Magi Episode 10: His Name is Judal

“What I really like…is war.” -Judal

Summary: With Abumad refusing to even acknowledge Alibaba’s presence, things are looking pretty bleak for the people of Balbadd, and when Judal and Aladdin butt heads, an epic battle between the two Magi begins!

Impression: Wooooo Judal! Everyone’s favorite villain takes center stage this episode, which is a lot more battle focused than the past couple have been. It’s a nice change of pace, to see a more prolonged fight between Aladdin (who’s been in the background lately) and Judal. It’s the first time we see Judal fight and also the first time we see Aladdin start to reach the limits of his powers. It probably also helps that this is the first episode I’ve watched where I didn’t know what was going to happen because I’d read it in the manga first, and I’ve got to say, I kinda liked the surprises. It gave everything a very fresh feeling.

Because this is a television show, and thus needs drama and conflict to run on, Abumad turns down Alibaba’s pleas to help the citizens, as well as Sinbad’s request to re-open trade with Sindaria. With the arrival of the banker, whose name is Marikkio, and Judal, it becomes clear that something is afoot. And indeed it is, as Abumad states that the reason that he can’t re-open trade is because all of Balbadd’s trading rights have been put under the control of the Kou Empire. You don’t have to be in expert in trade and economics to see that having a foreign nation control who you trade with really is not going to do anything good for you, your country, your people, or your economy. Yes, I think it’s safe to say that He-of-the-Fat-Head could really use a good, swift kick to the behind right about now, as I think a monkey in a suit would probably be a better king that Abumad is.

With the negotiations having failed, it’s up to Sinbad to lift the spirits of the people. He says that because they tried the peaceful route with no success (and the fact that their king is an idiot), they can now openly take a stand against the military and Abumad without having to feel guilt and shame over sneaking around, stealing in the dead of night. They now actually have a legitimate cause to fight for, and Sinbad even offers to take in any people who want to leave Balbadd in his home country, which seems to cheer everyone up. Alibaba is in left in awe of Sinbad, who is a real king, while Alibaba still has a lot to learn when it comes to being a leader. After a rousing speech, who should show up but Judal.

Judal is a rather interesting character, although he actually has the most straightforward motives of all the bad guys we’ve seen before. He doesn’t care what happens to Balbadd, or the economy, or probably anything else really, because the only thing he wants…is war. With so much extra power around, and no place to use it, Judal has gotten a bit bored, and seems to think that fighting is the only way to alleviate that boredom. Sure, he might be fighting for the Kou Empire right now, but he himself says that the one he’d really want to fight with is Sinbad, as the two seem to have some kind of history together. He’d probably drop everything if Sinbad said he wanted to take over the world with him. When you compare Judal, who can not only use the raw power of Magoi, but also real Magic, to Aladdin, you start to see that Aladdin is very much still a “diamond in the rough” (to borrow from a certain other animated movie involving characters named Aladdin who hang out with djinns.) Aladdin is powerful, but lacks the finesse and knowledge that Judal has. It makes for a very tense fight once the two of them really get going.

The battle is well done, and certainly doesn’t lack for heart-pounding moments. Aladdin, for the first time, seems to be out of his depth, and we see him struggling to keep up with Judal’s assaults. It’s really only with Ugo’s help that Judal doesn’t use Aladdin to wipe the floor with. Thanks to the djinn, Aladdin is able to repulse some of Judal’s attacks, especially once he starts using Magic (which is basically transforming the raw material of Magoi into a more powerful attack that can range from lightning to ice spears.) In the end, Aladdin ends up paying a horrible price for getting into this battle, as Ugo is stabbed (perhaps fatally) by Judal’s ice attacks. The strangest thing though, is that even when Aladdin stops feeding Ugo his power (meaning he should go back inside his flute vessel), he is still able to move, and continues to attack Judal. Judal points out that this means that Ugo is not truly Aladdin’s djinn, which raises the question: Who’s Ugo’s real master? Why does Aladdin have a djinn that isn’t his?

The episode ends with Ugo, much to everyone’s shock and amazement, crushing Judal and leaving him looking a bit worse for wear on the cobblestones as he stands over him oblivious to the Magoi leaking out of the wounds from his back. From the previews…duh, Judal isn’t actually dead (although he does look pretty messed up there at the end) but I’m thinking new cool lady characters? From the sound of it? And it looks like the battle between Aladdin/Ugo and Judal will be wrapped up too. I’m excited for next Sunday!

Final Though: How about those Star Wars laser gun sounds that were happening when Judal was shooting his Magoi at Aladdin? I usually could care less about sound effects and the like, but those seemed so hilariously out-of-place that even I picked up on it. Pew! Pew! Pew!