Recap: With the political situation in Balbadd becoming complex, Alibaba, Aladdin and Morgiana are spirited overseas to Sindria, where they meet Sinbad’s Eight Generals.

Dragonzigg’s Thoughts:  Naturally, after the end of the Balbadd arc, this episode is something of a breather, but it doesn’t initially appear that way. In fact, the first ten minutes of this episode appear to be plunging directly into a continuation of the political plot, as the Kou Empire rock up and Alibaba is drugged and kidnapped.

The morality of the whole kidnapping thing is very open to debate to say the least, but once we get past it, we settle into a very enjoyable romp that introduces us to a bunch of characters without becoming to bogged down in dialogue.  The main arrivals are of course Sinbad’s Eight Generals, or rather the remaining ones, since it’s established that Jafar and Masrur were already among their number.  The new arrivals don’t get much of a chance to make an impression, being limited to a line or two in most cases, but they’re an encouragingly diverse bunch that look to have an interesting set of stories to tell. The show continues to impress with the breadth and depth of its cast.

Two who do get a little bit more screentime are Yamraiha and Sharrkan, the water mage and the swordsman who Sinbad proposes mentor our heroes. I instantly liked these tow – they’ve got a snarky, best frenemies routine that’s not exactly original but is nevertheless amusing when it’s done well, as it looks to be here. The idea of Alibaba and Aladdin being taken under the wing of known, established heroes is one rich with dramatic possibility, and though it’s bound to lead to a few training montages, I’ll happily take those if they’re equal to the wonderfully silly filleting sequence that we see here.  It’s nice to see Sinbad restored to power and authority too, and he projects as a wise and powerful king, gaining a lovely little moment as he talks of his people as his family.

The back half of the episode, meanwhile, is mostly devoted to a massive party. It’s a welcome relief after what’s been a pretty heavyweight few weeks to see our heroes be able to kick back, relax and take in some sights. There’s also a little fanservice courtesy of Morgiana and an extraordinarily brief dress. Normally I’d be sort of against this, but it’s so charmingly done, and actually provides a tiny snippet of character development as Alibaba praises her looks and she responds adorably. It’s too bad that her subsequent dance scene is one of the most shoddily animated scenes the series has yet thrown up, and in fact throughout the entire episode there’s a horribly noticeable struggle to stay on model, killing some otherwise impressive moments.

The episode is great fun while it lasts but it’s a wise decision to end on a dramatic note as well, as we cut away from the credits to see Hakuryu ominously bound for Sindria. On a lighter note, there’s also a welcome return for the perpetually jilted Kougyoku, who looks to have not fared too well on Sinbad’s visit to Kou. Together they’re bound to bring different sorts of trouble to our heroes. As it is, this was a great transition episode, fun and frothy enough to pass by effortlessly while at the same time gearing us up for what’s to come.

Random Observations

• The Banker’s mysterious syndicate is identified as Al-Thamen, and Sinbad confirms he’s been fighting them for years. We don’t get too many more details but they sound like some sort of Masons/Illuminati deal, with agents everywhere and fingers in every pie.
• Sinbad also implies that the Banker and the Masked Man were on the same side, which seems odd considering what we saw in Balbadd.
• I’d forgotten about Aladdin’s boob habit. Unfortunately, the showrunners had not.
• Morgiana’s little vignette asking for permission to continue alongside Alibaba and Aladdin not only firmly establishes our power trio for good, it also acts as a nice illustration she’s not entirely shed her slave’s mindset.
• What is that big red sticking out…thing on the side of Morgiana’s head. Is it meant to be her hair?

Iro’s Thoughts:
They should get Drakon to teach them how to be motherfucking dragons instead of learning stuff like magic and swordsmanship, pffft. Anyway, several throwaway jokes that padded out the manga chapters were cut out of this episode, and they also cut a sequence where Alibaba and Aladdin ditched Morgiana at the party to hang at a hostess club. Our hero is kind of a jerk.