Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Shinobu Ohtaka
Translation & English Adaptation: John Werry
Touch-Up Art & Lettering: Stephen Dutro
Editor: Mike Montesa
What They Say:
Aladdin tells the story of the fallen world of Alma Tran. In the distant past, in another world, humanity struggled to survive an onslaught of monsters, but after uniting against them, human sorcerers became as bad as the enemies they once fought. King Solomon himself struggled to lead humanity out of the darkness it had created, but with every victory comes sacrifice…
The saga of the lost world of Alma Tran continues. Solomon readies for a final battle against his father, David, but the fate of the world may already be set. Solomon and his comrades confront the ultimate power in their universe to bid to prevent the apocalypse. And as everything begins to fall apart, Ugo puts a deparate plan in motion—if this world cannot be saved, perhaps there can be hope for the next…
The three nations of Sindria, Leam and the Kou Empire now ponder the story of Alma Tran as told by Aladdin. The tragedy of that fallen world has lessons for all, but disagreements among these powerful countries could mean an apocalypse might happen all over again! Then, shocking news arrives from the east—a new power is rising in the Kou Empire!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The first two volumes of these three continue the history of the creation of this world. Solomon was a much greater being than once assumed, perhaps, and Ugo was one of many people that assisted him along his rise to power. Of course, with power comes corruption, and Solomon is no exception. For years, he dove further into madness. The reason seems to be from the immense power he gained and perhaps the inability for a mortal to hold it all.
Solomon created and became the god of a world Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana inhabit, just as Il-Irrah created the world Solomon inhabited. He dreamt of a world where everyone was equal. He saw the inequality between magicians and the other races that inhabited the world. But he saw them all the same. And wanted them all to treat him and each other the same. But one thing really prevented everyone from doing so.
Insecurity.
Solomon may have recreated the world, but he did not recreate the feelings of those that inhabit it. They still fear their own inadequacies, and wanted someone they perceive as greater to lead them. Enter Solomon, king of the previous world and god of the new one. This is where he begins to fall.
Before, he loved his wife, Sheba. He loved his friends, Arba, Setta, Falan, Isnan, Wahid, and of course Ugo. He fought for them and alongside them. He respected the abilities Ugo had. He learned from Arba’s fighting mastery. He trusted Setta with protecting their entire home by himself. He may have felt all those things still after creating a new world, but he hardly showed it. Sheba slowly fell into the madness alongside him. Everyone else was unable to contain them. And Ugo felt left alone.
The only recourse was a new way of life. No more supreme ruler over everyone. Ugo somewhat created the system they live in now, with three Magi and the djinns and the dungeons. He kept with him Aladdin, the son of Solomon and Sheba whose growth was stopped in the womb by Sheba by magical means. He was a manager of everything. He oversaw all the action, but was forbidden from interfering from the natural order of things. He merely hoped everything would work based on Solomon’s will and Aladdin’s own power. The djinns would choose on their own who was worthy of their power.
This era is also when Al-Thamen came to power, as a way to fight against Solomon’s own power. Their forces rivaled his own, and created the situation where Ugo needed to decide all of this at all. Solomon created his world without the black Rukh, but Al-Thamen brought them back into the world with their corruption.
Aladdin tells this entire tale to the audience of the greatest powers of the present time. The Kou Empire, Leam, and Sinbad’s Seven Seas Alliance. Kou does not budge their position, and Hakuryu brings complexities into the situation by killing his mother, who he views as corrupted.
The history itself provides a building block for the rest of the series to come because this is the very history Aladdin is trying to prevent from happening again, and the very history that the present day is spiraling toward. Kou has allied themselves with Al-Thamen basically since their inception, which is how they’ve gained such great power. Leam wants to fight against Al-Thamen, just like Sindria, but they all recognize they can’t do it alone. And a war amongst themselves will only exacerbate the problem at hand.
The first sign against is Hakuryu’s capture of Bilal’s dungeon, which he does by force. Bilal does not see him fit for his metal vessel, but he and Judar overpower him. And Bilal’s power is among the strongest among the metal vessels, it seems. With the power to affect minds and change memories, Hakuryu is doing some irreparable damage to his own people for the sake of his own victory. How far you’ve fallen, Hakuryu.
In Summary:
Magi has always been great at dealing with politics and palace intrigue, but these volumes are really showcasing how complex the story can get while still being comprehensible. Aladdin’s trying keep everyone together, but it seems like an impossible gambit at this point. Hakuryu is fighting his own war at no one’s urging, and Kou is breaking apart at the seams because of it. Nothing is going to remain around at this rate.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: April 11, 2017; June 13, 2017; and August 8, 2017
MSRP: $9.99 each