It’s pretty much a given by now that UQ Holder is going to move very quickly through the source material, so that really doesn’t even bother me at this point.  I do think, however, that it’s one of those rare anime that just works better if you’ve read the manga even though it’s undergone tremendous changes.  It’s a left-handed compliment to say a series has done remarkably well under the circumstances, no question – but this one has.  I just don’t know if new viewers have enough grounding with the story to follow what’s happening here.

I could wax melancholy all day about how good this show could have been with two cours to completely tell the manga’s story to date, but wishing won’t make it so.  Right now we’ve entered into another major phase of the manga storyline, the Budokai arc (zipping past a couple intermediate ones on the way, mind you).  This is a pretty important piece of the story, as it’s where the original Negima mythology is really folded into the UQ Holder mythology.  Whether Ken-sensei originally intended the two to be as closely tied as they are is an interesting question – there’s some feeling he was pressured to beef up the links so as to boost the manga’s sales.  I have somewhat mixed feelings about that, but I think that’s a topic for a manga post.

Needless to say, there’s a veritable flood of Negima characters in this section, which sees Mizore suggest Touta sign up for the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament as a way to get his mind off his depression over finding out he’s a clone (which everyone but Kirie knows, ironically).  I quite like the scene when Touta visits Negi’s old classroom for the first time, meeting up with the likes of Sayo and Mana (who’s aged rather better than Class Rep).  Ayaka’s moment with Touta here is rather sweet (the superb Minagawa Junko really nails this), even given (or perhaps because of) her history with Negi.  One senses that the affection these women feel for Touta is very real – and it’s certainly an extension of the love they felt for his grandfather (and as warped as it was, Ayaka definitely did love Negi).

It seems almost too convenient when one of the competitors (will we see him again?  Who knows…) is injured, creating an opening for Touta-kun to enter the tournament.  And indeed it is, because the whole thing is a setup.  Now that Touta has come to the attention of Negi (or is it the Mage of the Beginning – or both?) he’s not going to be left to his own devices for long.  The first to take him on is Cutlass, the girl who took out the injured competitor, and she insists on calling Touta “Nii-san”.  She has a grudge here, clearly, but as Cutlass herself says, she’s just the opening act.

It certainly brings back memories, seeing all those faces – Nadoka and Yue at Negi’s side at the very least.  And soon after my personal favorite of Team Negi shows up, the irreplaceable Jack Rakan – all to insist Touta come with Negi to the top of the tower and save the world.  There are three distinct camps here, all of which claim to want to save the world and two of which say they want to save Negi too – and Negi’s old students and allies seem to be scattered among all of them.  Even without the baggage of memories, that’s a tough choice for Touta to have to make, but (given how fast the anime is moving) not one he can out off for much longer…