Shinobu Ohtaka (大高 忍, born May 9, 1983 Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for the creation of the manga series Sumomomo Momomo and more recently, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic.
With the epic battle finally behind us the spoils go to the victors and punishment goes to the defeated. In this volume the Kou Empire Arc comes to an end as Alibaba makes his way back to the world after being gone from it for 3 years (after his defeat in earlier volumes sent his spirit to another world earlier in the series. Now that he has returned the world is changed and on top of all of it is Sinbad. Now Alibaba must seek out answers and show those that knew him that he (often in amusing shock) really is not dead. Discovering the harsh truth of the world on his quest for answers and to reconnect with his friends Alibaba will lead us into the final arc of the series. Destinies will be fulfilled, people will probably die, and although the world has changed so much since Alibaba has been gone it will probably be shaken up once more before the end of the series. Hopefully things will turn out well in the story now that the future has come with a story where merchants have claimed power like kings to themselves (much like how powerful businesses these days influence laws.)
My favorite part of the book was after Alibaba returned literally a fraction of what he was once his soul returned to his body. It is a great transitioning scene where Yunan (after keeping his body alive since his soul departed in suspended animation) explains how the world changed to Alibaba as he works hard to regain his strength after so many years. The scene is not cluttered with back and forth dialog, just Yunan talking about this and that catching us up on the time skipped since Alibaba and Judar returned to the main story once more. Of course Judar left before Alibaba woke up to do his own things but I am sure we will see him later on. :)
Half of the volume deals with the Kou Empire Arc. It finally ends and they start a new arc regarding the changes in the world when Alibaba was away. I kind of like the new world Sinbad created but I don't like the way they present it. Instead of showing the world slowly, they use characters to info dump the reader. Yunan talks about the world for a whole chapter as well as other characters. There are A LOT of changes and some of them are good but as I said before, I don't like the way they present it to us. Also the manga seems to be depicting the clash between capitalism and communism. It became even more political and I am not sure whether I like it or not. However, the new arc seems interesting at least.
I'm insanely conflicted on the time skip. So much of what I loved about Magi was the atmosphere. The story is still there, and the character writing is still great. I'll just have to see where this arc goes before I make a final opinion.
It sure is crazy how 3 years can change a world. Alibaba is alive and well, but the world he once knew is no more. Sinbad has created a capitalist utopia, with open borders, no slavery and one common currency. Basically, society is looking pretty good. However, Alibaba knows of Sinbad’s connection to David, and Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu have been missing for years upon Alibaba’s revival. Wanting to find his friends, Alibaba sets off for Kou, only to find that the once great empire is on the verge of collapse.
This was a set up volume to get us used to the new world order. It’s clear that Sinbad is up to something, but we don’t know what. Only that it involves Aladdin, which is likely why he disappeared. Things are definitely getting interesting, and I am eager to see what happens next.
Mais um timeskip… não sou o maior fã deles mas OMG tanta coisa mudou! Desde o início que eu sabia que havia alguma coisa errada com o Sinbad e saber que ele está a trabalhar com a Alba deixa-me preocupado! Mas ele é sem dúvida um dos personagens mais complexos e interessantes mas que tem de ser travado! O Alibaba está de volta! Quero muito saber o que é feito da Morgiana e do Alladin! Não posso acreditar que este é o último arco de Magi, tem sido uma aventura incrível e estou a amar este manga! Espero que o final não me decepcione, tenho tido más experiências com os últimos arcos de mangas… ainda não consegui perdoar Fairy Tail por aquele último arco... 4.75/5 estrelas
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The first half of this volume was brilliant, the struggles of Hakuryu now that he has all this responsibility was interesting to read.
However the second half might have been the first time I've wondered what is going on truly, From deserts and ancient civilization themes to huge Sci fi looking skyscrapers.... yeah that lost me a little if I'm honest.
Still alibaba really keeps it going strong for me so onwards to the next volume
Disclaimer: I watched the anime and needed to read the manga as I loved this story. Unfortunately, I binged every volume back to back each moment I was free so its hard to distinguish what happened in each volume.
(Aviso: lectura hecha en ejemplar en español, publicado en México. La presente nota se modificará cuando se dé de alta en GR la edición correspondiente).
Y un timeskip, porque obviamente debía haber un timeskip, esto no es un manga shonen sin uno. No me quejo, más si llega Alibaba. por favor, ven a poner orden a este despelote.