Mahou Sensei Negima/Shout-Out



The writer researches like mad, the characters are Genre Savvy and the series itself is positively Troperiffic and Trope Overdosed. Is it any wonder it has so many?

"Negi:"
 * Dragonball Z:
 * The Mahora-Budokai Martial Arts Tournament is an Affectionate Parody of the Tenkaichi Budokai, right down to the shape and design of its arena.
 * When his hair inexplicably grows longer.

"Did Misora kiss Cocone for their Pactio?
 * Cosplay or cameo, Goku, Piccolo, and Buu can be seen within the crowd during the opening start of the Tournament.
 * Evangeline's training resort is a clear allusion to the Room Of Spirit and Time, except that one hour in it equals one day as opposed to one-day-equals-one-year.
 * When Dean Konoe explains the world tree's power -- specifically, its wish granting power, it is mentioned that it could not summon a pair of panties; there's even a silhouette of Oolong visible in the background.
 * During the Mahora Battle, one student is shown firing his weapon like a Kamehameha (he's even saying "Kameha...").
 * After Negi's students first see him use Magia Erebea, one of them asks if he just used the Kaio-ken.
 * Later, his form is referred to as Super Sai__an
 * Rakan can throw one of his swords and then hop on it to surf to his target location. If you've read Dragonball, Tao Pai Pai does the exact same thing with a column.
 * In chapter 292, Haruna imagines that Fate Averruncus and his allies will be waiting for Negi throughout several floors of the royal mausoleum, with Koyomi and Tamaki on the lowest floor, Shirabe on the next floor up, Tsukuyomi on the floor above that, Dynamis on the next one above that, and finally Fate himself on the top floor. Yūna comments that "That is way too cliché! What is this, Game of Death? Muscle Tower? Yeah, right!"
 * Dragon Quest:
 * Back in the early days of the manga, when Negi and Kotaro teamed up for the first time to fight Graf and the Slime Sisters, this exchange happens.
 * During the first summer break, when the twins are showing Negi around the school, they directly compare the World Tree to Yggdrasil (The one from Dragon Quest, not the one in Norse Mythology that it's named after).
 * In chapter 254, Kurt Gödel makes a We Can Rule Together offer to Negi ("I offer you half of the world"), which is very similar to the Dragonlord's offer to the player character of Dragon Quest I. The manga lampshades this with a "yes / no" prompt and a "beep" Written Sound Effect in the middle of the panel.
 * Final Fantasy:
 * Nodoka's treasure-hunting outfit (and the outfit she imagines when proposing that she and Yue join the Battle Harem) both look suspiciously similar to classic White Mage garb.
 * Yue is seen drinking a Last Elixir in one chapter.
 * In volume 8, there's a minor reference to Final Fantasy IX, as seen here.
 * In the bottom right of the first panel on this page, a cactuar apparently runs by while Ako and Negi's "cousin" are on their date at the Mahora Festival.
 * There's a Tifa Cosplayer in the third panel., along with a Yuffie Cosplayer to her left.
 * The monsters on this page have a slight similarity to an Occuria and Cuchulainn's Final Fantasy XII incarnation.
 * And of course, Yuuna's outfit and twin guns calls to mind another Yuna.
 * A "mission failed" screen like those seen in Excel Saga
 * In the early chapters, Chamo makes a Pokémon reference when Nodoka gets her pactio: "Allllright! We caught Nodoka Miyazaki!"
 * The "Baka Rangers" reference Super Sentai/Power Rangers
 * The same page linked above that has a Tifa cosplayer has JAKQ Dengekitai and a Kamen Rider or two in the very next panel.
 * Kaede's outfit during her fights in the budokai rather closely resembles that of King.
 * Mei Sakura's artifact is a broom. When it flies it gains wings near the back like another Sakura's fly card.
 * After discovering that he's got a time machine in a watch, Negi thinks of the DeLorean, the Terminator, the 2002 adaptation of Wells' The Time Machine, and Doraemon.
 * Kotaro Inugami is a shout-out to Takahashi's Inuyasha.
