Magi and the Labyrinth of Magic was one hell of a hit anime and manga. Everybody loves a good epic fantasy my friends. If its not Game of Thrones then its the Witcher and if its not the Witcher then check Magi: Kingdom of Magic. It might not be as bloody and it might not have as many naked ladies but hey, something is something…right.
In case you don’t know what Magi: Kingdom of Magic is, quick introduction, it is a manga written and illustrated by Shinobu Ohtaka. It has sold millions of copies and the anime ran for two seasons. Also the manga came to an end on volume 37. In this article I am going to explain why Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic might not happen at all. There is a good reason for it and if you have studied the anime and manga industry long enough then you will understand why.
So on August 19 of 2019, the last manga volume of Magi was published. After that, tons of fans were angry that their favorite manga was not going to continue. I understand perfectly why the fans felt that way. I felt the same way when Naruto ended and Berserk.
Going off topic really quick: one of the reasons why the Naruto anime had so many fillers and filler is because the anime cannot be ahead of the manga. Read that again and maybe you should book mark it. If you understand this, you will have a closer understanding as to how the anime industry works.
The reason why the manga has to be ahead of the anime is because a big chunk of the money is made from the manga. The Magi manga has sold millions and millions. Maybe not as much as Naruto and One Piece but it is up there. So if the anime gets ahead of the manga then people will not be curious enough to read the manga. This is a marketing strategy.
Lets use Game of Thrones for this example. Everyone knows that the season 8 of Game of Thrones was a disaster main because George RR Martin did not finish writing the last two books of the Game of Thrones series which is what the show is based of. Because the creators did not have any course material to work from by the end of the series, they had to improvise which really sucked and George RR Martin had supervise and tell them what was to come in the next because (his lazy ass was not even done with Winds of Winter). The directors were angry at George RR Martin for this reason. Martin takes too long to write his books and they could not rely on him and so they decided they were going to go on with the show despite of not being any other books to follow the story.
Manga sales and anime are connecting in the whole revenue of a franchise. Manga sales come first and then the anime is what sells merchandise. Does that make sense.
If the Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic Manga has already ended and since the anime has already had 2 seasons that covered most of the manga then there is no need to continue the franchise because it wont be profitable. Yes, profitable. That dirty word that no one wants to hear. Makes you think of the Wolf of Wall st or some rich crook right. Well guess what? If an anime does not make money it wont have more episodes, that is the reality of it.
There was no true explanation as to why it ended since it was so popular. Not even the creator her self, Shinobu Ohtaka, explained why it ended. It was very sudden.
Shinobu Ohtaka
No manga, no anime. That is right folks, let that mantra rings in your head. If the Magi manga does not continue there will be no Season 3 of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. The manga comes first the same way that ladies come first(pun intended).
Is there a possibility that the Weeklyn Shonen will bring back the manga. Well, that all depends on Shinobu Ohtaka. Maybe she is tired of working 24 hours a day like many manga artist do. Did you know how the creator of Fairy Tail only gets 3 hours of sleep. That is not an exaggeration. Masashi Kishimoto is glad that Naruto is over. Some mangaka work 16 hours a day which is normal in Japan. The average Japanese salary man works 80 hours per week (not bi-weekly). Maybe Shinobu is having a baby and wants to spend time raising her kids while also enjoying the money she made from Magi.
Now some might argue and say, “well they have the money to make the anime don’t they.” That could be true but it does not mean that they want to spend the money. However, since there was a spin off of Magi based on Sinbad, I don’t think is a money problem but rather fear that they wont be able to profit from the anime because the manga is over. Spin offs are always profitable.
This was a realistic approach and explination as to why Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic Season 3 might not happen. I hope this brings some light and cool your fan boy and fan girl anger.
