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This article uses Creative Commons licensed content from Wikipedia's Evangeline A.K. McDowell article.
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| Evangeline A.K. McDowell | |
| Kanji |
エヴァンジェリン・アタナシア・カテリン・マクダウェル |
| Alias |
Evangelina Athanasia Ecaterina MacDovell |
| English Voice |
Laura Bailey |
Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell[1] (エヴァンジェリン・アタナシア・カテリン・マクダウェル, Evanjerin Atanashia Katerin Makudaueru), listed as Evangeline A.K. McDowell is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Negima!: Magister Negi Magi created by Ken Akamatsu. The 26th student in Japanese alphabetical order of class 2/3-A, she is actually a centuries-old vampire cursed to remain at the school by Nagi Springfield, the father of her teacher and her disciple Negi Springfield. Initially an antagonist for Negi due to his father's actions, she eventually becomes an important teacher and guide for the young mage and his allies as they fight and search for his missing father. However, Eva remains a cruel, powerful mage in her own right, yet with the sensitivities of her former human life.
Background
Dark Evangel, the nightmare of children
Evangeline was born in a castle in Europe during the Middle Ages, possibly in Ireland or Scotland from her surname, although it is not known if she was royalty or not. When she awoke on her tenth birthday, she found she had been turned into a vampire while she slept (through sorcery, not by being bitten, thus making her a Shinso vampire or "True Blood Vampire"). Initially she had the customary weakness of a vampire towards sunlight and so on that she learned to overcome. She developed her magical powers in order to get revenge on the man who turned her, whom she killed. She was initially forced to lead an itinerant life since she could not hide the fact that her body no longer aged, though later she uses magic to disguise herself as an adult.
Little more is known about her history until more recent times when she was saved by the Thousand Master, then pursued him mercilessly out of love thereafter 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, the Thousand Master confined her to the grounds of Mahora Academy and put in place a barrier to restrict her abilities. He claimed that Eva should try to "live in the light for a change" and promised her that he would free her from the curse when she graduated. Unfortunately, 5 years later, he "died", thus her chance of being free from the curse was gone until his son Negi came. Konoemon Konoe, the School Dean, employed her as a security guard, personally keeping him informed about events occurring in the school.
Character Design
After the success of various harem series such as Love Hina, Ken Akamatsu stated that he wished to create a different kind of series through Negima. The series initially appeared like another unconventional harem manga, despite changing the male protagonist to a child and creating a large, varied cast. The active introduction of the vampiress Evangeline changed the series into something different. The second character noted for her uniqueness in the class (the first being Chachamaru), she created a more supernatural aura to the world of Mahora Academy outside the child teacher. Starting from her battle with the protagonist, she forced him to become more active and open about his abilities as his first major obstacle.
Evangeline's character parallels Negi in various ways. She is the oldest student at over five-hundred years of age, yet she appears in age similar to Negi. Similarly, she is one of the few fully Caucasian characters, besides the teacher. Finally, they both come from the magic world with some past connection to the Thousand Master. Initially Akamatsu imagined her wearing a witch's hat even in class, but dropped it early on (the only time she does wear the hat in continuity is during her initial campus raids).
Evangeline's purpose in the story is tied, directly and indirectly, to Negi's own reasons at Mahora. As one of the greater successes of famed mage Nagi Springfield, Evangeline is reflected to have grudges against her teacher for being his son, leading to their initial confrontations. However, their similarities in character and background allows readers to empathize with her character and understand her own problems. After their initial confrontations, Evangeline's character changes towards a parallel teacher to the teacher, contrasting his caring ways with her taskmaster, tough love approach in order to allow for some assistance towards the ultimate goal of finding Negi's father. Though unconventional, Eva's abilities and notoriety allow for faster character and power evolution for the stronger trials that lay ahead.
Personality
Evangeline's smiling "innocently"
Evangeline is the only Caucasian girl in the class. Evangeline's birthday remains unknown. Although her body stopped aging at age 10, she is over 700 years old (born during The Hundred Years War) and thus has the habit of referring to herself as old. A cold and devilish little girl, she is actually a hunted witch and vampire. She once had a six million dollar bounty on her head, with nicknames such as "Dark Evangel", "Doll Master", "Maga Nosferatu", and others. She rarely says much in class, and anything she says tends to lean towards being evil. Despite being an evil vampire, she does have a softer side, that is rarely shown. She is in the Go and Tea Ceremony clubs, out of enjoyment. She has two partners (though not Ministra Magi), Chachazero and Chachamaru. She is also easily bored when times are peaceful, and like Chisame, is frustrated by most of her classmates' attitudes, though she holds them in higher regard compared to Chisame and the fact that Evangeline herself is on Chisame's list of "weirdos", falling under both being foreign and, initially too young for junior high (she is after all seemingly the youngest of the class), thought the latter label has probably been shelved after Chisame learned of Negi's secret. Evangeline loses her temper when someone calls her "little" or "shorty".
Part in the story
Initially, Evangeline watched Negi with some intent upon his arrival at Mahora Academy and eventually attacked him. She claimed that the draining of blood from the son of the Thousand Master would enable her to break the curse binding her to the Mahora campus. Yet, her intention to remove the curse via blood draining remained questionable, and her claim has yet to be verified.
Eva rescue part one
When Negi was fighting Fate to stop the summoning of the demon god Ryōmen Sukuna-no-Kami during the Kyoto field trip Konoemon found a loophole that allowed Eva to get out of Mahora and rescue Negi and 3-A. Eva defeated Fate and Sukuna and was allowed to go on the field trip with her classmates.
