UQ Holder!

UQ Holder!
Cover of the first volume, as published by Kodansha, featuring main characters Kurōmaru Tokisaka (left), Tōta Konoe (center) and Yukihime (right)
UQ HOLDER!
Genre	Action, fantasy
Manga
Written by	Ken Akamatsu
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA: Kodansha Comics
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Magazine (2013-2016) Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine (2016-present)
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	August 2013 – present
Volumes	14
Original video animation
Directed by	Youhei Suzuki
Studio	J.C.Staff
Released	September 8, 2017 – present
Runtime	25 minutes
Episodes	3
Anime television series
UQ Holder! Magister Negi Magi! 2
Directed by	Youhei Suzuki
Produced by	EGG FIRM Makoto Furukawa Yoko Tanaka Gouta Aijima Ryūtarō Kawakami
Written by	Ken Akamatsu Shogo Yasukawa
Music by	Kei Haneoka Shunpei Ishige
Studio	J.C.Staff
Licensed by	NA: Sentai Filmworks UK: MVM Films
Original network	Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS, BS11, AT-X, tvk
English network	SEA: Animax Asia
Original run	October 2, 2017 – present
Episodes	12

UQ Holder! (later titled UQ Holder!: Magister Negi Magi! 2) is a manga series by Ken Akamatsu. Set several generations later in the world of his previous work Negima! Magister Negi Magi, it follows the adventures of a young boy who is transformed into a vampire and joins a secret society composed of immortal beings.

UQ (ユーキュー, Yūkyū) stands for , the kanji that entwines inside the UQ logo, which alludes to the immortal nature of the characters.

Plot

Tōta Konoe, the grandson of Negi Springfield, aspires to leave his village and life live in the city of Shin-Tokyo which has a tower structure rising into space. When he is mortally wounded by a bounty hunter coming after his guardian Yukihime's life, he discovers that he has been made into an immortal vampire by Yukihime, who is actually a 700-year-old vampire mage Evangeline A.K. McDowell. Picking up another boy named Kuromaru along the day, they go to a place outside Shin-Tokyo where Yukihime leads a secret society of immortals called UQ Holder.

Tota and Kuromaru pass their qualifying test and become members of the group. As Tōta gets used to his new environment and trains himself to get stronger, he discovers that his grandfather, Negi Springfield, was once a great mage who saved the world from disaster, but now his body is possessed by an ominous entity known as the "Mage of Beginning" that threatens the whole mankind, and is slowly taking control of him, triggering a war between three factions: One is UQ Holder itself, led by Yukihime, who intends to uphold her promise to kill Negi should the Mage of Beginning assumes control of him for good, another is Negi's former brigade, "Ala Alba", now led by his former comrade, Fate Averruncus, that intend to find a way to separate Negi from the Mage of Beginning in order to save him, and Negi himself, accompanied by several of his former companions, who were supposed to be killed in a war decades ago, and gathered with an unknown agenda. It is also revealed that Tōta will have a main role in this conflict as he is an artificial clone with the powers of Negi and his former partner Asuna Kagurazaka, imbued with the powers of both, and the story is actually set in a different timeline from the original series, where Negi and his friends somehow managed to defeat the Mage of Beginning while saving Nagi, who married Evangeline.

Characters

Main characters

Tōta Konoe (近衛 刀太, Konoe Tōta)

Voiced by: Yuka Takakura

Tōta is a 14-year-old boy who was raised by Yukihime after his parents died two years prior in a car accident. At the start of the series, when he is mortally wounded by an assassin while protecting Yukihime, he discovers he had been transformed by her into a vampire and then drinks her blood to affirm his immortality.^{Ch. 1} His dream is to be worthy to ascend the tower in Tokyo which leads into outer space. He would like to be a singer to support his friend in a band, but has a horrible singing voice, and is disillusioned that he won't be able to develop a deeper voice or grow taller now that he is immortal.^{Ch. 2} Although immortal, he cannot regenerate severed limbs if the limb still has some life in it.^{Ch. 8} His grandfather was assumed to be the legendary magician Negi Springfield,^{Ch. 1} In later chapters, it is revealed that he was actually a clone made from the DNA of Negi and Asuna Kagurazaka. Within the UQ Holder group, he ranks seventh.

