“Answers won’t come just because you asked for them.” -Sharrkan
Summary: That snake really comes back to BITE Alibaba in the ass this week, as both he and Sinbad become infected with magic that, if left untreated, will pull them both into depravity. Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu set off to capture the 61st dungeon, Zagan, in hopes that the Djinn contained within (rumored to be able to heal any illness) will be able to cure the two infected men.
Impressions: Yay! We’re going on an adventure again! I don’t know how many episodes Magi will have (I think someone said 24?) but it seems like some nice symmetry to have the very first and last plots be focused on capturing dungeons. This felt like a really light-hearted episode, which balanced the ~drama~ nicely. Poor Alibaba though, it looks like he’s still got no luck with the ladies.
Our whole trio is facing some road blocks currently. Alibaba, who’s so used to fighting with a short dagger, is having trouble mastering the longer sword of his Djinn equip. Aladdin is learning magic, but only very slowly (which seems fine by him, since he enjoys being punished by Yamuraiha a little bit too much.) And Morgiana’s finally gotten her household vessel, but she’s got no clue how she’s going wear it, let alone how to use it. So everyone’s a bit, not down in the dumps, but let’s just say they’ve got some stuff they need to work on before they can get to that next level. Enter the snake bite that Alibaba got a couple of episodes ago.
It’s actually a ST(M)D (Snake Transmitted Magical Disease) that has infected Alibaba with feelings of hatred and anger towards Hakuryuu. Even though I think the two of them could be great friends and learn a lot from each other, since their situations seem similar, with the evil voices in his head telling him to hate, it’s hard for Alibaba to see that. When Alibaba tries to resist those feelings, it causes a member of Al-Thamen to materialize. Sinbad tries to cut him down, but he just ends up getting splashed by the evil blood, and thus also infected. Goateed Al-Thamen Member (that’s his name now) then tells them all about their evil plans, which involves dragging both Alibaba and Sinbad into “depravity” and there for changing their normal rukh into dark rukh. They’ll then become dark kings (because everything that is evil must be called “dark something-or-other” apparently and will serve under the Kou Empire and Al-Thamen. Since no medicine or magic can cure the two, we seem to be in a bit of a pickle.
That pickle lasts for only about 2 seconds, because Sinbad is quick to form a plan. That plan? Send Morgiana, Aladdin, Alibaba, and Hakuryuu (who volunteers to go as well) to face a man-eating dungeon whose djinn can heal anything. Since Sinbad already as enough power (yeah…seven djinn’s seems like more than enough to me) he and his retainers can’t enter any more dungeons, which is why he sends our quartet instead of going himself. As it turns out, Sinbad let himself be infected to give them even more motivation to successfully capture the dungeon. Oh, Sinbad, you sly dog, you.
I’m really looking forward to some straight-forward adventuring, now that our little group is on it’s way. Sinbad sends on of his generals, Pisti, with them. She might look like she’s 11, but she’s older than Alibaba! She can also tame/talk to animals and all mater of creatures, as she proves when a giant sea horse/demon from the depths starts to attack the ship. Hakuryuu also reveals a surprising side to himself when he cooks an elaborate feast for everyone. He might be a prince, but pampered he is not. I think by the end of the episode, when he tells the little girl that he will save her parents, Alibaba really starts to see that Hakuryuu is a good guy, despite the prejudice that Alibaba feels towards him because he’s a prince of the Kou Empire (and the bad things those voices in his head are telling him.)
Hopefully, this dungeon will give everyone a chance to grow stronger and become an even better team (knowing how these things tend to go, I think I’m probably going to be right about that.) This dungeon, with its tendency to “eat” people, is going to be a real challenge, and I’m betting that Gloomy Frankenstein and Princess-y Girl that Aladdin bumped into on the pier aren’t going to be making things any easier. Side note: I hate when the opening kinda spoils if characters are going to be good guys or bad guys. Like those two are show with all the rest of the Al-Thamen folks in the opening, so they’re obviously working for them. It’s a personal grievance I guess, since I’m not reading the manga and wouldn’t have known that ahead of time if it weren’t for the OP. Anyway. No preview, so I’m going to let myself be surprised by what’s going to happen next episode! What kind of dangers are lurking ahead for our group of friends? OooOOOoo Suspense!
Final Thought: Just for you; a pan shot of the awesomeness that is Morgiana.
I was…pretty disappointed with this episode, as a lot of the content was just anime-original material. The entire snake bite issue shouldn’t even be occurring at this point in time, and I fear that we’re hurtling towards an original ending (Ao no Exorcist, anyone?) that will make it harder for them to continue with a second season, now that the story line’s been altered so dramatically.
And with the snake bite, Alibaba’s personality (and his relationship with Hakuryuu) has been changed as well. In the manga it’s actually Hakuryuu who keeps stating that he should hate him and the Kou Empire, while Alibaba’s all cool with it and is willing to put the past behind him. The anime presents him as much more of a bitter character that is afraid he might let his anger out on Hakuryuu, when the Balbadd arc already charted his character development into an emotionally stronger person. Also, they made Zagan a magical dungeon that can heal anything? Really, A-1…really?
Hearing this kinds makes me glad that I stopped reading the manga when I did. I’d probably be enjoying this show a whole lot less. I don’t need it to be a word for word adaption of the manga (since that gets boring) but when they start to mess with character’s personalities, all bets are off. Once this ends, I’ll go back and catch up on the manga so I can compare and contrast.