Ok, anyone who has been following the Manga discussion thread will notice how we're having quite a...heated... discussion about this character.


So let's stop using that place and use a properly designed forum for that discussion, ok?!


EDIT: Sorry for the typo on the second option :ph43r:

I picked one not because she's my top girl, but I do like her.

EDIT: She doesn't need more time in the manga, but I don't think she deservous to be written off as a girl who would do the entire world a favor by leaping off the face of the earth and disappearing. :angry: Where's all the hate coming from all of a sudden. Honestly, this is like when One Piece spoilers came out last week and everyone was saying that Robin was finally getting what she deserved when she got diced into three pieces.

I certainly don't hate her (hey, cute bookworm character is always a good thing) but I don't think she's all that special in the crowd. She has been completely overshadowed by Yue in recent times, and I think her character has grown weaker over time as opposed to stronger (many other characters have come on leaps and bounds in terms of character development compared to Nodoka). She's on the verge of slipping out of my top-10 on my recent reckonings.

And I am definately of the opinion that she is one of the characters that has been favoured far too much to the detriment of other characters, especially given how I don't see her character as having taken any significant steps forward in terms of development.

Agree. She has had a crush on Negi from start, and it hasn't moved much from there (well, she is way more open than before, but still not so much develop like Asuna or Setsuna or the other "top tier" characters)

I went for the second option. It's not that I hate/dislike her it's just that she doesn't have much of a character compared to several other.

And as mentioned for a character that's meant ot be a MAIN character her development is rather stagnet. While other main characters have developt much more over the course of the serise so far.

Acually, She is the most important character in negima~!!!!!
She need in main character with Asuna and negi for recovering negima's animation's popular rate .

For the first season, album selling was good, especially first ending song is greater than others.

But in the second season, from first 1000% sparking op, there is no honya chan,(That's why oricon ranking is not pretty higher than before)

From Princess festival, Honyachan no shiyuu Noto mamiko didn't join this event. Then this concert's interesting rate is not higher than first concert(even though they made a lot of people from concert).
But second season's animation is getting better (because of main poster from website and her activity in ep 4~7)

And the negima best album.............(event though Magical hapiness was in album, Honya chan didn't join in the solo vocal in Hello again. Asuna setsuna konoka Iincho negi kun did solo vocal, but only honya chan didn't do this, if she joined, it makes more people who wanna buy this album.)

in Drama and Negima Neo, Honya chan is not in the main character list from poster and first page(Only Asuna, setsuna and konoka)

At this rate, I think negima's interesting rate will be worse without honya chan

Umm, I guess what everyones saying about Honya-chan not really developing is true, but she's helping Negi develop. Not that he really needs developing.

I'd contest that:

To my mind, right now, the only characters from 3A that I would deem as being absolutely necessary to advancing the main story are Asuna and Eva (and Eva only at a biiiiig stretch). Due to her history with Nagi, Asuna is the only person in 3A that is vital to the development and progression of the main story - which is Negi's quest to find out what the heck happened to his dad.

Everyone else is technically expendable to that aim (yes, even my beloved Sec-chan). It might be nice and enjoyable to have others tag along, but I would save the 'most important character' tags to only Asuna from 3A.

I understand.

BUt I cannot withdraw Honya chan~~!!

I hope she will be revived in third season's music and main poster.

She loved negi kun more than others ~!! (ALthough Negi will go with Asuna). it will help to make another advancing story someday....

To make Mahora's 3-A Fantastic 4~!!

and.............. HEY !!! WHAT IS THAT VOTE~~!!!!
C' MOM~!!!! CLICK LOVE HER~~!!!!!

To answer the question of why we're all going crazy about Nodoka, it's because TnAdct1 started raving about how the chapters in the most recent volume have a lack of said character, and how we didn't need to concentrate on our most recently found ones, instead finding Nodoka and continue developing her. This got a lot of people (myself including) rather upset, and we started attacking, saying how Nodoka has had enough development and to let others in the spotlight, with a thousand reasons to support it.

My position on Nodoka: She's amongst my favorite 3A girls. In fact, I'm hoping that if the manga goes on long enough, she's the one negi ends up with. However, I do agree that she's gotten quite her fair share of time in the spotlight, and while she can still go further, it's about time we saw development of others and put her on hold for the moment (add that to the fact that Ako is another favorite and Akira's up there as well)

Don't mind cjs3143 Balthazars he's even more biased towards Nodoka than TnAdct1 is.

