In the words of the immortal Jar Jar Binks, that is.
I’ve been meaning to write about the Negima franchise again, as the latest installment of the Another World OVAs is out. They skipped several chapters and jumped straight to the point where Negi/Nagi and Kotarou have started appearing on TV, then spent some fanservicey time.
The manga, which is well ahead of that point, has been trucking along in “love-love” mode for a few issues, while Negi makes more pactios, Fate Avurnnicus gets angsty, and Asuna gets her memories back. Most of the dramatic tension (and fight material) has been coming from Negi sparring with Shadow-Eva, trying to gain control of the darkness, the “Magia Erebea” power that’s consuming him.
Which he finally does, but not by force of will. Oh no.
Not by ancient meditation techniques, magical research, the love of all the girls, or even realizing that he’s really The One. Oh no.
Sort of by deciding not to worry about it, but that’s not all of it. Ohhhhhhh no.
He masters his power, however imperfectly, by realizing he really wants to make friends with Fate Avurrnicus.
Yeah. That’s right.
Oh no, it’s that damned squishy Japanese idealism again. Me give up.
I don’t think it’s as bad as that.
What was threatening to consume him was his hatred, his fear, all his negative emotions. He’s surmounted them, freed himself of them. He is no longer afraid, and he no longer hates Fate.
It’s a trope, of course. But it’s legitimate.
I could have bought that, up until the last panel. Especially in regards to the last appearance of Fate in the prior issue, it looks like they’re setting the stage for a Face Heel Turn, and I DO NOT BUY IT. Yes, Fate has his good points. He rescued over 50 girls after the war. He also injured and killed dozens during the strike on the Gate Port, and held hundreds hostage when he and Negi negotiated on the plaza. He’s a ruthless bad guy.
I like Fate as a humane villain. We need to know more about his motivations; the reference issues ago was that [spoiler]he was doing the bidding of the original Fate. [/spoiler]
I do not like the idea of him becoming one of the good guys. At most, I can buy him deciding the game isn’t worth the prize, and deciding to be his own person. But Negi convincing him to switch sides through the power of friendship. ARGH. Stop with the cheesy clichés. I’m disappointed enough that we didn’t get to see the various pactios.
On the other hand, the OAV’s are kind of neat. If they decide to do a full series, they could just go back and flesh out what they’ve already done. Although the transfer to a different medium will force some changes…
I’m just waiting for this one, if they ever get to it!