Magico debuted around the same time I started reading manga, after I caught up with the original material of shounen titles the adaptations of whom I had started my anime journey with. Having my first set of anime being shounen and, in particular, titles from Jump, it was a no brainer that I would be drawn to the magazine's works featuring a formula I was both familiar and greatly resonated with. Alongside many established popular titles and soon to be new mega hits already garnering attention in the magazine, Magico caught my eye and I decided to give it a try; with an expressive cartoony artstyle and an adventure fantasy setting it was right up my alley. Reading it once more I fell for its charm anew and thought I would share my thoughts on a largely unknown shounen from the industry's biggest magazine. Contrary to my usual lengthy reviews I estimate this one to turn out considerably shorter because of the manga's more compact size, yet let us gather the necessary ingredients to tackle this world of rituals, magic and romance.

Magico is a shounen manga that was serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump in an era when the magazine was full of extremely popular titles that even to this day take up many places in the list of some of the its best selling series. Due to the above, combined with Jump's wider strict policies concerning their publication requirements, Magico had to conclude before its time and without the opportunity to fulfill its maximum potential. However, it still remains an embracingly lively world with lots of character and heartwarming moments, and one that managed to remain consistent, even successfully wrapping up properly without deviating from its core.

The manga introduces Emma, an innocent country girl that finds herself in a wedding ceremony as the bride to the capital city's king, while also attracting the attention of every passerby at a glance. In fact this is the result of Emma carrying inside her the magic of Echidna, an unparalleled, powerful power that can destroy the world. She is saved from her predicament by the mage Shion who shares with her a hidden, karmic past she has no memories about, and together they decide to undergo the ritual of Magico in order to seal the power of Echidna.

I found a cleverly entertaining element in the manga to be its magic system. Right from the start it establishes the process of acquiring a particular piece of magic through a single ritual or a series of them. It is an effective choice as it offers an adventurous element to the story, has the characters' accomplishments feel earned, and sets the stage for the writer's imagination to let loose, construct interesting scenarios and conflicts, as well as emotional drama. Shion's power also features great utility and is distinct and unique.

Adding to the fantastical element of the manga, the mages are shown to be classified based on the type of magic they can use, there are organizations of them shown throughout the story, classifications and differences based on their land of origin, professions that work around creating and providing the necessary rituals for acquiring magic, and fancy terms for geniuses that stand above the rest. There is a great deal of thought that has gone into creating this world, lots of information presented to the reader, yet in a non intrusive manner that is easy to follow and does not take away from immersion.

The above traits are gradually shown via short term conflicts during the initial part of the manga. While the world itself is built nicely, one step at a time, the conficts themselves suffer from being somewhat unmemorable. Thankfully, by the time the manga reaches its halfway point, it improves in that department by introducing interesting side characters and exploring our main duo's thought process, past and current relationship. During its final stretch it evolves even further, building upon the main plot's origin, the series' own mythological elements, a battle between our heroes and the main antagonist with universe altering stakes on the line, nods to figures of existing mythologies, while it manages to end on a high note wrapping up everything and going full circle to the way the story started.

Magico is a finely executed series in everything previously touched upon; fantasy setting, magic system, unique powers and consistency. And despite continuously improving upon itself and delivering a more attractive experience as the chapters go by, it would still fall short and be written off as unimpressionable because of its untimely cancellation which left many character dynamics and their development, ready to be explored, hanging. The reason it does not feel as such is the manga's main thematic and execution.

It is a series that features a romantic relationship that is extremely pure, innocent and loveable. The main couple's blushing expressions, kindness towards each other, as well as mutual respect, always with a hint of comedic execution, transform the series to an absolutely warm experience and have the reader rooting for the couple's romantic antics. Expanding on that, every trial they face or relationships they form with other characters is always firmly rooted in the concept of family, bonds and love, while retaining a strong vein of many beloved shounen qualities with concepts of dreams, fighting for loved ones, wishes to the future, emotional climaxes, backstories that render characters relatable and a journey full of romance finding homey representation via Magico.

Nothing ever is.

Magico feels like an extremely imaginative and endless world that is full of charm and passion. It has a genuine adventurous identity and is set in a way that can effortlessly sweep one along for the ride.

The cartoony and playful artstyle enhances the story and delivers it in the best way possible, yet is detailed and can present action and style in a triumphant manner. I mean, those pointy hats look simply amazing. Beware that there is a soft ecchi element to it, mainly comedic and never uncomfortable, so take that as you will.

It might be a cliched story, easy to follow, or even predictable, but that does not substract from its ability to do so in an entertaining manner and ultimately impress.

The main duo steals the show, their romance and the ever present value of family shape up the manga's main attractive points, gifting us an extremely adorable couple everybody wants to root for. There are many intriguing, charismatic side characters but they needed more time to render themselves memorable.

Magico is a manga that had the recipe to success and could have possibly risen up all the way to becoming one of my favorites if not for its forced ending. In spite of that, it is a series that offered far more than I could hope for, disproportionately to its size, and managed to remain an amazing experience I will always value highly, while giving it extra points for its impressive and loveable conclusion. It is pure and innocent and a little bit naive and I love it for it, and I believe that every time I recall older Jump series, something that happens a lot, I will always remember Magico in a positive light and this world of rituals and magic as one of the finer examples of shounen from Jump.

Lovely thanks to everybody reading this piece. If you found it interesting, you may visit my profile or take a look at my other reviews, but more importantly I would love it if you gave Magico a chance. I hope to follow up with more reviews soon, most likely three of them for a most beloved franchise of mine. Until next time.