Friday, May 23, 2014

Magi Chapter Review 225

Written by: Micha

My prayers have been answered. The plot is finally accelerating at a great pace.

I feel you, Ugo.

So this chapter is three months after the previous event of Sheba finally getting Solomon’s attention.  My theory of Solomon being asexual was proven wrong as we see in these very first panels where Solomon kisses Sheba on the forehead and she transforms in to a puddle of mushy thing.

We also find out that Ugo is determined to devote his attention to his magic research rather than find a girl for himself, by which I’m not surprised at all.

A summary of how a prison works.
On a serious note, the speech Sheba gave in the last chapter seemed to have done little to resolve the internal conflict among the other species as we see in this chapter that the situation is certainly getting worse. And while Solomon’s followers beg him to punish the psychopaths who were provoking the riots, one of them accidently let it slip that they needed a strong leader “just like Elder David” before he went nuts.

Now I don’t know about you but that must’ve been one hell of a slap in the face. But Solomon seemingly has other worries as he does not prefer to be called a king nor people bowing down to him. He wants everyone to be equal with no leader, which I find disturbingly insane but I’ll come to this later.

"Licking the magician's spittle" Oh, the metaphors...

In the next panels, we see Ugo and Solomon chatting about the current affairs between the species and Ugo's research. The internal battles are so worse that they were resisting the conflicts more than battling the orthodox. Meanwhile, the species that should've embraced their freedom after being liberated from the control of the orthodox were willingly ready to give up their chance at equality for Solomon.

Solomon seems displeased with it but was happy that Ugo and the others at the very least did not treat him like that. Ugo promises that he will never, although he would break that promise later.

Solomon is unusually grumpy in this chapter.
 Solomon then contemplates that if they could create a better world by just defeating the orthodox, because in order to create a better world, he needs to change something fundamental. And so the topic of Ugo's research came up. Now this is where the chapter gets the most interesting. Ugo and Solomon talks about the "ley lines that stretch around the world" which by the way, is something that Solomon sees. Ugo theorizes about the existence of paths that not only rule the physical laws, but also other phenomenon, more precisely things like "fate" and "history". 

If this were to be proved, then they can explain that there is the existence of "cycle of their spirit", meaning that their spirits do not vanish in to nothingness after death. I'm not entirely certain if Ugo had created a rukh or discovered one, but I'm betting on the latter. And as you've guessed correctly, Ugo is one smartass motherfucker. 

Sure. Give a gold star to Solomon. It's not like you came up with it or anything.
As we draw to the climax of this chapter, we find out that Sheba is pregnant with Solomon's child after another three months, which we have all predicted would eventually happen since the first time we saw her in this arc. Solomon, worried that she can't move during pregnancy as much, decides to take her out of the battle plans. 

A two- finger peace sign is exactly what you do after announcing you're with child.

However, Sheba objected that they cannot win without her since the battle with Elder David was drawing near. And so she devised a trick using her magic to slow down the growth of the baby because she wants it to be born in a world happy world. If you ask me, it's controversial and borderline child abuse, but whatever floats the boat for Sheba.

Also, how the fuck did this piece of shit grow up so fast?
 And the chapter ends in a supposed cliffhanger, which is the most obvious one of all.

My thoughts: 

For me, Ugo wins this chapter. He wins it all. But you've guessed that already with how much I've sucked his dick throughout this review. He is sort of the right hand man for Solomon who is leading the army of Resistance to defeat Elder David and the orthodox. 

Which brings me to his sense of co-existence. I'm aware that most of his ideals are influenced by Elder David, his father, but this one is just a little bit unorthodox. A community with no ruler? I honestly have no idea how that could work, and I feel that this one philosophy is very much romanticized rather than being logical and practical.

Actually, the recent chapters have me disliking Solomon more and more and loving David. Solomon lives in constant fear that he's walking under the shadow of his father, and strives to be less like him. This is all good until he said he didn't want to considered a god. Ray, when someone asks if you're God, then you say yes.

But honestly, maybe I'm just a sucker for villains although I don't consider David to be one. 

Speaking of David, if you've read the David's memorandum, then you'd have pretty much figured out where Ugo was going with the whole "paths" and "phenomenon" of the world. It seems that David is not the only one who have found out about this. Aside from my fangirl feelings, I'm genuinely impressed by Ugo.

He discovered the rukh!    

Chapter rating:
3.5/5
I need someone to draw me Hispter Ugo, but with shades.

Prediction:

Solomon is going to utilize the rukh in the battle with David. And when that happens, I'm prepared for a hell lot of talking, because that's a given and I've been waiting for an interaction between David and Solomon.

Also, don't think that I forget about Sheba's pregnancy. The kids' name are Judar and Aladdin. Yes, I'm betting my money on twins.

Why Aladdin? 

Number one: It's fucking obvious.
Number two: The chapter ended with the phrase "that child's name is obviously" and the very first chapter of the Magi manga is "His name is Aladdin" It's stupid and not anything solid, but worth mentioning. 

Why Judar?

Number one: One of the parents are bound to fall in to depravity. I'm not sure who it is- Solomon or Sheba. I'm thinking it's Sheba, since I'm also one of the theorists who believe Sheba = Gyokuen and/or a predecessor of Gyokuen. And Judar seems to hang around Gyokuen and her kids a lot. Maybe Sheba got the custody of the evil one, while Aladdin has the Solomon's Wisdom.
Number two: I've always had a feeling that Aladdin and Judar might be related. They seem like siblings who would wage war against  each  other due to difference in ideals like in many fiction and history books.
Number three: The chapter ended with the phrase "that child's name is obviously" and this intro chapter's name is "His name is Judar". It's stupid and not anything solid, but worth mentioning.

These theories are far-fetched, except for the Aladdin one. We all know it's him.


Micha: [Co-founder]
Micha likes to broadcast her terrible drawing skills to the world on her DeviantArt account and join her tumblr force for teammagi  She will also respond to e-mails on her michamichamicha@live.com because Amber forces her to.
Also, she now has an ask.fm. Here's your chance to harass her.

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