Yue Ayase

Yue Ayase
Negima! Magister Negi Magi character
Created by	Ken Akamatsu
In-universe information
Alias	Baka Black, Yuecchi
Species	Human
Gender	Female

Yue Ayase (綾瀬 夕映, Ayase Yūe) is a fictional character from the manga series Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, created by Ken Akamatsu. The 4th student in Japanese alphabetical order of class 2/3-A, she is the hidden intelligence of the class, a member of the Library Exploration Club yet at the same time a part of the infamous Baka Rangers due to her hatred of studying and schoolwork. Although initially enthusiastic in helping fellow Library club member Nodoka Miyazaki gain Negi's heart, she soon develops feelings of her own and is constantly trying to grip with where she wants to stand between the two of them. However, her own interest in magic and the supernatural draws her into becoming a valuable ally, both in learning magic as well as becoming a partner in Negi's squad.

Background and Personality

Yue is considered the cool slacker of the class, a girl with a level head yet at the same time a horrible student. Most of her intelligence is used as member of the Library Exploration Club alongside classmates Nodoka Miyazaki, Haruna Saotome and Konoka Konoe. Even though she knows she has never been through the entire library due to its massive size, she does know enough to be a guide for those who choose to go in there, such as guiding Negi and other members of the class. It is through the club that Yue becomes friends with the club, usually finding herself helping her shier friend Nodoka gain confidence to do what she wants while at the same time ignoring or putting up with the manipulations of the bespectacled Haruna (although she does seem extremely scared of Haruna's abilities, she does somehow find a way to remain her friend).

However, despite being a talented bibliophile and a member of the Library Club, Yue hates studying and schoolwork. Due to this, she is one of the students in 3-A with the lowest grades in the class, and hence is a member of the "Baka Rangers" or "Dummy Force" study group (a play on the Power Rangers series and the Super Sentai genre they came from). In the Baka Rangers, Yue is "Baka Black", and considered the team's leader, most likely in being the "smartest" of the quintet both in general as well as in her average as a Baka Ranger. Although Yue doesn't like studying or schoolwork, she can perform to show her smarts when she needs to, either when she needs to (to raise a class average) or in a subject she finds herself interested in (such as magic). It was revealed later that the source or Yue's hatred for studying was tied to the death of her beloved grandfather, making her lose interest in the world in general and considered everything, especially studying, as pointless. She was initially disinterested in making friends, though Nodoka was the first to make an impression on her, by saying that anyone who likes books cannot be a bad person.

Yue is often seen drinking unusual beverages from juice boxes, found in various and bizarre flavors. She was once seen drinking the "Last Elixir" in one chapter, a cameo appearance from Final Fantasy. Unfortunately her constant drinking of these juices often leads to her using the restroom quite frequently. Whenever Yue drinks from one of these boxes, she usually is seen either in a more contemplative or a commentary role compared to the craziness going on around her.

Character Design

With the many different character types and designs that went in to making the girls of Negima, Ken Akamatsu occasionally gets ideas from other sources, including other manga, for the creation of his girls. Upon creating Yue, Akamatsu already knew that she was going to be a huge bibliophile due to feeling that she had a Read or Die feel upon creation. Like heroine Yomiko Readman, Yue obsesses with books similar to her friend Nodoka and yet uses them as a means to escape from the problems in her own life. Yue's design was made rather similar to her current one from the getgo, complete with her small stature, braided front bangs and split hair behind. Some pics depicted her possibly with glasses, but other than that Yue was created ready to go into Akamatsu's story. Interestingly enough, Ran Ayanaga, the person behind the original character design for Yue, would eventually work on the Read or Dream manga, with one of the characters in the story, Hisami Hishishii, having a strong resemblance to Yue.

Part in the Story

Yue's initial interaction with Negi Springfield is two-fold: both as "Nodoka's best freind" as well as a member of the Baka Rangers. In regards to the former, she assists her shy friend to at least approach Negi and help her express her feelings towards her. On the latter, she is forced into the study group due to being the fifth-worst student in the class, even though she quickly proved that she wasn't as dumb as the tests made her out to be. Although a guide through the library during the Baka Ranger's journey to improve their grades, she hardly interacted with Negi outside what she had to.

By the time of the field trip to Kyoto, Yue remains in the background as the initial actions and problems from the trip play out. When Kazumi organizes a special game to kiss Negi, she decides to join Nodoka as a means to help her win the game. However, when approached by one of the Negi clones attempting to kiss her, unexpected feelings begin to emerge that Yue never realized she had, making her feel guilty in possibly cheating out Nodoka. Eventually choosing to fight back against the clones, Yue makes Nodoka take the kiss to win the game and her Pactio card. Later, after following Negi's team to the Konoe shrine, she, thanks to Asakura saving her from a spell that would have turned her into stone, ends up unexpectedly getting the assistance of other classmates to defeat the forces of the Eastern Mages lead by Chigusa and Fate, being one of the few not petrified during the initial attack.

After the Kyoto trip, having witnessed the attack on the Kansai Magic Association headquarters, talked to Nodoka (who became aware of magic following her Pactio) about the subject, and helped Negi figure out the clues left by his father, Yue deduced that Negi was a mage and Mahora Academy's magical nature. Another trip into the depths of the Mahora Library was thwarted by the dragon that lives there, though Yue swears revenge on the beast for drooling on her. She and Nodoka later ask Negi to teach them how to use magic, and Yue even suggested forming a pactio with him (though she immediately changed her mind once she learned about what was required to make a contract from Chamo and Kazumi).

