Author: Ken Akamatsu
Volumes: 27 Volumes
Released: February 26, 2003
Genre: Harem, Action, Comedy, Magical girl
The Plot
Magician in training Negi Springfield dreams of being a Magister Magi (Latin for 'Master Mage'), one of the highest classes of magicians who travel the globe helping normal people while keeping their magical ability a secret. Negi's main reason for wanting to be a Master Mage is so he can find his father, Nagi Springfield, a legendary magician known as the 'Thousand master' who has been missing since Negi was young and is believed to be dead.
At ten years old Negi Springfield has graduated from the Merdiana magic academy and as per tradition he is expected to take up a pre-assigned job and continue his training. He soon finds out that his duty is to become a teacher at Mahora academy, where he will be teaching a class of 31 middle school girls. Soon enough Negi is enveloped in his students' and school's chaotic lifestyle.
What's Good
Author Ken Akamatsu is famous for his harem Manga Love Hina and it's nice to see him try a new genre although the romantic style comedy elements are still present. Slowly (at first), as the series progresses, the shift to a more action oriented plot is soon established and it is amazing to see how well some of the fight scenes are pulled off. The ever present perverted moments played for laughs due to the main character's young age and a lot of alike moments are more like subversions of the original jokes. Although a few of the characters play up to the typical clichés such as the 'shy girl' Nodoka Miyazaki, the nervous bookworm with a crush on the main character, it doesn't mean that it's tiresome. Rather these walking archetypes are comfortable to see and as with any tried and tested archetype or model they can still surprise you every once in a while.
What's bad
A major problem I feel I must mention is the whole 'creepy' angle the series can give off, with a ten year old pre-pubescent boy running around giving 'proper' kisses to girls to make 'pactio cards' (magical cards that grant the magicians 'partner' special abilities). There is also a point where the main characters get a hold of candy that can give the illusion of the characters being older or younger when consumed, which while tame by itself it does get a bit weird when characters remain in 'loli' form far longer than they actually have to. In one case the girl has, for reasons known only to the author himself, taken the opportunity to dress in frankly downright revealing clothing while in 'loli' form. With all this paedo-bait it can be a bit uncomfortable for even the most desensitised reader. Frequent breaks from the main story to mess about with comedic elements means that the Manga can be slow moving sometimes, and the latest two arcs have been ticking along for such a long time now that it might be seen as annoying by some readers. A more personal gripe for me is the claim that Negi is Welsh; while I always enjoy seeing my country referenced in anything I do wonder if the author actually understands exactly how the whole England and Wales thing works, because at times it can seem like he knows precisely what he's talking about (especially when talking about magical myths and such) and at other times I truly wonder if he actually has a clue what he's talking about (Negi often refers to himself as an 'English gentleman', for example).
Conclusion
If you can get past the slightly creepy nature sometimes seen in some of the chapters then this series is about average. It is a refreshing change from other action Manga with its blend of fighting, more traditional slight romantic elements and comedy, but it's still very mediocre in some ways. Although I personally enjoy the story I wouldn't exactly call it amazing, and although they don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the series the typical archetypes spotted in some characters do nothing to actually add to the story. I would recommend this Manga only if you're in the mood for a blend of magic, fantasy and harem.
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