Negima Magic World OAV Episode 3

If you haven't watched it already, or aren't up to date on the manga, you probably won't want to read this post.  This is a collection of screenshots of some of the moments I liked best, as well as some commentary about the story and where the OAV seems to be headed.

For any such person wishing to avoid spoilers, everything's after a jump break.  So if you get spoiled, it's your own fault.  Yeah, I know I have a "spoiler tag" CSS rule that I've used exactly once, but...  Honestly it's hard to use because I'd be using it on the entire post and it doesn't do anything with images.

It starts out with Negi's message to Makie and Yuuna, and goes right to Rakan.

Jack Rakan is, without a doubt, one of my favorite characters in the series.  He's just so awesome.

He describes himself in the manga as a "broken character", and it's easy to see why.  That's a fuckin' ginormous sword.

The bit with the sword happens just after a scene where Negi gets into a life-or-death duel and has his right arm cut off.  After getting it re-attached (well, magically), he gets the usual scolding.  Except that Asuna isn't there to do it, so Chisame and Chachamaru do it.  Also in effect but never mentioned in the OAV are the magic age changing pills.

Kotarou gets news from Asuna and Setsuna, so naturally it cuts to them.  Of course, they're bathing.  Setsuna's wings are sensitive.

Also, BRO FIST.

Negi and Chisame go to meet Rakan while Kotarou stays back to handle the tournament.  I tried really hard to get subtitle with the attack name "Eternal Negi Fever!" in the screenshot with Rakan, but it just wouldn't happen.  Rakan's basically trying to come up with a "finishing attack" for Negi, and nonchalantly blows up a mountain in the process.  Negi asks Rakan to train him, and Rakan tells him "Punch me with all your strength.  If your punch sucks, I'm not training you."  Negi works up one of his good old 101 arrows of light gathered into his fist punches.  Rakan falls over, then gets back up and punches Negi off into the sky (standard harem anime style really) saying "That hurt, dammit!"

Chisame, looking on at the whole thing, gives up a panty shot.  Yeah.  Also, she's not using the age changing pills here.  After some talking and Rakan drawing a power level chart on a chalkboard, he reveals to Negi the one and only way he can get the power to defeat Fate Averruncus...

Overall, a good episode.  At this pacing, and considering the plot points that have been brought up, the next one should include Negi learning Magia Erebea (and getting his pactio, since he uses that artifact in the tournament), going back to the tournament, and getting the money to free Ako and the others.  There might be one or two other things, but given the 30 minute length of the episodes, they'd already have to cut down the tournament as-is...

I really, really, REALLY wish this was a full length season instead of a four episode OAV.  But, you know, the magic world arc is still going on in the manga and would have to be cut massively to get to 26 episodes, so it'd easily have to be multiple seasons.  Fortunately, the magic world arc is nearing its close (they're on the "last level", leading up to the heavily foreshadowed "boss fight", per se).

I really like what this arc has done for character development.  Several characters who pretty much just had side value previously are featured a lot more.  Nodoka in particular becomes a much stronger character.  After getting separated from Negi and company, she ends up with a band of treasure hunters and gets two relics out of it with magical properties that make her pactio artifact a ton more useful.  Then she has to become stronger of mind to actually use her new stuff when it counts.  Overall I like her as a character a lot more than when this arc began.  A certain other person who's currently almost 70 chapters behind should like it too.