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UQ Holder [ユーキューホルダー!] #1
UQ Holder: Vol. 1
Negi Springfield, the boy wizard of the hit manga Negima!, fought and won many battles. Now it is decades later and Negi's grandson(!), a little boy name Touta, dreams of leaving his quiet village and heading to the City. But f
irst he must defeat his teacher... the immortal vampire, Evangeline!
irst he must defeat his teacher... the immortal vampire, Evangeline!
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 17, 2013
133 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Ken Akamatsu
641 books231 followersKen 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 25, 2014
The Negima! manga franchise had a really badly-written end due to some wrangling in the Japanese parliament. Basically, media industries over there want to have their companies gain greater control over the characters in their products as the comics' companies in the US have. Many authors, fearing loss of the creative control over their stories ended them prematurely. Ken Akamatsu, creator of Negima! was one such author. Therefore, he rushed an end to the series, which really upset fans as it just wasn't very good.
After the bill mentioned above failed in the Japanese parliament, Akamatsu decided to revisit the Negi universe, this time through the eyes of immortal vampire Evangeline from the original series, and her ward, Negi's grandson Touta.
UQ Holder! begins two years after Evangeline, now going by the name Yukihime, became Touta's guardian. Following some tragedy which everyone thinks was a car accident, Evangeline took Touta in and he lost his memories of before that point. This doubtless will become a major plot point later on.
Touta has some big, but largely indeterminate dreams. They are really quite vague. He just knows he wants to go places, do things, sing, other stuff. Really, my description is not that far off how vaguely he himself describes his dreams. At first, Evangeline doesn't want him to leave the small rural town where they live, but events change that.
Those events are Evangeline having no choice but to sire Touta as a vampire to save both their lives when he is nearly killed by an evil bounty hunter. The newly-vampirized Touta saves the day, but now is an immortal vampire.
They decide to leave town and start anew somewhere else where folks won't know their secrets. Somewhere they can have peace from those who would want to harm vampires and other immortal people. Thus the adventure begins.
This is kinda fun to see the two characters play off of each other. They are such opposites. She's a really old female vampire, and he's a young, brand-new male vampire. She is jaded and tired of immortality, while he thinks immortality is great. She is gruff and stern, with a hidden heart of gold, and he is kind and very trusting, but can be very tough when the need arises. Each one really is what the other needs.
This dynamic between the two, and allies they meet along the way, is at the heart of the story. It is what makes it worth reading. Oh, it has lots of action, and, in the beginning, probably too much gore (though that stops quickly enough to a typical shonen level). But that's not what makes the story so riveting. Their familial bond of love does. It is quite funny and heart-warming all at the same time.
Highly Recommended.
-----
A quick note about the title. The letters “UQ” are translated from the Japanese kanji for the word meaning “eternity”. The title UQ Holder! literally means Eternity Holder, which refers to the main characters' immortality.
After the bill mentioned above failed in the Japanese parliament, Akamatsu decided to revisit the Negi universe, this time through the eyes of immortal vampire Evangeline from the original series, and her ward, Negi's grandson Touta.
UQ Holder! begins two years after Evangeline, now going by the name Yukihime, became Touta's guardian. Following some tragedy which everyone thinks was a car accident, Evangeline took Touta in and he lost his memories of before that point. This doubtless will become a major plot point later on.
Touta has some big, but largely indeterminate dreams. They are really quite vague. He just knows he wants to go places, do things, sing, other stuff. Really, my description is not that far off how vaguely he himself describes his dreams. At first, Evangeline doesn't want him to leave the small rural town where they live, but events change that.
Those events are Evangeline having no choice but to sire Touta as a vampire to save both their lives when he is nearly killed by an evil bounty hunter. The newly-vampirized Touta saves the day, but now is an immortal vampire.
They decide to leave town and start anew somewhere else where folks won't know their secrets. Somewhere they can have peace from those who would want to harm vampires and other immortal people. Thus the adventure begins.
This is kinda fun to see the two characters play off of each other. They are such opposites. She's a really old female vampire, and he's a young, brand-new male vampire. She is jaded and tired of immortality, while he thinks immortality is great. She is gruff and stern, with a hidden heart of gold, and he is kind and very trusting, but can be very tough when the need arises. Each one really is what the other needs.
