Again to the Vaults: “Negima! Magister Negi Magi” Manga Assessment – AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Weblog

Again to the Vaults: Negima! Magister Negi Magi Assessment
魔法先生 ネギま！
Mahou Sensei Negima!

As a fan of AKAMATSU Ken-sensei’s Love Hina manga, it was solely pure that I might then gravitate to his Negima! Magister Negi Magi manga collection. Admittedly, the primary two volumes of the manga are fluff, however by quantity 3, issues flip good. Certainly, I turned such a fan, I eagerly sought out spoilers.

Nonetheless, by September 8, 2013, it turned clear to me that since spoiler photographs out of Japan didn’t keep up lengthy, I wished a spot to save lots of them for folk. Additional, since I labored nights, it appeared logical for me to only put them up on the weblog. I by no means thought it might take off because it did, however there you go. Good occasions.

Nonetheless, it has been some time since I final learn the manga collection. As such, I questioned the way it holds up right this moment.

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The Story, in Temporary

Negi Springfield is a precocious, practically 10 12 months previous boy from Wales, England. Formally, he’s despatched to Mahora Academy ladies junior highschool to show English. Unofficially, he’s despatched there to proceed his coaching and analysis as a mage. Resulting from his age, he’s pressured to reside within the ladies dorm with KAGURAZAKA Asuna and her roommate, KONOE Konoka.

Asuna quickly discovers that Negi is a mage. Finally, she decides to maintain his secret. Nonetheless, when one other of Negi’s college students seems to be the infamous, immortal vampire Evangeline A.Ok. McDowell, Asuna agrees to develop into Negi’s first accomplice, permitting her to battle at his aspect.

As time goes on, increasingly more of his college students study his secret. Lots of them find yourself turning into a accomplice of Negi, every gaining a novel artifact consequently. Negi grows in energy, however as an orphan, he seems to be to seek out information on his father. This leads to a visit for him and his battle harem to the magic world. There, they uncover the key of the magic world and Asuna’s connection to it.

It Will get Good in Quantity 3

Whereas there’s nothing fallacious with the primary two volumes of Negima! Magister Negi Magi, they aren’t greater than mere fluff and desk setting. Certainly, as I reread these first two volumes, I used to be struck by how completely different most of the ladies are right here in comparison with after they get their very own storyline, corresponding to Eva in quantity 3.

Talking of that third quantity, that is when the manga rises above some shouta harem comedy collection to one thing extra critical. That is once we get launched to Evangeline A.Ok. McDowell and her accomplice, the android powered by magic and science, Chachamaru. It seems that Negi’s father captured the infamous vampire, however relatively than money in on the reward, he put a curse on her to make her powerless on a magical entrance, but additionally compelled to behave as a guard of kinds for Mahora.

From there, the Kyoto arc was fairly good, introducing us to reoccurring villain, Destiny. We get a brief arc the place the demon Graf Wilheim challenges Negi. That’s adopted by the VERY lengthy Faculty Pageant arc, which incorporates the primary event battle of the collection. It additionally foreshadows occasions to return for the reason that remaining day of the competition is a battle to stop magic from getting revealed to the world.

Magic World Ahead

By the point Negima! Magister Negi Magi reaches the Magic World arc (with its varied sub-arcs, making it the longest arc within the manga), the collection is at a excessive. Certainly, the occasions on the Magic World are fairly fascinating and entertaining. Sadly, that is the place issues begin faltering a bit, which is extra evident in hindsight relatively than on an preliminary read-through.

For a begin, after Negi’s get together will get separated, Akamatsu-sensei solely touches the tales of the opposite ladies, after which, normally giving simply sufficient info to point what they’ve been doing. However we by no means get to SEE this in motion, which is unlucky in my thoughts. The exception to that is Yue, who will get her personal, detailed story arc on the Magic World since her recollections had been by chance wiped for a time. Yue’s story is superb, and I believe watching attending to learn the opposite lady’s adventures would have been superb as properly.

Subsequent is Negi’s mom, Arika. Till properly into the Magic World arc, Negi’s mom is rarely talked about. His notorious, heroic father is all that’s talked about. Then out of the blue, we discover out that Negi’s mom is simply as well-known as his father, if no more so in some regards. That results in my first main drawback of the manga (although it isn’t sufficient to kill my love of the collection).

The Arika Drawback

Up till properly into the Magic World arc of Negima! Magister Negi Magi, the one dad or mum talked about by Negi or others “within the know” round him was his father Nagi, the “Thousand Grasp.” I all the time discovered this odd, and it result in my “Negi is Nagi” concept that I’ll speak about in a bit. That apart, it was just about out of the blue when all of the sudden, there was point out of Negi’s mom. Not solely that, however she was simply as well-known as Negi’s dad. What?!

To be honest, by itself, I really like the story of Nagi and Arika collectively, each when she was the royal chief of a doomed nation, and afterward, when she’s formally an executed lady who travels along with her husband’s group, Ala Rubra. Sadly, when this backstory is shoehorned into the Negima! storyline, it causes a serious drawback, particularly Eva.

Early on, we realized that Eva knew and traveled with Nagi in her youngster kind. She didn’t appear to disclose the reality of who she was. Then later, Eva is in her magically created grownup kind because the infamous “Excessive Daylight Walker” vampire when she falls into Nagi’s lure and will get cursed, however NOT turned in for the bounty on her head.

