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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to the Mahora Girls Academy!, April 22, 2009
It is easy to call "Negima!" the anime equivalent of Harry Potter, but it just isn't so. You have two young boys who can do magic, and there the similarities end. Harry Potter was never chased around romantically by thirty-one junior high school girls each trying to steal a kiss. With Love Hina creator Ken Akamatsu at the helm you know you are in for a good time.
You have to accept this basic premise of "Negima!" before you can enjoy the series. Negi Springfield is a ten-year-old wizard-in-training from Wales, with dreams of becoming the Magister Magi (Master Mage). In the meantime, he has been hired as an English teacher for the Mahora Girls Academy in Japan, as well as being the homeroom teacher for class 2-A. The Mahora Girls Academy is not all it seems at first, as its students include vampires, ghosts and robots, although all the normal students never seem to notice this. Of course, all the girls develop crushes on the cute 10-year old, and hijinks ensue.
The "Negima!" animated series follows the first volumes of the comic for the most part, and then suddenly veers away. The reason for this is that the anime eventually out-paced the comic, and so a new storyline was invented. This storyline, showing up around episode 19 or so, is quite different from the comic and might come as a shock to some. However, it is very well-handled, and I appreciate having two versions of the story.
This "Negima!:Complete Collection (Viridian Collection)" is the second 26-episode complete boxset release from Funimation. The set was previously released as Negima! Box Set The "Viridian Collection" is a stripped down and less expensive version of the series, presented in slim cases and without extra features. I personally really appreciate the thin cases, as it takes up less space in my ever-increasing DVD collection.
Both box sets have revised and re-drawn animation, as the animation from the original TV release in Japan was notoriously terrible. The animated series is also much more "family-friendly" than the comic. Most of the fan-service is implied rather than directly shown, so if you only read "Negima!" for the panties you might be a little disappointed. The English-language script takes the "family friendly" approach even further, and is slightly different from the Japanese. Many of the "double entendres" and sexual humor has been removed.
And while I am not usually a fan of dubbing, a special shout out needs to be done here for Funimation's English-language cast. They have done a great job, even going so far as to give Negi a Welsh accent. This is one case where they might be better than the Japanese original cast. Listening to the "Native Speaking" Negi doing English dictation during his English classes is pretty funny.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A funny, heartwarming show, January 31, 2008
The premise of the story is this: A 10-year-old boy, who happens to be a prodigy and a wizard, goes to teach at a girls-only junior high school. As you might imagine, having a teacher that is younger than the students makes for some strange situations. The fact that the students are all girls makes it even more strange. This story line holds out through the first 18 episodes and is funny without being tiring and makes you know the girls and Negi - the teacher.
Episode 19 starts a different story line. This story is touching... very much a U-turn from the previous episodes.
However, another story line, which appears starting in episode 20, is much more serious, and is likely to turn you into a crying, blubbering mess. I literally couldn't stop watching from episode 20 through 26.
HUH!? An anime that is both funny and serious? It will truly make you laugh out loud and cry. Really. It's a great story, if a bit unbelievable near the end, but excellent entertainment.
I highly recommend it if you enjoy anime with frequent misunderstandings, funny and awkward situations, touching moments, and learning to "connect" with the characters in a show. Oh, and just enough magic thrown in to make things really interesting.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to the Mahora Girls Academy!, August 4, 2009
This review is from: Negima!: The Complete Series Box Set (Viridian Collection) (DVD)
It is easy to call "Negima!" the anime equivalent of Harry Potter, but it just isn't so. You have two young boys who can do magic, and there the similarities end. Harry Potter was never chased around romantically by thirty-one junior high school girls each trying to steal a kiss. With Love Hina creator Ken Akamatsu at the helm you know you are in for a good time.
You have to accept this basic premise of "Negima!" before you can enjoy the series. Negi Springfield is a ten-year-old wizard-in-training from Wales, with dreams of becoming the Magister Magi (Master Mage). In the meantime, he has been hired as an English teacher for the Mahora Girls Academy in Japan, as well as being the homeroom teacher for class 2-A. The Mahora Girls Academy is not all it seems at first, as its students include vampires, ghosts and robots, although all the normal students never seem to notice this. Of course, all the girls develop crushes on the cute 10-year old, and hijinks ensue.
The "Negima!" animated series follows the first volumes of the comic for the most part, and then suddenly veers away. The reason for this is that the anime eventually out-paced the comic, and so a new storyline was invented. This storyline, showing up around episode 19 or so, is quite different from the comic and might come as a shock to some. However, it is very well-handled, and I appreciate having two versions of the story.
This "Negima!: The Complete Series Box Set (Viridian Collection)" is the third 26-episode complete boxset release from Funimation. The set was previously released as Negima! Box Set and as Negima!: Complete Collection (Viridian Collection). This third boxset is essentially a re-release of the original "Viridian Collection," and is a stripped down and less expensive version of the series, presented in slim cases and without extra features. I personally really appreciate the thin cases, as it takes up less space in my ever-increasing DVD collection. The only real difference between this Viridian release and the previous one is the cover art, and an additional five minutes of running time, 630 minutes instead of 625 minutes. And it is cheaper!
All three box sets have revised and re-drawn animation, as the animation from the original TV release in Japan was notoriously terrible. The animated series is also much more "family-friendly" than the comic. Most of the fan-service is implied rather than directly shown, so if you only read "Negima!" for the panties you might be a little disappointed. The English-language script takes the "family friendly" approach even further, and is slightly different from the Japanese. Many of the "double entendres" and sexual humor has been removed.
And while I am not usually a fan of dubbing, a special shout out needs to be done here for Funimation's English-language cast. They have done a great job, even going so far as to give Negi a Welsh accent. This is one case where they might be better than the Japanese original cast. Listening to the "Native Speaking" Negi doing English dictation during his English classes is pretty funny.
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