UQ Holder!

''UQ Holder!'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 2013 to 2016 and later transferred to ''Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine'', where it was serialized from 2016 to 2022. Set several generations later in the world of his previous work ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', it follows the adventures of Tōta Konoe, a young boy who is transformed into a vampire and joins a secret society composed of immortal beings.

Plot

Tōta Konoe, the grandson of Negi Springfield, aspires to leave his village and live life 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, a 700-year-old vampire mage Evangeline A.K. McDowell. Picking up another boy named Kuromaru along the way, they go to a place outside Shin-Tokyo where Yukihime leads a secret society of immortals called UQ Holder.

Characters

UQ Holder

UQ Holder is a secret organization of immortals and '' yokai'' led by Yukihime. Its members reside at the ''Senkyokan'' (trans. "Fairyland Manor") estate, 10 km from the Shin-Tokyo coast, which fronts as a hot springs resort. Its main members are known as Numbers. Its goals are to protect other immortals living on the Earth, as well as helping the outcasts of society. It is also interested in protecting humans from the immortals that are intent on destroying society.
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:Tōta is a 14-year-old boy raised by Yukihime after his parents died two years prior in a car accident. His grandfather was assumed to be the legendary magician Negi Springfield, 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. His dream is to be worthy to ascend Amanomihashira, the tower in Shin-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. Although immortal, he cannot regenerate severed limbs if the limb still has some life in it. Within the UQ Holder group, he is member number 7. Tōta uses a gravity blade, a sword that can adjust its weight thousand-times fold or more. He also has the power of "Magia Erebea", allowing him to absorb magic into his own body, bonding it to his soul. In Volume 7, it is revealed that he was not a descendant of Negi's but a clone of him. It is later revealed that his DNA was made of Negi's and Asuna Kagurazaka. :
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: Evangeline A.K. McDowell is a 700-year-old vampire who, after parting ways with her friends from the Mahora Academy, 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 true form of a 10-year-old girl on occasion. She becomes Tōta's guardian after she was allegedly involved in a car accident that killed his birth parents. Still, their dying wish was to have Tota survive, and she transformed 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. Later, it is revealed that Yukihime 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. Yukihime becomes Ialda's newest host after Tōta sacrifices himself for 47 years to save the Earth.
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:A member of the ''fushigari'' (immortal hunters) clan, Kurōmaru has been immortal for about 4 1/2 years before meeting Tōta. He has black hair styled in black twin tails, and his bangs typically cover over his left eye. Kuromaru's mission was to slay Yukihime or never return. Still, after losing to Tōta, he joined 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. Kurōmaru later reveals that he comes from a tribe of demi-humans called ''yata ga karasu'' (crow in Japanese mythology) who are born genderless but can choose their gender at age 16 or naturally settle into one. Although Kurōmaru wants to be Tōta's brother-in-arms, Kurōmaru develops romantic feelings towards Tōta. Kurōmaru's body slowly transforms toward the feminine side despite not being age 16 yet; showing their body to become the opposite gender of their lover to be compatible with them. Kurōmaru is an adept of the Kyoto Shinmei-ryū sword style and other Eastern battle techniques and later becomes the first to form a pactio with Tōta. Later on in the story, Kurōmaru's body becomes fully feminine and she gains the ability to alter her hair color at will. Kurōmaru and Tōta then have sexual intercourse after confessing their love for each other.
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:Gengorō Makabe is member number 6 in UQ Holder; he has short hair and wears glasses. Gengorō Makabe originates from an alternate reality in the year 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was transported to the UQ Holder! world when he was hit by a truck and gained video game-like powers. He has a limited number of extra lives that allow him to revive instantly after dying and which he refills by doing good deeds. He can also summon several weapons instantly and evaluate his opponents like a game character's stats. He ends up using all his extra lives to help the rest of UQ Holder to stop a terrorist attack, thus losing his immortality temporarily, but ending up surviving by getting an extra life by having saved mortals from the bombing. During an attack by Ialda and Negi's corrupted comrades, Makabe's powers are nullified. He is returned to his home dimension, though he also brings Tōta and Jūzō with him unintentionally. In order to return to the UQ Holder! world, Makabe, Tōta, and Jūzō leap off a roof and are transported to the moment that Makabe's powers were neutralised.
