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 163
UQ Holder Chapter 163

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: 

Jinbee discusses his Switcharoo powers with Juuzou within the Board of Non- and Supreme Polarity. Jinbee admits that he only had a 30% chance of surviving Juuzou’s attack. His attempt to force the parasite out of Juuzou’s now decapitated head fails. Back on the Board, Jinbee tells Juuzou that he got this unique power in Hiroshima on the day when the Americans drop the nuclear bomb there. Jinbee was pulled to the Board, allowing him to teleport himself out of the blast zone.

Meanwhile, the parasite is using Juuzou’s torso to attack Jinbee. Jinbee manages to destroy the torso and put a blade through the eye of the parasite on Juuzou’s head. He and Juuzou discuss things more, including the need to find someone who can remove the parasite. Jinbee is worried about Ba’al being able to control folks with parasites. Dana shows up, seemingly possessed, and attacks Juuzou’s head and Jinbee.

Elsewhere, the rest of UQ Holder are being beaten by Sept. Kirie shows up and gives them a new perspective on how to win the fight. Since Kirie has upgraded her reset ability to make it easier to overcome Sept’s ability to move at the speed of light. Gengorou, Karin, and Santa get Sept into a trap, where Kuroumaru seals him in a mirror. Once there, Sept is no longer hostile to them. He warns them to hide the mirror, lest Ba’al set him free.

Unfortunately, the mirror is immediately shattered as Dana and Ba’al arrive to attack. However, before Ba’al can attack, Touta drops in, clothed in Magia Erebea armor.

Thoughts/Review:

We received more battle action and more Jinbee history in UQ Holder Chapter 163. With the arrival of Touta, Kirie, Ba’al, and even Dana, I believe this chapter takes us to the next level, whatever that may be.

More of Jinbee’s Past

Since Akamatsu-sensei placed Jinbee in World War II, it didn’t surprise me that Jinbee’s Switcharoo power came from the atomic blast. In a weird sort of way, it is like an American comic book story. The atomic blast triggers Jinbee’s power.

However, Akamatsu-sensei adds the bit about Jinbee dabbling with immortal mysticism. I suspect this is partially to make it seem less like an American comic book story element. In addition, it seems like a way for Akamatsu-sensei to say, “Yeah, I didn’t actually have a plan for how Jinbee got his powers.” 😅

Battling Sept

Since Touta has returned, I get the feeling that Akamatsu-sensei is using UQ Holder Chapter 163 to give the members of UQ Holder a last chance to show off their powers. Akamatsu-sensei lets Kirie have a “save the day” moment with her return to the series. Of course, she can’t defeat Sept solo, but she does give the others the idea on how to defeat him.

The weak element here is that Kirie’s attack on Sept went on for maybe seconds? But in that time, Kuroumaru, Santa, Karin, and Gengorou came up with an elaborate plan to defeat Sept. Not only did they come up with a brilliant plan, they executed it with perfect, precision teamwork.

So yeah, its cool seeing Karin go off with holy magic. It is cool seeing Santa be useful. Likewise, it is cool to see Kuroumaru show off her elaborate skills at sealing folks. Though here too, this level of ability has never been seen before. As such, although cool, it is a bit weak from a story telling perspective.

Gang’s All Here…sans Eva

If I had to guess, UQ Holder Chapter 163 will take us into the second or third to last battle of the series. Juuzou has been defeated. Sept was defeated, though he might be free now. Ba’al has shown up with Dana in tow. Kirie returned, as did Touta. Only Eva remained absent.

If I’m right, UQ Holder won’t be able to do jack against Ba’al and Dana. Then one of two things happen. The first option sees Touta having defeated Nikitis in a flashback. Afterward, Touta shows up here. After a typical shounen struggle, Touta defeats Ba’al and Dana. After that, the Mage of the Beginning arrives and is revealed to possess the shinso. This causes Eva to show up since Negi is involved.

The second option sees Nikitis as the real villain in the current fight. As before, Touta has to defeat Ba’al and Dana after an epic, shounen struggle. After that, he then faces and defeats Nikitis. Finally, Touta and UQ Holder go to face MotB.

We’ll see what happens though.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Time to wrap up my thoughts on UQ Holder Chapter 163. Before I go, I do have some final bullet point thoughts.

• Where is Eva?
• What did happen to Nikitis? (I have my theory, but what did happen to him?)
• Did Touta do more training to be able to use Magia Erebea so perfectly? Or is this just more Super Touta at work?
• Is Dana truly possessed, or acting of her own accord? If she’s possessed, when did this happen?
• Is Ba’al possessed or just insane?
• Will Akamatsu-sensei give some time to giving Kuroumaru some much needed backstory love before the series ends?

In the end, although I enjoyed UQ Holder Chapter 163 for what it was, something feels missing. I can’t put a finger on it, but this has been the case for a while now.