Mahou Sensei Negima! ~Mou Hitotsu no Sekai~ OAD - 02

Negima! ~Another World~ OAD/OVA Ep. 02 Review

魔法先生ネギま！～もうひとつの世界～ Episode 02

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Negi dreams that he has a serious talk with Fate after seeing his companions petrified in the dream. He awakens to find he's been out for several hours and looked after by Chachamaru. Negi is stunned to find that they've been transported so far by Fate's forced teleportation spell and they are out of range of all his pactio partners. However, using his Ala Alba badge, Chachamaru is able to determine that two members of the team are about a day or so away and a third is a little further away.

Negi is not doing well but despite this, he wants to press ahead. The following day, he and Chachamaru cover ground but do not reach the closest Ala Alba member by nightfall. Instead, they are attacked by a tiger dragon, whom Chachamaru sends packing but at the cost of most of her energy. As a result, Negi has to wind her, using her key and his magical energy, something that she finds very enjoyable.

The next day they come upon Chisame, who's just lost the use of her sprite-mice and who's being attacked by a large tentacle beast who's intent on consuming her clothing. Chachamaru sends the beast packing as Negi rescues Chisame. However, Negi's fever starts to get the best of him and he's down, being tended to by Chisame and Chachamaru. As Negi worries allowed about all that has happened, Kotaro arrives and attacks Negi for his whining. Fifteen minutes later, their fight is over and Negi's fever is gone. Kotaro explains that it was the result of the healing spell Konoka had used, which resulted in too much magic within Negi.

Thoughts/Review:

Having already commented on the story via the manga, I'm going to focus more on comparing the manga to the anime.

Now that I've watched two episodes, I'm hard pressed to figure out how SHAFT will come to a satisfactory ending in two more episodes. They didn't cut a great deal out of the manga story from this episode and I don't see how they'd be able to serve the story but cutting vast portions of the remaining story out. So, the only thing I can think of that SHAFT might do is have Negi, Chachamaru, Chisame, and Kotaro come into town, find Asakura and Sayo, discover Ako, Natsumi, and Akira are slaves, and decide to fight in the tournament. In order to end in four episodes, SHAFT could then cover the tales of the others such as Asuna and Setsuna, Kaede and Konoka, Nodoka, and maybe even Yue. We'll see what they end up doing.

As I said, not too much was cut from the manga story. The dragon flying overhead and Chachamaru's talk of the dangers of traveling at night were cut but that was fine. Instead, SHAFT used that time to give a greater sense of Negi and Chachamaru's journey to the closest member of Ala Alba (Chisame).

SHAFT also reduced the amount of time dedicated to showing Negi's fever. In the manga, Chachamaru and Chisame are quite concerned about how high his fever is but that aspect is only touched on and I'm not sure the seriousness of his condition comes through in this episode. However, SHAFT takes the time that would have been used for that to pour into the fight between Kotaro and Negi, giving us a greater feel for that battle. So it is another trade-off and I can live with that.


Speaking of battles, I liked seeing how Chachamaru transforms her hands into weapons. That's never really clear in the manga but the anime makes it quite clear. I'm guessing that Akamatsu-sensei approved of this considering his involvement in the project.


SHAFT didn't waste an ecchi opportunity with either the Chachamaru bathing scene nor the scene of Chisame having her clothing dissolved. I tell ya, if I hadn't have already known what was going to happen in the story, I would have thought that we were about to have a graphic hentai scene with the tentacles and Chisame. I realize that's what Akamatsu-sensei was parodying in the manga, but SHAFT took it that little extra bit farther. *_*

On the other hand, I had thought that SHAFT might push the orgasmic reactions Chachamaru has when Negi winds her vocally. They didn't do that.

I'll need to go back and check, but I didn't remember Chisame's sprite-mice being active again after she hooked up with Negi and Chachamaru. It would make sense that she could use them again though considering they could pull power from Chachamaru.