This dynamic between the two, and allies they meet along the way, is at the heart of the story. It is what makes it worth reading. Oh, it has lots of action, and, in the beginning, probably too much gore (though that stops quickly enough to a typical shonen level). But that's not what makes the story so riveting. Their familial bond of love does. It is quite funny and heart-warming all at the same time.
Highly Recommended.
-----
A quick note about the title. The letters “UQ” are translated from the Japanese kanji for the word meaning “eternity”. The title UQ Holder! literally means Eternity Holder, which refers to the main characters' immortality.
October 31, 2015
Having finished re-reading Negima Magister Magi, one of my favorite risque manga series, I’ve decided to begin reading UQ Holder, the sequel to Negima.
I think the sequel holds up well to its predecessor, though I have to admit, I don’t like UQ Holder as much as Negima. The reason for this is very very very very simple.
I’m a fan of romance. While I can’t deal with straight up romances (a girl I dated awhile back tried making me watch her romance movies and I feel asleep. They were a total snooze fest.), I still enjoy anime/manga/books whatever with heavy romantic themes.
Negima satisfied my need for romance, while maintaining a certain level of badassness. It had an excellent blend of romance, action, comedy and fan service rolled up into a nice package of pleasant to look at artwork.
That being said, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. We’ve gotten some romantic developments in the recent chapters for UQ Holder, and so it looks like I may get some nice romantic scenes to go with my main dish of action-packed and violent goodness.
I think the sequel holds up well to its predecessor, though I have to admit, I don’t like UQ Holder as much as Negima. The reason for this is very very very very simple.
I’m a fan of romance. While I can’t deal with straight up romances (a girl I dated awhile back tried making me watch her romance movies and I feel asleep. They were a total snooze fest.), I still enjoy anime/manga/books whatever with heavy romantic themes.
Negima satisfied my need for romance, while maintaining a certain level of badassness. It had an excellent blend of romance, action, comedy and fan service rolled up into a nice package of pleasant to look at artwork.
That being said, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. We’ve gotten some romantic developments in the recent chapters for UQ Holder, and so it looks like I may get some nice romantic scenes to go with my main dish of action-packed and violent goodness.
August 20, 2017
Ein schöner Action-Manga, der in einer coolen Zukunftsvision von Japan spielt. Die Protagonisten gefallen mir sehr und die Story ist sehr gut gemacht und geht auch in den Kämpfen nicht unter! :)
January 29, 2022
UQ Holder, Vol. 1 (My Kindle Review)
I found out about this series while reading “Negima!” but I had no idea it was a follow-up series to that. Jumping into the series now, it’s a great surprise that has become my next bingable manga.
We meet Tōta, a rowdy happy-go-lucky teen boy who turns out to be the grandson of the late Negi Springfield, whose name sounds familiar. He has been living with beautiful Yukihime-sensei (teacher) since losing his parents a few years ago in a car crash. Aware that she can do magic, he vows to overcome her at every opportunity he has.
One day however, both get involved in a bounty hunter’s attempt to capture her and while nearly close to death, she gives him some of her immortal magic and they manage to stop him. She later reveals that she is our own Evangeline, the immortal vampire who helped Negi many years ago. Then then leave their village to journey to a capital tower when they believe they’re no longer safe. Along the way, they meet a young girl with a motorcycle and befriend Kurōmaru, a young demon hunter who slowly warms up to the two and joins them on their journey.
It has a very exciting and energetic feel that still has a bit of that “Negima!” magic, while being intense around the middle part. Tōta and the cast won me over just like Negi and his students. While the journey’s only beginning, I can’t wait to see what his journey will bring him, probably some magic surprises. A (100%/Outstanding)
I found out about this series while reading “Negima!” but I had no idea it was a follow-up series to that. Jumping into the series now, it’s a great surprise that has become my next bingable manga.
We meet Tōta, a rowdy happy-go-lucky teen boy who turns out to be the grandson of the late Negi Springfield, whose name sounds familiar. He has been living with beautiful Yukihime-sensei (teacher) since losing his parents a few years ago in a car crash. Aware that she can do magic, he vows to overcome her at every opportunity he has.
One day however, both get involved in a bounty hunter’s attempt to capture her and while nearly close to death, she gives him some of her immortal magic and they manage to stop him. She later reveals that she is our own Evangeline, the immortal vampire who helped Negi many years ago. Then then leave their village to journey to a capital tower when they believe they’re no longer safe. Along the way, they meet a young girl with a motorcycle and befriend Kurōmaru, a young demon hunter who slowly warms up to the two and joins them on their journey.
