Mahou Sensei Negi (Also known as Negima ^_^;;;)

[nightblade]

I know this is Ken Akamatsu and plenty of people have a lot of beef against him, but what do you guys think about this series?

I'm particularly interested for those who can get past all the panty shots (like myself) and such.

[Mangafanatic]

I just avoid the mangas that are shrink wrapped on the shelves, so I can't help you there. Sorry. (I'm pretty sure someone was reading Negima, though. Browse through the "What are you reading now" thread, and see if you can't find them. Then you could PM who ever's reading it for thoughts. You might get a more direct answer that way.)

[Cap'n Nick]

I read the first two volumes, and it seems to be taking the typical Akamatsu course - loads of fanservice but at the same time something more. He kind of reminds me of that news station with the naked anchors.

The art is smooth and definitely above average. The plot is okay but spends an inordinate amount of time (even more so than Love Hina) meandering through increasingly elaborate fanservice gimmicks. The main characters bear an uncanny resemblance to Naru and Keitarou from Love Hina, but are generally more enjoyable because Negi has more of a spine and Asuna has (marginally) more control over her temper. In fact, many of the other characters also appear to be refined reincarnations of the Love Hina cast.

It's tempting to call it "Love Hina Yet Again," but it feels more like an upgrade than a rehash. If you liked Love Hina then you will find Negima to have everything you liked about it and more, but if you had some problems with it you will find that they are back in force.

[Nate]

Having just finished the third volume, I can say...WOW.

Definitely NOT what I was expecting. The third volume reveals some REALLY awesome stuff about Negi's father...and two of his students. Plus it introduces the animal mascot, which in Negima is a talking...um, I can't remember the species...it's kinda like a ferret/mink.

And hey, I like Ken Akamatsu...though, I've never read A.I. Love You...I never had any interest in it...

Yes, the characters in Negima DO remind me of Love Hina...but, that's not necessarily a bad thing...

Finally, I must admit...Nodoka is REALLY cute...

[nightblade]

I've read both AI Love You (through Vol 5) and Love Hina (all of it) and he does have recurring character designs, but you can see that with plenty of artists.

Fanservice, in my opinion, is just how you deal with it. It's not smut, and more of the time it's a, "Hand in the face saying 'Geez...' while laughing". The plot is getting more interesting (I just finished Volume three myself), and if you haven't taken a look at Negima yet, I'd suggest it.

Yes, fanservice is there, but (as far as I'm concerned) if you can't deal with it in a healthy and mature way, you're missing out on a great series. Same goes with Love Hina. Just accept it and keep reading. It's not gratuitous or showy, Akamatsu's work never has been.

And looking back, I hope I haven't offended anyone >_> Please keep an open mind ^_^;;

[Shao Feng-Li]

What does Akamatsu-san try to accomplish with stories such as Negima or Love Hina? I know for a fact that's there's more to Love Hina than fanservice, but I've never seen enough. It seems very superficial to me.

[nightblade]

Well, I guess it really isn't for everyone. Being a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and is a sappy romantic, I loved Love Hina, and you can see parallels to Harry Potter in Negima

[spoiler="Small part from the 1st volume"]Negi shows Asuna his broom and him flying on it, and offers to help her with her route. He says, "Just no Quidditch jokes, ok?"[/spoiler]

[Nate]

What does Akamatsu-san try to accomplish with stories such as Negima or Love Hina?

Love Hina is an example of how if you work hard enough, your dreams can come true. Keitaro is a three year ronin. He's taken entrance exams to go to Tokyo U, a VERY difficult university to get into. Everyone tells him he should give it up, but he refuses. Ultimately, his dream comes true and he gets in. Well, sorta. You have to read it to figure out what I mean by that.

The point is, by sticking to his guns and not giving up, he accomplished something NO ONE thought he could do.

Also, it's to show that there's hope for everyone. Keitaro is a complete and total geek, and the women in Hinata House think he's kind of a pervert (but he really isn't!). However, despite this...

[SPOILER]Naru manages to fall for him. Keitaro laments in the first few manga volumes that him and Naru would never be together, but that's how it ended up after all.[/SPOILER]

Negima is only three volumes long in the US, but what I can gain from the little bit I've read, the main moral seems to be that you can't judge a book by its cover. Negi is only ten years old, yet he's a teacher at a university. Everyone thought it was a joke when he first showed up, but they learned that he's actually a pretty decent teacher despite his age.

[Shao Feng-Li]

It's a shame though, Akaumatsu does really good stuff, but rather inapropiate. I've seen I little bit of Love Hina and it was really good, even touching at times. But nothing I'd watch with anyone of my family in the same room.

Thanks, Kaemmerite.

[Sai]

hey does this series have any sex stuff in it or just nudity stuff? Just curious

[Token Asian]

It has a lot of unnecessary fanservice (of young girls... ick), but I must admit that the entire "magic school" concept is pretty interesting. The quest of discovering one's father, school mysteries, competing magic schools, etc. All those were pretty fun and made for an interesting fantasy story.

But yes, shrink-wrapped probably because it'd offend some people.

[Arnobius]

After 11 volumes (in Japanese) I'd describe Negima as Love Hina meets Yu Yu Hakusho, as it's evenly divided between the fanservice and the supernatural action.

Like Love Hina, it has a lot of nudity that removed certain bodyparts. It was shrinkwrapped because these kids in the fanservice are supposed to be in Junior High (14-15 years old), and Del Rey did not want the bad publicity (originally they intended to censor panels until many fans complained.

There are many lines of dialogue in the English that do not exist in the Japanese. For example: Nightblade made reference to a line about Quiddich... that line was not in the Japanese original.

The version of the anime that appeared on Japanese TV was cleaner than the manga... however, it is reported that several scenes were to be reanimated for the DVD (the animation *was* terrible) so there are no guarantees it will be clean for the US release.

whether or not it is OK, depends on how you feel about frequent fanservice and use of magic.

[Hitokiri]

I am getting the US relased volumes as well as reading ahead in scanlations online. I am bvery much enjoying this series.

Very much.

As for the anime, most of Ken's anime based from his manga is cleaner. Love Hina was much more cleaner then the manga.

My favorite girl from the class...would proably be a tie between Ako Isumi, Chachamaru, or Konoka Kanoe.

[Sephiroth]

i've been watching the anime, i've enjoyed it, and indeed i also enjoyed love hina, heh, i see a good chunk of harry potter similarites, but ina way its different as well.

[Hitokiri]

I really enjoyed the Southern Seas series in vol 7. That was quite some fun. it get's intresting in the later volumes as well.