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:Member number 4 in UQ Holder and nicknamed the Saintess of Steel, Karin is a quiet girl around the same appearance in age as Tōta and Kurōmaru, Karin Yuuki is very devoted to Yukihime after having been saved by her in the past and is immediately jealous of Tōta's close relationship with her. She often wears a schoolgirl uniform from Amano-Mihashira Academy after having infiltrated the school during a mission. She bears a tattoo on her back of the roman numeral XIII. Her immortality is said to come from divine origin, as all her wounds heal instantly without scars. Centuries ago, she was branded as a witch and hunted when she was a small child. Her name was Yseut Karin Orte, her character being inspired on the biblical Judas Iscariot. She later becomes the second person to form a pactio with Tōta. Upon realizing her feelings for Tōta, Karin declares her love for him and the two have sexual intercourse after he reciprocates his feelings for her as well.
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:Contrary to the other members who achieved immortality through magical means, Ikkū Ameya 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 change his appearance by just transferring himself to a different cybernetic body with other physical features. He appears as a 24-year-old and claims to behave like a teenager, having entered a coma when he was 13 and being bedridden for 72 years before being given a cybernetic body. He is member number 10.
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:Member number 2 of UQ Holder, Jinbei Shishido, is introduced as having dwelled in the tunnels under the facility for two years, after being sent there for having drunk Yukihime's wine stash and then inadvertently forgotten. He advises Tōta and Kurōmaru in dealing with the monsters. 1400 years ago, he achieved immortality by eating the flesh of a mermaid. Still, he has weak regenerative powers, resulting in numerous body scars. He is susceptible to being killed by crushing his head. Despite his power and status within the organization, he's generally laid-back and has a reputation for being a slacker.
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: (Japanese); Amanda Lee (English)
:Member number 9, Kirië Sakurame is the leading patron of UQ Holder, residing in the penthouse suite of the premises. Although she appears as a 12-year-old girl with orange blonde braided hair and glasses, she has lived much longer. Her ability is Reset and Restart, which allows her to rewind time, averting adverse events like her own death by returning to a specific instant in a time marked by save points. She has also used this power to make a fortune in the stock market. She can also bring along a person she touches, either just their mind or their body as well. Kirië badmouths Tōta due to their bad start on their first mission together, but becomes more friendly with him afterwards. During an ambush by Ialda's forces, Kirie's ability is permanently sealed. To evade permanent death, Kirie moves into an alternate reality but eventually finds Dana and trades her agelessness for a way back to her homeworld. As she is now mortal, she ages into an adult by the time she meets Tōta again. Despite trying to avoid him, Tōta catches up to her and the pair have sexual intercourse after confessing their love for one another. She later reunites with her former UQ Holder comrades.
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:Santa Sasaki is a student at Amano-Mihashira Academy City who lives as a '' hikkikomori'' (shut-in) in his dorm room, living off of real-money transactions in video games. He is aware of the UQ Holder members that infiltrated the school but is surprised that Tōta and Kurōmaru have become his roommates. As a Psion, Santa has several abilities that the UQ Holder members call "unique skills," including intangibility (going through walls and putting people through walls), telekinesis, flight, and possession. Having been bullied as a student, he had died. Nonetheless, he was turned into a revenant, a powerful, vengeful spirit, by his friend, a necromancer named Sayoko. Assisted by Tōta and his friends, Santa stops Sayoko's plan and restores her to her original self, but she passes away soon after. Santa then joins UQ Holder as member number 12.
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:A UQ Holder executive that Tōta and Kurōmaru meet.

