This isn’t really a long theory post, but just something that I wanted to point out. As people like @mari-m-rose pointed out, Ja’far is shown to become a monster fully for a few seconds before reverting back to human form in Snb 170.
I want to point out the shape of his “assimilated” form. Unlike Drakon’s, it doesn’t really look like a lizard of any sort. Especially from the perspective, we can tell its a HUGE monster form. He towers over Shaka and almost reaches the ceiling.
Also note the weird “hood” shape of his form. What sort of animal could this be?
Why, what else than the very thing Ja’far is based off of? :3c
Picture credits: kingcobrasymposium.com
Our baby’s monster form is not only based off of a snake, but rather a king cobra or any other hooded snake. What a strong boy, I’m so proud of him <3 You can also see in the panel below the shadow looks like a long figure that seems to be curling/twisting around to look at Shaka:
Also the screentones and effects when Ja’far attacks Shaka looks like the way snakes attack– in one quick, deft and powerful strike.
Aaaaah I absolutely love that Ja’far’s assimilated form is a hooded snake though, that narrows him down to types of snakes like the king cobra or the black mamba– both of whom are venomous snakes (and two of the deadliest snakes on the planet). I wonder if this means that Ja’far has some sort of feature relating to poison too?
In the end, it’s only fitting for the High King of the Seven Seas to have the King of Snakes guarding him from danger~
I have seen people talk about this already and my opinion is similar.
Even tho I’d love that Ja’far had scales permanently (Tbh initially I thought he did and found it incredibly hot, like imagine 30 year old Ja’far full of scales, sidjvpodsjdsopjop, do not kinkshame me, Murphy I’m looking at you), I don’t think that’s the case.
Well, we are also lacking a lot of information. For instance we don’t know what actually happened for Ja’far to transform. The only thing we got were the words resonating in his mind. I wonder if it happened while he was almost unconscious, since that last attack was meant to kill him too. If Ja’far did it unconsciously it would make sense that it didn’t work fully. After all Ja’far himself got terrified and confused about his arm growing back and his scales, which means he wasn’t aware of his actions. Maybe he chanted the words in his mind but the thought was interrupted the moment he realized what he was doing, and then he got scared he almost got fused with his household and fainted.
About the scales being permanent: they could be but also couldn’t be. The issue is, his right arm growing back is a permanent effect so, why the scales wouldn’t be? Because his eyes changed too, but the change was not permanent.
That’s the only reason I have for doubting it. Moreover Ja’far became a monster and reverted back seconds after, so we don’t know if the scales there were also starting to disappear, while his arm growing was just the household regenerating him before he turned into a monster….(I’m sad we don’t know how Households actually work).
We know Ja’far’s eyes look normal in Magi, thus it’s possible Ja’far’s chest is normal too. However, Ja’far’s eyes do change when he’s angry and ready to fight seriously.
So there’s a possibility that when Ja’far fights with all his might, not only the eyes return, but the scales….or even maybe he can transform in that beast for a few seconds too. (?) Wow, so many questions suddenly rise, don’t they?
What’s sure tho, is that when a little of Ja’far’s chest is shown in Magi, scales are nowhere to be found, but that could be just details???
I hope that we get to see if the scales stayed there or not at some point.
Haha just when I thought all mysteries surrounding Ja’far would finally be revealed.
These questions rise another one tho: Is this why Sinbad doesn’t let Ja’far fight with all his power? Or more precisely, is this why Sinbad doesn’t let Ja’far lose control?
That time when Cassim insulted Sin, Ja’far was so angry he attempted to murder without controlling himself.
It’s like he didn’t realized what he was doing. And Sinbad just easily forgave him, then Ja’far rushed to heal the wound he caused him.
I wonder if when someone is half-assimilated, they are in constant risk of the household taking over them????
When Ja’far wants to fight Judar, was he stopped because Judar is def stronger than him? Or because Sinbad felt Ja’far was in risk of assimilating if he went berserk?
