Negima! Magister Negi Magi Volume 27

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By Ken Akamatsu. Released in Japan as “Mahou Sensei Negima!” by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine. Released in North America by Del Rey.

Well, in case you felt that the Tournament arc back at Mahora wasn’t enough, we now get the climax to another tournament arc, as Negi and Kotaro are fighting Jack Rakan and Kagetaro. The prize? One million drachmas, which Negi wants to use to free Ako, Natsumi and Akira from slavery. Jack, however, says in order to get that he’ll need to beat him. Which is kind of impossible, as Jack is a ‘broken cheat’ character who is mind-numbingly touch and strong.

The battle itself is interspersed with flashbacks to two days before it, where we see Negi researching Jack and finding out no, he really is as hard to defeat as everyone says. In case it wasn’t obvious, Negi notes that much of Jack’s ‘dumb jock’ persona is just a persona, and that he got where he is by training to get better every day of his life. Negi being the current #2 in Negima’s angst meter (Setsuna is still tops), and is doing all this research convinced he’s going to lose in two seconds.

This leads to a confrontation with Tosaka, who earlier discovered Negi running around as a ten-year-old. Tosaka’s motivations are handled very well here – Akamatsu doesn’t like to do straight out jerk characters, so we see why his backstory makes him really pissed off at what Negi’s doing – as well as monstrously angry when Ako tries to solve the blackmail dilemma by offering herself to Tosaka. Another grumpy jerk who’s secretly a softie at heart.

My favorite part of the volume is the saddest scene, though. We all knew it had to come sooner or later, and many volumes have been dedicated to her not catching on. However, Ako’s discovery of Negi’s secret, and subsequent reaction, are absolutely heartbreaking. It’s telling that he draws this with Ako naked in the hot springs, and yet there’s not even a hint it’s for fanservice. This is pure cleansing of the soul. And it makes Ako’s support of him later on all the more heartwarming.

As for the fight itself, it’s pretty awesome, as shonen fights go. Everyone gets to show off their skills. We get to see the girls reacting the way we would if we were there. And Negi is really amazingly clever in this, showing, as noted by Rakan and the ‘fake’ Evangeline, that his true strength is his inventiveness. And, the outcome aside, the objective is achieved: the girls are freed. (I note the scene where the girls have their collars unlocked by Negi and Kotaro is drawn in a very… suggestive way. Akamatsu may be doing shonen fight manga, but it’s not just his editors who want that fanservice. The whole scene is reminiscent of ‘deflowering’… while still being perfectly innocent, of course.)

And so the tournament is finished, as has Negi’s training with Rakan. Which means we no doubt will get new plot points in Volume 28. Along with, if I recall, a big, big chapter for anyone who likes their KonoSetsu pairing. :)

Manga the week of 8/11

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Via your friends at Midtown Comics, whose motto is ‘our release dates never match Diamond’s!’ Hence a lot of Viz stuff on here most folks got this week.

Let’s start with Viz, as they continue their Inu Yasha speed-up with Vol. 51, as well as the deluxe re-release with Omnibus 4, covering Vols. 10-12. There’s also a Bleach guidebook devoted to the Shinigami, which I actually got this week. It’s fun, reminding you of the days when Bleach was funny. And fast-paced. And interesting… (cough) Anyway, we also have a new volume of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit, which no doubt will be killing off more people, since that’s what its plot it.

Speaking of killing off the cast, Yen’s August releases are out, and the Higurashi Time Killing arc comes to a conclusion. This was a ‘5 years earlier’ arc starring Rika, the cute miko of the series. As this is the last volume of the arc, expect the traditional bloodbath. And for fans of fanservice, there’s also a new volume of the irritatingly named Sumomomo Momomo, and the penultimate volume of sleazy high school soap opera Sundome.

Our one yaoi release of the week comes from DMP, who are putting out Mamiya Doll House. Don’t know much about it, but I note the artist also does Prince of Tennis yaoi doujinshi. Actually, it may be contractual that every BL artist in Japan has done Prince of Tennis yaoi doujinshi.

And lastly, Bandai has another volume of its manga tie-in property Gurren Lagann, and a pro doujinshi anthology for Code Geass, Queen. They released Knight a while back, and it starred the guys of Code Geass, and was pretty much geared for the female otaku. This one stars the women of Code Geass, and I expect it to be much like those DVD extras with all the girls groping each other in the baths, only for 200 pages.

V.B. Rose Volume 9

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By Banri Hidaka. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Tokyopop.

Having spent the last few volumes getting Yukari and Ageha together, this volume takes a much needed breather from romantic subplots. We do see moments of the two of them being an adorable couple, and they kiss and such. But it’s not actually the focus of the plot, as this volume manages to be one of the most fashion-focused yet, and also shows that the staff of V.B. Rose, as well as their ancillary friends, are more of a ‘nakama’ n a One Piece way than anything else.

Things start off when Sakura brings over a plot point… pardon me, a cute little cat. Despite being scolded by his mother, and being told that the cat can’t be inside a dress shop. You can see where this is going. Yup, in the following chapter, the cat claws the dress, ruining weeks’ worth of work. The expressions on everyone’s faces when they see this is priceless. Much as I love seeing her cheery happy faces as well, no one draws people looking grey with shock and horror quite like Hidaka-san.

So it’s time to go into emergency mode, and redesign the dress to disguise the claw marks. Ichihashi gets to show off her serious side when sewing beads together lightning fast (and I loved the interplay between her and Kuromine, as he tries to stop himself from… well, being himself), to the point where they falls over exhausted. Maki is brought over from I Hate You More Than Anyone! land once more, to redesign her hairstyle to fit the new design. Kana is there as well, showing more emotion than we’ve seen from her the entire manga when she threatens Yukari with death if this happens again.

And Ageha gets to sit there and not do a lot. Clearly her accessories didn’t need to be redone for the new design, and that means she’s the only one left standing around, a fact she laments. But that’s OK, as she gets tons of spotlight once the actual Bridal Fair occurs, and we get shot after shot of her and Yukari (who shows up, in a surprise that really isn’t one, in a handsome suit. Best of all, the dress gets to show off its disguise abilities, and we see its transformation! Ageha has fantastic legs. :)

I will admit that not everything worked for me this volume. While Sekiguchi’s backstory is meant to be of the ‘I am watching over him the best way I can’ school of shoujo, his character is so one-note, even surrounding his flashbacks, that it didn’t really do much for me. And I miss Rei, but that’s just my spoiled Akiyoshi-lovin’ side talking.

And then we get the cliffhanger, as the person who’s been calling the shop and then hanging up over and over again becomes clear. Yes, we’re 5 volumes from the end, and the main couple are together, so it’s time to start wrapping up loose ends. And since I think we’re a volume or two from delving into the twisted relationship of Ichihashi and Kuromine, so instead we get Yukari’s mother, showing up in a fancy car and no doubt ready to cause havoc. What sort of havoc we’ll have to wait till Vol. 10 to see.