LogFAQs > #889118620

Well, time for me to eat my words!

It didn't sit right with me that I ignored a show that I was recommended because of an awful OP, so I decided to go ahead and check out UQ Holder.

Good call. This passed the 3 episode rule with flying colors.

This show is good stuff. For one thing the pacing is something else. 3 episodes in and I feel like I've watched 5 episodes of an anime in this genre already, at no sacrifice to the presentation or enjoyment. The fanservice has been a non-issue. It opened with a short Negima "flashback" scene that was basically a big fanservice shot, but it's purpose seemed to be mostly "that's how it used to be, things aren't like that now". Couple of towel shots with the older woman, not presented as oggle bait, except one time as a joke. So far just about all the ecchi has been at the expense of a super feminine male character. Both of these potential issues being avoided is somehow even more impressive but the fact that there was like an 8 to 10 minute hot springs scene in episode 2 and it still didn't fuck up on either end.

The characters are all pretty clean archetypes but executed well. The story has on occassion threatened a potentially lame direction but then squashed it right away, which seemed to reflect the writer being a big name staple of late 90s/early 00s anime and manga sticking to what he knows best but also evolving to stay modern and bringing those ideas into a more medium and genre aware state.

Knowing nothing about Negima has not been an issue. They make things pretty clear with very little exposition. Hell, there was one moment in episode 2 where they implied something about a character by showing 2 Negima characters pop up in someone's head, characters I know NOTHING about, and I still managed to grasp what it was going for. There's clearly plenty of references and world stuff for Negima fans, but it doesn't get in the way at all.

Is it an amazing show? Naw, especially this season with such absurd competition. Fall 2017 for anime is basically what the year 2017 is for video games. But it's still real good, and people should check it out. Nobody coming to its defense when I was shit talking earlier implies to me that it's getting understandably ignored. I hope I can get at least one person to try.

As for the OP, seems it is what it is because it's a direct reference to the original Negima OP. Shame! Only other issue is some REALLY HILARIOUSLY BAD CG in episode 3, but it doesn't look like that's gonna be a normal thing. Definitely something I look forward to seeing a BRD vs Broadcast comparison for.
---

H E Y W A S S H I
L E T S E N J O Y K A G A W A L I F E