Volume 1

When Ken Akamatsu finished his Love Hina manga, fans eagerly anticipated his next series. After all, Love Hina was a world-wide phenomenon, a huge success both inside Japan and out. The story of the lovable loser Keitarou working hard to not only enter the prestigious Tokyo University but win the love of the beautiful if violently-tempered Naru struck a chord in manga fans everywhere. The bevy of beautiful girls who all fell in love with him, and his uncanny ability to stumble in on them when they're undressed didn't hurt its popularity, either. Akamatsu became celebrated as one of the great "fan-service" artists, giving fans plenty of what they loved, acres of teen-aged Japanese school-girl flesh. Sadly, fans were glossing over the fact that Akamatsu was slowly evolving into one of the great action manga artists. The Parakelse Island adventure put his stamp on the action genre, with drama, poise, comedy and of course, plenty of fan-service to spice it all up.

Volume 2

Negima! is the story of Negi Springfield, a ten-year-old wizard who has just graduated from the Magic Academy in Wales. His first assignment is to travel to Japan and teach at the Mahora Academy for a class of 31 junior high girls. When it was first announced, a lot of fans immediately dismissed it outright as nothing more than "Harem Potter." It certainly sounded like he was influenced by the Harry Potter books, while going even further in the harem comedy direction he's so well known for. However, rather than poo-pooing it before even reading it, I decided to reserve my opinion for when I actually had a book to have an opinion about. It's a rather old-fashioned way of thinking, waiting to read a book before forming an opinion on it, but it's stood me in good stead for several years.

Volume 3

This is not quite the love-comedy that Love Hina was. For starters, Negi Springfield is only 10 years-old. He's not old enough to be thinking along such lines. However, his surprising maturity, strength, charm, and good looks cause most of the class to either fall in love with him or treat him as a younger brother. There are two main threads that form the tapestry of his story: if the fact that he's a wizard becomes publicly known, he will be turned into an ermine, and on a heavier note, his father, the great Thousand Master is missing, and Negi won't rest until he finds him again. The first drives a lot of the comedy, and the second drives a lot of the drama. It's the blending of these two elements that makes the story so much fun. It's a very fine balancing act, but Akamatsu handles it with grace.

Volume 4

Akamatsu's success with Love Hina meant he was able to assemble quite the little army of assistants. The weekly deadline of each chapter means a non-stop flow of art from his studio. To help streamline the process as much as possible, Akamatsu's team has digitized much of the artwork. Buildings, rooms, furniture and other items are created as 3D objects and printed on the page. Then Akamatsu can draw the characters against the backgrounds. Extra items are added as necessary, then finishers go in and flesh out the art. Walls are aged, clothing is given texture, background characters are added. It's a highly efficient production-line that keeps the story on schedule. It sounds like Akamatsu does very little, but in fact he still does the bulk of the art, drawing in all the main characters, as well as directing page layout and writing the story.

Volume 5

Akamatsu has created a world of magic with it's own rules which must be adhered to. The most important rule he creates is that each mage chooses a partner to protect him or her while they cast their spells. The partner is usually a strong fighter, and the contract between the fighter and the mage is a powerful one that imbues both with extraordinary abilities. The fighter draws power from the mage, giving them the power necessary to protect the mage. The relationship is such an intense one, it's akin to marriage, and the mage can only have one contract at a time. However, prior to making a full contract, the mage is free to make as many probationary contracts as he or she wishes. While not as powerful as a full contract, it gives the partner an artifact to weild, and the mage can evaluate the partnership without completely committing to it.

Volume 6

Negi, being only ten, is not terribly successful in hiding the fact that he's a mage. The first to discover his secret is Asuna Kagurazaka. She also happens to be his roommate in the dorms. Asuna is a redhead with a fiery temper. She already holds a grudge against Negi because he replaced the previous teacher, Takamichi T. Takahata, a teacher Asuna has a huge crush on. Even though she's the last person he wants to find out about his secret, she turns out the be a great partner when she agrees to the "pactio", or probationary contract. Asuna is a very straightforward girl, if just a little bit dim. In fact she's one of the "Baka (idiot) Rangers", a group of five students with the worst grades in the class. But she has a strong sense of justice and amazing physical strength. Her pactio gives her a weapon that is sometimes a harisen, or large folding fan, and sometimes it's a huge sword much larger than she is.

