DVD pick: Negima!

If I had to choose one trait about myself that stood out beyond all others, it's my capacity for suspension of disbelief. In day-to-day life, that trait pairs nicely with my intelligence to let me find ways to do things, system-design-wise, that others would deem impossible, impractical, or only feasible with large teams and layouts of cash for software. In relaxation, it allows me to enjoy some truly ridiculous things... like this anime series I stumbled across called "Negima!", thanks to Netflix.

The premise is bizarre enough, to be sure. The main character is a ten year old boy named Negi, who is a wizard-in-training from Wales. He is sent, as part of his training, to an all-girls academy in Japan, where he is to serve as a teacher for junior-high students... and, of course, keep his magic a secret from his students. It doesn't take long for him to slip-up in front of one of his students, at which point damage control, and hilarity, ensues.

As the series progresses, you discover that few, if any, of the students in Negi's homeroom class are "just" junior high students. While many present initially as broad stereotypes, you get to discover more about their true personalities (and true natures, in some cases) along with Negi, which makes a charming addition to the individual episode storylines.

Of course, suspension of disbelief isn't without its hazards, either... Negima! is a six-disc series, and the first five are reasonably happy affairs, with a fair share of comedic bits and action sequences. By the end of disc 5, they appear to be setting up a storyline about one of the central characters getting sick from overworking herself, but, in the general flavor of the series to that point, it shouldn't be anything too terrible, and it will all work out in the end. In disc 6... it turns out that the character knows the time of her approaching demise, which she doesn't look forward to, but, believing that nobody can do anything to help her anyways, keeps quiet about it to the very end. They go through an entire sequence of holding a funeral for her, nailing her coffin shut, then cremating her remains... which, in my case at least, hurt a lot more than it had any right to. The follow-ons of watching the class try to get back to normal, with different individuals blaming themselves for her death, and Negi basically suffering a breakdown while trying to figure out how to make her not dead, and the lengths he contemplates and attempts to meet that goal... well, it's much darker than what came before, but all the more powerful for that. As an added bonus, everything does turn out alright in the end... but that would be way too much detail for this review.

So, overall, Negima! is a worthwhile watch... but, be forewarned on a few issues. First, on content... as I stated above, it's not entirely a happy show. Also, given the general type of anime involved and the cultural differences between Japan and the U.S., there's some material that might be a bit risque for some (e.g. somebody threatening Negi getting "pantsed" accidentally when he sneezes), but the "perv factor" is really very low. Second, getting the show... "Negima!" is the show I watched, while "Negima!?" is a "reimagining" of the original material... I haven't watched the other one, so I can't say anything about the show's quality or perviness at this point. Also, as of this writing, Netflix apparently doesn't have disc 3 of the series any longer... but, if you watch the first 2 discs and want the rest, I was able to find a box set of all 6 discs for about $15 new on Amazon.

If you're still on the fence as to whether you want to explore this show, here's a link to the Wikipedia page. As for myself, I think I'm going to hunt down the manga source material... knowing there's more to the story, I want to see where it goes, for a while at least.