Tōta uses a gravity sword, a weapon that can adjust its weight to thousand-timesfold using a dial.^{Ch. 9} It is revealed that his body possess the secret power of "Magia Erebea", allowing him to absorb magic into his own body, bonding it to his soul.^{Ch. 24} Tōta's personality strongly resembles his great-grandfather's, Nagi Springfield's personality.

Yukihime (雪姫)

Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka

Evangeline A.K. McDowell is a 700-year-old vampire who, after parting ways with her friends from the Mahora Academy, she adopted the alias "Yukihime" and established the secret "UQ Holder" society for immortal beings. She appears as a tall and attractive woman with white blonde hair and blue eyes, although she can assume her prior Negima! form of a little girl on occasion.^{Ch. 1-3} She becomes Tōta's guardian after she was allegedly involved in a car accident that killed his birth parents, but their dying wish was to have Tota survive and she transforms him into a vampire. At the start of the series, she is a teacher in a small village school, but later takes Tōta into the city and on their adventures.^{Ch. 1} Later, it is revealed that she had met Tōta centuries before becoming his guardian due to a temporal paradox and bonded with him at that time, implying that she also fell in love with him at the occasion. She also still harbors feelings for Negi but claims that she intends to uphold her promise to him of ending his life should the Lifemaker succeed in taking over his body. Later, it is revealed by Dana through a picture that in the original dimension from Negima, Evangeline married Nagi Springfield after he was freed from Ialda's control by Negi.^{Ch. 141}

Kurōmaru Tokisaka (時坂 九郎丸, Tokisaka Kurōmaru)

Voiced by: Yūki Hirose

A member of the fushigari (immortal hunters) clan, Kurōmaru has been immortal for about 4 1/2 years before meeting Tōta.^{Ch. 9} Kuromaru's mission was to slay Yukihime or never return, but after losing to Tōta, he joins him and Yukihime on their adventures. Despite claiming to be a boy, Kurōmaru has shy mannerisms such as covering his chest that Tōta and others often confuse him to be a girl.^{Ch. 3-6} It is later revealed that Kurōmaru comes from a tribe of demi-humans where children are born genderless but become male or female once they reach the age of 16. Although Kurōmaru wants to be Tōta's brother-in-arms, Kurōmaru develops romantic feelings towards Tōta, and Kurōmaru's body slowly transforms toward the feminine side despite not being age 16 yet. Kurōmaru is similar in appearance with Setsuna Sakurazaki from Negima!, and just like her, is an adept of the Kyoto Shinmei-ryū sword style and other Eastern battle techniques.^{Ch. 3}

UQ Holder

UQ Holder is a secret organization of immortals led by Yukihime. They reside at the Senkyokan manor, 10 km from the Shin-Tokyo coast.^{Ch. 7}

Basago

A UQ Holder executive that Tōta and Kurōmaru meet.^{Ch. 7}

Gengorō Makabe (真壁 源五郎, Makabe Gengorō)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji

He has light hair and wears a white lab coat.^{Ch. 7} Ranking number 6 of UQ Holder. Not much is known about his background or his immortality powers, but it is hinted that they are somehow video game-related, as he can revive instantly after dying, summon several weapons instantly and evaluate his opponents' like a game character's stats.

Karin Yuuki (結城夏凛, Yūki Karin)

Voiced by: Yui Ogura

A quiet girl around the same appearance in age as Tōta and Kurōmaru. She has short black hair who wears a Japanese schoolgirl outfit with a plaid skirt and high black kneesocks. She wields a hammer.^{Ch. 7} She is very devoted to Yukihime after having been saved by her in the past and is jealous of Tōta's close relationship with her.^{Ch. 10} Her immortality is said to come from divine origin, as all her wounds heal instantly instead of just regenerating fast like in most immortals and because of it she was branded as a witch and hunted when she was a small child centuries ago. She is later revealed to be the basis of the biblical Judas Iscariot, whose name is a corruption of her true name, Ist Karin Haute. Her ranking in the organization is 4.

Ikkū Ameya (飴屋 一空, Ameya Ikkū)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara

He has short spiky hair, glasses, and wears a white collared shirt with a black vest and black pants.^{Ch. 7} Ranking number 10 of UQ Holder. Contrary to the other members who achieved immortality through magical means, Ikkuu obtained his by replacing almost all of his body with cybernetic implants, which not only give him enhanced strength and speed, but several types of weaponry at his disposal, including the "Al-Iskandariya Orbital Cannon" which used to be Chachamaru Karakuri's pactio weapon in Negima!. He can also easily change his appearance by just transferring himself to a different cybernetic body with other physical features. His regular body looks like that of a 20 year old, but he behaves like a teenager, as he got into a coma when he was 13 and spent most of his life uncounscious until swapping to a cybernetic body.

