We’re squarely in the middle of series finale season now, and that’s always a very bittersweet time for me to begin with. But it’s especially true with shows like UQ Holder, because if any adaptation ever epitomized the frustrations endemic to adaptations of ongoing manga, it’s this one. And it’s not because J.C. Staff didn’t make a good show – they did, a very good one in fact. But the sense of untapped potential is achingly acute, and for Negima fans, that’s taking a blow where we’re already sore as hell.
I suppose it’s indicative of how far the Negima franchise has fallen in terms of popularity that this series has generated as little interest as it has, even here. And of course that’s the main reason UQ Holder only got one cour. The manga still sells quite well, but nowhere near as well as the original did – especially before the disastrous anime adaptations came out. I think those did a lot of damage to Negima’s reputation, and a generally ill-received manga ending by Akamatsu-sensei (driven in part by the mess the anime created) was probably the final straw.
We can argue all day long about whether UQ Holder made a mistake by trying to cram so very much of the manga into 12 episodes, but ultimately I think Suzuki Youhei and his team were in a no-win situation. Objectively they probably should have taken a much smaller bite and adapted the portion of the manga set before the Negima connections really kicked in – but of course the production committee would likely has forbidden that outright. Considering they adapted well over 100 chapters and even added some original material (like the introduction of the girls of Class 3-A in the finale), the staff did incredibly well. But my God – when I think how much better this series could have been with even 24 episodes, it just breaks my heart.
To make matters even more complicated, there was some stuff that happened there at the end which a non-manga reader would have had no context for at all if they hadn’t seen the UQ Holder OVA. Stuff like the memory of tearful Kitty that Touta recalled when he was confessing to her, and the appearance of the Witch of the Rift, Dana Ananga Jagannatha. Knowing what I know that scene worked extremely well – I think the bond between Touta and Yukihime is quite powerful and moving – but how could someone who didn’t have that context possibly feel the same way?
As far as how the rest of the final episode worked, I would say pretty well on-balance. Most of it stuck pretty close to manga canon, and the scenes in the arena before the pivotal 37 seconds elapsed were quite brutal. Kirie certainly showed her backbone (even if she showed more than she wanted, thanks to Nodoka). Eventually the clock ran out and the plan could be executed – with Fate and Evangeline setting aside their differences in the presence of a common enemy. Fate’s idea of saving Negi is pretty straightforward – make everyone immortal, depriving Ialda of the undead she needs to fuel her everlasting power. But Negi was quick to point out the flaw in that reasoning where Negi himself was concerned.
What of that added scene – the entire Class 3-A making an appearance, apparently as a construct of Negi and Asuna’s combined memories? Well, here’s I’m torn as I so often am with UQ Holder. I mean, to give over so much of the ending to the Negima cast seems a bit of an injustice to me, but I won’t deny the nostalgia buzz seeing all of them again was on-point. Stuff like Chizuru and the leek was a clever nod to the first series (that whole “Negi” pun always cracked me up), and I always get a little verklempt when Asuna shows up with Negi-sensei in the state he’s in.
“Three men in 500 years” is a line that holds so much more power in the manga than it does in the anime. That’s the power of context, and this ending would have been so much more impactful with the full force of the preceding arcs behind it. Still, I’d take the UQ Holder adaptation we got over none at all – I really enjoyed it, and it actually captured the essence of why Ken-sensei’s manga is really quite special once you get to know it. When you’re a Negima fan, you learn to appreciate pyrrhic victories because they’re the only ones we generally get. Maybe in an alternate timeline, all of the Negima and UQ Holder manga gets a full adaptation from start to finish…
End Card by Chiba Tetsuya
Molly
December 20, 2017 at 2:17 amThis definitely felt like a 50 episodes series crammed into 12.
The last two episodes felt like they needed to come after many many arcs….. nonetheless kudos to the creators for managing the complexities of such an adaptation. Almost like they knew they only had one shot at getting right.
