February 9th, 2017 
AstroNerdBoy ユーキューホルダー! 魔法先生 ネギま！2 Manga Review
UQ Holder! Mahou Sensei Negima 2
UQ Holder!: Magister Negi Magi! 2 Chapter 133
UQ Holder Chapter 133
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Nodoka and Yue free themselves from Kuroumaru’s sealing spell. Kuroumaru attacks, but the duo easily evade or block the attacks. They then turn tables on Kuroumaru, leading to Kuroumaru’s defeat. Santa is in a losing battle with Al, so he attempts to posses the gravity mage. The horrors of death he sees causes Santa to evacuate and be defeated.
Karen manages to slice of Jack’s arm without a blade. Jack shrugs it off and puts the arm back on before punching Karen across the city. Karen uses magic to slow herself down, allowing her to land on the side of a skyscraper. Jack instantly appears, punching her through the skyscraper and taking her out of action.
Negi and Touta battle each other, neither getting the advantage of the other though Touta keeps being torn apart. Touta considers how powerful Negi is as a hero that saved the world. Touta then rejects this hero notion since Negi is killing innocent people even now. As such, Touta angrily counterattacks, vowing to save Negi and Yukihime. However, Touta is stopped when Jack sends a massive blade into him and Al uses gravity magic to slam him into the ground.
Before Negi-MotB can put on a finishing blow, Kirie stands in the way. She dares them to kill her since this would just cause a reset. Negi-MotB becomes charming and thanks Kirie for loving the bloodied Touta. Kirie denies loving him, so Nodoka provides the proof from her artifact diary. Touta is surprised by this, more so when Kirie concedes she loves him.
As Kirie turns to face Touta, she’s stabbed by Cutlass. Kirie attempts to kill herself with a cyanide capsule, but Cutlass stops her by removing several of Kirie’s teeth. The pinned Touta becomes enraged and activates his Magia Erebea over this as Cutlass brags that Negi Ialda-sama will save everyone, unlike UQ Holder. Touta’s rage grows, causing Kirie to remind him of the plan — 37 seconds have passed. With that, a large, magic mandala appears and Asuna appears to be dropping in.
Thoughts/Review:
Forty pages of manga, but not a ton to discuss. Still, I did enjoy the chapter for what is was. In that vein, I’ll get my review going.
The Battles
The fights all ended as expected with UQ Holder losing. That’s how it should be. That said, I loved seeing Yue and Nodoka in action. Seriously, Akamatsu-sensei needs to do a manga, even if a single volume, where Yue and Nodoka are the heroes. They’ve been awesome so far. It is just a shame that they are the villains.
As to Santa’s fight, I’m glad Akamatsu-sensei remembered Santa can possess people. Santa was surprised that Al isn’t human after seeing the horrors in Al’s mind. We already knew Al wasn’t human since Nagi and Arika used to carry him around in book form. It is just that over the years, Al has added necromancy to his magical arts repertoire.
I laughed at Karen using magic to create something to slow her down lest she slam into a skyscraper after being punched across the city by Jack. The way Jack punches Karen down the length of the skyscraper reminds me of the Superman movie or the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie.
Negi’s fight with Touta contained no real surprises. Super Touta is nearly on par with Negi, only lacking experience. Thus Jack and Al have to step in to put an end to the fight. This part of the manga was the least interesting to me.
Kirie and the Chamo Love Chart
Thanks to Nodoka, we get a nod back to the classic Chamo Love Chart. I had to go look up what the different numbers meant. The chart measures on a scale of 1 – 20 for each type of feeling.
- Friend (tomo): 10
- Familiarity (oya): 9
- Love/Desire (koi): 13
- Pure Love (ai): 9
- Lust (iro/”ero”): 12
- Total (not stated in the chapter): 53
As a point of reference, Nodoka scored 57. Yue and Asuna scored 56, while Ayaka scored 52 in their feelings for Negi. So when Nodoka says Kirie scored quite high, she wasn’t lying.
I liked that Kirie did admit her feelings to Touta, though her loss of composure cost her.
The Return of Cutlass
Cutlass returns to make Kirie pay for turning her back on Team Negi-MotB to go off on Touta. Kirie has a major stab wound in the shoulder, and she had several molars forcibly removed by Cutlass. It makes me wonder if Kirie’s jaw was broken in the process. Denied resetting time, what happens to Kirie now? Does she have to recover like a normal human (with the aide of healing magic)? Or does she have some regenerative abilities? I guess we’ll find out.
Funny how Cutlass knew what Kirie was going to do. I wonder if she was communing with Nodoka somehow. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense how easily she found the three teeth with cyanide in them.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Time to wrap this sucker up.
