November 11th, 2011 
AstroNerdBoy 魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 37 Chapter 343 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 343
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Eva agrees to battle both Negi and Asuna as a farewell to Asuna and unleashes her full power, causing all of the waters, including the waterfalls, to freeze up around the castle. Within this massive area of ice, Eva has full control and opens up on the pair, soon encasing them in a giant block of ice, though Asuna causes them to get out moments later. Eva sends a rain of massive ice lances at them, which Asuna deflects with her artifact blade. Jack, Al, and Kurt all watch analytically, but Setsuna wants to know the price Asuna has paid because she is Asuna’s friend.
As the battle with Eva continues by Asuna and Negi (even to the point of Eva casting her massive spell she used against Ryoumen Sukuna no Kami), Al agrees to let Setsuna know the secret — Asuna will be placed in the Gravekeeper’s Palace for 100-years as part of Negi’s plan, making it unlikely that the “fake” personality of Asuna would survive.
Negi and Asuna continue to fight as Negi readies a massive spell while Eva shows her dark (and scary) self. However, a massive, power-sneeze from Negi causes both Eva and Asuna to lose their clothing with Eva sitting on Negi’s face. After Asuna gives Negi a “Naru-punch,” Setsuna drops down from the battlement above and slaps Asuna. She cries, asking why Asuna didn’t tell her earlier. As Setsuna continues to weep, wanting to find another way, Asuna tells her that she remembers her past and what others, including Nagi, have done for her. Thus, she has to go for their sake. She feels certain that she will see Setsuna again, even though the notion is absurd considering the 100-year span involved.
Eva notes that had Asuna simply stayed at school and been obedient, she could have had a joyful life.
Thoughts/Review:
Akamatsu-sensei really pulled out all the stops here. On the battle front, he completely unleashed Eva, though sadly without the aide of Chachazero, and gave fans like me something to squeal about. Up until now, Eva has always held back somewhat, though we’ve often seen tastes of her true power. Now, we see her full power and why she is so nearly impossible to defeat. In light of this display, it is no wonder that Nagi decided to go for something cheap and simple to defeat Eva fifteen years ago. Its not that he couldn’t defeat her, but why expend that much time and energy in a battle that he might lose when he could just trick Eva into falling for his trap. And many of us thought that Nagi was just kinda stupid back then. ^_~
On the ecchi front, Akamatsu-sensei goes for the ménage à trois by having Negi sneeze-strip Eva and Asuna, going so far as to arrange for them to be sexually positioned with Negi — Eva sitting on his face and Asuna positioned between his legs as if to provide oral or hand service. *_* I think with this sneeze-strip, Akamatsu-sensei really pushed the boundaries of what he could get away with.
Now, to the big reveal in the chapter — the price Asuna is paying.
To be honest, while this revelation is very depressing (I like Asuna as a character), it is completely expected. Why? Because Asuna is a deus ex machina device now. Once Asuna came in and saved Setsuna and Kaede from that army death-trap during the Magic World arc, you notice how quickly Akamatsu-sensei removed her from the picture and then kept her out of the picture until the very end. I had been quietly wondering how Asuna would be use. I thought that maybe Akamatsu-sensei would give her a handicap as her price. However, it seems that he’s just going to remove Asuna from the story for a long time, so I guess Chisame gets to return to her Magic World advisory role.
Eva’s words to Asuna at the end of the chapter would appear to be a reference to Eva’s attempt to convince Asuna to live her life as a normal girl back before the Magic World started. I think Al had told Eva about Asuna’s true identity, but in the end, Eva let Asuna do as she would after Asuna showed that she wouldn’t give in. So, I guess we’ll see some followup in the next chapter.
So, to anyone who called Asuna being sealed up, congrats. ^_^
Now, do I think that Asuna is right in that she’ll see Setsuna again? Yeah, I do. I think that if nothing else, Negi will send Setsuna and company into the future. However Akamatsu-sensei does things, I think Fate’s inability to remove Asuna’s current personality means that in 100-years, she’ll still be there somehow.
