Negima! Manga Vol 30 Ch 269 Review

魔法先生 ネギま!Volume 30 Chapter 269 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 269

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Negima! Manga Vol 30 Ch 269As Arika goes off the plank to the valley below, a senator remarks on how great a form of execution this is. Jack Rakan, disguised as a guard, inquires if they have everything on film before he and the rest of Ala Rubra reveal themselves. The senator is not happy with this betrayal and reminds them of the rather large army he has with him, including warships. Against Eishun, Rakan, Al, and Gateau, Jack wonders if the senator doesn’t need more forces.

Meanwhile, Arika is surprised to find herself alive and not in hell, not only that but she’s in Nagi’s arms. She demands to know why Nagi would risk his life when he has no magic in Cerberus Canyon. As he races down the valley floor with Arika in his arms, he explains that saving the world means nothing if he can’t save her. She still protests and as Nagi leaps over a cliff and summons his staff, he tells Arika he loves her and lands on the staff.

Nagi attempts to get Arika to say how he feels for her, but she immediately hides behind her former life as a member of royalty. Nagi reminds her that the Queen of Calamity has died back there and now Arika is just a person. To emphasize the point, Nagi calls her “Arika-san.” Arika finally says that she doesn’t dislike Nagi but after more prompting from Nagi, she confesses that she spent the last two years in prison thinking about him. Nagi apologizes that she had to wait so long, but this was the only way they could properly save her. He asks her to marry him and allow him to help shoulder the great burden she placed upon herself. She agrees.

Meanwhile, young Gödel is not happy with the solution Ala Rubra came up with to save Arika since it basically leaves Arika with a tarnished reputation. Takahata reminds Kurt that this was the only way they could do things, but Gödel feels the senate will go unpunished. Takahata feels that for now, they should just enjoy the happy ending.

Thoughts/Review: And so the story of Nagi and Arika’s romance comes to an end with Arika saved and agreeing to marry Nagi. The question still remains, “where the smeg did she go after this?” Granted, we haven’t seen but a mere fraction of the stuff Ala Rubra did after the war and that mainly through Asuna’s memories and possibly Eva’s memories (if the events with Eva took place after the war, which I believe they may have). However, as romantic settings go, this chapter is pretty much a classic “knight rescues the lady” tale and those never get old, especially when done properly. I believe it was done properly here.

I do have one question though — what happened to Arika’s wooden bonds?

This form of execution used by the Senate still makes little sense though, at least from a surface perspective. However, for the Senate to use it, one would presume that they’ve executed numerous others in this fashion before and in a valley where magic cannot be performed, who could rescue anyone from there?

Of course from a writer’s perspective, Akamatsu-sensei needed a way to execute Arika, yet have a means to save her too that would allow for an official, face-saving method for the Senate to claim to have rid the world of the Queen of Calamity while at the same time allowing Arika to unofficially escape. This was apparently the only way Akamatsu-sensei could do it, so I won’t quibble. It does also show how fast Nagi is on foot, something Negi has as well. Also, it allowed us to see how similar their methods are, as seen when Nagi summoned the staff.

The other aspect to this is that by openly saving Arika and defying the Senate, the members of Ala Rubra would seemingly all be marked men. We don’t know the circumstances behind Gateau’s death, but I’ve always thought that whomever killed him was ultimately behind the “death” of Nagi and the reason Al had to be hidden under the Mahora school library. Since the Senate targeted Negi’s village, it stands to reason that they might want to take revenge on other members of Ala Rubra.

I rather enjoyed the reference to the High Daylight Walker (which is the actual term used in the Japanese in case you didn’t know). The way Japanese is written, it could almost be an indirect reference to Eva (the only High Daylight Walker we know), or it could indicate that there are other vampires who are High Daylight Walkers moving about. Regardless, the implication for the audience is that were Eva to be tossed down there and bereft of magic, she likely would not survive either. Frankly, I think Eva wouldn’t have a ton of trouble down there since she’s also a Puppet Master on top of everything else she knows about fighting and surviving.

