Mahou Sensei Negima! Movie: Anime Final

Esta review también está en español. Well, before starting the review, I just want to clarify something: this film is not related to the Mahou Sensei Negima anime, nor the Negima!? anime. This is the direct sequel of Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, and is the alternative ending from the manga. So, if you didn't read it, or you aren't up to chapter 334 (cause yes, this is really advanced), then this movie is not for you. Understood? Great, then let's begin. Today is February 24, and regarding Negima, these are crucial times. The manga is almost ending, with only three chapters left... and the future doesn’t looktoo bright. Fans don't lose hopes, yet, they're uneasy. But hey, while we are waiting, this film bring us a different ending, an alternate path, and supposedly, the original way Akamatsu was going to finish this giant story. The film starts showing scattered parts of chapters 310 to 334. That's right, 24 chapters in less than five minutes. But, those parts are more informative than anything, and you know how what happened: Negi is petrified, Ala Alba is trying to rescue Twilight!Asuna (epic moment for Natsumi and Kotaro) from Cosmo Entelechia, Chachamaru nukes the original Fate with her kill sat, lots of Fates appear and crush many of the good guys, Negi awake and convince the original (and not nuked after all) Fate (third one, actually) to join him, the members of the original Cosmo Entelechia return including the Mage of the Beginning, Ala Rubra arrives with Eva and kick the evil dudes asses, and finally, Asuna and Negi slice in two the Mage of the Beginning, who was actually Negi's father. All that in five minutes. Now, to the proper story of the movie: Having defeated the Life Maker, Asuna use her royal powers to solve the imminent apocalypse that threatened Mundus Magicus. With that inconvenience cleared (for now, at least), Negi and Co biggest concern are the preparatives for the graduation. However, the Principal tell Negi that, if he want to become a proper Magister Magi, he has to chose one of his students and create a permanent pactio (it doesn't have to be one of his current partners necessarily), and the rest of the class will lose any magic-related memory. And not only that, the decision has to be made before the graduation, so Negi has only one day to think... Obviously, the girls will find out immediately, and although they don't like this whole business, they're willing to accept whatever Negi decides, but trying to gain his attention for (possibly) their last day together. Told this way, the story doesn't sounds bad, right? I mean, is not the more action oriented film ever, and of course we would all love to see the fight between Ala Rubra and Cosmo Entelechia, or Negi, Setsuna, Kaede or Mana fighthing anyone... but this movie wasn't supposed to adapt those parts, and they were only shown for instructive reasons (I suppose). No, the problems start shortly after half of the film. Obviously I can't give more details (cause, if I keep writing, I will end telling you the whole movie, and that's not the idea), but the plot inconsistencies begin to pile up, and less logical stuff just keep happening. And the most important thing: the resolution of the story is a mess. We also don't have lots of fights (like I already stated), but the ones presents are pretty cool, yet too short. Way too short. As for the characters... despite being an 80 minutes long film, every girl participates in a satisfactory way, having their own special moments, or at least a few lines. All the girls have in mind that in less of 24 hours their life is going to change big time, except for the chosen one (and even her will experiment some changes, like... all her friends losing their memories)... and possibly a few more exceptions (like certain girl with the magic-cancel ability, or people with pactios, but with other people). Anyway, it's amazing the maturity with which the girls handled the situation, especially compared to the manga (good YHVY, the behavior of these very same girls in the parallel events of the manga...). And just as a curiosity, I found amusing the way Haruna and Akira trades roles, in a very subtle way. You'll understand why... The animation is excellent. Really, is superb, like in the OVAS. Beatiful 2-D drawing, good 3-D effects (but not overused, like in the Yue OVA), fast attacks, flashy magic (seriously, those magic circles can't become cooler) and mahou shoujo transformations (present in all the girls that have a card, and especially awesome in Nodoka and Yue's case). And of course, this is Negima, so fan service is involved, with a good ol' bath scene (and others too). The sound quality is as good as the animation. The three songs present in the film are played perfectly, once again, by an excellent group of seiyus. Even the hard stuff like the latin pronunciation is really good. The voices are the same from the OVAS, with only the absence of Tanaka Hazuki, Ku Fei's original voice actress. So, to round things up, the technical level of this movie is superb, and the story is weak. It looks like we just can't get a Negima adaptation that leave no doubts (I mean, why can't we get a proper adaptation? Is for the Ecchi? Seikon no Qwaser was way worse!). From the beginning, it was obvious that a film so short can't give that much (look at the Haruhi movie... it lasted more than 160 minutes... and was adapting just a 300 pages novel!), especially with all the characters Negima have. There's virtually no action. The story unfolds in an erratic, something meaningless way, and even contradicts the manga a few times (it kind of remind me the first anime in that sense). The outcome wasn't satisfactory. But of course, not everything was bad, there are lots of fun parts, and the characterization is very good, at least most of the time. As for the recommendation... of course you are going to watch it. This is not any series, this is Mahou Sensei Negima, the manga you read more than 330 chapters (quite possible 352, right?). Regardless of all its faults, all the omissions, all the missed opportunities... this is another