The first three discs of the box set are dedicated to the original 26 episode-long anime that ran in Japan from January 2005 to June of the same year. The other four discs contain an alternate telling of the series that aired in Japan in 2006 along with a two episode OVA titled Spring/Summer. The first series whose animation was done by Xebec, is a silly romantic comedy that relies heavily on character interaction, slapstick humor, and reactionary gags. Each episode is a mostly self-contained story. The plot usually focuses around introducing a unique quirk about one of the students or developing the relationship they have with Negi. With a class of 30 students and only 26 episodes they can't focus on each student and there are some who just remain in the background getting only one or two lines of dialogue. However, the audience is by no means left wanting. The students whom they do focus on have enough personality to make up for the screen time the other students don’t receive. The fact that the class has robots, ninjas, and more among the student body doesn't hurt.

The tension and action really gets going in the last couple episodes of the series. This is when an actual threat shows up to threaten the safety of the students and despite one of the students dying, it is all concluded with a satisfying ending that wraps up nearly all loose ends the second series whose title is indicated solely by the addition of a "?'' in the title can be disconcerting when compared to the first. The animation is done by Genesis and Shaft whose style is noticeably different. They often have multiple-boxed images on screen at the same time resembling a page from a comic book.

The characters are presented at unnecessarily dramatic angles and the use of silhouettes can feel excessive. Even though the characters and premise are mostly the same between the two series, in the second series, the story focuses primarily on dealing with issues brought up by a mysterious element terrorizing the school. In addition, character development has been sacrificed for more action and random comedy. One good thing the second series does is that it gives more screen time and lines to characters that were overlooked or only briefly mentioned in the previous series.

All in all Negima! Negima!? Complete Collection is just a rerelease of the two series. There aren't any additional features, commentary, or promotional material that hasn't already included in the DVD collections that were released by Funimation. If you missed out on the opportunity to add these series to your anime collection in the past Sentai is now offering you a quick and easy way to obtain both.

Review copy courtesy of Sentai Filmworks