Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 9

It is the beginning of the school festival (a very very good saga!). This volume is slow and kinda boring. However dont lose hope, this saga gets very good (just wait till volume 11 and such).

You'd expect Negi to be a bit worn out after fighting Graf Wilhelm back in the end of volume 8, but no. He's back and going full-speed again. This time, however, his challenges involve his class- and are much more hilarious than his previous situations. Volume 9 begins the MahoraFest saga, a story arc that spans six volumes before finally ending in volume 14. So this is just the beginning, and it already promises to be quite the thrill ride. As Negi arrives at school, he is greeted by a surprise visitor: Kotaro, who apparently transferred to Mahora after Negi's fight with the Graf. It's also revealed that Kotaro is still staying with Chizuru and Natsumi, even though Kotaro says he's trying to get his own place. Kotaro's very impressed with Mahora's size, and both he and Negi are awed by the giant gate proclaiming "MahoraFest!! Only 15 Days Left!!!" (or something like that; I don't have the manga right in front of me...). Negi gets told about MahoraFest, and gets quite the surprise when he walks into his classroom to find Ayaka, Sakurako, and one other person all dressed in maid costumes!!! It's now up to Negi and the class to come up with an idea for their MahoraFest booth, but the class's ideas are less than... kid-friendly, let's say (especially Fumika's "cat-eared nudie bar" idea). They finally settle on doing a haunted house, and the classmates get right to work. That's not all the action that goes on, though. Chachamaru's been acting quite strange lately, so Hakase asks her to come in for a tune-up... and Chachamaru's followed to Hakase's lab by Konoka, Asuna, Setsuna, and Negi!!! There, Hakase (with Konoka's help) makes a startling discovery- Chachamaru's in love!!! Hakase then puts Chachamaru through a series of... interesting tests to see who she's in love with, but to everyone's surprise, it turns out to be... okay, now that's too much of a plot spoiler, so I'm not gonna tell you. Then there's that little part about Negi having to defend one of his own students (who is also a mage) against a group of wizards who want to take her hostage!!! Having read the entire series well before I started reviewing them, I can say that the start-up hilarity of volume 9 is well-matched by the proceeding volumes. Here's to Ken Akamatsu for making a series that's both hilarious and deep at the same time. Enjoy!! ~andy~

Usually the chapters after an epic battle are a letdown. But Ken Akamatsu keeps up the pace in the ninth volume of "Negima," via a bunch of character-development stories that explore Negi's class even further. Thought a vampire, a robot, a ninja and two half-demon kids were weird? It only gets better here. The entire school is preparing for the massive Mahora Festival, and 3-A isn't sure what their "theme" will be. And Negi is still depressed, believing himself to be weak and a bad teacher. Who will rescue him? Satsuki Yotsuba, a kindly gourmet with a knack for helping others -- both with food, and with her common sense. Negi also gets to know other girls in his class -- the girls go a-ghostbusting when the timid class ghost tries to get friendly; robot girl Chachamaru suddenly gets klutzy and stuttery, prompting mad scientist Hakase to run a diagnostic. The results are unexpected -- Chachamaru is experiencing human emotions, and has fallen in love. And while Asuna has had a crush on her hunky ex-teacher for awhile, she's never worked up the nerve to admit it. Eager to help her, Negi tries a magic pill that temporarily ages him four or five years. He's quite the hottie, and Asuna finds herself disconcerted by this handsome teenager. And when the Dean reveals some stunning new facts about the World Tree, Negi finds himself having to defend one of his students -- from other wizards! When "Negima" started, it seemed like a rather limp cross between Harry Potter and "Love Hina." But as the ninth volume rolls around, it's clearer than ever that Ken Akamatsu has grown into his series' large shoes. He's better than ever at mixing fantasy, comedy and lovable characters. Peripherally, it's all about the upcoming Festival (which apparently will happen in the tenth volume). But the real focus is on the wizard boy and his students, and Akamatsu doesn't resort to stereotypes to make them likable (especially chubby Yotsuba). And fans of rough dog-boy Kotaro will be glad to see that he's apparently joined the cast full time, as Negi's rival/foil/friend. There's plenty of straightforward comedy, like various kids having fun with the aging pills, and the disastrous date that Asuna and Negi go on. And while most of the story focuses on the various girls in Negi's class, it ends with a sorcerous scuffle with Negi, Kotaro and Setsuna, promising a great time in the next volume. Ken Akamatsu's "Negima" series is still going strong in the ninth volume, and things only promise to get better. A solid collection.

This issue is all about Negi and his students preparing for the big Mahora Academy Festival. This time around, we get to know some of the students who barely had any "screentime" before, including Yotsuba (the chef), Aisaka (the ghost), Hakase (the mad scientist) and Chao (the enigma). This particular chapter of the series is heavy on the humor and light on the battles. Fans of the series up to this point should also enjoy this chapter of the series.

Volume 9 of Negima follows the pattern of "after a big battle, it's time for some mostly unknown student development." While half the volume is dedicated to the general group of magic/tech/martial arts friendly students that usually surround Negi (Chachamaru, Asuna, etc.), the new students to get their own focus are the chef Yotsuba, the ghost Aisaka, and renaissance girl Chao Lingshen... Various ruckus (rucki? ruckeses?) are planted throughout with plenty of opportunity for fanservice, such as the lovely cosplay section towards the beginning (mmm... bunny girl Setsuna)... not to mention that Negi (er, Nagi?) and Asuna actually go on a date together! Akamatsu's art is great, as always, and his penchant for having very busy frames carries through with little tidbits of insight and comedy. And, while the progression is, also as always, cliche and stereotypical, he still manages to sneak a few goodies in that can make a reader see past the shallow fun of the festivities to the big picture Akamatsu's trying to paint adventure-wise for the entire title. All in all, a fun read with more than a few possible red herrings/hints to the grand arc and jokes (nun's who are witches?).