Negima! Magister Negi Magi

Negima: Magister Negi Magi (魔法先生ネギま) is a manga by Ken Akamatsu.

A 10-year old Welsh wizard from the United Kingdom, Negi Springfield, gets sent to Japan to be an English teacher. The manga details his time in Japan, including getting acceptance and respect from his class as the students, (31 older female pupils) are older than he is. The main relationship he develops comes from one student, Asuna Kagurazaka (who is very much like Love Hina's Naru Narusegawa) who nearly hates him from the start. On the other hand, Negi is quite unlike that series's male lead -- younger, generally more capable, and usually treated with often frustrating understanding. Negi puts a lot of good will, and even though most of the girls are very friendly with him, they see him more as a cute little boy to have fun with instead of a respectful instructing mentor.

Negi helps some of the poorest students, putting them on a special studying team called "Baka Rangers" (a spoof of the Power Rangers and "baka" meaning idiot).

As is becoming a feature of Ken Akamatsu manga, fanservice is a common feature, mostly due to Negi's supposedly Disarming spell (Flans Exarmatio [Latin: "Blowing Disarmament"]) going out of control, accidentally causing this (for example: when he sneezes on a train and all the skirts of the girls on the train suddenly fly up revealing their panties).

This title was also involved in a controversy surrounding the censorship of English-translated manga in North America, due to some sexual terms (for instance, Asuna at some point sarcastically calls Ayaka a shota-con). The publisher, Del Rey Manga, was initially going to alter the art in several panels of each volume to tone down the images. However, the community, upon news of this, immediately began fighting against the changes. The end result was Del Rey's decision to release the book uncensored, but sealed in shrinkwrap to prevent prying eyes. This in turn caused miscontent among manga collectors, as the shrink-wrapping sometimes causes damage to the manga novel.

In Singapore, Magister Negi Magi is published by Chuang Yi.

An anime version began airing in Japan on January 6th, 2005. The anime is expected to show the events of volumes 1-6. In addition, Konami released a Negima game on January 20th, 2005.

Characters

The Class of 3A (formerly 2A)

Teacher: Negi Springfield, is the teacher of class 3A (formerly 2A) of Mahora Academy Middle School. (more information will be added.)

Students: There are 31 pupils in his class, all girls, each with their own distinctive personalities.

Student Number 1: Sayo Aisaka, the hapless and meek yurei. More often frightened than frightening, Sayo haunts seat #1. She is invisible to virtually everyone and her presence goes unnoticed until Negi absentmindedly counts her during a class vote.

Student Number 2: Yuuna Akashi is an athletic girl who plays basketball and is a friend of Makie Sasaki, Ako Izumi and Akira Ookouchi who are also in sports clubs. She loves her father who happens to be a professor. (It is unclear if the professor works at the Mahora Academy.)

Student Number 3: Kazumi Asakura, the resident class reporter. She likes to get the inside scoop on everything that goes on. Always has a camera on hand. She is also one of the few girls in the class to know of Negi's secret, which she found out while investigating who proclaimed their love to Negi. Another note: Kazumi is 1 of the 5 girls in the class who have big breasts and has the fourth largest breasts in the class.

Student Number 4: Yue Ayase, the cool slacker. Despite being talented, she hates studying and keeps being in the bottom of the class grades. She is a member of the "Baka Rangers", the nickname for the five lowest scorers in Negi's class (she is the "Black Ranger"), and is a member of the Library Exploration Group, often hanging around with Haruna and Nodoka. She is a strong supporter of Nodoka, and encourages her to develop a relationship with Negi. She is also one of the few girls in the class to know of Negi's secret, which she found out all by herself by figuring it out the clues and strange incidents since Negi arrive & she was the one who call Kaede, Ku Fei and Mana for help when the Kansai Magic Association headquarters was attacked by the people who kidnapped Konoka at Kyoto. She is sometimes seen drinking tomato milk.

Student Number 5: Ako Izumi, a shy athletic girl who likes to play soccer. She also works as a school nurse's assistant. Has a scar over her waist and is a friend of Makie Sasaki, Akira Ookouchi and Yuuna Akashi who are also in sports clubs.

Student Number 6: Akira Ookouchi is a very athletic swimmer in the swimming club and is a friend of Makie Sasaki, Ako Izumi & Yuuna Akashi who are also in sports clubs. She resembles Motoko Aoyama of Love Hina.

Student Number 7: Misa Kakizaki is one of the three cheerleaders in the class. She is a friend of Madoka and Sakurako and loves to go shopping every week, and hates carbonated drinks.