Volume 7

Asuna is in fact one of the most interesting of the 31 girls in the class. As a character, she has the most backstory and the most growth. She is clearly the main focus of the story and gets the most page-time. She has a fascinating story that gets deeper the more the story progresses. Once she agrees to the probationary contract, she takes to it with gusto. She trains hard with Setsuna Sakurazaki, a great swordswoman and classmate, and learns to wield her artifact with immense skill. She masters several magical abilities of her own and continually fights to protect Negi, even when he thinks he doesn't need it. She keeps her crush on Takahata, but grows very fond of Negi as well. It's not romantic love, but more the love of a big sister to her troublesome but well-meaning little brother.  Asuna's simple nature (or stupidity, if you will) is one of her greatest assets, allowing her to move forward without double-guessing every move, a trait Negi is far too often guilty of.

Volume 8

Negi and Asuna have another roommate, Konoka Konoe. She is the granddaughter of the dean of the Academy. She's sweet and a bit of a ditz. She's always smiling and enjoying life. She seems like an airhead, but in fact is quite insightful and intelligent. She discovers Negi's secret soon after Asuna does, and enters into the contract with him. She comes from a long line of Japanese mages, and the contract awakens the very powerful magic hiding insider her. Her artifact is an onmyou mystic's garb, which gives her the power to dispense powerful healing magic. She learns her magic is as powerful as Negi's, and with the right training, she can become one of the greatest healing mages of all time. She works hard for that goal, but her real goal is simply to spend time with her best friend, Set-chan.

Volume 9

Set-chan is Setsuna Sakurazaki, her childhood friend. Setsuna comes from a long line of swordmasters, a family that has served the Konoe family for centuries. Setsuna and Konoka grew up in very isolated and traditional families. They played together as children, and Konoka was Setsuna's first and best friend. However, when Setsuna was old enough to realize she wasn't skilled enough to protect Konoka, she left her and began her training in earnest. She has now returned to Konoka's side as her classmate, but the relationship has changed. Setsuna is the protector of Konoka, and feels she cannot afford to give in to her feelings of friendship and love (and it's a real romantic love). She won't even call her "Kono-chan" like she did when they were young. It's now "Ojou-sama", a very respectful term for someone of such a high social standing.

Volume 10

 For Konoka's part, though, it's all rather silly. Set-chan is Set-chan. Konoka's warmth and familiarity can still fluster the stoic yet love-struck warrior. When Setsuna discovers Negi's secret, she also enters into the contract so she can become stronger to protect Konoka. As Konoka becomes a stronger mage, she also can enter into a probationary contract with others. The fact that the probationary contract is sealed with a kiss has Setsuna in a dither wondering if it's proper for her to consider such a thing, even though Konoka is all for it. Not surprisingly, Konoka and Setsuna are the most "slashable" couple in the story. Slash fiction, for those that don't know, is a type of fan fiction for fans of same-sex couples. For example, Kirk/Spock is a slash couple for fans of the original Star Trek. The term comes from the slash that separates the names. Akamatsu is surprisingly light-handed with the relationship between Konoka and Setsuna, giving fans just enough to excite without rubbing it into anyone's face.

Volume 11

There are two more students that are a part of Negi's inner circles of friends: Yue Ayase and Nodoka Miyazaki. Nodoka is a painfully shy if rather cute girl. She's a bookworm (her nickname among the class is "bookstore") and shies away from most people. She wears her hair down over her eyes as a sort of metaphor for the curtain she tries to draw between herself and others. Very early on, Negi uses his magic to save Nodoka, and she falls in love with him. She only has two close friends, Haruna Saotome (called "Paru-sama") and Yue. Yue is one of the shortest girls in the class. While highly intelligent and a fellow bookworm like Nodoka, her aversion to studying gets her very low grades and a place in the "Baka Rangers." Yue also has a love of strange and unusual drinks which is why she's almost always seen with some sort of juice box or bottle to her lips. Yue is by far my favorite character. Her intelligence, sardonic wit, slacker attitude are a great combination. But she's also serious and dedicated to her friends. Her pactio is a witch's garb and a book of magic. At first it looks like a simple beginner's book of magic, but with time, she realizes it is an encyclopedia that can access all information about magic, both in the regular world and in the magic world. Nothing is closed to her, regardless of how protected the files are. She shows great growth, going from disinterested slacker to dragon-slayer as of the latest volume.