It has a very exciting and energetic feel that still has a bit of that “Negima!” magic, while being intense around the middle part. Tōta and the cast won me over just like Negi and his students. While the journey’s only beginning, I can’t wait to see what his journey will bring him, probably some magic surprises. A (100%/Outstanding)
August 15, 2016
Definitely a great start to this shonen series. Despite this being one of Ken Akamatsu's works, the fanservice is kept to a bare minimum.
The characters are likable but this is still only a set-up for the series.
Not much is revealed in terms in plot other than to "get to the tower" except hopefully this doesn't derail into SAO....
All in all, a really good start to UQ Holder and I'm definitely looking forward to more!
The characters are likable but this is still only a set-up for the series.
Not much is revealed in terms in plot other than to "get to the tower" except hopefully this doesn't derail into SAO....
All in all, a really good start to UQ Holder and I'm definitely looking forward to more!
November 2, 2020
Great action/adventure fun! I have come to this series through the anime. The world intrigued me so much that I HAD to read the manga. So far I am not disappointed!
April 30, 2023
Fun...
April 26, 2014
This interested me because it was shounen featuring vampires; most of the vampire manga I've come across has been shoujo focusing way too much on romance. The plot sounded intriguing and I found this first volume lived up to my interest and I ended up reading something a bit different from anything I'd read before. There is a bit of fighting (battles) but they are brief and the emphasis is more on character and plot. Yeah! I'm totally fond of the main character, highschooler Tota Konoe; he has a full range of emotions and in this volume is naive and unworldly, though I think that will change rather quickly. The story is dystopian set in a future Tokyo and (rest of the world) where population has decreased dramatically and we've entered into space living/travel but magic has recently been discovered as well. So far for age appropriateness there is male adolescent talk of females, a busty female vampire and nudity that is complete but has towels etc. conveniently placed. I've seen more risque bits in 13+ rated so will hold my judgement until I've read another volume or two as to whether I agree or not. I'm quite excited about this series, the mix of sci-fi, paranormal and magic promises to be exciting and the maturity of the plot is appealing. The art I found to be quite typical, though.
June 8, 2015
I prefer Negima and at first I wasn't sure if I liked the main character of this series or not. He can be a bit annoying but by the second or third book I had come around to sort of liking him. Some of the characters strongly resemble characters from Negima too which is nice. The art is good but the characters aren't as many or as varied as Negima with a much stronger focus on more mature characters especially for any ecchi scenes. This is undoubtedly at least partly because of the increase in censorship laws. There are still some loli characters including Eva on the odd occassion when she transforms into her 'washboard' form but they don't have any ecchi scenes that I can remember. I would still recommend this series to fans of Negima and would suggest reserving judgement until you have read at least the first three books. Having read the first four books despite slight disappointment I am hooked on this series.
September 29, 2020
BIG MEH. That's all I really have to say. The protag is just too many different emotions at once and the female is definitely just mostly created for sex appeal. The story is just not that much fun and it feels like there's not really any huge stakes. I don't think I'll be continuing this one.
January 6, 2016
Interesting...
January 6, 2019
Das Cover hat mich sehr angesprochen, es hat mir wirklich eine spannende Geschichte und viel Abenteuer vermittelt. Doch was war wirklich drin?
Die ersten Seiten fingen gleich gut an, ein Junge der nach dem großen Abenteuer sucht. Sein Name ist Touta seine Eltern sind vor langer zeit bei einem Auto Unfall ums Leben gekommen, nur Touta hat überlebt. Seit dem Unfall lebt er bei seiner Attraktiven Lehrerin Yukihime, doch die hat ihm nicht nicht die ganze Wahrheit erzählt.
Seine Freunde haben den selben Traum wie er, irgendwann wollen sie in die Hauptstadt und zum großen Turm.
In einem Kampf auf Leben und Tot erfährt Touta schließlich das er Unsterblich ist. Erst ist er sauer auf Yukihime, aber später kann er es sogar ein bisschen verstehen.
Der Gegner im Kampf ist ein Kopfgeldjäger, der es mit einem Trick geschafft hat alle gegeneinander aus zu spielen. Er wollte von Anfang an Yukihime. Nur knapp konnten sie den Kampf überleben und musste schließlich fliehen.
