Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 2

魔法先生ネギま! [Mahou Sensei Negima!] #2

by Ken Akamatsu

KNOWLEDGE CAN BE DANGEROUS!
For ten-year-old teacher Negi Springfield and his all-girl class, it’s time for final exams! If his students manage not to end up with the lowest scores in school, the principal has promised to make Negi an official teacher. To prepare for the tests, the class takes a trip to the school’s Library Island. But this is no quiet place of study . . . stone golems, traps, and secret passageways are the norm throughout the enormous library building. With all of these distractions, can Negi’s class hope to climb out of the cellar–both academically and literally?
Includes special extras after the story!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Comedy, Magic

202 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2003

About the author

Ken Akamatsu (赤松 健, Akamatsu Ken, July 5, 1968 -) is a Japanese mangaka from Tokyo.

In his teenage years, Akamatsu failed the entrance exam to Tokyo University, and applied for Film Study instead (it is speculated that this is where he got the idea for Love Hina). Eventually, he became famous as an illustrator featured in Comiket (short for Comic Market, a comic convention bi-annually held in Japan). He used the pen name Awa Mizuno (水野 亜和, MIZUNO Awa). Akamatsu, still in college, then proceeded to win the Weekly Shonen Magazine award twice. His "A Kid's Game for One Summer" was awarded the coveted 50th Shonen Magazine Newcomer's Award soon after he graduated.

After a big hit with A.I. Love You, he finally made a grand success with his new manga, Love Hina. The series appeared in Weekly Shonen Magazine and has been collected in eleven volumes (with fourteen volumes in total), which have sold over 6 million copies in Japan, and received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen in 2001.
Akamatsu had added elements of his own life experiences to the story, and this was said to have induced a unique feeling to the manga especially for Western readers, whose lack of familiarity with Japanese culture for the most part added to the effect. The series, published in America in 2002, was especially well received in many overseas countries - Akamatsu was surprised that even foreign readers found Love Hina to be "cute" and to their liking.

He is now married to his wife 'Kanon' Akamatsu, who was previously a singer/idol. He is currently working on his latest manga series, Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, which is his longest running manga so far. Like Love Hina, has also been made into an anime series. A second independent retelling of Negima was made called Negima!?. Both series were produced by XEBEC (Negima!? was produced by SHAFT).

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nastavljamo sa upoznavanjem raznih likova. Simpaticno ali na momente dosadno.

[maša · Rating 3 out of 5]

at least I finally read something

[Reiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This teacher who is a wizard has faced many dangerous adventures in the past, and is only like 10 years old. Now he’s a high-school teacher, and all the students are girls, and taller than him. The principal of the school has a mission for the teacher. If he is able to complete the mission than he will become an official teacher but if he fails he will have to leave the school. His class is the last class on the list, means they are the class with the lowest grades. The principal’s mission for the wizard teacher is to make his class not be last place. The wizard teacher put a restriction on his magic for 3 days so that he won’t cheat and make his students smart. Not all of the students in his class are all dumb, some are smart. The students that don’t have very high grades talk about a book that makes you smart. Then they go through this whole adventure to go this library. I really love this book because the lesson at the end is really understandable. How the teacher is younger than all the students but he teaches the students that are older than him. I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy and are near my age.

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume included a 5-chapter story along with less slapstick and about the same amount of fan service. It seems that one of the objectives is to introduce the characters and there are a lot to introduce (Negi, 31 students and two or three adults). Anyway, this volume gives me hope for the series.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this before during secondary school and have just re-read this. This takes place during finals week with the class needing to get their grades up. Everything is too perverted considering these are young students and the teacher is ten.

[Pamela Sweezy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea but I like to read different types if books to broaden my horizons. This was a lil too obnoxious for me - but I can see why teen boys might like it. The book was kinda hard to follow at first as a bunch of short, seemingly unrelated stories are combined but they do actually progress the story along. I won’t be moving on to book 3.