- UQ Holder held out for 37 seconds. So now what’s Asuna’s move. Asuna is OP, so I can’t help but wonder how things will turn out. It would seem to be “game over” time for Team Negi-MotB, but that smacks as too easy. I’m having a hard time believing Akamatsu-sensei would allow things to go so well for the good guys.
- I had lost track of Eva and Fate. So I looked back at the previous chapter and remembered that Akamatsu-sensei had to remove the two most powerful players from the good guys in 0.03 seconds. 😆
- I got a kick out of Al and Jack remembering how all the girls loved Nagi and Negi and wondering if Touta inherited that from them.
In the end, UQ Holder chapter 133 is mostly action-based. Kirie gets a little bit of character work, which is nice. Now to see what fun Asuna has in store for us next month.
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yea a little suprised touta was able to get in as many punches as he did on negi-ialda; though none of them seemed to really inflict much dmg, some of negi-ialda’s attacks were straight up splitting touta in half.
fun seeing the chamo chart brought up
and something I’ve noticed reading holder online that I’ve loved; the extra glossy touch akamatsu adds to characters eyes sometimes
http://imgur.com/a/B9W4T <<< just an example from a panel on page 12 ch 133 of karin
Ah. I see what you mean. Well, the artwork is so much larger in digital form, at least for me. So it is easier to see little details like that.
UQ Holder members fighting is less experienced in combat compared to Negi-MotB’s group. We still have a few major Holders not there, and we may never see them fight. The differences in age and experienced fighting shows, and Negi-MotB exploits the emotional side as weakness as a way to attack the women. Its not all magic and muscle. If the MotB is really a female, she knows as a female how to deal with females.
But as ANB reminds us, Asuna just asked to hold them or occupy them for 37 seconds, and not necessarily win over them. It makes me wonder if its time for the ‘cavalry’ to charge into battle, like a classic western movie.
What impressed me was Kirie’s bravery considering how shy she was when first introduced to Tota. It really confirms her love for Tota. Obviously she’s not a warrior, but learning and becoming one.
For me I still have a feeling, seeing the last few frames with Kirie still strong in her determination after getting stabbed and teeth pulled out, that she’s been through this before, and knows what will happen. As if she has already done a time reset and this may be another run at the events. If I remember, all she has to do is die and she goes back to the latest candle reset. She can die after this battle, and still relive it. So Kirie may not be done as yet. We shall see. With this time reset ability, she could easily added a tooth that Cutlass or Nodoka or Yue didn’t know about too. I have to check — there was something that Nodoka and Yue couldn’t do in their predictions and maybe Kirie could exploit it. Or Kirie knows about Culass’s attack and made plans around it.
Kirie is also a wizard trained via Dana. So she could very well know healing magic. We really haven’t seen her wizard abilities very much. I would like to see what she can do as a wizard.
With the plan being for Asuna to do whatever she’s going to do, I doubt Kirie resets unless Asuna’s plan fails, and even then, Kirie has to kill herself.
Need to clarify. The thing with a time reset is that we won’t know how many times Kirie on her own may have died to get to where we are in the story.
Just maybe…Tota and UQ team didn’t make it till 37 secs on their own and were defeated by Negi-MotB and Kirie was killed. Seeing the one-sided battle, yes its very possible. Possibly many times. This time around, Kirie has to change her actions to delay or do something to make sure they make it for 37 sec, she can only sacrifice herself as a delay by blocking Negi-MotB’s spear.
She would be the only one that can change events before they happen. It was her confidence and facial determination at the end that gave me the thought like she knows that they finally succeeded in the 37 sec hold, and reminds Tota of the plan.
Cutlass knows of Kirie’s ability, and states that Negi-MotB group will do the same thing again and defeat Tota and UQ Holder, thinking nothing will change that outcome, but doesn’t know Asuna’s part of the plan.
Kuromaru in a chapter earlier stated Nodoka and Yue has a weakness in their predictability where they
It was a tip from a 3-A classmate, so I’m thinking Mana or Zazie at this point that wasn’t shown in the manga. Kuromaru just didn’t have that a strong enough ability to hold them. Maybe as a team than one-on-two this duo can be defeated.
First it was Tota that saw what was going on in Negi with the endless skeletons, and now Santa sees the same thing in Alberio. Basically both saw the same visualization of the MotB in its true form in two people. It kinda confirms to me that the MotB is controlling all of them, more than before where its was just one person. Since they are already ‘possessed’ by the MotB, Santa’s attempt to possess saw just what the MotB truly looks like. Alberio also tells Santa that what he saw in Alberio is a fraction of what Negi has.
