Magi: Adventure of Sinbad is a 2016 action adventure Japanese anime created by Shinobu Ohtaka and directed by Yoshikazu Miyao, starring voice performances by Daisuke Ono, Akira Ishida, Tomokazu Sugita, Ai Kayano, Katsuyuki Konishi, Yōko Hikasa, and Takehito Koyasu. Set as a spin-off/prequel to Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and based on the Adventures of Sinbad manga, the story follows young warrior Sinbad sets who himself on the path to his destiny, encountering both friends and foes, and changing the world on his way.

Positives:

• Interesting story
• Good animation style
• Good voice performances

Negatives:

• Exceptionally weak characters
• Story lacks complexity

Plot:  The Magi who became High King of the Seven Seas started as a boy determined to make the world a better place. He begins with a dangerous dungeon. The overall premise is rather interesting and the way the series tells it keeps it compelling, covering the first sixteen years of Sinbad’s life.  However, the story sucks complete balls.  For every situation Sinbad comes across he has little to no resistance or challenge.  Not once does it ever seem like Sinbad loses or even comes close to dying.  The story also lacks complexity.  Sinbad’s goal is to unite the world to stop war but everything is too simple.  Somehow he is always able to meet the country’s officials and somehow impresses them enough to gain favor in the most simplest of ways. (2 out of 5)

Characters: Sinbad is the main character of the series and is a cool character but he is a total cliche.  He’s the typical anime hero troupe and despite an interesting story doesn’t really standout.  Almost all of the other characters are straight up garbage.  What sucks is the fact that they have interesting lives and backstories that are touched upon but never fully fleshed out.  And for the most part, when they join Sinbad’s crew they become irrelevant. (2 out of 5)

Animation Style:  Thumbs up to the art style, which looks really good.  The character designs are alright yet diverse.  None of the characters really standout.  There is a great use of cinematography when it comes to more fast paced sequences. The opening theme is just beautiful. (3 out of 5)

Score: The intro song is fast paced and does a good job of establishing an adventurous feeling.  Great job by Tomohiro Okubo who blends a mixture of rock and Arabian themed music that does provide an appealing soundtrack.  Honestly, the voice performances are really good, both the English and Japanese dub. Daisuke Ono does a pretty good job as Sinbad. (3 out of 5)

Writing:  The writing is straight up flip floppy.  The action sequences are lackluster and poorly thought out.  Especially when it comes to Sinbad taking on the dungeons and fighting other people who he happens to always have an advantage over.  The subtitles are decent.  Honestly, the dialogue is really good and as much as Sinbad is annoying a lot of his speeches are pretty inspiring. Also, there is the focus on various mythologies, which helps give the setting substance. There is some humor and its distribution is well placed, though some jokes feel redundant and cliche.  (3 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Magi: Adventure of Sinbad is probably one of the worst anime ever created.  Even though the premise is pretty interesting with good animation and dubbing, nearly everything else sucks.  There are characters introduced who literally do nothing, a main character who lacks any kind of challenge or growth, craptacular action sequences, and a story that just lacks any kind of complexity.  Magi: Adventure of Sinbad gets 2 out of 5.