(L) UQ Holder (Ken Akamatsu's new series)

[Ultragunner]

yup, and you can bet that the whole gang will follow LOL

[dmaxzero]

This reminded me of the third movie of Evangelion, when Misato trash talked Shinji after waking up, when the whole conflict would have been resolved with a simple 5 minute conversation. This manga is bad and cliche as hell, but for some reason I am still reading this. How masochist I have to be?

[Avrorrange]

By the way,I've been wanting to ask for some time.How come Touta doesn't need to drink any blood after the initial go?IIRC,even Evangeline herself need blood in the original series from time to time.

[SoloPanda]

Originally Posted by Moe Connection

By the way,I've been wanting to ask for some time.How come Touta doesn't need to drink any blood after the initial go?IIRC,even Evangeline herself need blood in the original series from time to time.

If I recall correctly she only really needed blood to replenish her magic to give Negi lessons (Touta doesn't use magic). The only time besides that the I remember her drinking blood was to enslave a few of the classmates. That being the case I still agree that vampires should drink blood on a fairly regular basis. I mean heck once a month at least.

[chaosprophet]

Originally Posted by SoloPanda

If I recall correctly she only really needed blood to replenish her magic to give Negi lessons (Touta doesn't use magic). The only time besides that the I remember her drinking blood was to enslave a few of the classmates. That being the case I still agree that vampires should drink blood on a fairly regular basis. I mean heck once a month at least.

Eva said in the beginning she did have the normal vampire weaknesses and likely had the blood thirst.

When it comes to Touta, seems like his immortality actually comes from Magic Erebia rather than by being a vampire, or at least a mix of that. On the slums arc the werewolf commented that the "black thing" was likely the source of his immortality. Mana also said a few chapters ago that he and Negi's immortality was the same.

So there is more to Touta's immortality than what we know. Should be answered in the future.

[eirvenxkie19]

Originally Posted by Moe Connection

By the way,I've been wanting to ask for some time.How come Touta doesn't need to drink any blood after the initial go?IIRC,even Evangeline herself need blood in the original series from time to time.

Touta's so idiot that he forget to drink blood.

Joke aside, maybe Akamatsu forgot that Touta is a vampire or Touta is drinking blood off screen

[Avrorrange]

Originally Posted by eirvenxkie19

Touta's so idiot that he forget to drink blood.

Joke aside, maybe Akamatsu forgot that Touta is a vampire or Touta is drinking blood off screen

I really can't see him as the type of person who drinks others' blood.I mean,to imagine a hotblooded shounen hero go and hunt people to drink blood is just unimaginable.Perhaps he's a vegetarian?No,even that image is wrong for a shounen hero.........

[Gundamx]

Originally Posted by Moe Connection

I really can't see him as the type of person who drinks others' blood.I mean,to imagine a hotblooded shounen hero go and hunt people to drink blood is just unimaginable.Perhaps he's a vegetarian?No,even that image is wrong for a shounen hero.........

No need to hunt other thanks to blood bank

[Dargor]

Because Touta is 2special2snowflake. Hell, they've effectively dropped all notions of vampirism for him, so...Anyway, eh chapter beyond Touta attempting to run away. I'll laugh my ass off if he actually just disappears from the series never to return. Santa could replace him, that kid is just too adorable.

On a different note, whose with me in making a fundraiser to buy Negi and Nagi some eye-patches for those missing eyes of theirs. I think they'd appreciate it.

[zztop]

I've heard interesting rumours about UQ and its connection to Negima.
Mainly:
1) Negima started out as a harem because Akamatsu Ken was pressured by his editors for another harem manga hit. Akamatsu later turned Negima into a battle series to spite those editors.

2)Negima ended early because of legal disputes between him and the publisher; Akamatsu didn't want to lose the intellectual property he held on Negima. UQ was written to tie up Negima's loose ends.

How true are they?
Because if so, IMO (2) is somehow justified, but (1) just seems petty. Especially if your creative direction was changed just to get revenge on some people.

