Review: Rurouni Kenshin

Ah, a favorite of mine. It's the story of a samurai who decides to stop killing but to continue helping the world. It's called a love story by the author but it doesn't really seem that way until the last couple chapters which seem kinda forced. Its definetely a comedy most of the time but you can't really see there being love between Kenshin and Kaoru.

Review:

Art: 8
-Perfectly fine. Its one of the few shounen manga that doesn't suffer from the Space Phenomenon (where lots of space is wasted or where pictures are huge to hide these but there is no point or detailed added). Character design is unique enough.

Character: 7
-It does have the stereotypical "useless" character and even a useless female: Kaoru. But they are seen often and used often that it just doesn't seem that terrible. In fact, it is usually the right hand man that seems to be getting weaker and weaker through the story, but Sano is constantly important. For that, RK gets a good score already. As for the enemies, they are unique enough and plenty of interesting ones you can like.

Story: 7
-The idea of helping the world without killing seems fairly unique. But once you get past the Kyoto Saga, the battles are a bit...predictable. However, there are a constantly new plot twists so the story doesn't seem terrible. It kinda feels all the same toward the end but it's still pretty good.

Scene: 8
-Scenes are set up appropriately. There are breaks between fights enough to allow people to get hyped up. Usually, there are never high intensity scenes though there WAS one moment that sticks out for me.

Overall: 8

Final Thoughts: A great manga, even for beginners. It is rated as older teen but I feel a 13 year old who doesn't mind some 'blood' will enjoy it just the same. I recommend this to anyone. It won't be super exciting but the story is fairly enjoyable to read. Great rereadable too.

Understanding Reviews

I love to enjoy manga and anime, I really do. But I critique them much like an english professor might a novel. I look for rising action, climax, and resolution. Manga doesn't have this of course for the most part so I have changed it to apply. Here is the basic idea and rubric for what I look for. this applies to only some manga so I might add other things.

Story:
-what's the objective Lead is going for
-is there progress to that?
-Are we interested in what's happening?
-Is there some sort of set up for future events?
-do we see an eventual conclusion?

Scene:
-Scenes should be interesting. Their intensity can be measured on a scale of 0-10. It should never reach 0 but it shouldn't reach 10 more than one or twice. There have to be times when it drops below 6 or 5. Why? There should only be a few moments that really excite us, so readers know what moments are REALLY important (seen through comparison). All scenes should be good and many scenes can be really good but we should be able to tell which are scenes that are meant to stick out (and be tense). If its a constant push for us to be excited, we'll run out of adrenaline and all scenes will seem the same to us. Breaks are necessary in the story. Think: harry potter is not always fighting! He is doing boring stuff too so we can see which parts are really important, like fighting Voldemort. Sometimes, the slow parts tell us the most about a character or story. Slow parts should be used as a supplement.*
-Is this conflict appropriate and advancing a plot or subplot? Or is it setting up a character?

Character:
-are the characters necessary?
-interesting or unique?
-any that stick out (good or bad)?

Art:
-does it look good and have effort put in it.
-computer created graphics is fine if it doesnt detract from over pictures.

Overall score (sometimes I compare it to other books of the genre or a precendent):
Overall score (all manga): Just my general feeling, not based on other ratings.

Final thoughts: general interest in the topic. Do I recommend it? To who? Worth reading? So and so.

*Since this a hard topic to grasp, here is more help if you DONT get it:
Scenes should start off slow but interesting (like 4 or 5 in intensity), through the introduction of a conflict, it picks up and is resolved. Really important scenes (usually related to main plot) will reach maybe a 9 or 10 which excites us and it clearly stands out. It is resolved (quickly, though might be dragged out appropriately) and next scene starts out low again. If all scenes are intense, there are no scenes that stick out and there is nothing truly interesting (even if every part interests us). We WILL get bored eventually because tensity can only last so long...and the scene is inappropriate.


Hopefully you will understand my reviews and not feel TOO offended when I rate your favorite manga or anime terrible. If I hate the manga, I will tell ya straight out (I judge manga I like a lot tough too!).