True. We know she did do it for the race. I think it was implied she did it several times.
I kind of hope Kirie won’t be able to do a time reset for some reason and have a metal scar on her back and chest.
I also liked what Santa saw when he possessed C. Sanders. Makes me wonder what Santa sees when he possesses other people.
I also found it interesting that Nodoka had to ask Kuroumaru’s name. I wonder if she was able to see the split in Kuroumaru’s mind. She was able to say Kirie’s easily enough. But who knows.
I don’t think Kirie will do a reset now that Asuna has arrived.
That has to do with her artifact. The ring she got made it so that all she had to do was ask the question and the name would be revealed to her. Then with the name, she was able to read their mind.
Was that how it worked? Man, I need to go back and reread the original again.
Yeah, before she got the ring, she’d have to get the target to actually tell her their name. After they went to the Magic World, Nodoka got that ring from the treasure hunters she traveled with.
I believe the ring is called Comptina Daemonia(Demon’s Lullaby).
But, they havent yet showed her using Auris Recitans(Reading Ear)(the bluetooth earpiece that she uses the read thoughts) or her little books.
Unless she gave it to Yue……
Ah yes, that’s it.
Or unless they have micro earpieces. That could explain why they are in sync.
I wish Akamatsu-Sensei, would just make the next chapter, a bunch of singular character art, that informs us a little bit of character depicted. I do tire of the same limited amount of negima art that Akamatsu-Sensei tweets out. And as it has been shown to be, it would provide more entertainment then the kind chapters he’s releasing.
I almost thought that Kirie was going to go back in time with Touta and Cutless. I so want heartless Cutless hurt.
Considering she has a bionic arm and leg, I would guess she’s been hurt in the past.
Hmm, weel, it stands to reason that since Asuna is basically the bane of everything magic to the point that literally nothing effects her, can’t say anything about physical since she’s also a good sword fighter(setsuna).
But, one should think that Asuna would be capable of breaking the hold the MotB has over people, so.. maybe the plan this whole time, on Negi’s end, was to draw out Asuna to save their two friends(since they are the real deal)
Or not.
depends.
Yeah, I can see that happening. If it does, then Negi could be saved and we could see the surviving Negima characters (and the clone new ones based on Setsuna and Konoka as well as Ayaka’s grandchild) around for adventures with Touta and the UQH crew.
I’m not sure dramatic wise that Asuna will prevail. It maybe bit of quick ending if she stomped Negi-MOTB in one swoop 2 chapters.
It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. If this manga shows us anything, it’s that it’s never afraid of revisiting Negima’s worst storytelling mistakes and even expanding on them.
Depends on what the end game is for the manga. But yeah, it does seem hard to believe, unless somehow, Negi gets saved but MotB takes on a new host…like Eva.
Whoooo. That’s Evil Astro. I hadn’t thought of it, but that sounds like right twist Sensei would pull. Neg properly die from the extract MotB.
What if the MotB takes over Asuna after saving Negi? Another worse case scenario.
I think jumping into a body charged with the most powerful antimagic is about the worst thing a magical being, who must rely on magic to survive long past their natural lifespan, can do.
Besides, Eva’s a much more likely candidate. From an in-universe perspective, she’s an experiment of the MOTB, and narratively, she means much more for Touta than Asuna does, hence a bigger source of conflict and motivation.
True, but Asuna is important to Negi. Would Negi allow himself being used as the vehicle of Asuna’s destruction or death or being absorbed/controlled by the MotB? Controlling Asuna can be a good temptation for the MotB too.
If a person that defeats Negi-MotB, the MotB will then take over the winner, which would be Asuna if she defeats Negi-MotB, unless Eva intervenes at the transfer point. But Eva and also Fate has already been neutralized by Negi-MotB Team within the first seconds of their attack. Fate was on the MotB’s side too in Negima, and probably a easier candidate to meld with, and it seems Fate wants the transfer to happen to him for he still has feelings for the MotB.
I still don’t know much of Eva’s past connection with what the MotB did to her. But I can see her as a possibility, but as one option out of a few more people to choose from.
What bothers me is Nagi. If Negi (agreement or not) is controlled by the MotB, and the MotB can switch to either, what is to stop the MotB of absorbing more like Asuna, and keep Negi and Nagi too. Or get into Asuna’s head and control her like the MotB is controlling Al, Jack, Nodoka, Yue, and Cutlass.
I’m still not convinced Asuna can be posessed in the first place. After all, it’s a MAGICAL posession and she has greatly developed ANTI MAGIC.
Then again, nowadays Akamatsu rewrites his own rules however he pleases, so who knows?
