For the non-snobby series fan, yes, this is manga version of the newer anime version. You know what I'm talking about. If you don't, here's a bit of backstory: the very young (try age 10) Negi Springfield graduates from Wizard academy, finding out on his graduating day that he will be teaching English at a Japanese high school to an all-girl class. To add to the surprise, all of his students end up being attractive (though young), with many making googly eyes at Negi on his first day.

With just that, there's a lot of fun to be had. But Negima's story goes a lot father than the one-boy-many-girls story with Negi's quest to become a Magister. Even though he's supposed to keep his wizardy a secret, he ends up having to protect his beloved students and eventually save the world. That's a lot to handle for anyone, let alone a 10-year-old.

So, for those new to the series, Negima?! Neo will eventually end up reading like a shonen manga in places. Meaning fighting, and leveled power. On top of that there's just a fun touch of the harem vibe, with your requisite panty shots and long-shot love story. But we're getting ahead of ourselves now.

This first volume is an introduction, starting in Wales where Negi graduates from wizard school. He just gets to school, just barely learning all of the students' names before the volume ends. But that's not before Negi has to deal with an evil student who won't go to class. This student just happens to be a young-looking version of a bad woman that his father, a famous wizard, put a spell on years ago. This spell forced her to repeat school over and over as a high schooler, trapping her in a younger body.  Of course, we get a sneak peek at the super sexy older version of this student before it's all said and done. So Negi is working to not only save the day, but to also be a good teacher. You can guess how this turns out. I won't spoil it.

Not much else happens in the first volume, but that's usually how it goes. The last lines of the book read "I look forward to seeing what happens next." Yep. That's about all you can do.

As for the art, it's something new for a Negima fan's eyeballs. But in this case that's definitely not a bad thing. Takuya Fujima does a great job of scaling from classroom to catastrophe in Neo, though neither the characters or the setting stand out in any way. Light and fresh looking is the overall tone, but I wouldn't call anything here distinctive.

The way I look at it, you'll have already decided if Negima!? Neo is your thing before I finish what I have to say here. Makes sense. If a story about a super young magic boy teaching high school girls sounds fun to you, you're in. If not, you'll have already shunned it and have moved on to your more complex manga. I like it, and I plan to continue reading it.

If you're still truly on the fence, let this next factoid be your guide: when Negi sneezes, he manages to make girls' clothing disintegrate. 

Wait, where are you going?