 * A chapter titled "Rakan at 120%" is a shout-out to Younger Toguro from Yu Yu Hakusho, who infamously stated he would use a certain percentage of his power, but his true true power was 120%. Another possible allusion is with the match between Negi and Rakan which rather resembles Yusuke and Toguro's final engagement and more...
 * Chisame's personality, infatuation with computer stuff, and pactio all scream.
 * When Nodoka uses her artifact on Mei in Chapter 141, the diary entry read "Eeeek! C-C-Could that be the Legendary Death No--!? I mean that artifact that reads"
 * The interior of Ala Alba's "goldfish ship" looks nearly identical to the Bebop.
 * Chapter 261: Negi and Ku-Fei's arm wrestling match shouts out to a Sylvester Stallone movie named Over the Top. Especially Negi shifting his grip.
 * Not to mention that during the whole thing, Ku Fei is dressed almost identically to Chun Li.
 * Chinese Girl Ku Fei's personal requirement that only a man who is stronger than she can kiss (or marry) her echoes the cultural imperatives of the Joketsuzoku from Ranma One Half (and Red Sonja, for that matter). Some fans are claiming that she is a Joketsuzoku, and that Negima and Ranma take place in the same universe.
 * The manner in which cards are drawn from the girls in Negima!? is similar to the way swords are drawn from people in Revolutionary Girl Utena.
 * Also during the tournament arc, there are several panels of online discussion concerning the techniques being used by the combatants. One of the comments is "We have a STAND USER!"
 * A user responds with "We have a DEVIL SUMMONER!"
 * A minor character, the mage teacher Seruhiko, was created specifically as a Homage to Serpico, of all people. Kentaro Miura even approved the character.
 * "The sea monkeys have my money... Yes, I'm natural green..." (Motsu uses it in Negima!?)
 * Negima!? has a number of references to Pani Poni Dash. Most noticable is that the Chupacabra Club resembles Becky's research room.
 * A number of the Pani Poni Dash references have to do with Konoka having the same seiyuu as Ichijou, right down to Konoka wearing the same Indiana Jones outfit that Ichijou wore in a couple of episodes
 * Similarly, in the last normal episode of Negima!?, each of the girls are displayed in an Etrian Odyssey type status screen.
 * Kurt Gödel is named after an Austrian mathematician/philosopher most famous for his incompleteness theorems, which state that there is no consistent formal theory in which all arithmetic truths can be proven.
 * One Winged Angel form looks like some of the higher-level noise from The World Ends With You.
 * To me, it also looks a bit like Dante's Sparda form from Devil May Cry one and the recent chapter in Negi's dreams shows it looking similar to Naruto's later fox forms, with similar drawn eyes and all.
 * The age-changing pills are the candies from Osamu Tezuka's Fushigi na Merumo with the effects reversed.
 * Paru makes a reference to Cthulhu when.
 * Chapter 275, page 15. That panel is almost certainly a Shout Out to the famous Dodge This from The Matrix.
 * And in the same fight, one chapter later, Misora refers to  as a Human Typhoon.
 * How about this? It's the piston-powered attack of The Big O!
 * Speaking of Rakan and mechas, when he unleashes his skyscraper-sized sword, he references it as the Ship Cutting Sword. That's right, the guy has his own Zankantou.
 * The "Code of the Lifemaker" and the names of Nodoka's adventurer friends are all references to the works of James P. Hogan.
 * The series quite possibly makes Shout Outs to its own doujinshi. In Chapter 264, Negi comments about wanting to keep Chisame by his side, with her curt response being "...don't say stuff like that with a straight face. You'll get yourself stabbed by a girl one of these days." In Negimaru, a very.... ecchi doujin series by Studio Kimigabuchi (the same studio behind the acclaimed Neon Genesis Evangelion doujin RE-TAKE) that predates the chapter by several years, Negi ends up getting stabbed... by a crushing-on-Negi (amongst other things) Chisame.
 * It's apparently referenced again in chapter 338, making Chisame look like she's going to be a bit of a stab-happy Yandere. She even threatens to stab herself and Chachamaru afterwards!
 * When Negi first fights Evageline, he is seen carrying around a Caster.
 * Mokujin of Tekken.