Ich hatte Schwierigkeiten in die Geschichte rein zu kommen, da es irgendwie gleich mit allem los ging und so viele Namen im Rum standen. Außerdem waren einige dinge nicht so schön erläutert, was es schwierig gemacht hat dem geschehenen zu folgen.
Dennoch finde ich die Idee der Geschichte wirklich toll und wenn man sich am Anfang damit wirklich beschäftigt, lasst sie sich auch sehr gut lesen.
Der Zeichenstil ist auch wirklich sehr schön und ich werde die Reihe bestimmt auch weiter lesen.
Die ersten Seiten fingen gleich gut an, ein Junge der nach dem großen Abenteuer sucht. Sein Name ist Touta seine Eltern sind vor langer zeit bei einem Auto Unfall ums Leben gekommen, nur Touta hat überlebt. Seit dem Unfall lebt er bei seiner Attraktiven Lehrerin Yukihime, doch die hat ihm nicht nicht die ganze Wahrheit erzählt.
Seine Freunde haben den selben Traum wie er, irgendwann wollen sie in die Hauptstadt und zum großen Turm.
In einem Kampf auf Leben und Tot erfährt Touta schließlich das er Unsterblich ist. Erst ist er sauer auf Yukihime, aber später kann er es sogar ein bisschen verstehen.
Der Gegner im Kampf ist ein Kopfgeldjäger, der es mit einem Trick geschafft hat alle gegeneinander aus zu spielen. Er wollte von Anfang an Yukihime. Nur knapp konnten sie den Kampf überleben und musste schließlich fliehen.
Ich hatte Schwierigkeiten in die Geschichte rein zu kommen, da es irgendwie gleich mit allem los ging und so viele Namen im Rum standen. Außerdem waren einige dinge nicht so schön erläutert, was es schwierig gemacht hat dem geschehenen zu folgen.
Dennoch finde ich die Idee der Geschichte wirklich toll und wenn man sich am Anfang damit wirklich beschäftigt, lasst sie sich auch sehr gut lesen.
Der Zeichenstil ist auch wirklich sehr schön und ich werde die Reihe bestimmt auch weiter lesen.
July 24, 2020
Hey, this was pretty decent stuff. I read a ton of Akamatsu’s stuff when I was younger and this was far less risqué (I really doubt Love Hina would hold up for me and Negima was great at action but a little too schoolgirl horny amidst the good bits). It definitely still has a hot springs in the first volume, but it’s toned way down.
This story has a direct connection to Negima, both in name-checking Negi Springfield and in the omnipresence of Evangeline from that series as a central character. Without getting into the complicated politics surrounding the end of Negima, it’s nice to see things continued on from there as there were a lot of strong characters in that book.
Said story thus far concerns immortals and lots of fighting. Negi’s grandson sets off on an epic quest with Evangeline and friends are made and goals are set. It’s fun and digestible. The art is a little too stiff at the beginning, but loosens up as it goes on.
It does look like later volumes may get a little more in the style of his previous series, ahem, but I definitely wanted to read another one after this, so that’s saying something. Cautious optimism with a side of pleasant surprise.
This story has a direct connection to Negima, both in name-checking Negi Springfield and in the omnipresence of Evangeline from that series as a central character. Without getting into the complicated politics surrounding the end of Negima, it’s nice to see things continued on from there as there were a lot of strong characters in that book.
Said story thus far concerns immortals and lots of fighting. Negi’s grandson sets off on an epic quest with Evangeline and friends are made and goals are set. It’s fun and digestible. The art is a little too stiff at the beginning, but loosens up as it goes on.
It does look like later volumes may get a little more in the style of his previous series, ahem, but I definitely wanted to read another one after this, so that’s saying something. Cautious optimism with a side of pleasant surprise.
February 12, 2019
This has so far been an amazing sequel series to Negima. Almost everything that drove me crazy about Negima’s conclusion has been addressed now. I actually like how dark this manga is. It is the kind of dark I actually like. As someone who has read all of Akamatsu’s previous works, I feel that this series show just how far he has come. I’m not even sure how to explain it but I feel that this is the point we have been heading to for years and he is reaching the absolute height of his career. I’ve heard a lot of negativity surrounding this series and I’m not really sure why. I’m almost enjoying this series more than Negima if that’s even possible. It took me about 15 chapters to really get into the series but they took a lot of time to set up the story so I can’t really fault there since it seemed necessary. I love the various themes in this story from the humor to the horror. I can’t wait for more of this series to come out!
