Scoreboard:

Review:

I really wasn’t sure what to expect going into the second season of Magi. It wasn’t a series I was overly excited about because the first had been an up and down experience. Some inconsistent quality and strangely changing up the source material made it a questionable series to jump into for the second season. But in the end it turned out rather well. It feels like they were much more loyal this time around. While the series did focus a bit too much on Aladdin’s story for my tastes, it did tell a good story and ended on a high note. I came out of this season much more satisfied than I did coming out of the first season.

Kind of amazing with all that actually happened in the first season that this season was pretty much just one arc. It was a pretty large one because of all the time spent in the country for magicians Magnostadt. It was a chance to look at a country that is different from all the others, but has a surprising amount of similarities. It felt like this season was really a combination of a large training arc and giving more insights as to the world situation in general. This season gave even more information about Aladdin, the leadership of the Kou Empire, and where the story might be going in general.

The story was a positive thing as a whole for me. It did tell a good story and showed what people can become when they are put in extreme situations. The history of Magnostadt was interesting as was the story behind it’s leader Mogamett. Honestly I didn’t care for Mogamett as a person, but he was a well written character. You can see through the episodes how he became the person he is and the good and bad that entails. That man was central to this arc and things didn’t quite turn out as I expected them to when we first met him.

This was really Aladdin’s arc there’s no question about it though. Out of the main characters in the series he had the vast majority of screentime. That was good and bad since honestly Aladdin isn’t my favorite character. It was a good chance to develop him, but at the same time he seems more suited as a comical character than leading the serious plotline. It was good to see him develop and become more powerful through this arc, but I couldn’t help wanting to see more of Alibaba and Morgiana. In the end Aladdin is a central figure in Magi so there is nothing wrong with giving him a good deal of attention.

The supporting cast in this season was alright. Titus quickly grew on me as he was an interesting character in a difficult situation. Sphintus wasn’t a bad character, but he really was the guy stuck in the comical friend position. He wasn’t that important to the plot and generally was pushed to the side for most of the events.

It wasn’t bad to learn more about the various countries and the major figures in them. The Fanalis Corp of Leam was a fun bunch and as you would expect they were pretty badass when they got a chance to stand out. The Kou Empire really got a chance to show its political dynamics and who the central figures are in it. Finally got to meet Kouen who was really just a vague presence to this point. Hakuryu’s mother was definitely key in terms of the greater plot and had some surprises to reveal later in the arc.

There isn’t a lot to say about Alibaba and Morgiana in this second season since they really weren’t around much. We got a look at their respective journeys, but after which we pretty much left them alone until the climax. They did get some memorable moments, but with them we pretty much have to infer what they went through from their behaviors. Sadly it can’t really be helped since this was about the Kingdom of Magic, but it’s a bit of a shame.

Visually I thought this season was pretty solid. Definitely didn’t have as many quality drops as the first season did. There was a good deal of magic and spectacular abilities being used in this arc and overall I think a good job was done showing them off. Maybe it could have been even better, but as a whole it was a step up from the first season and was entertaining to watch.

The music as a whole was pretty average I thought. It had some good OP/EDs through this season which was a positive though. The only piece within the episodes that really stood out to me was Sinbad’s music,of course really only fitting considering Sinbad’s character XD. As a whole while it didn’t stand out in my mind it wasn’t a negative either.

This season for Magi was a step up in a lot of ways. They didn’t do a bad job with the story and the development felt appropriate. The action wasn’t a bad thing either though it mostly came in the beginning of the season and in the last few episodes. Really the only thing that bothered me was the lack of the other main characters. I could get that this was Aladdin’s arc, but it didn’t mean you couldn’t cut away more often to see how the others were doing and what they were going through. Aside from that the story was well told, it had its fair share of action and the ending was a good one. Just a case where I personally would have been even more invested if somethings were different. It’s a definite step forward for Magi and a reason why I’ll look forward to a third season when they have the material to do that.

So for those reasons I’ll leave this season of Magi with a B+.