Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 4

So here we are. Negima! volume four. Up until this point, Negi's had to deal with a lot of stuff: beginning to teach at an all-girl's school, a dangerous excursion deep beneath the school library, and a powerful vampire by the name of Evangeline McDowell (aka Dark Evangel), but Negi's never had to face the intricacies of a girl who's in love with him. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Volume four begins with a brief conversation between Negi and Evangeline concerning Negi's father, the Thousand Master; when Negi tell Eva that the Thousand Master is alive, she initially just laughs it off, but realizes that he's telling the truth and advises Negi to go to Kyoto to look for clues about his father, since Kyoto was the last place that anyone ever saw Nagi. Negi then gets the idea of doing it legally (since he's accrued no time off, neither does he have any extra cash) by organizing a class field trip to see the sites at Kyoto and Nara. The headmaster agrees to the field trip, but only on the condition that Negi delivers a letter to the leader of the Kansai magic group, the main group opposed to the field trip (Kyoto is in the Kansai district and their opposition stems from the fact that a wizard [i.e. Negi] would be leading the trip). Things start to get out of hand on the train ride, though, as the students are attacked by... frogs? Also, a paper bird steals Negi's letter, but one of his students, Setsuna Kagurazaki, slices the bird in half while leaving the letter untouched; this leads Chamo to believe that Setsuna might be a spy for the West. Their time at Kyoto is no less eventful, including a first-day trip to the fountains that has everyone passed out drunk from booze that was pumped into the fountains. Then there's that little thing about Nodoka finally confessing her love for Negi... One of the main reasons that I'm so impressed with Negima! is that each novel seems to be better than the previous one, and this one is no exception. Of course, the fan service is there, but the best parts of this novel are Nodoka's confession to Negi and a neat little sidestory about just how deep the relationship is between Setsuna and Konoka (who Setsuna insists upon calling "ojou-sama", a highly reverent and respectful term for a girl of affluent parentage). Enjoy!! ~andy~

Negi takes the class on a field trip to Kyoto and Nara. People there are out to kidnap Asuna's friend Konoka, and another student has taken it upon herself to defend Konoka. Nodoka has difficulty telling Negi of her feelings for him. And a reporter-in-training finds out Negi's secret. Paper panty-stealing monkeys, a female samurai, and a birthday surprise. The total is one excellent graphic novel.

This is the fourth volume in the Japanese comic book series about a 10 year old wizard who is assigned to be a teacher at a Japanese girls middle school. Most of this volume is about an extended field trip (which isn't over yet). With 31 students in the class, it's hard to devote time to all of them. But this time around, we get to know the cheerleaders, the swordswoman and the reporter. This book has a good mix of comedy and drama. Sure, it's weird that a bunch of 14 year old students have a crush on their 10 year old teacher, but if you can get beyond that, you may enjoy this comic.

Graphics, story, everything, it's all very good. If you've liked the series up to this far, this is a very nice compliment. Akamatsu is now giving each girl a story, so it's like little "episodes". Anyway, if you haven't read the first one, I'd suggest you go read the reviews there. It's a must buy for those keeping up with the series, and the series is a very good one itself. (...)

The fourth volume in the Negima! manga has Negi taking his class on a feild trip to Kyoto and Nara. This is not only for fun and education, but Negi has it on good authority that the "Souther Master", his father, once lived in the aera. However the headmaster of the acdemy want Negi to deliver a letter for him. However the headmaster warns Negi that their will be danger in just traveling to Kyoto and the letter only compounds the danger. With this new danger, his class acting like they always do, and a few other suprises make this volume the most exciting of them all!