Manga Review – Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic Vol 3 by Shinobu Ohtaka (4.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Manga Fantasy
Length: 192 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Release Date: December 10, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1421559537
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Magi series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
This is the third book in the Magi: Labyrinth of Magic series. I have really enjoyed this light-hearted fantasy series.
Aladdin ends up being rescued from the desert by the Kouga clan, a clan of horsemen. When the Kou Empire’s Princess Hakuei Ren shows up to ask the Kouga to submit to the Kou Empire things go awry. The Princess wants peace for everyone and no bloodshed, but her Commander, Ryosa, has other plans and sets out to sabotage her peaceful attempts at annexation.
Aladdin ends up saving the day once again and learns much from the Kouga Shaman about what it means to be Magi. Then Aladdin sets off on other adventures. Aside from Aladdin this volume has us dealing with a completely new set of characters. I missed Ali Baba and hope he shows up again in future books of this series.
The very last chapter deals with the slave girl Morgiana, she is off having adventures of her own and this chapter ends at a bit of a cliffhanger. It was great to see her again, I really enjoy her character and can’t wait to see what she does in the next volume.
We get to meet another Djinn named, Paimon. This again references mythology of The Lesser Key of Solomon. Before this series I wasn’t all that familiar with the Lesser Key of Solomon, it is apparently a grimoire that deals with demonology and it was put together some time in the seventeenth century.
I have really been enjoying the upbeat tone of this manga and how Aladdin is learning more about his past and helping people as he goes. He finds out that he is supposed to choose the true King, and is trying to fully understand what that means. We also finally get to meet another Magi, Judar, and I look forward to reading more about him in future installments.
The illustration is well done and easy to follow. This installment does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I am dying to see what happens next!
I definitely agree with the teen rating on this one. There is slavery and people are injured and killed. There is implied threat of rape as well. Additionally Paimon is a very voluptuous female Djinn that doesn’t wear any clothes to speak of.
Overall this has been an excellent fantasy manga. I have enjoyed the humor and fun throughout the story, the great illustration, and the interesting mythology based story. Aladdin is a great character and we meet some other new characters that I enjoyed as well. I would definitely recommend this series to fans of fantasy manga, so far it’s been really well done!
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