Attacking the 2 giants: Reviews on Bleach and Naruto AND Hunter X Hunter

So, the two most popular mangas are also the two most popular shounen manga of the day. They are Naruto and Bleach, the DBZ and YYH of the 2000's. In fact, that's what they are: replacements of two great shounen anime/manga from the 90's (and they match up perfectly. DBZ=Naruto, YYH=Bleach). Afterall, DBZ was #1 and YYH was #2 in the 90's.

Disclaimer: Now Naruto and Bleach are both fine manga and anime. If you do not agree with me on anything, just comment a logical argument, don't cuss or bring any point arguements in. I am willing to debate and I could clearly be wrong. In fact, I have so much respect that I gave them their own section on special abilities in my review!

Naruto Review:
Oh Naruto! I congradulate you greatly (Despite 'hating' you for a reason I will talk about later)! You BEAT DBZ in my eyes; you are better I feel.

Naruto is about a flamboyant ninja with a trouble past (like most) who wants to Hokage. A reasonable story except...he does nothing. He doesn't even gain any ranks (he isn't even a chunnin) and makes no effort to gain position. But can you blame him? Every time he does something, he is attacked by a new opponent. That is the fatal flaw of Naruto: the way the author progresses the series is always the same: throw Naruto into a new battle. The enemies are fairly unique but there is no character growth (no, no. There isn't. I know what you THINK is character growth, but that's not what I am talking about. I am not talking about interpersonal relationships, I am talking intrapersonal). He does not change from one battle to another, his motto is to follow the way of the ninja. He gains no experience from battle to battle (I am not talking techniques, I am talking that he does not change his ideals or refine them). Reason is: the battles have no meaning behind them. His ideology is never challenged: he can always gets get stronger and his motto (his way of the ninja) will always be true. His way of the ninja, if I recall, is just that persistance is strength. An enemy NEEDS to challenge that (even if Naruto ends up correct) sometime or there will be NO growth in Naruto. Of course this is only one way Naruto needs to grow. Pretty much, the only conflict is physical but the best manga have a deeper meaning behind them. Rurouni Kenshin: can he really change the world without removing those people who seem "unredeemable'; can he really cleanse himself and not revert to his old self; and can he change the nation without killing. YYH: Can Yusuke beat Sensui who shows that humans shouldn't be redeemed? Negima: Can Negi beat Chao is seems to be doing the right thing (she believes that if commiting an act that causes a few problems but prevents future and greater evil, that minor act should be commited).

Characters: 4
-Nothing interesting. All the stereotypical positions are filled. I'll give you another example! Worthless female role: Sakura (This is a modern thing, older shounen manga didn't have this). Entire rival/friend: Sasuke (Vegata, Griffith). Pervent teacher: Jiraya (DBZ has one, the turtle dude). Large breasted woman with powers: Tsunade. Also minor characters are pointless and get pointless enemies just to pretend the minor characters are important and getting stronger (though I do like one or two of them, but they will NEVER be important).

Story: 5
-Already mentioned but there is no progress to Naruto's goal. Apparently all he has to do is wait until all strong ninja challenge him and beat them down one by one. He doesn't even have to hunt them down anymore! Also, the number of characters dying is hilarious. He might become hokage by process of elimination.

Characters II: 4
-I don't feel anything when the characters die. Reason: I have no reason to. I have not connected to them for a long time. Some characters are interesting but it doesn't matter. The author is dependant on readers who just want to see explosion and are willing to close their eyes to story and good characterization. Honestly, the death of the characters is an overdone plot device. You want to know why they are dying? It's simple: author doesn't know what to do with them and can't improve them. She kills a main once or twice just to hide this, but I've seen this plenty enough to recognize this.

Scene: 6
-Another fault. Naruto is just intense situation after intense situation. Author needs to put some chapters where everything settles down and characters have a downtime. Also, there should only be a few super intense situations per 100 chapters, not a billion. Not all scenes have to be super intense, just interesting. Also, there is no cause or effect. You could mix up the plot and there would no problem. Chuunin exams could happen before the Haku saga and the Akatsuki problem could have been done after the Haku incident (barring obvious plot problems, but the point is that each saga doesn't cause the next).

Art: 7
-Fine for the most part.

DBZ comparision: 6
-People disliked DBZ for its long fight scenes. Naruto improved on this for the most part. Too bad the Sasuke vs Itachi fight was terrible. It was long, drawn out, and hard to follow. Otherwise, Naruto has a better story and some interesting characters. But that's it. In 10 years, another shounen manga will come and be the new 'cool'. It will probably improve on one element but be exactly the same as Naruto. Isn't Naruto's Kyuubi form just Naruto going super saiyan?