I think it’s all of them? Well I don’t think Magi at that point matches SnB that much, but this is gonna become a beloved HC of mine ♥.
Anyway I’m happy we still have a lot to look forward to.
Panels taken from Sense-Scans and @arashidono (thanks bby)
it feels like a handful of people didn’t like Jafar’s wish of wanting Sinbad to return - and like, I get it, but I’m also biased and feel like it comes from a place of people just not liking Sinja lmao.
Which I know isn’t entirely true, and I get it - Ja’far deserves to be his own person, but he.. he is? He was written with way more character and personality and story than Morgiana in some cases! He IS his own very unique, individual character… who just happens to find Sinbad important!
He’s going to visit Rurumu, he’s going to visit his friends. I know people want more confirmation from “word of god” that he’ll do these things, but I dunno. So much Ja’far critique I feel comes from just “ew why does it have to be about sinbad again :/” because Sinbad is his best friend ??? And I’m sure Ja’far has a HELL of a lot of regrets and shit to talk to with Sinbad, whereas he’s made peace with, say, Rurumu for years now, and has been keeping touch already with friends as we know he names Masrur’s child.
Like - Judar’s is just some comedic, no development “CONQUER ANOTHER DIMENSION!”, Morgiana’s is rather vague and wouldn’t you think she’d want to travel the world as well? or look forward to her marriage or something? Something about her life with Alibaba/Aladdin? The fanalis thing is vague when we never even got her Big Fanalis Adventure in the manga.
My point being that all the wishes are rather simple, casual things and it’s not their ONE AND FINAL ONLY WISH. Like, Hakuei was in a coma for so long and wants to JUST help Kouen? Not catch up with her brother or anything? It’s just one of the things she wants to do!
I know it’s disappointing because these feel like the last scraps of character we’ll get now that Magi is over, but like.. I don’t know. I’m probably just the big idiot bully who likes Sinja but it just really does feel like Ja’far can’t care about Sinbad because suddenly it becomes about him being too “obsessed.”
Both people who dislike and like sinja can express their opinions, so don’t feel bad or like a bully. I don’t like the concept that because we are a majority we have to shut up. It makes no sense. We all in the fandom deserve to have opinions as long as we are respectful about it and don’t insult real people in the process.
Tbh I also feel the few people who didn’t like Ja’far’s wish don’t like sinja lmao. Like you said, for example, people who like en~ ei or don’t mind it, haven’t suddenly commented about how they don’t like Hakuei wishing to only take care of Kouen, so yep, in the end it’s all about likes and dislikes (and there’s nothing wrong about it).
I did not only find Ja’far’s wish lacking, but everyone else’s too. But just like you, since I ship sinja, I was happy about Ja’far’s wish. I’m kinda bitter because Sinbad literally lied to him and left him, but Ja’far still loves him. But at the same time Ohtaka had no time to show Ja’far’s reaction to Sin’s doings (his or anybody’s). So we will never know how Ja’far really feels about what Sin did. But taking on account how Ja’far is, his personality, it’s really obvious that he’s not just gonna welcome Sin with a hug.
Tbh what else could he wish for? He’s back in Sindria, he’s back to his old position (which he loves, which was his dreams since forever), his family the other generals are ok. He can visit his fallen friends’ grave when he wants. Ja’far has returned to the country of his dreams and all his friends are ok. So what is he lacking for his life to be perfect? Sinbad. So, that’s what he wishes for.
Rather than Sin being the focus of his life, he’s the last piece he needs for everything to be perfect atm. Not to mention, he’s pretty much his life partner.
But well some people don’t like that, so what can you do.
Just like you, the only thing I disagree with is people saying his character is underdeveloped or only focused on Sin. His love for Sin is great yes, but he has several other interesting things going on. Starting with his obssession with work and the fact he’s continuing his life after Sin with optimism. Not because his wish is for him to come back all his other interesting traits are erased.
