Mahou Sensei Negima!
Author: Akamatsu Ken
Genre: Action, comedy, romance
Status: On-going (Volume 26+)
I’ve picked up a few shounen manga over the years. From hit titles like Claymore, Hajime no Ippo, One Piece to a few others. Somewhat recently, after trudging through Naruto and Bleach every week I decided, “Ok. I don’t care if I’m this far already. This shit sucks. I’m dropping it.” So I dropped those two and a few other shounen manga that I was reading just to kill time and not really interested in like Fairy Tail and Psyen. And then I wondered, is there an out-going shounen manga out there that can still provide me that fun and addictive feeling when zipping through the chapters? The last time I felt like that was when I started reading Eyeshield 21 around a year ago.
Lurking on the webz, I came across a Mahou Sensei Negima! thread. I knew it was by the guy who did Love Hina which I loved, but I wasn’t looking for an ecchi harem manga, but a shounen battle manga. Well despite its initial appearance, apparently Negima is a shounen battle manga. So I decided to pick it up since it sounds like what I’ve been looking for.
Here’s a little synopsis for those who don’t have a clue on what this is about:
After graduated from a magic academy, 10-year-old genius boy Negi Springfield was assigned to a huge Japanese school as an English teacher for practical training. To his surprise, the 8th grade class assigned for him is all-girl. In addition to teaching (and being teased by) those 31 pretty girls while trying to keep his magic capability in secret, he’s also looking for clues about his father, who was once known as “Thousands Master” but mysteriously disappeared years ago.
From AnimeNewsNetwork
Doesn’t sound what I’ve been looking for at all, right? I had my doubts too. Taking my chances of getting trolled, I decided I would try it out. I thought at the very least it’ll serve as good fap material.
Don’t let first impressions fool you. This is awesome shit.
So I go in and read. The first two volumes are basically Love Hina with the typical LOL FANSERVICE comedy that Akamatsu is so good at. I found the humor funny, but it wasn’t enough to pull me in yet. When I got to volume 3 or something, it started slowly moving into the fighting territory which I was anticipating. As the series progresses, it suddenly becomes a battle manga. As if Akamatsu was tricking the editors into thinking this would be the typical harem stuff. But what Mahou Sensei Negima! really is, is a mesh between battle manga and harem; and can I say that he pulls it off very well.
The harem isn’t just there for the fanservice and comedy moments; a lot of his students get involved in the whole magic thing and fights as well which is great. One girl is basically a ninja actually and there’s one that knows Chinese kenpo so not everybody uses magic. Actually the fights are more physical than anything. Some of the magic by Negi is used to enhance his physical capabilities making for some really incredible and flashy fights (as seen above).
I expect no less from the author of Love Hina.
The cast is fairly large. Negi has thirty-one girls in his class then there’s a few more that are related to the magical world and stuff. The number may seem overwhelming at first, but Akamatsu gradually develops most of them with their own cute little personalities and quirks. I may not know all their names, but I can tell who’s who at this point which was difficult for me during the first few volumes. I actually have a hard time picking out a favorite girl because there are so many different ones. And yes, all the girls in his class are technically 14/15 years old. Their bodies tell a different story though. :3
As for the main character, Negi himself, he does a great job of standing as a shounen manga protagonist. Don’t let that 10 year old boy appearance fool you, he can be badass during the more serious moments. I’ll admit it was weird seeing a little kid doing all these cool moves and manga-like feats, but that’s something I got used to. One thing I like about him is that he’s able to show sides of both mature and childish. His goal in life is simple and straightforward, but he takes a serious attitude towards it. And like one character said it’s really amazing that at just 10 years old, Negi has found that one goal in life that he will chase after with unwavering eyes.
Yes, the cat ears are part of her battle costume. Awesome, right?
Negima isn’t all about the action but more about its characters and how they develop and interact. And this a pretty large feat to do because the numerous number of characters. But amazingly, Akamatsu Ken does it well. I think he did a great job balancing all characters in Love Hina and that experience carried on over here. I’m sure every reader can pick out a favorite character among the cast because they’re all so lovable and distinct.
I think any fan of shounen manga can appreciate Mahou Sensei Negima! and what it tries to accomplish. After dropping stuff like Psyren and Naruto which felt generic for me, reading this felt really refreshing. It’s a new take on an old formula. Well sorta. I think one of the best feelings when reading a manga is the one you get when you can’t stop reading. You want to know what happens next, but those bags under your eyes are getting heavier and heavier. Negima is definitely one of the more addicting manga I’ve read and IMO that’s one of the best things a manga can give to a reader, addictiveness.
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Imo, it relies on character and some levels of world building. Also, combine it with the aesthetic of shounen elements, then you have a great formula. It’s not about the action, but when the action does come around, the action is, more or less, awesome. It doesn’t derail, but gets to the point. And it’s visually pleasing. Maybe I’m just s sucker for magic series in general, but the chants and concept of mage/servant is very appealing.
What makes Negima different from a vast majority of other similar series is because Akamatsu knows how to please different groups of people, all the while, keeping it fresh. He toys with old concepts, pokes at them, satires them, and in the end, somehow incorporates them into his story, despite hand waving or making fun of it.
If age group tells of anything, about 80% of Weekly Shōnen Magazine readers are young adults and older. 20 to 34 years-old making up 55%, while 35 and older making up roughly 25%. About 20% make up the younger age group. With 4% coming from 10-14 year olds, and 15-19 with 14%.
Yup. You’ve made very excellent points, First Aid. I completely agree.
As you’ve said Negima is a series that appeals to a majority of different people. It may look like it’s more on the light side, but it’s able to explore mature themes such as good vs evil (School Festival arc).
Actually, I’ve heard that Akamatsu’s editors insisted he added the harem aspect so it would appeal to their target audience more.
I buy the volumes from Delrey~
I’ve followed the delrey release since volume 3 so I doubt I’d be reading the scanlations anytime soon. Dun wanna spoil it for myself.
The above article is full of spoiler pics, btw. *insert Gene’s futurama guy smiley*
I would love to buy the volumes because this is something I’ll probably reread a few times.
Yeah, the English books are currently at volume 21 which is 4 volumes away from the japanese version.
Delrey also re-released a giant version of Negima which is a big book with 3 volumes in it. It’s really thick and if you want to buy the english version, I suggest you get the bundled ones to save money.
Delrey is an awesome publisher too; they have tons of extras they add in the negima volumes like Japanese fan-art, Character designs, Akamatsu’s sketches, 3D models of backgrounds and items throughout the story, cover designs… they also have a section for translations and meanings of latin, chinese, roman, greek words/names/magic used in the story. they also have a section that explain japanese culture that helps you understand the puns, events, etc in the story.
And not to mention the story of Negima alone is very text heavy, so yeah, it’s one of those mangas you’d spend hours reading and be worth the money you spend on it.