▪	RELEASED BY:		DEL REY
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		KEN AKAMATSU
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		208
		▪	RATING:		OT
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		08/28/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/04/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN

The fights go on.  Under the tree of magic, powerful forces are at work, and Negi is, as usual, caught right in the middle.  NEGIMA!, by Ken Akamatsu, creator of LOVE HINA and AI GA TOMARANAI, is another long series from a manga master who has published few works, but who has managed to find a winning formula for longevity with each one of them.  LOVE HINA, for example, lasted four years in Japan, and was a huge success in the United States.  NEGIMA! with a long lasting appeal among devoted fans, shows every sign of lasting as long.  Cute characters, snappy dialogue, fan service and action in abundance grace the pages of this tale about life in a school where magic is practiced freely among students and faculty alike.  The students in Negi’s class are classic manga stock types, and the situations that arise are as chock full of fun as they are sometimes incredibly predictable.

Volume 15 opens with Takahata-sensei and Asuna meeting at the school and Asuna finally confessing her love for this much older man who has been such a fixture in her life.  She is let down very gently by our sensei, but more of the mysterious past between them is alluded to before the story within a story draws to an end.  We then segue into another drama unfolding, involving Chao Lingshen, who announces that she is leaving the school having more or less accomplished her goals.  She then challenges Negi to a fight which he must win without using his magic.  This proves to be very difficult, and things are looking desperate for our wily Welshman when suddenly Chao finds herself in the middle of a surprise party thrown in her honor. 

Oops…  Chao is showered with gifts, and even lovingly tortured to bring out some long repressed emotions in front of her peers.  But she does not crack, and even when she tells everyone she is a time traveler from Mars, all she gets is laughter in return.  Yet something is not right with her and Negi discovers, and we know we have not seen the last of her, especially as her purpose in being on Earth is to reveal the existence of magic to all humans.  

NEGIMA! continues to be a wild romp, filled with magical pratfalls, saucy humor and the kind of cute character design one would expect to find in a work by Ken Akamatsu.  It also has some great set piece action, intriguing plots within plots and enough fan service, even this far into the story to keep a little ba-dum happening with readers.  As in the past, the line work is very clean, details in action are drawn with precision, and the battles are a kaleidoscope of action lines, halftone and sweeping gestures.  We are looking at the work of someone who knows how to write, plan and execute manga for older teens, and who can deliver fan service when needed. 

A final note.  This story is for 16+ readers, because of the occasional nudity in the action.  There is nothing puerile in the imagery, but some people who absolutely cannot stand the sight of a bare bottom in comics might have some issues just the same with a small number of images in NEGIMA!. 

EXTRA:
Del Rey has once again included a useful biography of Akamatsu for readers, and translation notes for the more obscure cultural references in the book.  Fan art has also been supplied, showing the degree of love many have for this story.  A class list has been included, a carry over from earlier volumes, and a lexicon of magical terms plus character descriptions have been set in the book.  All in all, this volume is packed full of some great material.

IN SUMMARY:
Magic, mayhem, and fan service for all.  NEGIMA! remains spellbinding and action packed as only a manga from award winning artist and writer Ken Akamatsu can.