Review of Negima - Magic 301: Practical Application of Magic

Introduction

We approach the halfway point with this third volume of Negima, and once again I begin this review with my usual disclaimer about harem anime. The harem genre is to anime fans, what Marmite is to the average grocery shopper. Its comedy formula of a protagonist surrounded by several members of the opposite sex, clamouring for his or her attention divides fans most strongly. I`m strongly inclined to the genre and having enjoyed Love Hina, I`ve been looking forward to another Ken Akamatsu creation. Volume 2 was another example of the problem with episodic television, that of unevenness, but it was more entertaining than not, and my enthusiasm for the series remains undimmed. With any luck, volume 3 will prove to be a stronger offering.

Negi Springfield is the newest member of the faculty at the Mahora Academy. It`s a girls` school the size of a small city, and would be a daunting prospect for anyone, but Negi is actually a child prodigy, a college graduate at only ten years old. He can`t even reach the blackboard, yet he has to teach English to a class of fourteen-year-old girls. Hailing from Wales, Negi has a secret to protect, he`s actually a wizard, and his final challenge before gaining the rank of Magister Magi, is to teach at the Japanese school. However, under no circumstances must anyone find out who he really is, or he will be recalled back to Wales, stripped of his qualifications, and worse, turned into an ermine.

Four more episodes grace this third volume.

11. When They are Silent, They are Shouting (Cum tacent clamant)
Negi has a new computer to help him in class; only he isn`t quite sure how to use it. One girl, Hasegawa can`t stand the resulting mayhem and takes a sick day. In fact, she`s the one student who prefers not to fit in. She has a secret life to get back to, that of Net Idol Chia-sama, whose virtual popularity is more preferable to her than interacting with the real world. When Negi sets a project to create a class homepage, Chia-sama winds up in competition with her own class.

12. Either Learn or Leave (Aut disce aut discede)
The exams are imminent, but the girls of 2-A are too busy taking things easy. Then the Dean tells Negi that if 2-A fails again, he`ll be fired. He`s quick to resort to magic, but Asuna calls him up on it. Realising his error, Negi seals his magical abilities until the exams are over, but when Asuna realises that Negi`s job is on the line, she takes drastic action. When she learns that there is a magic book in the library, the Baka Rangers, the dumbest girls in the class organise an expedition. Indiana Jones would have trouble with this library.

13. We Live and Learn (Tamdiu discendum est quandiu vivas)
Trapped in a library and time is running out before the exams. Rather than waste time waiting for his magic to be restored, Negi tries teaching the Baka Rangers, giving them a quick dose of revision. Will they get back in time for the exams, or should Negi start packing his bags right now?

14. I Hope the Memory of Our Friendship Will Be Eternal (Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore)
Summer break starts, but Asuna still has to put in the early mornings for her newspaper round. Not so for Negi and Konoka, who get into a little misunderstanding over betrothals and magic potions. To make things up to Asuna, the pair go on a shopping trip the next day, but they are spied by 2-A`s cheerleading squad, who get the wrong end of the stick.

Video

Negima gets a 4:3 transfer that is clear, sharp and full of strong, bright colours. The transfer quality is good, with little to complain about. The character designs are excellent, with a wide variety of designs for the various class members. That said, the animation is the weak point, and when the pace of the story, and the energy of the humour begin to flag, then the limitations of the animation become apparent. Negima looks ten years older than it actually is, and compared to its contemporaries the lustre certainly fades. It`s all pretty standard stuff, and it does the job.

Audio

You have a choice of DD 2.0 English and Japanese, with optional translated subtitles or a signs only track. As always my first choice is for the original language, and I found nothing to complain about. The dialogue is clear, the subtitles legible, and the music suits the show well, with a couple of toe-tapping tunes accompanying the credits. The arrangement of the opening theme changes every few episodes, and we get the fourth version on this disc. As with a fair number of series, the Japanese voice artists also sing the theme tune, and with a cast as extensive as Negima`s, it`s the only way to get them all involved. We also get a new ending theme as well, marking the show`s halfway point.

Just like Love Hina, the script has gone through a significant alteration for the English dub. The saucy and ribald humour has been toned down, the character interactions altered slightly, and minor plot points and jokes changed completely. The English and Japanese versions offer completely different experiences, although I prefer my humour on the raw side. Unlike Love Hina however, this dub is actually a good one, with the character voices working well for the most part. That`s with the exception of Negi and his family. He`s Welsh, so he gets a generic Dick Van Dyke English accent. Aimed at the American audience it doesn`t matter of course, but to UK ears it`s Daphne`s brother all over again.

Features

Jacket picture, animated menus and multi-angle credit sequences, as per the norm for anime discs. You get the textless credit sequences, and five pages of text offering an insight into the Japanese education system. There are trailers for Moon Phase and Spiral.

Conclusion

With this third volume, the wind has truly gone out of Negima`s sails. Don`t get me wrong, as the disc still manages to provide 90 minutes of entertainment. But it seems that any momentum built up in the earlier episodes has been discarded, and the promise of the first volume doesn`t seem as if it will be fulfilled any time soon. The back-story is hardly ever referred to in these four episodes, no mention of the pactio, nothing of long-term import at all. Instead we have four episodes that are devoted to telling fun little stories set in the Negima universe, with no immediate consequence or major character development. Instead we get a whole lot of fun, which certainly isn`t anything to complain about.

We dive straight into the ridiculous with the first episode. Imagine encouraging a class of teenaged girls to create a web page where they dress up in cute and skimpy outfits to compete for the attentions of the average Net geek. It`s not exactly sensible school policy. But the girls of class 2-A find themselves competing against one of their own, wallflower Hasegawa Chisume, who on the Net is an idol of epic proportions. It`s all a plan to get the retiring anti-social type to come out of her shell. Fortunately there is a dose of cold water at the end, before any impressionable young viewers get the wrong idea.

The next story is a two parter, one that sees the laid back students of 2-A faced with the terrors of exams. Their lackadaisical attitude comes back to haunt them when they learn that unless they improve within 3 days, their teacher will be fired. Revision in Mahora Girls Academy is a daunting prospect, especially with the largest library in the world. Cue an Indiana Jones type adventure when the girls learn of a magic book that will guarantee that they`ll pass their exams.

We end up with the classic crossed wires episode, where Negi and Konoka take a day to go shopping, only for the other girls to get the wrong idea. Are they on a date? Is a schoolteacher taking advantage of a vulnerable student, or is an older girl preying on a vulnerable ten-year-old? What`s worrying is that Ayaka winds up getting jealous, and sees her dreams of a wedding going up in smoke. At which point I got just the slightest bit uncomfortable in amongst all the slapstick.

Fourteen-year-old girls getting giddy over a potential ten-year-old husband aside, I had a whole lot of fun watching Negima`s third volume. These four episodes offer 90 minutes of light fluffy entertainment that is just the thing when you want to give the old grey matter a rest for an evening. It`s just the sort of enjoyable nonsense I expect from the creator of Love Hina, but in comparison to that earlier show, Negima fares badly, as it just doesn`t have any emotional strength to it. It`s amusing to watch these characters get into various hi-jinks, but I just don`t care about any of them. Actually, given that there are so many girls in the class, I have a hard enough time keeping straight just who is who.

Negima is a frivolous waste of time, which in my book is an endorsement. As long as you`re happy with a lack of depth, then this series is highly recommended. And things look to get even sillier with the next volume. It`s summer break, the temperature is rising, and it`s just about time for a swimsuit episode. Roll on volume 4!