 * Actually, that was first from a Martial Arts Movie movie called "Shaolin Wooden Fighting Men" (or something like that) featuring Jackie Chan. Tekken referenced that for Mokujin, and it's repeated here.
 * There are numerous references to Akamatsu's previous manga, Love Hina, not the least of which is Setsuna's school of swordsmanship, the Shinmeiryuu, which is the same as that practiced by Motoko Aoyama. In fact, Akamatsu has confirmed that Motoko and her elder sister Tsuroko are indeed -- as many fans had suspected -- making a cameo appearance in the flashback scene in Vol. 4.
 * Add to that, that Eishun is confirmed in a Audio Drama to be born Eishun Aoyama (taking his wife's last name when they got merried).
 * Not to mention the fact that Tama appears twice. Once on a random beach and once drawn by Haruna.
 * Also, Naru and Seta can be seen in the background during the Mahora-Budokai at one point.
 * This, and this, Gate of Babylon anyone?
 * The first one, definitely. The second? Touhou.
 * Here is another example of Gate of Babylon, by Rakan this time.
 * Actually, that attack and his artifact in general more closely resembles Archer's Unlimited Blade Works (especially if you've ever played Fate Unlimited Codes). And once more, Ken Akamatsu rocks Gate of Babylon.
 * Looks like Yue and Collet have been taking lessons from Archer.
 * Much of the aesthetic designs in Negima (especially weapons, clothing, and magic emanations) greatly resemble motifs used in the Guilty Gear and Blazblue series. Heck! Rakan himself appears to be Sol Badguy with blonde hair and a dirty/funny personality.
 * And in chapter 348, channels Arakune, while she herself is dressed up as a spider.
 * On this page, the 4th panel cameos Itoshiki-sensei, of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. And bring on the Rule34 on the next panel.
 * Apparently, our magically empowered messianic hero decided that he wants to befriend the Artificial Human dragon named Fate. One can only guess how long it was before Akamatsu yielded to this very obvious temptation...
 * Well, Negi certainly looks like a ... he's even got a Weasel Mascot (who may or may not be a transformed mage) as a familiar...
 * Rakan has a move called the Rakan Impact.
 * Kotaro's response to when Natsumi asked if they could win the Fighting Tournament.
 * Heck, he even sports sunglasses which get lampshaded.
 * In Chapter 258, when Nodoka is describing magically created alternate planes, her explination goes something like this: "Alternate planes...traditionally, places "not of this world" where spirits and the souls of the dead can be found. Famous Japanese examples include the Dragon Palace, Ryuugujou and Takamagahara, the land of the gods...and more recently, mysterious towns with public baths found at the end of a tunnel."
 * Devil May Cry. Here and here. Badass Longcoat with folded sleeves just like Dante's coat in 4 and a pair of guns that resemble Ebony and Ivory (although the white one doesn't look like Ebony, the black one shares the same model with Ebony and Ivory, a modified M1911).
 * Another Devil May Cry reference (possibly): here Setsuna cuts the guy's armor, which falls off only after she click-sheathes her katana. Jut like Vergil likes to do.
 * Negi's students have compared Ostia to Laputa numerous times.
 * Jack Rakan's Rakan Film logo looks suspiciously similar to another one.
 * The following is from an interview with Ken Akamatsu regarding the inner workings of Negima
 * The following is from an interview with Ken Akamatsu regarding the inner workings of Negima

It’s unclear, but... I was hoping for something more like a receiving of the rosary."


 * The sky trucker Johnny Rydain, not to be confused with UC Gundam's Johnny Ridden...
 * Shiratori Yuri was cast as Kiryuu Nanami in Revolutionary Girl Utena, who was obsessed over by a boy named Tsuwabuki. She was later cast as ghost-girl Aisaka Sayo in Mahou Sensei Negima, who (in the anime) died trying to protect her little sister's tsuwabuki garden.
 * The vampires in the Mahou Sensei Negima universe are called Shinso/True Ancestors, a reference to Tsukihime.
 * Also a reference to Castlevania; Dracula's final form in Symphony Of The Night is named Shinso/True Ancestor Dracula in Japan.
