Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai promo clip
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The killer-lolies are back!!!

Finally, the long awaited second season of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is here. The trailer claims to explain all the puzzles left unsolved in the previous season. And probably the main star of the second season is FURUDE RIKA-CHAMA!!!

The first episode will be aired on:
9th July, 1.30AM (TV Ou)
9th July, 2.10AM (Chiba TV)
14th July, 1.30AM (tvk)
(they might change the schedule without prior notice, though).

So look forward for another season of chilling and bizarre cases surrounding Hinamizawa, and the cute killer-lolies~~~~!!!.

Nipaaah~~~~ <3

Elp, elp... Asking for help.

Radical Scope aka Yuumura Setsuna aka Nor Ismat here. Still jobless, pathetically. I did get a job interview offer, but looks like I'd have to decline it. Money problem. The interview is at KL after all. Chaged my work preference to JB, considering the travelling cost would be greatly reduced that way. Still looking for an opportunity in writing and journalism, though. I like doing that. Writing and reading. Though lately I haven't been doing that *swt*.

Recently, I feel like something troublesome is going to happen in my family. You see, both sides of my family are kinda problematic. I don;t know where to start... Maybe with my dad :p. But hey, it's not my problem. So why bother. After all I could use some entertainment and some ideas to write about. Maybe I could write a novel based on my family's problem lol XD.

To be honest, I don't feel comfortable being around my family. Weird, isn't it? Maybe it's because I;ve spent so much time AWAY from them, being in close proximity is kinda weird for me. And then, there's the difference of views, philosophy, belief (not religious belief. I'm still a legitimate Muslim), etc,. And I still don;t have a job that can afford me being away from them. Haih...

Well, maybe I could turn to you guys to help me out. There's several ways that you could help me out. One is by donations; if you have a space change that you won't miss, you could donate some for me. Every cents are appreciated. Second is by recommending me to people who could help me develop my writing skills and journalism experience. An in-job training would be very neat ^_^. Or third, buy buying some books or CDs/DVDs from Amazon.com through the links available in my blogs. I have several blogs; Radical's Insight, Inori no Uta, Read and be Read, Yuri no Niwa, and Mama's Cookbook. Some of them are still in progress, but no worries, they will be fully launched in a week or two. I will have some links to Amazon.com, according to the topics of the respective blogs. All you have to do, is buy something.

So what am I going to do with the money, given that there are people who donated? I will use it to secure a private server, a digital camera, and other facilities that could help me further my journalism career. And also to finance any courses that are necessary for my writing skill. I am still green, after all.

Whether you want to help me or not, that's ultimately depends on your choice. And let me thank you guys upfront for helping me out; THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.

Murder Princess

Number of episodes : 6
Status : Ongoing (5/6)
Episodes:
1 - Birth (Download)
2 - Coronation (Download)
3 - Return (Download)
4 - Exile (Download)
5 - Destiny (Download)
6 -

Opening theme: Hikari Sasuhou by Back-on (Download)
Closing theme: Naked Flower by Romi Paku (Download)

The story:

Farith is a bounty hunter with exceptional swordmanship. Princess Alita is the only surviving member of the Forland royal family during the coup d'etat led by Professor Akamashi and his minions. A twist of fate united them, and in the process, their souls swapped places.

Princess Alita, who is now in Farith's body, asked Farith to help defeat the usurper Akamashi, and protect the country until the return of her brother. In return, Farith can have her body (literally) and identity. Farith agrees, and thus heralds the birth of the world's strongest princess, whose cruelty grants her the name "Murder Princess".


The characters:

Farith (later Alita):
A bounty hunter whos swordmanship is unparalleled by others. Very cruel in personality, and I even mistook her as a boy. She's accompanied by Dominikov and Pete. She's currently in Alita's body, vice versa. Reminds me of Demon Eye Kyo (Samurai Deeper Kyo). She can be quite stubborn at times, and the first episode shows a panicky Farith in Alita's body.

Princess Alita (later Milano):
Survivor of Akamashi's coup d'etat. She was sent away so that she wouldn't be a victim of Akamashi. During her run, she and her escorts encountered Chitabagu, the Guardian of Erure Forest. Her escorts were not so lucky, and Alita had to run for her life. She then encountered Farith, and just as Farith prepares to face Chitabagu, she lunged at Farith out of fear, and both of them fell from the cliff they were standing on. It was during the fall that her soul and Farith's swapped places. Later on, she took the name Milano, her late maid who died on her place during the coup d'etat.

Jodo:
The late King's advisor, and Milano's grandfather. He doesn't seem to like the idea of Farith being the princess, but he's not really against it.

Dominikov & Pete:
Farith's comrades. Dominikov wields a scythe that can transform into a motorbike with fiery wheels (Ghost Rider?), and Pete looks like Frankenstein.

Milano:
Alita's maid. She died as a substitute for Alita. Upon learning about her death, Alita took Milano's name and role, serving Farith as her maid. Milano seems to have a very close relationship with Alita.

Prince Kaito:
Alita's brother. He went for a peace talk to a neighboring country, and went missing. He makes his appearance in episode 3, saving Alita (Farith) and Milano (Alita) from Akamashi. But is that really Kaito?

Professor Akamashi:
The man behind the coup d'etat that killed the king of Forland. His target is Princess alita. How he got the technology from the old world is a mystery, though Jodo seems to know how. He's accompanied by his robot dolls, Anna and Yuna. Farith and her gang calls him "onion head".

