April 8th, 2010 
AstroNerdBoy 魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 31 Chapter 285 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 285
Negima! Manga Vol 31 Ch 285
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Luna confirms the information recorded in Nodoka’s diary with Kurt’s revealing the secret of the Magic World is in fact true. She and Mana get into an argument over Fate’s means for “saving” the people until Negi interrupts. He is about to leave with Setsuna, Kaede, Chisame, and Chamo while leaving Mana in charge of Luna when Luna stops him, not wanting him to go. Negi promises to return and Chisame realizes from Luna’s words and actions that Luna is taken with Negi.
Some distance away, Setsuna produces the Magia Erebea scroll and opening it, they find a naked Eva munching on chips and playing an old video game on an old gaming system. The scroll-Eva is startled to find them consulting her again and learning their plan, agrees to help but for the last time. Eva reveals that while the Magia Erebea might kill Negi, it will likely turn him into a dark, magical beast. What they are proposing in helping Negi is something Eva has no experience in though she has a plan.
As part of that plan, she purposefully sets off Negi’s Magia Erebea after telling him he’ll have to overcome the darkness and master it himself. Kaede and Setsuna are then forced to fight the transformed Negi without killing him, thus Eva sees this as good training for them and killing two birds with one stone.
As they fight, Mana hears that it has begun while Makie, Ako, Akira, and Yuuna arrive within the resort diorama, seeking Negi and fun. Meanwhile, Kaede and Setsuna have their hands full and Chisame thinks that maybe Eva went overboard. Because Negi is no mere beast but retains all of his skills, Kaede can’t help but admire how for the boy has come. She gets woken up when Negi casts Dios Logche and is about to take both her and Setsuna out with a Mega Dunamene spell. They are saved from this massive lightning and spear magic attack by Eva wielding her trademarked Ensis Exsequens (Executioner Sword) spell blade.
On deck, Nodoka comes up to speak with Yue.
Thoughts/Review: A most interesting chapter. I laughed when Chisame realized that Luna is smitten with Negi and basically, Negi gets another one for the battle harem. *lol* Depending on how this new sub-arc on controlling Magia Erebea goes, we’ll see if Luna lasts. I say this because while we appear to be setting up an epic fight between Eva and Negi, I can’t help but think that in the process, someone is going to get hurt and die. It is a bit cliched, but it would play into one of Negi’s greatest fears. Luna “dying” could be reset along with bringing back everyone else on the Magic World.
There’s also the arrival of Makie, Yuuna, Ako, and Yuuna. Makie is keen for a pactio but what will they think when they come upon Negi’s Magia Erebea form? What role will they have in Negi’s recovery? I figure they have a role since Akamatsu-sensei is bringing them in.
Going back to what appears to be a fight between Eva and Negi, I really hope Akamatsu-sensei does this. Akamatsu-sensei is a great writer and has been quite good at showing characters growth on multiple levels. While the real Eva and Negi have sparred as part of training, we haven’t seen them really fight since volume 3. This provides Akamatsu-sensei to let them go all out and at the same time show how far Negi has come. Granted, we have a sense of that in how he schooled the powerful Setsuna and Kaede, but the real test would be Eva, assuming she has all the strength levels of her real counterpart on Earth.
Now, how all this plays out in Negi overcoming Magia Erebea, I couldn’t even begin to say. I suppose it would be similar to how he acquired the skill in the first place. So on this one, I’m just going to enjoy letting the resolution play out as Akamatsu-sensei sees fit and comment more afterward.
Speaking of Eva, for those who didn’t know, Eva is apparently playing the Famicom gaming console and the game Solomon’s Key. ^_^ Yeah, Akamatsu-sensei is an otaku for sure and it is little things like this that are just fun tributes.
I’m really looking forward to Yue and Nodoka’s chat next chapter. ^_^ When this is all over, I wonder where Nodoka’s training will go. Surely, she could get some special classes as Mahora to continue her mage studies.