Volume 12

Nodoka proves that despite her shyness, she has a bold streak, even asking Negi out on a date and confessing her love to him. She enters into the probationary contract with him. Her artifact is a book that allows her to read what others are thinking. It's surprisingly useful in a fight, as she's able to predict what the opponent is going to do simply by reading the book. As she gains confidence in her powers, she's able to use the book in new and surprising ways, including splitting it in several volumes so she can keep track of multiple people at once. At first, Yue encourages Nodoka's pursuit of Negi's love, but then realizes she is falling in love with him, too. It leads to a complicated love-triangle for Yue, one that she has a hard time resolving. But Nodoka's gentle nature and kindness allows her to come to terms with her complicated feelings.

Volume 13

Yue, Nodoka, Konoka and Haruna are all in the Library Exploration Club. Mahora Academy is a rather extraordinary place. There are 30,000 students from preschool up to post-graduate work, plus all the staff necessary to teach, house, feed and entertain so many people. In the middle of the campus is the World Tree, tall as a skyscraper, dominating the school and skyline. The library is equally impressive. It sits on its own island and is so large and deep, there is no way to know how many books there really are. Thus, a Library Exploration Club, volunteers to fetch the most obscure volume and map out the labyrinthine paths of the library. Members must be skilled explorers and spelunkers. A rope and harness is essential equipment. Haruna is close to Yue and Nodoka. She's taller and much bustier, very outgoing and boisterous. She's a bit of a prankster and enjoys winding up her friends. She's also a skilled comic artist. When she discovers Negi's secret, she can't wait to do the pactio with him. Not out of any desire to save the world or do right, but because it sounds like a blast! Her artifact is a tablet, pen and inkwell that allow anything she draws to come to life.

Volume 14

Just as Mahora Academy is no ordinary school, Negi's class is anything but normal. Among his students, he has a robot, a ghost, a vampire, an alien, a ninja, a martial arts master, a mad scientist, an internet idol, a rock band, an iron chef, a princess, a reporter, a rhythmic gymnist, a mercenary sniper, a bewinged swordmaster, a nun-in-training, a scary clown (but I repeat myself), twins, an actress, the daughter of a powerful and wealthy family, a swimmer with the strength of ten men, a basketball star, and so many more. Not every student knows about his secret, and not all that do have made a pactio with him. But every student is aware of his missing father and all are supporting him in his search for him.

Volume 15

Kaede Nagase is the ninja, and she learned Negi's secret fairly early on. She's very tall, and despite being a member of the Baka Rangers, is quite wise. She teaches Negi many of her skills which he incorporates into his magical arsenal. She has no pactio with him, but her abilities are so impressive, she hardly needs it. Ku Fei is a very short but highly skilled martial arts master. She also teaches Negi her skills. He uses his magic to enhance his Chinese martial arts skills, so that he may defend himself if he has no partner available to him. Ku Fei is a little blonde hottie with dark skin, an exotic look I find quite attractive. She is another of the Baka Rangers and is genuinely dumb. But she is also a good person, someone that Negi, despite being a genius and her teacher, looks up to.

Volume 16

The class representative is Ayaka Yukihiro, the wealthy and self-important daughter of the very powerful Yukihiro conglomerate. She is both beautiful and intelligent. She's also madly in love with Negi, having a Shouta complex (a love for cute, young boys.) She has a love-hate relationship with Asuna that leans strongly towards the latter rather than the former. As much as they bicker and argue, they also respect and look out for each other. When Asuna suffers a terrible emotional blow in one chapter, it's Ayaka who comforts her. Ayaka also puts the power of the Yukihiro conglomerate behind the search for Negi's father, discovering useful clues for him. While her love for Negi is often played for laughs, it's also genuine, and leads to some wonderful moments between them.

