Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (retitled Magi: The Kingdom of Magic in its second season) is an American animated fantasy adventure series developed by Cameron Murphy and Dan Darlene based on the comic book of the same name by Yonathan Ashad and Lucas M. Soares. The series aired on HBO Family between 2002 and 2004.

Setting
The series is largely based on numerous stories from 1001 Arabian Nights, most notably the tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad the Sailor.

The story is set in an alternate recreation of the ancient Old World with several regions and nations having some resemblances with real-life counterparts from that time. In this world, all living beings possess an essence known as Rukh and when they die, this essence returns to the huge flow (also known as "guidance") of Rukh that gives life to all subsequent beings in an eternal cycle of rebirth called "Fate". Once a person is overcome with sadness, anger, and hopelessness, their Rukh becomes corrupted, unstable, and black, and deviates from the main guidance in a process known as "Fall into Depravity".

There are also several magic castles full of treasures and traps known as "Dungeons" and each of them is the lair of a powerful magic being, a Djinn. Individuals that manage to overcome the trials of a Dungeon and earn the allegiance of its Djinn are known as Dungeon Capturers, gaining the ability to use its powers infused in a personal item of theirs known as a "Metal Vessel" and create less potent "Household Vessels" for their companions as well.

People can use the Rukh in their bodies to create an energy known as Magoi to power their magical weapons and abilities. This energy must be used with care, as despite the fact that an individual's magoi can be restored with feeding and rest, once fully exhausted it causes their death. Among those that can perform magic with their own Magoi there is a rare class of magicians known as Magi, that can also use Magoi from the Rukh around them, greatly increasing their capabilities. A Magi usually chooses Dungeon Capturers to offer guidance and protection making them into their King Vessels. There are several nations in history that were founded or improved by the rule of such individuals.

Plot
After being secluded for his entire life, a boy called Aladdin travels the world with his "friend" Ugo, the Djinn contained within Aladdin's flute, until he meets Alibaba Saluja, a young man aiming to one day explore the nearby dungeon Amon and claim its treasures. Aladdin and Alibaba eventually become friends, and conquer Amon together, despite facing the opposition of the ruthless Jamil and his slave warriors: Morgiana and Goltas. After a desperate fight, the two protagonist fend off Jamil and assist Morgiana in breaking the mental chains that bind her to her former master. Alibaba claims the dungeon while the Djinn Amon appears in front of Aladdin to briefly explain that he is a Magi and that Alibaba is his king's candidate. However, they are interrupted by an outside force trying to close the dungeon off. Alibaba, Aladdin, and Morgiana escape the dungeon while Goltas resolves to die to atone for his sins along with broken former master, but not before cutting Morgiana's shackles. For some reason, Aladdin ends up teleported to a distant land, far away from the others, where he learns what a Magi is, and that he is one. Having no news of his friend, Alibaba uses the treasure he obtained in Amon to free all slaves in the city, including Morgiana and returns to Balbadd, his homeland.

After having their own adventures in separate locations, Aladdin and Morgiana encounter a naked Sinbad, a famous king of the island country of Sindria, who has been stripped of his metal vessels. They eventually reunite with Alibaba in Balbadd, where they learn that he has joined the Fog Troupe, a cadre of thieves opposing the tyrannical rule of King Abhmad, Alibaba's half-brother. Helped by Aladdin, Morgiana and King Sinbad, Alibaba manages to have the monarchy dissolved and establishes a republic in Balbadd. However, Balbadd ends up annexed to the Kou Empire, a powerful Eastern nation that plans to conquer the entire world under the pretense of putting an end to all conflict between the nations.

Following the events in Balbadd, Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana are brought to Sindria, where they train under members of Sinbad's household to increase their abilities and help him with his mission to stop the mysterious organization, Al-Thamen, that works in the shadows to spread chaos throughout the world as part of an unknown agenda. The trio ends up befriending Hakuryuu Ren, a prince of the Kou Empire visiting Sindria and whom they help to conquer the dungeon Zagan. After confronting members of Al-Thamen, Aladdin and his friends go separate ways for personal reasons, promising to rejoin together in the future. Aladdin enrolls in the Magnostadt Academy, a place where magician are treated as higher tier citizens than their normal human counterparts, to study magic and investigate the country's ties to Al-Thamen, Alibaba leaves to train with the Yambala Gladiators in the Reim Empire in order to improve his swordsmanship and learn magoi manipulation so he can achieve his complete Djinn Equip, Hakuryuu returns to the Kou Empire, and Morgiana departs to the Dark Continent to fulfill her dream of visiting her homeland.