Although I'm kinda hard pressed to see how character songs, albums, anime and such are in any way relavent to the manga in the slightest. Since none are canonical and don't come from Akamatsu himself.

Well, ive only read up to book 15, so im not like, completely up to date, but im a fan of her, and the Yue/Nodoka scene was really touching, and i liked that way better than most of the action scenes or the "main plot". I like seeing her character develop, so i said more.

But she's not my favorite character or anything. =P

But only nodoka needs~! I don't need Yuechiiiii~!!!!

Eh, she's not my favourite, she does fill the 'princess' role in the harem.

Nodoka is also a favorite of mine, along with Sakurako and Makie. However, she, along with the more popular girls are on the verge of being overexposed.

Give chances to the girls who deserve more screentime (especially Sakurako). WTH is KA thinking of not doing that?

Hey, it's not like I hate her... I just don't like to put her in themostimportantcharacterwhoneedstoappearineverychapter position.
She is still one of my favourites.

Nodoka's too overexposed IMHO, while others like Misora or Ayaka just don't get enough time for attention. In any case I do think that Konoka, Setsuna or Asuna for that matter would be better paired with Negi for that matter.

Like all Negima's girls :D
But the Big 5 (Eva, Asuna, Nodoka, Konoka, Setsuna) is the best!!

She's one of my least favorite characters due to her massive amounts of development...

BUT, I actually like her character nonetheless... (Kagurazaka being the least favorite, I actually even like her character...)

Basically, I like all the characters, but there has to be a least favorite, but I don't hate them at all...

Seeing that I like all characters including Miyazaki, I'll just vote for the first choice, but I'm not necessarily in love with her character...

I don't know why there's such a heated debate about her not appearing yet...

I mean, sure we'd all love to know where she ended up, who she ended up with, and how she's faring and all, but we'll find out soon enough...

It's not like Ken's gonna totally forget about her character or anything...

Though for now, I'd rather see what Sasaki and Akashi are up to...

I would always like more Nodoka. Or at least, more quality time spent on her.

I know that others may say that she has too much screen time, especially given how little she has grown over the past few volumes. However, in most of those appearances she was a background or supporting character, helping the main character move the story along. For example, when Anya showed up, Nodoka made friends with her, but it was Anya's story arc. Anya was the character that developed. We learned some of Anya's past and got confirmation of her feelings for Negi. It would be odd for a character to make significant development changes during someone else's story arc.

As far as Nodoka's development becoming stagnant... She is one of the few characters still making progress. She been very introspective lately, asking herself what she wants, how she wants her relationship with Negi to progress, and how to handle her negative emotions. She is making slow progress, similar to her relationship with Negi, but it is progress. Nodoka is still a quiet, shy , nice girl; but Asuna still hits Negi in the head, Setsuna is still wishy-washy on her exact feelings for Konoka, Eva is still evil, and Negi still tries to do too much himself. They've gotten better, but none of them have made earth-shattering changes. All the characters are progressing slowly towards the people they will become.

I want all the characters to have their time as the 'main' character, even if only for a chapter or 3. But, until we have another story arc where Nodoka is the main character, I want her to at least make an appearance. Selfish I know, but name one fan that thinks their favorite character should get less time on stage.

This train wreck is more in reaction to a few too many "Nodoka must show up and save the day" posts than an actual dislike for the way she is written/portrayed in the story. But unfortunately, after a while such things do tend to provoke a negative reaction towards the character :blink:

Exactly

I seriously doubt any of us hate Nodoka. It's just that we've been bombarded with Nodoka most appear in every dang chapter. And the individual saying it doesn't seem to realize he's doing more harm than good with his posts.

Even I'm not willing to say my favorite should/needs to be in every single chapter.

I simply don't care for her. Don't like her.
But hate is such a strong word, if there was an option between the 2nd and 3rd, I'd probably be around there.

Rather than having issues with the character, most my feelings against her are personal and irrelevant to how the manga portrays her.
Though, I DO get bored of passive, shy girls and unfortunately she's the queen in Negima.
Still, I, unlike some of you, do believe she has made a lot of progress in developing her character.
Confessing her feelings was a huge step in her development but the thing I see in her eyes is mostly made up of admiration with a touch of puppy love.

The fierce Nodoka fan base doesn't help much either in my feelings for her since I'm a common rooter for underdogs and people who may claim she's god's gift to men sicken me.

It's amusing that the more I continue to write, the more aggravated I get at the Nodoka, so I'll stop there before I do something evil.

