Ranked #1717

Negima!?

Pretty much this is season 2 (Technically a remake actually) of the first but it starts out exactly where season 1 started, although much more dramatic. We get a tale about Negi’s father fighting a vampire and how rather epic that fight had been, only to cut into a little bit dramatization of when Negi is given the assignment to go teach in Japan. This is a rather large contrast where the beginning of Season 1 was him already on his way to the school and the rather funny time he would have there (not to mention the strange love spell Asuna was doing in the bathe). Even the little rodent that shows up partly through season 1 is in the first episode of season 2. I contribute the change to the fact that Shinbo was the director of this one. Yes, the guy that did Moon Phase, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Soultaker, Pani Poni Dash, and Madoka Magica.

We learn almost every 31 girls all at once, getting almost all of their personalities at once. It’s a bit of a mind blowing experience to have that happen, making me wonder just how we are supposed to remember their names. Konoka Konoe is played much the same way as how Hazuki was played in Moon Phase but slightly more strong. She does work hard to get what she wants. Many of the other characters feel one dimensional or just don’t stand out at all and I think it’s based on how many episodes are contributed to them. We see Asuna and Konoka all the time and so therefore we get more of a personalized look into how each other act were as many of the others we see only for a brief time or when we get to one of their episodes. Sometimes even with something that doesn’t even feel like its part of the story, sort of like Hetalia in that sense. Still, this show does get into more of them then the first series and makes them a little more loveable except for Asuna. I’m sorry but she comes off as way to stupid and off then in the first which makes me pull away from the show. If they had played her a little more straight, then she might have become a bit more loveable.

Another thing that makes this one different then the rest is that the first few episodes at least the first few episodes have a running plot that doesn’t really involve Asuna. It is all about the vampire girl and Negi. There are some side characters, but they don’t stand out as much as these two and the ‘epic fight’ that they are about to have. The thing with Asuna doesn’t happen until the third episode with a magical contract being created. I like how they didn’t wait until the very end for every girl to make a contract with Negi. And in the forth episode, he has another partner contract so it makes much more sense.

Lot of the jokes turned very old very fast and the story went really into a odd storylines that don’t seem to mesh all that well together, but it does come into a climax although how that climax actually works is kind of up in the air. Now, this has a way of doing something similar to what Persona did in that it gets to a point where the show ‘ends’ in the middle, then they have more character development and then the final ‘battle’ as it where. Unfortunately, this anime has more dinking around then character development and storyline.

The animation looks so much more like it was created as an OVA in the beginning with strange camera angles and high detailed lines. Even Negi who is just a young boy looks a little bit more adult and well defined then in season one. With a lot of the angles and such, it reminds me of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei in how dramatic they try to be and yet how funny they get. In fact, they even have the writing on the chalkboard changing every time we pan back to the board. I’m a bit surprised that they fixed Asuna’s eyes so they would have the same color. They do cop out of some times with just a single frame but it isn’t really that bad. It actually makes the dramatic parts even more dramatic. Unfortunately, it’s when the animation looks extremely poor and low budget that makes me feel sad that they had done such a thing. Characters end up losing their shape and seem to just become stretched out piles of wonky colors sometimes. They do tend to take different animation styles and have them done in rather interesting ways but it all feels flat when we get the poorer parts or doesn’t seem to fit. Just as any anime from Shinbo, they have naked women in the transformations. This doesn’t exactly bother me although in some places they do tend to go overboard in detail. It’s rather low detailed that it doesn’t become bothersome to me, I seen much worse…

The opening and ending remind me a lot like Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei so it’s really hard to look at the show differently then that show. Makes me wonder why this was dubbed and not Zetsubou. Many times though, the opening and ending seems to change at random. I give them a bit of props for this since it shows they had a lot of money for this, I just wish some of it would of gone for the main part of the show and the script.

I seriously think we don’t need the narrator voice, which makes things feel very cheesy (to the point I smack my head against the table at times). Something about trying to make this show overly dramatic just makes me want to hit my head against the wall. I watched the English dub of course so again, it was overly dramatic and bothersome. I’m not very sure if it would have been any better as the Japanese dub though.

In the end of watching it, it is rather interesting seeing a new take on a show that I watched. I would say watch it if you want a different kind of comedy then the first season. Even though the show is really strange and even more out of control then the first, it is a bit interesting.
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Negima!? is not to be confused with Mahou Sensei Negima!. They're part of the same universe, but are completely different stories. Negima!? is produced by SHAFT, and their crazy experimental presence is definitely noted in this show.

Story: Negima!? takes a completely different direction from its counterpart, deviating from the manga storyline. The first episode opens up with the final battle between the Thousand Master and Evangeline McDowell. Evangeline gets turned into a loli form and we then start the story with Negi Springfield. Negi starts his teaching career over at an all-girls school. The crazy mischief starts when it's revealed to his students that Negi is really a magician.

Note that this show is for comedic purposes, and should not be taken in serious comparison to the manga storyline. The plot paces itself fairly well and we get a lot of insight on the lesser known characters in each episode.

Art: SHAFT's strange art style is presented in the form of Negima!? The character designs are crisp, the art is fluid, and we get some colorful environments all around. Some of the characters look a tad bit different than their counterparts in Mahou Sensei Negima! but it still works in perfection.

Not to mention they make some excellent work of Asuna's hair.

Sound: The soundtrack of Negima!? is nothing too special. It has some nice quirky music during the episodes and transitions nicely when it gets to the 'dramatic' parts. What stands out the most is the OP of Negima!? The song is sung by the various voice actresses of all the students and has several different variations. Not to mention a full length song of the OP was in episode 19.

Character: Unlike the Mahou Sensei Negima! anime, Negima!? gives plenty of screen time to all the girls in the class. For such a large cast of characters, we get to see everyone participate in the anime. We also get introduced to some new characters in Shichimi and Motsu and a few others. From Shichimi's strange body contortions to Motsu's epic "...in a good way" line, this dynamic duo is probably the highlight of the characters.

Enjoyment/Overall: Some people hate this series because it's not part of the Mahou Sensei Negima! line or it's crap because SHAFT ruined everything, but I thoroughly enjoyed this series because it has its funny moments and because it's a different approach to an already on-going series.

Unfortunately, subs are nearly non-existant as Mahora Academy simply reduced subbing to one episode per 7 months after episode 20. Whatever the case, we're down to waiting for these slowpokes or for Funimation to release their DVDs. Hopefully they won't trash Negima!?'s dub... in a good way. read more