So, a good chapter with an awesome Eva battle, a big reveal, but too ecchi for my tastes.
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I liked this chapter a lot more than previous Negima chapters. I’m predicting that given the current trend among manga artists, we’re about to see the mother of all timeskips.
This was a great chapter. I loved watching Eva fight. And her expression and thoguth before Negi’s strip sneeze implide she can get even scarier. Which would be amazing, but I doubt we’ll ever see it. I don’t think the possibility of Asuna seeing her friends again is out of the question. We’ve seen that time in the Magic World goes faster than time in the “Old World”. So one hundred years there may only equate to sixty yeaars here. Which, granted, is still a long time, but it makes the potential reunion much more likely.
maybe shiori could use her new pactio to take asuna’s place at mahora. maybe with some kind of telepathic link with the real deal so asuna wont lose herself.
The thing is, having that as Asuna’s price is really stupid from the standpoint that Negi had a plan to save the magic world that he was quite proud of, and boldly proclaimed that 10 years would be more than enough time… and it’s a plan that could not possible involve sealing Asuna at all as it would be vastly out of character for Negi. Even agreeing to it as an after the fact complication is OOC for him, particularly given the way he’s continued to be excited about the colonization plan, and casual about making Asuna sit around waiting when he’s suppose to be meeting her.
Completely agree with krono – this seems strange. Makes me wonder if Akamatsu-sensei got thrown worse than we knew by having to rearrange the story. Boy, I sure hope I’m wrong!
True, so the only thing I can think of is that the sealing deal is very recent addition, probably due to a new, unexpected complication.
after bill 156 negi might have to quit sneezing so much.
I like how ambiguous Eva’s words were after Asuna hit Negi. “And it was going so well too.” The fight or the position they ended up in? XD
Setsuna’s reaction really shows how much she loves her friends here. She literally would’ve taken on the world at Negi’s side if it meant protecting Asuna or Konoka. I thought that was awesome.
I’m predicting that given the current trend among manga artists, we’re about to see the mother of all timeskips.
*lol* Yeah, I’m hearing that a lot. ^_^; Well, Akamatsu-sensei already has the mechanism built in, sort of, with time travel. However, it would depend on their being a device and enough magic. Of course, he could go the normal, “100-years later” route. ^_^;;;
I loved watching Eva fight. And her expression and thoguth before Negi’s strip sneeze implide she can get even scarier.
*lol* Yeah, I agree that she could get a lot scarier. The fight would have been even better with Chachazero in the mix, but that’s just me.
We’ve seen that time in the Magic World goes faster than time in the “Old World”. So one hundred years there may only equate to sixty yeaars here. Which, granted, is still a long time, but it makes the potential reunion much more likely.
There is that.
maybe shiori could use her new pactio to take asuna’s place at mahora. maybe with some kind of telepathic link with the real deal so asuna wont lose herself.
Well, the telepathic link would be a new element as far as Shiori’s abilities. However, Shiori would need an artificial body like Cocone to exist on Earth. I do wonder why Akamatsu-sensei has dumped her like a bad date. ^_^;;;
The thing is, having that as Asuna’s price is really stupid from the standpoint that Negi had a plan to save the magic world that he was quite proud of, and boldly proclaimed that 10 years would be more than enough time…
Well, there was a lot of prevarication there IMO, especially since he then shifted to “well, even if it takes 100-years” which remains the current number. ^_^;
…it’s a plan that could not possible involve sealing Asuna at all as it would be vastly out of character for Negi.
Ah, but this is Asuna’s decision, not Negi’s. I will agree that Negi may look for a solution that frees Asuna ASAP, but he’s following Nagi’s footsteps and the implication from Nagi’s time is that Asuna wasn’t freed right away.
Even agreeing to it as an after the fact complication is OOC for him, particularly given the way he’s continued to be excited about the colonization plan, and casual about making Asuna sit around waiting when he’s suppose to be meeting her.
