Negima!
(2005)/Princess Principal
(2017)/Seven Heavenly
Virtues (2017/all Sentai
Complete Collection
Blu-rays)
Picture:
C+/B+/B Sound: C+/B+/B Extras: C/B*/C Main Programs:
B/B+/C+
And
now for a
new group of anime releases to know about...
Welcome
to Mahora Academy, where anything and everything can happen,
including a 10 year teacher named Negi. It's the start of a new
semester and he is put in charge of the class 2-A of Junior High
girls, but secretly he is also a wizard-in-training and he protects
the secret of magic. Between teaching and teenage girls falling in
love with him and magic what could go wrong?
In
Negima!: Complete
Collection (2005),Negi
Springfield is a 10-year teacher, but secretly he is a
wizard-in-training and he wants to become a master magician to help
people with his magic. He is assigned to Mahora Academy, a city
sized campus and to the class of 2-A, a class full of energetic and
odd ball girls. While he teaches and helps his students he secretly
protects them from dangers and threats from the magical wold (but
then the girls in his classes isn't exactly 'normal' either). While
Negi being a wizard is supposed to be a secret, eventually all the
girls in his class find out anyway (and wan to be his partner). All
the girls find Negi too cute and fall in love with him, in particular
Asuna, they end up becoming magical 'partners' in their adventure.
From
the people who brought you Love Hina, Negima! has even
more girls along with magic and adventure. The series makes fun of
romantic harem comedy by pairing a 10-year-old with (junior)high
school girls. Extras include clean opening and closing animation,
recording of "To the Shining You ~ Peace" and trailers.
Episodes
include...
The
Blockhead in the Professor's Chair - The girls of Class 2-A gets
a new teacher, a 10 year-old named Negi, who also happens to secretly
be a wizard.
Every
Beginning is Difficult - Asuna discover Negi's secret and wants
him to make a love potion for her.
Lovers,
Lunatics - Negi makes a love potion for Asuna but when it goes
wrong, all the girls fall in love with Negi instead.
No
Place Like Home - Negi tries to help the 'Baka' Rangers in his
class improve their grades.
Rumor
Flies - Chamo arrives at Mahora and tells Negi he needs to find a
'partner'.
Between
a Rock and a Hard Place - Negi discovers one of his students is a
Vampire, Evangeline.
The
Appearances of Things are Deceptive - After being defeated by
Evangeline, Negi recovers and he and Asuna discover another one of
his students, Evangeline's partner Chachamaru is a robot.
One
Night Befalls All of Us - Negi teams up with Asuna as a partner
and is able to defeat Evangeline and Chachamaru.
I'll
Get You, Wascally Wabbit! - Negi tours the campus with Fuka and
Fumika.
Where
There is Harmony, There is Victory - The girls play dodgeball
against the high school girls ...with Negi as the prize.
When
They are Silent, They are Shouting - Negi and the girls set up a
website and discover one of their classmate Chisame is an internet
idol.
Either
Learn or Leave - Negi and the Baka Ranger explore Library Island
for a magic book to make them smarter.
We
Live and Learn - Negi and the girls are trapped in library island
and study for 3 days and manage to ace the exams when they get out.
I
Hope the Memory of Our Friendship Will Be Eternal - Negi and
Konoka buy a present for Asuna, but is stalked by the class
Cheerleaders.
A
Reliable Friend is Perceived in an Uncertain Situation - Negi and
the class visits Ayaka at her home.
Love
and Cough are Not Kept Secret - The girls hold a sleepover party
at the old school building with Negi.
Nothing
is Difficult for a Lover - Nodoka helps Yu to go out on a date
with Negi.
Love
Does Not Recognize Rank - Negi is shocked that his student Nodoka
is falling in love with him. Asuna makes a cake for Takahata.
Words
Fly Away, Those Written Remain - Negi and the girls discover one
of their classmates is a ghost.
Unless
You Have Believed, You Will Not Understand - Negi and the girls
take a trip to Kyoto, but evil wizards are targeting Konoka.
It
Must Not at All be Despaired - Negi, Asuna and Setsuna set off to
rescue Konoka.
It
Is Difficult to Make a Joke with a Sad Mind - Negi asks
Evangeline to be his magic teacher.
Remember
to Die - Asuna begins to remember her past and she made a deal
with the devil.
Both
Weapon and Words Wound - Negi and the girls are sadden by Asuna's
death and seek to discover a way to bring her back. Yue confesses
her feelings to Negi.
Death
is Certain, the Time is Uncertain - Negi and the girls travel
back into the past to save Asuna.
Not
For Me, Not For You, But For Us - Negi forms contracts with all
the girls of 2-A to save Asuna and defeat the Demon King.
In
the early 20th Century, Great Britain discovered Cavorite, an
anti-gravity material which gave birth to an era of giant airships
and inventions. However, it caused different classes to emerge in
the kingdom, Albion the wealthy, those who controlled Cavorite and
the Commonwealth, the poor and the masses of the common people. The
Commonwealth and Albion secretly fight one another with spies
stealing secrets and changing the balance of power. Ange, Charlotte,
Dorothy, Beatrice and Chise are 5 young schoolgirls (one of them is
the royal princess) who serve as spies for the Commonwealth in
Princess Principal: Complete
Collection (2017).