ending, a different point of view. Of course you are going to watch it. I know you will, reader n_n. -------- Bueno, antes de empezar propiamente, vale la aclaración: esta película no tiene nada que ver con el anime Mahou Sensei Negima o con Negima!?. Esto es la continuación directa de Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, y es el final alternativo que se había concebido para el manga, así que si no lo leyeron, o no llegaron al capítulo 334, esta película no es para ustedes. Entendido? Bueno, empecemos. Hoy es 24 de febrero, y en lo que respecta a Negima, estamos en momentos cruciales. El manga esta a 3 capítulos de acabar, y los pronósticos no son favorables. Sin embargo, no se pierden las esperanzas. Peeeeero, mientras esperamos por el desenlace, esta película nos trae un final distinto, un camino alternativo, el que al principio Akamatsu había pensado para terminar su obra. La película arranca mostrándonos flashes de los capítulos 310 hasta el 334. Y cuando digo flashes es en serio: son 24 capítulos en menos de cinco minutos. Aunque bueno, ustedes ya saben cómo va: Negi esta petrificado, Ala Alba intenta rescatar a Asuna de las manos de Cosmo Entelecheia, se despiertan muchos Fates que pulverizan a varios miembros del grupo de los buenos (siendo Chachamaru partida en 2), Negi se despierta, convence al Fate original (el tercero, en realidad) de que se una a él, aparecen miembros del Cosmo Entelecheia original, mas el Life Maker, llega Ala Rubra y Eva, los exterminan, se libera a Asuna, y junto a Negi, liquidan al Life Maker, que resulto ser el padre de Negi. Todo eso en 5 minutos. Ahora va el planteo en serio de la historia: Habiendo sido derrotado el Life Maker, Asuna usa sus poderes reales para resolver el inminente Apocalipsis que asolaba Mundus Magicus. Ahora, la preocupación más grande que tienen Negi y sus estudiantes es apurarse a prepararse para la graduación. Sin embargo, el director Konoemon le plantea un problema a Negi: si quiere convertirse en un Magister Magi real, debe elegir a una sola de sus estudiantes para forjar un contrato definitivo (no siendo obligatorio que sea una de sus partners actuales), y todas las demás perderían cualquier memoria relacionada con la magia. Ah, y dicha decisión debe ser tomada el día de la graduación, por lo que Negi solo tiene un día para decidirse... Obviamente, las chicas se enteran, y aunque no les hace mucha gracia, están dispuestas a aceptar cualquiera sea la decisión de Negi, y queriendo hablar al menos una vez mas con su profesor antes de que todo se acabe. Dicho así, la historia no pinta mal, cierto? Quiero decir, por supuesto que a todos nos hubiera gustado ver la pelea de Ala Rubra y Eva vs Cosmo Entelecheia, o a Negi, Setsuna, Kaede, Chachamaru o Mana peleando... pero esta película no se suponía que adaptara esas parte, y solo nos mostraron como para plantear la situación. No, los problemas empiezan un poco después de la mitad de la película. Obviamente no puedo dar detalles (por que si no terminaría contando toda la película, y no es la idea), pero las inconsistencias argumentales empiezan a apilarse, y cosas cada vez menos lógicas empiezan a surgir... y para redondear, el desenlace es insólito. Tampoco hay mucha acción que digamos, pero hay un par de peleas que son interesantes. Vamos a los personajes. A pesar de ser una película de solo 70 minutos, la verdad es que casi todas las chicas participan de forma medianamente satisfactoria, con algunas escenas para que se luzcan, o al menos, para que hablen. Todas tienen en mente que en menos de 24 horas su vida está a punto de cambiar, excepto para la elegida... y otras excepciones (como cierta chica con la habilidad innata de cancelar la magia... o las que tienen pactios con otras personas). Como sea, es increíble la madurez con que las chicas manejan la situación, especialmente comparado con el manga (por Dios, el comportamiento de estas mismas chicas en los sucesos paralelos del manga...). Y a modo de curiosidad, me pareció sorpresivo como los roles de Akira y Haruna se intercambiaron, al menos de forma muy sutil. Ya se van a dar cuenta... La animación es excelente. En serio, es soberbia, al igual que en las OVAS. Hermoso dibujo en 2-D, efectos 3-D presentes, pero no se abusan (como en la OVA de Yue), ataques rápidos y fluidos, magia vistosa, y transformaciones a lo mahou shojo (presentes en todas las chicas que usan sus cartas. Hay algunas muy buenas, especialmente las de Yue y Nodoka). Y como esto es Negima, también hay fan-service aunque tampoco muy exagerado... para los parámetros de Negima. El sonido sigue las líneas de calidad de la animación. Las tres canciones presentes en la película son interpretadas de forma impecable, una vez más, por un grupo de seiyus simplemente excelentes. Las voces son las mismas de los trabajos anteriores, con la excepción de Tanaka Hazuki, la seiyu original de Ku Fei. Entonces, para redondear, a nivel técnico es soberbio, a nivel historia deja que desear. Parece que no podemos conseguir algo de Negima que no deje dudas. Desde su génesis era obvio que una película de solo 80 minutos no iba a dar para mucho (quiero decir...miren la película de Haruhi... duraba más del doble, y adaptaba una novela de menos de 300 páginas!) especialmente teniendo en cuenta el amplio elenco presente en esta serie. Prácticamente no hay acción. La historia se desenvuelve de forma un tanto errática, a veces sin sentido, y hasta contradiciendo al manga. El desenlace no fue mi parte favorita. Pero tampoco es que todo sea malo y la historia la allá hecho un chico de primaria, hay varias partes divertidas, y la caracterización de los personajes es muy buena, al menos la mayoría del tiempo. En cuanto a la recomendación... ¿a quién engaño? Esto no es una serie desconocida, que puede atraer a tal o cual grupo de personas, esta película está dirigida a personas que leyeron 330 capítulos de un manga. Es obvio que, si llegaron a eso, tienen que ver este final. Sin importar todos sus defectos, todas las omisiones, todas las oportunidades perdidas... la tienen que ver. Aunque claro, sin importar lo que yo diga, de todas formas la van a ver. Se que si n_n.