Bonus review: Special ability: Uh, the jutsus are unique and interesting for the most part. But too many kage bushins and that ball of air doesn't really do much for ya Naruto. Sasuke learns cool things. Whoever that smart kid with the shadow moves is...he is a GOOD character (Shiki or something) who makes use appropriately of his ability. His logic comes straight from another anime (a bit from HXH but there is another source) but its done uniquelly enough. Special ability to pretty good. Score: 7

Overall review in comparision to DBZ: 6-7
Overall review (in all manga sense): 5

Final thoughts: People need to see that Naruto isn't super or the best. But feel free to enjoy it, it is an interesting manga and anime. But don't become ignorant to the other great manga and anime. It seems to be an ok manga to reread if you really liked it the first time. Actually, in the anime, there are some pretty intense times: Chuunin exams are a great example.

Bleach Review:
Sorry Bleach, but you are being compared to YYH. In that manner, you fail :( though you are an acceptable manga.

Summary (words with paratheticals can be substituted for the italicized word)
The story follows Ichigo (Yusuke) who can see ghosts and helps ghosts. He is told by Rukia (Botan) that he is the new Grim Reaper (Spirit Detective) of Soul Society (Spirit World). He is aided by an ugly worthless muscle guy called Chad (Kuwabara),

Story: 1-2
-What story? I mean, YYH didn't have one but it was clear that Yusuke's only task was to solve cases even if he didn't have a goal in life. What's Ichigo doing? Sure, I skipped a few episodes in the beginning (I was bored) but I see him having no goal nor is he a real shinigami. He just floats through his life killing demons through a stereotypical manner. First he saves Rukia from the Soul Society and now he saves Orohime from the Mundo. Sounds like saving two damsels in distress while an excuse to explore new places. It would get a one (since I don't know what the main character wants) if I wasn't nice and looked for redeemable story qualities.Aizen's plot is kinda interesting but exactly the same the same as Akatsuki's. His team of Espada IS Akatsuki and the Ten Swords from RK. Think: there are 10 Espada (Which means swords). Shishio's group is called Ten Swords, coincidence? It gets a 2 because I am nice and feel the Aizen plot was good enough to save it from a dismal 1. If a reader wants to tell me what Bleach's story, please tell me.
Character: 6-7
-Uh, I'll be nice. Bleach makes up its lack of a point with some good characters. It has the stereotypical roles of course, like worthless minor characters. It has a useless female character (YYH didn't have this, so this is a loss for when I compare it to YYH later): Orohime. People tell me she IS useful because she has the mad haxxor ability of reversing time. Eh, no...That's just your silly attempt to justify the story, even you know she is pointless. Her ability isn't even interesting, and even though it could have potential(!) (in the right hands), it won't have use. Usually I hate wasted potential but I don't care since I know its just another attempt to make a minor character seem important. They do the same thing in Naruto by making them fight useless enemies. In Fact, Bleach does it too! Chad, the archer dude, and Orohime's battles all don't matter or interest me. Now, the good characters. Rukia is a nice character though she sucks too because she isn't super interesting. Pretty much, you can force yourself to love her or you can force yourself to analyze her and see that she isn't interesting. I do both: I agree with her lovers and her haters. But I pick her over Orohime, the dumb large breasted broad who isn't even attractive.

