AoD Review: Negima Vol. #4

[Chris Beveridge]

http://www.animeondvd.com/images/boxart/negima4.jpg

Review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/5794.php)

Released By: FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd.
MSRP: $29.98/34.98
Running time: 100 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Resolution: 480i/p (mixed/unknown)
Encoded With: MPEG-2
Release Date: 11/28/2006
Review Date: 12/07/2006
Date Announced: 09/01/2006
Region: 1 - North America
Reviewed By: Chris Beveridge

In Summary:
Negima's a show that I still find more enjoyable than the manga but this set of episodes made me work harder at enjoying it. Some of the clichéd episodes are just that but some of them do manage to find some nice twists to play into it because of the shows setup. The characters do get a bit more developed in terms of personality and background with some of these episodes and it helps a lot, but it also leaves a lot of the girls behind even more as they don't get what they need. FUNimation's release of this show continues to be stellar and I'm sure that alone is helping drive sales just from how it looks on the shelves and the goodies associated with it. Negima's got its pluses, they're just a bit harder to find for someone like me with this volume.

[TnAdct1]

A few comments on some of the episodes on volume 4 (with spoilers for both the episodes and the manga just to be safe):

Ayaka episode: I have mixed feelings on this episode. On one side, this episode definitely has "budget episode" written all over it. On the other hand, we get some insight on Ayaka, her connection with Asuna, and how her feelings for Negi are a result of
her younger brother dying just after birth.

Kiss Contest episode: This episode was the episode that began the major downfall of the Xebec version of Negima (as well as the episode that led to me reading the Negima manga). While the storyline was funny, and the whole "time information" bits are the first of many moments in which Negima has me thinking of 24, what brought this episode down was the fact that it completely ignored the whole point of this story in the manga, which was
to have Nodoka become the second girl to make a Pactio with Negi. As a result, a storyline that is important in the manga version becomes semi-filler in the anime (I say "semi-filler" because this episode begins the plot point of
Yue developing feelings for Negi).

Amusement park episode: This episode, along with volume 5 of the manga, were the things that officially led to Nodoka becoming my second all-time favorite girl in anime (after Chiyo-chan in Azumanga Daioh). The most memorable moment in this episode IMO involves
Yue creating the perfect mode for Nodoka to confess her love to Negi on the Ferris Wheel by buying all those balloons and releasing them.

[perigee]

Kudos to TnAdct1 for using spoiler tags instead of the hide version. It's much easier to read. Also thumbs up to Chris on the new review discussion format. The cover image and release data provide pertinent data. Now if he would just include his letter grades, there'd be no need to jump to the review page - though that may be his intention. ;)

Regarding Negima itself, I've pretty much committed to finishing the series. A mediocre volume or two won't discourage me.

[Shsway]

I've really been enjoying this program, and I laughed especially hard during this last set of episodes. Between this and Speed Grapher, other titles have really had to compete for my attention with both story and humor lately.

I've also officially switched over to the English audio permanently. If you're not grated by Greg Ayres' accent and pitch on Negi, the track really is well done; cheeky in the right places and emotional when it needs to be. Some of the supporting cast members could have been a little more something, but overall a nice, fun script. Nodoka's confession was beautiful. Totally made me forget that it was being made to a 10-year-old boy. I don't really like characters like this at all, but she has likely won me over. Really, all of the character relationships are playing out surprisingly well.

I was appropriately moved by what was revealed in the Ayaka episode. While it doesn't really justify things along with explaining them, it was handled with grace.

Overall, a very cute and enjoyable volume. I like how there is just the right amount of tease about several situations forthcoming, and I really want the next disc! B+

Man, I really wish FUNi had provided a Yue figure with volume three. She's a riot. I'm also digging the 2nd ED tune quite a bit, though I miss the first, more naturally peppy rendition or two of "Happy Material".

[Razb]

As someone who hasn't yet started the manga (it's in the queue), I still don't get the complaints people toss on this show. For all the shoddy animation and plot diversions, I'm really enjoying myself. It reminds me of the Love Hina anime complaints, but I guess I was immune to that, too, since I loved that show. While I don't think Negima is superb, there's just something that draws me to it every time a new disc comes out -- it almost always jumps right in my player.

[pianocello]

As someone who hasn't yet started the manga (it's in the queue), I still don't get the complaints people toss on this show. For all the shoddy animation and plot diversions, I'm really enjoying myself. It reminds me of the Love Hina anime complaints, but I guess I was immune to that, too, since I loved that show. While I don't think Negima is superb, there's just something that draws me to it every time a new disc comes out -- it almost always jumps right in my player.

I love this show and will disagree with TnAdct1 who claims that the subsequent episodes are semi-filler just because they don't follow the manga. Yue was developed better in this anime version than the manga. I wanted to gag when reading vol 14 of the manga when Akamatsu went on his usual half-assed attempt to be dramatic.

[TnAdct1]

As someone who hasn't yet started the manga (it's in the queue), I still don't get the complaints people toss on this show. For all the shoddy animation and plot diversions, I'm really enjoying myself. It reminds me of the Love Hina anime complaints, but I guess I was immune to that, too, since I loved that show. While I don't think Negima is superb, there's just something that draws me to it every time a new disc comes out -- it almost always jumps right in my player.
The best way to get an idea of why people are complaining about the Xebec version of Negima: watch a few episodes of the SHAFT version of Negima (personally, I suggest episodes 4-6), and notice the one thing that plays a key role in the new series, but is seriously ignored in the Xebec version.

[chloes_fork]

Caught this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. A nice return to form for this series after a somewhat lackluster Vol. 3. I thought the first episode was quite touching and well-done, and gave me a new appreciation and sympathy for Ayaka as well as a better understanding of her dynamic with Asuna. And of course I was in hog heaven with all the Nodoka in the latter episodes, especially since she had seemed to fall by the wayside for a while. I thought Negi's
answer to her confession was maybe a little anticlimactic, but I'm not really sure how else they could have gone with that, and it at least seemed to
leave the door open a crack. Overall a very enjoyable four episodes of anime.