Well, we don’t know exactly when the decision was made to seal Asuna. And it isn’t going to be immediately from what I can tell. As I said, Negi may have agreed to this price being paid by Asuna while secretly saying, “I’ll find another way.”
Completely agree with krono – this seems strange. Makes me wonder if Akamatsu-sensei got thrown worse than we knew by having to rearrange the story. Boy, I sure hope I’m wrong!
I don’t think Akamatsu-sensei got thrown at all, other than maybe having to wrap things up faster than he would have preferred for the MW arc. Back when Negi and Fate encountered each other on the MW, I was confident that the MW arc would end the manga because though the fight had Fate take off, it seemed clear to me that things couldn’t end without a decisive match between the two.
At some point along the way, I started sensing a shift in the story, so much so that I then began to think that the MW arc would not end the manga. I can’t pinpoint a chapter to you now, but I think that is likely when Akamatsu-sensei decided to extend the manga. I don’t think we have a repeat of the Love Hina situation as Akamatsu-sensei is a much more powerful manga-ka than he was in his Love Hina days. What I mean is that Akamatsu-sensei appears to have considerable say-so on what happens with Negima! In the Love Hina days, he was successful, but hadn’t quite hit that next level.
True, so the only thing I can think of is that the sealing deal is very recent addition, probably due to a new, unexpected complication.
Well, in terms of extending the story, yes. However, the “unexpected” part really can’t be said to be the case. As I mentioned in the review, Akamatsu-sensei took Asuna off the table because she’s become deus ex machina. Setsuna is right in that Negi, Asuna, Setsuna, and Konoka are pretty much unbeatable as a unit. Asuna can negate ALL magic, Negi can bust out massive attack spells, even making stuff up on the fly, Setsuna can aide with any melee combat, and Konoka keeps them all healed and Setsuna supplied with additional magical defenses and artifact power. Remove Asuna, and things are MUCH different.
Also, we’ve seen flashbacks where Asuna was sealed while still a child. I can’t take the time to look now, but I want to say she was busted out twice by Nagi (once in chains and once on ice…or maybe my tired brain is imagining things).
after bill 156 negi might have to quit sneezing so much.
*lol* Yes, because 2D pedophilia is a terrible thing (or something like that). ^_^;
I like how ambiguous Eva’s words were after Asuna hit Negi. “And it was going so well too.” The fight or the position they ended up in? XD
*lol* Yeah, I noticed that too.
Setsuna’s reaction really shows how much she loves her friends here. She literally would’ve taken on the world at Negi’s side if it meant protecting Asuna or Konoka. I thought that was awesome.
Yep.
Funny how Setsuna goes from groveling at Asuna’s feet to slapping her upon learning the truth.
boldly proclaimed that 10 years would be more than enough time…
I initially had the same thought wrt the 10 / 100, but he could have meant the required start time rather than the finish time. If someone has terrible Plotlineitis and needs the cure within an hour or they’ll die, you have to get the cure to them within an hour – not the, say, 24 hours it’ll take them to get completely better. In the same way, Negi might’ve actually been saying that as long as the cure was started within ten years, everything would be okay, and something got lost in translation.
To me, the truly discordant note is how OOC it was to cheerfully announce a plan consigning Asuna to what some would consider a fate worse than death (to wake up in a world where everyone you love is dead). It’s almost as jangling as his chipper greeting to the class after SPOILER FOR THE FIRST NEGIMA SERIES Asuna’s death in Negima!. Go back and reread his confident assertions knowing what the plan is, and you’ll be dumfounded at his demeanor. (Or at least I was.)
Not to mention another big roach-in-the-punch-bowl: At that time he did not have Asuna’s consent. He hadn’t met back up with her or talked with her, and had no way to know what she had been through since being captured. What would he have done if Asuna had justifiably said “Screw this, our family has paid too high a price as it is. Find another plan.”?