October 22, 2018
After a Hellsing-like origin, Touta, strikes out from his village to fulfill his dreams, accompanied by his creator/fan service character/700 year old immortal Evangeline. Magic is commonplace, with magic items sold on the market like computer programs. Characters are openly perverted. Main character Touta is super optimistic, friendly, naive. Some of the battle scenes are a little hard to follow, and require re-reading.
I know nothing of Negima. This is alright enough to try a second volume, though I worry that the main character will become too annoying if they do not go through a proper transformation/additional tragedy.
I know nothing of Negima. This is alright enough to try a second volume, though I worry that the main character will become too annoying if they do not go through a proper transformation/additional tragedy.
May 19, 2020
J'AI PROFITÉ DE #RESTECHEZTOIAVECUNMANGA
DONT PIKA FAIT PROFITER POUR LIRE LE PREMIER DE TOME UQ HOLDER!
J'avais lu Negima il y a un bon moment, et en lisant UQ Holder j'ai comme fait un bon en arrière pour retrouver, le même graphisme, même humour, Evangeline et son univers. Pour le coup l'histoire nous embarque bien vite et annonce déjà foule de chose à venir pour la série qui donnent envie. Bon par contre faut rattraper les 22 tomes déjà parus.
DONT PIKA FAIT PROFITER POUR LIRE LE PREMIER DE TOME UQ HOLDER!
J'avais lu Negima il y a un bon moment, et en lisant UQ Holder j'ai comme fait un bon en arrière pour retrouver, le même graphisme, même humour, Evangeline et son univers. Pour le coup l'histoire nous embarque bien vite et annonce déjà foule de chose à venir pour la série qui donnent envie. Bon par contre faut rattraper les 22 tomes déjà parus.
November 9, 2018
This is about vampires and a hunters, and a human becoming a vampire.
The comedy is really good. A few of the beginning chapters were super graphic.
Overall though, the story seems decent so far - the comedy makes it worth it.
The comedy is really good. A few of the beginning chapters were super graphic.
Overall though, the story seems decent so far - the comedy makes it worth it.
July 1, 2024
THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!
After Fairy Tail, I'm not in the mood for friends equal power. Besides, a few years ago when the anime came out, I couldn't even watch the whole thing. Perhaps, I will wait until I've done a re-read of Negima and try this series again.
After Fairy Tail, I'm not in the mood for friends equal power. Besides, a few years ago when the anime came out, I couldn't even watch the whole thing. Perhaps, I will wait until I've done a re-read of Negima and try this series again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2017
so good to be back with the universe of negima
March 5, 2018
3.75 stars
June 18, 2018
The first volume of UQ Holder was a good deal of fun, the art was decent, and the story this far is both entertaining and amusing. I am very much interested in seeing what will develop in volume 2.
July 11, 2018
A solid shonen title about a boy who's now a vampire on a trip with his mentor.
March 23, 2019
VERY slow start. I am glad I continued reading, because it got MUCH better.
September 30, 2020
I like this story
June 8, 2023
Well, after reading Negiho, I was expecting a dud. I am pleasantly surprised. There is a layer of humor underlying this story that I enjoy. I'm suddenly glad that I have 17 more volumes.
July 24, 2014
I'm sorry to say this, but Negima fans will be disappointed by this. I should know, I'm one of them. I'm not totally finished, but I love it. I literally own every volume, all the spinoff series, and both anime. (I do not own the OVAs. The Ala Alba ones due to unavailability outside of Japan, and the other ones because they look like garbage). So, needless to say, I know what I'm talking about.
Anyway, everyone else seems to be hyping this series, but I personally thought it was garbage in comparison to Negima. And Akamatsu's other works, too. Other than Mao-chan, this is his weakest work. Why?