Comment:
I would say that I enjoyed this series. Some blood here, some comedy there, shoujo-ai around; nice one. Farith seems to have a dark past, and I'm not surprised, considering the fact she's a girl with one hell of a sword-fighting skill. Her rough demeanor is what makes Jodo a bit hesitant to accept her. I hope that he past would be revealed later, and I kinda anticipate the development of Farith-Milano relationship. Episode 3 hints that Milano does have a feeling towards Farith, although we have no idea to what extend.

*UPDATE*
I knew it! There's more to Kaito than meets the eye! And maybe Professor Akamashi, too. And what's the relationship of Seishiro and Farith? What is the secret behind her "magic"?

Strawberry Panic

In the excitement of transferring to St. Miator Girl School and being late on the first day, Aoi Nagisa had gotten herself lost in the school ground. While looking for her way back, she had a run-in with a beautiful mysterious girl. She found herself unable to move when the girl looks at her (think Medusa), and fainted when the girl actually kissed her on the forehead (kiss of death? haha :p). She found herself in the infirmary of St. Miator with Suzumi Tamao, her future room and classmate, by her side. She later gets into trouble with the Sister (the warden of the Ichigo Dormitory) and being saved by the Student Council President of St. Miator, Rokujou Miyuki. Soon after that, she meets the mysterious girl again, who happens to be Hanazono Shizuma, the Etoille of Astraea Hill.

History

Strawberry Panic! began as a collection of thirty short stories serialized in the Japanese bishōjo magazine Dengeki G's Magazine, published by MediaWorks. The first three short stories were printed in the February 2004 issue of the magazine. Following the printing of the short stories, a manga adaptation began on September 30, 2005, serialized in the same magazine as with the short stories. A light novel series started production on MediaWorks' Dengeki Bunko publishing label; the first volume was released on March 10, 2006. Unlike the manga, the light novels were never serialized in a magazine before being printed in bound volumes. An anime retelling first aired on April 3, 2006 in Japan, produced by the Japanese animation studio, Madhouse. Three drama CDs based on the anime version were released in Japan, the first on July 26, 2006. A PlayStation 2 video game, published by the same company as the manga and novel, was released in Japan on August 24, 2006.

The manga, as of 2007, continues to be released in Japan while the short stories have been discontinued. The anime series ended on September 25, 2006, containing twenty-six episodes, and the last light novel was released on December 10, 2006.

Plot

The plot of Strawberry Panic! is about the lives of adolescent girls who each attend one of three affiliated all-girl schools which share a campus and dormitories, which include: St. Miator's Girls' Academy, St. Spica's Girls' Institute and St. Lulim's Girls' School. Students who reside on campus live in dormitories that are referred to as the Strawberry Dorms, though the proper name is Astrea Dormitory, named after Astrea Hill where the institutions are located.

The main heroine of the story is Nagisa Aoi, a young girl entering her fourth year at St. Miator after being transferred from a different school. Upon first entering the campus grounds, she is overcome with joy by the overall appearance of the surrounding area, but her joy is soon turned to sorrow as she accidentally stumbles down a hill, causing her to be lost and disoriented. While walking around the grounds trying to figure out where she is, Nagisa comes across an older student by the name of Shizuma Hanazono, who happens to be Astrea Hill's Etoile, a very important person who acts as a representative among the different schools and has specific duties that she must fulfill. Nagisa is instantly overcome by Shizuma's beauty and finds that she cannot move. After Shizuma kisses her on the forehead, Nagisa loses consciousness and awakens in the school's infirmary. Next to her bed is a different girl the same age as Nagisa named Tamao Suzumi who informs her that they are to be roommates in the dormitory.

In the story that follows, Nagisa is introduced to other students from each of the three schools, those of which include students she admires, is intimidated by, or are merely friends that she meets while attending St. Miator. The series encompasses the relationships the characters build with each other, climaxing whenever two of the characters start dating.

Themes

The central theme in Strawberry Panic! is the lesbianism related to the relationships between the girls from the three schools. Depending on the media type, the way the relationships between the girls is presented varies, such as there being more explicit fan service, or appealing visuals including the girls in provacotive situations, in the anime adaptation than in the manga or light novels. Such fan service includes graphical representations or the lesbian acts, such as light nudity and hard groping. There is a wide range of intimate relationships presented in the series and depending on the media type, a given character may not be shown to be in a direct relationship; such examples in the anime include Chikaru Minamoto and Shion Tōmori. These relationships range from simple conversations and meetings, escalating to minor make out sessions and having sexual intercourse in the extreme cases.

Another theme that appears throughout the story is a focus on astronomical stars. The main plot device is the Etoile election; Etoile is a French word meaning star. The three schools are atop Astrea Hill; Astraea means star-maiden in Greek and is a figure in Greek mythology who later became the constellation Virgo. Spica is actually a star in the same constellation and each of the school emblems have stars in them. Catholic religion undertones are present in the series, including a St. Mary statue on campus and a large Catholic church in the center of Astrea Hill.

Main characters

The girls of Strawberry Panic! (left to right):
Top row: Kagome, Remon, Chiyo, Chikaru
Middle row: Tamao, Nagisa, Shizuma, Tsubomi
Bottom row: Yaya, Kizuna, Hikari, Amane.

At each of the three schools, there are four main characters whom were the original twelve characters created for the short stories when the series began. Only these twelve appear in the later adapted visual novel version. Other characters were later introduced in the manga and light novel versions in order to create plotlines and conflict.