Nevertheless, Yue learned some magic by the time of the Mahora Festival, practicing within Evageline's resort where she learned some of the basics with Negi's assistace. She also became friends with Kotarō in Kyoto after his fight with Kaede. Unlike her regular schoolwork, Yue is dedicated to learning magic and spends over 3 hours a day practicing. She expresses some of these thoughts alone to Negi during the first day of the festival, trying to grip with whether her feelings are genuine for Negi or if she should continue to help Nodoka win his heart. (a fact she manages to keep a secret from Nodoka until the school festival)

On the second day of the festival, Yue's feelings come to a head: during a tour of Library Island, Yue finally loses her sanity regarding her feelings due to Nodoka and the potential contract she could make and chooses to make, to the point of bungee jumping from a high section of the main library to make her decision. Nodoka forgave her, and with her approval (although not with Yue's or Negi's consent), Yue became the fifth person to form a probationary contract with the child teacher. Using the power of the Pactio, Yue both assisted Negi during the crisis for the remainder of the festival (including their unexpected future trip and during the final battle with Chao as well as speed up her own magical training. This enables her to defend her White Wing badge from her classmates.

Yue and Nodoka apparently become fast friends with Negi's old friend Anya as she approves of the two Library Girls, (most likely due to their similar chest sizes). Like the other White Wing members, she accompanied Negi to the magical world, only to be scattered across the world when Fate destroys the teleportation system.

Abilities

Official Pactio of Yue Ayase

Official Pactio of Yue Ayase

• Pactio: Orbis Sensualium Pictus: Her artifact is a set consisting of a cloak, book, witch's hat, and a broom. Their abilities are gradually being revealed, with the book appearing to be a beginner's manual for casting spells. Chamo mentions that she has the same Beginner Mage Set that Negi also had. This implies that her equipment is essentially the same as those given to mages in training. At first, her artifact doesn't offer any noticeable firepower, but its merit is progressively proven useful is the story moves on. For one, what was first thought of as only a beginner's manual actually has a wide array of general information on various magical topics, like an encyclopedia. It is able to display this information in the form of illusionary pages, like holograms. Even more amazing, is that the book is also linked with Mahou.net and updates continuously. It will answer any question Yue asks that pertain to magic. In other words, Yue now has the equivalent of a magical library branch in one book. She was able to discern Asuna's magic cancellation ability to be among the most powerful, simply by looking it up. Furthermore, she was able to learn the spell needed to amplify Asuna's power. Yue also keeps a practice wand and is already able to cast a few simple spells with it. As for the broom, its purpose has not been shown as of yet, though readers have speculated that it is used like Negi uses his staff, (ie: spell-casting and transport)
• Logical Intelligence:
• Magical Ability: After discovering Negi's mage status, Yue coaxed him to make her into his student on magical arts, both for her own defense and to "get revenge on the guardian dragon of Library Island". (who later turned out to be a friendly guard of Albireo) Combining Negi's guidance and the power of Evangeline's resort alongside Yue's own studious nature and her Pactio, she soon masters the basics enough to start further her abilities by the trip to Magical World.

Yue in Other Media

Mahō Sensei Negima! (1st Anime)

Due to the rearrangement of events, Yue's feelings for Negi emerged much earlier, yet remain as contentious as the manga situation in her own feelings and how Nodoka would handle it. Later, Nodoka accepted Yue's feelings and said she was glad to have her as a romantic rival. Yue only gained Pactio during the final mass contract, upon which she merely gained a broom that casted thunder spells.

Negima!?

File:YueNegima!?.jpg

Yue's Pactio with Negi in "Negima!?"

Mostly keeping her Baka Ranger/Library Club dichotomy from the manga, Yue's situation remains unchanged either in her mental abilities or in her love trangle between herself, Negi and Nodoka. Yue's romantic feelings towards Negi are more developed in this series with two episodes focusing on her dilemma both personally and with her relationship to Nodoka. The first episode, similar to the manga, focuses on her feelings in having to kiss Negi for a Pactio contract, as she speaks about her worries and concerns to various members of the class. However, while she does finally succumb to these feelings and kisses Negi for a contract, her kiss leads to the remainder of 3-A to learn of magic and many of the events for the remainder of the series.

In a later episode, Yue's feelings continue to be explored in her feelings towards Negi and how Nodoka would take them. Troubling herself in trying to talk to her friend and figure her out, Nodoka and she finally come to an agreement that they both like him and that they have a right to become romantic rivals.

Although she does gain Pactio on her own like in the manga, it is noted that Haruna obtains a Pactio prior to her, the exact reverse of the manga. Likewise, the only two times Yue releases her is during the two mass Pactio activations. During the "Suka Incident", Yue transforms into an owl and uses Negi to help her buy one of her weird drinks from a vending machine. In the final episode, Yue transforms into a maid with an arsenal of weird drinks with strange effects, many of which she tests on her friend Nodoka (who had been turned into her Suka seal form). Although Yue does during a preview wear the costume for her armor form (which like the manga is a witches' costume), she never uses its power within continuity.

As an added note, Yue's hair color is switched with Nodoka's: the shy Library club member has blue hair and Yue having purple hair.