Not having read the manga, I wished we’d spent more time with the characters.
As always thanks for your wonderfully written reviews, Enzo.
Guardian Enzo
December 20, 2017 at 7:41 amYW! I would definitely read the manga – I really think it’s quite good.
Molly
December 20, 2017 at 2:58 pmI will look into it.
PS: Why do you think shows like Black Clover, Sousei no Onmyouji or World Trigger get four cours or more yet Negima never seems to find its footing?
Guardian Enzo
December 20, 2017 at 3:32 pmAnything connected with WSJ (BC and WT) is sort of in its own category. They have basically limitless money and like to use “disposable” series like that to generate a little cross-promotional revenue via cheaply-produced adaptations.
As for Sousei no Onmyouji, hard to say. I seem to recall that the manga is pretty popular – maybe more so than UQ Holder? Of course Negima was a massively popular manga, but I think the disastrous adaptations of that one mostly come down to terrible decision-making rather than a lack of willingness to finance.
SetsunaAngel99
August 2, 2018 at 2:43 pmI have given up on any hope for a proper and respectful adaptation for Negima or any of Ken’s content. Negima hurts because I became a fan in 2007, it wasn’t just a manga I enjoyed, I felt a connection to the characters and the world. I preferred it over other shonen as well and still consider it my all time favorite manga. I still remember being 14 at a bookstore on a class field trip and I will never forget that moment when I picked up that Omnibus volume.
I won’t make this post too long, I would be beating a dead horse explaining why the first two adaptations are terrible. I actually thought Negima!? Was ok in spite of not following the source material, but being older and more cynical these days I view SHAFT being just as guilty as XBEC was. People give XBEC this pass. Yeah they’re excellent animators and I actually still prefer SHAFTs Negima OVA designs over JC Staff’s Negima designs. Negi’s hair appears to scruffy and wild, its offsetting. Yue also looks incredibly weird as a teenager and adult -_-. Asuna is the only model JC Staff got right.
I am never buying another manga from Kodansha ever again, I don’t care how good any future manga is under their umbrella, they are mostly responsible for pushing Akamatsu around and authorized a rushed anime adaptation when the school festival arc was halfway finished(XBEC anime) and another naime when the school festical ended(SHAFT) and in return we got OVAs which while looking good are glorified demo clips with no story. And a terrible FINAL movie which makes another ending to replace the manga’s horrendous ending.
I need to blame Akamatsu for UQ Holder’s anime sucking or being suppressed. The first several episodes were incredibly promising, even with me knowing only 12 episodes were going to be made, I thought that there would be a chance that we could get a second season. But at around episode 6, I knew it wouldn’t be ruined. Not animating Santa’s arc was an catastrophic mistake, for one its not even that long and the detail in the manga is some of the best I have seen Akamatsu draw. If they animated that arc, I could see the show getting great ratings and popularity would go up.
I understand animation cost money.. Ken…. All you had to do was buy over 24 episodes, that’s all you had to do. A general audience doesn’t like rushed garbage, even a casual viewer will not resonate with your vision and story if you rush things and don’t allow anything to settle.
I will only support UQ Holder until it is over.. After that I’m putting my Negima anime hopes to rest, and Kodansha is not getting another dollar from me >:(
SetsunaAngel99
August 2, 2018 at 2:48 pmlol I meant people giving SHAFT a pass. XBEC are not excellent animators. I can’t edit my post. But thank you for this article. Been seeing some post over the past 3 years on why the Negima adaptations are terrible and more backlash 6 years after the manga ended knowing how screwed over us fans were.
Ah Hor
March 14, 2019 at 9:11 amI don’t under why they didn’t put dana ananga jagannatha on the episode of the video on YouTube or some web else? I have read it all agin and again from the book and it’s never make me bored of it. Just wondering why they cut off?
KIM
March 9, 2020 at 9:32 pmmaaaaaaaan whens the next chapter of uq hlder coming out? ps the way that yukihime kept kissing him in chapter 169 WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!