St. Miator's Girls' Academy

Nagisa Aoi is the main character of the story and the main love interest for the other three main characters attending Miator who each have crushes on her. She is a cheerful girl who finds enjoyment in making new friends which she can easily do due to her free personality and sociable attitude in life. The first person she meets at Miator is Shizuma Hanazono, a mysterious upperclassman who is the current Etoile. Nagisa at first finds that she is strangly affected when in the presence of Shizuma. The next girl she meets is Tamao Suzumi, who becomes Nagisa's close friend and roommate. Tamao is well-regarded among her fellow Miator students; among the first-years, she is seen as a viable Etoile candidate. The last main character from Miator is Chiyo Tsukidate, a timid first year student who is employed as the room temp for Nagisa and Tamao.

St. Spica's Girls' Institute

Hikari Konohana, a shy and quiet girl, is the main focus among the main characters who attend Spica, much like Nagisa at Miator; she too has three girls wanting to get close with her. The first of these girls is Yaya Nanto, a rebellious girl whom is Hikari's best friend and roommate in the dormitory. Both she and Hikari are members of the St. Spica Choir, though Hikari is the more skilled and diligent of the two. Hikari meets an older girl named Amane Ohtori early on in the story whom is seen much like a prince from a fairy tale due to often riding a horse named Star Bright. Amane is admired by much of the students from Spica as well as students from the other two schools, though she does not enjoy so much attention. The final girl from Spica is Tsubomi Okuwaka, a young first year student who acts mature for her age and gets on Yaya's nerves. She too is in the St. Spica Choir though her main reason for joining was for Hikari.

St. Lulim's Girls' School

Out of the three schools, St. Lulim has the least emphasis on romance between characters, though the Lulim characters are typically found together. The leader of their friendly group is Chikaru Minamoto, the student council president of Lulim, and a born leader. She has a friendly and supportive personality which she often uses to offer advice or simply a shoulder to cry on. The other three girls include Kizuna Hyūga, a very outgoing and hyper girl who enjoys following Chikaru's decisions, finding fun in doing so. She is very expressive in her actions and words, not wasting a chance to introduce herself to a new person. Her close friend is Remon Natsume, whom is much like Kizuna in personality, but is not as accident-prone as her. When it comes to the two of them, Kizuna is more talkative; Remon often agrees with her companion and will offer up an opinion when need be. Lastly, there is Kagome Byakudan, the youngest of the group whom is typically accompanied by her stuffed bear, Percival (パーシバル, Pāshibaru) which she often talks to as if it were alive. While she does not talk or express her own emotions much, she has a heightened perception of others' emotions and can tell when those around her are deeply distraught or in emotional pain.

Setting

Aerial view of Astrea Hill. Locations include: Strawberry Dorms (top), Lulim (left), Miator (bottom), church and library (center), and Spica (right).

Astrea Hill

The setting of Strawberry Panic! is Astrea Hill (アストラエアの丘, Asutoraea no Oka), a very large hilltop where the three affiliated schools of Miator, Spica and Lulim, are located. The hill is known as a sacred area where no men are allowed to enter. The students residing on campus stay in a dormitory often referred to as the Strawberry Dorms. A prominent feature on Astrea Hill is a very large Catholic church in the center of the hill near a small lake; the church can be seen from a vast distance away.

Other places that are frequented by the characters include the library on the lake's shore, and the horse ranch which is located at Spica. Astrea Hill was originally designed having the three schools in a triangle formation with the Strawberry Dorms in the center. The church was placed nearest to Miator's dormitory.

Schools

There are three all-girl schools that are located nearby each other on Astrea Hill. Each school has its own student council that governs the matters of each respective school. Periodically, the three student councils, including the Etoiles, will meet in what is referred to as the Astrea Joint Student Council. Topics discussed at the joint meetings include communal matters that affect the three schools equally such as the Etoile Election. The school system employs a different system in the numbering of the grades; at Astrea Hill, students are ranged from grades one through six:

Grade system
Astrea Hill	Traditional Japanese	Canada/United States
First year	First year (Jr. high school)	Seventh grade
Second year	Second year (Jr. high school)	Eighth grade
Third year	Third year (Jr. high school)	Ninth grade
Fourth year	First year (High school)	Tenth grade
Fifth year	Second year (High school)	Eleventh grade
Sixth year	Third year (High school)	Twelfth grade

St. Miator's Girls' Academy

St. Miator's school emblem.

St. Miator's Girls' Academy (聖ミアトル女学園, Sei Miatoru Jogakuen) is the oldest of the three schools and holds the longest legacy; St. Miator's school is known for holding old traditions. It was founded on a monastery and is seen as the school for "brides", reinforced by the existence of extracurricular classes including tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and Japanese dancing. It is not unusual for students to be engaged before graduation. School rules include number seven, do not show your teeth when laughing at a public place, and number nine, bowing should be done at a thirty degree bend from the waist. The school has long black dresses for its uniforms, created in the Gothic Lolita fashion. In the spring, the uniforms are mostly green and have short sleeves. These uniforms appear to be traditional in nature, continuing the theme of Miator's long standing history at Astrea Hill. At Miator, the class names are associated with objects from nature, such as moon (月, tsuki), flower (花, hana) and snow (雪, yuki).

