FUNimation to Release Negima!

Date: 2005 November 02 21:45

Posted by Jeremy

FUNimation announced that they will release Negima! on DVD sometime in 2006.

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FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd., a subsidiary of the Navarre Corporation, announced that they will be releasing the anime television series Negima! (full title Maho-sensei Negima! or Magister Negi Magi) sometime in 2006. The distributor, which has brought such recent hits as Fullmetal Alchemist, Burst Angel and Samurai 7 to American viewers, made the announcement at their panel at Anime Vegas.

The anime series, directed by Nagisa Miyazaki and airing on TV Tokyo, is based on the recent manga by Love Hina creator Ken Akamatsu, currently being translated and distributed in America by Del Rey Manga. The main character is Negi Springfield, a ten-year-old wizard who has just graduated top of his class at his magic school in England and dreams of becoming a Magister Magi, the most respected and admired magicians around. But first, he must go to Japan to teach English to the 31 girls of Class 2-A at Mahora Academy, which is run by a friend of his grandfather's. Negi must keep his magical powers a secret, but it isn't long before he's found out by Asuna Kagurazaki, one of his students who resents Negi for replacing her favorite teacher. And with the rest of his class doting on their oh-so-adorable teacher and all sorts of antics, both magical and non, happening on a regular basis, Negi is going to be kept busy. The series has been jokingly referred to by otaku as Love Hogwarts, due to its Harry Potter-style magical action and romantic hi-jinks and moments of fan service that is on par with Love Hina.

FUNimation has not yet released too many details regarding the release of the Negima! series, in particular an exact date for its American debut. What is known is that voice actor Greg Ayres, who also voices Kyohei Tachibana in Burst Angel and Heihachi Hayashida in Samurai 7, will be doing the English-version voice of main character Negi. A splash page for the series can be seen at www.negima.tv.