Characters II: Same Score
-Too many large breasted woman. That's Bleach's excuse for fan service. The women have no point (author acts like he/she isn't sexist by adding women but they don't have any point) and might seem strong but no one cares. And those generals in Soul Society? Boring and pointless. Ok, I will stop hacking characters and say positives now! Gein was a great character, though he might have been a better character if he WASN'T a bad guy who joins Aizen, you know, to throw off the ice midget general. But I guess its fine that he actually is a bad guy, though he doesn't do enough. That Ice Midget (Hitsuguaya or whatever) is cool too but he should be beating the Espada with more ease. I don't like overpowered characters that don't have to struggle but the Espada don't feel important to be strong. Aizen is an interesting character (he should have kept the glasses and hair do) but I knew he was going to be bad from spoilers. Uh, he should make his move soon (he did I know, but...do something maybe himself?). Yorichi (the black cat that becomes a purple haired lady) was cool...AS A CAT! She disappoints me as a female and as a character. She and Rukia redeems the females in the manga but the cat and her should have been different characters. Oh yea, that hat dude that didn't come? The one who trained Ichigo and acts like a pimp. He is cool, funny, and perhaps the best character. But I liked the original character from a series I no longer remember. Same character design, personality, similar backstory (makes a mistake that causes a main character be targetted) but was a bit more interesting. I also like that Shiny Head from the violent team (13th?) though he has disappointed me with his pointless battles and disappearance of his personality. The pink haired lieutanent (same team) also was interesting and funny but really serves no purpose anymore. Back to attacking characters: Espada. WHY! No one WANTS Bleach to go on forever. It would have been better had Gein, Blindy, and Aizen been the only enemies. Of course, Gein will redeem himself (predictable but I want that to happen, since that makes sense character wise and in a literary sense). Actually, Gein might not redeem himself and die a villain (because the author might go that way) and that will be a BAD idea. Unless something happens otherwise, that will be a really bad idea.

Scene: from 6-7 to almost zero.
In the words of slowpoke (4chan reference) "Hey guys, what's up?". The answer is: Fighting. ALWAYS FIGHTING. What for? Who knows. In fact, its been WAY too long since there HASN'T been a fight that I don't remember what Aizen is doing! Too many fight scenes and too much force to be intense. There needs to be more breaks to give readers a break. If there is change in mood, we can't tell which parts should be interesting and tense and which one are just cool. Its been one long fight scene for too long...

Art: 4
-Cool be worked on. This a problem with Naruto too: Too much wasted space. Author wastes so much space and drags things out. Look at Negima! So much story jammed into one page, now that's good story telling!


Comparison to YYH: 3
I get it that Yusuke had no goal or overall challenge. But he kinda did against Sensui which challenges humanity. Bleach has no such thing. For the most part, YYH is the same as Bleach in terms of...well, everything. The generals of Bleach are just minor characters that fans liked and are being dragged back...just like the opponents in the Dark Tournmanet (Rinku, Chu, etc). Vizens or arrancarr are ripped off: Yusuke is resurrected like a demon too (Ichigo just as a hollow). By combining human and demon (or human and hollow), you are stronger. Too bad YYH doesn't follow the stereotypical shounen too much: most characters (even Kuwabara kinda, he was funny too) has a point. But Bleach has no useful characters and has the newly stereotypical useless female ( and Chad doesn't have the charm or humor of Kuwabara). There is nothing to say...Yu Yu Hakusho was more interesting and Bleach has only hooked me a few times.

Bonus review: Special ability: A sword that is unique and has a close connection to its wielder. Done before but I like the idea. Too bad the abilities of the sword usually stink. Bleach should steal some from Negima, the artifacts there are REALLY good and unique. Bankai's are even worse, especially Ichigo's. Speed...great >.> No body carries. That guy with the bankai that breaks his sword is interesting and that Raiki (whatever his name is: close friend of Rukia) has an ok one with the snake sword. There is potential but they NEED to reach for it. Score: 5. GO FOR THE GOLD!

Overall review (YYH as comparision): 2-4
Overall review: 2-4

Final thoughts: Eh, I'd pick Naruto over Bleach. There is no point in watching/ reading Bleach other than for Gein and occasionally Rukia. The other interesting characters have disappointed me (Ice Midget hasn't quite but he shouldn't struggle against nobodies). Feel free to enjoy it if you honestly see something good in it. It is a humorous story time to time. I think it has really low rereadability. I always wondered that..You die in 'Human World' and you go to Soul Society.. You die in Soul Society and you die again?

Final Thoughts on Modern Shounen: Naruto and Bleach are part of the eerie new stereotypical shounen. They improve a little bit on their predesscor but fail short in other ways. Naruto would be the better of the two except:

Hunter X Hunter:
Naruto stole so much from this series. This by the same author of YYH so it doesn't fall into the modern shounen stereotypes though it has weaknesses. But in comparision to Naruto:
-One of the main character is out for revenge since someone killed his entire clan but him(who have red eyes that look like the sharigan).
-The hunter exam is EXACTLY the same as the chunnin exam but more interesting (Hunter X Hunter came before Naruto)
-main character wants to be the best hunter (ninja anybody?) in the world
-same age as naruto before time jump
-the fact that everyone has an element they are closely related to (Narut0 is wind) and they way to test for it is EXACTLY the same. One uses water and a leaf and other a paper (which changes the same way the leaf does).