@AstroNerdBoy and arimareiji: By something unexpected coming up, I meant in-story, hence Asuna being sealed being a recent development.
@AstroNerdBoy: Why did you think I was talking about Ken Akamatsu and his plan?
@arimareiji: Like I said, something new and unexpected came up, and Asuna being sealed is in someway neccesary to avert a potential disaster caused by this issue.
Well, there was a lot of prevarication there IMO, especially since he then shifted to “well, even if it takes 100-years” which remains the current number. ^_^;
Ah, but this is Asuna’s decision, not Negi’s. I will agree that Negi may look for a solution that frees Asuna ASAP, but he’s following Nagi’s footsteps and the implication from Nagi’s time is that Asuna wasn’t freed right away.
You miss my point, the original plan Negi had in mind when he told Poyo he had an alternative could not have involved sealing Asuna as it would be incredibly OOC for him to be so proud of a plan that involved sacrificing the very person he was there to save. Nor could he have Asuna’s consent at that point as Asuna’s full memories are the reason she’s consenting and he couldn’t have discussed it with her at that point anyways. So something has to have changed at some point to change the circumstances from “ten years is more than enough time” to “we need to entomb Asuna as a living sacrifice within months.”, but…
Well, we don’t know exactly when the decision was made to seal Asuna. And it isn’t going to be immediately from what I can tell. As I said, Negi may have agreed to this price being paid by Asuna while secretly saying, “I’ll find another way.”
If it was a fair bit of time ago, it’d be out of character for him to be so rude as to make Asuna wait when he’s going to be taking away her life in a relatively short amount of time. His guilt should have him doing the best he can to keep her happy, rather than going out on a random date with some other girls. If it was very recent, something from after all those things, it should be something that still visibly weighing on his mind at pretty much all times.
To me, the truly discordant note is how OOC it was to cheerfully announce a plan consigning Asuna to what some would consider a fate worse than death (to wake up in a world where everyone you love is dead). It’s almost as jangling as his chipper greeting to the class after SPOILER FOR THE FIRST NEGIMA SERIES Asuna’s death in Negima!. Go back and reread his confident assertions knowing what the plan is, and you’ll be dumfounded at his demeanor. (Or at least I was.)
I’ll go back and reread, to be fair, but the OOC stuff being mentioned could be tied in with his reaction to Nagi and Nagi’s “death.” Negi is no longer the same person he was after he died.
Not to mention another big roach-in-the-punch-bowl: At that time he did not have Asuna’s consent. He hadn’t met back up with her or talked with her, and had no way to know what she had been through since being captured. What would he have done if Asuna had justifiably said “Screw this, our family has paid too high a price as it is. Find another plan.”?
I think you are assuming things. We’ve mentioned the shifting of time-scale for the plan. I don’t think for a minute that Negi’s plan involved sealing Asuna at all. I think that Negi’s plan, whatever it was at that time, required him to get it done in 10-years or else lose the Magic World.
After saving the day and Asuna deus ex machina’s everything, Asuna is told of Negi’s plan and Asuna, knowing her whole history and her role for the Magic World, comes in and says, “Sorry Negi, but I have to be sealed up if you are going to truly save the Magic World and have plenty of time to do so.” Asuna’s demeanor tells me that this was completely her choice. I don’t think Negi asked her at all. I think she volunteered, knowing it was the one way that Negi’s plan would have the greatest chance of success.
@AstroNerdBoy: Why did you think I was talking about Ken Akamatsu and his plan?
Just the way you phrased things. ^_^;
You miss my point, the original plan Negi had in mind when he told Poyo he had an alternative could not have involved sealing Asuna as it would be incredibly OOC for him to be so proud of a plan that involved sacrificing the very person he was there to save. Nor could he have Asuna’s consent at that point as Asuna’s full memories are the reason she’s consenting and he couldn’t have discussed it with her at that point anyways.
I agree. I do not think Negi’s original plan had anything to do with Asuna at all, thus the more rapid 10-year timeline.
