Impression
While Aladdin went through a fair bit of suffering as well, I think Alibaba’s ended up with the short end of the stick. Being treated by a street beggar after losing all your money is pretty pitiful after all – and why on earth did the pirates leave his metal vessel with him, after being thoughtful enough to make off with his clothes? It’s lucky he managed to run into the Nando brothers before dying on the streets (who turned out to be decent enough guys, considering they joined the Fog Troupe last season with ill intentions). They look like they’ve really done well in Reim – which is obviously a country reminiscent of ancient Rome not unlike how Kou is modelled off imperial China. It’s even got the aqueducts and road systems that the Romans were good at constructing. And of course, there’s the Colosseum, where gladiators duke it out either to train themselves or because they’re slaves (like Masrur once was, before Sinbad saved him). It seems like a fun spectator sport in Reim – though I think there’s more fun in it for the audience than for the combatants. It’s not that surprising that Alibaba’s been made to fight a giant gorilla to be honest – Roman gladiators fought all sorts of creatures, like lions and stuff. Then again, Alibaba won’t be allowed to use his metal vessel against it (as per the preview) so he’s probably in quite a pinch.
Asumi Kana was a really good choice for Toto. Four for you, A-1 Pictures! As with many of Magi’s female characters, she’s strong – while she’ll have trouble against Morgiana or Kougyoku, that’s probably due to her lack of a metal or household vessel more than her lack of ability, which can hold off a well-fed Alibaba. Her fight with Alibaba really made him look pretty cool – while many of his negative qualities were exaggerated in Season 1, sometimes it’s still easy to forget that he can be badass once he gets his act together. Alibaba could have won easily if he used his djinn equip, but had he decided to he wouldn’t have gotten half the approval he did from Shambal. I don’t think poor Toto will forget that humiliation for a while 😀 I wonder if magoi manipulation has any adverse effects on her, like it has on Hakuryuu? It’s said to shorten someone’s lifespan, but maybe they can circumvent that if they know what they’re doing.
The close-up shot of Alibaba’s earring and a silhouette of Cassim made it clearly evident that his residual magoi is the cause of Alibaba’s condition, the eventual result of which will tear his body apart – he’ll have to undertake his own training to solve that. It’s notable that Reim’s Magi, Scheherazade has taken an interest in his first battle, along with a red-haired gladiator (most likely a Fanalis); he’ll attract their attention if he does well, and if he plays his cards right he could gain a valuable ally or two.