So, Naruto loses to Hunter X Hunter. Now just for a review of that too.

Review:

I'll do this quickly. Kid goes through a test to become a hunter and to find his father who was the best hunter (just like Naruto's dad was a Hokage, the strongest ninja). He meets 3 unique people and he passes easily. The story is great and progressive until the newest saga: the ant saga (which has a shameless ripoff of Cell).

Art: 2-4
-Terrible but the author isn't feeling great and he's lazy. But it's not terrible all the time.

Story: 5-6
-There is a main point and there is a good cycle so that we are not always hyped up. By taking breaks from the fighting, we are ready to be excited when the next great moment arrives. This is the CORRECT way to make shounen: not all scenes should be super tense or readers have nothing to compare it to and get bored. HXH just doesn't make fast enough progress and current saga is too slow and pointless. Also, there are many missing subplots. Example: Looking for the father, where is lighting midget (he's a main character, I just don't remember his name)'s brother, and what is the rest of the hunter exam?

Character: 6-7
The characters are fine and unique. Too bad two main ones have been gone for too long. There is only one stereotype: strongest ally is some old dude who doesn't look it. Jin (I think that's his name) is a fine character and his friend (Ko- I forget) is kinda like Hiei but his ability and backstory is unique so its just character design. He is characterized appropriately. There is a gay clown that I keep telling myself that he is NOT a gay clown. It works occasionally. He is also interesting. There is a main bad guy group (like espada, ten swords, and akatsuki) which is made of 10 members i believe. They are fairly unique and have redeeming qualities. Not 2-D like espada (only grimmjaw was good, rest was made up crap). Akatsuki is a good comparision but the main bad guys (Phantom Bridge I believe) seem to be good and cool sometimes too!

Scene: 8-9
Very good! Not only is the story and characters unique, scenes are set up correctly (I mentioned this under story). Also, there are lots of plot twists (gah, I switched story and scenes it would seem). Example: the head of the bad guys (looks like Sensui) is actually attacked 2nd and pretty much defeated! Now taht's a good story twist. Its a great story.


Overall (versus other shounen): 9
Overall (against all manga/anime): 8

Final thoughts: I would recommend this over all the other shounen manga (though Negima is slightly better). I can't imagine it has high rereadability since it's those surprise twists and turns that made it good. If you know waht they are, it can't be super amazing.


END THOUGHTS FOR ALL: Bleach and Naruto are overrated and aren't really improvement of the predesscor. They are fine and I was being overly critical on purpose (there is plenty I like in both) Hunter X Hunter should be more popular though the current saga sucks. Hunter X Hunter is one of the better shounen manga.

Review: Negima

You can probably guess my opinion on it, but I LOVE NEGIMA! But I will be unbiased in my review.

It follows a 10 year mage who wants to find and be like his father who did great things around the world, such as stopping a bloody war in the magic world. It's set in the modern times so there are guns, atomic bombs, and high tech robots. However, it has old school swords and ninja skills making it a complex environment. If you want a summary, read my two other posts on it.

Review:

Characters: 9
-every character is unique and uniquely designed. You will find something that you like in every character. Every character is important so you will be sure to see your favorite character appear plenty of times, no matter how minor.

Story: 10
-the highlight of Negima is its story that gets better and better. Though its generic in its setup (finding his father), it gets quite unique and interesting as it goes on. Pactio cards are interesting and unique.

Art: 10
-lovely and detailed. Even backgrounds are amazing. Only problem is the excessive fan service.

Scenes: 8
-every scene has a point: whether improving a characterization, advance the main plot, foreshadow future roles or events, or advance a subplot. The scenes have the usually literary process: slow intesity part that sets up conflict, more and more interesting conflict, high intensity climax (usually amazing action scenes that trump even Naruto, Bleach, YYH, etc), and then refreshing and satisfying resolution which lets us breath again. Sometimes the break between major sagas is too long for me (I love the action) but that can be a necessity sometimes, though its usually comedic effect or to prevent us from dying of anxiousness while Ken takes a break.

