Comics / Manga

Negima Magister Negi Magi Volume 11

By Julie Gray
March 26, 2007 - 22:56

Negima Volume 11 Cover Art

“Four’s the charm”…

To cut to the chase, Negima is not typical of the type of manga I would actually purchase myself. One of the things about this style of manga I don’t particularly like is the crowded pages. There’s too much going on and it’s difficult to clearly follow the characters on the page.

However, one of the good things about Negima is that it covers some interesting ground with topics such as time travel, romance and martial arts and blends the story threads reasonably well.

Negima is without a doubt, a rather comical character with many facets to his personality although I do think it’s hard at times to see what these facets are without being distracted by other characters (or events) in the story. Again, this probably ties into having a lot going on in each panel of the storyboard that gives it that ‘crowded’ look.

And of course, there’s the issue of sexual innuendo going on in this manga. Everywhere you look there seems to be some sort of female character half naked or in risqué poses and a myriad of scantily clad girls on every page. Obviously, this is addressed with the manga advertising a 16+ rating but I think that with the main character of this manga being only 10 years old, there’s quite a lot of exposure of flesh going on for that to be realistic on any level (unless of course, Negima was brought up in a brothel!).

As far as the storyline goes, again I’m still not so sure that there is anything really going on in this manga other than lots of teenage girls looking for a good time with our overly under-aged Negi. Of course the plot has direction (albeit somewhat hidden at times) and the characters seem funny enough to add to the overall comedic factor but I was left feeling a little less interested in the comedy and under-dressed girls than I was in the martial arts event taking place, and of course, the final showdown between Negima and Takamichi.

For comedy and a tongue-in-cheek approach to a (very young) boy having to experience the ups and downs of attraction to the opposite sex as well as the challenge of a face-off against a powerful magic teacher (yes, this is a manga about a wizard, afterall), Negima Volume 11 delivers what is expected. Fans of the series will no doubt find this instalment in the series entertaining. Anyone else might want to preview the manga first before buying – just incase it’s not exactly your cup of tea.

Negima Volume 11 comes complete with a page all about the author, words from the author, translation notes and several extra pages including a fan art page. You can view the details of this manga here at Del Rey’s website.

Art Work: 6/10
Story: 6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10

Contact the author: Julie@thecomicbookbin.com

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12