[XFire]

Originally Posted by zztop

I've heard interesting rumours about UQ and its connection to Negima.
Mainly:
1) Negima started out as a harem because Akamatsu Ken was pressured by his editors for another harem manga hit. Akamatsu later turned Negima into a battle series to spite those editors.

2)Negima ended early because of legal disputes between him and the publisher; Akamatsu didn't want to lose the intellectual property he held on Negima. UQ was written to tie up Negima's loose ends.

How true are they?
Because if so, IMO (2) is somehow justified, but (1) just seems petty. Especially if your creative direction was changed just to get revenge on some people.

They're both basically true. He didn't change it to get revenge, but because he wanted that type of story all along. And it worked incredibly well.

It ended early because the editors wanted him to do stuff he didn't want to do, so he bombed Negima in the biggest way possible to keep that from happening.

[DerGilga]

Originally Posted by Dargor

they've effectively dropped all notions of vampirism for him, so...Anyway, eh chapter beyond Touta attempting to run away.

Well, he does not have a mirror image and is weak to anti-vampire techniques. So there is a little. On the other hand, Eva also doesn't display any vampire features in the latter parts of Negima, except super healing. So you could say Negima and UQ!holder are both bad in that regard.

By the way, was Eva ever a normal vampire to begin with? Was it not said that the lifemaker made her immortal? He is not a vampire, or is he? *confused*

[Superbia]

Originally Posted by Moe Connection

I really can't see him as the type of person who drinks others' blood.I mean,to imagine a hotblooded shounen hero go and hunt people to drink blood is just unimaginable.Perhaps he's a vegetarian?No,even that image is wrong for a shounen hero.........

Do you really think he would need to hunt people when he could just turn to his best friend/roommate for help. I honestly expected a ToutaXKuromaru scene where he has to bite into his neck and suck out some of his blood to have happened within the first fifty chapters.

And Evangeline was turned into a vampire because of a ritual the Lifemaker did in order to study immortality, not through the normal way of getting bitten. That's why she's a shinso and not a normal vampire.

[Dargor]

Originally Posted by DerGilga

By the way, was Eva ever a normal vampire to begin with? Was it not said that the lifemaker made her immortal? He is not a vampire, or is he? *confused*

Yes. When she was first starting out, she was both quite weak (comparatively speaking) and had all the traditional weaknesses vampires tend to have. She eventually overcame them as the centuries went on, but still. As for the Lifemaker, no, he's not vampiric. He created her for (Or so Eva claims. What the Lifemakers real intentions are were unknown since he left her to her own devices) something in regards to immortality, but I don't know. Her eventual development of Magia Erebea, which Dynamis likens to the techniques of the Lifemaker is something to look at. But anyway, you don't need to be a vampire to create another.

Eva also doesn't display any vampire features in the latter parts of Negima, except super healing.

See above. Eva eventually outgrew those weaknesses throughout the centuries (whether by her own power or not. She does get sluggish during the day time still, albeit when Nagi's curse is active), whereas Touta never displays them from the get go. He's more likely a construct through ME anyway, so...

I've heard interesting rumours about UQ and its connection to Negima....How true are they?

I would've bought it if he didn't subsequently go crawling to the same big bad publisher everyone harps on on about. Honestly, its still poor taste to torch a series of nine years and proceed to have its entire cast get a bridge dropped on them. While subsequently relying on that same series to keep the current one moving along.

[TnAdct1]

Originally Posted by zztop

I've heard interesting rumours about UQ and its connection to Negima.
Mainly:
1) Negima started out as a harem because Akamatsu Ken was pressured by his editors for another harem manga hit. Akamatsu later turned Negima into a battle series to spite those editors.

2)Negima ended early because of legal disputes between him and the publisher; Akamatsu didn't want to lose the intellectual property he held on Negima. UQ was written to tie up Negima's loose ends.

