(L) Negima Manga Discussion

[Iromaru]

Originally Posted by Pong

Well from a one point of view it actually makes sense. And that point of view is looking at the structure of the story. Despite what it looked like in the beginning MSN isn't a romantic comedy of any sort, far from it . It isn't like Love Hina where the central issue of he story was "Who is gonna end up with he main character?" . In Negima it isn't even that important of a question (Though fandom gets heated up over it as much as everywhere ). And thats because Negima is completely different type of story altogether.

Because when you go right down to it Negima is a coming of age story. Its story of negi who grows from a kid into a true successor of his father greatness. Everything else is just add t make the story more interesting but the coming of age is it core.

You are probably wondering what it have to do with Negi becoming one man army? Well just think of Negi at the beginning of the story and how much he'd grown.

He was very unsure of himself -now he is growing more and more confident.

He was rather clumsy- now he is very capable

He was very much alone and in his heart there wasn't almost no one beside his father- Now he has a true partner in Asuna, he has Kotarou who is practically like a brother to him, he has his own Nakama in the Members of Ala Alba and even gained not one but two mentors (Eva & Rakan).

He was also weak- true he was strong enough to fend for himself but he could not do everything alone. He had to often ask the girls for help. Heck that the entire point of having partners! That's all good and all and allows for more focus on other characters but just compare that to Nagi Springfield legendary "Thousand Master" who was invincible and was said to never use the helps from partners.

If Negi ever was to surpass or even match his father he must also do it i strength. This means that he must become strongest in the world - and strong enough to fight is battles without help.

So I believe that Negi surpassing all the girls isn't just effect of akamatsu forgetting to develop them in the rush but a conscious decision that makes sens in the context of the story and keeps to its theme.


Of course it doesn't mean we have to like it but it is at least reassuring that Ken do it for a reason and not because he is losing his touch.

I never thought of MSN being a romantic comedy or harem manga, neither do I really care who will Negi end up with. Only 2 or 3 girls have romantic feelings for Negi, rest sees him as a cute younger brother, a good friend or just tease him for fun. MSN is one of my favorite mangas because it's a great mix of almost all possible genres with an awesome cast on top of that. The thing is it's now becoming a purely fighting shounen concentrated on Negi, and I don't like that at all.

And Negi suddenly becoming 5x stronger than everybody else in his team don't make sense at all. Ala Rubra had 3-4 10k+ ranked members, Ala Alba has just Negi. I really hope some of the girls will power up to his level soon.

Don't get me wrong I still like MSN a lot but if it continues in the direction it's going now in 20-30 chapters it will become DBZ...

[Tiberium Wolf]

I think it's DBZ already.

[Zetsuen_no_Myuu]

Originally Posted by Iromaru

I never thought of MSN being a romantic comedy or harem manga, neither do I really care who will Negi end up with. Only 2 or 3 girls have romantic feelings for Negi, rest sees him as a cute younger brother, a good friend or just tease him for fun. MSN is one of my favorite mangas because it's a great mix of almost all possible genres with an awesome cast on top of that. The thing is it's now becoming a purely fighting shounen concentrated on Negi, and I don't like that at all.

And Negi suddenly becoming 5x stronger than everybody else in his team don't make sense at all. Ala Rubra had 3-4 10k+ ranked members, Ala Alba has just Negi. I really hope some of the girls will power up to his level soon.

Don't get me wrong I still like MSN a lot but if it continues in the direction it's going now in 20-30 chapters it will become DBZ...

Actually, becoming is not the correct word to be used here. It is and always was an action/adventure series for boys, which included a large mix of genres that's equally balanced and blended at just the right amount. Really, I don't understand why some people can't see this. It has, and always has been steadily increasing the level of action and the power being display in the series as it progressed. It's nice and makes it more fun to read, feels RPG-like as characters "level up". But see here, even with that, it does not stray from its other charms and quirks. The characters, their interactions, and awesome cast are still there.

You say "suddenly", and that it doesn't make sense. But Pong actually put it quite nicely about how it does if you think back and recall all the events that transpired. Such development is justified. That is something you can't deny. With that said, I'm sure many have already figured out what Rakan's objectives really was now. Despite his tendency at playing dumb and acting so lewd, I think it was quite obvious since the beginning with Rakan's comment and sudden...appearance before Kagetarou's entrance.

I think it's more of your refusal in wanting him to surpass the girls that's making you turn a blind eye. But you should know already, Negi likely has already pass all the girls since his obtainment of ME. if it's anything, Asuna will most likely be using full potential of her abilities soon, and of course, Setsuna will stop holding back. Setsuna said Asuna will become more powerful than most of them sooner or later. And Negi's speed of growth is astounding, something that has been evident throughout the series. As Rakan said, he might have had exceed Nagi in that term. Of course, it's all because of such wonderful and cruel masters he studies under.

The MW arc is significant in being the setting (more like device) and reason for Negi's advancement. He has given up on searching for his father, and wants to return the girls home. That is his goal. But things cannot always go smoothly. Negi knows this, I mean...look at what's happening. Of course, being such a kid, he is putting most of the blame on himself. Before coming to MW, what he was lacking...he gained and gained more as he stayed there. And recently, he might have just found his answer for himself.

The reasoning behind the important of MW's arc for Negi was made clear and was slowly broken into for the reader. It should be nothing of a surprised since Ken has been continuously breaking the ice, allowing it to sink in. There's also Asuna, and the story behind Nagi and what happened all those years ago as well.

It's a coming of age story, a grand and exciting one. All these elements are really basic. It's how the author executes them, either breaking or expand on such old concepts that makes it either more interesting or simply typical.

