Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by michael_benavidez
Negima! Omnibus 1: Magister Negi Magi by Ken Akamatsu
5.0
Having read this vol. at least 4 or 5 times, it's hard not to look at this with a nod that says, "ohhhh that's where this was said," or "ohhhh that's what they did with this little factoid." But seeing as how I never really reviewed this series (as far as the Omnibus editions have gone on, at least) I am going to try and review it in that manner. I will try to put out everything I know about the series, and review it just as a first time reader. I may fail. Oh well :P
So a few things first:
Negima! Omnibus is the collection of three mangas in one.
Negima! (alongside [b:Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1|2487695|Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1 (Rosario+Vampire, #1)|Akihisa Ikeda|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388782030s/2487695.jpg|2494910]) is a guilty pleasure.
And now onto the review.
So this concept is simple. A ten year old prodigy wizard must become a teacher in order to become a Magister Magi. The catch? He is from Wales and must go to Japan, and he must teach at an all girls school. What could possibly go wrong?
As an introduction it works just well setting up the rather large roster of students that Negi must pay attention to, while also pushing the several main characters into the light and to become acquainted with them. The cast consists of 30+ students, making it rather difficult to keep track of which is which, but halfway through you see that there isn't much a problem anymore. They each come with a different personality, set of friends, skills, and their own manner of jokes.
The thing that caught my attention about Negima is that it's very self aware. It knows what kind of manga it is, often making remarks that break the fourth wall (such as an instance where a character says "wow he looks like he's from a different manga" and so on and so forth). Some characters even question the logic, as to how there are so many abnormal girls in one class or even how there is a robot as a student and no one really pays it any mind.
Another fun thing is, that for all the set ups for a the jokes or scenes that would normally set this up as a rather X-rated manga, it doesn't go there. This is more about the funny jokes and situations that are rather adult oriented but nothing in the way of going that extra mile to make sure it remains an adult audience.
As for plot, the first half of "episodes" focus on building on Negi's and Asuna's relationship while also slowly developing other characters in the background. These usually lead to embarrassing moments where someone loses their clothes, or a huge misunderstanding between characters.
The second half is where the plot begins and sets it's arrow straight ahead as to where they want this series to grow. It sets up the logic of the magical world, the ground rules basically, as well as questions that are going to need to be answered. It's in these areas that it become less of a perverted sitcom that it feels comfortable in, and more of an action oriented piece, showing precision with the fancy spells and the last minute strategic moments. But as of right now, it doesn't allow itself to become quite comfortable enough to give us that huge showdown that Negima feels like it wants to give us.
That's it for this volume. Unless I think of anything else...nope that's about it. Until next time!
So a few things first:
Negima! Omnibus is the collection of three mangas in one.
Negima! (alongside [b:Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1|2487695|Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1 (Rosario+Vampire, #1)|Akihisa Ikeda|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388782030s/2487695.jpg|2494910]) is a guilty pleasure.
And now onto the review.
So this concept is simple. A ten year old prodigy wizard must become a teacher in order to become a Magister Magi. The catch? He is from Wales and must go to Japan, and he must teach at an all girls school. What could possibly go wrong?
As an introduction it works just well setting up the rather large roster of students that Negi must pay attention to, while also pushing the several main characters into the light and to become acquainted with them. The cast consists of 30+ students, making it rather difficult to keep track of which is which, but halfway through you see that there isn't much a problem anymore. They each come with a different personality, set of friends, skills, and their own manner of jokes.
The thing that caught my attention about Negima is that it's very self aware. It knows what kind of manga it is, often making remarks that break the fourth wall (such as an instance where a character says "wow he looks like he's from a different manga" and so on and so forth). Some characters even question the logic, as to how there are so many abnormal girls in one class or even how there is a robot as a student and no one really pays it any mind.
Another fun thing is, that for all the set ups for a the jokes or scenes that would normally set this up as a rather X-rated manga, it doesn't go there. This is more about the funny jokes and situations that are rather adult oriented but nothing in the way of going that extra mile to make sure it remains an adult audience.
As for plot, the first half of "episodes" focus on building on Negi's and Asuna's relationship while also slowly developing other characters in the background. These usually lead to embarrassing moments where someone loses their clothes, or a huge misunderstanding between characters.
The second half is where the plot begins and sets it's arrow straight ahead as to where they want this series to grow. It sets up the logic of the magical world, the ground rules basically, as well as questions that are going to need to be answered. It's in these areas that it become less of a perverted sitcom that it feels comfortable in, and more of an action oriented piece, showing precision with the fancy spells and the last minute strategic moments. But as of right now, it doesn't allow itself to become quite comfortable enough to give us that huge showdown that Negima feels like it wants to give us.
That's it for this volume. Unless I think of anything else...nope that's about it. Until next time!