Negima!? TV (Generic Discussion)

[bluemist]

Personally I don't usually like the idea of some Negima Alternative in the same way that I absolutely hate crappy fillers in manga-based anime series. But seeing some 'tried and tested' production hands here (SHAFT, Akiyuki Shinbo), I would try to appreciate it.

Ever since the first Negima anime failed me I never furthered any interest in the series anymore. Never even bothered to be excited about this new anime too much (or maybe I'm too excited about some other anime... ~uguu~) Hopefully this should spark my interest again.

[Srin Tuar]

Originally Posted by bluemist

Ever since the first Negima anime failed me I never furthered any interest in the series anymore. Never even bothered to be excited about this new anime too much (or maybe I'm too excited about some other anime... ~uguu~) Hopefully this should spark my interest again.

I really didnt mind the animation problems of the previes episodes so much.
What really bothered me was when it got into the goofy time travel stuff, and all the silly
side plots which didnt seem to have any meaning or make any sense.

I also didnt care for how it ended, or the crazy curse thing.

I'll watch, but I'm hoping for something different this time....

[TnAdct1]

Originally Posted by Srin Tuar

Hrm, the masic story seems the same as the first series...

It also seems vulnerable to the same problem as the first series: attention spread too thinly between was too many characters.

This seems to mainly be a remake...

Yes, this is an obvious retelling of Negima. However, the huge difference is the style of the show (and how it can affect the characters). You see, whereas Xebec version focused on the harem aspect (and the 31 students), it appears that SHAFT version will focus on the fantasy aspect. From all the promotion that been going on for this show, you can definitely expect main roles for Negi, his first four Ministra Magi in the manga (*has mouth covered before mentioning Nodoka's Pactio*), and Evangeline. While I can also expect some involvement from Negi's other Ministra Magi in the manga (especially Yue), the fighters, Ayaka, and Makie, I have a feeling that the rest of the cast will be "fodder characters" that are either in the backgroud or in comical bits that appear at the end of the episodes.

BTW, one word of advice to whoever decides to do the fansub of Negima!?: since it is appears that the new series follow Pani Poni Dash’s tradition of including references in either signs or what’s written on the blackboard, I highly suggest following in the same footsteps that gg Fansubs did when they fansubbed PPD and provide a .pdf file that explains all the blackboard and sign jokes that may appear in the new Negima anime.

[chrno_the_sinner]

I was pretty pleased with this. I'm a huge fan of what they've released of the manga and this looked really good. Much better than the lack of shading that the first Negima anime did. Hopefully Nodoka will stay the same as in the manga (she's currently my favourite girl) and they'll cover the Kyoto arc and the festival arc (with the fighting tournament).

[Kaoru Chujo]

In pumping up SHINBOU Akiyuki, I forgot to mention his earlier, and what I think may be his best anime: Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, a three-part OVA from 2004 that is a psycho-horror (?) art piece. (For any French-speakers, I hasten to add that the misspelling of "Petite" bothers me, too.)

[Nvis]

Would someone(namely me) who just got into this need to watch the previous series to understand the story?

[Kikaifan]

As they said, it's a remake. You should be good to go.

Originally Posted by TnAdct1

it appears that SHAFT version will focus on the fantasy aspect.

Awesome. Can never get enough fantasy anime.

[Vexx]

Skip the first series completely unless you're just an avid historian of how stories change as they are retold. You might even want to skip the manga until the new series is over because the content is "parallel universe" ... same characters, many of the same things happen, but the feel is different and the event flow doesn't match up.

[panzerfan]

I agree with Vexx. I personally like to see it as a retelling of Negima and so far, it's moving very fast. This could get interesting pretty quickly.

[wao]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

In pumping up SHINBOU Akiyuki, I forgot to mention his earlier, and what I think may be his best anime: Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, a three-part OVA from 2004 that is a psycho-horror (?) art piece. (For any French-speakers, I hasten to add that the misspelling of "Petite" bothers me, too.)

If you want to talk about Akiyuki Shinbou, a must would probably be his attraction to stained-glass panelled churches and vampires/death/gothic things like that. I caved in and saw the avant-title section for episode 1 because I heard one of the Yoshinari brothers animated it (but it wasn't as good as their previous stuff if one of them really did it), and the church scene made me chuckle because it brought me back immediately to one of Shinbou's most definitive pieces, Soul Taker episode 1. To put it simply, everything comes in from everywhere in a bewilderingly fast-pased fashion but it doesn't feel weird; and the deep shadows and colours are everywhere. I wish he did more like that, even anything like Petit(e) Cossette. No point hoping though.

I believe he has also done a few eps of Yu Yu Hakusho where you can see his style emerging, but I've yet to watch those.

[eggplant]

When I first saw Negima!? airing on TV Tokyo, I noticed that some of the original text looked liked it was cut off, just like some of the TBS anime titles.

I saw the show on BS Japan (TV Tokyo's satellite station) today, and it was just as I thought it would be.
Negima!? is produced with an aspect ration of 16:9, but aired on TV Tokyo as 4:3, with both horizontal sides cropped off. On BS Japan, it is aired in 16:9.