Ange,
Charlotte, Dorothy, Beatrice and Chise are well bred girls in the
prestigious girl's school, but at night they spies for the
commonwealth against the corrupt Albion. Ange is a master of
disguise and a dead ringer for the current princess but shares a
secret with Charlotte. Charlotte is the current 4th Princess of
Albion and wishes to become the next Queen, she uses her position to
help infiltrate the nobility, but secretly she wishes to tear down
the walls separating the classes and re-build the country. Dorothy
is the oldest among the girls and the leader of the group, she uses
feminine wiles in the missions. Beatrice is from a minor noble
family and a mechanical voice and able to imitate anyone's voice, she
is fiercely loyal to Charlotte. Chise is an exchange student from
Japan, but secretly she is an ninja assassin sent to observe the who
will win in the revolution between Albion and the Commonwealth.
Together, they work to bring peace and justice to the masses.
This
was a fictional England set in the industrial age with steampunk and
cute little girls who are also deadly spies. The episodes does not
follow chronological order, but are various cases, sometime jumping
back in time to explain the back story of the girls or how they met.
Extras include Japanese promos, picture drama, clean opening and
closing animation and trailers, but as you can see from the image
included with this review, there is a expanded, deluxe Premium box
set for serious fans who want are willing to pay more.
Episodes
include...
01
Case 13 - Wired Liar - The girls are to get defecting
scientist out of Albion, but things are not what they seem and the
girls find out he is a double agent.
02
Case 1 - Dancy Conspiracy - Ange and Dorothy are sent in to
secretly replace the princess, but instead they are ordered to steal
a key and the Princess requests that she is allowed to join them as a
spy for the Commonwealth.
03
Case 2 - Vice Voice - Charlotte and Beatrice joins Ange and
Dorothy as spies. Ange and Beatrice work together on their first
mission together to steal back printing plates.
04
Case 9 - Roaming Pigeons - The girls must find and stop a
group of scientists when they develop a new miniaturized Cavorite
device.
05
Case 7 - Bullets & Blade's Ballad - The Princess welcomes
a Japanese ambassador and must stop his assassination. They meet
Chise who vows to stop the assassin ...her father.
06
Case 16 - Loudly Laundry - The girls must find an assassin
hidden among the troops, but to do so, they must work as laundry
girls in a factory.
07
Case 18 - Rouge Morgue - The girls are sent to find a cipher
on a dead body in the morgue. Dorothy confronts her father.
08
Case 11 - Pell-mell Duel - Chise reports back to the East and
how she is adjusting to her life and culture in the West. She
challenges against Nobles to a duel when they insult her home.
09
Case 20 - Ripper Dipper - The girls are sent to discover who
is Lord O'Reilly's contact with Albion. It is revealed Ange and
Charlotte have knew each other along ago and exchanged places.
10
Case 22 - Comfort Comrade - The girls investigate an old
friend who maybe a double spy.
11
Case 23 - Humble Double - The girl's next mission is to
assassinate Princess Charlotte, but can they kill their friend?
12
Case 24 - Fall of the Wall - The girls uncover a plot to kill
the Queen and then overthrow the kingdom and frame the Princess for
the assassination. The girls race to save the Queen and Charlotte
from starting another war.
Finally,
when Lucifer decides to bring hell on earth, it's the end of world.
Heaven however decides to send their 'Angels' to find humanities new
messiah candidates and train them as humanity future savior(s).
Unfortunately, all the 'angels' are scantily clap and lacking common
sense and more likely to tempt/seduce them in Seven
Heavenly Virtues: Complete
Collection (2017).
Heaven
sends it's angels to help protect humanity to find the saviors of
humanity and keep them from sin, but for some reason, all of them a
sexy, scantily clad and big boobed girls and more likely to temp the
Messiah Candidates down a lustful and sinful path. Well if the end
of the world is coming... at least they will die happy and (most
likely) loose their virginity.
This
was a fan-service filled series with scantily clad girls with
heavenly bodies and little plot/story. The series is very short,
each episode is only about 4-5 minutes long. Extras include clean
opening and closing animations and trailers.
Episodes
here include...
The
Angel Descends - Michael the Angel of Faith seems more into BDSM
than being angelic.
I'm
Supporting You from the Shadows - Uriel the Angel of Patience
prefers to hide in the shadows and has 'bathroom' issues...
Special
Dessert Training - Raphael the Angel of Temperance helps with
inspiring new 'sexy' recipes.
Please
Focus - Sandalphon seems more into computers than helping her
candidate messiah.
Is
This... Alright? - Metatron is a Nurse Angel, but she is a bit
clumsy.
No!
That's Immoral! - Gabriel says porn is not ok, but it's ok if she
is scantily clad.
Good
Job at Work Today - Sariel the Angel of Kindness comforts her
Messiah with her massive 'assets/boobs'.
Be
Careful on Crowed Trains - The Angels all ride the train
together, but their boobs are taking up all the space! (But no one
seems to mind).
The
Angel's Room - Take a sneak peep into the Angel's locker room as
they change clothes.
The
Messiah's Virtues - The Angels talk on how to test/seduce their
'Messiahs' with sexy poses and pictures.
Splash!
A New Training Method - It's beach time and full of scantily clad
angels in swimsuits.
The
1080p 1.78 X
1 digital High Definition image transfers in all three cases are as
good as they can be in the format, but Negima!
is a little weak in picture, as it is in sound, whether by artistic
choice or not. All
three releases also offer DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo
lossless mixes in original Japanese and slightly lesser English
translations, et al, with some Pro Logic-like surrounds. Wonder how
the latter two releases would improve in 4K?
-
Ricky Chiang