 * The Shinmei Ryu sword school from Love Hina exists in both, and Setsuna's origin Flash Back in the manga shows her from a distance being escorted by two women who are probably the Aoyama sisters from Love Hina. Also, the Mad Scientist creator of the Robot Girl comments on how they outsourced for the programming code of her AI, and one of the programmers was from Akamatsu's first manga, AI Love You, explaining how it is that Chachamaru has emotions. The character Mei has the same given name and character design as Naru's half-sister from Love Hina. While in the anime she had the same family name as Naru, the manga never stated, as she was only in one chapter, hinting that the two may be the same character.
 * It really veers into Continuity Overlap at some points, especially with Love Hina, as the whole Shinmeiryu sword school crossed over. The most recent chapter even explicitly mentions both Motoko's family, and a specific exorcism technique has plot relevance in both Love Hina and Negima.
 * Then there's Nagi defeating  with what appears to be a Shoryuken!
 * Forget that. How about Chibi Chui giving Negi a Shoryuken at Governer Kurt's ball?
 * Negima!?, the Alternate Universe remake, contains plenty more references to everything from classic video games to 2chan jokes to the horrible animation of Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na Crescent Love. A double-reference of sorts is the reuse of the chalkboard jokes from Pani Poni Dash, including drawings of Chiyo-chan from Azumanga Daioh.
 * "It's Wintermute, holy crap!"
 * In the chapter of Negima that introduces Sayo, the girls of the class are enlisted to hunt the ghost girl, who they think is evil. What weapons do the technology department of the school lend them? Proton packs.
 * This page of the manga : The stack of books that Nodoka is holding includes Lord of the Rings, The Lion the Witch And The Wardrobe, as well as a book by Kierkegaard.
 * Episode 10 of Negima!? has Shichimi quoting Enma Ai's Catch Phrase before she sends someone to Hell. While the Japanese version missed out on making an Actor Allusion (by having Shichimi say the line instead of Nodoka), the English dub makes up for it.
 * One of the random background images Shaft is so known for has Queen in their classic Bohemian Rhapsody pose at the beginning of episode 9 in Negima!?
 * On this page, when describing the Hellas Empire's expansion into Ostia, the Giant things shown bear a striking resemblance to Evangelions
 * On the same page the crest on the flag looks eerily similar to the one of the Russian Empire or the Holy Roman Empire.
 * The ending of the movie Rakan shows Ala Alba. Now where have I seen that before?
 * Ala Rubra consists of seven people. Make of that what you will.
 * The girl in the top panel here looks kinda familiar.
 * For no reason whatsoever, Asuna seems to be wearing a Run Lola Run t-shirt in chapter 21.
 * Also, Ako wears a The Place Promised in Our Early Days shirt in chapter 76.
 * Although you only see her back, there is a Pleinair cosplayer at the bottom of this page.
 * There's also a Mint Adnade one at the left.
 * Some of Madoka Kugimiya's friends refer to her as Kugimi/Kugimin
 * She's just a passing-by magical girl...
 * Negi and Asuna's Combination Attack against  brings to mind G Gundam final.
 * Or Saber and Shirou using Caliburn on Berserker.
 * Besides the aforementioned Tifa and Yuffie mentioned above, this page also features Eva Unit 01 (mid-left of the page); the protagonist of Kujibiki Unbalance (same panel, towards the bottom); Kamen Rider Black RX and Kamen Rider X, standing alongside the rangers of JAKQ Dengekitai (second panel); Sakura Kasugano (to the left of the Rider panel); and the bodies of Cure Black and Cure White (to the left of that).
 * Yue is looking kinda like Patchouli Knowledge in this scene.
 * Mana sounds a lot like Emiya Shirou on this page.
 * No one sees Giant Naked Asuna?
 * In Chapter 350, Ayaka calls out "Yue-swaaaan!". She must've got that from a certain blonde pirate. She even delivers a flying kick on the very next page.
 * In Chapter 352, Asuna uses The Other Wiki to look up information on Negi.
 * In episode 26 of Negima!? There are paintings of Konoka and Motsu dressed up as Rena and Satoko. See it.
 * Dragon Tooth Skeleton Warriors. Where did we saw them before? Quite a few places actually.