In the Strawberry Dorms, there is a concept called the room temp system that only occurs for students from Miator. Every underclassman entering these dorms, if they are chosen to serve the upperclassman as room temps, will be given an important chance to show their affection to them. Room temps perform maid duties, which includes cleaning the room of the students they were assigned to serve. They must bring suggestions to their upperclassmen first before making decisions on their own regarding the decoration of the upperclassman's room. When the story begins, the current Etoile, Shizuma, is attending Miator, which gives the school a lot of power.

St. Spica's Girls' Institute

St. Spica's school emblem.

St. Spica's Girls' Institute (聖スピカ女学院, Sei Supika Jogakuin) is the school that has the white colored buildings and uniforms, which makes the students of St. Spica look professional; it was built after Miator. The school prizes itself in advancing the independence of women who play a role in improving society. They are well known for their culture and how accomplished their sports program is compared to the other two schools. Spica has what is known as the St. Spica Choir, or the "Saintly Chorus", which consists of students from Spica that perform at special events and even concerts for students at Astrea Hill. At Spica, the class names are numbers in French, such as un (one), deux (two), and trois (three).

School rules include number thirteen, relations outside of campus must first have the approval of the school and guardians, and number twenty-six, underwear and gloves must be white; other colors are prohibited. In the spring their uniforms carry blue trim and have shorter sleeves, though otherwise it is almost the same as the autumn uniforms. Spica and Miator both oppose each other quite strongly, which often ends in them having disputes when students from these two schools get together.

St. Lulim's Girls' School

St. Lulim's school emblem.

St. Lulim's Girls' School (聖ル・リム女学校, Sei Ru Rimu Jogakkō) is the newest of the three schools which has pink colored buildings and uniforms. Their uniform is modeled after a traditional Japanese school uniform style which in effect makes them look immature compared to the other schools' students. In the spring their uniforms do not change very much other than having shorter sleeves for the shirt and a necktie. At Lulim, the class names are the letters from the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, etc. Lulim was originally named Le Lim.

Students at St. Lulim's have a tradition to be free and laid back, and are rarely seen fighting. The students at the school enjoy a lot of freedom in terms of activities, like the clubs they are allowed to form. In effect, there are a wide range of clubs at St. Lulim's ranging from dancing, to cooking, to anything else a group of at least three people can think up. School rules include number five, always wear the uniform of the school properly when going out, and number eight, a senior must always protect a lower grade student, teaching and leading her.

Etoile system

Etoile (エトワール, Etowāru) is a French word meaning star. The Etoile system of Astrea Hill is employed as the internal politics between the schools and governs school operations. The system is designed for two Etoiles to be instated at the same time in order to work as a team. In the anime, Shizuma Hanazono is the sole Etoile, which is explained in the latter part of the story. The two Etoiles are seen as figureheads for Astrea Hill. While Astrea has three schools, both Etoiles must come from the same school. The Etoiles have certain specific duties, such as greeting new students coming to Astrea Hill, participating in important school events, and serving as mediator between disputes in student council meetings of the three schools, among other duties. They are given a private greenhouse to grow flowers in for use during school events.

The Etoiles are elected after going through what is known as The Etoile Election (エトワール選, Etowāru-sen), which consists of three specific competitions for the participants to take. The higher scoring pairs from the first two competitions carry on to the third competition and the pair that wins the third competition becomes the Etoile Couple. For instance, in the manga, the first part of the election is called the "Cadette Selection" and is referred to in French as La Brillante Ouverture meaning The Brilliant Opening. During this event, the younger of the two in each pair have to answer general questions about Astrea to make sure that they have at least a minimal level of knowledge about the schools. In the anime, the election began with the previous Etoile handing a bouquet of flowers to each of the candidates that have been there the longest at Astrea and saying "Good luck". A ballroom dance is an important aspect later in the election. The dance serves as an expression of gracefulness between the candidates, proving they are able to interact and work well together.

Once the winners have been named, a special ceremony marks the end of the election. During this time, the student council president from the school that won the election presents two necklaces for the winners to wear during their tenure as Etoiles. They are both identical except for colors of the pendants: one is red, the other blue. The older student receives the blue pendant while the younger of the two receives the red pendant.

Strawberry Dorms

The Strawberry Dorms.

Students living on campus reside in a dormitory referred to as the Strawberry Dorms (いちご舎, Ichigo Sha, lit. Strawberry House). The building is a triangular shape for the purpose of separating students from the three schools so that each section is roughly the same size. It was built about 100 years before the beginning of the story, around the same time that Miator was established. Though originally planned for students whose homes are far away, it has come to house the children of distinguished families who are able to experience group life in its embraces. At first, the dormitory was not a single building but three separate dormitories arranged in a triangle formation around a central courtyard.

Upon entering housing, each student is assigned a roommate in their year until graduation. This helps the students form special relationships with their roommate which can evolve into intimate relationships. When there are not enough students entering in a given year for everyone to have a roommate, a student in such a situation must live alone until a student transfers into their respective school. Transfers must be in the same year as their roommate. The building name is based on the resemblance from an above cross-section of a strawberry. One of the dormitory's rules is number twenty-one, lights out by 10 p.m., and further activities are forbidden.

Traditionally, students in the Dorms can take an optional three days and two nights of "summer school"; this is misleading since academics are not involved. The students take a trip to a local beach and have fun with their friends, making it an opportunity to strengthen friendships while outside the campus. It is said that an interesting event occurs every year which excites the students about the prospect of going.

The Astrea Library.