Can I say that even tho it was a very little panel, I appreciate Ja’far representing Partevia instead of Ceylan? (Nothing against him btw). Right now he’s only a vice-president (of the most important trading company), but he still doesn’t have any political power anymore, nor is he a king vessel or owns a metal vessel….
So even if it was such an insignificant panel, the fact that he stands out just because he’s important as himself made me happy…
@ the anon who sent that. My dear, I could write an entire book, 200 pages at least. (I love you for asking tho).
I tried to sum it up but I failed lol. You are gonna have to give me more time. Sadly I’m gonna be out all day tomorrow and it’s 3 am here, I must leave. Also I’m so sleepy I can’t write properly in English.
However here you have a sneak peek (I’m probably erasing a lot of this so it’s shorter. I’m using Sin a lot for this one, but I was just gonna talk about Pisti and all the generals, agh it’s hard leaving details out):
Since I’m
saying Ja’far is “human”, let’s talk about one of my favorite things about Ja’far: his
flaws.
Ja’far is
short-tempered, strict, aggressive, dull, obsessive, blunt, etc. He has so many
relatable flaws tbh. I say dull because he’s that person who doesn’t fit to
everyone’s opinion on what’s “fun”, like going to parties and getting drunk. I’m
one of those dull people and probably a lot of you guys are too. (I don’t
actually think we are dull but that’s how people see us often, at least me).
But let’s focus on Ja’far’s main issue (and what makes him really interesting
for me): the contrast between his aggressive behavior and his kindness.
Ja’far’s aggressive behavior opposes his warm
nature in a lot of ways. This is why I say he’s human, he tries to be a certain
way but his flaws are stronger and he fails.
Ja’far tries to be perfect. He walks in a fine, elegant way, his speech is
overly polite, he’s very cultivated (he studied as much as he could), he’s
efficient, he has a dignified appearance. Ja’far has worked all his life so he
could become who he is now and so there are no traces of his old self, the
assassin. BUT he still gets angry easily, he’s too short-tempered and when he
snaps, he snaps big time and sadly he snaps about several things.
Sinbad’s mistakes spark this behavior on him a lot and despite of his desire of
remaining a calm and collected advisor, Ja’far loses all this in front of the person
he respects most and thinks he has the right to. His polite speech, his
discrete way of standing, they all disappear and he unleashes the true Ja’far.
His king becomes his idiotic friend he promised to help and so he lectures him
with screams and punches. And after he
calms down, he becomes the polite advisor again, the one he’s trying so hard to
be. Another example of Ja’far being unable to control himself is when he loses it
after Cassim insults Sinbad. Only after Sin stops him he realizes he fucked up
and the aggressive Ja’far disappears in a second, he dashes to heal the wound
he caused to his king and also apologizes. And thus: after more than a decade
and a half Ja’far still can’t control his aggressive personality.
Ja’far is a scary guy but he has tried to become the loving, collected and calm
person he knows he is deep inside (because he is indeed) for so many years and he
still can’t do it. Isn’t that adorable? He is both things tho, he’s scary and
could kill you, but he’s also cute and sweet and could love you like no one
ever would.
The Ja’far twins in Sinbad no bouken, which represent the contradiction that he
is himself, become one in the anime, but not in the manga. And coincidentally
Ja’far’s household are two snakes. This contradiction in Ja’far’s personality
is definitely important to understand Ja’far as a character. And wow isn’t he
interesting?
Actually I wanted to talk about a post I recently found about a Magi magazine article in which the theme was: If Ja’far was a fruit which one would he be? (It’s in the queue for tomorrow :3c be patient). The answer is: a mango. And the explanation was: because he looks sweet and may be sweet in the outside but in the inside he’s juicy and full of substance (apparently). For me it was: he’s just not only a cute face, there’s much more inside, I liked it.