Yes, I see your point. I wonder if its like matter and anti-matter – both very strong on each side to cancel themselves out. But Asuna still needs to be where she is, and not leave for many more years, or Akamatsu-sensei changes the rules.
I’m expecting a change of scenery that Akamatsu-sensei tends to do, and leave this battle hangin’ for another time. I hope not and we see a conclusion to this, and hopefully not the end of the manga. Or a new twist or person is added that changes the unequal sided magic power.
There are so many loose ends to several story lines. I keep on thinking about Ayaka and about Mizore. Ayaka was the class rep and very old to do anything, and had her differences with Asuna, but both were also friends. What is Mizore’s connection other than a descendant. We don’t know much about Mizore as far as if she has any revealed magic abilities and only her direct way of stating what was happening around her. What is Mizore’s role if there was any. Seems she totally disappeared at the end of the water cycle race. Shinobu gets KO-ed and saved by Ikkyu, so we know what happened to her. Even Ikkyu is MIA since rescuing Shinobu. But I digress from the topic.
Re-reading chapter 133, Alberio states to Santa that Negi has endured the MotB inside of him for over 30 years, and the gravestone for Negi was 2065. Trying to see if there can be some sort of timeline. Asuna was also sealed away for over 100 yrs (135?) so she is close to the middle of that time span. If Negi was around 10 as a teacher in Negima when Asuna started, it makes Negi at around 45, and appears to be drawn as such a adult and It would make Ayaka around 48 – which is about right, but I think she looks older. SO is the current date 2095? Not that it matters much. But 30 yrs is a long time to be possessed.
So we now know the Negi/MotB battle was at least 30 yrs earlier, and Tota wasn’t created till several many years later if he’s now in his teens. 30 yrs is a long time, and it makes sense when Karin stated that Negi’s team were heros in the past wars, why Nodoka and Yue is slightly older, and not heard about since and considered dead or made immortal or age much slower.
oops bad math — say Ayaka was 18 + 30 = 48, Negi 10 +30 = 40.
Heh! That’s true.
I hope this next story arch jumpstarts the manga plot line. I don’t think this monthly schedule is doing them any favors other than giving production crew little more breathing room. I prefer the weekly thing, but i know it was harmful to their creativity. I don’t know, over-all story itself feels…lost. Level of fan-service seems to be through the roof thou, i know Negai was pretty bad but i don’t think it was this bad. If there was story arc for this over all story, its gone missing or worse thrown away. UQ Holder started with such potential. Now, they bring all the old favorite characters back from the older series, the timing of this just completely throws off things, aside from the forced harem thing. if the series was coming to a close, then bring Negai in and Asura back would work. Now were being told Asura going buy more time…..which isn’t great either since…what left tell that main story pending on them going to the top of the tower. Which still hasn’t explained what happens. Thou we know now there little time left. The games that were suppose to be fought have been thrown completely off by Negai’s arrival.
There certainly is a noticeable difference between the weekly and monthly in terms of pushing the story.
The two parts that defeated Nagi-MotB was Negi and Asuna combined efforts and we had the end of Negima where Negi, Nagi, Asuna, and Eva are alive and happy, but that was another timeline.
In this UQ timeline, Negi is now willing part of the MotB, and seems Asuna willingly joins them as a buffer to give a small amount of time before Negi-MotB fulfills whatever is planned – ie destroy all human life or to allow UQ to resolve the problem….which isn’t clear what it is exactly. Seems the MotB is now even more powerful if she can now control Asuna, which can negate Tota’s inherited part from Asuna.
So it seems a clear board to create a new plot, but is it still about Tota, or as the title changes, gonna be more about Negi?
At least we know Fate’s need for Tota in creating a immortal earth to save Negi. We still don’t know why Negi-MotB needs Tota as Yue stated to ‘save’ the earth. I’m still not sure if Negi-MotB came to get Tota and/or destroy Earth, while turning the former heroes Jack, Al, Nodoka and Yue into the bad guys,or is there a even worse evil thingee/person out there that makes the MotB now on the good side and not evil as we have accepted.
Seems this was to clearly set the Negima background history connection for those that didn’t follow Negima. I’m still wondering what UQ’s main story. I hope its not all hot springs and hijinks, as Eva called ‘trivial’ life of immortals.
That remains to be seen. But based on the new spoilers, it is all UQH.
Alberio was supposed to have shown Tota the ‘history’ to why Negi-MotB was on earth to get Tota up to speed. I don’t think it did any of that, and more for Eva to work with Tota against the MotB, and bringing Asuna into the story for her short cameo appearence.
I think Al’s purpose was to help Akamatsu-sensei make UQH more like Negima in terms of harem stuff and plot.