Astrea Library

The students may go and study for their classes at a library on Astrea Hill. Students in the Library Club volunteer librarian services at the library. Their tasks generally consist of lending out library items such as books, umbrellas, and other items to students and keeping the library organized. Chiyo Tsukidate and Mizuho Kanō, one of Shizuma's good friends, are two of the librarians.

The library has an additional purpose besides reading and studying. Though only implied in the anime, the manga explains that the library building has another name - "The Secret Garden". It is a well-known place on campus to have a secret lovers' rendezvous, or meeting.

(Source: Wikipedia)

(Comment: Okay, I have nothing against the Yuri Fiesta happening on the Astrea Hill grounds, but shouldn't there be some teachers or students who are are against it?)

RELATIONSHIPS

Obvious couple:

• Shizuma & Nagisa
• Amane & Hikari
• Mizushima (Noriko) & Chihaya (they are living in the room next to Nagisa and Tamao)
• Kaname & Momomi

Heartbroken Club:

• Tamao
• Yaya
• Miyuki

DOWNLOAD

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14
Episode 15
Episode 16
Episode 17
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 20
Episode 21
Episode 22
Episode 23
Episode 24
Episode 25
Episode 26

The birth of a garden... Of lilies :p.

Hi everyone. Welcome to the Lily Garden, a blog dedicated to anime reviews (mostly those with "lilies" in it). I hope you will enjoy your visit here, and if possible, do leave a comment or two ^_^. As a debut for the site, I will review 2 anime: Negima!? and Strawberry Panic. These two titles have made their way into my heart like no other anime that I've watched before (although Furuba and Gundam Seed still own the top ranks :p).

Negima!?



Negi Springfield is a 10-year old mage graduated from a Magic Academy in the UK (wow...). For his graduating assignment (to become a full mage/Magister Magi like his father), he was sent to Mahora Academy in Japan to teach. There he had a run-in with one of his father's many enemies (who happens to be one of the students in his class). As a Mahou Sensei, not only he is responsible to keep the school ground safe, he also has to keep his identity as a mage a secret, or else... His effort was futile however, as one by one his students discovered his secret!

Characters:
Negi Springfield: He is the son of the Thousand Master, Nagi Springfield, who went missing. All that Nagi left for his son was his bracelet and staff. Negi wanted to become a Magister Magi because of his father.

Kagurazaka Asuna: Negi's roommate and first partner. Incredibly strong, hot-headed... and dumb. Treats Negi like a brat, but sometimes shows an affection of a sister.

Konoe Konoka: Asuna's roommate and best friend. Granddaughter of Mahora Gakuen's Principal, Konoe Konoemon (that's how Negi ends up in a room with 2 girls. Pervert Principal). Can be quite mischievous. Knows that her childhood friend and bodyguard, Sakurazaki Setsuna, has feelings for her and seems to enjoy teasing her.

Sakurazaki Setsuna: Konoka's childhood friend and bodyguard. Loves Konoka dearly, but tried to deny it (unconvincingly) by saying that she has to keep her mind on her duty. A very skillful Shinmei-Ryuu swordwoman.

Miyazaki Nodoka: A shy, cute girl who has a crush on Negi. She's a member of the Library Expedition group.

Evangeline A. K. McDowell: A vampire. She lost in a battle against the Thousand Master (Negi's father), and was subject to a spell that restricts her within the school ground. She's after Negi's blood. Always in company of Chachamaru.

New Characters

Shichimi (シチミ, Shichimi) and Motsu (モツ, Motsu). Two "agents" from the Magic Academy sent with a report about the Star Crystals' disappearance. Their true forms are unknown since they took the images drawn up by Haruna; Shichimi is a cat, and Motsu is a frog. They then stay at Mahora and keep a close eye on Negi to ensure his magic secrecy. Eventually, this may no longer be the case when all of class 3-A learn about magic and became Pactio partners. In more recent episodes, a few bizarre segments involve Motsu and Makie, where Makie refers to Motsu as "father". Meanwhile, Shichimi begins to hang around with Nodoka often, with some of the moments ranging from Shichimi taking a nap on Nodoka's lap to the cat sitting on Nodoka's head while she's in her Armor form. A few other strange cutscenes show them playing with tissue paper and bubblewrap. Occasionally, they are found with the Black Rose Baron.

Motsu appears to be based on Aboshi Frog, a character created by Mako Aboshi for the Pani Poni Dash! anime. (Both Negima!? and Pani Poni Dash! have Shaft as the animation studio.)

Motsu is voiced by Chiwa Saito while Shichimi is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro.

The Black Rose Baron (黒薔薇男爵, kurobara danshaku) made his presence known to Negi when he and his students were looking for information about the Star Crystal. Dressed in white formal attire with a black cape, hat, and a gold mask covering the left side of his face, he confronts Negi and occasionally members of the 3-A class. Sometimes, he targets Chamo with a black rose. As he comes and goes, black rose petals fly around him. Neither a friend or foe, his true identity is unknown; sometimes, it was speculated the baron was actually Negi's father. It is later revealed in episode 17, that Black Rose Baron's true identity is actually Negi's sister (in reality, cousin), Nekane, when she removes her mask while in the bathroom. Also, Konoka deduces her identity after seeing pieces of foodstuff on the Baron's sword, whereas moments earlier Nekane helps herself to some food in the kitchen, skewering the pieces of food with a similar looking sword, while Konoka and Setsuna are spying on her. Perhaps for Nekane's sake, everyone decides to keep this knowledge a secret, even from Nekane herself.

Since Nekane takes this guise, he is therefore voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, Nekane's voice actress.

