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In the beginning of the manga, in fact, for the vast majority of it, the kid is mostly an observer. He does get involved when he sees things like slavers or bandits or Al-Thamen doing bad things, but his general demeanor can be summed up as "Is that so?" He's non-threatening, unassuming, and that's fine...except when he stops being as such.
The real turning point for his character was during the war arc, when he unleashed his Magi powers to save Magnostadt. The kid claimed he wasn't siding with either country, but his actions obviously favored Magnostadt. He decided the outcome of that war, but because he manages to supposedly avoid kill anyone, he's portrayed as righteous, when in fact he is not the least bit as such.
Magnostadt had been built up as a pretty awful country for more than 2 years up to that point. Basically everything bad that happened leading up to the war was due to them. Pirates with magical items that brainwash children, bandits with cutting edge weaponry that give them an edge over conventional militaries and navies, Dunya's family and retainer being killed, and that's even before we visited the actual city where the 5th level where people were turned into cattle.
Magnostadt was a rotten place, easily the worst place the manga had visited up to that point, yet Aladdin sided with them during the war, justifying his actions on the basis that the "magicians' anger" would destroy the world, completely ignoring the fact that Magnostadt's actions and demeanor pretty much made them an enemy of the world, claiming hundreds of thousands to millions of people as victims (the world's population is probably fewer than 10 million to put it into perspective).
But what's really awful is what came after the war. Aladdin screwed up. He sided with a bad group of people and ignored the true threat to the planet, the dark spot in Magnostadt's basement levels to do so. And yet...this is not acknowledged. Aladdin had a heart to heart with Scherazade where he lectured her of all people on what it meant to be a Magi. Aladdin who wasn't even a teenager with only his meager existence to draw experience from lectured the 300 year old Magi who'd guided the largest most powerful country on the planet for hundreds of years.
What Aladdin did during the war was assume responsibility for EVERYTHING Magnostadt had done and everything it was going to do, but Scherazade does not chastise him. Quite the contrary, she accedes, acknowledging that he's right about the situation, despite the fact that Aladdin was;
1.) Not a representative of Magnostadt. He's a student, not even a citizen of that country, and not able to accept terms of surrender or anything like that. He wasn't even a designated mediator, yet she sat down and talked with him like he were!
2.) Aladdin can say what he wants about the role of a Magi, but the fact is he didn't actually promise to do anything about the current situation, nor did he say what he'd be willing to do. If he had to destroy Magnostadt to save the planet, would he do it? Would he even be willing to kill Mogamett if that's what it came to? Instead of putting Aladdin under the gun, forcing him to face the seriousness of the situation, and his role in it, she backed down completely, wallowing in her own mistakes and regrets.
If the world had been destroyed by the Medium, it would have been Aladdin's fault. He knew about the Dark Spot, yet he ignored it twice. First when the war began and again when the Djinn flew off to attack Kouha's army. He knew the stakes, he knew the world was in danger, yet he kept ignoring the danger in favor of protecting people, regardless of what they'd go on to do in the future or what they might have done in the past.
And everyone in the manga ignores this. Alibaba can't go a single chapter without screwing up, without having his mistakes and misunderstandings put under a microscope, yet Aladdin can do whatever he wants and is portrayed as wise beyond words.
Aladdin doesn't have to deal with inner turmoil or the consequences of his actions. The only problems he faces are ones that test his power, not his decision making abilities. He never has to deal with uncertainty and he never has to contemplate betraying himself or others. He does what he wants and is never made to answer to anyone. He is simply right by default, which is completely obnoxious in a manga where every other character has to deal with the cruel realities of the world.
The real turning point for his character was during the war arc, when he unleashed his Magi powers to save Magnostadt. The kid claimed he wasn't siding with either country, but his actions obviously favored Magnostadt. He decided the outcome of that war, but because he manages to supposedly avoid kill anyone, he's portrayed as righteous, when in fact he is not the least bit as such.
Magnostadt had been built up as a pretty awful country for more than 2 years up to that point. Basically everything bad that happened leading up to the war was due to them. Pirates with magical items that brainwash children, bandits with cutting edge weaponry that give them an edge over conventional militaries and navies, Dunya's family and retainer being killed, and that's even before we visited the actual city where the 5th level where people were turned into cattle.
Magnostadt was a rotten place, easily the worst place the manga had visited up to that point, yet Aladdin sided with them during the war, justifying his actions on the basis that the "magicians' anger" would destroy the world, completely ignoring the fact that Magnostadt's actions and demeanor pretty much made them an enemy of the world, claiming hundreds of thousands to millions of people as victims (the world's population is probably fewer than 10 million to put it into perspective).
But what's really awful is what came after the war. Aladdin screwed up. He sided with a bad group of people and ignored the true threat to the planet, the dark spot in Magnostadt's basement levels to do so. And yet...this is not acknowledged. Aladdin had a heart to heart with Scherazade where he lectured her of all people on what it meant to be a Magi. Aladdin who wasn't even a teenager with only his meager existence to draw experience from lectured the 300 year old Magi who'd guided the largest most powerful country on the planet for hundreds of years.
What Aladdin did during the war was assume responsibility for EVERYTHING Magnostadt had done and everything it was going to do, but Scherazade does not chastise him. Quite the contrary, she accedes, acknowledging that he's right about the situation, despite the fact that Aladdin was;
1.) Not a representative of Magnostadt. He's a student, not even a citizen of that country, and not able to accept terms of surrender or anything like that. He wasn't even a designated mediator, yet she sat down and talked with him like he were!
2.) Aladdin can say what he wants about the role of a Magi, but the fact is he didn't actually promise to do anything about the current situation, nor did he say what he'd be willing to do. If he had to destroy Magnostadt to save the planet, would he do it? Would he even be willing to kill Mogamett if that's what it came to? Instead of putting Aladdin under the gun, forcing him to face the seriousness of the situation, and his role in it, she backed down completely, wallowing in her own mistakes and regrets.
If the world had been destroyed by the Medium, it would have been Aladdin's fault. He knew about the Dark Spot, yet he ignored it twice. First when the war began and again when the Djinn flew off to attack Kouha's army. He knew the stakes, he knew the world was in danger, yet he kept ignoring the danger in favor of protecting people, regardless of what they'd go on to do in the future or what they might have done in the past.
And everyone in the manga ignores this. Alibaba can't go a single chapter without screwing up, without having his mistakes and misunderstandings put under a microscope, yet Aladdin can do whatever he wants and is portrayed as wise beyond words.
Aladdin doesn't have to deal with inner turmoil or the consequences of his actions. The only problems he faces are ones that test his power, not his decision making abilities. He never has to deal with uncertainty and he never has to contemplate betraying himself or others. He does what he wants and is never made to answer to anyone. He is simply right by default, which is completely obnoxious in a manga where every other character has to deal with the cruel realities of the world.
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