One year later, Aladdin and Alibaba are reunited during Reim's campaign to conquer Magnostadt. After having helped defend the city, the Kou Empire launches a surprise attack. Hoping to prevent anymore magicians from falling in the battle, the city's leader, Matal Mogamett, summons an army of Dark Djinns with a huge mass of Black Rukh stored in its deepest level to defeat the invaders for good. However, Aladdin reveals that by doing this, Mogamett unwillingly helped Al-Thamen to get closer to their main objective, which is to summon their god, Ill Ilah, whose advent will cause the world's destruction. To prevent it from happening, Aladdin and his friends join forces with the Kou Empire, the Reim Empire and Sinbad's confederation, the Alliance of Seven Seas, to stop the summoning.

A few months later, representatives from Kou, Reim and Sindria gather for a summit organized by Sinbad. At the summit, Aladdin reveals that mankind was originally several distinct species transformed by magic into humans whose origin was the world of Alma-Torran, located in another dimension. The former god of this world being Ill Ilah who had its magoi stolen by Aladdin's father, King Solomon, in order to create a destiny favorable to the people of Alma-Torran. Resisting this change, the members of Al-Thamen summoned Ill llah to the world so it could reclaim its magoi. This sapped the world of all life and forced Solomon to give his life to seal away Ill Ilah and Al-Thamen along with it. Solomon gave his magoi to Ugo, and Ugo stored all the magoi within the Sacred Palace and used it to create the current world, the Magi system, and transport everyone from Alma-Torran to this world.

However, the summit is interrupted when Hakuryuu Ren and Judar start a civil war in the Kou Empire. Aladdin and Alibaba fly to the center of the Kou Empire to talk sense into Hakuryuu, however, they realize that he has fallen into depravity. The two duos fight and Alibaba and Judar end up as casualties. Hakuryuu fights most of the war by himself using his newly obtained Djinn, Belial, but eventually runs out of magoi and is forced to rely on Sinbad's assistance. After the war ends, Sinbad realizes his plan of having almost all the world's main powers assembled into a supranational union, the "International Alliance", and ushering a new era of peace and prosperity to the world, while Aladdin, Morgiana and Hakuryuu take separate ways. Meanwhile, a revived Judar and Alibaba meet on the other side of the Dark Continent, where they encounter the Mother Dragon who decides to assist them in traveling back to the mainland, however this would be a long journey. While traveling back, the Mother Dragon reveals that Ill Ilah's persona has been corrupted by David, the father of King Solomon and grandfather of Aladdin. He is also revealed to be connected to Sinbad and wants to become God of all.

Three years later, Alibaba reappears and reunites with his friends after they defeat Arba, apparently destroying Al-Thamen for good. However, Arba's spirit turns to Sinbad, and together, they reach the Sacred Palace where Ugo resides. By defeating Ugo and claiming ownership of the palace, Sinbad declares that the souls of all living things on Earth will be sent back to the Rukh, ending the cycle of life and death, certain that there is no other way to attain eternal peace and happiness for all. Aladdin, Alibaba, Hakuryuu and Judar join forces to confront Sinbad, but just after they reach a compromise with him, David appears and takes control of the Sacred Palace, as returning all souls to the Rukh was his original plan. After joining together to defeat David and destroy the Rukh system, the world suffers massive changes and magic disappears, leading the nations to unite their efforts to create a better future.

Characters

 * Pamela Hayden as Aladdin
 * Charlie Schlatter as Alibaba
 * Curtis Armstrong as Amon
 * Ashley Johnson as Morgiana
 * Dan Castellaneta as Sinbad
 * Cam Clarke as Jafar
 * Dwight Schultz as Hinahoho
 * Billy West as Masrur
 * Lara Jill Miller as Yamraiha
 * Doug Lawrence as Sharrkan Amun-Ra
 * Frank Welker as Drakon
 * Tara Strong as Pisti
 * Joshua Seth as Spartos Leoxis
 * Will Friedle as Mystras Leoxis
 * Jason Marsden as Judar
 * Katie Leigh as Kogyoku Ren
 * James Arnold Taylor as Hakuryu Ren
 * Tom Kenny as Cassim
 * Jeff Bennett as Ugo
 * Scott Menville as Ithnan
 * Fred Tatasciore as Ahbmad Saluja
 * Maurice LaMarche as Sahbmad Saluja
 * Clancy Brown as Markkio
 * Josh Keaton as Kobun Ka
 * Nika Futterman as Yamraiha
 * Cree Summer as Sharrkan
 * Nolan North as Zagan
 * Alanna Ubach as Hakuei Ren

Home media releases
The series was released by Artisan Entertainment.