Go For Broke: Mahou Sensei Negima!

10:00 AM on 07.26.2009   |   Pedro Cortes

Welcome back to the article that loves the kids, Go For Broke!

This week's featured series is Mahou Sensei Negima!, a series by Ken Akamatsu, author of Love Hina. It's about a 10-year-old wizard named Negi, who is searching for his missing father. In the meanwhile, he's become a teacher at a Japanese middle school, teaching a group of adorable girls, all with bizarre quirks. The series began as a typical Akamatsu harem affair, yet has become a sprawling epic set in the realm of magic with several stories occurring concurrently.

Follow me after the jump to hear more!

All the figures I'm featuring this week come from the same series produced by Konami. They're called Figumates and they're released in blind boxes. Each set features several of the girls in Negi's class, usually in their school uniforms, though the later sets feature the girls in different outfits. The heads and bodies are also interchangeable, if you're in the mood for a chuckle or two. They also usually come with accessories that match their personalities.

Most of these sets are sold out online, as they're a couple of years old, but you can sometimes find them at bigger conventions at decent prices. So, without further ado, here's the first set.

Figumate Vol. 1 Negima!

The first volume of the Negima Figumates was in May 2005, probably to coincide with the then-airing anime. It features [from left to right] Ku Fei (Kung fu master and general dunce), Asuna Kagurazaka (loud tsundere main character), Konoka Konoe (granddaughter of the school chairman), Nodoka Miyazaki (mousy bookworm voiced by Mamiko Noto!), and Makie Sasaki (positive gymnast used for amusing panty shots). With the exception of Ku Fei, these are the girls that have the spot light for much of the beginning of the series. You'll see a lot of Asuna, as she's arguably the main female of the series, much to my chagrin.

Figumate Negima! Vol. 2

Volume two of the Figumate series features (starting from upper left) Setsuna Sakurazaki (probable bisexual half-demon swordsman), Evangeline A.K. McDowell (800 year-old vampire stuck in the body of a loli, incredibly awesome), Chachamaru Karakuri (robotic maid for Evangeline, also awesome), Yue Ayase (intelligent and lazy girl with strong amounts of intuition), and Kaede Nagase (a very kind ninja with large boobs to match her large heart.) This is my favorite set of the bunch, due to having all of my favorite characters available at once, especially Evangeline and Setsuna.

Figumate Negima! Vol 3.

Volume three has Yuna Akashi (a basketball player and the child of two mages), Ako Izumi (a soccer player with a mysterious scar on her back), Makie in a maid outfit, Chachamaru in a maid outfit, Akira Okochi (a swimmer that is oddly very strong), and Evangeline in her vampire outfit. This set isn't a particular favorite of mine, but I'm quite fond of Chachamaru's maid outfit and Evanglines's vamp costume. Both of those are on my shelf.

Figumate Negima! Vol. 4

Volume four has Konoe in a Yukata, Asuna in her casuals, Ku Fei in a china dress, Mana Tatsumiya (a master sniper and former wizard bodyguard) and her rare outfit, Haruna Saotome (artist and general busy-body), and Ayaka Yukihiro (rich girl and rival to Asuna, also a Shotacon.) Another set that I'm not too fond of. Nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't have anything I really want besides the Konoe in a yukata.

Figumate Negima! Vol. 5

Volume five features Negi (the main character and general bad ass), Asuna in another casual outfit, Kasuga Misori (a nun aware of the magical world), Chao Lingshen (antagonist from the Mahora Festival arc), Kazumi Asakura (class reporter and general busy-body), Sayo Aizaka (former student, current ghost), Fuuka and Fumika Narutaki (very young-looking twins that cause much mischief), Chisame Hasegawa (anti-social nerd who acts as the classes straight man) and Chisame's net-idol alter ego, Chiu. This is my second favorite set, due to Negi, Sayo and both versions of Chisame. Good look finding that Chiu figure, though; it's a bitch to find.

That's all for this week. Have a broke one!