(L) Negima Manga Discussion

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by BOYVIRGO666

you know from where i am in the sieres and how you guys go in it i dont think akamatsus so bad and hentais not as decadent and people talk about(but still wierd) and that dude from texas its not yer fault you dont like akamatsu your genetically inclined to be a prude.

and where the hell do you guys get these wierd doujin iv never seen akamatsus old stuff

1) the punctuation and caplock keys are not THAT far away on the keyboard ... it would help because we're having to guess at what you mean in the middle part.
2) we'll hope you were trying to be funny with that last bit - because without the smiley face it looks a like a personal attack on rooboy (that dude from Texas) - against forum rules.

You seem to be confusing critical analysis for dislike. Few here dislike Ken A. -- but there's a variety of opinion about the amount of nudity situations as well as the amount of action since the series attracts people who read it for a variety of different reasons. Japanese culture views nudity contextually (e.g. in the bath its no big deal) which can be jarring even to people aware that customs differ.

Negima is a very popular series, but Americans in general can be caught off guard by the level of nudity (especially with a pack of 14 year old girls and a 10 year old boy even though its non-sexual). Maybe one day they'll stop equating nudity with sex in America (snort, laugh).
(I'm American so I'm allowed to make fun of my society by definition)

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Vexx

2) we'll hope you were trying to be funny with that last bit - because without the smiley face it looks a like a personal attack on rooboy (that dude from Texas) - against forum rules.
You seem to be confusing critical analysis for dislike.

He's actually not talking about me, he's talking about Snoopy from the first five or so pages of the thread (and Snoopy was actually attacking both Akamatsu and people who like his work).

Originally Posted by snoopy

Yes... I am American. Texan, if you want specifics (don't group me with Bush, though, I don't care if the gay couple across the street wants to get married).

I'm not actually from Texas, I just moved here. I'm from Nevada (home of legalized prostitution and gambling). So anyone construing any comment I made as having come from some kind of moral higher ground would be really amusing.

Since I haven't given an opinion on this topic - for some reason the fanservice in Negima doesn't bother me too much, but that's probably because about the time I start thinking it's excessive the story shifts to more of the magical world storylines (which tend to be longer than the non-magical world sequences where the majority of the fanservice is located) - it probably also helps that I literally don't notice fanservice (good or bad) unless it's pointed out to me. As a matter of fact, I only half look at the art in most manga unless for some reason I need it to clarify my understanding of what's happening in the story.

[Vexx]

ah.. that would be added to the comprehensibility problem then... since I'm originally from Texas and moved to Oregon, I suppose it could have applied to me as well.
The right nouns help a lot ...

rooboy's opinion pretty much matches my own actually .... I'll admit the first couple of volumes got my eyebrows cocked a bit but since then its a nice distribution of story, magic, romance, and cheesecake ... each not overwhelming the other.

[魔法師]

i read this manga already
^_^
don't you think is quite "hentai"
.......=_=|||

[Starlight Dreamer]

Originally Posted by 魔法師

i read this manga already
^_^
don't you think is quite "hentai"
.......=_=|||

Actually, it is, right? It is a eiichi type of hentai.

[Vexx]

ya'll are both using those two words seriously incorrectly according to just about any japanese-speaking person I know (or any dictionary)...

ecchi === sex or sexually oriented - can range from cheesecake all the way to explicit sex. usually qualified with other adjectives.

hentai === perverted sex (naughty tentacles, rape, etc)

Nothing in Negima comes remotely close outside of very mild ecchi --- scenes in the bath pools don't count, simple nudity in that context doesn't count. Negi sneezing their clothes apart barely counts. The water sprite attack on Asuna was a "thumb-in-nose" parody aimed at the "naughty tentacle" crowd.

Basically try not to pick up japanese from listening to american anime fanboiz unless they've got a few years of japanese language under their belt or have spent a few years in Japan.

[Starlight Dreamer]

thanks for straighting it out for us. I'll remember those from now on ,hopefully

[panzerfan]

3rd route to picking up Japanese is the route that ESL takes, by watching raws, trying to 'think nihongo' and squint your eyes at Japanese writings till it hurts.

Leaving that and social commentary aside...

Chisame has the potential of following Mechiavelli's footstep although the cosplay part is a whole beast of its own. I agree that she's more like Negi squad's lurking data mine on the net. The moment that I can define her as a hacker is if she pulls a ghost or if she does an 'electronic fairy' baka or as somebody said in 4chan:

Originally Posted by Anonymous

True magical girl uses SQL

(the world tree arc has my head reeling since I am addicted to Nanoha at the same time as I am Negima. Alas there's rules against using comparitors here... heh)

[Diaboso]

Originally Posted by Vexx

ya'll are both using those two words seriously incorrectly according to just about any japanese-speaking person I know (or any dictionary)...

ecchi === sex or sexually oriented - can range from cheesecake all the way to explicit sex. usually qualified with other adjectives.

hentai === perverted sex (naughty tentacles, rape, etc)

Nothing in Negima comes remotely close outside of very mild ecchi --- scenes in the bath pools don't count, simple nudity in that context doesn't count. Negi sneezing their clothes apart barely counts. The water sprite attack on Asuna was a "thumb-in-nose" parody aimed at the "naughty tentacle" crowd.