Mr. Yamada (山田さん, yamada-san), first name never known, is an old watchman in Mahora's Library Island. He goes around the library's underground corridors with a lighted lamp on his left hand and an eyepatch on his right eye. He seems to live in Library Island's underground rooms and literally cooks at its indoor restaurant. And though he falls into traps clumsily, he seems to be knowledgeable of the types of books in Library Island (though not the location) and can recognize regulars to the place such as Nodoka.

He only appears in the episode wherein Negi and his students attempt to find the book about the Star Crystal and at the same time Kaede and Narutaki twins search for a book that will make the twins grow up faster. He is not seen since then, although Nodoka mentions him in a later episode.

He is played by a voice actor known only as Chou (チョー, chō).

I'd love to talk about the rest of the characters, but I think I'll leave that for later. Maybe some of you guys can write a bit about the other characters, and I'll post them here :p.

Negima!? vs Mahou Sensei Negima
A complete remake of the Xebec TV series. The storyline is different as they bypass the whole history of the academy and go right for the Evangeline punch. Other differences are shown such as Setsuna and Konoka are close friends and the fan service is turned down and Chamo-kun is brought in right away. The anime starts with the fight between Nagi (Negi`s father) and Evangeline.

From Anime Encyclopedia

(I think rather than being tuned down, this has more fan-service...)

Negima!? also has a different approach to the partner system, where each partners have 3 cards; Rare, Cosplay, and Suka cards, which Negi picks up randomly when he summons his partner's power. The Rare card is the one you'd love to get, and the Suka card transforms the partner into a cute animal 8D.

Characters

As a remake, characters appearing from the original Mahou Sensei Negima appear in this retelling. However, under Studio Shaft, the characters have taken a redesign. The redesigns are featured in the first episode, as all girls from Negi's class are introduced. The majority of the characters are drawn with a more youthful appearance than the first series, with finer details; yet they retain their basic character designs. This also includes some of their original characteristics, behaviors, and traits.

Characters reappearing are Negi Springfield, Chamo, Takahata, Nekane Springfield, Anya, Konoka's grandfather, and the class 3-A.

Characters Setup

• Asuna first meets Negi after witnessing his magic.
• When Negi attempts to erase Asuna's memories of seeing his magic, Asuna is not stripped of her clothes, but instead, Negi , Asuna & Chamo are hit by metal pans. The same thing happens when Negi tried to erase Nodoka's memories, though only Chamo is beaned by a pan. Apparently, this is one spell that Negi can't get right.
• Negi wears a wrist bracelet (which was supposed to be his father's)
• Chamo is with Negi from the start, and he is less perverted.
• Takahata used his magic to heal Makie, Konoka and Nodoka after they were attacked by Evangeline. In the Manga, Makie wasn't healed of her bite, and Evangeline used her to turn Yuna, Ako, and Akira into vampires as well. Negi healed them all after the battle.
• Kazumi, Natsumi, Chizuru, and Ayaka were all attacked by Evangeline.
• Chachamaru is nearly destroyed by Negi during a fight with Evangeline.
• After the first battle with Evangeline in episode 3, the anime skips ahead of time after the events of the OVA to when Class 2-A becomes Class 3-A
• Chisame's Net Idol Page is 2nd place after someone randomly puts up images of school girls, with Nodoka's image being #1. Although Chisame tries to keep her Net Idol identity a secret, she becomes peeved when other students (particularly Chizuru) begin calling her "Chiu-Chiu-chan" in public.
• Sayo is introduced much earlier in the series than in the manga or first anime.
• In the manga, Takahata can't use incantation magic. In this new series, he's a mage.
• Both Haruna and Yue discover Negi's secret at the same time when he uses his magic to save Nodoka from falling after she tripped on some books in her dorm room.
• Instead of Chamo, Chachamaru is the one to tell Negi that she is a robot. Satomi makes it clear that she built Chachamaru rather than Negi just finding out through a course of events.
• Asuna isn't nearly as astonished, or for that matter, annoyed by Negi upon learning of his status as a mage.
• Negi isn't scared of Eva at all like he was after he first fought her.
• Misora does not know about the existence of magic before Negi's arrival. She seems to be interested in yoga exercises, and unlike her manga counterpart, has a Pactio with Negi.

Characters Appearance

Studio Shaft gave the characters different appearances from the original.

• Asuna's hair, although the same style from the manga and 1st anime series, tends to take on a life of its own in some situations usually reflecting her current mood or actions. She also has two blue eyes instead of having heterochromia (one blue eye and one green eye).
• Ako Izumi's hair is grey rather than blue, and her eyes are gold rather than red.
• Sakurako Shiina's hair is blonde rather than red.
• Yue Ayase's hair is purple rather than blue.
• Natsumi Murakami's hair is green rather than red. She also has a bit of a girl-crush on her roommate, Chizuru. Her outgoing personality comes in stark contrast to that of the first anime.
• Akira Okochi's hair is brown rather than black.
• Yuuna Akashi's hair is brown rather than black.
• Misora Kasuga's hair is brown instead of red. Her skin is a bit darker. And her flexibility (rivalling Makie's) is emphasized instead of her being a nun from the last series.
• Kaede Nagase's hair is now brown (her original color) instead of yellow.
• Chisame Hasegawa's hair is now brown (the original color) instead of green. The hair color of her net idol alter ego, Chiu, is now pink instead of brown.
• Satsuki Yotsuba appears slightly slimmer.
• Chachamaru wears purple stockings on her legs that cover up her leg joints.
• Takahata's glasses are slightly different, the frame surrounds both lenses rather than just the bottom and the sides
• Despite being so-called identical twins, Fumika has blue-green eyes while her sister Fuka has brown.
• Nodoka's hair color is blue rather than her original purple and is bouncier/fluffier. Also her hair doesn't cover her eyes completely unless she lowers her head or in her Suka form.

