adapt Alibaba's scenes as great as Aladdin's and Morgiana's which is a shame because if they did, you'll realize why Aladdin (and Morgiana) likes him.

    In this episode, we see that the King named Alibaba as his successor but because he died suddenly during Kassim's stealing from the palace treasury, it wasn't officially sanctioned. Alibaba told Aladdin and Morgiana that he "traveled" after the King had died. Now, the problem is that anime-only viewers can't connect that part to his motivation for joining the Fog Troupe.

    In earlier episodes, Alibaba is seen as a coward who is willing to kiss the feet of unpleasant employers and not challenge authorities. The anime lacked adapting the part of Alibaba who sees himself as a coward too so it doesn't come across properly why Aladdin have to reassure Alibaba that he wasn't a coward numerous times.

    This should have neatly tied in to the current episode. Alibaba, returning from his dungeon quest, was surprised at the state of his country. Then seeing Kassim and hearing about Marian's death – learning that all this devastation he's seeing is because of the current royalty's fault – became a shackle that tied him to the Fog Troupe.

    Alibaba sees himself as the one at fault for what his country become. In his mind, he owed his PEOPLE big time because he ABANDONED them to this fate. He was supposed to be the next king but he run away because he feared taking the responsibility of unknowingly directing the attack to the palace treasury which indirectly killed the past king (his father). Alibaba is just a boy that is currently trying to fix his past mistakes.

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