Basically try not to pick up japanese from listening to american anime fanboiz unless they've got a few years of japanese language under their belt or have spent a few years in Japan.

lol well I know all this fairly well and I know 0 japanese...and never been ther (thow I am going to go for a week or two in about a year.) so I say your right on key on the definitions

[Veni-vidi-vici]

I recently started reading this and have caught up. I have a couple questions.
How old is Kotaro?
During the chapters/scenes of Asuna's past, when she's hanging around Nagi and the gang, does she (the current Asuna) conscisously remember them? It seems to me like she's forgotten about them and only picking up bits of it at times.

So far I really like this series, aside from the overly blatant and frequent fanservice. I feel this is much better then LH, although it's kind of hard to compare since they are very different.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Veni-vidi-vici

How old is Kotaro?

I don't think we've ever gotten a straight answer on this (I just briefly looked again to make sure), but it may not be particularly relevant. Since he doesn't seem to be human (well, not completely human at least) he could age at a different rate. Physically he seems to be the same age as Negi, but then, so does Evangeline.

Originally Posted by Veni-vidi-vici

During the chapters/scenes of Asuna's past, when she's hanging around Nagi and the gang, does she (the current Asuna) conscisously remember them? It seems to me like she's forgotten about them and only picking up bits of it at times.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember them consciously. She may remember them unconsciously, indicating that the memories haven't been erased and could resurface. If she remembered them though, she should remember Takamichi (who was there) and Nagi, but she doesn't realize any of that until volume 6. Even in the most recent chapters (well, I still haven't read my last couple of shounen weekly magazines) she doesn't indicate anything like rememberance to him.

[Veni-vidi-vici]

Ok, I found it (at least a reference point) Kotaro is apperantly over 20. In chapeter 123 when they walked in Ako with the scar Kotaro mentioned getting scars from a war 20 years ago.
Granted it wasn't really important, just curious considering we've tried to figure out the ages of most of the other characters.

[Vexx]

Good catch .... interesting that some of the supernaturals age more slowly than others - if anyone hasn't read the Kyoto visit story arc, avoid this spoiler:

Spoiler:

(Setsuna appears to age normally though we don't know her people's lifespan).

Evangeline ... (spoiler about her story)

Spoiler:

is being punished .. at this point we've no real clue on which is her true form (teen or adult) but her mental and chronological age is much older.

Sayako ...

Spoiler:

ghost .. but until recently was just going through the yearly time loop not really realizing how long she'd been there I think.

... and of course the demons are long-lived.

Negi .... (this is pure speculation I've seen elsewhere)

Spoiler:

could actually turn out to be Nagi --- himself come back in time to appear as Negi's caretaker ... ala Harry Potter seeing himself in the Prisoner of Azkhaban and mistaking himself for his father. Probably not true but a perky twist.
It would make Evangeline's relationship with Negi/Nagi quite ... interesting.

Its kind of painful trying to discuss the story without ruining it for people not up to volume 10 at least (the japanese edition readers have been nice enough to spoiler tag most of their remarks.

[Veni-vidi-vici]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Negi .... (this is pure speculation I've seen elsewhere)

Spoiler:

could actually turn out to be Nagi --- himself come back in time to appear as Negi's caretaker ... ala Harry Potter seeing himself in the Prisoner of Azkhaban and mistaking himself for his father. Probably not true but a perky twist.
It would make Evangeline's relationship with Negi/Nagi quite ... interesting.

That speculation is pretty weird, but it'd be much more interesting.

[Mord]

Kotaro did not actually say that he was over 20. He said that for those around him, scars weren't uncommon due to the war 20 years ago. Whether or not this means that he is actually over 20 is unclear.

However considering that Setsuna appears to age normally and how Kotaro acts, it would seem he is probably between 10 and 12 years old

[akurashy]

I doubt setsuna have much problems

though the speculation vexx did of negi really made me wonder , i stopped reading MSN for a while, since i'm doing other things it wouldn't be a bad idea for the chaps to accumulate for later

Spoiler:

about asuna's past.. if i remember well there is a "barrier" or what negi did a "vanish memories" to get those memories sealed. like in the fight she suddenly got some of the memories anid in her dreams. just in miy view XD

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Negi .... (this is pure speculation I've seen elsewhere)

Spoiler:

could actually turn out to be Nagi --- himself come back in time to appear as Negi's caretaker ... ala Harry Potter seeing himself in the Prisoner of Azkhaban and mistaking himself for his father. Probably not true but a perky twist.
It would make Evangeline's relationship with Negi/Nagi quite ... interesting.

Interestingly, I thought that exact same thing after his first fight with Evangeline. Colonel Sanders helped egg it on, too.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Negi .... (this is pure speculation I've seen elsewhere)

Spoiler:

could actually turn out to be Nagi --- himself come back in time to appear as Negi's caretaker ... ala Harry Potter seeing himself in the Prisoner of Azkhaban and mistaking himself for his father. Probably not true but a perky twist.
It would make Evangeline's relationship with Negi/Nagi quite ... interesting.

Now i wonder where you've heard that before..

Its a good idea, though its something i'd rather see in a spin-off story then the actually official one. It just seems way of the level for Negima.

[Vexx]

My memory sucks or i'd properly attribute the idea .... I don't consider it likely unless Ken A. is sitting at home with all the Potter films taking notes for ideas or homages.

[panzerfan]

I am wondering if Mahora was involved with those events 20 years ago somehow as well... the only one that might have recollection of those times would be the headmaster and perhaps Aisaka Sayo (who sadly has not thus far reveal much of Mahora during her afterlife and before. I really want to see this character getting developed more as she's second only to Eva when it comes to 'lifespan' and who knows what she might have witnessed from Showa to Heisei years...)