I prefer to read over 100 chapters before rating a series, so I'll abstain from that, but I believe I've read enough of the series to give it an accurate write up.

This is a good series. It's one of those Action/Adventure Shounen that does a great job of immersing the reader into it's fictional universe, much like Hunter X Hunter or One Piece is able to do. It has the theme of the Arabian 1001 and nights(Aladin/Arabian Mythology) The overarching plot is yet to be fully developed and there is still quite a bit of mystery left to it. With magic, magical creatures, special weapons and unique fighting styles all included. It's not one of the shounen that is centered around 1 on 1 fights, whereby who is stronger than who becomes a big deal. However the fight scenes are plenty exciting and very difficult to get bored of. It has some very likable characters, and to this day is the only Shounen manga I've read where my favorite character is a female(yay Morigann). Aladin(the main character) is pretty lovable, and I'm always happy when the main character isn't headstrong idiot(Naruto, Luffy). So far, I don't really don't have any complaints, the character development is solid, the art is nice, and the dialogue is well done. This mango won't hook you as strong as some other manga might, but it's a consistently very good read. I just wish the scanlators would scanlate faster.

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.

The characters are likeable, and the story is easy to follow. Great clean quality scans and it has that grand epic feel to it due to the way the authors way of weaving a huge landscape.

I think the reviewer below me, Davion X, is mistaken something. Both Hunter x Hunter and FMA Brotherhood are quite brutal but very popular. It's not good to judge every shonen manga based on Naruto, One Piece or Fairy Tail.

Magi is a unique manga, make no mistake. It has many lighthearted moments and comedy with lots of action but it also isn't afraid to show the dark side of humanity and fierce fights. Unlike some generic shonen manga out there where the protagonist keeps shouting "friendship" and "no killing", this manga gives a fresh breath of air where one of the protagonists dares to commit a crime, but not without a moral lesson for the readers. Hate will only give birth to another hate.

The Magi world is vast and it has many memorable characters with their own good and bad sides. Fascinatingly, they all stay in gray area where neither of them is completely right nor wrong. What once started from a cheerful journey, turns really big and deep. If you like a manga with a long journey of action, comedy, magic fight, adventure, tragedy and a big revelation in the end, you will surely enjoy this manga. Just keep in mind that the dungeon conquering thingy will only happen at the first few chapters. After that is a full-blown adventures in many countries of Magi.

I'll give this manga a proper rating once it's finished.

... Last updated on January 28th, 2013, 12:22am

Well, I know it's kind of spoilerish, but basically it's a version of Aladdin with some peculiar twists. To be more accurate only some concepts are taken, so it makes this manga somehow original, at least in the way the mangaka use them. The djinn is quite awesome too, haha.

The storytelling and character development in this manga are closer to seinen than shounen imo. Anyone thinking that this manga is even close to trash like Fairy Tail, Bleach or Naruto (when every fight is a OHKO for the hero after cliche nakama speach & asspull power up) is beyond me.

Different from said manga, in this one, the protagonists actually lose, they're humble enough to realize their weakness, and actually try to stop and think about strategy instead of just rushing in like an idiot (aka. Natsu). The fight are more believable (at least the mangaka try to put some logic behind magic, weakness, reason to lose, etc.), unlike nakama shit from Fairy Fail. Even the supposedly cliche speech seem less cliche thanks to great artstyle effect and convincing character's motive (the last conversation between Alibaba and Kashim was well executed for example)

While this manga still carries some straits from typical shounen (friendship stuffs & perverted protagonist), it can still provide a deep plot with ambiguous & vulnerable characters that readers cannot simply tell if they're good or evil (basing on the latest chapters). Again, completely different from typical shounen where villains appear one after another (most are just want to destroy the world for no freaking reason) just to get trashed by the main character after bullshit power up and cliche speech.

A definitely recommended read.

... Last updated on November 10th, 2012, 8:40pm

This is a shounen manga that introduces young readers to a grey world parallel to our own. While it's true that a lot has been exaggerated and simplified, it reminds us that nothing is black-and-white. The only problem I have is that most of these rulers are pretty extreme, even if they have good intentions.

The author shows a mixture of good and bad, but never truly dives into politics. Instead, she mainly deals with theories and ideologies under the guise of politics.

Story-wise, this stuff is pretty good. History repeats itself, and often times humans are not the most rational creatures out there. This manga does a good job of showing such aspects of the world. Comedy is also on point, and I'm impressed by the mangaka's ability to draw troll faces. (seriously)



ON ANOTHER NOTE:
this manga provides some of the funniest gags ever, and some of them come at such a random time that it'll make you go "WTF??" Oh and dear lord, don't forget the hilarious expressions and troll faces (yes legit troll faces) in this manga. Ha ha ha ha. Good times.

... Last updated on May 20th, 2015, 6:39pm

Action-adventure shonen done very well. Good action, good art, interesting plot line. This is definitely worth giving a try, even if you are not a fan of the genre. The only problem I have is that the comedic parts are slightly lacking.

This is one of the few shonen manga I've started recently that actually kept me reading. It's a great mix of adventure and action, and there are enough mysteries and dramatic happenings in the background to keep the plot going and keep the readers' intrigue. I'm looking forward to see more character development and growth in the coming arc.

... Last updated on December 5th, 2011, 2:48am

as of now, with its unusual charm, magi is the strong contender against the now-very-powerful TWGOK (both serialized at the same magazine). i am eager to wait until the scanlation catch up to the last chapter. to see if magi successfully polished its charm further, just like its sister.

promising! very promising!