I still have a hard time with Chachazero's rapid "keh-keh-keh" laugh. I still think that her having a slow laugh would come off more evil but if that's how Akamatsu-sensei designed it, then that's the way it is. Unfortunately, the way SHAFT drew Chachazero, she's not the scene stealer she is in the manga. I'm rather disappointed with that.

So overall, a very enjoyable episode that does what a good adaptation should do -- stay faithful to the source material while bringing the source material story to life in color. In this, SHAFT succeeds quite well. We'll see how they handle the final two episodes.

Negima! Manga Vol 30 Ch 274 Review

魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 30 Chapter 274 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 274

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: With the talks between Negi and Kurt officially over, Paru tells the girls it is time to flee as the army prepares to arrest them all. Paru's ship arrives as Sayo uses one of Paru's creations, a Sagitta Magica Mini Gun, to keep the troops at bay. Kaede uses her artifact cloak (Tengunokakuremino) to absorb a magical incoming attack before summoning her ninja artifact -- the giant 4-bladed shuriken. She launches it into the soldiers, assuring Yuuna that she has not killed them. Meanwhile, Setsuna launches into the soldiers as well until they grab Konoka, leading Setsuna to free "ojousama" before she summons her new artifact, "Takemikazuchi."

With Kaede and Setsuna single handedly having placed the Megalomesembria soldiers in their place, warships targets Paru's ship. Paru asks Kaede to grab everyone within her cloak and get them to the ship when giant tentacles reach up and destroy some of the warships. A giant, summoned demon-creature rises and destroys a platform where Ako, Makie, Akira, and Yuuna are standing. Kaede races and uses her cloak to grab the four girls, safely releasing them on another platform. She realizes that the enemy has attacked and as Paru guides her ship, she tells the others to shift to Plan B.

Thoughts/Review: This chapter could be titled, "The Setsuna and Kaede Show" because this is where both girls get to kick serious keester. Kaede gets more time since she has to rescue the sports girls but regardless, both girls show why they were such impressive bounty hunters before the reunion and why the bounty hunter group Canis Niger went out out to try to trap them.

Setsuna brandishes her new artifact this time out. It looks like a Japanese RPG sword as the hilt and blade aren't physically connected but what appears to be a spherical gem seems to hold the pieces in place. What it does, I couldn't say because she used one of her Shinmeiryuu attacks with it. However, I can't help but wonder if it is a projectile weapon as her pactio artifact with Negi is. Maybe Setsuna will learn the 3-blade technique before all is said and done. *lol*

We'd already seen Kaede's artifact in use as a means of secretly transporting an entire army in her cloak. However, she used it in two new ways with this chapter -- to absorb an incoming attack (which even if it destroyed the house and everything inside the cloak, we've seen that resummoning an artifact returns it to its normal state) and to catch the sports girls in midair. So her artifact has great defensive uses (providing no one is inside the cloak) as well as rescue abilities. Very nifty and kudos to Akamatsu-sensei for coming up with these new uses.

Going back to Setsuna for a moment, I had to laugh at what appears to be a nod to Goemon in Lupin III and his sword, Zantesuken. Often whenever Goemon attacks people with his sword, the effect is identical in that the person attacked loses all of their clothing down to their underwear. The only thing missing was Setsuna saying something like how she had to cut some worthless object. *lol*

Haruna, aka Paru, also had a chance to shine in this chapter. Normally it is hard to take her serious because she's so full of mischief. This time, she took charge of the evacuation to get to her ship and I liked that. When things fell apart, it was time to go to "Plan B," whatever that is. More there in a bit.

I did laugh at how Akamatsu-sensei used Paru's character to throw in a shout out to H. P. Lovecraft and his Cthulhu creation. While I've not read anything from Lovecraft, I am long aware of the Cthulhu creature thanks to friends who have read his works.

I also chuckled at Yuuna addressing Paru as "Paru-sama." Well, fear will do that to ya I suppose. ^_^;

For this "Plan B," it seems that Akamatsu-sensei is going to split the group up again but we'll see. Kaede is the best for getting the sports-four to the rendezvous site safely. Kotaro is paired up with Natsumi so there's a chance for Akamatsu-sensei to explore some romantic angles there as well as have Natsumi use her artifact. Paru and Chachamaru are on the ship along with Sayo. Everyone else is still together so we'll see if the group gets further spit apart. If so, I suspect that we'll be in the Magic World for quite a while longer.

