2014-01-26, 15:18 | Link #284 |
Me, An Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: UK
Age: 33
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I'll be honest, i haven't really been that engaged in this plotline for the last few episodes. For one thing, whilst the dystopian class structure was an interesting twist, I don't feel like the story is taking advantage of it's potential. I seriously wondered if the old man believed he could convince Aladdin that the system was good since I felt it was such a poor attempt at justifying it, especially since he never addressed the whole "we throw innocent children down a gigantic hole if they're too weak to supply us with magoi" issue. If it was just meant to turn the other students against him then I can understand that but I'm not sure if that's supposed to be the case or not. Even then, Aladdin had plenty of opportunity to talk to the other students about what he really saw but never did. The debate has the potential to be an interesting one but I don't really feel like it's being addressed as it logically should.
The other problem I have is that it just lacks emotional impact for me. Both the underground twist and the old man's backstory were interesting but had the same silly "let's insert a cute innocent child that just wants happiness" trope that it feels the need to throw in my face all the damn time (Bonus points for one of them being sick). I really think this show just needs to lay off that particular trope because now it's starting to get on my nerves. I still like the show of course, but that I could do without.
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2014-01-26, 15:49 | Link #285 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2013
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Cute little kids in Magi are practically a staple. They aren't going away anytime soon lol |
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2014-01-26, 16:40 | Link #288 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2013
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I will see that Marga is one of the more...controversial examples. She does seem to serve as a bit of distraction from the true horror of what's going on in Magnostadt. She actually wouldn't be that bad if not for the fact that basically all of the issues we see raised by her and the treatment of the goi by the magicians is practically forgotten after being introduced. Only Titus raises intelligent objections and he's easily silenced by Marga. Aladdin has nothing to say concerning the matter and merely sits idle while watching things unfold. P.S. The most annoying thing about the entire arc is that basically everyone falls into the trap that somehow magicians really are a separate species, when they don't even qualify as a distinct race. Fanalis stand out even more than magicians do in terms of differences, yet people generally don't treat them as something other than human. Magicians aren't more aggrieved than any other group of people in the setting, yet this arc goes out of it's way to treat them like they're special snowflakes who's anger needs to be placated no matter the cost. |
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2014-01-26, 17:37 | Link #289 |
Often Disappointed
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Portugal
Age: 38
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While I'm not expecting Aladdin to reveal everything he knows about the world's ending, I really expected him to give Mogamett a run for his money when trying to justify his actions. Feels to me that Aladdin gave up too easy and thus wasted a lot of potential that plot point might've had.
And okay episode otherwise. Looks like Titus' going to switch sides so he can live a longer life alongside his loli. |
2014-01-26, 17:56 | Link #290 | |
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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2014-01-26, 18:20 | Link #291 | |
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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2014-01-26, 18:42 | Link #292 |
Often Disappointed
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Portugal
Age: 38
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What baffles me the most is the fact that Mogamett's surrounded by white rukh. I mean, I can concede the fact that his intentions are good...but the method of achieving his dream leaves a lot to be desired.
Treating everyone who isn't a magician like livestock and/or vermin seems like something that would turn your rukh pitch black, regardless of how good your intentions for your master race might be. |
2014-01-26, 18:49 | Link #293 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2013
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The king might have forced magicians to perform magic to combat droughts or to act as living shields, but isn't that something a king should do when his country is facing a crisis? Sacrificing the few for the sake of the many? Obviously expressing some satisfaction from doing so, some malice, and dehumanizing magicians was bullshit, but even if magicians were treated like they were the king's best friends, those kind of sacrifices probably would have still taken place out of sheer necessity. Magicians were turned into scapegoats to diminish their popularity amongst the populace, but that was rooted in the fear that the magicians would induce a revolt. And what do the magicians do? Justify those fears and cause a revolt! It wasn't even like the king and nobility were bad as rulers or the government was corrupt. Not like how it was in Balbaad. It really did amount to Mogamett and the other magicians wanting to be the ones in charge, and the only reason they were more successful after the fact was because they have a bag of cheap and easy tricks to draw from, not because they were better rulers. As for being smarter, obviously magicians still need Goi to perform tasks for them. Just like anyone else, they can only specialize in one or two fields. I imagine that the city itself was designed and built by goi architects and engineers. And even if magicians have healing magic, that's not the same as being a doctor. Magicians probably have no idea how the human body even works. Now, I will grant it to Titus and Aladdin that it was a lot to take in all at once and Mogamett was a practiced propagandist, but they pretty much gave up. |
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2014-01-26, 19:29 | Link #294 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
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The rukh becomes black when a person "curses his fate" which is a fancy name for thinking that your life has no meaning and giving in to existential despair. In fact, episode 17 shows an example of this with Titus. He was developing black ruck when he was told that he would die pretty soon. Mogamett doesn't develop black rukh because he found a new meaning, a new path for his life as the "father" and protector of all magicians. As long as he believes in what he's doing, he will be fine.
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2014-01-27, 02:21 | Link #296 | |||||
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Really, he did it out of fear and revenge, though you can't argue he didn't have good reasons. Quote:
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2014-01-27, 03:25 | Link #297 | |||||||
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2013
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As for their use as living shields, the Borg is a superior means of defense. It only makes sense to put someone in front that can take many more blows than someone else. Using magicians to act as shields probably saved hundreds of lives and won battles. What's more, magicians were elevated to the aristocracy and allowed to form a school for precisely that reason. The King did treat them well and support them, however, the magicians exceeded all expectations, which lead to... Quote:
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Just a severe sense of entitlement from the population induced by the magicians as part of their plan to take over the country. I mean, really, if things were really terrible, Mogamett would have chosen really terrible examples of the nobles being dicks, since he's trying to convince the students that he's right, but the only examples he's got are magicians being made to provide water for crops during a drought or magicians being used as shields because another country had attacked them. That is not a terrible excess. If he'd said something like "Many magicians lost their lives to provide water for the king's flower garden", that would be bad, but there wasn't anything like that. Quote:
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Point in case, life magic is one the branches that tends to be used for healing...but it also turns people into trees and creates horrible monstrosities. Really, if a magician just started bathing a sick person in life rukh, while that person was suffering from a bacterial infection, just what do you think would happen? The bacteria would nom them, like gasoline on a fire. What's more, a doctor's disposition for treating people is as important as their medical knowledge. They have to actually care about not only their patient, but also about what they're doing. They have to want to avoid doing any harm to the patient through a strenuous effort. Most of the magicians we saw at the academy were closer to scientists or warriors. Even ones that specialized in life magic like Meyers's brother won't necessarily be interested in healing people and would instead prefer to create monsters. |
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