Student Number 8: Asuna Kagurazaka, the irascible dunce and leading female character. Often in conflict with people. Asuna has a crush on her former English teacher, Mr. Takahata, whom Negi replaces. Asuna is in fact an orphan, who was allowed into the school for free by the school dean, yet Asuna still tries to pay for her schooling via a paper route. Much to her chagrin, she is a member of the "Baka Rangers", the nickname for the five lowest scorers in Negi's class. She is the "Red Ranger". She has Heterochromia iridis and her eyes are blue and green. This is considerably more noticeable in the anime, as while in the anime the two are quite different colors, the eye colors are fairly similar to each other in the manga version. (See Note on Color Changes) Asuna is the first to find out about Negi's secret when she saw him saving Nodoka from falling down the stairs. Negi and Asuna had a very shaky relationship from the start but later improved with Negi being a little brother to her and Asuna being a big sister/guardian to him. Asuna is the first person that Negi made a probationary contract with. Her artifact was supposed to be a giant sword, but turned out to be a giant fan instead. The only time the sword was seen when Asuna was worried and tried to save Negi from the sharks in chapter 61, which means emotions play a role to her summoning the sword. She has immunity to most magic against her such as the effects of a love potion or a petrification spell. Asuna may have met the Thousand Master as a child before which may explain her strong magic immunity.

Student Number 9: Misora Kasuga is a tomboy in the track & field club. She sometimes wears a nun's uniform.

Student Number 10: Chachamaru Karakuri, a robot (created by Hakase and powered by Evangeline), though only a select few actually seem to have noticed (even though her metal robotic parts stick out very clearly, such as her rabbit-ear-like antennas and mechanical head screw!). To date, only Evangeline, Chamo, Chisame, and Satomi have been able to identify her without having it pointed out to them. She also stands out as being about the only friend Evangeline A. K. McDowell has in the class. In fact, the two are so close that Chachamaru takes care of Evangeline whenever she gets sick. This is not simple friendship, as she has been designed by Eva as a specific magic partner. Chachamaru behaves cold and emotionless most of the time (as she is an android), though she spends most of her free time, on her own will, taking care of people and animals (she is looking after a pack of stray cats). She is also in the Go (japanese chess) and Tea ceremony clubs, but only because Eva is in those clubs too.

Student Number 11: Madoka Kugimiya, is the serious one of the three cheerleaders in the class. She is their leader and the one making sure that the other cheerleaders (especially Sakurako) don't get into any trouble. She likes Gyuudon Noodles, Silver accessories and is a fan of Avril Lavigne but hates playboys, and is mildly obsessed with her husky voice.

Student Number 12: Ku Fei, the energetic and joyful kung-fu fighting Chinese girl. She is much like Love Hina's Kaolla Suu (though less childish). She's a member of the "Baka Rangers" where she is the "Yellow Ranger". She says that she can't concentrate much on her studies as she "takes most of her time" to study Japanese language. She hates being used as test subjects for Chao's and Satomi's inventions. She is also one of the few girls in the class to know of Negi's secret. When Mana and Kaede helped Negi, Asuna and Setsuna rescued Konoka at Kyoto.

Student Number 13: Konoka Konoe, a gentle and caring girl who lives with Asuna and Negi. If anything, she's the mediator within Asuna's and Konoka's dorm room, being both Asuna's best friend and Negi's biggest supporter. She is also the school dean granddaughter. A fan of fortune telling, she has much magical potential, having come from a family of powerful mages. Her father is the chief of the Kansai Magic Association, who married her mother, the school dean daughter, in an arranged marriage in order to ease tension between the Kansai and Kantou (where Mahora Acedemy is located and the dean lives) Magic Associations. (This is because Kantou mages use western type magic from Europe, and this angered Kansai mages who use eastern type magic from East Asia, because they see Kantou mages forgetting traditions and being more western). She is the fourth person that Negi made a probationary contract with and has the ability to heal wounds.

Student Number 14: Haruna Saotome, the local rumor-monger. If there's a rumor going around in the class, she's almost always at the root of it all. Also, as a member of the Library Exploration Club, she seems to have made it her mission to get Nodoka together with Negi - whether Nodoka wants her help or not.

Student Number 15: Setsuna Sakurazaki, a kendo expert trained in the Kyoto Shinmei (God's Cry) Style. Originally from Kyoto, she is a childhood friend of Konoka and often acts as her protector. However, she rarely communicates with Konoka, as she believes that she should be her "protector from the shadows" so to speak. But the truth is she is has angel wings since she is half bird, fearing that Konoka and everyone else would hate her. But Negi, Asuna and Konoka, who were the first to find out, still became her friends even after finding out who she was. The only people who know about her secret is Asuna, Konoka, Eva, Chachamaru and Negi who all agreed to keep it a secret. After the Kyoto incident, she has become more open, even being with Konoka. Occasionally goes on exorcisms with Mana Tatsumiya. She is the third person that Negi made a probationary contract with. Interesting note: the kendo style that Setsuna use is the same style used by Motoko Aoyama of Love Hina. This has led fans to believe their might be a possible cross over between the series since both are created by the same author, Ken Akamatsu.

Student Number 16: Makie Sasaki, the delicate and feminine rhythmic gymnast. She has a strong liking to Negi is friends to Yuuna Akashi, Ako Izumi & Akira Ookouchi who are also in sports clubs. She's a member of the "Baka Rangers", the nickname for the five lowest scorers in Negi's class, standing out as the second lowest scorer (only Asuna does worse than her). She is the "Pink Ranger".