Finally, I come to Sayo, who nearly steals the entire chapter by opening up with that mini-gun created for her by Paru. *lol* With that, I'll finish some parody lyrics I started with the chapter spoilers, sung to the tun of Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun."

Sayo's got a gun
Sayo's got a gun
Magic World's come undone
From Sayo strafin' for fun
What will ol' Negi do?
What did Paru put you through?
They say when Sayo was a shootin' the soldiers never stood again
But man they had it comin' Now that Sayo's got a gun she ain't never gonna be the same.

Heh!heh!heh!

Sadly, I only had time for one verse, but you have to admit (if you know the original song) that this works pretty well. In fact, I dare say some of you may start singing to yourself, "Sayo's got a gun." *lol*

So, an action-packed chapter in which Negi gets a mere cameo, Kaede, Setsuna, and even Paru get to shine, and Sayo nearly steals it all. ^_^

Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chuu - 12

夏のあらし！春夏冬中 Episode 12 Review
Summer Storm! Open for Business Ep. 12

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

A female manga-ka visits Hakobune and when Yayoi goes to serve her, the manga-ka speaks of kissing. This shocks the ghost-girls so Arashi heads over to set this manga-ka straight, only to be taken aback by the girl's apparent strong desire to kiss. Eventually, she explains that her desire is to capture a kissing scene for her manga and she wants Arashi to model. It is only when the the manga-ka's editor arrives that Arashi decides to help the manga-ka, Anamori.

Hajime refuses to kiss Arashi, so the manga-ka goes through various pairings, each not meeting with Hajime's approval. When Anamori decides on Jun and Arashi, Hajime decides he'll kiss Jun (man-to-man in his mind) so as to preserve Arashi's purity. This does not meet with Arashi's approval. Eventually, things come full circle with Anamori feeling that Hajime and Arashi would be best, something they both protest is impossible. Anamori decides to kiss Arashi herself and is prevented by Hajime. Hajime goes to kiss her but is prevented by Arashi. Anamori has her inspiration and her manga can be completed.

Anamori leaves in a car with her editor (Umeyashiki), who addresses her as "Sogoru-sensei." Sogoru-sensei undoes a zipper and puts on the older man mask of the customer who's been coming to Hakobune all along. Meanwhile, Hajime finds Arashi on the roof and tells her it is time for the summer festival. After a brief talk about things, Arashi kisses Hajime on the forehead and departs to get ready, leaving Hajime to think that their first kiss is better done in private and not in front of everyone.

Thoughts/Review:

You know, it was always a bit distracting having Master dance all the time in what were clearly moves that Japanese female singers and idols would perform. Adding Yayoi and Kanako to the mix just made it worse as SHAFT crossed into the cringe territory. Way to go SHAFT -- don't forget to go everywhere, funny or not.

Regardless, SHAFT seems to be on a serious yuri kick, desperately wanting to see the various female characters in symmetrical docking poses. *_* For me, the humor came from Arashi and Hajime's reactions to the idea that the other person would kiss someone else. Hajime acted pretty much like a kid would when it came to kissing Arashi and Arashi was pretty much just as immature when it came to kissing her first love. However, that's where the humor started and ended for the whole "gotta have a kissing inspiration" element of the manga.

It also shows a sweetness in that neither Arashi nor Hajime could bear the thought of another kissing the one they love (each other), yet they could not kiss each other in public. I liked how Arashi kissed Hajime on the forehead and made him want to just forget the summer festival. *lol* Another sweet and humorous moment to be sure. Considering how Hajime is her first and only love, it makes sense too.

The Jun-Hajime element is still in play with Hajime going to kiss Jun and her blushing over the thought of it. It is humorous as Hajime thinks Jun is a guy and humorous still when Arashi stops them from kissing.

