Introduction
There are two releases of Negima. It was first released in 2005 and then a reproduction was released in 2006. It is strange that instead of doing a sequal, they just remake the series. There are of course some differences between the two versions that the story doesn't overlap too much.
Along with the two versions of the show, they have also released two OVAs. Both of them are about the length of one episode. However, unlike the series, they contain a lot more ecchi moments.
Review
Story
The story for both versions of the show is the same thing: Negi is a magicianand in order for him to truly become a mage, he must go to a different place and be an English teacher. He must complete his assignment without any of the non-magicians knowing he is one or else he will fail. However, there is a certain vampire looking to take his blood so that she can finally be free of a curse put on her by Negi's father, the Thousand Master. Through various events, she eventually gave up that desire and helps Negi in his quest. Negi also has help from various other characters throughout the show.
That is pretty much of what is the same in the two versions of the show. The first version does not have much of a storyline afterwards. It is just some random comedic moments with short side stories. The second version of the show however does continue with a storyline. Since I have not fully watched the second version at the time of writing this, I cannot go any further with the details. But to summarize, version one has no storyline and version two has one.
Now that isn't to say that the second version is better than the first as in my opinion, they are on the same level. Each of them just have their own pros and cons which will be further reviewed below.
Characters
Character development is not really a strong suit of Negima, in both versions. Sure, you do know some of the characters personalities but with a cast so large, it is very hard to actually develop all of them within the alloted number of episodes.
The first version of the show though did do a better job of developing the characters. It is also for that reason that the flow of the show was much slower. Despite all of that, the main focus of the characters were just a few: Negi, Asuna, Nodoka, and a few others.
The second version of the show is looking like it is trying to develop each and every one of the cast of characters (that is around thirty five people). That is a tall task to do considering it had only twenty six episodes. Again, I have not finished watching the second version and with the fansub group currently in standstill, there are no new releases so I cannot really conclude a complete opinion of the second version.
Animation
You would think that the second version, being the new one, would have better animation and graphics but you would be wrong. For me, the second version of the show is just too dark and the animation isn't as good as the first one. The first version is much more clear and vibrant.
The characters are also drawn much better in the first version (though the real difference is in the female cast as the male cast stays pretty much the same). The second version of the anime has many of the female cast looking disproportional. I can't understand why they would do that but oh well, some people just likes that I suppose.
I will give props for the magic and battle scenes. They were very good and well animated in both versions. However, again, I wish they wouldn't make it so dark in the second version. The buildings look the same in both versions and are well drawn. The big tree in the first version really looked nice and is of really non-existence in the second.
Sound
The opening and closing theme of the first version were okay but not great. However, the background music was very good. I love the opening theme for the second version though I haven't been able to find the instrumental version for it. The ending theme was average. Background music for the second version was also very good. I would say that the second version has been music than the first though. Overall, I liked the music from this anime.
Conclusion
Negima is certainly not among the best anime I have ever seen but it is good enough to get my recommendation. It is not an anime that packs you with minutes after minutes of action. It provides you with enough but not too much to turn away people who aren't into action animes. There are plenty of comedic moments for a laugh here and there. It is an eechi (especially the two OVAs) so it does contain some fan service moments (the first has more than the second). Watch it if you just want to see a light hearted anime to pass some of the time away. However, don't expect too much from it as it isn't as great as some other people have claimed it to be.
Download
Below are some songs (all instrumental) from this anime. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the soundtrack of the second version of this anime so all of the songs are from the first version.