Student Number 17: Sakurako Shina, the most cheerful one of the three cheerleaders in the class. She also has high liking to Negi. Together with the Narutaki twins, the three look like hyperactive kids. She loves to karaoke and her pet cats, Cookie and Biscuit but she hates black stuff that appears in the kitchen especially what the cats bring in. She is also in the Lacrosse club.

Student Number 18: Mana Tatsumiya, the mercenary miko. She works part time at a shrine within the academy as a priestess & employs guns with spellbreaker bullets as her tool of exorcism. She is also one of the few girls in the class to know of Negi's secret, when she Ku Fei & Kaede help Negi, Asuna & Setsuna rescue Konoka at Kyoto. She is also in the Biathlon club. Another note: Mana is 1 of the 5 girls in the class who have big breasts.

Student Number 19: Chao Lingshen, the top student of the entire year group. A Chinese girl, she is in a lot of clubs and is particularly into cooking. She is best friends with Satomi Hakase & both enjoy using Satomi’s invetions on Ku Fei.

Student Number 20: Kaede Nagase, the gentle and calm yet strong and tall girl. She resembles Mitsune Konno from Love Hina. In her free time, she goes ninja-training in the mountains, using real ninja weaponry and even having true "magical" ninja powers (such as the art of the doppelganger). She is a member of the "Baka Rangers", the nickname for the five lowest scorers in Negi's class. She is the "Blue Ranger". Kaede is one of the rare girls who know Negi's secret (though he doesn't know, as she noticed it secretly) & helped Negi, Asuna & Setsuna rescue Konoka at Kyoto with Mana & Ku Fei. Another note: Kaede is 1 of the 5 girls in the class who have big breasts.

Student Number 21: Chizuru Naba is gentle, loving yet strange girl. She resemble Mutsumi Otohime from Love Hina & even acts like her. She is kind person to everyone, volunteers at the daycare at Mahora city & is in the Astronomy club. She is also roomates with Ayaka Yukihiro & Natsumi Murakami. Another note: Chizuru is 1 of the 5 girls in the class who have big breasts & has the largest breasts in the class.

Student Number 22: Fuka Narutaki, the elder of the Narutaki twins. She's the class prankster, and always seems to be looking for some way to get into trouble. More often than not, she winds up getting Fumika to help her out as well. Together with her sister & Sakurako the 3 look like hyperactive kids.

Student Number 23: Fumika Narutaki, the younger of the Narutaki twins. Truth be told, she's almost the complete opposite of Fuka. Her hobby is cleaning, and more often than not winds up going along with Fuka's pranks, trying to tell her sister that it's a bad idea the entire way. Together with her sister & Sakurako the 3 look like hyperactive kids.

Student Number 24: Satomi Hakase, the robotics expert. She is best friends with Chao Lingshen. She also performs maintenance on Chachamaru. She & Chao enjoy using her invetions on Ku Fei. She is also a member in the Robotics & Jet propulsion society of Mahora university.

Student Number 25: Chisame Hasegawa, the grumpy computer geek, with a double life. She is serious in public, however in private she dresses via cosplay fashion and takes glamorous and sexy pictures of herself that are posted to a website. In the manga, she is the most popular of the internet idols. She particularly dislikes Chachamaru Rakuso, Mana Tatsumiya, the Narutaki twins, Ku Fei, Lingshen Chao, Evangeline, Kaede Nagase, Zazie Rainyday and Negi, considering them to be crazy (as they are quite eccentric-looking). Actually, she is afraid of being crazy herself because of her hobby, but denies it herself. She does look like Love Hina’s Naru Narusegawa with her glasses on. The only person who knows about her double life is Negi. Unfortunely, not only did he found out about her secret, he even accidently embarrasses her to the entire class no thanks to his magic (he sneeze at her which blow all of her clothes off in chapter 12) & she vows one day to get her revenge for what he did.

Student Number 26: Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell (a.k.a. Eva), the only Western/Caucasian girl in the class. A cold and devilish small girl, she is actually a criminal witch/vampire nicknamed the "Dark Evangel" and a thousand other names... or so she would have a person believe. She may looklike about 10 but she’s really over a hundred years old! She rarely ever says much in class, but what she does say tends to lean towards an attempt to seem as evil as possible. However, she DOES have a soft side, which she rarely shows. The only people who can truly say much about Evangeline would be Chachamaru & Chacha Zero. She enjoy playing Go (Japanese chess) & is in the Go & Tea Ceremony club. As an interesting note, Mr. Takahata wrote "Ask her advice if you're in trouble" on Negi's class roster. (See Note on Evangeline in Translation Notes) Eva ostensibly hates Negi, although it is due to the fact that his father rejected (indirectly) her love & 15 years ago, he put a powerful curse that seal her magic powers & prevented her from leaving Mahora Academy as punishment for being evil. However she was able to leave the academy once when she & Chachamaru help Negi, Asuna & Setsuna rescue Konoka at Kyoto thanks to the dean who was able to find way to trick the powers that prevented Eva from leaving the academy. Another way for her to leave, is if the entire electricity power at Mahora Academy is shutdown since this power is powering the curse that’s been sealing her magic & preventing her to leave. The only way for her to end the curse is if somebody who is powerful like (Negi father) to lift the curse or she has to completely drink Negi blood (which contain very powerful magic which was passed down from his father) inorder to be free from the curse.

