Who doesn’t love a story rooted in a world of magic and fantasy set in the medieval period? It is a genre that allows readers to escape into a world very different from ours. It acts as a gateway to explore themes and characters that match one’s ideal mindset of a perfect setting. The fantasy aspect in anime and manga gives you plenty of such encounters.
There is a plethora of options to choose from, with a multitude of fantasy anime and manga in the mix. However, today we’re here to discuss an original yet exciting story taking place in a beautiful world with memorable characters throughout the series of Magi.
Magi is illustrated by Shinobu Ohtaka, which depicts a fantasy world set in the medieval era with fantasy elements working in tandem. It follows the adventures of our two lovely and iconic characters, Alibaba and Aladdin, where they embark on a journey to conquer dungeons and obtain treasures and powerful magical spirits called Djinns.
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic Facts
Magi is an intricate series with an in-depth plot and fascinating characters. So, today we’re here to jog your memories with 12 Magi facts that you may have forgotten.
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1. Djinns In Magi
Djinns are personalities of people created from Rukh that gives birth to different lifeforms of different races with an affinity to magic. Djinns were formed to fight against the Medium, a creature that brought Ill Ilah(Black God) into the world of Magi, which resulted in the destruction of Alma Torran.
there were 72 members of Solomon’s Household who were given 72 Divine Staves and were converted into Djinns. And presumably, there are said to be 72 dungeons, with each Djinn given a dungeon to rule over. The name “Djinn” is based on Genies and Jinn from Islamic and Arabian mythologies.
2. Morgiana’s Way of Judging
Morgiana is a strong and lovable character who is introduced at the very beginning of the series. Morgiana is from the Dark Continent and had a traumatic life until she met our favorite duo, Alibaba and Aladdin.
Morgiana wasn’t a very sociable person because of her past, but she has a keen sense of smell that allows her to judge different people and label them with a character trait. According to Morgana, Judar smells like a bad guy representing loathsome evil.
Sinbad smells like a mixture of unique fragrances representing a well of mystery. Sharrkan Amun-Ra smells like a mix of perfume and medicine, representing undeniable trust, Hakari smells like cozy plants representing overwhelming kindness & Masrur smells like the forests of Sindria, which represents perpetual caring.
3. Alibaba’s bad luck with women
This trait of Alibaba is evident throughout the series. Usually, during the event of a celebration with booze and entertainment, Alibaba tends to pay for the most popular hostess to entertain him in the bar. However, he is always surprised by the company he gets.
Elizabeth from Qishan, Margaret from Aktia Kingdom, & Ekaterina from Sindria are three women with similar yet peculiar looks that greet the unlucky Alibaba when asked for a “fun time,” which comically makes this running gag even funnier when considering everybody else around him seems to have more fun than Alibaba ever could.
4. A Snake Around The Neck?
Sphintus Carmen is a character in Magi that is seen with Kukulcan (a snake) around his neck. Sphintus was Alibaba’s roommate and also heir to the throne of the Heliohapt Kingdom. This makes him quite an influential character in the series.
‘Does Sphintus Carmen talk to his snake buddy Kukulcan when they’re alone?’ is a question that was raised among the fans. Shinobu Ohtaka has, in response, stated, Sphintus always talks to his snake.
Additionally, she adds that doing so is not considered weird since, in the Kingdom of Heliohapt, having a snake around your neck is considered high status. In evidence of Ohtaka’s response, we see the current king of Heliohapt (Armakan Amun-Ra) also has a snake coiled around his neck.
5. Morgiana’s Romantic Interest
With Morgiana’s traumatic past, She was neither shown how to love nor had the chance to experience love from someone. But, during her better days, Morgiana learned to trust people and experience different sorts of emotions she never knew existed. Love was one of the emotions she experienced with someone special.
Alibaba was that special someone. But early on in the series, this love interest wasn’t explicitly stated but rather was just hinted at when Morgiana misunderstood a question from Alibaba as a confession of love. To our surprise, she responded positively, which left both parties flustered.
A common sign of acceptance of mutual love is usually observed in romance animes. Much later in the manga, this ship was made official with confessions from both ends which drew a happy ending to the romance saga for the series.
Misunderstanding in anime doesn’t always lead to disaster.
6. Fanalis are based on real-life
Fanalis, previously known as the Red Lions, originated from the dark continent that specializes in hunting. Fanalis were wild beast-like creatures with crimson red fur and great strength, and impressive speed.
But, once they were teleported to the new world, they were generally identified by their human form with red hair, red eyes & usually a piercing around the chin. This was done while keeping their original strength and speed, the very strength & speed they find pride in being known as the “strongest race in the world.”
Fanalis was based on a North African tribe called the Berber Tribe. Just like the terrible fate of Fanalis, Berbers were usually kidnapped and forced into slavery. Fanalis’ nature is similar to the Berbers’ as they were commonly mocked as “Barbarians” by the Greeks and the Romans.
Additionally, the dark continent was a direct reference to Africa because, during the 18th century, Africa was called the dark continent due to some parts of Africa being hard to navigate.
7. Popular Middle Eastern Folk Tales
One Thousand and One Nights is a book with a collection of remarkable Middle Eastern folk tales written in Arabic. This was made in collaboration with various authors, translators & scholars across Asia and North Africa.
The Arabian Nights are the English-translated version of the One Thousand and One Nights edition. This was done to enlighten western consumers and reach a wider audience to show the amazing stories crafted by Middle Easterners.