So something has to have changed at some point to change the circumstances from “ten years is more than enough time” to “we need to entomb Asuna as a living sacrifice within months.”, but…
I think Asuna is the one that changed things.
If it was a fair bit of time ago, it’d be out of character for him to be so rude as to make Asuna wait when he’s going to be taking away her life in a relatively short amount of time. His guilt should have him doing the best he can to keep her happy, rather than going out on a random date with some other girls. If it was very recent, something from after all those things, it should be something that still visibly weighing on his mind at pretty much all times.
I think that along with Asuna suddenly knowing how to instantly restore the Magic World, I think she completely understands what needs to happen to make Negi’s plan succeed. So, I think upon the return to the Earth, she, Negi, and others had their meeting about Negi’s plan and she let Negi know the truth — she had to be sealed or the Magic World could not be saved by his plan.
I understand why you think that this should be visibly weighing on Negi’s mind. I would point you back to Negi’s reaction to seeing Nagi “killed” at his own hands. He didn’t let that cause him more than a moment’s pause. At the time, I mostly attributed this to Negi knowing that this was all fake and that it wasn’t his father speaking to him at all. However, in hindsight, it could also indicate part of the change as Negi is no longer human.
Even if his no longer being human is not the cause of his change in attitude, Negi is showing the attitude of someone older, wiser, and who has to put personal feelings aside in order to get the big picture taken care of.
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”
As I see it, Asuna let Negi know the truth. I think that initially, Negi would be have been horrified by this, but seeing Asuna’s determination to see this through for him (and remember, she has browbeat him for wanting to take everything on himself rather than do what is needed, even if it means putting loved ones in danger). Seeing Asuna’s acceptance, Negi accepts it and moves on.
Do I think that Negi will seize any opportunity to free Asuna earlier? Yes. But, just as Nagi had to let Arika languish in prison for two years before he could free her, Negi is going to have to let Asuna languish before he can free her.
Symmetry. ^_~
Shiori, Shiori, Shiori, Shiori all I am reading is Shiori. Does no one else remember what happens in 100 years in Negima and who will be there. That’s right Chao Lingshen. She comes from the Magical World and is a time traveler who has come from the future once before, What is to stop her from sending Asuna back in time after the 100 year sealing is over. Plus the way Negi is now he will also be alive to work on a way to power a 100 year time jump for Asuna to send her back. Does no one else see this happening or at least thought about the possibility. As for proof about the 100 year thing see chapter 135 p15
You know, @TheAnimeZone is FAKE! All true. -AstroNerdBoy
Sorry about that earlier post, but a bot blog and Twitter account reads my feeds. So, I want to spam them with accurate stuff on their bogusness.
Shiori, Shiori, Shiori, Shiori all I am reading is Shiori. Does no one else remember what happens in 100 years in Negima and who will be there. That’s right Chao Lingshen. She comes from the Magical World and is a time traveler who has come from the future once before, What is to stop her from sending Asuna back in time after the 100 year sealing is over.
There’s that possibility as well.
Plus the way Negi is now he will also be alive to work on a way to power a 100 year time jump for Asuna to send her back. Does no one else see this happening or at least thought about the possibility. As for proof about the 100 year thing see chapter 135 p15
I’ll have to look that up when I have time at home (which won’t be for days).
Asuna gonna be sealed is a good thing…. When this arc starting to show how it end, I imagined her and negi killing each other at the end…. But then again for a shounen that will be too dark…
Now I’m sensing the return of chao lingshen. And a new, probably the last, arc of negima which took place on the future mars (maybe future earth a little)…. Which mean after the graduation it’s farewell mahora academy..
and hopefully some explanation on how she also can do magia erebea that was shown when she fight negi (i still think that was a magia erebea)
if you look at negi’s bugged out eyes when setsuna slapped asuna, maybe he actually didn’t know about the sealing. just a thought.
