Is the Negima anime any good?

[MaxGoof]

I read the first 2 books of the Negima manga and was really bored, and honestly I had absolutely no idea where the story was going, nor was I compelled by the notion of a 10-year-old prepubescent boy in a harem.

Is the anime any better? I really want to like it, because I LOVE Love Hina, but I'm skeptical...

[DiGiKerot]

If its the prepubescent boy in a harem part with particularly put you off you'll probably not like the anime version, as they play that element up way more than in the manga. It takes quite a while to actually start going anywhere as well. I guess that means you'll probably not like it.

That said, it isn't really all that much like the manga - the atmosphere of the entire thing comes across rather different, and the plot veers way off towards the end. Personally, whilst I enjoyed the last few episodes, I thought the change in atmosphere was for the worse.

[raistlinmajere]

From the 23 eps I saw, I liked it, but I've heard a lot more people say they don't.

[TnAdct1]

[ QUOTE ]
Dabid said:
I read the first 2 books of the Negima manga and was really bored, and honestly I had absolutely no idea where the story was going, nor was I compelled by the notion of a 10-year-old prepubescent boy in a harem.

[/ QUOTE ]
Let me tell you something: you should give the Negima manga a second try as it gets better come the third volume, with the story beginning to shift away from the harem comedy (although it's still there) and more focus going towards the fantasy element (something that is severely ignored in the anime).

[jlazar]

No, the anime is very much inferior to the manga, so I really doubt you'd like the anime if you didn't even like the manga at all.

Although the anime is a pale shadow of what the manga is, I really can't think of any of the many bad changes made to the anime that would save it for people who don't like the manga. Maybe someone who never saw the manga might find something to like about the anime, but if you didn't like the basic elements of the first two volumes of the manga, I can't see the anime appealing to you.

[pianocello]

As long as one is not one of those manga asshats who is always going on about "The manga is ALWAYS better" and whines on and on because the anime didn't follow the manga frame for frame, I will say that anime is highly recommended.

Whether or not you will like the anime will depend on whether you have the patience to wait for the story to develop and whether you like emotional situations that will move you to tears. Truth to be told, the anime takes a while to get going. However once it diverts from the manga storyline and moves in its own direction, the anime features of the most emotional involving and heart-tugging episodes of any anime of the year. You will find yourself caring for the characters. They WILL show character development and growth and you will find yourself loving them. Personally, despite the flaws of some of the early episodes, I considered Negima to be the No. 1 anime of 2005.

[XenoCrisis0153]

[ QUOTE ]
Raistlin said:
From the 23 eps I saw, I liked it, but I've heard a lot more people say they don't.

[/ QUOTE ]
I heard most of the fans of the manga didn't like the anime because too many things were different. But fans who saw just the anime (like me) really enjoyed it.

The music is good, the voice actors really make the characters extra cute, and the story is pretty interesting. I would recommend it.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
As long as one is not one of those manga asshats who is always going on about "The manga is ALWAYS better" and whines on and on because the anime didn't follow the manga frame for frame, I will say that anime is highly recommended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah well, this time the manga really IS a heck of a lot better

[ QUOTE ]
Whether or not you will like the anime will depend on whether you have the patience to wait for the story to develop and whether you like emotional situations that will move you to tears. Truth to be told, the anime takes a while to get going. However once it diverts from the manga storyline and moves in its own direction, the anime features of the most emotional involving and heart-tugging episodes of any anime of the year. You will find yourself caring for the characters. They WILL show character development and growth and you will find yourself loving them. Personally, despite the flaws of some of the early episodes, I considered Negima to be the No. 1 anime of 2005.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh thats so exagerating.

The anime has exactly 6 episodes that are REALLY worth watching.

Episode 19 with Sayo (which I will say totally kicks the crap out of the manga chapter it was based on, and is one of hte best episodes of anime ever)

And the ending 5 episodes involving Asuna. Which mainly get credit for the HOLY SHIT THEY ACTUALLY <spoiler removed>?!

The rest of the show is mediocre by any definition, even if you haven't read the manga.

[PhilipReuben]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
The rest of the show is mediocre by any definition, even if you haven't read the manga.

[/ QUOTE ]

As someone who hasn't read the manga, I disagree. Overall I thought it was pretty good - not spectacular, but thoroughly entertaining.

[TheGreenMan]

If you found the first two books boring, stay away from the anime. As with Love Hina, Negima was neutered in the anime version. I'm hearing the dub is really awesome, but I think that's all it has going for it.

[TnAdct1]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
As long as one is not one of those manga asshats who is always going on about "The manga is ALWAYS better" and whines on and on because the anime didn't follow the manga frame for frame, I will say that anime is highly recommended.

[/ QUOTE ]
Tell me about it. The show didn't really become disappointing to me until I read a spoiler about the manga. Once I read the spoiler, I anxiously waited for the moment to happen in the anime. However, when the anime decided to cut the "spoiler moment" from the story where it takes place, it resulted in me reading picking up the manga volume with said moment.

