Separated, yet still getting stronger…and never forgetting each other.
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Shinobu Ohtaka
Translation & English Adaptation: John Werry
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Stephen Dutro
Editor: Mike Montesa
What They Say:
Alibaba arrives in the Leam Empire and begins training under the renowned warrior, Shambal Ramal. Learning to perfect his Djinn Equip means mastering two mismatched types of magoi within him, and the training won’t be easy. Elsewhere, Morgiana continues her long journey home, and in the far-off Kou Empire, a succession crisis is brewing that could have dire consequences for everyone!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Alibaba has arrived in Leam, Morgiana is on her way to the Dark Continent, and Aladdin continues his training in Magnoshutatt. It’s getting to the part of the story where good gets great and great gets near perfect.
Alibaba, penniless after being tricked out of all his money, panhandles to pay for food and enter Shambal Ramal’s colosseum and training grounds. It’s a testament to his skill that he eventually got in through his swordplay rather than what magoi manipulation he has. But moments like Alibaba being hungry and unable to defeat someone at or lower than his level is the kind of comedy that Magi excels at, and what rightly breaks up the heavier moments of the series.
The stories surrounding Alibaba were always internal ones. I’m not good enough to capture a dungeon alone, I’m not good enough to rule a country, I’m not good enough to rule a people. And this time, the magoi Cassim left in him after their encounter has put his own in strife, which could tear him apart at any moment. Ramal realizes this and has him fight Garda, a giant baboon, but without the sword of Amon. He has to realize his own strength and not rely on that of Amon’s.
Morgiana, meanwhile, has to make her way to the Dark Continent by way of crossing the Great Rift. Her conflicts have been largely internal and of worth, but externally ingrained in her by her slave owner rather than by way of circumstance in the case of Alibaba. This is her first journey of her own volition, and it’s to regain some of her own self because so much has been determinate by her owner or her friend. Morgiana is perhaps the strongest character in the manga, but she’s been led a lot of places rather than acting on her own. While she does act independently at said places (whether that be in the dungeon, Sindria, or Balbadd), the Dark Continent is hers alone.
Bigger things are brewing, though, in Kou. The emperor has died, largely believed to be the work of foul play on the part of his wife, and she has been named Empress in his stead as his will decrees. This angers the faction of Koen, the eldest son, and thus a cold civil war begins in the Kou Empire, perhaps as strong and vast as the Ottomans, if not moreso.
In Summary:
This is all just the beginning of a larger storyline, and can only be signaled by the end of the volume, as it skips forward by six months and shows Aladdin’s progress in Magnoshutatt. The Kou Empire’s internal strife will have to hit a head at some point, Morgiana’s journey must end eventually, and Alibaba’s training will quickly surpass that of his contemporaries and teacher. Everyone’s growing, but certainly no one will be left behind.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: December 8, 2015
MSRP: $9.99