Hohohohoho, long post time! (oh I really should be studying... >.>)

I'll state it again that Nodoka, from a starting point, has gone through a LOT less development compared to others characters, I'll compare:

Asuna: started as a recluse personality (only friends with Konoka and Ayaka), with a huge hidden crush on TTT, and a real bratty attitude towards Negi. Over time, has developed a more open, friendlier personality (gained good friendships with Setsuna and Eva) in the process, gained determination to extend herself for those she cares about; has learnt to be more mature about her relationship with Negi (yes, she still hits him, but she also has a better handle on her role as the primary 'partner' and how to deal with his personality), and even gained the courage to confess to TTT.

Setsuna: started as a complete recluse, no friends in the class (except Mana, but that seems more professional than anything else) and kept her distance from Konoka. Was ashamed of her half-demon heritage and afraid of being found out and disliked. Kept a strictly 'professional' attitude to almost everything that she did (check out the way her face is always drawn when she first appears, she always has her narrow-eyed serious look - now, she gets much bigger eyes a lot more of the time). Now, she is less serious, is pretty open about her heritage, but definately no longer fears or loathes it, has learnt to relax and have fun (dressing up, going bowling), is slooooooowly getting to grips with her feelings (for both Konoka and Negi) and has found a kinder, softer and more compassionate side to her personality. She has stopped making massive strides in development recently, but that's because she has come a lot further than most of the other characters in roughly the same period of time.

Yue: also started as a more reserved, cynical and cold personality (heavily influenced it would seem by the death of her grandfather), limited to a small group of friends, and unwilling to put effort or energy into anything (other than reading and drinking strange flavoured juice, it would appear), hence her position in the Baka Rangers. Since then, she has gained new maturity as to her feelings for Negi (and apart from her initial 'omg Nodoka will hate me' stage, has generally handled it better). She's found a passion (magic) that she can throw her weight behind, and treats it clearly, as one can see by her quick development in her ability to cast some basic spells. As a part of this, her personality has become stronger, more determined and assertive, and she is not afraid of saying what needs to be said - in this aspect, she played the critical role in the fight against Chao by steeling Negi's resolve.

Nodoka: started as the shy, quiet type. Yuuup, no real change there. Had a crush on Negi at the start. Still there too, although her feelings have become stronger, her journey there has seemed very 'incidental' along the way compared to others like Setsuna or Yue. She has not really grown more assertive or confident in either herself, or in her abilities. In fact, when Yue comes onto the scene in the love-tryst with Negi, she backs down again! She still comes across has not having any backbone and being too reliant on others; without someone else there to give her some confidence and support, she still seems to melt away. She still doesn't seem so serious about accepting the 'magic' part of Negi's life, she seems to want Negi, but not the 'mage', but that's not possible given who Negi is, so her refusal or inability to adapt to accept this part (whereras the other three have done this pretty well) speaks of her lack of development of her appreciation for who Negi really is.

Anyway, I use these 4 for comparsion because I would consider them to be the 4 main girls so far in terms of level of development.

The thing I love most about manga is the journey in seeing characters get developed. That's why I loved Motoko the best in LH, because she had the most interesting journey (and conversely, why I couldn't stand Naru, because she stayed the same until the last 2 volumes!)

I really do like Nodoka's character, but it's really frustrating having a character get so much exposure and then to not see their character really go anywhere. Anyway, off to dinner for me!

I agree that it probably has gone too far, but I wouldn't place all the blame one person for that because:

1) I know that I posted a few times saying why I thought that Nodoka would be found soon. So, I accept some of the blame. I apologize for helping in any way, beyond the stating of my own opinion, to prolong the problem.
2) I felt that the points we both put forth on the topic were relevant, possible, and logical. At the time, current thought was that those that were close to each other when the teleportation spell occurred would appear near each other. Nodoka was closer to Chisame than some others. Also, Nodoka's "non-combat" abilities might be useful in this "non-combat" situation.
3) Both of us have speculated on what abilities Nodoka's other books may be capable of. I don't really see a problem with this as it was part of the manga discussion thread, but some argue (correctly) that there is no proof that they do anything. I must counter this point by saying that many individuals have posted personal theories with little or no evidence to back it up. However, the character(s) mentioned did not receive any dislike.
4) Some of those that disagreed went so far as to say Nodoka was useless. Its rude to say that about any character. Also, its completely untrue of any of the girls. We probably just don't know what there role is in the story just yet. Negi says that there are no useless girls in his class, too.

