Anime-themed feature for today! Let's see what's inside this time.
V.I.P Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x5 (109) | x5 (148) | x4 (241) | x6 (343) |
Taiko 0 S to 0 Y
185
none
???Visual Kei rock band Sid's latest contribution to Taiko comes once again in the form of an Anime opening theme for the first twelve episodes of Magi (マギ), known outside Japan as Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. This 2012 anime comes from the shonen manga series created by Shinobu Ohtaka (大高忍) of the same name, which started in 2009 in the Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine and still running.
Magi's story is set in an alternate recreation of the ancient Old World, where both political struggles and magical powers are very relevant factors. Every living being in this world is in possession of an essence named Rukh (ルフ), which when fully used up leads to the death of the individual and the birth of subsequent living forms in a continuous cycle of rebirth. The Rukh can also be used by them as a magical power-enhancing energy called Magoi (マゴイ), used to enhance weapons and personal skills. Among the magicians in this world, the Magi class can create Magoi even from the Rukh of the surrounding elements and creatures, granting them even more powerful skills.
Magi's story revolves around the adventures of characters who have names (Aladdin, Alibaba Saluja and Morgiana) that derive directly from the Arabian Nights lore. Other connections to famous West/South Asian story collections are hinted in many other elements of this story, such as the presence of magical castles ('Dungeons') being inhabited by powerful magic beings -the Djinns- who grant their powers to certain magical items for adventurers who manage to reach them after overcoming the dungeon's perilous trials (also known as 'Dungeon Capturers')
Being the winner of the 59th Shogakukan Manga Awards for the event's best Shonen manga, Magi became popular in both Japan and America, thanks to the English dubbing of the series in 2013. While the main manga series is still running, the series already has a spinoff manga/anime serialization called Adventures of Sinbad (シンドバッドの冒険), telling the origins of the legendary king of Sindria who managed to become one of the most powerful rulers of the world by being the very first Dungeon Capturer in history.
In many respects, the Oni mode of V.I.P is Sorairo Version's equivalent of Growing Up (a fast-paced J-Rock Namco Original), with sparse clusters and simple patterns counteracting the song's high BPM.