Finally, I want to give a MAJOR shout out to Vetus. If you haven’t been over to the site (an excellent use of the WordPress blog engine to combine blogging AND website), CanonRap has done such fantastic work that all Negima! fans should have it bookmarked. All of the spells, artifacts, etc. are there AND one doesn’t have to worry about some jackal at Wikipedia deleting the information because they they have a god complex. I wanted to mention this because when Akamatsu-sensei pulls out spells and such, Vetus provides the means for refreshing our minds in what those spells (or artifacts) do. So, my hat is off to you CanonRap! ^_^
Posted in 
Tags: 
Epic Beast Negi using Armationem(sp?) looks awesome! I really wonder what Nodoka and Yue are going talk about! Though for some reason it kinda looks like their gonna talk about loving Negi!
About Magic Erebea go look it up in the Notes in Volume 23. It discusses how Erebea refers to Erebus (Greek God of Darkness) who’s child is Aether (Greek Goddess of light). Ever hear “From Darkness came Light.”?
Going by the notes I believe to control his inner darkness Negi must bring fourth his inner light to balance it.
Eva’s line at the end hints towards this I believe: “Heheheh… You’re slacking, girls. // Hah… If it is the light you seek, then you must seize it with your own hands. // Otherwise, there is no meaning to it. Isn’t that right, boy?”
What do you think?
@Leaf — I’d suspect they’d talk about the present situation, the things they’ve done since coming to MW, and the loss of their close friends.
@Anon — Sounds good to me. ^_^
Interesting notion that Luna could get “killed” to show the seriousness of the situation, and it’s certainly possible. But put me down for a more stereotypical “No, you have to let me help him” scene where she has to get around Mana to save Negi.
Excellent point about having a purpose for bringing in the sports girls… to me, it practically telegraphs a scene where they realize this is Serious Business and get scared out of their wits by Negi’s ME-monster form. I suspect one or more of them will decide they want no part of it and not change their mind for a long time.
I’m a Baka Pink fan, so put me down for a repeat of chapter 58 with Makie defending Negi to the other girls. Maybe even defending Future Student 32 as well, and becoming her first friend in the class? (Probably all just wishful thinking, though.)
Just guessing… but… 90% chance that the chapter will be mostly talk between Yue/Nodoka, and then, in the last page, a bit of negi and co. … You all know very well Akamatsu’s sense of humor… leaving the most intersting stuff for last ( yeah… and leaving the MOST IMPORTANT stuff to the week without chapter ).
Anyhow, this chapter will be
1) Super interesting
or
2) a Super pain in the as- uh, i mean, a pain in the neck
@Thunder
Ohm man I fear the same thing. Remember Negi vs Rakan? And how whole chapter was used for Ako wangst? Not again!
—————-
Anyway I find it interesting that even if Negi succeed the training he can never go back anymore – he will become some being that isn’t human and even Eva isn’t sure what it will be.
It would be nice if the transformation wasn’t only on paper but actually consistent of some actual change in his character. I would be interesting to see him acting just a little bit different 9say a bit meaner and darker) than usually without noticing it. And it would throw everybody off. It could be an interesting sub-plot.
BTW. Great review as always. I love your blog, keep it up!
Fantastic chapter, i wonder if after Negi gets a good grip on his ME if he will will be able to change into the demon form at will or something close to it. I really want to see Eva use ME too, we saw a slight glimpse of it in the flash back thing and looked like she totally tanked Negis thousand bolt/thunder spear thing he made even Rakan got messed up by that… Cant wait to see what Negis ME is going to be like after he finishes this last training from the scroll Eva. On side note thinking about last chapter What if Asuna and Anya did a pactio lol.
I actually just started Negima after seeing you pimp it in your blog so much. Just give me a heads up on what to expect coming up! Now back to watching Sgt. Frog (Funi’s newest release, saw the movie in Japanese this morning after reading Vol. 13 of the manga. Yes, I’m addicted.)
just a few things
@astro Luna dying, not likely. Luna helping, more likely. Luna becoming a comedy pair with Mana, Not likely but would be funny to see. Also suport the idea that the sports girls are there for a reason.