Balthazar,

I agree that Nodoka's development has slowed down significantly recently. That is one of the reasons why I would like her back and in a main role soon.

And compared to Nodoka, a HELL of a lot more characters have WAY less development than her.

I don't hate Nodoka. Don't like her either.

But there is one thing that I like from the recent chapters: What Akamatsu started (during the Ako mini-arc, Yuuna chapter, Akira chapter, Natsumi x Kotarou), he's following up on. The other girls need some screen time and I'm okay with them getting it.

If the more famous girls get saved too early, they'll just overshadow these girls easily which is probably why they'll (the famous ones) be saved for last.

Let the other girls have their time to shine. If you feel your character's not getting attention (Nodoka) think of the others that haven't even gotten anywhere at all.

tl,dr; Stop being selfish.

My eyes hurt -.-
Maybe I'll use cj as a benchmark. If I rant slightly less than him - tis all right.

I'll avoid branching out into other characters :P

I like Nodoka, she has had a lot of development and was set up in a way that seemed most likely to be with Negi relationshipwise (assuming we following the relationship-dating line rather than the sudden typical crappy action movie coupling line) One gripe is that she needs to be more useful in the story. Negima is long past the point where its a Love Hina type series and there is much magical action adventure here!

Her highpoint in that category was Kyoto, and it's just gone downhill from there. (while other character development gone up)

So again - she needs to put that book of hers to good use again, or whip out an uber new book that tis useful.

Edit: Knew I forgot something.

I don't really mind whether she appear more or not. They better have a good explanation for her time out there - after all she seems one of the weakest in terms of physical ability.

although she's in my top 5 or 10 (can't remember at the moment), i voted for the second option.

i don't think there needs to be more of her in the manga. i wouldn't mind it, but if it takes development away from another character who needs it more then i would prefer it if she stayed unfound for a while

i definately prefer her best friend/ love rival

That's true, but not many have had the amount of 'front page' exposure as Nodoka, yet to my mind she has still failed to go particularly far; the other 3 girls with comparable levels of exposure (Asuna, Setsuna and Yue), in my opinion, have gone much further with the time given to them. That's what frustrates me about Nodoka right now; hence my current stance of "you had your shot, and didn't do too much with it; time for someone else to get some development!"

love her. she's not my favorite character, but she's too good to not have a big role. Her love triangle with yue is also good.

@Torginn It's not that we diliked the logical aspect of either of yours posts. It was the repertition of it that wore on us. We'd be in the middle of one discussion. Than out of seemingly no where it would change to Nodoka.

As for the abilities of any other books. While it's possible they have useful abilities I'm hesitant to have her rely/use them without any real knowledge about them. The risks out weight the gains at the moment imo.

As for her usefulness. I agree that she is far from useless. It's just that her usefulness is......limited in some respects. While some of those found have multiple uses as it where.

Concerning the potential abilities of others. I know I'm guilty of this myself to some degree. I try to make my arguements/reasons as logical as I can though.

I like Nodoka, she's one of my favourite characters, actually.

But I think she's had enough screentime already, so she should take a backseat for the time being, and let other characters shine.

Out of my head I can mention Misora and the Cheerleader Trio.


But one would expect that, since Nodoka is one of the "main characters" of the manga, she would have developed some more than what she has done (I gotta admit that: in the beginning she couldn't even look at Negi)





Wow, I just noticed how Akamatsu overexposition of Nodoka during the manga has caused either people to REALLY love her (that line of her being God's gift to mankind is pure win), or still think she's no more than a supporting character.

This thread has been a success :D

Ummm, she is only a supporting character, as she is neither the hero nor the heroine of the story, those roles going to Negi and (I know this'll irritate a few) Asuna. She's one of the main supporting characters.

Nah, I also believe Asuna is the main heroine...


Good point there on the "main supporting characters" thing

2nd option.

User to like her at the beginning.
Overexpuse made me not like her anymore, but not hate.
I posted on the discussion after TnAdct1 continued implying we should forget about the others and bring Nodoka back.

Guilty me, I posted again on the manga thread without seeing this thread.

I'll copy what I posted there (and just edited to not be answered there)

In response to Twilit Libra:

EDIT to below two posts:
That is what happens when you are thinking about another manga at the same time as typing. Fixed... changed to Akamatsu.

You could have used a quote...


(What or who is Kishimoto?)

Who the hell is Kishimoto?

2 out of 3 Negima! fans agree: Nodoka is Meh!

You and your stadistics...


(though numbers don't lie. )