I’m agreeing with the 100 years travel back through time idea. I imagine it would play out like this: Everybody has a farewell party for Asuna. They get all emotional. Asuna then says goodbye and is sealed up. Then there’s a page of silence as everybody looks sad at the fact that she’s now gone. And then Booya! Asuna pops out of the cake holding the perfected Cassiopoia, having done what she needed to do in the future and thus came back to the past to continue where she left off.
@vision
Ah, I had completely forgotten about that comment Chao had made. It was made during a comical scene, and it would be just like Ken Akamatsu to use that as the definitive number for the climax of the series’ plot. And it would go along with what arimareji said, too. If we take that Negi, having overheard this comment, would have known that Mars would be successfully terraformed in 100 years way back in the Mahora Festival Arc, then the 10 year comment he made could be more for stabilizing, initializing, or even the first successes of the plan, rather than seeing it to completion. Considering all the thought he put into the origin of the Magic World, and how much Chao lingers in his mind (so much so that she shows up in the fake paradise he was trapped in, and shakes him free), he would’ve realized the importance of the number far before his ten years claim.
As for the “death” of “Nagi” (everything deserves to be in quotes at this point) a thought just popped in my head. What if we’re looking at this the wrong way? We all know Al has the ability to project a fake body of himself when there’s enough mana available. With the incalculable amount of mana that was swirling between the two planets during Fate and Negi’s fight, it would make sense that whoever is sealed beneath the World Tree could be able to project themselves out, especially when seeing that their puppet just sided with the enemy, and the plan has little chance of success otherwise. I mean, if all of the past members of Cosmo Entelecheia could be revived in an instant, this level of magic doesn’t seem improbable, right? And Asuna’s disruption of the ritual would have easily messed with the mana available, making their easy victory more probable, since she would have been, at that point, simply dispelling an unstable illusion. Just an idea.
Asuna gonna be sealed is a good thing…. When this arc starting to show how it end, I imagined her and negi killing each other at the end…. But then again for a shounen that will be too dark…
Asuna and Negi killing each other? *lol* I wouldn’t have thought that at all. Out of curiosity, why would they kill each other?
Now I’m sensing the return of chao lingshen. And a new, probably the last, arc of negima which took place on the future mars (maybe future earth a little)…. Which mean after the graduation it’s farewell mahora academy..
Yeah, I’m sensing her being brought back into the story as well.
and hopefully some explanation on how she also can do magia erebea that was shown when she fight negi (i still think that was a magia erebea)
I think it was stated to be similar in nature.
if you look at negi’s bugged out eyes when setsuna slapped asuna, maybe he actually didn’t know about the sealing. just a thought.
Maybe, but I think he knew after the return to Mahora and I think Asuna told him. I think Negi’s reaction was in response to Setsuna’s reaction.
I’m agreeing with the 100 years travel back through time idea. I imagine it would play out like this: Everybody has a farewell party for Asuna. They get all emotional. Asuna then says goodbye and is sealed up. Then there’s a page of silence as everybody looks sad at the fact that she’s now gone. And then Booya! Asuna pops out of the cake holding the perfected Cassiopoia, having done what she needed to do in the future and thus came back to the past to continue where she left off.
Well, that may well be it.
Ah, I had completely forgotten about that comment Chao had made. It was made during a comical scene, and it would be just like Ken Akamatsu to use that as the definitive number for the climax of the series’ plot.
That’s one of the things I like about Akamatsu-sensei’s writing; some things that seem like mere comedy end up being foreshadowing or the like.
As to the Nagi scenario you mention, that assumes that Nagi is sealed under the World Tree (possible, but I’m not buying it at the moment). That said, it would seem to me that if the mana out there were strong enough so that the MotB could project out, then it seems it would be enough to allow them to possibly break out as well.
Well, it will be interesting to find out the truth of the matter.
Just a heads-up, 344 is finally out.
Thanks. ^_^ Review out later today (I hope).
Love the reviews & sneek-peaks. Keep em comin’! 😀
Going to do my best. ^_^