Negima!? TV (Generic Discussion)

[Klashikari]

^ AFAIK, Mahora fansub pace will be slowed down again, due their new project for Lucky☆Star. and since they don't use any ETA, i don't think we will ever see a possible estimation for the next episodes. (if anyone can correct my statement, be my guest, i'm also curious of the status of the fansubbing)

There isn't anything we can do except waiting, or enjoying the raw/summaries

[FatPianoBoy]

Isn't one of the fundamental guidelines of fansubbing to finish one project before starting another? If they want to do Lucky*Star, that's cool, but since three or four groups are already on that and no one is on Negima!?......

[Klashikari]

i agree with you. On the other hand, i think it is hard to stick on a show if it is disappointing your crew. this is of course a mere speculation (and i would like to see it completely fansubbed too).
Considering the delay between each episodes getting bigger (i'm not complaining, i can wait for months if needed ), i guess their motivation faded away.

as i could see, 2 other groups were also subbing Negima!? but they didn't get beyond the episode 9... sounds like dropping the series isn't really that surprising.

[Potatochobit]

I'm surprised no other group has been interested in it. my gosh was the first series really that bad?

but considering how many negima manga fan boys are out there you'd think there would be more interest in this series.

the mahora guys are distracted by shiny objects w

[FatPianoBoy]

I never saw the first Negima series, but it seems like the general consensus was that this new Negima!? was at least much better. The first series got finished, too...

I won't argue that it did seem like it started to get confused (not confusing) with where it was and wasn't headed, but it wasn't horrible (not yet).

Also, if Mahora wants a new project, they should pick up Dennou Coil. As I said before, everyone and their Haruhi plushy are already subbing Lucky*Star, so if they're going to drop a project in favor of another, at least let it be something interesting that no one else is doing. Sure, it's lightyears away from Negima!? in every aspect, but change is good
[/shameless begging]

[mdauben]

Originally Posted by Potatochobit

but considering how many negima manga fan boys are out there you'd think there would be more interest in this series.

The problem with that is, for manga fans both the series were very dissapointing in that neither one was a very good adaptation of the original manga.

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

I never saw the first Negima series, but it seems like the general consensus was that this new Negima!? was at least much better. The first series got finished, too...

I would say that both series had some serious flaws so while there were some things the second series did better, in other area the first series was actually (at least in my opinion) better.

As I said before, everyone and their Haruhi plushy are already subbing Lucky*Star, so if they're going to drop a project in favor of another, at least let it be something interesting that no one else is doing.

Doing all that work for free, they have to do what really excities them I would think. While it would be nice if the first priority was to cover shows that are not being subbed yet, if they are not pesonally interested in that show I can't see them devoting the long-term effort to it that would be required.

[pockygirl]

I love the show !

[Maritime]

It's a real shame that nobodies interested in subbing this show anymore as I'd really like to see how this one ends. I started watching Negima!? before I knew there was a prior series and I'd never been particularly interested in Manga but Negima!? really opened up a whole new world for me - I've since brought volumes one and two of Negima! on DVD (volume three comes out in June) and all fourteen books (I literally just finished thirteen and fourteen comes out in a few weeks). It's bad enough having to wait months for the Negima! DVD's to come out let alone waiting (what will probably be years, if ever) for this series to be licenced, dubbed and re-distributed just to find out what happens.

Negima!? wasn't perfect but I really don't think it deserves the harsh criticism it's recieved thusfar, if anything it grants more screen time to lesser characters which is something I found frustrating with both the Manga and the first series.

[Vexx]

I think it took the brickbats it got because
1) Shinbo fans remembered Tsukuyomi Moon Phase and what a win that was .... and whereas PPD was random gold, inserting that on top of Negima!? had mixed results. It also seriously didn't look like Shinbo was really paying attention to the show (has the paycheck cleared yet?)... even the original plotline had an "I don't care" vibe for some viewers. Even the Shinbo fans wandered off by ep 20.... I watched the raws to completion but only out of some morbid sense of duty.

2) Negima manga fans ..... want to see the manga storyline adapted. How hard is that for the anime staff to understand? If you're going to do a Moby Dick adaptation, fans will not appreciate you giving Moby laser deathbeam eyes or Ahab having the hots for his first mate

I was fence-straddling for the first 2/3 of the series --- I loved what Shinbo had shown he could do in other series, I loved the manga storyline, I loved the SHAFT art stylization of the characters, I loved that a lot of tier 2 characters got a fair amount of screen time, etc.... As the anime-original part of the storyline progressed, my interest waned.

I got about 10 episodes of good stuff for me... and the rest was just "I didn't care about the story or the characters anymore and it really wasn't funny to me".

Despite that.... I really think a fansub group should finish what it starts or hand-over the material to another group who will finish it. Mahora ... their whole website is "all about the Negima" and they appear to have stalled completely.... yet seem to have steam to pick up other shows.

At that point, rather than criticize -- I'll point to the Yamato Nadesico Shichi Henge fansubbers who carry on to the end despite the utter trainwreck the series became Kudos to them.

Back to reading the Negima manga .... ... ...

[Maritime]

Even after reading through the Manga I still don't find Negima!? to be as objectionable as people have being making out. What bothered me about the Manga and what I've seen of the first series (I'm only as far as volume two) was that there was so much to cover and far too many characters so it pretty much became the Negi/Asuna/Evangeline/Setsuna/Konoka show with everyone else (to various degrees) shoved into the background, I felt that Negima!? readdressed the balance somewhat and if nothing else gave other characters a little more screen time.

[mdauben]

Originally Posted by Maritime

Even after reading through the Manga I still don't find Negima!? to be as objectionable as people have being making out.

Well, I don't find Negima!? so much objectionable, as just rather dissapointing.