Overall Score: 9

Final thoughts: I would recommend this series to anyone, even a beginner to manga. If they can just handle the fan service and slow beginning (which is long), they will get to the very interesting sagas. It has very high rereadability as there is always something new to notice. I've reread it a billion times and the fights never bore you.

Review: Ichigo 100%

I already ranted about its ending but here is the review of the manga as a whole.

A harem manga that is consistently interesting and funny. It has acceptable art and the fan service isn't overdone and done effectively. It's story is quite generic but the main character, Manaka, has a goal: to be a great director! So the story follows his progress through high school, though hounded by females who want to be with him (it's a harem after all). Aya is clearly set up to be the one he falls for but the ending will surprise you. The girls are interesting and you grow fond of them. One or two seem added pointlessly but they don't detract too much from the story. The story might drag on a bit too long but it's humor and story makes it bearable. My only problem is the ending.

Review:
Character: 7.
-Interesting and each is unique. You grow attached to some of them and sympathize with them. Only problem is that some characters are unnecessary and some added so late in the series that their treatment is bad. Surprisingly, I should give this a lower rating as there are some very stereotypical positions seen here (childhood friend, the brains, the beauty, etc) but they are not terriblely stereotypical to detract.

Story: 6.
-Tad generic as its a harem. But the main character's goal makes it something worth following. Ending is definetely unique but might have been done JUST to be unique (since it doesn't fit the plot) or to satisfy ravenous fans. A story cannot change just to satisfy idiots who don't know anything about literary works.

Art: 9
-Great but Manaka's character design could be a bit better. But it's unique!

Scene: 4 or 5
-Every story is made up of scenes. The intensity or interest of most scenes is low though it raises up occasionally. Nothing that hooks you and forces you to read on. I feel humor falls here too, so the humor actually raises the partial score to at least a 6.

Overall score: 8 (including ending)
(excludng ending):9

Those who want a happy ending, STOP immediately after Aya confesses around 166 or wherever and search online to Aya's end online. There is a youtube video too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCqNbpOgg1I&feature=channel_page

Final thoughts: A great series. If you can handle harem, go for it. Even if you can't its not terrible and you can definetely survive. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it but its a great read (other than the ending). I am unsure what's rereadability but I definetely feel willing to reread it.

Specifics Of Reading Negima

First read my post called "Everything You Need To Know About Negima", that should give you general information about it. But of course, it is limited and might not interest you enough. Here, I tell you more about this great manga but with specifics (most spoilers will be excluded).

Negima has originality. Here is my proof:
1. Shounen manga have useless characters, usually the female lead. Examples include Naruto, Bleach, and Rurouni Kenshin. Negima is a shounen title but it does not have any usless characters. Negima in the first chapter introduces 38 characters (one of them actually doesn't matter at all until much later), but don't let that daunt you. You are introduced each one slowly and detailed. Negi's class has 31 girls but each one is unique and interesting (full backstory too!). Their art design is good but it gets better. Future characters are also detailed and interesting. In fact, every character you see, however minor, is actually more important you think. A random teacher might appear later on and be an ally against a magical foe.
-Now for the shounen piece. The female lead (here come the spoilers...) is clearly Asuna. However she is tough and important. She constants takes part and gets stronger as the story goes. Other characters who join in helping Negi also are important and are not useless.

2. Pactio Cards. Magicians cannot cast spells if they are being beaten up using melee attacks. So they have a helper protect them. However, that defender can have their abilities boosted via magic and even given a special tool called an artifact. Each artifact is unique (and interesting) and has a special ability (example: the ability to draw something and have it come to life). To get these benefits, you must create a contract with the magic. This contract is called a pactio which is done by kissing (there might be another method) the mage in a magical circle. The proof of this contract is card. This system is very unique (I don't think any other story has thought of this) and many people have made pactio cards for other animes. Type in pactio cards in Google and you will get Naruto Pactio cards, etc. One of the great interests of this story is What If So-So got a card, what would their ability and artifact be?