Student Number 27: Nodoka Miyazaki, the shy book maniac. A member of the Library Exploration Group, and helps in the book store, she spends so much time in the library that people outside the Library Exploration Group refer to her as "Book shelf girl", "Library Girl", "Book Store girl", etc. When Negi first arrived, she always had hair falling in front of her eyes, though her current hairstyle usually leaves enough of an opening in her hair that one (and only one) eye & later both eyes can be seen. After Negi catches her after she falls down some stairs, she develops a liking to Negi, which seems to be reciprocated & rather interesting since she dislikes boys.Interesting note, she is very much like Love Hina's Shinobu Maehara, by the same author, Ken Akamatsu. Nodoka is the second student Negi make a probationary contract with. Her magical artifact is a "Diary" that shows the thoughts of any person she speaks the name of.

Student Number 28: Natsumi Murakami, is sweet yet shy girl who is an actress in the theatrical club. She loves acting but one thing she hates is herself & how she looks because her body is not ‘mature’. This is made more worse since she is roomates with Ayaka & Chizuru who both have mature bodies & bigger breast.

Student Number 29: Ayaka Yukihiro, the rich and snooty class representative. More often than not, she winds up being the only thing keeping the class in order, due to Negi's inexperience with handling large groups, which winds up with betting rings opening up whenever she's distracted, more often than not because she's fighting with Asuna (which in turn winds up being what the betting is on). Her and Asuna seem to hate each other, with the two often getting into fights. She is madly in love with Negi, though she stands by the position that she's only interested in Negi because he "needs a mother figure". She tends to be aggressive in pretty much everything she does, which tends to wind up with her being misunderstood. However, she's very good at hiding her own past (such as her younger brother who died at child birth). She also roomates with Chizuru Naba & Natsumi Murakami & is in the equestrian & floral club. Another note: Ayaka is 1 of the 5 girls in the class who have big breasts.

Student Number 30: Satsuki Yotsuba is the only girl in class whose fat. She enjoys cooking and is in the cooking club. She also runs a nikuman business with Lingshen, and is the school dining officer.

Student Number 31: Zazie Rainyday is very mysterious student. Nothing much is known about her, as she rarely talks. What is known is that she is in the school's magic club, thanks to Takamichi's notes. She has dark skin, and has two particular face paint marks: a large teardrop under her left eye, and a vertical line crossing the right side of her face. She is always seen with her pet bird.

Other Characters

Anya is the only other student who graduated with Negi that has been named. She and Negi have been childhood friends for as long as they can remember, and it has been indicated that Anya helped Negi pack for his trip to Japan. She is currently working as a fortune teller in London, so it is unlikely that she will make any major appearances other than in flashbacks. Anya seems like a grumpy girl (often shown frowning).

Albert Chamomile, or Chamo is a perverted panty-stealing (typical manga male stock character!) chain-smoking talking ermine that Negi helped out when he was five. Since then, Chamo has been going to Negi whenever he ran into trouble. He was originally thought to have been sent to Negi by his elder sister to help Negi out, though we later find out Negi was the only person he could rely on when Chamo escaped from the law for stealing girls underwear(Over 2000!) because the law could not arrest him if he were a pet of a wizard. He lied to Negi saying he stole them to keep his sick sister warm, which Negi believed, whereupon Negi made Chamo his pet/familiar. As a side note, being turned into an ermine is one of the punishments that Negi's magic academy gives, which makes one wonder about whether Chamo was once a mage as well.

Negi's elder sister's (Nekane Springfield) gentle personality is largely based on interpretations through disjointed flashbacks, so it is hard to identify precisely what she is like. What has been indicated however is that Negi's sister took on more of a motherly role in his life. As a side note, Asuna and Negi's sister feel similar for Negi. Nekane may not be the daughter of Nagi Springfield because when he was offcial anounced dead, he was 25, which doesn't make sense since she was still a teenager during & after his death, she may be Nagi sister or a relative of his, but if she is Nagi daughter, the only clear explanation is that Nagi married at an early age or she is his adopted daughter. 6 years ago, when demons attack the village where she & Negi use to lived, she was almost turn to stone trying to protect Negi from a petrification spell but was saved by The Thousand Master. (It is unknown if she knows she was saved by him.)