Character Room Assignments

The rooming assignments are very much different when compared to the manga. For instance, instead of with Yue and Nodoka, Haruna is now rooming with Kū Fei. The girls' room assignments in Mahora's dorms are revealed in Episode 7:

• Chizuru Naba and Natsumi Murakami (without Ayaka Yukihiro in the manga)
• Asuna Kagurazaka and Konoka Konoe (with Negi as their roommate)
• Ayaka Yukihiro and Makie Sasaki
• Nodoka Miyazaki and Yue Ayase*
• Haruna Saotome and Kū Fei*
• Chao Lingshen and Satsuki Yotsuba
• Misora Kasuga and Akira Okochi
• Kaede Nagase and Setsuna Sakurazaki
• The Narutaki Twins are staying with each other
• Chisame Hasegawa, Satomi Hakase and Kazumi Asakura each staying alone
• The cheerleaders (Misa Kakizaki, Madoka Kugimiya and Sakurako Shiina)
• Mana Tatsumiya and Zazie Rainyday
• Ako Izumi and Yuna Akashi
• Chachamaru Karakuri and Evangeline McDowell (in a separate cabin at the outskirts of Mahora)
• Sayo does not have a room and wanders around by herself

Furthermore, characters are usually grouped together accordingly throughout the series. For example, Chizuru and Natsumi together maintain the Astronomy Clock room.

* The rooms of Nodoka Miyazaki-Yue Ayase and Haruna Saotome-Kū Fei have an access hole through the wall between them.

Parodies

Various parodies and references to other media works have been found throughout the series.

Episode	Parody Description
1	A picture of Chiyo Mihama from Azumanga Daioh with her pig-tails removed drawn on the chalk board during Negi's introduction to the class.
2	A fighting scene in a flashback between Evangeline and Nagi is very similar to the opening of the first episode of Noein.
2	As the camera zooms in to Negi and Takahata as they discuss Evangeline, the distant view shows that the running track is enormous and in the shape of the stylised hummingbird from the Nazca Lines in Peru
4	Nodoka spoofs various outfits and poses from Cardcaptor Sakura.
4	Negi, Asuna, and Nodoka wander in a maze with an RPG theme. The satiation meter used onigiri (rice balls).
5	"Effort, future, a beautiful star" (努力　未来　A BEAUTIFUL STAR, Doryoku Mirai A BEAUTIFUL STAR) is subtly repeated. This is in fact part of the lyrics from J-pop group Morning Musume's "Souda! We're ALIVE".
5	When Negi realizes that Nodoka has been using her thought-reading diary on him in hopes of finding out his feelings for her, he reacts with a face that resembles Rerere from Tensai Bakabon.
5	Part of Chiu's introduction is a scene-for-scene spoof of the opening to Rec.
6	There's a parody of character select screen from Street Fighter II.
7	At the beginning of the episode, the title card used to tell the viewers about the dormitory is similar in design to the Japanese logo of the anime Love Hina (another popular work by Ken Akamatsu).
7	While Asuna is talking to Yuuna while Ako is preparing oolong tea using various laboratory apparatuses, the quote "Mayday, mayday! Black Hawk down, Black Hawk down!" is seen nearby. This may be reference to the said movie.
7	Sayo was exploring the dormitories viewed with the Legend of Zelda dungeon motif (complete with the Triforce in Haruna and Ku Fei's dorm room). The same motif is seen when Setsuna, together with Kaede, talk to Konoka about the string telephone they made.
7	When Sayo appears in a computer screen while in Satomi's room, Satomi and Chisame scream, "Wintermute!" Wintermute is the rouge AI in the novel Neuromancer.
8	Kaede and the twins watch a horror movie that has references to Ju-on and Ring.
8	While exploring Library Island, Konoka is dressed like Indiana Jones, which is also a reference to Pani Poni Dash!, as Ichijou (who, like Konoka, is voiced by Ai Nonaka) wore exactly the same outfit in episodes 9 and 12.
8	When Asuna gives the twins their chupacabra shirts, the Chupacabras that appear on the shirts are seen performing the "fusion" technique from Dragon Ball Z.
9	While Setsuna is describing her loyalty to Konoka, the animation momentarily changes to reference Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
10	After Motsu's cup of instant noodles are ready, Shichimi says, "Ippen, shin de miru", which is the same thing that Ai Enma says before she sends someone to Hell in Jigoku Shōjo.
10	Kaede makes a pose similar to the one that Ultraman makes whenever he grows in size, during her cosplay card henshin sequence.
13	During the time when the 3-A students were separated, one group was inside a room with an alternate dimension which the girls acted as fighter pilots in space. It was parodying the 1980s classic arcade game Galaga. Also, one the view monitors on Ku Fei's ship features a screen from another classic arcade game, Space Invaders.
15	An eyecatch using the Cheerleaders has them twirling leeks over a spiraly background. This is a reference to the Loituma Girl, aka. Orihime Inoue from Bleach. (Coincidentally, Bleach airs two hours later on TV Tokyo on the same night, while the voice actress for Orihime is also the same voice actress as Evangeline in the Negima series)
15	Akira holds a mushroom closely resembling a 1-up Mushroom from the Mario Bros. series.
16	One of the items on the kitchen counter where the cheerleaders are cutting food is the "cabbage" from Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na.
16	An eyecatch features Negi holding puppet versions of Asuna and Ayaka that resemble Pucchan from Gokujou Seitokai.
17	An angry Evangeline punishes Motsu with an infamous death scene from Neon Genesis Evangelion. As part of this scene, we hear a brief second of Beethoven's 9th Symphony before the screen goes black with a "squish sound".
18	The mechanical chupacabra suit is the monster Gigan from Godzilla.
19	After Negi gets hurt by the antics of the suka girls, he ends up with a scar on his cheek similar to Himura Kenshin of Ruroni Kenshin.
19	During Satsuki's preview for the next episode, Asuna comes in and eats the food prepared by Satsuki. Before she eats, she is surrounded by a power aura similar to most Anime/Manga fighters, mainly Dragon Ball Z.
21	The opening of a sequence where Ako and Akira are forced to look over Makie and Motsu in an infirmary uses a similar logo and style to ER.
23	During the battle between Asuna and Chachamaru, Chachamaru upgrades her wings similar to the XXXG-00W0 of "Wing Gundam version Ka".
25	Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna take the forms from Cosplay Pactio Cards. The costumes they wear are based from those worn by the Japanese during the Tokugawa era.
26	There are references to the anime Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Konoka saying "Ni-pah!" a quote uttered by Rika Furude and the painting on the wall resembles that of Rena Ryugu.
26	Pactio forms were scrolled through RPG style stat pages.
26	When Motsu discovers the truth of Makie calling him "Father", his face becomes similar to the green visage of The Mask.
26	After the battle between Mana, Zazie and the cheerleaders. Ayaka shouts at the 5 girls and Zazie and the cheerleaders saying: "Oh!, it so wind!" Such quote was said in the anime Gate Keepers.

