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A review by coeurdesamurai
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Volume 1 by Shinobu Ohtaka
4.0
I have two rules when it comes to mangas:
Because of this culture gap, I review mangas/animes/dramas -everything that isn't produced by white people living in a white country- differently.
Anyway, welcome to mangaland where touching a women's breasts is considered a joke. Don't be so offended about it and don't hate the MC because of that.
Okay, whatever, I said what I had to say.
Magi is a story following young Aladin's adventures. Not so much of a spoiler because it's all in the title but still: He's a magi. Wow, shocking. I know. In this first volume, it isn't really explained what a magi is and the revelation comes after. But these first chapters are the very beginning of the story so it's not really a spoiler. Aladin is a little oblivious and naïve, as every shonen hero ever, but he learns step by step about him and his powers. He has one friend Hugo who is a Djinn and lives inside his flute that he can summon.
Since I've seen the anime, I feel like I'm cheating for the summary. It's difficult to summarize what happens in 7 chapters without spoiling you when I know what happen in the next 192 chapters.
Anyway, Aladin will meet Alibaba and Morgiane. Together they will go on a crazy adventure to conquer the labyrinths which are some kinds of dungeon you have to explore and at the end, you win the power of a Djinn.
It sounds boring but this is actually amazing. The story starts slowly and seems boring but it gets better and better. And, oh boy, let me tell you about the world-building because this one is very strong.
Magi is inspired of The One Thousand and One Nights, even if it doesn't follow the stories at least the Middle East is the setting of the first tomes. The story is always moving and making us discover different cultures like Mongolia, India, China, Ancient Roma, and more. I love the way the mangaka managed to tell the adventures of Aladin by making us travel too.
Besides, the magic system is very good. I'm not telling anything here because so far, Aladin knows nothing about his powers and we discover more about Alibaba and Morgiane later. What we know now is that Aladin has a Djinn in his flute but if you want to have a Djinn, you have to explore a labyrinth. For the moment, we don't know what are the Djinns' powers, where they came from or how we can use them. Or even what is a magi. So you'll have to keep reading to discover that because it's really amazing.
Every labyrinth has a different Djinn and each Djinns have different powers, so they are all unique. Also there are some real political issues that will come later and the characters will keep getting more complexed chapter after chapter. Don't be afraid to get bored after the first volume, you won't.
The art is good. It's unbelievable to see how the mangaka improved between chapter 1 and chapter 100. The landscapes are well detailed and the chara design is beautiful. I'm usually very picky with mangas and graphic novels because I used to study Applied Art. There are many works out there that are supposed to be "breathtaking" but is average. Magi isn't one of them.
Hope I gave you the desire to read it. It's really amazing once you pass through the first chapters. And if you don't feel like reading it, you can still watch the adaptation on Netflix.
1. Only add on your GR shelves those you actually own.I don't want to spam you because I read a lot of mangas and I don't see the point to review them if I don't own the volumes.
2. Don't be overly serious with your reviews.The thing about manga is that it's completely different than our Western books. Japan has a different culture and history, different type of humor, etc. So it's tricky to review these as a Western person. Every reviews I read about mangas are about people who don't get it and end up disappointed.
Because of this culture gap, I review mangas/animes/dramas -everything that isn't produced by white people living in a white country- differently.
Anyway, welcome to mangaland where touching a women's breasts is considered a joke. Don't be so offended about it and don't hate the MC because of that.
Okay, whatever, I said what I had to say.
Magi is a story following young Aladin's adventures. Not so much of a spoiler because it's all in the title but still: He's a magi. Wow, shocking. I know. In this first volume, it isn't really explained what a magi is and the revelation comes after. But these first chapters are the very beginning of the story so it's not really a spoiler. Aladin is a little oblivious and naïve, as every shonen hero ever, but he learns step by step about him and his powers. He has one friend Hugo who is a Djinn and lives inside his flute that he can summon.
Since I've seen the anime, I feel like I'm cheating for the summary. It's difficult to summarize what happens in 7 chapters without spoiling you when I know what happen in the next 192 chapters.
Anyway, Aladin will meet Alibaba and Morgiane. Together they will go on a crazy adventure to conquer the labyrinths which are some kinds of dungeon you have to explore and at the end, you win the power of a Djinn.
It sounds boring but this is actually amazing. The story starts slowly and seems boring but it gets better and better. And, oh boy, let me tell you about the world-building because this one is very strong.
Magi is inspired of The One Thousand and One Nights, even if it doesn't follow the stories at least the Middle East is the setting of the first tomes. The story is always moving and making us discover different cultures like Mongolia, India, China, Ancient Roma, and more. I love the way the mangaka managed to tell the adventures of Aladin by making us travel too.
Besides, the magic system is very good. I'm not telling anything here because so far, Aladin knows nothing about his powers and we discover more about Alibaba and Morgiane later. What we know now is that Aladin has a Djinn in his flute but if you want to have a Djinn, you have to explore a labyrinth. For the moment, we don't know what are the Djinns' powers, where they came from or how we can use them. Or even what is a magi. So you'll have to keep reading to discover that because it's really amazing.
Every labyrinth has a different Djinn and each Djinns have different powers, so they are all unique. Also there are some real political issues that will come later and the characters will keep getting more complexed chapter after chapter. Don't be afraid to get bored after the first volume, you won't.
The art is good. It's unbelievable to see how the mangaka improved between chapter 1 and chapter 100. The landscapes are well detailed and the chara design is beautiful. I'm usually very picky with mangas and graphic novels because I used to study Applied Art. There are many works out there that are supposed to be "breathtaking" but is average. Magi isn't one of them.
Hope I gave you the desire to read it. It's really amazing once you pass through the first chapters. And if you don't feel like reading it, you can still watch the adaptation on Netflix.