Toon Zone Talkback - "Negima!?" Spring and Summer OAVs: Fun in the Sun

[Dr. Daedalus]

This is the talkback thread for "Negima!?" Spring and Summer OAVs: Fun in the Sun (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=26747).
http://news.toonzone.net/images/2008-10/negimaoav/splash-negimaoav-lg.jpg

NOT a sequel! ;)

[D.Shaffer]

Just a minor correction...
They're Junior High Schoolers, which makes some of the comments about the voices sounding a bit to old even more relevant.

[GWOtaku]

Being a hater of fanservice for its own sake, a product like this is basically my mortal enemy. Such stuff is how I developed dislike for Akamatsu. What's more, Funimation's marketing for this DVD was downright shameless. They actually put out banner ads involving black blocks with "CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE!" messages. Seriously? Are you kidding me? That was crap you'd expect to see on random websites of very ill repute, and there it was slapping me in the face at Anime News Network. The promotional video was little better. I guess they're marketing to harem otaku crowd with this and they know it, but man. I'm a fan of Funi but when they played that at their industry panel at Anime USA, I was embarrassed to be there.

[TnAdct1]

Being a hater of fanservice for its own sake, a product like this is basically my mortal enemy. Such stuff is how I developed dislike for Akamatsu. What's more, Funimation's marketing for this DVD was downright shameless. They actually put out banner ads involving black blocks with "CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE!" messages. Seriously? Are you kidding me? That was crap you'd expect to see on random websites of very ill repute, and there it was slapping me in the face at Anime News Network. The promotional video was little better. I guess they're marketing to harem otaku crowd with this and they know it, but man. I'm a fan of Funi but when they played that at their industry panel at Anime USA, I was embarrassed to be there. It's most likely that Funi, when it came to advertising of the OAV's, was trying to target the lowest common demoninator of anime fans: those who like fanservice and those Negima fans who like the "31 girls" aspect of the story (personally, I'm not really into Negima's fanservice, and whenever they overdo the "31 girls" aspect of the show, I have an urge to wish that anywhere from 21 to 25 of those girls were forced to take part in Battle Royale).

Personally, I skip the Spring OAV (I prefer the manga version of the story told in that OAV, which includes Nodoka and Yue deciding to study magic and the formation of the version 1.0 of a group that would eventually be known as the Ala Alba). However, if you're a fan of Nodoka (which I am), the Summer OAV is definitely worth checking out (as long as you can get past the fanservice).

[Dr. Daedalus]

Just a minor correction...
They're Junior High Schoolers, which makes some of the comments about the voices sounding a bit to old even more relevant. Junior high? Some of them look built like college-aged students. (I'm thinking Ayaka, Kaede, Haruna, and Mana, specifically)
and those Negima fans who like the "31 girls" aspect of the story I actually don't like that aspect much either, but I thought it worked for the purposes of these specials. As the episodes weren't meant to be anything but semi-connected vignettes anyway, it wasn't disappointing when few of them took center stage or given much depth.

[Juu-kuchi]

It's most likely that Funi, when it came to advertising of the OAV's, was trying to target the lowest common demoninator of anime fans: those who like fanservice and those Negima fans who like the "31 girls" aspect of the story (personally, I'm not really into Negima's fanservice, and whenever they overdo the "31 girls" aspect of the show, I have an urge to wish that anywhere from 21 to 25 of those girls were forced to take part in Battle Royale). I do hope that those 21 to 25 girls you want to force into Battle Royale doesn't include Yue... For your sake...

That said despite the pandering element, FUNi does seem to be smart in doing such for promotion, although the 'black boxes' with the "click here to see more" messages goes a weeeee bit too overboard. That said, I'm kindof reluctant to get into those OAV specials. I love Negima, especially the manga, (and the first anime has a place in my heart because it got me into the show), but I'm just reluctant to get into these OAV pieces for one reason over another.

Maybe a price drop or when I'm back in a Negima mood, but not right now anyway. =\

[D.Shaffer]

Junior high? Some of them look built like college-aged students. (I'm thinking Ayaka, Kaede, Haruna, and Mana, specifically) .Jr High. Yup. Keep in mind that there's some manga stuff that doesnt get mentioned though. Mana's implied to be older then officially listed in her records. With Kaede, there's a running gag that no one beleive's she's a Jr High school student, even though she is. The other two...they just matured fast? :shrug: Hey, it worked for Sailor Jupiter.

And just for fun, we have the twins who look like they should still be in Elementary school. Nevermind Evangeline.