Forum - View topicRomance in Negima.
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I spent like an hour writing a reply to this thread, I'd rather not have it be a complete waste. Also, apologies for this really belonging in the manga forum, but I don't know if some of the people who were posting in the locked thread check there.
While I agree that Negi doesn't seem to have any feelings of romantic love for any of the girls, I think he is notably more mature in terms of handling it. When Nodoka confessed to him way back in chapter 33 (volume 4), it triggered a fainting spell. In chapter 245 (volume 27), spoiler[when Ako confronts him as Nagi and stops just short of saying she knows it's him before giving him a goodbye kiss, he barely blushes but calmly let's her speak her piece before accepting her kiss.] It's considerable progress even from their first date in chapters 124 & 125 (volume 14) when Negi simply went through the actions oblivious to their effect. Negi has grown considerably over the course of the story, and I wouldn't be that surprised if the ending had a clear canonical romantic pairing for him before any potential epilogue.
Do you really need a more explicit statement than the events of chapter 253 (volume 28)? Between Setsuna's inner monologue and Konoka's plans for the future, there is no doubt that each one considers the other the most important person in her life. Setsuna goes so far as to lament her lack of occupational skills because she won't be able to adequately provide for Konoka financially, which I'm pretty sure is a step beyond best friends level support. Konoka's little speech demonstrates that she understands Setsuna's feelings at least as well as Setsuna does herself, which follows that the kiss on the cheek Konoka gave her as a reward was very likely calculated to some degree. spoiler[Regarding the lead up to the pactio, while one interpretation of Setsuna's anxiety over the act is that she has a rather conservative set of morals and thinks it inappropriate for two girls to kiss, there is little to no evidence of this type of mindset. More characteristically, Setsuna has always felt unworthy of Konoka's affection, being thrice-over a social outcast (as a hanyou, being an outsider among both humans and demons, then being an albino on top of that) coupled with her position as a mere bodyguard (a role she often berates herself for not fulfilling well enough) to nobility, especially with the overlap of her duty to Konoka specifically. From Konoka's standpoint, she has definitively chosen Setsuna to be her permanent partner. It has been established to the readers and the characters that the magister/ministra relationship is very frequently at the level of a romantic relationship, and Konoka is quite astute on inter-personal relationships. The there's the pactio itself. It is explicitly stated to be the longest kiss in the series. Both girls have performed pactios with Negi already and know that the kiss doesn't need to be nearly that intense. After the initial (nearly) full page for the pactio, there are two more panels on the next page emphasizing how intimate it is getting, with a third showing the two stopping mainly because Setsuna is out of breath. That's quite a bit more than platonic, I'd say.]
Real-time, a little shy of 10 1/2, as he arrived in winter and they're currently on summer break. Chronologically, probably about 11, spoiler[thanks to doing double days at Eva's resort pretty much daily since becoming her pupil, then a dense stretch of extra days in the resort preparation for the trip to Wales, followed by time dilation in the magical world (compounded with the use of Eva's resort again in preparation for his fight with Rakan).]
spoiler[Asuna is his aunt. I'm pretty sure Akamatsu isn't gonna go the incest route.] Personally, my money is on spoiler[Chisame] Wait a sec, 99%? He's only written 4 manga. Decimals don't work like that. |
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james d
 Posts: 27 Location: South Carolina |
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I agree with a good bit of what you say Dorcas. Negi is handling the interpersonal relationships with the female characters better exactly because he is gaining experience at it. It would be kinda of dumb on his part to have all of these confessions and subtle hints thrown at him and still not have a clue. However, I still think it is more along the lines of what TatsuGero23 said about it being more like he has concern and love for his friends. I'm certainly not implying that romantic thoughts may not be crossing his mind though
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No question about the romantic feelings between Setsuna and Konoka. That has been building for some time. You left out one thing though. spoiler[Remember right after they completed the pactio, Chamo made a statement asking if they wanted to go for the full pactio. This implies that their pactio is just the temporary version. I don't doubt that they won't complete the full version down the road.] I have an idea about Negi's age. spoiler[Remember his mother is from the magical world. It has been implied that people from the magical world age more slowly. Remember it has been suggested that Asuna appears 15 or 16. Given the fact that after the Great War ended Nagi traveled the world for 10 years before Negi's birth combined with the fact that Negi was around 10 when he met Asuna, her actual age could be in the 25 to 35 range. Why is this important? Asuna is Arika's sister, therefore Arika is likely to age slowly as well. What if the ability to age more slowly was passed down genetically. Theodora stated in Volume 26 that Hellas women in their 30's are still considered teens (and she looks like a teen). Is their a possibility that Negi will age slightly slower than normal? An interesting thought. However, you are right he is only still just around 10 or 11.] Who will Negi end up with? Right now, I think the smart money is on Nodoka or Chisame. However, Chisame has been giving off some vibes that she may be a bit more interested in Jack Rakan. At least that is what I'm seeing. I'm personally pulling for Yue. I like dark horse girls for the win.
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EricDent
 Posts: 997 Location: Georgetown, TX |
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Thanks for the info. I did not know that, maybe cause I kind of gave up on the Negima manga.
BTW I thought somebody mentioned that somehow Anya is actually from another Akumatsu manga. |
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james d
Posts: 27 Location: South Carolina |
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That is possible. It is no secret that several Negima characters have very strong resemblances to characters in Love Hina.
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TatsuGero23
 Posts: 1277 Location: Sniper Island, USA (It's in your heart!) |
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HA! I didn't even notice I was on a zombie thread. Man was I zoning out at work.
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Dorcas_Aurelia
Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Hellas' citizens relative age is different because they tend to be demon and animal-human hybrids, and have longer lifespans was how I understood Theodora's comment. Like how people 10 years old for a dog is like 70 in human years. spoiler[As for Asuna, I think she might be a special case. It seemed like she didn't age at all prior to transferring to Mahora, but once in the real world and after having her memory erased she aged at the same rate as a normal human. ] Also, I don't remember where exactly, but I recall someone saying that time passage only exhibited a very slight difference between the magical and real worlds normally; it was Fate's group severing the gateports that caused the more lopsided variance at present. |
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