Impression

Pic255Titus holds a lot of significance in the upcoming arc – I’ve been looking forward to his introduction for some time, and A-1 certainly didn’t disappoint! Given his reputation within the school, you’d think Aladdin would have at least heard of him before suddenly being beaten out of the top spot – but it seems like Magnostadt likes keeping its cohorts strictly separate. Either way, he didn’t exactly give us a great first impression of him. Putting his mystery aside, he comes off as a haughty, proud guy with a lot of self-confidence, although admittedly he’s got the skills to back it up. I suppose being acquainted with the highest echelons of Reim’s political bureaucracy would mould one’s personality like that – the two tyrannical lackeys running around with him certainly don’t help to improve that image. Not unlike Ren Kouha, he’s also slightly androgynous in appearance – and again, as with Kouha his voice is deeper than I’d imagined. He’s also got a suspicious resemblance to Scheherazade, but I’ll go into that later.

Pic249Aladdin’s certainly grown since we last saw him – there’s definitely been another timeskip, and while his talent’s been previously recognized, people are literally lauding him now! Sphintus in particular has been singing a very different tune as of late (in comparison to their first meeting) although I think Aladdin’s managed to genuinely befriend him as well. Everyone thinks he’ll be named top student, and his battle with Titus showed exactly why. He certainly didn’t show an ability to perform lightning magic before, and his gravity manipulation to create a giant sand Ugo was awesome. It’s just like the real thing! And the way it crushed Titus in between its hands was really reminiscent of that time he completely destroyed Judal. While I have no doubt that both Aladdin and Titus fought as well as they could (in their conditions) I don’t think it was solely motivated on winning in order to learn lots in Magnostadt. There was a definite element of rivalry there – and Titus in particular showed a desire to prove himself as the superior magician with his merciless aberrant magic attacks. Their battle was just as flashy as I remember it being in the manga… I think I’m starting to slowly forgive A-1 for their past sins (slowly, mind you).

Pic258So it seems like Titus has a similar jewel embedded into his skin, much like Aladdin has – but I think both of them have run away with their misconceptions here. It’d have been a great cliffhanger to just leave things at that revelation xD Their jewels are actually slightly different; Aladdin’s one redirects his magoi flow outwards, and is proof he’s a Magi – while Titus’ is meant as a communication device with a Magi, and is proof that he is a Magi’s subordinate. Aside from Aladdin, the three other Magi are Judal, Yunan and Scheherazade… if the latter has sent someone over to investigate without arousing suspicion, it seems like she’s fully aware of the strange occurrences in Magnostadt. At this point, Mogamett knows – or if not, he at least suspects something. He’s already alluding to their true identities by commenting on their respective styles of magic – it is indeed very strange that Titus fights like someone with 100 or 200 years of experience cough His treatment of them is very eerie though… he seems to easily forgive them both for stepping out of line purely because of their talent in magic. It’s like he’s looking down on them as a parent or something – positive discrimination towards those he deems worthy, I suppose. It’s creepy, and there’s definitely something unsettling about the guy himself – something more than meets the eye.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. メがねえ三雷

    Oh, I read the manga too…
    Yeah. I’ve been waiting of this being animated for a long time. I was scared it would disappoint, but it was animated really well, and I’m very pleased.
    Next episode will be his revelation… I can’t wait…

    1. Vantage

      It’s great that everything’s proceeding as normal (i.e. following the manga) instead of showing hints of eventual wild divergence like what the first season did around this time. Redemption is on its way for you, A-1 Pictures!

  2. Noc

    My major reaction to this episode: Where’s my new OP, A-1? WHERE IS It!!? This is the perfect time for it!!!

    Ah, Titus…in my head I always pronounced his name with a ‘tie’ sound rather than a ‘tee’, so it feels strange hearing it said otherwise lol and I forgot how much of a brat he was in the beginning >.< he can back up his bark though, which I do like. The animation and timing for the episode was lovely, the fight scenes were especially impressive (as they should be!) and I loved seeing Aladdin mix in a bit of martial arts as well as magic. He's grown so much ^^

    Looking forward to next week's big revelations, and hopefully a new OP song…

    1. Vantage

      I’ve been pronouncing it with a “tie” sound all along, hehe xD There’ll be a new OP/ED next week, so look forward to that! I do agree that this episode was the best time for a change though (transition between arcs and all).

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