There is NOTHING special about it. Nothing. It's literally just like every shounen manga out there. The main hero is impulsive, he wants to go on a journey, there are discussions about following dreams. Yawn. Although the girl characters are admittedly more interesting than most female shounen manga characters, having decent girl characters wasn't enough to make this good. Also, it's almost literally a copy of Dance in the Vampire Bund, conceptually. It's about an organization for a certain group of people. Not very original, Akamatsu. And the only character who is interesting gets to be the butt of a ton of repetitious gender jokes. See near the end for my rant about this. There also doesn't seem to be one chapter without a battle. Is this really necessary? I know shounen manga is obsessed with battling, but it seemed excessive for this title. The only chapter that doesn't have a long fight is this boring one about dreams. Anyway, moving on to specifics.. (spoilers ahead, so I'm using the spoiler tag to cut them out. If you don't care, click on it and read away)
I still had slight hope that it'd get better, so I did read the second one. And will be reading the third. But it's not my favorite title by far, and it doesn't even come close to being as good as Negima.
Anyway, everyone else seems to be hyping this series, but I personally thought it was garbage in comparison to Negima. And Akamatsu's other works, too. Other than Mao-chan, this is his weakest work. Why?
There is NOTHING special about it. Nothing. It's literally just like every shounen manga out there. The main hero is impulsive, he wants to go on a journey, there are discussions about following dreams. Yawn. Although the girl characters are admittedly more interesting than most female shounen manga characters, having decent girl characters wasn't enough to make this good. Also, it's almost literally a copy of Dance in the Vampire Bund, conceptually. It's about an organization for a certain group of people. Not very original, Akamatsu. And the only character who is interesting gets to be the butt of a ton of repetitious gender jokes. See near the end for my rant about this. There also doesn't seem to be one chapter without a battle. Is this really necessary? I know shounen manga is obsessed with battling, but it seemed excessive for this title. The only chapter that doesn't have a long fight is this boring one about dreams. Anyway, moving on to specifics.. (spoilers ahead, so I'm using the spoiler tag to cut them out. If you don't care, click on it and read away)
I still had slight hope that it'd get better, so I did read the second one. And will be reading the third. But it's not my favorite title by far, and it doesn't even come close to being as good as Negima.
June 1, 2015
It is a couple of generations into the future, and both reasonably-priced space travel and techno-magic have come into existence. Large swaths of Earth’s population has gone to space, with the remaining people either enjoying life in small country villages or struggling in the remaining big cities. Of course, just because your parents like living in a small town doesn’t mean you do, and five boys have made a compact to escape their podunk village and go to the top of the space elevator they can see in the distance.
Their more or less leader is Touta Konoe, a physically adept twelve-year-old who’s good with a sword. The mayor has set a condition that in order to leave, the five boys must defeat Touta’s guardian and their homeroom teacher, Yukihime, in battle. Since she’s an excellent combatant with years of experience and possibly knows how to use magic, that isn’t happening any time soon.
Until one day another of the schoolteachers offers the boys an equalizer. Naturally, he isn’t being entirely honest about his motives. In the ensuing crisis, we learn that Yukihime is actually an immortal vampire, and to save Touta’s life, she must make him one as well. With her identity exposed, Yukihime and Touta must leave the village so that it is not attacked by vampire hunters. And so they set out on the adventure of a long, long lifetime!
This manga turns out to be a distant sequel to Mr. Akamatsu’s previous series, Negima! Yukihime is one of the supporting characters from that story under a different name. One of the panels seems to indicate that Touta is the descendant of another character from that series, who is now dead. However, flashback panels indicate that Yukihime has been lying to everyone about just how Touta’s parents died, so that character may show up later.
Touta’s a fairly standard shounen protagonist, a loud-mouthed, overenthusiastic messy-haired boy who is shockingly unaware of basic facts about the world. Yukihime plays the cynical, jaded mentor, and provides most of the fanservice in the first volume. (She may care less about this because her body is largely an illusion.) More atypical is the new friend they make along the way, Kuroumaru Tokisaka, an extremely pretty boy (Touta keeps thinking he might actually be a girl) who also happens to be a vampire hunter. As he can’t return home until he kills Yukihime, and she’s too many tiers above him for that to happen, he’s hanging around for the foreseeable future.
The apparent theme of the story is immortality, and how the various kinds of immortals cope with their long lives for better or worse. Towards the end of the first volume, we learn that the series is titled after an organization of immortals. (“UQ” sounds like the Japanese word for “eternity”>)
Mr. Akamatsu is an experienced manga creator, and it shows in the well-constructed fight scenes (warning: there’s some gory mangling!) and plot pacing. This does, however, point up how pandering much of the fanservice is, clearly aimed at immature teenage boys.