''Negima'' characters

Some of the characters from the ''Negima'' series make appearances.

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:Negi Springfield's main rival and comrade in the ''Negima'' series and is currently heralded as the greatest wizard in the Solar System. He leads "Ala Alba", the brigade Negi founded with his students. He opposes UQ Holder, claiming that Yukihime was responsible for Negi's disappearance, while UQ Holder regards him as its greatest enemy. Fate claims that there is a way to save Negi and the entire Solar System by using Tōta, but that he was also responsible for the death of Tōta's parents. He sociopathically targets Tōta, killing anyone in the way.
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:Tōta'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, Fate later reveals 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, slowly locking away his soul and gaining control of his body. After Ialda takes control of Yukihime and subjects Tōta to the memories of her past, Tōta is given the ability to rescue one of Ialda's prisoners, and he chooses Negi. Negi and Tōta join forces to face Ialda and a corrupted Nagi.
:In an alternate reality, Negi defeats Ialda without killing his father, thus preventing her from taking over his body. Seven years later, he marries Chisame Hasegawa, to whom he confessed his love during her graduation.
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:One of Negi Springfield's former students, acting director of the Amano-Mihashira Academy, filling up for some "old friend of hers". She has dark skin and uses magic pistols to fight, able to defeat Tōta when they first meet. She appears fairly young as she ages much slower than a normal human.
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:Negi's father and Tōta'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 UQ Holder members 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.
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: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 Tōta due him being Negi's grandson. Ayaka also still possesses her pactio card that she made with Negi decades ago.
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: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.
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: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 Tōta.
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:One of Negi Springfield's former students and the princess of the Demon Kind. Like Mana, she ages much slower than a normal human and has not changed much in terms of appearance. She appears before Tōta with Sayo and Ayaka to greet him.
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:One of Negi Springfield's former students and partners 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 Tōta away.
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: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 Tōta away.
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:Also known as the "Librarian 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 Tōta away. Tota is using Imma's gravity blade.
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: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 Tōta away.
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:One of Negi's former students and his very first partner. She had a natural ability to cancel any magic, a trait transferred to Tōta, a clone created not only with Negi's abilities but also hers. It is said that she is already dead, but she appears in a flashback created by Albireo for Tōta 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.
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:An old, talking ermine and Negi's longtime friend, Negi entrusted him to watch over one of his workshops in Kyoto. He can transform into a human with high fighting prowess but still retains his perverted demeanor from his young days.
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: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. Thus Fate looks desperately for a way to remove her from his body without killing him since then. At the same time, Yukihime seeks to uphold her promise to kill him should she ever obtain control of his body.

Other groups and characters

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: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''.
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:Powerful Hand is a group of immortal hunter mercenaries working for the Private Military & Security Company (PMSCS). They include: , a blind swordsman; , a martial artist werewolf who taught Tota the shundo technique; and , a wizard specialist in shadow puppets.
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:A schoolmate at Amano-Mihashira Academy, she was bullied by students and had died, turning into an ''onryō'', a vengeful spirit. She is the cause of the murders on the campus, including the ones eight years before Santa and Tota's meeting. She is also the necromancer who turned her friend Santa into a revenant and gave him the Psion abilities. Hoping to get rid of the bullies and scum of society, she takes Santa's wishes by concocting a virus that leads to a worldwide zombie apocalypse.
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:Also known as the , 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. Her powers allow her to perform higher feats, such as opening rifts in the space-time continuum. She was the master of a younger Evangeline, and they are not particularly on good terms. Later, she takes Tōta, Kirie, and Santa to train under her for a while.
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:The granddaughters of Negi's former students Konoka Konoe and Setsuna Sakurazaki. They are part of Fate's new Ala Alba. They appear before Tōta, intending to convince him to join their ranks.
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: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 kind at heart.
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:Also known as , 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. In Chapter 141, it was revealed that her birth name is ''Amater Magic Laboratory Immortal Experiment 17''.

Media

Manga

''UQ Holder!'' is written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was first serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 28, 2013 to June 22, 2016. It was then transferred to the monthly manga magazine ''Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine'', starting on October 8, 2016, and was renamed ''UQ Holder!: Magister Negi Magi! 2''. The series ended on February 9, 2022. Kodansha has collected its 192 chapters into twenty-eight ''tankōbon'' volumes, with the first was released on December 17, 2013 while the final volume was released on March 9, 2022

As the series is published in Japan, it is also released simultaneously in English digitally by Crunchyroll. The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Kodansha Comics, who published the first volume on March 18, 2014.

Anime

An anime adaptation of the manga was announced in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' in June 2016, later revealed to be a television series and an Original Animation DVD (OAD). Youhei Suzuki directed the anime at J.C.Staff, with Akamatsu handling the series composition alongside Shogo Yasukawa. Egg Firm produced the series and the main cast from the original ''Negima!'' anime returned. The OAD was released on September 8, 2017, while the television series premiered on October 2, 2017. Two more OADs were released with the manga's 16th and 17th volumes. The series ran 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. Blu-Ray version was released on 2018-11-27.

MVM Films acquired the series for home video release in the UK.

Madman Entertainment acquired the series for distribution in Australia and New Zealand, and simulcasted the series on AnimeLab.

Episode list

OVAs

Notes

* "Ch." is an abbreviation of "chapter" and refers to a chapter number of the collected ''UQ Holder!'' manga
* "Ep." is an abbreviation of "episode" and refers to an episode number of the ''UQ Holder!'' anime

References

External links

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{{J.C.Staff

2017 anime television series debuts
Anime Strike
Action anime and manga
Fantasy anime and manga
Fiction about immortality
J.C.Staff
Kodansha manga
Negima
Sentai Filmworks
Sequel comics
Sequel television series
Shōnen manga
Vampires in anime and manga