Hahaha... somehow, I sense this series reviews become a battle between shounen manga... Well, thanks to the one who brings Fairy Tail in his/her comment (aka. *****hito) - see, it's dangerous to compare 'obviously' different quality of manga in the front of the fan (including me)...

Magi is undoubtedly good as for me, and I won't add more "useless" comment for the awesomeness of Magi. But, I feel I must join the review about the shounen manga...

May some readers dont like "childish" story about overwhelmed character n nakama-thing in some popular manga out there, but hey... shounen is mostly talking about that. They mainly teach us about "hard work, friendship, and victory", if you dont like that, you can read newspaper or economic magazine (just like my dad), and of course another manga, like seinen.

As for me, what's most important in shounen manga (and other genre) is the plot (and its twist). The plot should not random and predictable, that's the basic... It's okay to be overpowered (even Aladdin and Yunan maybe overpowered too), but it must not be shortcut-ed (aka. sudden power ups)... or it will lose its "hard work" components. I don't find it "much" in One Piece and Naruto, but One Piece n Naruto covered it with a great depth plot. In opposite, as for Fairy Tail, ahem... maybe the author find it's difficult to logic its power up (since the power is too random), and the plot is sadly random too (and that's why I dropped it for now). Truly, this is nice forum indeed...

... Last updated on February 12th, 2014, 6:58am

this is my favourite manga of all time plus a few others but still. it broadened my horizon of manga when i read it. i love all the characters from magi and my fav character is pisti. the drawings are wonderful and it just gives me the feeling that this is the manga i've been looking for my entire life. i love it.i believe that this manga is way better than the top 4 manga's of the world (thats what i call it. one piece, naruto, bleach and fairy tail and yes fairy tails up there for those who didnt know) the story isnt too dark which is great. ahh... this will always be my favourite manga probably.

Great series. Starts a bit slow but it really picks up after a few volumes. Also don't judge the manga based on the awful anime adaptation. The anime made changes for the worse and hasn't done the manga justice.

Edit: Lower my grade because recently the manga has took a different turn for the worse. Too much politics, not enough adventure.

... Last updated on October 17th, 2014, 11:38pm

Obviously, y'all read this for the amazing faces that Miss Ohtaka Shinobu is famous for! xD Great story, art, suspense, excitement, and no fan service. Me likey. Already bought the first two volumes released in the US!

Certainly not bad, but suffers from an overabundance of being too average in design, execution, characters, storylines, even powers. It's a shounen manga but Aladdin-flavoured with very few surprises for me. Again, it's definitely not bad, I've enjoyed reading it but it's starting to feel like a drag at chapter 100, so I'm taking a break from it.

A slow start, but it did get a lot better. What made Magi good was it's uniqueness. Despite being a Shounen, it tried to pick up a few darker and more mature themes. Sadly, it's only been going downhill lately. Giving into the temptation of using weak plot devices and showing the typical shounen flaws. (Weak, stereotypical villains; flat side characters and the generic good and evil...)

I can only hope the author reconsiders his change in style. I don't think there's any need for a second FT.

people who really knows what a good story is will pick magi
its not mainstream manga but its pretty good its better than FT(which doesnt taste defeat) in my opinion

Magi is a diamond in the fog. Lately the shounen genre has been getting BS from everybody, all because of mainstream shounen like OP, FT,Naruto, et cetra(I'm not saying they're bad) Magi Is just like FMA-type shounen its in a league of its own:
ART-amazing
PLOT-sublime
CD-great
The pacing is good, and all the characters are all amazing

A year ago I had nothing to read and felt like reading something light and bright. I went through my long wish list and narrowed the contenders. Magi won, merely because it looked like a light-hearted simple piece of fun that wouldn't really require much from me as a reader.

A read a few dozen chapters and believed I was indeed correct. It wasn't much. It was the simple light-hearted piece I had desired and I was okay with that. Then I started the Balbadd arc and my opinion about this started changing. What had so far been a bright typical shounen manga that managed to keep itself entertaining with a cool world even if the execution was a little forgettable was becoming something more. That arc is the mark of the real start of the series. The end of the arc itself is very well accomplished, managing what most shounens fail to attain: an arc finale that blends, emotion, battle and smarts. The characters grew and Magi finally became a series that was worth my complete attention.

Unfortunately, due to my student life I was unable to keep up with the releases that were coming out at an extraordinarily fast pace (kudos to sense-scans for that by the way, they did a fantastic job on this series) so I decided to put it on hold until it had caught up to the Japanese release. Then I read the whole 90 or so chapters that were left and they blew my mind. The balbadd arc had not been a fluke. No, far from it. On the contrary it was becoming even better.

Magi took the world it had been developing slowly and spread its characters throughout it. We went to Sindria, met awesome characters and saw just how fascinating and full of possibilities this world was. Exciting battles with great interactions between the characters. An antagonist fitting for the epic proportions the plot was developing. Depth that most shounens of this genre wish they could bear.

The Magnoshtat (okay I just killed that name, sorry) Arc was amazing and showed a different side to the manga. And the most recent war arc was extraordinary to say the least. A lot of mangas strive for the morally ambiguous side of war, trying to bring the "who's the villain and is he actually evil" card to the table. You've probably seen that before I had too. But I had not seen one that was this well made. The war arc is unbelievably morally ambiguous. Massacres for both sides. Effort and collective will strengthens both armies. Here, there really are no villains, just victims and the will to fight for your country, for what you believe and for your little eden in this planet.

Bottom line is... Magi is without a doubt one of the best Shounen from this genre even though it takes a bit to heat up. If you stick with it you will be rewarded with an amazing manga. Give it a shot and I think you won't be disappointed.

Yes, it is a shounen. That can be seen miles away. There's friendship speeches, fights, fanservice (for both girls and guys), and the like. But it's a very good shounen.

A story based on the same book as Disney's -Aladdin- (but nothing like either), Magi sets in a wonderful Arabic setting filled with magic, mystery, djinns (genies), flying carpets, good vs. evil, powerful kings and generals, and much more. It's a fantasy world that makes one want to fly around on a turban and see the world.

There's character development, plot progression, and steady growth of power. The main guy will obviously be the most powerful, but he isn't there yet, and he doesn't get there by random means. He is helped by those around him to defeat stronger enemies, and he grows in power. Same goes for the other characters.

There are very strong moral issues raised in the manga, that, while dealing with the content of the story, portray real life. The whole magical vs. normal power is reminiscent of technology vs. "the good old days" views. As someone else mentioned, issues like slavery, crazy families, abuse of power, manipulation, and all sorts of things in the manga are very real issues in our world. It makes the manga interesting and different than mainstream shounen -- but of course, it's not mainstream.

And, of course, one of the most important aspects of any manga (IMO): the comedy -- it's really great! Some parts had me rolling.

Edit: Dropped the series, despite my raving review. The arcs were becoming extremely long and I did not care for the ridiculously drawn-out flashback arc. Humor was almost non-existent during the long battles and convoluted drama. Still, the manga is definitely a work of art.

... Last updated on December 23rd, 2014, 8:36pm