Customer Reviews

Negima!: The Complete Series Box Set (Viridian Collection)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I love the series. A ten year old boy, Negi teaches a class of highschool girls but he is no ordinary boy and his students are no ordinary girls. Its filled with adventure, excitement, and magic. All I can say is I want a sequal with more magic! More transformations! and more about Negi and Haruna!! So check it out and watch out for the biggest ending twist ever! it will have you crying and jumping out of your seat!

So anyone who likes this show and wants to buy it, I suggest you buy this box set. It has all 26 six episodes, original japanese and english dub and sub, and best of all it has just 2 slim cases in the pack so it takes up little room on your shelf. Also, if you look around, you can find this collection for a mere 30 dollars, but even if you end up paying 50 this show is well worth the cash. Unfortunately for any special features fanatics, you won't be too pleased. It has textless themes and trailers and thats it. If you're someone like me and don't usually end up watching that stuff anyways, you're in luck.

I'm a huge fan of the Negima Manga series and have read all 16 current manga books released in the U.S. to date. The anime does not disappoint. Let me break it down for you like this.

1.) The story is based on a Welsh 10 year old boy who happens to be a wizard and a teacher of English at Mahora Academy, girls junior high section, in Japan. There are a whole lot of them, ranging from a traditional Japanese swordswoman, a vampire wizard,a robot, an otaku, the emo pensive one, the brilliant scientists, the artist, the musicians... the list goes on. They each have their own personalities and are very faithful to their portrayals in the manga, at least in terms of their actions and personalities.

2.) While it has a lot of the lovey dovey goofy awkward situations and some rather tame sexual overtones (nothing worse than you'd see on Prime Time TV), it has a deep magical undertone with plenty of action. Martial arts, wizardry, technology and everything combines here. You'll get it all no matter what type of anime you are into.

3.) The story changes throughout the 6 discs (which I believe only cover the first 6 or so books). It starts with getting to know the girls and Negi. Then you move into who are the bad guys (or girls in some cases) and the plot thickens. This 26 episode set doesn't get all the way into the details (specifically about Negi and Asuna's past ... but I will not spoil anything). Let's just say the 26 episodes lay the foundation nicely.

4.) The voice acting... how to say it...
For having to rely on my own mind to fill in the voices previously I was kind of puzzled at first. Negi sounds way smaller than 10 years old, but that was because he is new and didn't know anyone in the first episodes. He fills in nicely and it fits well with his character. Asuna's voice is perfect. Feminine like a Jr. high student, except when she's mad "A violent ape woman" as she is described in both Manga and Anime is well performed by the voice actress (Luci Christian, she's in many other works). Her friend and rival, Ayaka, is the perfect snob/rich girl and their dynamics in the manga are spot on to the anime. So basically besides getting used to it in the first episode (or not at all if you never had a prior impression from the manga), you will be happy with the voice work. The music and sound effects are great too.

5.) The plot from the manga is followed quite well as I have said, but a few liberties are taken. Specifically more background is filled in, and you meet some of the girls earlier than you would have in the manga (heck, you barely see anyone talk to this one character even up to book 16). These fill in little details you never got in the manga. I didn't know that Shizuru-sensei was the school nurse, I didn't know Asuna's eyes were blue and green, or the Mahora Girls School uniforms are purple/magenta. Little things like that are nice, and it really fleshes out the interactions that are static in the manga.

6.) Finally, if you are familiar with the work of Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina for instance), you won't be disappointed. The artwork is a traditional style. Not too esoteric, not too bland. Just right. A very beginner friendly art style with lots of cheerful colors and quality animation.
From the art style to the music to the sound effects, this set is an amazing buy for any anime fan.

Negima! Box Set this movie was very enjoyable. I have found no problems with the programs I intend to continue keeping at it within my library for future enjoyment viewing. Thank you very much. Yours sincerely, John Roberts Scott.

Negi Springfield is often touted as Japan's answer to Harry Potter, although in personality he's a bit more like Hermione.

And while the wizard prodigy isn't quite shown to his full potential in the anime adaptation "Negima," where stretches of fluffy harem comedy are speckled with serious magic and action. While it starts slowly and relies too heavily on semi-nudity and slapsticky antics, the more wizardly adventures end up keeping it worth watching.