1. As XFire explained, Negima was actually intended from the start to be a shounen fantasy manga, with the harem part in the beginning being due to executive meddling. While some of the early volumes can be considered "harem fluff" (although volume did give a great backstory for why Ayaka is interested in Negi), it actually helped make Negima a better manga IMO, as it led to the manga having some strong female characters.

2. Not sure about UQ Holder being done to tie up loose ends. However, the "intellectual property" issue is one element going into the abrupt ending of Negima. Between his exclusivity contract with Kodansha coming to an end, and Japanese publishers supporting a law in which they share the copyright of a manga with the creator, Akamatsu, who is one of the most vocal people in terms of the anime/manga industry, was concerned by the negative aspects of this bill passing. Thus, some people believe that he abruptly ended Negima in order to maintain ownership of the characters and plot.

[Dargor]

Tying up loose ends via a sequel where the majority of the main cast is dead seems like a pretty dumb move if ya ask me, but eh. I do agree with the rest though. No matter how people feel about the harem/fanservice bent the early portions of the series had, it undeniably help set up their personalities, relationships, and character development far beyond what most of their ilk go for. Half the problem UQ Holder is because of the distinct lack of breaither chapters that we're just getting now, sixty chapters later. Funny thing is, they're not exactly bad as the rest of the series can be, but in exchange it turns Not!Eva into a genre blind idiot, and Karin and Kirie's antagonizing doesn't help in the slightest. Hell, Karin's only real trait still only applies to her Not!Eva worship, and the latter doesn't seem to give her the time of day.

PLOT TWIST TIME: Touta bitterly leaves UQ Holder, and declares Negi, Nagi, the entire Springfield line, and all those who associated with them to be his mortal enemies with Magia Erebea feeding off of his Not!Eva driven angst. He shows up later as a antagonist that the Holders have to take down.

[Ultragunner]

I suddenly recall something, as everything is "raging" on about Nagi-Negi two generation of world saving hero, everyone seems to forget the generation before Touta , it is the BLACK dot we haven't had a single clue

Is Negi's child a boy or a girl? Did he/she marry into the Konoe family (the same with Konoka's?). Myyy, our cyborg Ikku has not researched thoroughly, has he

[laclongquan]

Eva is not your normal vampire. her race is classed and High Daywalker, a True Ancestor type.
+ Operate during day time (note the Daywalker part) (she teach for two years in UQ).
+ Drink blood to gather magic, not because she need it for sustainance.
+ Not create vampire through biting. She bit a few 3A girls, and Negi as well. The girls operate pretty normal after that. Negi is negi.

The characters' dialog in Negima say she's an experiment on Immortality, before The Mage of Lifemaker devise her current method of reincarnation (blood and flesh of a direct descendant on the altar/grave of lifemaker, shitload of mana). So it's pretty much established that Eva is not your normal vampire. One of a kind, in fact.

Though Touta inherit her vampirism, it just mean he become like her, not like normal vampire.

[Avrorrange]

Originally Posted by Dargor

Tying up loose ends via a sequel where the majority of the main cast is dead seems like a pretty dumb move if ya ask me, but eh. I do agree with the rest though. No matter how people feel about the harem/fanservice bent the early portions of the series had, it undeniably help set up their personalities, relationships, and character development far beyond what most of their ilk go for. Half the problem UQ Holder is because of the distinct lack of breaither chapters that we're just getting now, sixty chapters later. Funny thing is, they're not exactly bad as the rest of the series can be, but in exchange it turns Not!Eva into a genre blind idiot, and Karin and Kirie's antagonizing doesn't help in the slightest. Hell, Karin's only real trait still only applies to her Not!Eva worship, and the latter doesn't seem to give her the time of day.

PLOT TWIST TIME: Touta bitterly leaves UQ Holder, and declares Negi, Nagi, the entire Springfield line, and all those who associated with them to be his mortal enemies with Magia Erebea feeding off of his Not!Eva driven angst. He shows up later as a antagonist that the Holders have to take down.

So he hates himself?

[Dargor]

After he finds out he's a construct and not actually of his blood, of course.