Under the influence of the Arabian Nights stories, hundreds of media were adapted based on characters like Alibaba, Aladdin & Sinbad, with each adaption coming up with a unique twist of its own.
And during the 80s to early 90s, this form of entertainment hit big because of the global widespread the adaptions had. So, it’s not a surprise that even the manga/anime industry chose to build an original story with these memorable characters through the Magi series.
Characters from some of the most popular Arabian Nights tales like Alibaba & The 40 Thieves, Aladdin & The Magic Lamp, and Sinbad the Sailor were used in crafting the plot and the world of the Magi series. The nostalgic feeling one might have while watching the Magi series makes it an exceptional anime for fans to experience.
8. Sinbad Is Stronger Than You Think
Sinbad is not only the ruler of the Sindria Kingdom but also the president of the Sindria Trading Company. Additionally, Sinbad leads The Seven Seas Alliance. But, all of Sinbad’s status, his arrogant yet charismatic & flirtatious traits aren’t nearly enough to understand his character as a whole.
Sinbad obtained his first Djinn (Baal) after clearing a dungeon at the age of 14. Even with an impressive achievement such as that Sinbad did not learn to settle, he pursued on, until making himself the only man that captured 7 dungeons and claimed the ownership of 7 Djinns in total.
- Sword (Baal)
- Gold Necklace (Valefor)
- Silver Necklace (Furfur)
- Ring on the index finger (Vepar)
- Ring on the middle finger (Zepar)
- The bracelet on the left arm (Crocell)
- The bracelet on the right arm (Focalor)
Since then, Sinbad has been forbidden from entering any more dungeons. But with his 7 Djinns and control of black Magoi & white Magoi, there is truly no one in the series that can rival him in the slightest.
The fact that we have only seen 4 of Sinbad’s Djinn transformations throughout the series brings us to a bone-chilling realization of Sinbad’s true potential. This explains why Sinbad is the most powerful and influential character in all of the Magi.
9. The Exiled Generals of Sinbad
The 8 generals of the Kingdom of Sindria, led by Sinbad himself, are the most powerful group of warriors. They originated from different allied nations and moved in with Sinbad. While they are friends by nature, the 8 generals show amicable respect towards Sinbad as the king of Sindria.
Sinbad sees his people for what they are and not what they are known for. Evidence of this statement would be when Sinbad openly accepted all of the 8 generals, knowing most of them were exiled by their respective countries.
- Hinahoho was exiled from Imuchakk.
- Yamraiha, exiled from Musta’sim Kingdom
- Sharrkan exiled from Heliohapt Kingdom
- Pisti exiled from Artemyra
- Spartos, exiled from Sasan Kingdom
Even so, Sinbad has the utmost trust in his generals for the safety of Sindria. For this very reason, the generals have such high regard for Sinbad, even if he may have committed some wrongdoings.
10. Morgiana’s Brother Figure
Morgiana’s dark past was short-lived when she surrounded herself with good people that supported her throughout the better part of her journey. Alibaba and Aladdin were a major part of her character development by making her feel at home, a feeling she had long forgotten. Alibaba and Aladdin weren’t the only family figure she had.
Masrur is a Fanalis and one of the 8 generals of the Sindria kingdom. Masrur is a quiet and not very sociable individual who tends to make crude comments sometimes. But, the kindness he shows to those he cares about makes up for all the negatives.
Morgiana considers Masrur her brother, something she is embarrassed to admit. However, Masrur, too, has a soft spot for Morgiana, which is evident when we see Masrur helping her train and protecting her from Al-Thamen. What could be the reason behind Morgana and Masrur’s sibling nature? Fanalis’ bloodline? Or could it simply be a coincidence?
11. Alibaba The Gladiator
Ali Baba from the original folk tales is a poor but honest woodcutter who stumbles across a mysterious cave that only opens with the phrase “open sesame.” It’s clear Alibaba, by Magi’s author, is depicted differently from the stories.
Alibaba Saluja was introduced as a cunning individual who bootlicks to wealthy merchants for any amount of monetary gain. The same can be observed when he wishes to befriend Aladdin only because of the strong Djinn the Magi holds.
Alibaba Saluja wasn’t always planned out to be this exotic of a character that we now know and love. Shinobu Ohtaka initially planned on making Alibaba a gladiator warrior with a non-expressive & stoic personality. But, for the better, Shinobu discarded this idea and stated she was more natural at making expressive characters with a sense of personality.
Part of Shiobu’s idea came to fruition in Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, when Alibaba was trained and fought as a gladiator to nurture his Magoi control.
12. Sinbad’s Right-Hand Man
Ja’far means stream in Arabic. Contrary to his name, Ja’far is a short-tempered personality that acts as a comedic relief when seen with Sinbad. With Ja’far being a loyal general of the Sindria kingdom and the chief of the Sindria trading company, Sinbad has very high regard for him.
Furthermore, the ability to work without rest for long periods is something to envy. And Just like any workaholic, Ja’far’s favorite drink is coffee, which makes him a true workaholic at heart.
Ja’far and Sinbad’s first meeting was peculiar. To our surprise, Ja’far was a trained assassin who was forced to kill his parents to prove his resolve. Ja’far was later sent to assassinate Sinbad. However, after the events of the Valor dungeon, Ja’far decided to give up on continuing on the path of an assassin and chose to follow Sinbad instead.
Even so, Sinbad considers Ja’far his right-hand man, making this all the more ironic.
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