Relationships in Negima!?

The relationship between Chachamaru and Evangeline in the original manga and anime was defined as purely a master-servant relationship (IMHO). In "Negima" (episode 2, when Takamichi explains about Evangeline and Chachamaru to Negi), their relationship proves to be even deeper than that. Not as deep as KonoSet's relationship (not even near, I think), but deep enough for Eva to confide in Chachamaru. My apologies to the fans of EvaChacha if I didn't cover enough abot the two of them. Kanarazu ano futari no koto motto benkyou shimasu! Hai!

It is obvious in the manga and anime of "Mahou Sensei Negima" that Setsuna harbours more than just affection of a friend towards Konoka, and the latter did not just knew about it; she even reciprocated the feelings (although not in an obvious manner). In "Negima!", however, their relationship is being stressed even more, especially in episodes 5 (towards the end, after Konoka forms a provisional contract with Negi regardless of Setsuna's objection), 6, and 12 (the opening part, where Setsuna tells a bit about her childhood with Konoka). Not to mention the scenes in the OVAs, where Konoka was flirting (although I doubt that she even intended it :p) with Setsuna, as well as the part where she wanted to have the red string attached to Nodoka and Negi to be attached on her and Setsuna as well (Japanese people would definitely be familiar with the meaning of the red string). I will go into details about the scenes if there are any requests (which I doubt will ever be, considering the number of visits I get ^_^;;). In MSN anime (episode 21), Konoka does seem to have feelings towards Setsuna (and it's mutual). The kiss she gave to revive Setsuna after the latter practically exhausted her energy trying to release Konoka from the barrier that imprisoned her reflected affection as well (or was it just me :p).

Next we'll talk about the pairing that breaks the boundaries of the living and the dead: Aisaka Sayo and Asakura Kazumi. Ok, they sit side-by-side in the class, with Kazumi wondering wth with the empty seat besides her (of course none of the students in the class can see Sayo at first). In the manga, Sayo's existence is brought to light before the school's festival (one heck of a crazy event, I tell you). As per Mahou Sensei Negima anime, Sayo was introduced in episode 19, before the school trip to Kyoto. In Negima!, she was introduced in episode 7. In Mahou Sensei Negima manga and Negima! anime, the episodes revolves basically around the existence of Sayo, rather than what happened to her. In MSN anime, a little bit of her past was exposed; that she had a younger sister, and she played a big role towards the existence of the tsuwabuki garden near the old clock tower. The episodes also mentioned that Sayo is a Jibakurei, spirit of the dead that lingers because of accidental death or spirits that have vengeful issues or spirits that still have lingering emotions. It was assumed that she died when she went out in a stormy night to protect her sister's tsuwabuki garden. However, there was no concrete evidence that that was the cause of her death. There is a fanfiction hosted in Shoujo-ai.com that suggested the cause of her death. Please check it out. Some similarities between the three series do persist; after the discovery of her existence, Sayo seems to stick with Kazumi most of the time; Asakura Kazumi being able to take her pictures (in the MSN anime, even before Eva casted the spell to make Sayo visible to therest of the class, upon Sayo's discovery that her sister's garden had flourished. In Negima!, Eva casted a spell that makes Sayo visible through Kazumi's camera lense); and Kazumi is VERY interested in Sayo. Well, maybe not in a romantic way.

There's still a long way until the whole story unfolds, so let's see where this one will take us to ^_-.

Sources are taken from Wikipedia as well as other review sites and author's own review.