3. Unique Shounen Set-up. I already talked about this in my last post. Most shounen have a stereotypical plot system: opponent, beat them, new opponent (stronger), beat them, etc. Sometimes that opponent is the main bad guy who controlled the prior enemy. This continues with some random chapters that might connect sagas together. Negima is a bit more unique with Negi actively trying to find his father, and this causes him to be in situations where danger appears. Think of Naruto: He wants to be Hokage. He doesn't really do anything to get this goal: he is just constantly being attacked or fighting. After each opponent, he doesn't review what happened and try to change himself to acheive his goal. You can find exceptions of course but they aren't amazing exceptions. The fact he learned a new technique isn't what I mean by he learned something.

4. The Story. Wow, I'm impressed. Negima seems to be just a manga form of Harry Potter at first and many manga have the main objective being the main character finding their father (Hunter X Hunter). But Ken Akamatsu does it better and with a new spin. We get a lot of backstory about the famous Nagi. He fought in a war where both sides were under the control of a certain organization whose goal was the destruction of the world (though there are reasons to believe this isn't their real goal). Nagi beats this organization with his companions and then goes wandering, trying to fix up the hundreds of problems that were left with the war's conclusion. He disappears for some reason. Of course, many of Nagi's enemies have now targeted Negi. This is of course without specifics so you shouldn't feel too impressed. But when you read it and get the specifics, you will be amazed at its intensity. Negi constantly pushes forward though and is willing to get himself 'dirty' to find the answer. SPOILER: He even uses dark magic so that he can defeat his opponent, despite that being the opposite of what his father would do.

5. Negi isn't the strongest man alive. There is nothing to say other than that. Shounen or not, he becomes stronger but he will not destroy the world with his awesome power that comes out when he is angry or his friends are in danger. There are people who are stronger and even more badass than him. These badass characters are what make Negima great.

6. Art. BEAUTIFUL! Well done and very detailed.

7. Humor, hints, and rereadability. Akamatsu drops little hints here and there and indirect mentions to things. There have been mentions to a main bad guy since the very early 50's (chapters, not the years) but only now is it being developed. There is constant foreshadowing and so a close eye and imagination is required to see these things before they happen. So rereading Negima to pick up things you missed is very easy to do and lots of fun. Sometimes, humorous comments are written next to bubbles or funny things in the background. Everytime you read Negima, you see something new or interesting.

8. Great characters. You will love at least one character by the end, no matter what. In fact, you will probably love at least 10! Even the characters you hate don't seem so terrible. I didn't like Yue, Chachamaru, or Hakase but I have come to accept and like them now.

9. Plot twists. As this post comes to an end, I fill tell you what I love about Negima the most: The twists and turns of the story. No, I don't mean "Oh my god, the real killer was the butler, not the maid we thought it was for 99% of the story". The plot twists are clearly visible throughout the story and perhaps just suspenseful events. Example (spoiler!): When we find out that Chao plans to reveal magic and seems like a megalomaniac, we are surprised but the suspense comes through her actions that shock and amaze us as she gets closer and closer to her goal. She literally is able to defeat everyone to get her goal.

So with that, Negima should be an interesting title and one you SHOULD read. It has something for everyone, just swallow your doubt and push through until you find something you love. If by the end of the school festival (that is around chapter 167 or so), you don't find something you like, you can say Ken failed you. But if you did find something during that time, you can bet it WILL show up again and you should still try to follow the story from time to time. It IS good, it just doesn't shock and amaze immediately. Turns out: Ken wanted it to be shounen from the beginning but his advisors wanted to keep the harem audience and made him start it like a harem before getting serious (which he gradually gets into and beautifully).

Dang, I do alot of analysis about Negima, huh? Here is a fun fact: I have editted wikipedia over 20 times about Negima. If you look up Negima on wikipedia, it will have a section chronicling the sagas of the Negima manga. I made that! Of course, some fans broke down the sagas (the current magic world saga only) into mini sagas which I dont agree with completely because its not possible yet without seeing the greater scheme of it. I might make a post with the correct sagas later (from a literary standpoint) since most fans don't see things as Rising action, climax, and falling action like I do.

Everything You Need To Know About Negima

So you've heard about Negima or you have fallen upon this topic somehow or another. But you aren't sure if you want to read it or to continue it. Well read on to find on why you SHOULD read on or pick this up. You do not need to read the whole post, just enough to get you interested. Even if I fail to interest you, I would recommend you read at least until the end of the kyoto saga before banishing this manga (but keep in mind, it gets better and better).