I never could take those who calls any series DBZ because a spike in action occurred seriously enough. Really, it is nonsensical. I always have to ask in what aspect or how is it remotely like it when all past showing says otherwise. Maybe it is touching some similarity? But then, why is it always DBZ? Why not series before or those that are similar in genre other than DBZ? There are many out there, or are they all just "DBZ" too? So, in the end, it's pointless to even compare or contrast since every action/battle shounen/seinen are all the same if some start calling them so. Makes me wonder if they are just lazy or ignorant. I'm not suggesting I know everything and assume to always be correct, but..really now. Are all series going to be called as such because of how the action is showcased or how the fights are done? It is ridiculous to believe so..

In case anyone is wondering, the last chapter in volume 27 will be the epilogue, meaning chapter 249 is the epilogue. So that means the match will be over in 248 and chapter 249 explores the final celebration, the slave situation, and so forth. Or 249 is the epilogue between Negi and Rakan, meaning the match will be decided in that chapter with a beautiful conclusion as Ken hints.

[chaosprophet]

Originally Posted by orangejuicetang

am I the only one who thinks that rakan's best nickname by for is "that damn guy who you can stab with swords all you like and it won't do a thing dammit" due to it's awesomeness and funniness?

I'm with you on this! I loled hard at that part.

[AstroNerdBoy]

Originally Posted by Riker

I'm more concerned about what Takamichi and Mana are doing. They were mentioned way back in chapter 195.

I think they'll be showing up sooner rather than later but we'll see.

Well, I know y'all been waitin' on these here spoilers I got.


http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/200...er-images.html

[BlueDo]

Yep, very exciting right there...
The two go into desperation.

Although we kinda know from logic who would get more out of that exchange of blows at the end

[typhonsentra]

Wait, does the fight end with a Rocky-style freeze frame or what?

[Pong]

Well, I know y'all been waitin' on these here spoilers I got.


http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/200...er-images.html

I can only say one thing: O shit! O shit! O shit! O shi...

[Sin Ansem]

Dammit Rakan is beyond broken, dood.

Of course, I usually wait for translations beyond initial spoilers.

As far as its turn into battle manga, I've seen that change kick in immediately after Kyoto. Training arcs, developing new powers, etc. etc. It was a gradual process, most people who claim it sudden were probably butthurt when it turned it up a notch at Magic World.

[typhonsentra]

Well the issue is more that he learned too many techniques just in this one short period of training. And besides that, Rakan's pretty close to the strongest person in this story's universe and has been built up that way for quite some time. From this point on if they want to continue the story in this manner (Shounen comic style big fights) they'll have to make up new "Hidden/Unknown" enemies like aliens or ancient evil soon. He's almost at Rakan's level who's (Probably) stronger than Fate, one more serious burst of training and there's little left for him to face.

[Wargumm1i]

Originally Posted by typhonsentra

Well the issue is more that he learned too many techniques just in this one short period of training. And besides that, Rakan's pretty close to the strongest person in this story's universe and has been built up that way for quite some time. From this point on if they want to continue the story in this manner (Shounen comic style big fights) they'll have to make up new "Hidden/Unknown" enemies like aliens or ancient evil soon. He's almost at Rakan's level who's (Probably) stronger than Fate, one more serious burst of training and there's little left for him to face.

I would not say that, I mean who knows how strong fate is, I mean perhaps Fate is stronger than Rakan. We never really know, or perhaps the real bad guy is Negi´s father who then becomes the last boss and inorder too defeat him you need too surpass him.

[Charred Knight]

Originally Posted by typhonsentra

Wait, does the fight end with a Rocky-style freeze frame or what?

From what I see (based entirely on pictures since I don't know any japanese), Rackan is counted out having Negi get the victory.

Rackan wakes up and punches Negi

Rackan and Negi comically began punching each other.

If Rackan can not defeat Rackan then their is no way Negi can.

[Wargumm1i]

So Negi won?

[TnAdct1]

Originally Posted by Wargumm1i

So Negi won?

Spoiler for Chapter 248:

Yep, Negi won the match, but Raken is still able to get up from a move that resulted in him being "pinned" for 20 seconds.

As for the comical punching, I think of it as a parallel to the final scene of Rocky III.

[Zetsuen_no_Myuu]

Originally Posted by Wargumm1i

So Negi won?

Ken sorta gave us the eat one's cake and have it too conclusion. It works pretty well for a coming of age series.

Spoiler:

He won by technicality. Rakan's own power, on top of Negi's did hurt him and k.o-ed him. Enough for the countdown to hit 20 sec and over. And the announcer called it and everyone rejoiced. Negi looked away after the announcement (probably over to the girls and his friends), but Rakan got right back up and deliver a kind gesture, aka, punch to the face.

From the looks of it, Rakan is probably giving Negi props with his tactics. It ends with a nice lil comical Rocky scene.

The epilogue is going to wrap up the slave situation, I'm sure.

[Wargumm1i]

Why are you calling it The Epilogue?

[RadiantBeam]

The epilogue for this paticular arc is what HailEmperor means, I think.

[Wargumm1i]

But the Magic World arc is still ongoing, so you mean the reason why its called The Epilogue is because the slave part is over?

[Zetsuen_no_Myuu]

Yes, not an epilogue that you'd normally think of that comes after a story that has ended. An epilogue has several uses, and it can be used after a long or important chapter, even after every volume or book.

The last chapter in volume 27 is just considered an epilogue for the match. Which most likely will give us a conclusion or a closing on the slave situation. Negi getting his answer is also likely. What is the answer? We should see in in chapter 249.

[Wargumm1i]

I see what you mean, but still I wonder who the boss is that they need too pay for the debt.