Jinbei Shishido (宍戸 甚兵衛, Shishido Jinbei)

Voiced by: Shunsuke Sakuya

The leader of UQ Holder, he has been in the underground maze under the facility for two years for having drunk Yukihime's wine stash. He advises Tōta and Kurōmaru in dealing with the monsters.^{Ch. 7, 8} 1400 years ago, he achieved immortality by eating the flesh of mermaid, but he has weak regenerative powers, resulting in numerous chest scars, and he is susceptible to being killed by beheading and some other toxins.^{Ch. 9} Despite his power and status within the organization, he's generally laid-back and has a reputation for being a slacker.

Kirie Sakurame (桜雨キリヱ, Sakurame Kirie)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano

Ranking number 9 of UQ Holder. Despite having the body of a 10 year old girl, she has already lived much longer. Kirie has the power to rewind time, averting adverse events like her own death by returning to specific instants in time she marks with what she labels as "save points", she used this power to make a fortune in the stock market and become the main sponsor for the organization. She also has the power to bring other people to the rewinded time with her, having them remember the erased events as well. Kirie has the habit of badmouthing Tōta, due to their bad start on their first mission together, but after an incident with her time powers, she starts to feel more intimately towards him.

Santa Sasaki (佐々木 三太, Sasaki Santa)

Ranking number 12 of UQ Holder. He was a student at Amano-Mihashira Academy City, which was established at the site of the old Mahora Academy, until he is killed by some bullies. Instead of passing away, he is turned into a Revenant, a powerful vengeful spirit by his fellow bullied friend, a necromancer named Sayoko. Unaware of his undead status and with only vague memories of the incident, Santa became a shut-in and refused to attend class. First appearing as Tōta and Kurōmaru's roommate, he is initially suspect of a series of murders occurring at the school, but the real culprit is actually Sayoko, who intends to unleash a zombie apocalypse upon the world after being possessed by hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits, which caused her once gentle affection for Santa to be twisted into an all-consuming obsession and her hatred for bullies amplified to a desire to destroy. Assisted by Tōta and his friends, Santa stops Sayoko's plan and restores her to her original self, but she passes away soon after. With no one else to turn to, Santa is invited by Tōta to join UQ Holder.

Negima characters

Some of the characters from the Negima series make appearances in this series.

Negi Springfield (ネギ・スプリングフィールド, Negi Supuringufīrudo)

Voiced by: Rina Satō

Touta's grandfather. After his adventures in Negima, Negi helped his former teacher, Yukihime, form UQ Holder and made a name for himself in the magical world where he is known as "The Greatest Mage." At first believed to be deceased, it is later revealed by Fate that Negi is still alive though his whereabouts are unknown. Unlike his former master and grandson, Negi possesses a complete version of Magia Erebea. He is eventually revealed to have been possessed by the Mage of the Beginning, who is slowly locking away his soul and gaining control of his body. It is also revealed in a video recording by Chamo that Negi confessed his love to Chisame who initially rejected him. Dana, however, shows Tōta and his a group a picture of Negi and Chisame during their wedding and explains that they were married 7 years after Negi's victory over Ialda and after a lot of "twists and turns".

Fate Averruncus (フェイト・アーウェルンクス)

Voiced by: Akira Ishida

He was Negi Springfield's main rival and comrade in the Negima series, and is currently heralded as the greatest wizard in the Solar System and the current leader of "Ala Alba", the brigade Negi founded with his students 80 years before. He opposes UQ Holder, claiming that Yukihime was responsible for Negi's disappearance. However, Fate claims that there is a way to save Negi and the fate of the entire Solar System depends on it. To do so, he claims that he needs Tōta's cooperation but instead became the target of Tōta's hatred after revealing that he was the one responsible for the death of Tōta's parents, though this changes as Tōta begins to suspect that Fate is hiding something.