Volume 17

Not everone in Negi's class is a comrade, or even friendly. Evangeline A.K. McDowell is a short girl with very long blonde hair. She's also a vampire and has lived for hundreds of years. She was turned into a vampire when she was only 10, and has live for centuries, becoming an evil mage in the process. Negi's father Nagi Springfield, called the Thousand Master for mastering 1,000 spells, finally put a halt to Eva's reign of terror, by the simple expedient of befriending her. She followed him around for a while, but 15 years earlier, he put Eva under a spell forcing her to live at Mahora Academy as a student. He told her to "live in the light" for a while, and he would come back for her. Unfortunately, with Nagi disappearing only a few years later, she's been forced to live at Mahora, unable to leave, attending the same classes over and over. She hasn't taken to it well.

Volume 18

When Eva learns that her new teacher is Nagi's son, she targets him, hoping that drinking his blood will free her from the spell cast upon her. It doesn't. Eventually, Eva becomes a mentor to Negi, teaching him the finer points of combat as a mage. Working for Eva is Chachamaru Karakuri, a female android, or most specifically, a gynoid. She is the result of merging magic and science. She is a fellow student, and completely subservient to Eva. She is tall and reticent, but her intellect and memories can be uploaded to different bodies, meaning she changes appearance more than once during the story. She has her own heart, and soon developes feelings for Negi, making her one of the more enjoyable archetypes: a robot in love.

Volume 19

While is was Eva's magic that gave her life, that's only half the story. The scientific side was seen to by Satomi Hakase and Chao Lingshin. Hakase (whose family name is also a word for "professor" in Japanese) is a typical mad scientist girl, full of ideas and with the ability to make them happen. Although she is aware of magic and the fact that Negi is a wizard, she is not one of his circle. Chao is a genius, easily the most intelligent student at Mahora, regardless of grade. In addition to being a member of several of the school's engineering and scientific clubs, she's also a member of Chao Zhao  Bi, a small student run outdoor restaurant where she puts her skills as a Chinese chef to very welcome use. Chao becomes an immensely important character from the 9th to the 18th volumes, but to say any more would ruin the fun.

Volume 20

Satsuki Yotsuba is the other chef among the class, she has a quiet air about her that command respect, even from Eva. Mana Tatsumiya is a former mercenary soldier, a brilliant sniper with dark skin, long black hair and a tall, statuesque body. She currently works as a Shinto shrine maiden. But she still has her rifle when the money is good. Fuka and Fumika Narutaki are twins, very short and child-like. The look up to Kaede and are learning her ninja ways. Natsumi Murakami is an actress and a bit self-concious about her freckles. Her other roommate (aside from the fabulously wealthy Ayaka Yukihiro) is Chizuru Naba. Chizuru is the most adult looking of the girls. Having the largest breasts in the class doesn't hurt. She's a typical "ara ara" girl, seemingly a ditz, but has more going on than it would appear. Chisame Hasegawa is a favorite of mine. She doesn't associate much with the class, and in fact holds most of them in contempt. But Chisame has a secret. She's the famous net-idol, Chiu! She learns of Negi's secret, and although she makes a pactio with him, she's the least enthusiastic. However, she's a great asset to his group, and looks after him when no one else can. She also has a strange and fun budding friendship with the android, Chachamaru.

Volume 21

The Cheearleader Trio is Misa Kakizaki, Madoka Kugimiya, and Sakurako Shiina. They're typical shopaholic teenaged girls, except that they also play in a rock band called "Dekopin Rocket." Sakurako is the drummer and very bubbly. Sakurako is the leader, she sings and plays guitar. Madoka is the most tomboyish, and she plays guitar as well. The other member of the band is Ako Izumi who plays bass. She's far less outgoing than the cheerleaders, made moreso by the scar that covers her back. She's a nurse's assistant, and is friend with the sports group. They are Akira Ookuchi, Yuna Akashi and Makie Sasaki. Akira is tall with long hair. She's quiet and phonemenally strong. She's a member of the swimming club. Yuna is on the school's basketball team. She's very outgoing and an amazing athlete. Although short, she's got some rather impressive breasts which she is more than happy to flaunt. Makie is a rhythmic gymnast, short and cute and not too bright. She's the final member of the Baka Rangers.