For some reason, I did get a laugh at Murata being on a stakeout and trying to get Yayoi to hang up.

Speaking of humor, SHAFT made fun of themselves in a manner of speaking when they had Umeyashiki sitting with the salt guy and teasing him with the salt shaker. I think this is the first time that a salt joke actually made me smile.

Shockingly absent from this episode is the oh so tedious "I read a book" short that SHAFT always has Yayoi and Kanako do, sometimes more than once an episode. I guess SHAFT had enough story to work with that they couldn't squeeze in their horrible stuff.

The biggest shock is that "Anamori" is actually "Sogoru." There goes my theory that the old man is actually Hajime from the future since the old man face was pretty clearly a mask. I don't know what the deal is there though with only one more episode, we may find out very soon.

As this episode dealt with drawing a manga, it really felt like one of Kobayashi-sensei's stories since manga work often came into play in School Rumble.

Despite the attempts to get the otaku worked up with yuri kissing, the episode was amusing and sweet on the whole with one major surprise. I look forward to seeing how this series ends.

 

Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chuu - 11

夏のあらし！春夏冬中 Episode 11 Review
Summer Storm! Open for Business Ep. 11

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Kaja sneaks into Jun's room and shuts off her alarm so that she oversleeps. When Jun wakes up, she finds that she now has the body of an older teen girl and doesn't know what to do. She attempts to find Kaja, hoping to avoid Hajime, when she runs into Arashi outside of Hakobune. She makes Arashi promise not to say anything and is introduced to the others as Jun's older sister, Ryoko. Everyone assumes Ryoko is there for the surprise party they are throwing for Jun's birthday and take the opportunity to grill Jun on Jun's likes and dislikes. Jun learns a great deal about what her friends think of her.

Arashi teases Hajime for gushing so much over Ryoko's beauty as it is decided that a pie-throwing event will be held for Jun since Kaja overhear Jun talking about it in her sleep. That evening, Hajime gather's some "wild strawberries" (looking like raspberries) for a topping on Jun's pie and when Jun has one, her body returns to normal. Arashi sends her home where Jun changes and returns to be "surprised" by this birthday party. She gets pounded with pies, which are kept from hitting the floor, and after the crusts are stacked, they all sit to eat.

Thoughts/Review:

A comedy series like this takes a great deal of liberties, but we suspend our disbelief just the same (the fact that Jun transformed into a teenaged body for starters). However, two glaring things screamed at me during this episode. First, why didn't anyone mention Jun's real older sister? Kaja has been living with Jun's family and seemingly would have questioned why no mention of this "Ryoko-san." Also, wouldn't she have asked if Jun's real older sister would be coming to the surprise party if "Ryoko-san" was going to be?

Second was the absence of Ryoko at the end of the day. After helping everyone set up for Jun's party that she was apparently going to attend, why wouldn't anyone question her whereabouts? It shouldn't, but these kinds of things just bother me.


Still, on the whole I can't say the episode was bad. SHAFT went out of their way to make Jun's older teen body look pretty good. They also took the opportunity for a little fanservice. *_* It was amusing having the staff be so open about Jun when they didn't know "Ryoko" was in fact Jun (well, Arashi knew but she wasn't talking). The writers (whether Kobayashi-sensei or the anime staff) are now clearly establishing a Jun-Hajime pairing in the future after Arashi and the other ghosts are gone. Between Hajime's gushing over "Ryoko's" beauty and Jun's blushing at it all (in between moments of irritation with Hajime), I couldn't help but think that they'd end up together.

Why would anyone want pies thrown at them for their birthday? That was a bizarre wish to be sure. I wouldn't want to eat those pies either afterward but I guess in Japan, they are taking the "waste not, want not" approach. ^_^;;;

So a pretty fun episode despite some plot holes and that never ending tedious "I read a book" short at the end.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 37

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 37
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 37 review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Winry upgrades Ed's automail as Ed tries to warn her about Kimblee without giving himself away to the nearby Kimblee. However, he remembers Riza's words to him about being in love with Winry and he has great trouble concentrating, leading Winry to wonder why she fell in love with Ed. After Winry is shown some of the automail at Briggs, Kimblee has a job for Ed -- find Scar, find Dr. Marcoh, then set up Briggs to be the next point of conflict. Upon completion of his task, Ed will be given a Philosopher's Stone. Ed says he has to consult with Winry and Al first, which Kimblee agrees to providing he is there to observe and make sure Ed doesn't say too much.