Mana Tatsumiya (龍宮 真名, Tatsumiya Mana)

Voiced by: Miho Sakuma

One of Negi Springfield's former students; she is a half demon, thus she ages much slower than a normal human making her one of the few classmates of Yukihime's who are still alive. She is currently the acting director of the Amano-Mihashira Academy City, filling up for some "old friend of hers".

Nagi Springfield (ナギ・スプリングフィールド, Nagi Supuringufīrudo)

Negi's father and Touta's great-grandfather. A legendary mage known as "The Thousand Master," he led the group "Ala Rubra" during the Great War a hundred years ago that was started by the Mage of the Beginning. He reappears in an illusion alongside his son, Negi, before members of UQ Holder and Fate. It was later revealed that he was possessed by the Lifemaker, forcing his son, Negi, to defeat him and in turn become possessed himself, unlike what happened in the original dimension from Negima! in which Negi managed to defeat the Lifemaker while saving him in the process with Ala Alba's help, and he married Evangeline afterwards.

Ayaka Yukihiro (雪広 あやか, Yukihiro Ayaka)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa

One of Negi Springfield's former students and leader of the Yukihiro Conglomerate, she reappears now as an aged woman with her great-granddaughter, Mizore as guests of Yukihime. She meets with and becomes fond of Touta due him being Negi's grandson. Ayaka also still possesses her pactio card that she made with Negi decades ago.

Chachamaru Karakuri (絡繰 茶々丸, Karakuri Chachamaru)

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe

One of Negi Springfield's former students and partners who was once Yukihime's servant. She reappears alongside Ayaka, whom she is now in service of.

Sayo Aisaka (相坂 さよ, Aisaka Sayo)

Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori

One of Negi Springfield's former students and a ghost. Being a ghost, her appearance has remained unchanged in the following decades after the events of Negima. She reappears alongside Ayaka and Zazie to greet Touta.

Zazie Rainyday (ザジ・レイニーデイ, Zaji Reinīdei)

One of Negi Springfield's former students and the princess of the Demon Kind. Similar to Mana, she ages much slower than a normal human and has not changed much in terms of appearance. She appears before Touta with Sayo and Ayaka to greet him.

Yue Ayase (綾瀬 夕映, Ayase Yue)

Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani

One of Negi Springfield's former students and partners who is now known as Yue "The All-Knowing" and "The Magical Detective". Believed to have been killed in the previous war along with her best friend, Nodoka, Jack, and Albireo, the four reappear with Negi in front of UQ Holder to take Touta away.

Nodoka Miyazaki (宮崎 のどか, Miyazaki Nodoka)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto

One of Negi Springfield's former students and partners who was the most romantically involved with him of her class 70 years ago. Known in the magical world as Nodoka "The All-Perceiving" and "The Mind Reader". Believed to have been killed in the previous war along with her best friend, Yue, Jack, and Albireo, the four reappear with Negi in front of UQ Holder to take Touta away.

Albireo Imma (アルビレオ・イマ, Arubireo Ima)

Also known as the "Librian of a Thousand Faces, he was a former member of Ala Rubra with a high proficiency for gravity magic who took on the pseudonym "Ku:nel Sanders". It is said that his magical prowess is equal to that of Yukihime's. Believed to have been killed in the previous war along with Nodoka, Yue, and Jack, the four reappear with Negi in front of UQ Holder to take Touta away.

Jack Rakan (ジャック・ラカン, Jakku Rakan)

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama

Also known as "Rakan of the Thousand Blades" and a former member of Ala Rubra was once considered a rival to Nagi Springfield. Believed to have been killed in the previous war along with Yue, Albireo, and Nodoka, the four reappear with Negi in front of UQ Holder to take Touta away.

Asuna Kagurazaka (神楽坂 明日菜, Kagurazaka Asuna)

One of Negi's former students and his very first partner. She had a natural ability to cancel any kind of magic, a trait that was transferred to Touta, who is a clone created not only with Negi's abilities, but hers as well. It is said that she is already dead, but she appears in a flashback created by Albireo for Touta to know all the truth and finally choose a side to support. She introduces herself to Tōta as his grandmother and ultimately helps him find the resolve to fight the Lifemaker-possessed Negi.

Albert Chamomile (カモミール・アルベール, Kamomīru Arubēru) / Chamo (カモ, Kamo)

An old, talking ermine and Negi's longtime friend, he was entrusted by Negi to watch over one of his workshops in Kyoto. He has the ability to transform into a human with high fighting prowess, but still retains his perverted demeanor from his young days.