From there, everything went downhill, as I got into <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Kyoto arc</span> and was interested in seeing that get animated (not to mention that I quickly became a huge fan of the girl invovled in the "spoiler moment" that I hinted above). Unfortunately, when I found out that the anime decided to cut that arc to two episodes and cut all the things that made the arc so great, I decided to stop watching the show after episode 19 and focus on the manga instead.

[Suwako Moriya]

I still have yet to get around to reading the manga. I've been lazy lately. Heck I still need to finish the Pitaten Manga. I think I'm half way done on that. The point is I'm not coming from the perspective of comparing the manga to the anime except when it comes to maybe reading about how moment X was cut out of the anime version of scene Y.

In any case at best I found the series decent. It definitely has its moments and it can be something to kill time. However on the negative side it feels like wasted potential. That by the time the anime truly picks up, it's well wrapping up the story.

Also since part of the theme is having around 30 female students. Depending on which students you like, you may be happy or upset about how much focus she gets. Ie you may feel your favorite girl doesn't get enough focus or you may feel she does. Assuming you even actually like one of the girls in the anime of course. You can just easily hate them all as you can like them.

In short it's not terrible, but there are quite a few series from 2005 that I liked better. Of course as for which ones that's another story and I'm too lazy to double check which came from 2005. Also there is the fact some remain unlicensed so not like it matters.

[ndm]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Episode 19 with Sayo (which I will say totally kicks the crap out of the manga chapter it was based on, and is one of hte best episodes of anime ever)


[/ QUOTE ]

I definitely agree that episode 19 is worth watching. The best episode in the series, imo, and the only one which improved on the manga.

[Texhnolyze]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
As long as one is not one of those manga asshats who is always going on about "The manga is ALWAYS better" and whines on and on because the anime didn't follow the manga frame for frame, I will say that anime is highly recommended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I wouldn't say ALWAYS but it's definitely a majority.

[pianocello]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
As long as one is not one of those manga asshats who is always going on about "The manga is ALWAYS better" and whines on and on because the anime didn't follow the manga frame for frame, I will say that anime is highly recommended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah well, this time the manga really IS a heck of a lot better



[/ QUOTE ]
In YOUR opinion, not everyone's opinion I might add. Personally while the manga is somewhat entertaining, I find that Akamatsu has no balls to make it dramatic and tearjerking like the anime version. None of the action or so-called dramatic scenes have any tension to them because we know that everything would be okay no matter what happened. The anime at least dared to be unpredictable once they stopped following the manga.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
As long as one is not one of those manga asshats who is always going on about "The manga is ALWAYS better" and whines on and on because the anime didn't follow the manga frame for frame, I will say that anime is highly recommended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah well, this time the manga really IS a heck of a lot better



[/ QUOTE ]
In YOUR opinion, not everyone's opinion I might add. Personally while the manga is somewhat entertaining, I find that Akamatsu has no balls to make it dramatic and tearjerking like the anime version. None of the action or so-called dramatic scenes have any tension to them because we know that everything would be okay no matter what happened. The anime at least dared to be unpredictable once they stopped following the manga.

[/ QUOTE ]

And as I said, those episodes were REALLY good...but that doesn't make the other 80% of the show not Average to BAD.

The Sayo episode, and the ending Asuna arc were great. The rest was just...no.

On the other hand, the manga is currently at 15 volumes of awesome.

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
In YOUR opinion, not everyone's opinion I might add. Personally while the manga is somewhat entertaining, I find that Akamatsu has no balls to make it dramatic and tearjerking like the anime version.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can do that when you know the show is going to have a limited run, when you are still writing a continuing manga. If Akamatsu had done what they'd done in the anime version, he'd pretty much have to end the series as there isn't anywhere else he could go. As it is, the manga continues to move in interesting ways.

Its also worth pointing out that the only reason that we got any good episodes of the show at all is because Akamatsu had the balls to tell the animation staff that their work was sh*t. Really, if he hadn't the staff would probably have been content to roll with the crappy episodes until the end.

Its no surprise that Shaft have ended up doing the two OAVs rather than Xebec. I can't wait to see the first one with the Vol 15 manga, and I seriously hope that they get the chance to do a TV version.

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
None of the action or so-called dramatic scenes have any tension to them because we know that everything would be okay no matter what happened. The anime at least dared to be unpredictable once they stopped following the manga.

[/ QUOTE ]

The anime version also mutilated what it did take from the manga. Its certainly not awful by any means, but right up until the final run its mindboggling mediocre, and no matter how good an ending it is it isn't worth putting up with a dozen episodes of average when the cash could be spent on something where every episode is good. Its all well and good saying that its worth watching for the ending if you didn't pay for it, but if you are spending money on the release you really want something whats all good.