[Viggo Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great 2nd book. Negi taking 8 of them to a massive library in search for a magical book, that might help them not ending up last on the exams list. And to help Nagi be hired as a teacher. Getting to know the characters a bit more.

[Dany Mora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanta todo este asunto de las parejas 😍

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library island is such an aesthetic. Each new chapter helps you better understand the characters and the character sketches and translations at the end are always very helpful.

[Michael Beyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a beautifully illustrated manga story that is superior to some of the later books in the series due to excellent character building, a slower plot, and more subtle storytelling.

[Celia Añó · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seguimos con la tónica de personajes tontísimos, desnudos gratuitos, bromas románticas con un chaval de diez años y pequeños indicios de la que será la auténtica trama.

[rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tiny bit more plot, mostly panties. I am glad that Negi isn't a pervert and the girls seem to be willing, but it's still ick.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

still love the art and the story is beyond ridiculous~!

[Grace Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Negi's first year at Mahora draws to a close, as such he is issued one final test in order to be one step closer to becoming a Master Mage: Help class 2-A to not be the class with the lowest score.

Failure to do so will result in him not passing his exams and being sent home.
As such, the Baka Rangers, (Asuna, Yue, Makie, Ku Fei, and Kaede) want a book that supposedly increases intelligence so that they can pass.
They heard that the people with the lowest scores have to repeat the grade, and since they do not want to be split up from the others, decide to hunt for the book.

Only problem, its in Library Island, a place renewed on campus for being the biggest library there. Although, its not exactly easy to find, however, the group preservers and makes it down.

Before they can get too far, they find that the library is booby trapped and has certain magical elements to it. Asuna, hoping to have Negi protect them, inquires about his powers before finding out that he had bound his powers earlier that day, partially due to a speech she gave him.

Eventually they have to find the book and get out of the library, all the while being chased by a mysterious and magical stone guardian.

I liked this volume.
Especially a certain segment of it.

Theres this one part in the story, where when it seems like the group won't be able to get the book after all, Negi suggests that they just buckle down and study, and the library magically provides things for them. Like a bath, food, and textbooks, while they practice what will be on the exam.

I like that because its actually showing that the characters can be written realistically, despite the premise of the series. Who wouldn't just study after they failed to get a magic book? I would, I wouldn't really like it that much, but if Negi is my teacher, then it wouldn't be that bad. He's that adorable.

The bathhouse scenes were a bit too much. I think the only time I want to see anime girl anatomy is if I want to get better at drawing peoples bodies, and even then, I really have no use for more than half of them. Its too fan service-y and I skimmed past those scenes, I'm prudish. I won't lie.

For the most part, this manga was interesting and fun. I liked the route that they went with it.

I think this is an episode in the original manga, if so, then I really want to see it.

[Zac Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finals are coming up for class 2-A and if there is a rumor that if they get last they have to go back to repeat the class. and Negi gets a letter saying if the class fails he can't become a magi. so when the girls come up with the idea to go after a magical book that makes you smarter if you read it. so he gets dragged into it. when they find the magical book thou a rock monster stops them. they try to fight it but it brakes the floor. and they get stranded in the basement of the place. but Negi as a teacher he is makes them study. then the rock monster finds them again and chases them out. and just in time for the test. but there late so they have to take the test in a different room. and since they were late it took some time grading them. when they announced which class did the best they got last. but apparently the tests that were taken late was not turned in yet. so when the class thought the worst negi ran because he didnt want to be a failure to his sister. but then the headmaster talked to them and told them that they were the top class. and that negi was a full blown teacher and that he was going to teach 3-A next year.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Negima!: Magister Negi Magi is probably my favorite manga series so far. The English translation is the best of all the books that I have read. The text flows quite nicely and the story is easy to follow. The artwork, once again, is wonderful and the first story about Library Island was quite a surprise. I loved it.