Middle-school student Asuna is desperately hoping that her crush, Professor Takahata, will be teaching homeroom at Mahora Academy this year... and her mood is further soured by a preteen boy who tells her, "Not everyone can be lucky in love."

Turns out the boy, a Welsh prodigy named Negi Springfield, IS the new teacher. Most of the girls immediately love him, but Asuna is enraged by Negi's "weirdness" -- when she glimpses him magically saving a student, his secret comes out: Negi is a wizard, and if Asuna reveals his secret he'll be turned into an ermine. Fortunately, Asuna agrees to keep his secret... if he makes a love potion for her, with predictably chaotic results.

And soon Negi is faced by a creature from his family past -- a vampiric student who is determined to drain his blood. And he has to deal with myriad other troubles -- web idols, vicious volleyball teams, kiss contests, spying cheerleaders, a timid ghost, and a scheming ermine. And when Negi's job hangs on his class's bottom-of-the-barrel test scores, Asuna organizes a trip to the mysterious Library Island to get a magical book that can make even the Dummy Force smart!

But things take a dark turn near the end of the series -- a trip to Kyoto goes awry when Konoka is threatened, and the mysterious sword-wielding Setsuna reveals her true identity. And upon returning, Asuna becomes increasingly ill -- leading Negi to discover a horrifying secret in her past, which links the doomed girl to his vanished father.

Ken Akamatsu's original manga is pretty much balanced out -- part of it is slam-bang magic'n'action, while the other part is kooky romantic comedy and crazy slapstick. And for the anime, "Negima" serves up an incredibly heavy dose of the kooky comedy/crazy slapstick, with an emphasis on busts, robots, superpowered kicks, ninjas and the occasional skyscraper-sized demon.

In fact many episodes are nothing but poor Negi getting swamped by his high-spirited students and the devious ermine Chamo's manipulations (which involve awkward kissing). Lots of skimpy clothes, confessions of love, bear panties and kooky dialogue ("Side effects may include dry mouth, nausea and loss of about a million brain cells..."). It's like an amped-up romantic sitcom with some magical trappings.

While the comedic stories are fun in a disposable way, what makes the series truly watchable is the magic-oriented episodes -- aerial battles with tiny blonde vampires and playing chase with a giant stone golem amongst them. The end of the series is when the magical adventures really take front-and-center: though the whole trip to Kyoto rushes by way too fast, the final bittersweet arc is nothing short of brilliant.

It's icky to see teenage girls pursuing a ten-year-old, but Negi is a likable little hero -- he's earnest, unselfish, and completely devoted to his students even if they're insane. Asuna is his opposite -- brash, temperamental, unexpectedly warmhearted -- and serves as a mildly violent big-sister type, although their roles unexpectedly switch near the finale.

Surprisingly the rest of the cast plenty of fleshing-out as well -- sweet Konoka, mysterious Setsuna, the antisocial web idol Chisame ("This is CHIU's world and all you bimbos are mere tenants!"), serene ninja Kaede, and the loopy princess Ayaka (who has a surprisingly tragic past). Most memorable is the prepubescent vampire-mage Evangeline ("It's enough to make ANYONE CRAZY!"), and her cat-loving robot Chachamaru.

The complete "Negima" season is a bit too heavy on the fluffy comedy, and too light on the magical adventures. But it's still worth watching for those who need a bit more Magorum magic.

I haven't purchased the boxed set yet (although I'm planning to do so), but I felt Negima didn't have enough reviews. I watched this series about two years ago, and I'm already really excited by the idea of owning it so I can watch it again. I had so much fun watching this anime. One of the best things about it is the character development. I love all the little quirks that make the characters unique. This series has a compelling plot, laugh-out-loud humor, interesting characters, and just the right touch of magic. WARNING: It doesn't follow the manga. But, as long as you're not a crazy stickler about that sort of thing, you'll love the series.

Ok I'm sorry but the anime for Negima is really bad. Poor quality, doesn't stick to the story line, and the worst ending ever leave much to be desired. Now this is kinda upsetting coming from Xebec who also did the animation for Love Hina. Akamatsu was even disgusted with the anime and how it turned out. I would not reccomend buying this anime but instead buying and reading the manga which is a whole lot better.