Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic - 06

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Rule #1: Never mess with a member of the Fanalis tribe.

An episode dedicated to Morgiana is a happy occasion. In the manga she's one of my favourite characters with such a complex character.

So far Magi, has been about introducing the main characters and having them undergo therapeutic encounters in order to address their fears and emotional baggage head on. Because the manga's pacing is significantly slower than the anime's, it comes across as a little rushed. Putting all this character development into one episode so early on in the series makes it seem too simple and unimportant, but that really is how it should be - I say this with knowledge of how the story progresses.

Morgiana's case of slavery was definitely a traumatic experience. Her chains aren't physical as much as emotional, and her life has made her somewhat defeated. Just the way in which she was so calm and outlined the prognosis of being captured by a slave trader, she made me feel like she gave up. That defeated attitude was something she had to overcome in order to escape her past as a slave, and it was a shining moment of strength for her.

What I particularly love about Morgiana, is the strength and fragility of her character. Obviously as a member of the Fanalis, she's got strength to spare but she has a lot to overcome that we have yet to see; finding her origins, her parents and her birthright. By no means is she done developing, and this was a good start. And what about those action sequences A big step up from the dungeon action scenes, with ample amounts of blood and ferocity.

Aladdin and Morgiana's reunion was a small event, with big implications. With such a diverse cast of characters it's very likely that they will have to separate at times and then meet up again. Their reunions will be mostly chalked up to fate as to go along with the whole idea of everyone being connected by the Rukh.

Next time we get to see a little bit about Sinbad. He's one of the more fascinating characters in Magi and his addition to the story is quite considerable.