As a remake, characters appearing from the original
Mahou Sensei Negima appear in this retelling. However, under Studio Shaft, the characters have taken a redesign. The redesigns are featured in the first episode, as all girls from Negi's class are introduced. The majority of the characters are drawn with a more youthful appearance than the first series, with finer details; yet they retain their basic character designs. This also includes some of their original characteristics, behaviors, and traits. Characters reappearing are Negi Springfield, Chamo, Takahata, Nekane Springfield, Anya, Konoka's grandfather, and the class 3-A.
New characters A '''''' is used throughout the series to give light commentary, explain events, review and preview episodes, and occasionally interact or react to character involvement. Sometimes, his direct conversations cause certain characters to
break the fourth wall. The narrator is voiced by
Mugihito; in the English dub, he is played by
Christopher Sabat.
and ''' are two "agents" from the Magic Academy sent with a report about the Star Crystals' disappearance. Their true forms are unknown since they took the images drawn up by Haruna; Shichimi is a cat, and Motsu is a frog. They then stay at Mahora and keep a close eye on Negi to ensure his magic secrecy, but if Negi lets his secret out he will be turned into an animal. Eventually, this role changes when all of class 3-A learn about magic and became Pactio partners. Early on, a few strange cutscenes show them playing with tissue paper and
Bubble Wrap, but they ultimately end up intruding on other members of the class as mere annoyances. Occasionally, they are found with the Black Rose Baron. In the end, it is revealed that they don't in fact, work for the academy. They actually work for Negi's father, and he gives them to Negi as servants. Motsu is the comic among the two, providing some occasional comic relief by doing comedic action, making random remarks, and taking occasional disguises for hilarity. Whenever he is
not in disguise, he is typically seen wearing either a necktie, a mustache, or a tuft of hair. In the later episodes, a bizarre sub-plot involves him and Makie, where Makie refers to him as "Daddy". Makie eventually explained that she never actually thought Motsu was her father; rather, she was simply comparing him to a pet dog her family used to own, who was named "Daddy" and who resembled Motsu. Motsu's favorite line is , which he often says in ironic circumstances, such as while crying on the tea he prepared for Takamichi and Evangeline after being "rejected" by Makie. Motsu appears to be based on Aboshi Frog, a character created by Mako Aboshi for the
Pani Poni Dash! anime, which is also a Shaft production. Shichimi, on the other hand, provides voices of reason. She has no visible limbs, which only appear when holding or scratching something. She is also able to elongate her entire body like a snake. Having an inherent cuteness, she later begins to hang around with Nodoka often, with some of the moments ranging from Shichimi taking a nap on Nodoka's lap to the cat sitting on Nodoka's head while Nodoka is in her Armor form. True to her mostly feline form, she ends her sentences with , as if mimicking a cat's meow. Motsu is voiced by
Chiwa Saito, and Shichimi is voiced by
Miyuki Sawashiro. In the English dub, Motsu and Shichimi are played by
Trina Nishimura and
Brina Palencia respectively. The made her presence known to Negi when he and his students were looking for information about the Star Crystal. Dressed in white formal attire with a black cape, hat, and a gold mask covering the left side of her face, she confronts Negi and occasionally members of the 3-A class. Sometimes, she targets Chamo with a black rose. As she comes and goes, black rose petals fly around her. Neither a friend or foe, her true identity is kept hidden until the last few episodes; during the anime, it had been speculated the Baron was actually Negi's father, even though the viewers can easily tell that the Baron is a she. Black Rose Baron's true identity is actually Negi's sister, Nekane. Konoka and Setsuna made observations about Nekane's movements and behavior. Then Konoka makes her deduction regarding the Black Rose and a connection to Nekane. So, for Nekane's sake, everyone decides to keep this knowledge a secret, even from Nekane herself. In episode 22, Takahata addresses the Black Rose Baron as Nekane in front of Negi. Nekane is voiced by
Miyuki Sawashiro, both in and out of the Black Rose Baron guise. In the English dub, she is voiced by
Gwendolyn Lau, again in both identities. , first name never known, is an old watchman in Mahora's Library Island. He goes around the library's underground corridors with a lighted lamp on his left hand and an eyepatch on his right eye. He seems to live in Library Island's underground rooms and literally cooks at its indoor restaurant. He possesses extensive knowledge of the library's collection but ironically not the layout of the library itself. He also recognizes regulars to the place such as Nodoka. He has a habit of announcing himself by saying in a loud voice "I am Mr. Yamada!" and falling into obvious traps. He only appears in the episode wherein Negi and his students attempt to find the book about the Star Crystal and at the same time Kaede and Narutaki twins search for a book that will make the twins grow up faster. He is not seen since then, although Nodoka mentions him in a later episode. He is played by
Yuichi Nagashima, who recently changed his stage name to . In the English dub, he is played by Cole Brown.
Voice cast changes With a few exceptions, the cast of
Negima!? is the same from
Negima!: Magister Negi Magi. •
Chiwa Saito replaces
Ryou Hirohashi as Anya's voice actress. •
Miyuki Sawashiro replaces
Masami Suzuki as Nekane Springfield's voice actor and replaces
Takehito Koyasu as Nagi Springfield's voice actor. •
Megumi Takamoto replaces
Chiaki Osawa as Chao Lingshen's voice actress. For the English version: •
Brittney Karbowski replaces Kate Bristol as Anya's voice actress, Bristol reprises her role as Sayo Aisaka. •
Carrie Savage replaces Jayme Westman as Satomi Hakase's voice actress. •
Cherami Leigh replaces Dana Schultes as Setsuna Sakurazaki's voice actress, and Jenny Phagan as Akira Okuchi's voice actress. She also replaces
Alison Viktorin as Fuka and Fumika Narutaki's voices in the last three episodes of the series. •
J. Michael Tatum replaces
Troy Baker as Nagi Springfield's voice actor. • Mary Morgan replaces Lucy Small as Madoka Kugimiya's voice actress. •
R Bruce Elliott replaces the late Randy Tallman as Konoemon "Dean" Konoe's voice actor.
Pactio cards In this new
Negima!? series, the "Pactio" system that allows Negi to perform provisional contracts is revised. The Pactio system gives the new
Negima!? series a more
magical girl-like kind of style to the original one. Pactio Cards are now split into three types: Armor (Rare), Cosplay, and Dud (Suka). Typically, the Armor/Rare card is the strongest, bringing forth the true powers of the partner. The Cosplay card gives powers to the partner too, despite being weaker than the Armor ones. The strength comparison is clearly displayed with Nodoka's power. Her Cosplay card gives her one book that reads thoughts, while her Rare card gives her multiple books that can gather information. The Dud card transforms the partner into a
super deformed, defenseless version of his/herself, wearing an animal costume (in Nodoka's case, she becomes a seal). Transformation can only be performed through Negi's activation spell; and a card is chosen at random. Duration of Pactio Power is dependent on satiation (the contract ends when the partner becomes hungry). The powers for each provisional contract differ from person to person. ==Media==