If you liked Negima! or Love Hina you are likely to enjoy this series as well. But be prepared to be infuriated if the backstory kills off or “ruins” your favorite character from those precursors.
Their more or less leader is Touta Konoe, a physically adept twelve-year-old who’s good with a sword. The mayor has set a condition that in order to leave, the five boys must defeat Touta’s guardian and their homeroom teacher, Yukihime, in battle. Since she’s an excellent combatant with years of experience and possibly knows how to use magic, that isn’t happening any time soon.
Until one day another of the schoolteachers offers the boys an equalizer. Naturally, he isn’t being entirely honest about his motives. In the ensuing crisis, we learn that Yukihime is actually an immortal vampire, and to save Touta’s life, she must make him one as well. With her identity exposed, Yukihime and Touta must leave the village so that it is not attacked by vampire hunters. And so they set out on the adventure of a long, long lifetime!
This manga turns out to be a distant sequel to Mr. Akamatsu’s previous series, Negima! Yukihime is one of the supporting characters from that story under a different name. One of the panels seems to indicate that Touta is the descendant of another character from that series, who is now dead. However, flashback panels indicate that Yukihime has been lying to everyone about just how Touta’s parents died, so that character may show up later.
Touta’s a fairly standard shounen protagonist, a loud-mouthed, overenthusiastic messy-haired boy who is shockingly unaware of basic facts about the world. Yukihime plays the cynical, jaded mentor, and provides most of the fanservice in the first volume. (She may care less about this because her body is largely an illusion.) More atypical is the new friend they make along the way, Kuroumaru Tokisaka, an extremely pretty boy (Touta keeps thinking he might actually be a girl) who also happens to be a vampire hunter. As he can’t return home until he kills Yukihime, and she’s too many tiers above him for that to happen, he’s hanging around for the foreseeable future.
The apparent theme of the story is immortality, and how the various kinds of immortals cope with their long lives for better or worse. Towards the end of the first volume, we learn that the series is titled after an organization of immortals. (“UQ” sounds like the Japanese word for “eternity”>)
Mr. Akamatsu is an experienced manga creator, and it shows in the well-constructed fight scenes (warning: there’s some gory mangling!) and plot pacing. This does, however, point up how pandering much of the fanservice is, clearly aimed at immature teenage boys.
If you liked Negima! or Love Hina you are likely to enjoy this series as well. But be prepared to be infuriated if the backstory kills off or “ruins” your favorite character from those precursors.
November 15, 2015
So I initially read this because I didn't realize it is essentially a Negima sequel. It doesn't outright say that, but flipping through it and seeing Evageline being name dropped I had to find out more.
Despite being a Negima sequel however, it is also a series that could be a standalone series as well. You don't have to read the first series to read this, and this book also feel like it is a different genre than Negima. Negima was more fantasy oriented, with slight scifi tendencies at the end. This comes right out with a futuristic Japan, and more of an emphasis on vampire and other immortals, given that Evegeline is a driving character. Negima was also a harem manga, whereas this is... shonen? I think that's the best way to describe it. Whereas Akamatsu still employs plenty of panty shots, there isn't necessarily any romance in this novel. Evangeline and the main character Tota have more of sibling relationship. The other main character, Kuromaru, jokes about his gender aside, provides a realistic breathe of fresh air when paired with the overly optimistic Tota. And reader's of Negima will also be able to draw parallels between him and a character from Negima, which I personally think will play a role in Kurmaru's backstory.
Overall this is pretty good. Still uncomfortable with the fanservice, but this sequel is able to stand up to the legacy Negima passes on.
Despite being a Negima sequel however, it is also a series that could be a standalone series as well. You don't have to read the first series to read this, and this book also feel like it is a different genre than Negima. Negima was more fantasy oriented, with slight scifi tendencies at the end. This comes right out with a futuristic Japan, and more of an emphasis on vampire and other immortals, given that Evegeline is a driving character. Negima was also a harem manga, whereas this is... shonen? I think that's the best way to describe it. Whereas Akamatsu still employs plenty of panty shots, there isn't necessarily any romance in this novel. Evangeline and the main character Tota have more of sibling relationship. The other main character, Kuromaru, jokes about his gender aside, provides a realistic breathe of fresh air when paired with the overly optimistic Tota. And reader's of Negima will also be able to draw parallels between him and a character from Negima, which I personally think will play a role in Kurmaru's backstory.