Additional, members of Ala Rubra knew and trusted Eva. Takamachi-sensei advised Negi he might hunt down Eva for recommendation. Al loved teasing her, as did Jack. All through all of it, it was closely implied that Eva spent a substantial amount of time with Ala Rubra. But she by no means noticed Arika. Eva by no means knew Nagi was married to Arika. There’s actually no manner for Eva to journey round with Ala Rubra, develop into very pleasant with them if Arika was within the image. Certainly, Akamatsu-sensei tries to brush all of this off when Eva learns this info at Al’s tea get together. Nonetheless, Eva and Arika can not co-exist primarily based on how the manga began vs. the way it ended.

Negi is Nagi Concept

Though Negima! Magister Negi Magi went the route of Nagi getting possessed, I’m nonetheless not satisfied that the unique plan for Nagi was to disguise himself as Negi and declare to be his personal son. All the pieces within the manga was set as much as make this occur.

• Age altering magic was used, initially by Eva, however then by way of magical candies by most of the characters
• Magical affectation glasses had been utilized by characters to stop themselves from being uncovered after they had been in age-changed disguises. Negi wore affectation glasses, although they had been by no means described as magical. However he didn’t use or want them.
• Additional, alternate character magic was a factor from the beginning, since Asuna’s character was an implant to cover herself. Others used this magic within the manga as properly.
• Since Nagi gave Negi his notorious workers after the assault on Negi’s village, it might require using time journey. And time journey by way of expertise and magic was used closely within the Faculty Pageant arc.

If Nagi turned himself into Negi to be able to cover in plain sight, it might clarify how Negi realized preventing abilities and spells at such an unnaturally expedited fee–he already “knew” them as Nagi. Additional, it might clarify the assault on Negi’s village.

Assuming everybody purchased that Negi was the truth is the kid of Nagi, then attacking the village could be a certain hearth methodology for drawing Nagi out of hiding after he disappeared in Turkey (a plotline that sorta acquired forgotten). And if Nagi was Negi, then his return could be purposefully after the assault was over, in order to not change the timeline and shut the circle.

Arika Changed Eva?

After rereading Negima! Magister Negi Magi this time, I had a thought. Early within the manga, we realized that Eva had this large bounty on her head. She was notorious and given quite a lot of unfavourable titles like Apostle of Calamity, Darkish Evangel, Queen of the Night time, Lady Queen of Darkness, and extra. What title was Arika given? Queen of Calamity. 🤔

The manga by no means tells us what particular occasion prompted Eva to have her bounty. Certainly, what little we all know, the deaths Eva prompted had been out of protection from these looking her, or revenge on those that’d accomplished one thing to her. I are likely to suspect that originally, the story wouldn’t have been Arika sacrificing her homeland to cease CE.

As a substitute, Eva did one thing warding off foes, which resulted in a disaster, whereupon she was solely blamed. Eva would have accomplished it in grownup kind, which was implied to be the shape she gained notoriety in. As such, when Nagi saved the “youngster” Eva from falling off the cliff, he most likely didn’t know who she was. In any case, he discovered it amusing that the evil Evangal’s true kind was that of a kid.

It might additionally account for why Nagi simply put a curse on Eva relatively than flip her in for the bounty or the like. If she’d traveled a very long time with Nagi’s get together (the place she fell in love with him), then Nagi would have understood her and simply put her someplace secure (Mahora), but in addition train her the worth of humanity, which she’d forgotten. However that’s simply my hypothesis, which inserts the information.

The Rushed Ending

Whereas I nonetheless take pleasure in rereading Negima! Magister Negi Magi, I’m not going to lie. The ending of the manga involves an abrupt finish. After the “reveal” that Nagi was possessed (which didn’t make sense if he had been sealed up whereas possessed, since he couldn’t have traveled about to provide his son a workers), the Magic World story simply got here to a direct halt. That in and of itself was jarring, however I believe most folk had been okay with it because it allowed us readers to take a breather.

Sadly, after the return to Earth, the manga splits its time between harem hijinks and laying the groundwork for one more arc that was to not be. Because of this, there have been quite a lot of plot threads left dangling.

• Extra info on Eva’s previous.
• How did Chachazero develop into ensouled?
• What occurred with the Jap Mages vs. Western Mages plotline?
• How did Sayo get murdered? The ultimate quantity of the manga signifies this was below investigation. That may have made for an incredible story.
• What about Zazie? Why had been mazoku (demons) from Venus all in favour of Earth, a lot in order that certainly one of their very own attends faculty there?
• And talking of mazoku, there’s the half-mazoku, Mana. I might have liked a deeper arc about her story.
• Ditto Setsuna.

Whereas it’s true that UQ Holder did contact a few of these issues, that’s from an alternate timeline/universe, thus has no actual bearing on Negima.

Closing Ideas and Conclusion

I rambled on too lengthy taking my look-back at Negima! Magister Negi Magi. Regardless of its many flaws, together with being overly ecchi at occasions, it nonetheless stays certainly one of my high ten manga titles on the very least. It’s only a disgrace that the story acquired shifted because it did (by Akamatsu-sensei’s personal admission), and that it acquired reduce off prefer it did. UQ Holder simply didn’t evaluate. However that’s one other piece for the long run.