Here are some screenshots I took for comparison, left picture is TV Tokyo (4:3), right is BS Japan (16:9)






I would advise fansubbers to use the BS Japan raws, despite the difficulty in obtaining it, as it looks much better.

Also, since I always wondered how Negi's spells would look in closed caption, I found my answer:

[Shiroth]

I came across a bunch of screenshots from the first episode on another forum, might just have to post them.

Anyway, the first episode was indeed full of win-win. A few changes here & there (the class-room for one), though the fact that each student is still in the same sitting order as the original series makes it all feel better. From just that in mind it looks as if they're planning to keep the character relationships the same as the original.

& yes, the Baka rangers are back. <3

[Sian]

hehe ... zazie is interested in anything but what the rest of the class is talking about ... i counted at least 3 diffent kinds of skill based play

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by eggplant

When I first saw Negima!? airing on TV Tokyo, I noticed that some of the original text looked liked it was cut off, just like some of the TBS anime titles.

I saw the show on BS Japan (TV Tokyo's satellite station) today, and it was just as I thought it would be.
Negima!? is produced with an aspect ration of 16:9, but aired on TV Tokyo as 4:3, with both horizontal sides cropped off. On BS Japan, it is aired in 16:9.

Here are some screenshots I took for comparison, left picture is TV Tokyo (4:3), right is BS Japan (16:9)






I would advise fansubbers to use the BS Japan raws, despite the difficulty in obtaining it, as it looks much better.

Also, since I always wondered how Negi's spells would look in closed caption, I found my answer:

Wow, I hope the fansubbers notice the difference before they waste a lot of labor.

[TnAdct1]

Originally Posted by eggplant

When I first saw Negima!? airing on TV Tokyo, I noticed that some of the original text looked liked it was cut off, just like some of the TBS anime titles.

I saw the show on BS Japan (TV Tokyo's satellite station) today, and it was just as I thought it would be.
Negima!? is produced with an aspect ration of 16:9, but aired on TV Tokyo as 4:3, with both horizontal sides cropped off. On BS Japan, it is aired in 16:9.

Here are some screenshots I took for comparison, left picture is TV Tokyo (4:3), right is BS Japan (16:9)






I would advise fansubbers to use the BS Japan raws, despite the difficulty in obtaining it, as it looks much better.

One more comparison picture that I think you should have included: the picture of the Baka Rangers, as I read on AQS that the 4:3 version has Makie missing from the group shot.

[Jinsoo]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Wow, I hope the fansubbers notice the difference before they waste a lot of labor.

Thank god we didn't start timing or typesetting yet. Man that chalkboard makes us angry D:<

[eggplant]

Originally Posted by TnAdct1

One more comparison picture that I think you should have included: the picture of the Baka Rangers, as I read on AQS that the 4:3 version has Makie missing from the group shot.

Ah, as you wish (I skipped the trimming of the borders for the sake of brevity).

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by eggplant

Ah, as you wish (I skipped the trimming of the borders for the sake of brevity).

That one shot alone makes me want to punch the lights out of the morons at TV Tokyo that thought 4:3 would be okay..... jeez, even when my kids were little they'd notice that kind of crap ("Why can we only see Han Solo's nose, dad? Whats wrong with the TV?")

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

I was very please by what I saw. I understood none of the dialogue, which is important to me, but I was familiar enough with the story to follow along. What I saw, however, was an "artfulness," a desire to correct old mistakes, and ambition. It sometimes looked a little self-conscious, but I thought that was okay. The first series seemed to lack in ambition, and I suspect that's why so many people were disappointed.

It's ironic. Despite the fan service (which I absolutely don't have a problem with), I felt the first series skewed young. I really liked the characters, but I couldn't relate to it on any other level, so I stopped watching. We were lead to believe the new series was aimed at a younger audience, and the service was conspicuously absent, but it looked to me like a far more mature work. I even think the animators were having some reflexive (a la Gainax) fun with the lack of service in the opening scene. If I'm right, it was very clever.

I could be wrong. Again, I understood none of the dialogue, and I was watching the first episode of an anime that could go on forever. But I really had a good time watching it, so I'm really hopeful.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Vexx

That one shot alone makes me want to punch the lights out of the morons at TV Tokyo that thought 4:3 would be okay..... jeez, even when my kids were little they'd notice that kind of crap ("Why can we only see Han Solo's nose, dad? Whats wrong with the TV?")

Well, this is exactly what TBS did with the second season of Ah! My Goddess as well, and that's by no means the first time either. BS Japan is affiliated with TV Tokyo, so having the "real deal" 16:9 version be exclusive to the network is an attempt to drive people to get set-top boxes and get the channel. It's also a way of adding values to the DVDs, in cases where people couldn't see it "the way it was meant to be seen". So, it's just a not-so-subtle marketing campaign using what should end up being a popular show as bait. I'm not saying that makes it better by any means, but at least there's an explanation beyond simple incompetence.