First, it was a dissapointment at first becuase it does not really even try to follow the manga storyline at all. That's mainly a concern of the manga fans, I suppose, although I might argue that the issue of "faithfulness to the source material" asside, the manga storyline was just better than the Negima!? storyline (of course that is still just opinion)

If you got by that issue, it did seem to have some potential and it did seem like it was going to be worthwhile in it's own, but as it progressed the lack of character development, poorly executed storyline, and increasingly repetative and lame 'humor' dragged it down.

What bothered me about the Manga and what I've seen of the first series (I'm only as far as volume two) was that there was so much to cover and far too many characters so it pretty much became the Negi/Asuna/Evangeline/Setsuna/Konoka show with everyone else (to various degrees) shoved into the background,

Well, they were the main-main characters of the series and a lot of time was devoted to them. As the manga progressed certain others began to have bigger parts (ex. Yue, Chisame & Kū Fei) and yet others at least got some time in the spotlight through their own sidestories (ex. Ako & Haruna). Plus remember that they still have lots of time to develop the other characters. The manga isn't anywhere near ending.

[Maritime]

Originally Posted by mdauben

Well, I don't find Negima!? so much objectionable, as just rather dissapointing.

First, it was a dissapointment at first becuase it does not really even try to follow the manga storyline at all. That's mainly a concern of the manga fans, I suppose, although I might argue that the issue of "faithfulness to the source material" asside, the manga storyline was just better than the Negima!? storyline (of course that is still just opinion)

If you got by that issue, it did seem to have some potential and it did seem like it was going to be worthwhile in it's own, but as it progressed the lack of character development, poorly executed storyline, and increasingly repetative and lame 'humor' dragged it down.

I liked that they went another way with Negima!?, they tried that with the first season as from what I understand it wasn't particularly well recieved from the fans, I found it easier to see Negima!? as simply a reinterpretation of the source material and not to be taken too seriously.

Originally Posted by mdauben

Well, they were the main-main characters of the series and a lot of time was devoted to them. As the manga progressed certain others began to have bigger parts (ex. Yue, Chisame & Kū Fei) and yet others at least got some time in the spotlight through their own sidestories (ex. Ako & Haruna). Plus remember that they still have lots of time to develop the other characters. The manga isn't anywhere near ending.

Really? I honestly had no idea that there was more to come, I was under the impression that the Manga ended after volume thirteen. I finished volume twelve this afternoon and was wondering how they'd wrap everything up in the one remaining volume. I certainly hope it'll continue as I need to know what the deal is with Zazie

[Vexx]

aye, I'm surprised that Mana has gotten a considerale amount of page time given her 'in the background' status. He's done a fair job of giving everyone somewhat useful roles to play (though I'll thoroughly agree that both anime series gave Sayako (ghost girl) a much better swig). I want to say there are 17 volumes but I'm working without references here....

[Maritime]

This is a somewhat geeky confession but what really got me hooked on Negima!? was the blink-and-you'll-miss-it Neuromancer reference in episode seven. The part when Sayako runs amok and flies through Chisame's computer screen, Chisame looks at Satomi (or was it Chao?) and in stereo they both yell "Wintermute!".

I'm a sucker for things like that.


Edit: I just realised that I made a mistake with the book volumes earlier, I actually finished volume thirteen today and had assumed that volume fourteen, which comes out next month, was the final volume. That being said seventeen volumes still doesn't seem like enough for a story as huge as Negima's, I reckon that the story could easily stretch to thirty volumes, perhaps even more.

[mdauben]

Originally Posted by Maritime

I liked that they went another way with Negima!?,

I was ready to accept it for that, I just think it failed to deliver a really good product.

they tried that with the first season as from what I understand it wasn't particularly well recieved from the fans,

There were a number of issues with the first season, but what it came down to was that it was just poorly done.

Really? I honestly had no idea that there was more to come, I was under the impression that the Manga ended after volume thirteen.

Oh, no! That's as far as the US releases have gotten, but the scanlators are just starting on Japanese Volume 19 , and manga is just launching into a big new story arc. The "Mahorofest" arc running in the current US relases doesn't really end until the middle of volume 18.

I need to know what the deal is with Zazie

Ha! Unfortunatly, no substantial development of Ms. Rainyday yet as of the end of volume 18.

[Vexx]

good lord... even I didn't realize it was running that many volumes in Japan and showing no signs of stopping.

He might *really* give us the full "Neggie grows up" saga at this rate

[mdauben]

Originally Posted by Vexx

good lord... even I didn't realize it was running that many volumes in Japan and showing no signs of stopping.

Yeah, Akamatsu has already exceeded both his previous big series in length (Love Hina = 14 volumes and A.I. Love You = 8 volumes).

He might *really* give us the full "Neggie grows up" saga at this rate

That would be sweet, but at the current rate that time is progressing in the manga I don't know if Akamatsu will get that far in his liftime!

[Maritime]

I guess that as long as Ken keeps drawing and creating new ideas they'll be plenty of inspiration for further Anime series. There's plenty of characters still waiting for their moment in the spotlight, lots of back stories that have yet to be told and lots of things going on behind the scenes that haven't properly been explained so there's still plenty more ground to cover.

[Vexx]

Just some clarification after a few of the posts above: the first season Negima also seriously deviated from the manga after the first handful of episodes. So it really didn't "follow the manga" either.

Well.. now we're going to get treated (?????) to a *live-action* Negima it appears. Oh, won't someone think of the children????
This just smells rotten cabbage bad from the outset because I don't see any Harry-Potter budget being pumped into a tv series here....

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Vexx

So it really didn't "follow the manga" either.

Most of the series was the same, apart from a few little twists and changed around. Though the last arc was WHAT new.