The School Dean (Konoemon Konoe) is Konoka's grand-father, which likely played a role in his decision for Negi to live with her and Asuna. What has been indicated is that he's a kind-hearted man, but extremely strict & is the chief of the Kantou Magic Association. The Dean’s hobby is arranging marriage interviews & is always telling Konoka to choose a future fiance . One arrange marriage thanks to him is his daughter's marriage to the chief of Kansai Magic Association (Eishun Konoe) which has resulted in Konoka's birth & easing tension between the Kansai & Kantou Magic Association. Unfortunaley, there were still a few mages in Kansai who still dislike Kantou even after the marriage, so the dean sent Negi on secret task to give the chief of Kansai a letter containing a peace offering when the school was on fieldtrip to Kyoto.(Actually the letter was a complaint by the dean, telling his son-in-law to try to control his henchmen who dislike Kantou Mages). When the Kansai Magic Association Headquarters was attack,his granddaughter kidnap by Chigusa Amagasaki & her henchmen, the dean help Negi & the others by sending Eva & Chachamaru. He helped Eva leave the academy by distracting the powers that prevented Eva from leaving by stamping a document on where she was going, however this only last for 5 seconds, which resulted the dean stamping a new document every 5 seconds! As a result, he ended with bad back ache & a sore hand but he was glad he was able to help Negi save his granddaughter.

Ms. Shizuna Minamoto is Negi's advisor on the school. She primarily attempts to be a motherly figure whilst Negi adjusts to the school, slowly leading him into the different aspects of his job.

Takamichi T. Takahata, or Takahata-sensei is the teacher Negi is replacing in the school. This is not to say that he is not in the school, however - he has appeared several times throughout, though it is unknown what exactly he is doing without any work for the time being. It should be noted that Takahata-sensei is close friends with Negi, and fought in the magic war, alongside Eishun Konoe and the Thousand Master. He is very much like Love Hina's Noriyasu Seta (who is also a calm teacher on whom the leading girl character is in love with).

Nagi Springfield (The Thousand Master) is a legendary wizard who supposedly wields a thousand spells which is where the name descended from & He is Negi's & (maybe) Nekane's father. The name may be descended not because he knew a 1000 spells but he was able to make spells a thousand times stronger.(i.e Evageline's curse.) He was so strong that he didn't even need any partners to help him. He was a magic swordsman, using both magic & hand-to-hand combat. When he was 15, he & his friends (Eishun, Takamichi, and 3 others) fought in a magic war 20 years ago. After the war, he became famous for his heroic deeds during the war & got the name The Thousand Master. He disappeared ten years ago in 1993, the same year Negi was born. No one knows precisely what happened to him, but most people assume he's dead. According to some flashbacks, Negi was a nice & playful man but sometimes the things he did were troublesome especially the village he lived.. Negi when he was younger didn't believe the stories that his father was dead, so got himself in trouble, hoping his dad might come & rescue him. He did. 6 years ago, when demons attacked the village where Negi & his sister live, he rescued his children & defeated the demons. He gave Negi his staff, after he defeated the demons & last thing he said to his son was, "I'm really am sorry, I can't do anything for you. It's not like I have any right to say this, but grow up well & happy!". Negi is becoming a Magister Magi so, one day he could meet his father again. Nagi may also have meet & gave Asuna her magic immunity when she was a child.

Chachamaru Zero (Chachazero) was a magical doll that was once Evangeline's partner before Eva was put on a curse by Nagi. Unlike Chachamaru (Eva's current partner) who is powered by a spring, Zero is powered by magic which mainly comes from Eva. As a result of the curse, she can not move but talk only, which is the reason why Eva rely's on Chachamaru. While Chachamaru is polite & kind, Zero is rude & a whiner. She is always complaining that she can't move & her master has become too soft & not so evil lately because Zero enjoy killing & seeing things get killed. When she fights, she uses 2 daggers & sometimes a giant sword larger than her. She is sometimes seen riding on Chachamaru head.

Eishun Konoe is Konoka father & the chief of the Kansai Magic Association. Before Konoka's birth, the Kansai & Kantou Magic Association had a feud because Kansai mages did not approve of Kantou mages becoming western & using western style magic instead of eastern style magic, because they dislike western mages & see Kantou's actions were abadoning their tradition. In order, to ease the two sides, The school dean of Mahora who is also the chief of the Kantou Magic Association made an arranged marriage between Eishun & his daughter. The hostility ended but there were still few in Kansai who still dislike Kantou &/or western mages.(i.e.Chigusa Amagasaki). Despite Kansai mages attidtue to the west, Eishun became best friends with a powerful western mage, the Thousand master, Negi's father. Nagi, Eishun, Takamichi, and 3 others who were Nagi comrade-in-arms, fought in a magic war that involved both mages from the east & west 20 years ago. He has battle scars on his body from that war. Even after his so called death in 1993, he still kept Nagi's holiday house clean. When Konoka was born, Eishun never told her that she was a mage because he wanted his daughter to have a normal life. However, because she is also from the Konoe bloodline, she inherited incredible magic power which makes her a target for anyone who wanted to use her powers. So Eishun sent her to study at Mahora Academy with Setsuna as her bodyguard, so his father-in-law could protect her from danger from mages trying to kidnap her, especially those from Kansai.

Chigusa Amagasaki is a ying-yang charm user from the Kansai Magic Association. She was the one repossible for causing trouble at beginning of the school field trip. She try to prevent Negi from giving his letter to the chief of Kansai Magic Association because she does not want relations between the Kansai & Kantou Magic Association to improve & she was the one who was trying to kidnap Konoka due to the powerful magic power she has. She bears a grudge against western mages because her parents were kill in the magic war that Nagi, Eishun & other mages from east & west that were involved in that war 20 years ago. She plans to have her revenge against the western mages by summoning the demon god "Ryoumen Sukunanokami" & the only way to do that was to use Konoka powers. Despite having the ability to summon warrior spirits & creating Shikigami she needed help, so she also enlisted the help of 3 mercenary children to help her in her plan. She was successful summoning the demon god using Konoka powers but Evangeline who was more powerful defeated the demon. Her plans fail, she tries to escape but was captured by Chacha Zero & is under custody of the Kansai Magic Association.

Kotarou Inugami is 1 of the 3 mercenary children helping Chigusa. He is wolf-man, which can be tell by the wolf-like ears & tail he has and uses the power of the dog gods to summon dogs. He is a powerful fighter & an expert in Ninjutsu & charms. He prefers to fight hand to hand rather than using magic. He disrespect Negi by calling him a weakling, because he see western mages who lets their partners do their fights, & not do the fighting themselves as weakling. He takes back what he said to Negi, when Negi defeats him using both magic & hand-to-hand combat. He later turns in his beast form, a stronger version of himself to defeat Negi, but he was defeated easily thanks to the help of Nodoka & her magic diary. He & Negi had a final match when Negi was trying to rescue Konoka, but was cut short when Kaede intervened & was defeated by her, who was more better. Despite being a hot headed person, he is a feminist & would never hit women unless they are powerful fighters. He was currently under custody of the Kansai Magic Association but later escape, trying to warn Negi of an impeding danger. He is currently living with Chizuru & Natsumi.

Tsukuyomi the Shinmeiryuu swordsgirl is 1 of the 3 mercenary children helping Chigusa. Unlike Setsuna who only use a 1-sword style, she uses a sword & dagger style. And she also knows how use charms like invisibility & summoning creatures (mostly dolls). She has a crush on Setsuna since she is a senior at the Shinmeiryuu, admires her bravery & loves to duel with her & even calling her Senpai. She loves to cosplay as seen from the costumes she wears. She had a final duel with Setsuna, when Setsuna & Asuna fought against the demons summon by Chigusa but was stop when Asuna & Setsuna went to help Negi fight against Fate & the Demon God & when Mana & Fei Ku join the battle against the demons. After the demon god was defeated, she returns to the Shinmeiryuu with the only shame she couldn't finish her duel with her beloved Setsuna-Senpai.

Fate Awelnks is 1 of the 3 mercenary children helping Chigusa. He came to Japan from the Istanbul Magic Association a month before the school fieldtrip to train but was really there to help Chigusa. Fate is an expert in both Western & Eastern Magic & is stronger & more skillful than Negi. He helped Chigusa not because she hired him but because he helped for another reason. He was the one that turn almost everyone at the Kansai Magic Association headquarters to stone & kidnap Konoka when Chigusa fail to kidnap her at earlier attempts. When Negi, Asuna & Setsuna try to rescue Konoka, they had a hard time defeating Fate for he was very good fighter & mage but succeed thanks to Negi's surprise attacks & help from Eva. The name he has may not be his real name & according to Eva, he is not human but a construct. He disappeared after the demon god was defeated. He sometimes overdoes his magic.

Translation Notes

This is a section for inconsistencies found in the Del Rey translation of Negima. This is an errata section.

Haruna Saotome: Pseudonym "Pal"

The conversion from Haruna to Pal looks unusual. To understand this, one has to have a kind of have to know a bit of knowledge of Japanese pronounciation or either hiragana or katakana. Basically, one starts with "Haru", short for Haruna. In in Japanese, Ha, Ba, and Pa are basically the same character, and to the Japanese ear are pronounced fairly similarly. Thus, "Haru" becomes "Paru". Keeping in mind more Japanese pronounciation, when one converts that to English he or she winds up with "Pal".

Thousand Master/Southern Master

In the first volume, the Del Rey translation refers to the Thousand Master as the Thousand Master, and mention that it is said he knows a thousand spells. In the third volume, they refer to a "Southern Master", who supposedly knew a thousand spells. Negi also identifies the "Southern Master" as his father. Del Rey has verified that they are in fact the same person, and it was improperly translated in Volumes 3 and 4, as in Katakana, "Thousand" and "Southern" would look about the same. The translator in question has been replaced, and future prints of Volumes 3 and 4 will have this correction.

Note for Evangeline

In Negi's class folder, Takamichi has written under Evangeline's picture: "Ask her advice if you're in trouble" ("Talk to her if you have any problems" in the Chuang-Yi version) which is an incorrect translation of the original sentence saying "Komatta toki soudan shinasai" ("If in trouble, ask for assistance"). Since Eva is a bitter enemy of Negi who does anything but help him, it is obviously inconsistent. It probably originally meant that if Eva causes trouble, Negi has to request help from the Dean and others (the Dean knows about the wizards).

Modified Surnames

So far, the surnames of two characters appear to have been adjusted. In the first two volumes of the Del Rey translation, Chachamaru's surname is given as "Rakuso". However, in Volume 3, her surname is listed as "Karakuri". This actually stems from the fact that with the kanji that make up her name, the most common pronunciation of each is as "Raku" and "Sō". This is not especially uncommon, as many kanji have multiple ways of pronouncing them. Making use of some of the audio CDs released in Japan, the proper pronunciation of Chachamaru's surname is "Karakuri".

In addition, Satomi's surname has been changed from Del Rey's "Nakase" to "Hakase" in the Del Rey translations. The proper spelling is Hakase, and the first character can never be pronounced as "Na", so the most likely conclusion is a simple typo: It's entirely possible that the editors of the first volume didn't notice that it was an N in the first volume.

Another note in most of the class roster sheets in the Del Ray translations Number 7:Misa Kakizaki is actually listed as Kakizaki Misa. Knowing that in Japan the surname does come first in speaking and in lists this could be nothing to worry about. But in several areas (Vol:1/Chapter3 and some time in Vol:4 on one of the chapter pages) Kakizaki-san's name is listed as Misa Kakizaki. It is unknown exactly why they have such different placements, but going by the Japanese version, Kakizaki is the surname, with Misa as the given name.

Note on Color Changes

The conversion from manga to anime has left several characters hair colors changed, the most radical color changes being Chisame's hair color (indicated to be a red-head in the manga, but has green hair in the anime), Misa (light brown hair in the manga, but purple hair in the anime) and Yuna's hair color (black hair in manga, bright brown in the anime). In addition, the Del Rey translation of Negima changed a limited amount of colors, including Asuna's eye colors: Instead of her left eye being blue and her right eye being green, her left eye is a light purple and her right eye is blue.

Latin phrases used in Negima

The second volume of the Negima Del Rey translation states that the Latin subtitle "Magister Negi Magi" means "Wizard Negi-Sensei." It also defines the "Magi" as "magical." "Magi" is a form of the Latin word "magus," but the "Magi" in "Magister Negi Magi" doesn't grammatically agree with "Negi" or "Magister" if it is used as an adjective. Furthermore, since Negi's name is Latinized as "Negius" (Latin genitive, singular form: "Negii"), "Magical Sensei Negi" should be "Magister Magus Negius" in Latin. "Wizard Negi-Sensei" would be better in Latin as "Magister Magorum Negius" ("Wizard Master Negi" or literally, "Master of Wizards Negi"). However, "Negi" can be treated as an indeclinable noun, and the adjective "Magi" can implicitly refer to a magical person (wizard) or to something that is magical (magic itself) if used as a substantive. Defined thus, "Magister Negi Magi" can mean something like "Master of the Magical Thing (i.e. Magic) Negi," which is a possible Latin translation of the Japanese title.

For the most part, the Latin phrases used in Negima are meaningful and correct. (One notable exception is the "MACINATRIX" on Satomi's "Charta Ministralis" or "Attendant Card." That should be "MACHINATRIX" ["inventress"].) However, the interpretations of the Latin phrases in the Del Rey translation are mostly inaccurate. For instance, the second volume claims that "Magister Magi" means "magical people," but "magical people" is "homines magi" in Latin. One possible reason for the many inaccuracies is that the translators didn't actually translate the Latin words directly, but rather they translated the Japanese translations of the Latin translations. If that is the case, then that can be a problem with Latin words such as "adeat," which is translated into Japanese as "kitare" (English: "come" used as an imperative form). "Adeat" is a subjunctive form, not an imperative form, of the Latin verb "adire" ("to approach," "to draw near"), so it can be translated as "Let him/her/it approach," but not simply "Approach."

Time Line

Interpreting the timeline in Negima! can be a hassle. There are very little and subtle clues that give the date in the manga. In the first volume we see that Negi graduated from the wizard school sometime in 2002, but didn't start teaching until early 2003. On the scroll he received his first assignment on it says 2003-7, however the rest is obscured by a speech bubble, the date could be when he is going to start teaching. (Actually Negi graduated at 2002-7 not 2003, another note Negi is not really 10 yet because he was born in 1993 so therefore if he graduated in 2003, he would have told Asuna about his real age was 10 not 9 at Chp 3(in the anime, episode 4, Negi states that he uses kazoedoshi, an 'old system' of measuring age, where when one is born they are already considerd one and every New Year they age one year.)) In the second volume Negi receives a letter from the headmaster with a date; April 2, 2003. The date actually refers to the date that Negi will start teaching his second year of school. In the fourth volume we see that Asuna's birthday; April 21, is in one chapter. Also in volume 1 one of the girls states Negi had been teaching them for nearly a week. We cannot guess how long volume 2 is the time at Libray Island only last for three days but the time after the test is only a guess, possibly 1 to 3 weeks. We can also assume that the time between volumes 1 and 2 would be a day or 2 days, and the time between volume 2 and 3 would be at least a week if not more.