@Anonymous I do like your idea and would not be surprised if that is what happens.
@thunder I would not be surprised if next chapter was mostly about Yue and Nodoka. Akamatsu would do this to us in a heartbeat. base this off the fact that he does stuff like A LOT in the past.
My own ideas: When the fight does happen it will get to the point were Mana has to join in as well to keep Negi in check without killing him. Hence Luna is ungarded and either joins in as well or keeps the sports girls covered. But the one thing I cannot wait for is when the real Eva and Negi meet again and how Eva will react. I can already guess Asuna is just going to haul off and hit Negi after she finds out about his “evolution”.
@arimareiji & Vision — Well, my Luna idea is cliched, but she should have the “get out of death” free card. Then again, that may only be good for Rewrite.
As to the sports girls, I could see Ako for sure out and likely Akira (though she has some skills). Yuuna, maybe. Makie has been set up for a pactio from early on but would Akamatsu-sensei nix this or finally bring it to pass?
@Thunder — I’m not sure about 90%. Several pages I can see for sure with several pages dedicated to Negi and the sports girls seeing the unbelievable. Since it is cliched, I doubt it happens but I just see someone getting hurt.
@Pong — I think that Negi will still look human no matter what but that while he’d still be a gentleman, he’d be less of a wuss when presented with a situation like Chao did or even Fate.
And you are welcome. ^_^
@Nick — I’d like to see Eva use ME as well. While I’m more about story, I got to admit that the thought of an all-out brawl between Eva and Negi is something I’d like to see. I suspect this Eva is weaker than the real McCoy but at this stage still more powerful than Negi. Thus we get a rematch of sorts between Eva and Negi that the main story doesn’t appear to provide for since Eva is part of Ala Alba.
@O-chan — I actually just started Negima after seeing you pimp it in your blog so much.
*LOL*
Thanks for making me laugh. I do pimp “Negmia!” a ton, more than any other anime or manga.
Are you reading the Del Rey release or scanlation? If the Del Rey release, for the first volume especially (and possibly through volume 5), I’d also read the scanlation version(s). Peter David made way to many rewrites in volume 1 and killed some foreshadowing and table setting as a result. Volume 3 is where “Negima!” gets good and doesn’t let up.
As to “Sgt. Frog,” I need to start watching the anime again. I love the manga but the anime bores me at times, which is partially why I haven’t done anything with it on the blog in ages.
@Vision — I can already guess Asuna is just going to haul off and hit Negi after she finds out about his “evolution”.
*lol* That seems pretty much a given, doesn’t it. ^_^
Random tidbit… Went back and reread the whole scene in chapter 58 that I alluded to (Negi’s apprenticeship test), and Ako/Akira/Yuuna happened to pop in on that as well as Makie. Interesting symmetry.
@Pong: YES. Please, for the love of God, Aka-sen, no more chapters of Ako wangst (or anyone else). Ever. Four during the Festival arc, then all throughout the Rakan arc were much more than enough.
Just have her start crying (again) when she sees Negi’s ME-monster form, scream “Eff y’all and this popsicle stand!”, make a run for the door, and thereafter be seen as often as Yotsuba Satsuki. No more chapters explaining why.
Ako, Yuuna, Makie, and Akira were the four girls Eva used her shinso abilities to enthrall them in volume 3.
Man, reading through that, Del Rey REALLY needs to have the first five volumes retranslated from scratch.
Theme song for the early translators can be found here. (^_~)
(One of Voltaire’s Star Trek parody songs, NSFW language)
I am 75% sure that Negi’s overcoming Magia Erebea is going to be exactly like Ichigo overcoming his hollow in Bleach.
For those who don’t know: In Bleach, Ichigo’s soul is under threat of being consumed by a “dark” version of himself. His body begins to transform into a hollow while others like him fight to keep him under control. As they’re fighting his physical self his mental self is fighting his dark version.