Meanwhile, Buccaneer leads troops down into the tunnel to look for survivors. They find the shredded remains of horses and men but do find two survivors whom are afraid of the light as the shadows will attack. Indeed, Pride is about to attack when he suddenly retreats and allows Buccaneer and his men to leave untouched. At the same time in Central, Riza presents papers to Bradley's wife for delivery when Selim suddenly shows up after his adoptive mother reveals Selim is from Bradley's family. Riza knows the truth and as she leaves, Selim reveals himself to be Pride to Riza but does not kill Bradley's hostage.


Back in Briggs, Ed tells what he can to Al and Winry and agrees to do the job for Kimblee. Al quietly tells Winry more of what Ed could not say and that Ed is likely using this as a means to find Mei Chan and learn Alkahestry. Winry decides she can no longer just be an observer so when Ed and Al head out with Kimblee's troops to find Scar, she joins them and Kimblee reluctantly allows it.


Thoughts/Review:

I was amused at how General Armstrong's message to Roy made it clear that they weren't partners but in her opinion, her armies and those of the East would work well together. Naturally if push comes to shove, she will help Roy but her message shows her independence as well as her own ideas on possibly running the joint.

Was the florist just someone who'd worked for the Armstrong family or an actual family member? That I'm not sure about.

So, just what is Winry planning to do by joining Ed and Al as they look for Scar? It is amazing that Kimblee would allow Ed to consult with Al and Winry at all regarding taking the job. It is even more amazing that he'd allow Winry to go on the trip. Where's the advantage for Kimblee? As crafty as the writing has made him, I wouldn't think he'd be stupid enough to not suspect Ed and Al might be up to something to say nothing of Winry. Granted Ed and Winry's argument in the car may have tipped the balance in their favor but still, it doesn't seem a smart move on Kimblee's part.

On the lighthearted front, I laughed when Ed remembered Riza's conversation to him being in love with Winry-chan. *lol* Black Hayate reminded me a bit of Muttley from the old Hanna–Barbera cartoon. So nice to see that bit of humor.

On the serious front, there's the discovery Riza made -- Selim is Pride!

WHOA!

That was completely unexpected. For Pride to be up in Briggs, why would I think that Pride is actually Selim? I wouldn't and didn't. Still, for Pride to be able to cover such ground in so rapid a time is very impressive. He must use shadows somehow to instantaneously move from place to place. Either that or he is spread quite far. Regardless, his adoptive mother's words were heard by Pride which is why he left and allowed Buccaneer and his men to live. For Pride to be in multiple places at once give a real terrifying dimension to the character and makes him the ultimate spy, even better than Envy.

Since Pride's shadow hands are like the mini hands from the Truth Gate, is there a connection there (as there was between Gluttony and the Truth Gate)?

I did note that Pride left two of the original troops sent to investigate the tunnel alive. At first, I thought he did that as bait but that didn't quite jive. Then I remembered what one of the survivors said and I guess that where there is no shadow, there can be no Pride (or rather, he is powerless to do anything). One would think that in total darkness, Pride would be king but it is just the opposite apparently.

Still, for Pride and Wrath to carry on this masquerade like they do is really something amazing. The entire act they put on for "Mrs. Bradley" and the staff has to be a strain, one would think. After all, the homunculi aren't that keen on humanity and to pretend to be one like that (and father and son to boot even though Pride claims to be the first one made) can't be easy. I remarked on how creepy everything seemed in their family life and this adds another dimension to that creepiness.

So, another good episode. I am curious if the anime is still speeding along or if it has slowed down somewhat when compared to the manga.