In any case, just because something is "heartbreaking" or "unpredictable" doesn't automatically make it better - Akamatsus sense of timing, layout and composition is superior to a lot of artists working on pure shonen fighting manga, and the action scenes are fantastically done (which just makes the rather flat and dull ones in the anime rather more disappointing). Ultimately what makes Negima popular is a combination of Akamatsus excellent artwork, fantastic characterisation, entertaining fight scenes, his sense of humour, cute girls, a suprisingly complicated plot and a world which is far more intricate and well developed than anyone would have the right to expect from his previous works - the anime version had the cute girls and a decent ending plot arc tacked on in a desperate attempt to salvage something from the show. It through out most of the more dramatic and interesting story elements and most of the action in favour of the harem element, which is only really a small part of the manga, and poor attempts at humour. The worst thing about it all is that there is absolutely none of the sense of growth in the characters you get from the manga version - the characters all remain pretty much static.

Really, they should have spent up to episode 13 covering up to Library Island, then the whole second half doing Kyoto. That would have kicked ass.

[The Red Comet]

Okay let me ask this. Would the anime be recommended to someone who has zero interest in the manga? I like the concept and I'm not going to read the manga so I won't have any expectations going in. Should I give it a shot?

[Fencedude]

I'd say you should read the manga.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

If you have zero interest in the manga, then yes definitely. Whilst I did find it disappointing in reference to the manga, it's definitely an enjoyable series in it's own right. So if you have no knowledge of the manga and don't want to have any for that matter, then it's a great series and the things that are deleted from the manga you can be blissfully unaware of and enjoy it. The ending in particular was a really nice swerve, and Sayo's ep has been documented.

One thing I do believe the anime improves on is Yue's character. I know the manga has now established<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Yue's crush on Negi-sensei </span> but when I first saw it, it was very surprising and emotional as well considering that Nodoka (Yue's best friend) is one of my favourites as well. Her character is really well developed throughout the series so for that at least I'm glad the anime is out.

So, if you don't want anything to do with the manga, then yes, go for it. Whilst I'll agree that the manga is superior, it shouldn't deter you from enjoying the series without knowledge of the manga, as in it's own right, it's very enjoyable and quite emotional.


Oh, and one last thing - the one thing no-one can take from the anime is the excellent music. One of the best soundtracks and songs around, see if you can search for them.

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
The Red Comet said:
Okay let me ask this. Would the anime be recommended to someone who has zero interest in the manga? I like the concept and I'm not going to read the manga so I won't have any expectations going in. Should I give it a shot?

[/ QUOTE ]

You could probably do worse - its not the worst show I've ever seen (I got enough entertainment out of it to complete my set of R2 disks), but its hardly the greatest thing in the world whether you've read the manga or not. It just lacks any real kind of substance or decent humour right up until the last few episodes. There are far better things you can waste your money on.

[pianocello]

[ QUOTE ]
Spirit of the Stage said:

One thing I do believe the anime improves on is Yue's character. I know the manga has now established<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Yue's crush on Negi-sensei </span> but when I first saw it, it was very surprising and emotional as well considering that Nodoka (Yue's best friend) is one of my favourites as well. Her character is really well developed throughout the series so for that at least I'm glad the anime is out.



[/ QUOTE ]
Seconded. The last 5 minutes of ep 24 is arguably one of the most dramatic moments in any anime. Did I mention that the JP voice-acting for this show is excellent too?

[Spirit Of The Stage]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
Spirit of the Stage said:

One thing I do believe the anime improves on is Yue's character. I know the manga has now established<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Yue's crush on Negi-sensei </span> but when I first saw it, it was very surprising and emotional as well considering that Nodoka (Yue's best friend) is one of my favourites as well. Her character is really well developed throughout the series so for that at least I'm glad the anime is out.



[/ QUOTE ]
Seconded. The last 5 minutes of ep 24 is arguably one of the most dramatic moments in any anime. Did I mention that the JP voice-acting for this show is excellent too?

[/ QUOTE ]

It is very good, with Nodoka and Yue in particular shining, and yes, that scene where <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> Yue kisses Negi in front on Nodoka </span>was a very powerful moment...almost as much as <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> the shock that was Asuna's death. </span> *cries again*

[Scaramanga]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Episode 19 with Sayo (which I will say totally kicks the crap out of the manga chapter it was based on, and is one of hte best episodes of anime ever)

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh absolutely. Sayo never ever gets enough focus (in the manga) and this episode does indeed kick all kinds of ass.

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
And the ending 5 episodes involving Asuna. Which mainly get credit for the HOLY SHIT THEY ACTUALLY &lt;spoiler removed&gt;?!

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm. While I certainly enjoyed those episodes more (from what I found to be a by and large enjoyable, but ultimately, mediocre show,) I didn't think it was everything that folks here make them out to be. I guess I just didn't have the emotional investment in the characters at that point, for them to suddenly ramp up the drama level, and for me to care.