OK for once in my life I'm not going to duplicate content, so this review is a stand alone and a completely different review is going to be posted to
Vraxx.com soon as I find the time and shake this head cold.
Take one part Onegai Teacher, a little Harry Potter, a good helping of Love Hina and you've got Negima. I have to admit the story didn't interest me so much as the voice acting list. With Luci Christian, Greg Ayres and Monica Rial [all of whom are slated to attend 2007 Kawaii Kon :D] in the cast I felt compelled to at least check out one volume to see how their characters sounded.
I won't go into much plot detail since vol 1 looks to be just a character setup anyway. The storyline centers around young wizard prodigy Negi Springfield (voiced by Greg Ayres), a 10 year old who is given the task of serving as home room/English teacher at an all girls school in Japan. His first encounters with one of his students does not run so well however as he draws the ire of the female lead Asuna Kagurazaka (voiced by Luci Christian). Being a wizard however is not without its problems, as Negi is required to NOT reveal his magical background. Well of course as you can imagine, the cat is out of the bag and revealed to none other than Asuna. That more or less sets up volume one of this series.
As the male lead, I think Greg Ayres' voice is a good youthful fit, though for me hearing a British accent can sometimes be a little unusual. Ayres plays the characters timid side well and his profuse appologies work well with his high energy performance style. Luci Christian, who voices the female lead seems right at home. Asuna comes off to me at least, as a more brash, younger take on her vocal work as Kaname Chidori (Full Metal Panic). Equally high energy, Christian has a few moments where we see her transition from the yelling, wise cracking heroine to a more mature Asuna. Calm and cool in comparison however is Monica Rial's character of Konoka, the daughter of the Dean of the school and Asuna's closest friend and roommate.
While this volume of Negima is bubbly and full of fanservice I think it holds up fairly well as a comedic title. Based on reading, it does seem like the story will take on both ecchi and dramatic plot twists but the first few volumes look to be focusing on character development and getting to understand Negi's relationship with his all-girl class. Overall I give this title an 8/10 thus far for volume 1. The story is a little weak at present but the vocal work by the large cast is quite enjoyable. I'm hoping to get a chance to meet the cast at the 2007 Kawaii Kon.