Then the questions were kinda fandom oriented. Why is he sweet? Only in the outside, in the inside he’s very strict. One of them was about how Ja’far would be as a partner and another answer covered how would it be to date Ja’far (the answer btw is: boring lol). I like it because it made clear Ja’far’s only reason to take action is to benefit Sindria and the king. He would be boring as a lover because he’s not interested in relationships and only thinks about serving Sin and the kingdom. I loved it. So, now it’s canon for me that Ja’far would not be with anybody since he’s too focused on Sin and the kingdom. Nice.
However, I always thought that if Ja’far would be a fruit, he would be a cherimoya.
Just look at it. It’s green outside and white with black seeds in the inside. Idk if you have cherimoyas where you live but they are native from my country. These things are also so sweet (delicious) and full of substance. But the seeds can’t be eaten, nor the peel. Just as there are parts in Ja’far that are too bitter. Yeah, he would be a perfect cherimoya. The cherimoya just needs to have that slender waist the article talks about and done, Ja’far (pft).
Actually I want to make a small rectification about my last ask reply.
It does not say that Ja’far’s home is Sinbad’s side again but, it’s kind of a synonym, it’s: Ja’far’s ibasho became Sinbad’s side. The word is “ibasho” I googled it and it says it’s a word hard to translate but basically it’s a place where you feel like yourself, a place where you feel at home. So yeah Sinbad is Ja’far’s ibasho.
this is kind of random but most countries in magi are based off real countries and i was wondering if there are any theories on where ja'far might be from? i like the idea of him/his family not originally being from parthevia but i have no idea how to start trying to find what country he/they could be from from that time period;;; if that makes sense...orz
Yo’ anon
Ahhhhh sadly I also have no idea and I also haven’t heard about HCs about their original country. It’s hard to know. Their traits are too unique. Well Ja’far’s traits are too unique. My initial thought was they are from Partevia ofc, it’s difficult to think about other countries.
We don’t know what main characteristics people from other countries have. Ohtaka has put some but they are not clear. I mean Sinbad has purple hair and he was born in Partevia, so do Meiers and Doron. In contrast the royal family, Seren and probably Ceylan, have pink hair. The military family has green hair. Aside from that all citizens look pretty much the same, tanned/white skin, black/brown/light brown hair. We know that Artemyra, Sasan, Heliohapt and Immchak do not welcome outsiders well so their races aren’t mixed, therefore it’s easy to know Ja’far’s parents don’t come from those. I don’t think they are from Kou either, but they could be from Reim, since Reim is a very big empire. There are also isolated republics like Qishan and…another country was mentioned by Alibaba but I’m lazy to look it up. Well I also doubt they come from Kina. Maybe Musta’sim? Though we don’t know much about that country yet, we only know about Mogamett’s story. Dunya and Yamu who are both people form nobility have a blueish hair color. What else do we have? Balbadd could be an option, but then we are left with the Aktia Kingdom and other foreign countries. We also have the Fanalis, the Yambala, the Kouga clan and Toran Tribe but it’s impossible they come from those imo.
Whenever Ohtaka writes about Ja’far’s home country, she writes “Unknown”. I used to find it funny but now that I learnt from the fanbook that Ohtaka says Ja’far’s home is Sinbad’s side and she seems to want him not to have a home country, it makes sense. I’m amazed that she not only said that once in the fanbook. I remembered that in each character’s section form the book, there is a tiny map pointing to their initial location. In Ja’far’s section the map points to Partevia but it only talks about Sham Lash. Then AGAIN it is mentioned that the moment Sinbad saved Ja’far, his home became Sinbad’s side. Now that I found that twice, I’m starting to hope we’ll see more about it in Magi’s plot.
Hmm so I think his parents might either come from a foreign country, Reim, Partevia or countries like Qishan or Balbadd, but I find it hard to think they come form somewhere else. Futhermore Ja’far has low tolerance to the sun and heat, so maybe one of his parents come from a country with a colder weather. That would leave most of the countries we know out of our list of possible countries. Unless a colder country is presented later.
Anyway, thanks for the ask, it’s a very interesting question!
