魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 34 Chapter 308 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 308
Negima! Manga Vol 34 Ch 308 Review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

With Fate’s girls unable to defeat Negi’s girls and Dynamis defeated, he promises to not interfere and requests to be allowed to watch, even offering an Ennomos Aetosphragis artifact to bind him at his word, but Kaede has one of her own.

Sayo and Chamo arrive on her custom spy golem from Asakura’s artifact because they were unable to rescue Asuna.  Chamo is upset that Negi appears defeated and that they have no one to fight Fate.  However, Chamo takes heart in the fact that they’ve removed Dynamis, who fought with an earlier version of Fate against Nagi.  Shiro reminds them that Shirabe is with Fate and that the Master of the Grave, whom she describes as sometimes being like a little girl and sometimes like an old woman, is also around (the “Chibi Mage”).

Nodoka is about to ready Dynamis’s mind when he volunteers to just give up the information instead.  He explains the differences between now and twenty years earlier for the ritual.  After obtaining the information, Chamo takes Chisame, Kaede, Makie, Ako, Akira, Yuuna, Nodoka, and Sayo aside, leaving Konoka with the downed Negi, guarded by Ku Fei.  Using Sayo’s piece of Asakura’s artifact, Chamo engages in a conference call with the other two groups.  His plan is to have Natsume use her artifact to grab Asuna since they already know it works.  Akira reckons that based on their testing of the artifact, it works like the ability to enter ones’ blind spot, not only for sight, but sound and smell as well.   Kaede will provide the diversion to allow Natsume to get Asuna and not be subjected to a blind attack from Fate.

Ako points out that with Asuna’s magic cancel ability, Natsume’s artifact might be nullified.  Though some distance away, Dynamis hears this and laughs, confirming that the power of the artifact will diminish as Asuna is approached.  Chamo’s plan now flushed, Yue interjects that she may have a solution.  Kotaro says that he’ll be the diversion.  Kaede objects, but Kotaro points out that it is dangerous everywhere and that Kaede is needed to get the normal girls out in her cloak.  With that, he leaves Natsume’s care in Kaede’s hands.

Makie and Yuuna volunteer to go with Natsume as Makie believes she can snag the Great Grand Master Key.  Chachamaru requests to be allowed to join in the diversionary aspects of the plan, citing her participation will increase the odds of success.  She is confident that Negi will recover and that they can bring this to a successful conclusion.

After Kotaro accidentally offends Natsume with a remark on her being the star, Ala Alba prepares to do what needs to be done while Fate states that after they are done with Asuna and the rewrite of the world, they will need to resurrect “him.”

Thoughts/Review:

I really would enjoy it if Negi had nothing to do with Asuna’s rescue and that all of Ala Alba gets off the planet safely in spite of Negi’s condition.  Actually, I’m hoping that the story proceeds in such a manner so that the events that Chao wanted to prevent happen just as she remembered (because of Negi’s incapacity) but that everyone gets back to Earth safely and the new goal of Ala Alba is not only finding Nagi but also finding a means of getting back folks like Jack and the others lost.  I just think it would be a more interesting way to go and would certainly provide motivation for all of Ala Alba who’d lost friends during the rewrites.

The troublesome issue of Asuna’s magic cancel abilities comes to life here as Chamo attempts to make a plan.  Part of me thinks, “if she can cancel artifact’s abilities and the like, then why can’t she cancel the magical bonds she’s currently in?”  Then, I also think of Graf Herrman’s remarks on Asuna’s canceling force-emitting spells as well as Asuna’s own memories of being an empty vessel, thus why she can draw in magic and ki to perform Kankahou.  So I’m guessing the ritual simply uses her as a vessel and her magic cancel abilities are then used from there.

I noticed that Chisame has a bandage on her face again.  That’s good because last chapter, it appeared to have gone.

I like the conferencing ability that Asakura’s artifact provides.  Thus, information can be communicated to the other two groups of Ala Alba and everyone can keep in touch and on the same page.

So, who is this Master of the Grave?  Some have speculated that it is Zect but Shiori’s pronouncement that sometimes this person (known to us fans as “chibi mage”) is like a little girl and sometimes like an old woman seems to throw cold water on that theory.  Could it be Arika somehow, changing her appearance as needed?  Could it be some new character we’ve not seen?  Could it be someone we already know well who’s playing in both camps?  That certainly seems possible given the appearance-changing magic that exists.  Wouldn’t it be a hoot if that character were Anya somehow?  *lol*  (OK, that doesn’t really work, but imagine the shock if that was the identity of the Master of the Grave.)

Finally, there’s the issue of the “him” Fate is referring to at the end.  I think the likely possibility is the final boss that Nagi defeated years earlier but it might be Nagi himself that Fate hopes to draw out.  After all, assuming he isn’t currently in disguise as someone else with no memories of whom he was, just where the heck is Nagi while Negi continues to be in serious trouble, to say nothing of the Magic World?

So, an interesting chapter that continues to set the stage for the next leg.