Spoilers ahead. The two previous OVA series may have had their flaws, but all the way through, you could tell they were building up to something great. They had to cut some material in favor of the larger story, and if you knew the manga, then you knew exactly what they were building up to... The climactic fight between Negi and his archenemy, Fate Averuncus. This long, epic, high stakes battle would not only justify any miss-step the OVAs might have made, but it would make the OVA collection stand out as the best Negima series since the manga. And if that’swhat you want to see, get ready... To see the finale of the Magical World story haphazardly condensed into one five minute sequence. I wish I was exaggerating. The film begins with Natsume using her artifact to sneak up on Fate with Kotarou and a few others in tow(WTF?!) and then blazes through the rest of the story at break neck speed, offering up no explanation for what happened since the last OVA OR what's happening presently on screen. Not only does it skip entire chapters, but it actually has the balls to list off the chapters it IS pulling material from... Needless to say, it goes from chapter 311 to chapter 330 in just over a minute. Once this is done, we go straight back to Mahora Academy, and spend the rest of the movie there, and this is the point where the OVA’s strict adherence to the manga is thrown right out the window. The plot of this movie is that once Negi’s students graduate, his trial period will end, and he’ll be forced to pick one permanent partner out of them. Everyone else, barring a few exceptions, will instantly forget everything they know about magic. And here’s the thing: The movie, itself, inadvertently points out just how absurd this premise is. Natsume, Setsuna and Konoka talk about being exempt from the rule because they’re all in contracts that don’t involve Negi, which is great... But what about Misora and Mana? They’re each involved in third party contracts too! And what about the eleven students who knew about magic before they met Negi? What about the ghost, or the robot who works for a magical vampire? Oh, and here’s a good one... What about the fact that Nagi Springfield, as an adult, has over a half-dozen contracts that are still active? Didn’t really think this through, did you? The entire story from that point is of people moping around and contemplating their fate, or going through transformation scenes for no reason at all, or engaging in entirely stakes-free battles. Oh, but it’s okay, because at least we get to see Negi pick a partner, right? This would be the second entry in the franchise to do so, and it can’t do it any worse than the Neo manga did, can it? Well, I would normally avoid spoiling something like this, but I don’t want you to make the mistake of getting involved with the plot or getting your hopes up, so I’m just going to spill it: He picks his entire class, effectively rendering the entire conflict pointless. They stand in a circle, they all get pactio cards, and... WHY DOES EVERY ANIMATED NEGIMA SERIES HAVE TO GIVE EVERYONE A PACTIO CARD?! In the manga, only seventeen of his students made contracts with him, and aside from the final one(Akira), none of them ever felt forced or meaningless, but don’t tell the animated incarnations about that! Hell, at least Negima?! found a way to do it that made sense to the plot! We then get a big dramatic magic catastrophe sequence that craps all over the original manga’s ending. Yeah, I’m not going to pretend the manga’s ending wasn’t disappointing, but it was better than this. Oh, and Negi’s going to keep being a teacher, AND he’s going to follow his girls into high school, so where the hell did that deadline come from? This isn’t just one of the worst entries in the Negima franchise. It’s also one of the worst anime movies I’ve ever seen. The plot makes absolutely no sense, half the material is some sort of fanservice filler, the ending is as fanficky as they come, and it tries to complete the story and wrap it up with a pretty bow, despite the fact that these OVAs have NEVER worried about telling a complete story before, so why break that trend just to put out the worst possible ending? Would I recommend it? No. I would not. In fact, this movie’s very existence makes me want to reconsider recommending the previous OVAs. The entire movie should have been the finale to the magical world story, with Asuna’s time-traveling arc(Which was the only genuinely good part of the manga’s ending) occupying the film’s last ten minutes. As it is, this movie’s a piece of crap.