Overall this is pretty good. Still uncomfortable with the fanservice, but this sequel is able to stand up to the legacy Negima passes on.
January 12, 2016
Pour revenir au manga en lui même, j’ai plutôt bien apprécié les aventures de Tôta. Parti sur les routes en compagnie de Yokihime, il rencontre sur son chemin différents personnages qui vont lui permettre de vivre de nombreuses aventures.
Mais ils ne doivent pas oublier que des chasseurs de primes sont à leur trousse.
Cette petite virée permet de multiplier les rencontres et de faire plus ample connaissance avec Tôta, qui est quand même légèrement benêt sur les bords. Heureusement, il est plein de bonne volonté ce qui permet de s’attacher finalement à lui.
Je regrette quand même que ses quatre copains de début ne soient pas partis avec eux, ils auraient permis de mettre un peu de variété. Mais ils auraient sans doute fait trop boulets dans cette histoire.
Je suis particulièrement intéressée par Kurômaru qui se voit un peu forcé à accompagner notre duo et qui est adorable en étant drôle malgré lui.
L’ensemble est amusant sans être lourd, on retrouve du fan service mais loin d’être envahissant. On ne fait pour l’instant que frôler l’univers mis en place mais il a déjà l’air d’être énorme.
En espérant que le récit ne se perdra pas au cours des tomes comme pour Love Hina, je continuerai à la suivre avec plaisir.
Il est à noter que cette série fait référence à Negima!, du même auteur, mais qu’il est loin d’être indispensable de l’avoir lu pour s’y retrouver.
Mais ils ne doivent pas oublier que des chasseurs de primes sont à leur trousse.
Cette petite virée permet de multiplier les rencontres et de faire plus ample connaissance avec Tôta, qui est quand même légèrement benêt sur les bords. Heureusement, il est plein de bonne volonté ce qui permet de s’attacher finalement à lui.
Je regrette quand même que ses quatre copains de début ne soient pas partis avec eux, ils auraient permis de mettre un peu de variété. Mais ils auraient sans doute fait trop boulets dans cette histoire.
Je suis particulièrement intéressée par Kurômaru qui se voit un peu forcé à accompagner notre duo et qui est adorable en étant drôle malgré lui.
L’ensemble est amusant sans être lourd, on retrouve du fan service mais loin d’être envahissant. On ne fait pour l’instant que frôler l’univers mis en place mais il a déjà l’air d’être énorme.
En espérant que le récit ne se perdra pas au cours des tomes comme pour Love Hina, je continuerai à la suivre avec plaisir.
Il est à noter que cette série fait référence à Negima!, du même auteur, mais qu’il est loin d’être indispensable de l’avoir lu pour s’y retrouver.
June 4, 2014
This book is rated Older Teen. It contains partial nudity, violence, and some ampires so if any of these bother you then turn back before you get lost in this series. :)
Set in a world after the Negima series the grandson of Negi Springfield finds himself wanting to go to top of the impressive tower within the big city an all he has to do is defeat the person that raised him since he has been younger. Soon he finds himself on a journey where he begins meeting new friends, enemies, and answers to a past he never realized. What are the secrets of Yukihime and what does UQ Holder mean? Why not pick up the book and step into the future of the Negima universe. :)
This is not a bad book but it didn't quite catch my attention like the original series that lasted a very long time and a lot of fans. With such a large shadow to emerge from I am hopeful this series will find its own light.
My favorite part of the book is the fight between Tota and Kuromaru. It was a had choice but considering it leads to them being best buds for life (as Tota puts it)I feel this will be an important bond yet to bloom in the future.:)
Set in a world after the Negima series the grandson of Negi Springfield finds himself wanting to go to top of the impressive tower within the big city an all he has to do is defeat the person that raised him since he has been younger. Soon he finds himself on a journey where he begins meeting new friends, enemies, and answers to a past he never realized. What are the secrets of Yukihime and what does UQ Holder mean? Why not pick up the book and step into the future of the Negima universe. :)
This is not a bad book but it didn't quite catch my attention like the original series that lasted a very long time and a lot of fans. With such a large shadow to emerge from I am hopeful this series will find its own light.
My favorite part of the book is the fight between Tota and Kuromaru. It was a had choice but considering it leads to them being best buds for life (as Tota puts it)I feel this will be an important bond yet to bloom in the future.:)
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