In the last couple of chapters, some of the girls are falling for Negi. It is all quite funny.

What I like about this manga series is that all of the characters are so unique and diverse. There are so many girls to feed off of that the storyline possibilities are endless. And if Peter David stays on adapting the story from the original Japanese, the books all promise to be extraordinary.

Overall, I absolutely loved the second volume of Negima!: Magister Negi Magi. I look forward to seeing what fun and exciting things are happening at Mahora School District Middle School in Negima!: Magister Negi Magi - Volume 3.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.

[Setsanata · Rating 5 out of 5]

For ten-year-old teacher Negi Springfield and his all-girl class, it’s time for final exams! If his students manage not to end up with the lowest scores in school, the principal has promised to make Negi an official teacher. To prepare for the tests, the class takes a trip to the school’s Library Island. But this is no quiet place of study . . . stone golems, traps, and secret passageways are the norm throughout the enormous library building. With all of these distractions, can Negi’s class hope to climb out of the cellar–both academically and literally?

Negi and the Baka Rangers head off to Library Island to get the Magic Book to prepare for exams. What they don't know is the traps they will be facing.

BAKA RANGERS:

Asuna Kagurazaka - Baka Red
Yue Ayase - Baka Black
Kaede Nagase - Baka Blue
Ku Fei - Baka Yellow
Makie Sasaki - Baka Pink
+1 Negi

[Jody Mena]

Very cute, funny and light-hearted. I think the book would have been half its length if the mangaka had cut out the gratuitous panty-flashing and flimsy pretenses for stripping naked. There is way more of it in the manga than in the anime so far, and that's saying something! If Negi weren't a 10 year old, I think that much implied nudity would have made it border on trashy. But because the main character is a kid, it, it gives it a slightly more innocent feel, so that it stays on the right side of the fence, even if only just barely! All part of the fun! It's a really cute story, and I bet its going to get a lot more interesting in the next volume, now that the 'partners' have been introduced! Looking forward to it!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was happy to see that Volume 2 picks up in action and tones down the fan service a lot from Volume 1, which means I'll definitely read more of this series now.

Unsurprisingly, the story is pretty ridiculous in spots, especially when the Baka Rangers (the 5 students with the lowest grades in the class) go into the library and it winds up being what you'd expect from a ruin in Indiana Jones, not a library. It was fun, and it was nice to see the characters getting fleshed out rather than all coming off as horny teenage girls!

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really torn on this one. I greatly enjoyed the actual plots of the stories in this volume. But this volume also reveals the age of the students and that means the overabundant fan service portion is just disturbed and creepy.

I'll keep reading in hope that the author cuts down on the fan service, but don't think I can take too much more of it.

[★ Molly ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Library Island. And seeing Negi and the few girls work their way through the Library. I loved the Bake Rangers. Baka Pink, Red, Blue...etc. The tests they were given to get back to the Academy. I also enjoyed how they went through so much, and in the end basically showed themselves they had what it takes to get through exams. Loved this volume!

[Annchan Maulana · Rating 3 out of 5]

i watch the anime version :
it is about Ten year old boy name Negi Springfield who has just graduated from magic academy. He have a dream to be a master wizard.
For that he sent to Japan to teach English at girls high school.
and the story begin ..

[Little.Miss Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Baka Rangers. I think that anyone who read and liked the first should keep reading this series.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 was good and very adventurous! Negi is soooo cute and just the biggest sweetie! The library adventure was very strange, but super fun. It's good to see the girls learning and having fun.

[Amy]

Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 2 by Ken Akamatsu (2004)

[Ernesto gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first four volumes in the series and this is by far my favorite.

[Ryan Jackson]

It was definitely good but I liked the first better. I feel like it was just filler.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way over the top, but a fun read.

[Kaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's cool!

[Laurene Allibert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Magic quest in perspective : finding a book in order to know everything, sounds interesting