So I think Negi’s gonna be fighting a Dark Negi in the near future =P
The idea of the evil energy that gives you power but threatens to consume you already seems like a rip to me, and if my prediction turns out to be true then it will be even more so…BUT I DON’T CARE! Negi Looks So Freakin Kool!
About the Del Rey volumes, I think that volumes 1 and 2 are atrocious, 3 bad but better than the first 2, 4 better than 3 but still mediocre at best, while 5 (translated and edited by a completely different person) I found to be acceptable with possibly minor problems here and there (like how Yue interprets the situation between Konoka and Setsuna), which are pretty much found in most people’s releases (volume 5, I find to deviate from scanlations as much as most other later volumes by Del Rey, except that they possibly carried over some errors from the original volume). 6 I find to be good in terms of accuracy of translation, but uses too much slang in my opinion and I think that that ruins the translation somewhat.
@Ultimaniac
Pretty much, and now even in NARUTO… ” Naruto will be facing kyuubi in order to use its full power ” Where have i seen that?
The manga authors are somewhat lacking… creativity.
Ichigo>Hollow
Negi>M.E
Naruto>Kyuubi
YOU KNOW IT, DONT DENY IT !!! Its going to end just like that.
But, lets agree… a demon-like Negi will be pretty cool, huh?
And what if he turns into a shinso, too? Eva said something like : ” You will never regain your humanity, just like me “.
That would be VERY awesome, IF Negi doesnt turn into a sun-glowing vampire ( you know what im talking about ¬¬ . But again, an Imortal Negi would ruin the manga.
@thunder (“That would be VERY awesome, IF Negi doesnt turn into a sun-glowing vampire ( you know what im talking about ¬¬ . But again, an Imortal Negi would ruin the manga.”)
*gets look of horror* Noooooooooooooooooo!
I love Akamatsu-sensei, but if he turns Negi and Nodoka into Edward and Bella, I say we get out the pitchforks, torches, tar, and feathers. (^_~)
It was bad enough seeing the influence of Titanic on a few works, and hearing its influence on lots of BGM (listen to Love Hina’s “Winter Wish – Instrumental” for one example). At least it had some original elements worth copying. Twilight… ugh. It’s just a glorified Mary Sue fanfic.
@arimareiji
Vampire doesn’t necessarily equate to Twilight. It could end up like Blood+ or Trinity Blood.
@arimareiji:
Come-on what if Nagi is down in Hell. To go after him Negi should become demon.
If Nagi isn’t in Real world nor in Magic world and appears when bunch of strong demons are summoned from Hell. When you add fact that his master was demon to the equation … chance that Nagi is down in Hell for some reason(like resurrecting creator of magic world to fix it), is pretty high. It feal like a grand build-up for Negi’s dive-in-Hell.
I think Negi will start smoking and that is all the difference in his daily attitude.
Negi is looking like a dark arrancar from bleach but ithink he’s turning into a master/immortal like immai/eva. We now know that negi is royalty and related to Asuna but Ken-san is being really sketchy with details and history but lets not let those get in the way of a good story. We might find out about negis royal family’s abbilty in this arc both his mum and auntie/grandma (Asuna) have one, i remember back in the kyoto arc when fighting fate, negi was able to draw upon magic even at his limits i think he is the oppisit of asuna and acts as a majic conductor which will help him control large scale majics such like controling the world keys but this makes me think that if Asuna is a key or has one sealed in her then wht about all the other keys and despite this whole age buisness Rakan did call her a straight forward young lady so Asuna story mightve happen ten yrs after war becase we still dont know how Negi got to the real world i suspect it has something to do with Istanbul cant wait for that story. Quickvenom
@Ultimaniac: I know, just playing off of thunder’s joke. (^_^)
@verynew: I don’t know why, but that somehow reminds me of the Gilligan = the Devil rumor. (^_~)