Negima or Mahou Sensei Negima (shortened to MSN) or Magister Negi Magi is a manga created by the famous Ken Akamatsu (creator of Love Hina). It chronicles a ten year old Welsh mage who has one goal in his life: to become like his father, a Magister Magi. He just graduated at the top of his class and now has one final task before full graduation: to be a teacher in Japan at an all-girl's school. Quite strange no? He also can't let them find out he is a mage.

The story starts off like a romantic comedy or even a harem. A harem is a romantic comedy where one male is surrounded by females who all want to date him. It's quite easy to see why Negima seems like this. However, it is not so. The main point of this story is NOT who will get with Negi, it is still about him trying to be like his father. To be more specific, we find out his father, Nagi Springfield, has gone missing for over ten years and it's Negi's goal to find him.

One thing you will notice is that Negima has a lot of fan service (nudity to be more specific) but it's used appropriately most of the time. If you like fan service, rejoice! This is the manga for you! If not, it steadily decreases though it will still appear from time to time.

The plot, without going into specifics, goes much like this: Negi attempts to teach his class so that he can pass as a mage. However he has trouble constantly hounding him. First, he is found out to be a mage by Asuna who does not like him one bit. She easily could expose him and not only would he fail, he would be transformed into an ermine. Next, a vampire attacks him because Nagi, his father, sealed her powers away. Only by drinking all of Negi's blood can she be freed from it. Slowly though, Negi falls upon hints of where his father might be. He even goes on a class field trip to see his house. However, a magical organization quickly intervenes, trying to capture a student who has a lot of magic ability. They believe she can allow them to be gain power and influence in the area.

This is when Negima gets good and loses its harem characteristics. Action and adventure starts to show up though this saga (the Kyoto Saga I have named it) is still funny and humorous. But Negima starts to be a shounen title. A turning point of Negima is chapter 45 when the mood gets tense and Negi fights against Fate Averruncus, a very powerful Western mage.

Sure, chapter 45 isn't an amazing chapter when you compare it to other shounen titles like Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter X Hunter, or Naruto. But it's very interesting for Negima and is a stepping stone to deeper and darker themes. In fact, the very next saga has a very dark story: the history of Negi's village which is destroyed by demons.

After Kyoto Saga, Negima follows a predictable pattern (but this is a good thing and most masterful writers do it): Set up (of the conflict), tense and amazing action and conflict, and relaxment. Set up means training or introduction of the scene. In the School Festival saga, this when we have those chapters where Chao is fully introduced and we see her being pursued by magical people. The Action section is the shounen part of it: the fights and conflict between antagonist and Negi and his group. An example is in the Vampire Saga, where Negi must somehow persuade the vampire to stop hunting him or otherwise defeat her. The Relaxation section is simple: The conflict is over and we have 'filler' which is very important. It shows character growth or gives better characterization of characters we haven't truly met. It's also personal analysis for Negi to see what his next step is and what to do next. Sure, there is no fighting but there is a lot of planning before the next step. This isn't Naruto where people just keep coming and coming; there needs to be steps to acheiving our goals. Most relaxation sections overlap with the set up for the next saga.

Ugh, I should congradulate myself: I effectively detailed Negima without giving away anything! The reason is simple: Negima is actually a great story. Sure, it has great art and great fights but it has a very good literary impact: good characters and coherence. If someone wrote this not as a manga but as a novel, it would still be good.

Hopefully you are willing to try Negima now. Sure I didn't show you anything interesting but I will tell you one thing: the surprising and plot twists are what makes this amazing! If you have patience and enjoy the little things (even the stuff you hate at the beginning), you will get to the amazing parts soon enough.


There! If you want more information about Negima (it WILL have spoilers but won't be too much, just enough to excite you for sure), I will have another post coming up where it talks about the specifics.

Question: Why isn't Negima super famous if it's so great apparently?
I heard this question alot when I tell people of how great Negima is. It's simple: all the anime adaptations failed. If there was an anime company that did the Kyoto Saga appropriately, there would be a larger fan base. But if there was a company that animated the School Festival (one of the best sagas I have EVER read in manga), Negima would challenge Naruto and Bleach for the most popular anime (at least for these years).