Nagi Springfield

Infobox animanga character
color = black
color text = white
name = Nagi Springfield
series = Negima! Magister Negi Magi


caption =
first =
last =
creator = Ken Akamatsu
voiced by = Takehito Koyasu (Negima!)
Miyuki Sawashiro (Negima!?)
Troy Baker (English)
Game voice actor: Kenichi Suzumura
oaux1 = Hasei Takano
oaux1 name = Portrayed By
alias = The Thousand Master
age = 35
species = Mage
gender = Male
born =
relatives = Negi Springfield (son)
Nekane Springfield (niece)
paux1 =
paux1 name = Height
paux2 = O
paux2 name = Blood type
paux3 = Brown
paux3 name = Hair color
paux4 = Brown
paux4 name = Eye color|

nihongo|Nagi Springfield|ナギ・スプリングフィールド|Nagi Supuringufīrudo, aka The Thousand Master, is a fictional character from the manga series , created by Ken Akamatsu. He is the father of the main character Negi Springfield as well as being the centerpoint of the main plot of the story.

Background & Personality

Negi's father and a legendary wizard. The origin of his title is ambiguous; some bill him as the master of a thousand spells (which is patently untrue since he admits to being a dropout who only knows a handful of spells and needs to read out of pocket notes to cast other spells). However, this was stated in a dream that Evangeline had, and because she "hates" him, may not be true, but it seems to have been verified by Asuna having Nagi say something to the same effect during her most detailed flashback dream. There is also a rumor that he made probationary contracts with a thousand different girls, though this is almost certainly just a lie of Albert Chamomile's, meant to inspire Negi to make many contracts and earn Chamo-kun a huge brokerage fee with the Ermine Society. Nagi is so strong, in both magical and physical combat, that he does not even need any Ministra Magi to help him. His fighting style was that of a magic swordsman, using both speedy magic casting and hand-to-hand combat in tandem.

Despite what many people think, he never did graduate from a wizard school, even admitting that he is a dropout. When he was ten years old, he became the winner of essentially the last Legendary Mahora Martial Arts Tournament, twenty-five years before the current one. Later, Nagi and his friends fought in a magic war that ended years ago, when he was fifteen years of age. After the war, he became famous for his heroic deeds and received the title of Thousand Master. He disappeared ten years ago in 1994, the same year Negi was born. No one knows precisely what happened to him, but most people assume he is in fact dead. In a recording made by Alberio shortly before Negi's birth, Nagi himself assumed that he would be dead by the time Negi saw it. However, Nagi managed to survive, and he showed up just in time to save Negi from a horde of demons attacking his home village. He seemed to still be in trouble however, as he could only stay long enough to give Negi his staff. Since Alberio has a pactio (the almost-only male on male pactio ever shown) with Nagi which is still currently active, this proves that the Thousand Master is still alive.

Unlike his son Negi who is hard-working, mature, serious, is repectful when talking (such as referring to each of his students with the honorific "san") and insecure, Nagi is shown to be lazy, child-like, laid back ,and simply refers to someone by name even to his elders (considered very disrespectful in Japan). He also seems to hate being called by titles such as Nagi-san preferring people to simply call him Nagi and is said to be a "ladies man". However, like Negi, he is a kind and caring man and is for the most part always seen with a smile on his face, with a cunning and shrewdness that surpasses common sense. The illusionary Nagi created by Alberio was much the same, though with a noticeable ego.

The last known information about Nagi's whereabouts was obtained by Ayaka upon Asuna's request to launch an investigation on him; according to Ayaka's findings, he disappeared in Istanbul (as was revealed in Chapter 176, complete with a map of Turkey). The Thousand Master is a mage whose elemental magic affinity is lightning.

Role in Story

Although he has only appeared in flash backs (save his end appearance at the end of Negima!? see below), he plays a major role in the story as trying to find him is what drives Negi so hard. Although most of the world thinks he dead, most of his close friends knew better saying that "Nagi is way too strong to let himself get killed off that easy". Also, due to Alberio Imma and Rakan of the Thousand Blades having a living pactio card with Nagi, this proves that he is indeed still alive.

Currently Negi and his group are looking for him in the magic world. In order to avoid bounty hunters, Negi uses Age-Deceiving Pills to make himself look older and is going by the alias of 'Nagi Springfield,' which causes a media sensation in the fighting tournament he is now involved in. It is also revealed that Nagi has a huge fan club in which many members believe that the disguised Negi is actually Nagi reincarnated.

Relationships

Negi Springfield: His only (known) child, who like him, is a skilled mage, but personality wise are complete opposites. He left Negi before he was born and never met him until the night he saved Negi when his village was in danger and gave him his staff. Nagi had his friend Takamichi Takahata look after him his son to make sure he was okay.

Evangeline A.K. McDowell: A centuries-old vampire cursed to remain at the school by Nagi. After Nagi saved her life, she fell in love with him, and pursued him relentlessly until he managed to shake her off. Feeling rejected, she finally tracked him down in Japan, but was tricked into walking into an "anti-vampire soup" composed of garlic and leeks. Employing the powerful "Infernus Scholasticus (School Hell)" curse, he confined her to the grounds of Mahora Academy and put in place a barrier to restrict most of her abilities. He then told Eva that she should try to "live in the light for a change" and promised her that he would free her from the curse when she graduated. However, he never returned to free her from the spell, which caused her to hate him afterwards.

Asuna Kagurazaka: While it varies from series to series, it is shown that Nagi had once traveled with Asuna before the start of the story. In a flashback, it's shown that he and his companions (the Crimson Wing) were heroes of the Magic World.

Nagi in Other Media

Negima!

Nagi also met Asuna when she was a child and traveled with her for a while, just before he disappeared. In the anime, Nagi accompanies Asuna so they can find a way to stop a contract between a Demon and Asuna, wherein she will die in 10 years. One day, Asuna accidentally nullifies Nagi's magic shield, and he is pierced through the chest by a demon's sword. He quickly casts a spell that causes both him and the demon to disappear in some sort of black hole. When he does this he says "Negi, take good care of Asuna" even though Negi never introduced himself to his father and Asuna when he was found, and by that it means that Nagi already knew Negi when he found him.

Negima!?

Although he is initially seen through flashbacks and dream sequences, Nagi is explicitly shown to be alive in this series, even saving his son and Anya from the Star Crystal after the final battle between the latter two. Nagi however remains as elusive as ever, leaving his son behind even before a reunion can take place. But he is not a bad father by any means as he is the one who sent the Magical Academy agents Motsu and Shichimi to watch over Negi. Eventually, Nagi tells the two to switch their alliances with Negi, seeing his son mature in just a short time.