Other characters

Dana Ananga Jagannatha (ダーナ・アナンガ・ジャガンナータ, Dāna Ananga Jagannāta)

Also known as the Witch of the Rift (狭間の魔女, Hazama no Majo), she is a true, natural born vampire, unlike Evangeline and Tōta who obtained their vampiric traits by magic, thus her powers are far greater, capable of instantly regenerating herself from any damage and her powers allow her to perform higher feats such as opening rifts in the space-time continuum. She was Evangeline's master when she was younger, but somehow they currently have a strained relationship, and takes Tōta, Kirie and Santa to train under her for a while as well.

Ialda Baoth (ヨルダ・バオト, Yoruda Baoto)

The main antagonist of the series and an immortal mage responsible for transforming Evangeline into a vampire 700 years ago and the instigator of the war on Inverse Mars a hundred years ago. Most famously, known as The Mage of the Beginning and The Lifemaker, she appears to have an interest in Touta. It's said that she is currently possessing Negi's body, just like she once possessed Nagi's body before he was destroyed by his son, and thus Fate looks desperately for a way to remove her from his body without killing him since then, while Yukihime seeks to uphold her promise to kill him should she ever obtain control of his body.

Granddaughters of Konoka Konoe who are part of Fate's new Ala Alba. They appear before Tōta with the intention to convince him to join their ranks.

Mizore Yukihiro (雪広 みぞれ, Yukihiro Mizore)

Voiced by: Akari Kitō

Great-granddaughter of Ayaka Yukihiro and heir to the Yukihiro Conglomerate who wishes to marry Tōta. Like Ayaka, Mizore has a very proud personality but is also a very kind girl at heart.

Shinobu Yuuki (結城 忍, Yūki Shinobu)

Voiced by: Sayaka Harada

A young girl Tōta befriends during his travels, Shinobu dreams of competing in the Neo Olympics as a racer. Shinobu later reunites with Tōta at the UQ Holder Headquarters where she starts working as part of the staff. She is similar in name and appearance with Shinobu Maehara, a character from Akamatsu's work Love Hina.

Tena Vita (テナ・ヴィタ, Vuīta Tena)

Also known as Cutlass (カトラス, Katorasu), a mysterious girl who heralds herself as Tōta's sister but harbors a strong hatred towards him. She is armed with Ensis Exorcizans, the pactio weapon used by Asuna in Negima!, with the ability to exorcise demons and dispel magic, and in Cutlass' case, summon lightning magic, implying that she is an Asuna/Negi hybrid clone just like Tōta, albeit with incomplete powers. On the Chapter 141 it was revealed that her birth name is Amater Magic Laboratory Immortal Experiment 17.

Media

Manga

Main article: List of UQ Holder! chapters

UQ Holder! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It began its serialization in the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine on August 28, 2013. Its individual chapters have been collected into fourteen tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, the first released on December 17, 2013. The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Kodansha Comics, who published the first volume on March 18, 2014. As the series is published in Japan, it is also released simultaneously in English digitally by Crunchyroll. In October 2016, the series changed magazines from the Weekly Shōnen Magazine to the Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, and was renamed UQ Holder!: Magister Negi Magi! 2 starting with the November 2016 issue.

Anime

An anime adaptation of the manga was announced in the Weekly Shōnen Magazine's 30th issue of 2016, later revealed to be a television series and OAD. Youhei Suzuki is directing the anime at J.C.Staff, Akamatsu himself is handling the series composition alongside Shogo Yasukawa, EGG FIRM is producing the series and the main cast from the original Negima! anime returns. The OAD will be released on September 8, 2017, while the television series premiered on October 2, 2017. Two more OAD's will be released with the manga's 16th and 17th volumes. The series will run for 12 episodes.

Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series and simulcast the anime on Amazon's Anime Strike streaming channel in the U.S. and in other selected digital services elsewhere. MVM Films has licensed the series in the UK.

Episode list

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No.	Title	Original air date

OVA's

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No.	Title	Release date

Works cited

• ^ "Ch." is shortened form for chapter and refers to a chapter number of the collected UQ Holder! manga
• ^ "Ep." is shortened form for episode and refers to an episode number of the UQ Holder! anime

External links

• UQ Holder at Kodansha Comics
• Official anime website Template:Ja icon
• UQ Holder! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia