Almost everyone seems to have mistook her for Ayaka. Nekane must be crying now hearing that. She needs more appearances along with Anya seriously, especially in the manga.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Pwned. ’nuff said. No matter how much I don’t like SHAFT’s version of Negima, I can’t deny they draw good shit.

Hi-Res, 20MB(yes, 20MB, epic isn’t it?) version available at imouto.org. Use wisely.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

“Secchan…. chotto aho ya ne.”

Haha… Secchan and Konoka are just so ♥♥~~.

Kawaii desu~~

This episode focuses on Aisaka Sayo, the _yuurei gakusei_ of Negi’s class. Negi seems to have noticed the existance of Aisaka-san, and with some help from Evangeline, he casts a spell that allows him to see Sayo-chan. He asks why did Sayo became a ghost because he’d like to resolve her regrets so that she can rest in peace, however, Sayo-chan has been a ghost for far too long and she’s totally forgotten about her life before she died. Thus so, Negi suggests that he and Sayo go around the school to try and jog back Sayo-chan’s memories.

Excited about having someone see her in a long time, Sayo gets a bit excited and causes quite the disturbance in the girl’s dorm, visiting around everybody’s rooms and generally causing mayhem and mischief unintentionally, while Negi desperately tries to catch up with her along with Asakura-san, who forced Negi to spill the beans on Sayo. In the end, Negi manages to catch up with her before she gets shot by Mana and explains things to everyone, but however, they can’t see Sayo, so they find it hard to believe that she was causing the ruckus unintentionally, until Evangeline makes a discreet appearance and makes Asakura’s digicam able to take her picture, which finally convinces everyone she’s harmless. The next day, Negi starts off the roll call with Aisaka’s name, to her delight :).

Quite a sweet and funny episode this time round, focusing on the sole ghost of the class, Sayo-chan. SHAFT did quite a nice job on this episode, with all the references to Zelda and generally having fun with everyone this episode. Didn’t know that Ako was in to building war dioramas :3. There’s also a subplot this episode, involving Asuna trying to sell off the Chupa-ken shirts that she ordered, to recover the cost of making them, though with no success. Ayako is quite scary though, with all her Negi merchandise, even making a toaster that imprints Negi’s face on the bread :3.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Ohime-sama dakko~~

I need to constantly remind myself that Negima?! isn’t Negima!. There are a few things here and there in the series I do not agree about, but one thing I must say stands out is the awesomeness of the fight scenes, when SHAFT really gets serious. Setsuna really made this episode for me. Even Secchan Konoka had a show of her powers with the chopsticks, but I much prefer her as the healer/maiden-in-distress role :). Also looks like they combined a bit of Yue’s power in to Nodoka. Asuna’s sword is much bigger than her manga incarnation.

Well… I still have to get used to the weirdness of SHAFT’s humour, though I really love their updated parodies. Doesn’t this look remotely familiar? Didn’t spot anything else for a while now. And what is with the Chupacabra mania in Negima?! ?? :P

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

What. The. Fuck.

Ok… so SHAFT is going on with their own story instead of following the original….. I have mixed feelings about this, since I so want to see the awesomeness of the Kyoto arc given proper treatment, but since that SHAFT is making up their own Pactio system, I guess that not using the original material but instead their own story is better in a way I guess.

Oh well… I shall continue to pray for Kyoto Animation to get the rights for a Negima remake. Meanwhile, I guess I’ll just enjoy Negima?! as it is… but for fuck’s sake…. since when is Evangeline that weak to get possessed?!!!

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Whoops, my hand slipped.(PWNED!)

Oh man, this episode really makes me realise the appropriateness of the “*Negima?!*” title, mostly the ‘?!’ part.

Ups:

* Asuna, pwning Eva with shoes and boats.
* Fucking. Awesome. Magical fights.
* Secchan.

Downs:

* Eva arc finished so fast?
* Asuna’s mahou shoujo transformation (please go Nanoha style for the rest of the series.)
* Negi never showing off his magical battle powers. Seriously. Eva was finally pwned by Kamo-kun, like.. “LAWL”.
* 4:3 raws.

Well, it seems that SHAFT is wrapping up the Eva Arc fast so they can go in to the thick of the action, which is the Kyoto Arc, that I heard XEBEC butchered and which I luckily never watched so that I will be traumatized. Waiting for 16:9 to come out and rewatch. Asuna pwning Eva was damn awesome.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Maho?!

I must say, Negima?! is definitely the most visually rich anime this season, hands down. Akiyuki Shinbo’s crazy touch really does give a very very fresh feel to the show.He really likes his “multiple panels” and random shots of the settings while character is explaning approach. Funniest must be the attendance sheet talk amongst the characters too.

There’s also craploads of visual cues in almost every frame, ranging from parodies to downright references, like the Nazca Lines and South Park… and those are just the more blatant ones too. The one I liked the most is the “Maho?!” reference, since I had some fun personal experience about it with a friend (P.S. Himeko is awesome.). Not to forgot the falling basins of Tsukuyomi as well ;). I really admire the fansubbers who are doing this, if they can get all the references right. Looks like subs will be slow though :P.

SHAFT also seems to be putting the story on a fast-forward pace that’s comfortable enough for me, but it may feel awkward for any first timers to the Negima series. Quite a few plot points are put in that might not be known to first timers, like the “message” that Chizuru sends to Natsumi, although I can’t understand what is being said… but I’m pretty sure it’s…”exciting”. Eva seems to be more of a brat in this continuity, while Takamichi plays a more active role this time round (plus being more GAR as well).

One more thing to add… the OP is absolutely crazy as well. Reminds me of the PPD OP sequences. The ED is kinda nice as well. As for the Baka Rangers special? Kawai-sou no Makie desu :P.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

… GOOD!

Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man…. watching Negima?! made me shed tears of happiness. It was Just. That. Awesome. Akamatsu-sensei fans rejoice! Seems like SHAFT gave it their full treatment too. I could see a lot of their trademarks around the show.

First off, a lot of the early “character introduction” parts were cut off, and the story jumps straight in to the Eva arc, with Makie’s attack occuring near the beginning of the episode. Also, Eva’s been given more screen time in the form of the 1st 5 minutes showcasing her battle with the Thousand Master that some how reminds me of Tsukoyomi’s beginning too. Fine and dandy by me, and in fact, it looks much more amazingly cooler this way.

Next, character design and animation does not disappoint and in following their traditions, almost none of the frames contain recycled footage. God, I can see Negima?! turning in to the next Pani Poni Dash in terms of fansubbing hardness. The infamous blackboard keeps changing the words every time they cycle through it and for those observant enough, should notice Zazie’s multitude of tricks with every frame change.

Then a few more extras that I notice is the awesomeness that is Mugihito becoming the Narrator. God, only a few others can hope to match up to his legendaryness, maybe only Keroro’s Narrator is equal with him. Plus, it seems the magic scenes will be animated with extreme flourish, seeing the simple spell being casted today. God I’m so looking forward to next week.

Oh well, enough for now.Man… what the hell was with the Baka Rangers scene at the end, I almost choked on my drink. And man… Takamichi is GAR in Negima!?

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

So all my fellow Negima fans, let us all start a petition for SHAFT to remake the whole series to make justice for it’s win. And while we’re at it, let’s push for a law to forbid XEBEC to touch any more of Akamatsu-sensei’s works.

Screencap orgasm to follow. 56k’ers are advised to be prepared. 3.5 MB of pics are following and I’m not kidding. A lot of thanks to frequent visitor, meganeshounen for helping me caption the screencaps.

So let’s kick off with the roll call shall we?

Zazie Rainyday – The Quiet Type, Loves Nature

Aisaka Sayo – Class 3-A’s Official Earthbound Spirit

Akashi Yuuna – Athletic and Loves Playing with Balls… Basketballs

Asakura Kazumi – The Class Paparazzi, Always Looking for Interesting Scoops

Ayase Yue – Baka Black, The Brains of The Baka Rangers

Izumi Ako – The Timid Soccer Team Manager

Ookuchi Akira – The Mermaid-esque Motoko Lookalike

Kakizaki Misa – The Onee-san of the Cheerleader Trio

Kagurazaka Asuna – Baka Red, Never Absent to Lay the Smack on Negi (Notice her Eyes…)

Kasuga Misora – The Track Star Nun

Karakuri Chachamaru – Robot and the youngest of Evangeline’s Maid Robot Companions.

Kugimiya Madoka – The Serious Girl of the Cheerleader Trio (Also reported to be Kotaro’s Love Interest. j/k)

Ku Fei – Baka Yellow and Martial Arts Expert

Konoe Konoka – OJOUSAMA!!

Saotome Haruna – Paru-sama and her l33t Doujin Drawing Skills

Sakurazaki Setsuna – Shinmeiryuu Swordswoman and Konoka’s “Partner”

Sasaki Makie – Baka Pinku~ and Gymnast Extraordinaire

Sakurako Shiina – The Uber-Genki Girl of the Cheerleader Trio

Tatsumiya Mana – Sniper, Mercenary, Miko, All in One Asskicking Package

Chao Linshen – Supergenius from the Future

Nagase Kaede – Baka Blue de gozaru, Nin-nin~!

Naba Chizuru – Token Sexy Airhead ala Mutsumi of Love Hina. Owner of the largest breast in 3-A.

Narutaki Fuka – The Cheerful and Energetic Elder Twin

Narutaki Fumika – The Shy Younger Twin

Hakase Satomi – Techno Genius and Co-Creator of Chachamaru

Hasegawa Chisame – Grumpy Geek and Closet Cosplayer

Evangeline A.K. McDowell(-sama) – A Vampire. In every sense of the ways.

Miyazaki Nodoka – Honya-chan~

Murakami Natsumi – The Shy Theatre Actress

Yukihiro Ayaka – 3-A’s Iincho and Asuna’s Rival/Bestfriend

Yotsuba Satsuki – The Chao Bao Xi’s Head Chef

Followed by some Asuna…

Bless you…

Asuna looks cool….

… yes… she looks cool…

… menacing even….

Kagurazaka-ryuu Ougi: Sea Splitting Slash!

Evangeline-sama is so delicious in this incarnation…

Somehow reminds me of Rozen Maiden’s Shinku

“Nani?!”

“Bouken desho desho~~”

Kowaii

Nyoro~n?

And some KonoSetsu for good measure…

Setsuna’s “Point of View”

Naughty,naughty, Setsuna

Negi is one fucking lucky bastard…

No Escape! Marshmallow Hell! XD…

…a.k.a chichi jigoku

… but he has his cool points… I think…

Negi: *Activates his Magic Circuits* TRACE ON!

Phail!

Of course, let’s not forget the rest of the class shall we?

Otaku girl.

Ahhh.. Maeganekko 4TW!

Gunslinger Miko

Ayaka gives me a boner…

Paparazzi-chan

Suprisingly quite favourite of mine

For the lolicons.

Neko Mizugi Chiu-sama <3

Sayo in the Traditional School Mizugi

And there’s some heart warming moments as well..

Did I say Negi was a lucky bastard?

Negi and his Sister, Nekane

Wheee!!!!

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.