Volume 22

The last group of students are Sayo Aizawa, Kazumi Asakura, Misora Kasuga, and Zazie Rainyday. Sayo is dead. But that hasn't stopped her from going to class ever since she died 60 years ago. It's been so long that Sayo can't even remember how she died. She's not a terribly scary ghost, being a bit of a scaredy cat. She really just wants a friend, but since no one can see her, that's a tall order. But thanks to Negi's magic, her seat-mate, Kazumi Asakura is able to see her and they become great friends. This is really helpful to Kazumi, since she's the school's reporter. With Sayo able to go places she can't, she's able to get all sorts of scoops. Kazumi learns Negi's secret, but agrees to keep it a secret in exchange for a pactio for herself. Her magical artifact is a set of 6 mini spy satellites she can control, with Sayo oftern riding on one of them. Misora is a nun-in-training with a mischevious side and a lazy streak a mile wide. She's also secretly a wizard-in-training and has an artifact of her own, shoes that allow her to run at extraordinary speeds. Zazie is the quietest girl in the class. She's probably only spoken a dozen lines in approximately 4400 pages. She looks like a harlequin clown with dark skin, short light hair, a teardrop tattooed under one eye and a diamond tattoed above and under the other.

Volume 23

I've talked at length about the class, and I haven't even mentioned such important characters as Albert Chamomille, Kotaro Inugami, Anya Cocolova, Nekane Springfield, Fate Averruncus, Ku:Nel Sanders, Chachazero, Takane D. Goodman, Kokone, Collette Farandole or any of the literally hundreds of supporting characters. What's more, I've barely scratched the surface of the plot. It's more than a simple junior high comedy. In addition to the romantic hi-jinks and stellar action, there's real emotion that makes you genuinely care about each and every character. The story starts with some shorter story arcs, such as dealing with Eva's vampirism and a class trip to Kyoto. The two biggest story arcs so far as the Mahora Festival, and the trip to the Magical World to look for Negi's father. The Mahora Festival arc takes 10 volumes to cover only three days. It's an intricately woven story that follows Negi as he juggles his commitments as a teacher and his desire to have fun with his students. There's a martial arts festival, and someone decides to change the course of history by taking over the school. Akamatsu masterfully blends the action and humor to keep the story moving to one of the most dramatic climaxes I've ever read in manga. Not once does the story get lost or muddled. It is one of the best pieces of writing I've seen in manga. After a couple volumes to recover from that story arc, Negi's group of followers decides to take their summer vacation in Wales so they can accompany him to the Magical World to search for clues to his missing father. Unfortunately, things don't go as expected and not only does Negi's group get scattered all around the world, but some of his students who aren't aware of magic get lost in the magical world as well. We're only a few volumes into this story arc, but it's shaping up to be as exciting as the Mahora Festival.

Volume 24

Negima is published in the US by Del Rey. They've mostly done an excellent job. There were some unfortunate translation issues early on, such as referring to the Thousand Master as the Southern Master, some misplaced dialogue, and an unfortunately over-adapted script by Peter David and wife in the first couple volumes. You also get the feeling that Del Rey is desperate to censor every volume they get, if only the fans would let them get away with it. There is a fair amount of (non-detailed) nudity in the story. The covers have been censored a couple of times. The first time, they published the original unedited cover inside the book. But the most recent volume (volume 23) didn't get that consideration. Apparently seeing the panties of a centuries-old vampire on the cover is bad for sales, or the morality of America's youth or something, so Eva's dress was lengthened. Unfortunately, we didn't get the unmolested version on the inside this time. Even so, the problems with Del Rey's handling of the title are very minor compared with how good the story and art are. It's a story full of memorable characters, featuring the best combination of action and good girl art I've seen since the late Dave Stevens created The Rocketeer. I read every new volume of Negima with a huge smile on my face, squirming in my seat from all the fresh revelations and plot twists, and the moments of sheer awesome when characters surprise you with depth and heart. I've been reading manga for 20 years, and this title is easily one of the best I've ever read.