I wonder if Takahata is at Gödel’s party. I was just considering that last page of this chapter and thought that if Kurt knew Takahata was on the Magic World, he’d likely arrange to have him brought to the party. Considering the conversation on the last page of this chapter, one would think Gödel would be more keen to have Takahata there.So, a fun chapter of hero rescues damsel. ^_^

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

12 Responses to “Negima! Manga Vol 30 Ch 269 Review”

  1. Anonymous says:

    what if Nagi was actually Fate?
    I get the idea from Fate fighting Rakan since he said a fight with him would be “enjoyable”
    If the “Avernecus” actually reborns in the person that defeated it?

  2. Ku_fei lover says:

    It was fun to see Arika Using the Naru Punch on Nagi and I’m surprised to here him say her boobs are all his (not really) Akamatsu win’s again

  3. mastermack0 says:

    I too believe Takahata is at the party. he and mana really need to show up again.

  4. Renzo says:

    “this chapter is pretty much a classic “knight rescues the lady” tale and those never get old, especially when done properly. I believe it was done properly here.”

    I completely agree. 🙂
    Cool review. Though maybe in the next chapters, we’ll see a “talk” between Takahata (If he would be in the party), Godel and Negi about what happened in the past.

    I’m rather confused why Godel ended up in the Senate. Wasn’t he the one who thought that the Senate (in the past) were left unpunished?

    (sorry for my poor english :P)
    🙂

  5. My god Nagi x Arika = WIN!

    Love her Tsundere reactions! XD Gotta love Nagi Headbutting her. And this chapters has all forms of Cute + Subtle Action + Awesome art+ Nice Romance! Page 17 of this chapter also tops with seeing Arika so happy, after all those two years, you can see why. But god does that look beautiful

    But I do agree with ANB. Glad to know what happened in the past and how, but as he said, what happens after this? And seeing as how this is the end of Godel’s little movie, we’ll probably revisit what happened after this later in the story. Though I think we can wait, seeing as how this awesome scene was satisfying.

    Man, Akamatsu just doesn’t fail ^^.

  6. Hugh Roe says:

    I do have one question though — what happened to Arika’s wooden bonds?

    Magic constructs of course….

    Me, I’m still trying to figure out why the Kanto and Kansai Magic Associations fought against each other during the war.

  7. AstroNerdBoy says:

    That is a good point about the two magic associations. It seems that the Kansai folks were somehow attached to Fate’s folks though.

  8. Orion says:

    For me, what I got is that the two associations didn’t really have a serious conflict going, and that Fate just manipulated Chigusa into using Kotaro and hiring him and Tsukuyomi into trying to start a full-scale war between the two, like his previous counterpart did.

    It would explain why there was a gigantic lack of manpower at Eishun’s temple, which was the home base for Kansai, and why the Headmaster would let Negi go as a courier if there was a serious conflict going on.

  9. I can’t help but notice Jack asking if the (ultimately failed ^_^) execution made it on video. I guess that explains, at least in part, how Arika was executed in the “official” records. She goes into the ditch. Film stops there. It becomes part of the news and the official history. Or something like that.

    Oh, the raw for ch. 270 is out. No more flashback stuff at all. Haven’t bothered really trying to read any of it, though, but it shows several things of interest. The head phasing through the ground is Sayo. Kazumi is relaying the video of what’s been going on to the other girls. And Jack’s back! Looks like 271 is gonna be about the Rakan/Fate fight.

  10. arimareiji says:

    @Renzo I’m rather confused why Godel ended up in the Senate. Wasn’t he the one who thought that the Senate (in the past) were left unpunished?

    Because it’s his best chance to destroy them.

    “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

  11. Anonymous says:

    Hey ANB, spoilers for ch 271 are out. Check the MH forums for more info.

Leave a Reply to Ku_fei lover Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Powered by WordPress