However in volume 3 we see Evangeline say that she had waited 6 months for a chance to attack Negi. Now taking that and adding it to the existing data we find that this must be false, most likely a typo or translation error. The actual comment might have been 6 weeks or possibly less, as Negi was only teaching for a few weeks. The events in volume 3 last about 8 or so days, and the events in volumes 4 currently a week, give or take a day. Thus we can safely assume that the time in Negima! the manga is near the end of April to the first week of May.

In addition, the timelines of the game, anime, and manga seem to differ greatly. The anime states that Negi began teaching at the start of the school year in 2002, making the time he arrived some time in April, 2002. Meanwhilst, in the game, The events of Volume 2 occur between March 3rd, 2003 and March 18th, 2003, and mixes in the events of Volume 3, with the final exam being the last occurrence in the game.

Anime revisions

Due to protests against the storyline and animation in Mahou Sensei Negima, the DVD release will be revised from the TV version. The first episode will have several scenes changed as they were improperly supervised; the storyboards will be changed as well. The second and fourth (and subsequent) episodes will be completely redone with proper supervision. The introduction itself will also be changed and edited. Additionally the Fafner team from Xebec will join the animation team from episode 10 and onwards. The DVD is slated for release in May 2005 in Japan.

One of the more obvious errors in the anime: at the end of the second episode Negi didn't go to sleep in Asuna's and Konoka's room; instead he stayed outside for the entire night collecting four-leaf clovers for the "love potion". Going to her job, Asuna finds him outside and allows him to stay in her dorm room. In the beginning of the third episode we find Negi in Asuna's futon (like in the manga) but yet it is still only the second day. This conspicuous clash with the ending of the second episode is probably one of the reasons for the revisions on the Mahou Sensei Negima! anime DVD release.

Magic in Negima

The magic in Negima, whilst seeming fairly general, have several things that should be noted. This will be covered in this section.

Western Mages vs. Eastern Mages

One may note that there are many significant differences between the Western Mage schools and the Eastern Mage schools. First, the Western school of mages tends to emphasize the mage as a part of a group: The mage casts spells, whilst the partner or allies provide support, protecting the magician. In this way, many of the spells have a focus on two main sections: support powers, such as magic barriers, healing, and precognition, and assault powers, designed to either fire too many attacks to dodge, or make an extremely powerful attack to break through any magic barriers. Even in this grouping however, many of these spells are designed more for sealing, capture, and disarming an enemy than outright destroying the enemy.

On the other hand, the Eastern school of mages emphasize the mage as a solo operative, with many of the spells devised more to disrupt and confuse more than play a role in direct combat. In addition, the Eastern mage's talismans are highly specific. The exceptions occur when it comes to talisman monsters, such as the assault and protective demons. These talisman monsters last until their purpose is accomplished, or until they are destroyed. An assault demon will thus last until it is either destroyed, or until no more enemies remain, and dissipate. In much the same way, a defensive demon will only last until it defends the mage from an assault. Once again, once there are no possible threats, they dissipate. In the case that no orders are given to talismans, they will attempt to complete whatever task they are first given, and complete that. Once that task is completed, they return to paper.

Magic Vampirism

Of note is the fact that while Evangeline does not have any of the weaknesses of a vampire, she still makes use of vampirism to empower herself. Before being cursed, she wielded immense magical power, which was likely what prevented any aging. However, the curse placed upon her sealed most of that magic power away, leaving her extremely vulnerable. Judging by her physical weaknesses, it can probably be assumed that Evangeline's magical powers probably boosted her physical capabilities: However, upon losing them, her body, which was now more dependant on magic, became far more susceptible to disease than an ordinary human. In fact, it appears the only thing the remaining magic seems to do is prevent her from aging.

In an attempt to counter this, Evangeline's taken to many different techniques to boost her magical capabilities. The first being the catalysts she uses, reducing the drain each spell cast has on her. The second being the vampirism itself. What actually occurs is that the magical power within the blood is consumed, rather than the blood itself. Thus, Evangeline can keep herself from becoming sick, and allow herself to use stronger magics by drinking the blood of someone with significant magic power. This can also explain why Evangeline is significantly healthier and capable of more impressive magics later on in the series.

External links

• Official Magister Negi Magi website (Japanese)
• Negima anime website (Japanese)
• Del Rey's manga section (which includes a section for the Negima manga)
• Negima game website (Japanese)
• Ken Akamatsu's website (Japanese)
• Latinitas Negimaria (English translations of the Latin phrases used in Negima)
• Ken Akamatsu Forum, a place to talk about all of Mr. Akamatsu's works.