Mahou Sensei Negima!: Introduction Film

These introduction films were supposedly made previous to the series, but i'm not sure if it should actually be watched as introductory episodes to the series itself or as a wrap up of the characters once you're done with the series.

It consists, mostly, of the replay of multiple situations that took place in Mahou Sensei Negima! (the real TV series). There is some extra footage and pictures that weren't displayed neither on the OVAs nor on the series, some of them being very ecchi. Some background music is played and the sound effects and character voices are well employed. Art is basically the same as ... the series itself; just alright, lacking details and shadows. It does expand the viewer's knowledge of each character, individually.

Again, i'm not sure whether this should be seen before or after the series. If you watch these introductory films before, you'll know what will happen in some scenes of the anime, but you'll have better and more expanded knowledge of the characters while watching it; if you watch these introductory films afterwards, it'll serve as a wrap-up to the events that took place in the anime, and it will explain better the way of acting of each character.

One thing I'm certain of is that if you're going to watch the TV series, these should be seen as well, either before or after; you'll enjoy them.

Esta review también está en español.

Everything you need to know about this OVAS is right in the title: Introduction Film is a presentation for the 31 females in Mahou Sensei Negima, in preparation for the anime that was about to premiere at that time, back in 2005 (Mahou Sensei Negima, the first animated series).

Introduction Film has three episodes. Each presents a simple situation that serves as a plot, and then the girls are introduced. The presentation is just the names, occupied seat in class, blood type (serious business in Japan), and likes and dislikes. Throughout the montage will see several photos and fragments of the ... (in that time) future anime (or not... some footage is not used after all), plus some ecchi moments. As a brief summary:
In the first episode, Negi Springfield, a welsh 10 years old wizard, is assigned to teach english in the 2-A course of Mahora Academy (where all the students are girls). In this chapter are introduced Asuna, Makie, Yue, Kaede and Fu Fei, five girls better known as the Baka Ranger (cause they are terrible students). The class rep, Ayaka, is also introduced in this ep.

In the second episode, Negi makes a love potion and gives it to Asuna, so she can use it to attract the attention of Takahata, her former teacher. Konoka, Nodoka, Sakurako, Misa, Madoka and Asakura are introduced here.

The third and last ep is about Negi and the Narutaki sisters (the loli twins of the class) exploring the Mahora campus (which is insanely big). That's a pretty good excuse to introduce the remaining 19 girls.

Visually, in an amusing (or sad) turn of events, this OVAS are better than the TV series (which is kind of weird, since the former promotes the later). The difference is not that much, since neither of the production are brilliant (actually, the animation and the drawings are pretty average), but here, the character designs is more faithful to the original source (the manga).

The sound is not bad, no opening, nor ending, but the background music is ok, and the seiyus did a nice job.

So, that's it. If you have heard about Mahou Sensei Negima, and don't know if you want to spend your time on it, try this OVAS. If the characters or the premise of this videos interest you, then, rather than the anime, I recommend the manga. The anime is not necessarily bad, but the manga is longer, cooler, and smarter.
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Todo lo que se necesite saber sobre estos OVAS esta en el titulo: Introduction Film es, justamente, una introducción para las 31 chicas de Mahou Sensei Negima, a modo de preparación para el anime que estaba a punto de estrenarse por ese entonces (Mahou Sensei Negima, la primera serie animada).

Introducción cuenta con tres capítulos. Cada uno plantea una situación simple que sirve a modo de “trama”, y a lo largo se presenta a las chicas. La presentación es, simplemente, nombre, asiento ocupado en clase, tipo de sangre (cosa muy seria en Japón) y lo que les gusta y no les gusta. A lo largo del montaje se van viendo varias fotos, y fragmentos del futuro anime (O no... porque hay partes que después no aparecen), además de una cantidad de ecchi que por momentos es criminal. A modo de breve resumen:
En el primero, Negi Springfield, de 10 años (o 9 años... el autor no fue muy claro al respecto) es asignado para dar clases en el curso 2-A de la academia Mahora (donde son todas chicas). En este capítulo, se presenta a Asuna, Makie, Ku Fei, Kaede y a Yue, mejor conocidas como las “Baka Rangers” (por que en la escuela no pegan una). También se introduce a Ayaka, la representante de la clase.

En el segundo capítulo Negi hace una poción de amor y se la da a Asuna, para que pueda atraer la atención de Takahata, su profesor anterior. Se introduce a Konoka, Nodoka, Sakurako, Misa, Madoka y a Asakura.

En el tercer capítulo vemos a Negi recorriendo las instalaciones de Mahora (que es monstruosamente grande), acompañado por las gemelas Narutaki. Es la excusa excelente para presentar a las 19 chicas restantes.

La animación es, de forma insólita, mejor que la serie que promociona. La diferencia no es mucha, dado que en ninguna de las dos producciones es brillante a nivel visual (la verdad, es bastante mediocre), pero en Introduccion el diseño de personajes es más fiel al original.

El sonido no está mal, no hay opening, ni ending, ni música en general, pero las seiyus hacen bien su trabajo.

Bueno, eso es básicamente todo. Así que, si alguna vez escucharon hablar de Mahou Sensei Negima, y no saben si largarse a verlo o no, pueden probar con esto. Si los personajes o la premisa de estos videos les llama la atención, entonces, más que el anime que promociona, recomiendo que lean el manga. El anime no es malo necesariamente, pero el manga abarca mucho más, muestra mucho más, y pasan muchas más cosas.