Negi convinces her to become his master in magical combat after he sees her true power in Kyoto. As demanding teacher, she expects menial servitude from her student, as well as a daily payment of blood for the lessons. This is considered somewhat in contradiction to her earlier statement, that drinking Negi's blood would break the Thousand Master's curse. Yet, it is possible that only by drinking all of his blood at once, would she be able to boost her power to where she could overcome the curse, or that smaller doses such as this are either insufficient for the task or simply build up the needed energy slower. Despite the assistance she gave Negi in Kyoto, Herrman never captured her when he captured the girls who helped him in Kyoto, and in fact deliberately avoided her. But she watched the ensuing battle from a distance with Chachamaru and Kaede, noting with satisfaction that Negi's adversity helped him develop his abilities further. Some hints indicate a romantic interest in Negi, including some jealousy upon discovery of additional lessons from Ku Fei. More recently, she gave him a rather sensual kiss at her resort.
She does not want to be involved in Chao's plans and opts to observe. She gave Chao full discretion regarding actions to Negi, as well as access Chachamaru's services. This is all likely a repayment to the favor rendered for Chachamaru's creation. However, it could also simply be Evangeline testing her student's capabilities by stacking the odds further against him.
After the festival, Evangeline puts Asuna through boot camp to help her improve her fighting skills, as it was painfully apparent that Asuna's abilities are far below Negi's. After Asuna succeeded in completing the boot camp, Evangeline forcefully made Asuna her third apprentice. With her training finished, Evangeline began pitting her classmates against each other once the news of Negi's plan to go to England got out. Amused after seeing Makie, Ayaka, and the Twins fail to capture Asuna, she then sets up the Badge Collection game, most likely to test the results of the training Negi's group had underwent. The rules were simple: one only has to steal a special badge from one of the members in Negi's new club. Doing so will give the person the right to accompany the club to Wales. However, the member who loses their badge will be forced to stay behind. She deliberately didn't inform Negi or the other club members that their classmates would try to steal their badges, she only told them that they would not be going to England if they lost them. In the end, their training proved true, and no badges were taken.
She was last shown on August 19th of the timeline, bored out of her mind, and resorting to dressing up Satomi, Satsuki, and Zazie to entertain herself.
After Negi used the dark magic spell scroll Rakan gave him, she appeared as a spirit copy created by Negi's memories of her, which he then fought against inside his own head. During this endless battle Evangeline does not hold anything back and Negi is killed again and again, the battle ends when Negi finally manages to absorb her dark magic into himself.
In more recent chapters she is seen with Albireo Imma and Eishun Konoe in the Library. They are discussing what happened many years ago when Nagi saved Arika from death. And later she is seen with Zazie watching negi's battle with fate as the two worlds became connected and the Grave Keeper's palace projected itself there because of the world tree. Soon the rest of Class 3-A shows up and watches along with them though they do not understand what is going on, and is surprised when Ayaka appears and asks her what is really going on and calls her Dark Evangel.
She goes and asks Albireo what is really going on and he tells her that the man who turned her into what she is who she thought was dead is sealed under the world tree, The Mage of the Beginning.
Eva rescue part two
A lesson for the troublesome disciple
When many of the members of Cosmo Entelecheia are revived that where defeated and kill twenty and ten years before the star of the series, Negi and his new ally fate are attacked right after their battle, and are eventually overwhelmed. She appears and saves Negi.
Powers and abilities
As a dark mage and vampire, Evangeline specializes in ice-based spells and dark magic, and is shown to be incredibly powerful once in her full capacities. This is shown in her easy win over both Fate Averruncus and the demon-god Sukuna. Even devoid of her magical powers, she is still a very skilled fighter and can effortlessly take down a man twice her size, largely due to her mastery of the Japanese martial art Aikido. It is implied that Evangeline learnt the art from its creator Morihei Ueshiba himself, as she casually referred to having "picked it up from that old geezer when I came to Japan 80 years ago." Such is her degree of mastery in Aikido that she is able to easily overcome already fearsome warriors like Setsuna with her physical abilities alone (though that may be because Setsuna at the time was hesitant to strike at the body of a 'child'). Her title of Doll (or Puppet) Master stems from the fact that, not only is she able to animate dolls, but she can also control people against their will as if they were puppets, both through her vampiric powers, as well as threads that she can manipulate to ensnare others, controlling them in the same manner as a marionette. Most recently, her forbidden technique called Magia Erebea has been learned by Negi.
In addition to these abilities she also has the powers of a Shinso vampire, which includes extremely fast regeneration and flight. She displayed it in Chapter 52 after being impaled by a spear of rock but then converting her body to a swarm of bats that reformed completely healed behind Fate Averruncus. She later said it is very tiring, but a vampire, especially a Shinso vampire, cannot be hurt by physical means such as a sword or a gun.
Spells/Techniques
- Nivis Casus(Snowfall)
- Crystallizatio Tellustris(Frozen Earth)
- Axe Of Lightning
- Sagitta Magica
- Ensis Exsequens(Executioner's Sword)
- Iaculatio Grandinis(Hailstone Spears)
- End Of The World
- Malleus Aquilonis
- Nivis Tempestas Obscurans(Snowstorm Of Darkness)
- Frozen Coffin Of Ice
- Magica Erebea
Evangeline's resort
Evangeline's resort as it looks from the outside
Evangeline's new multiple resorts
Evangeline possesses a personal resort within Mahora Academy. It is actually a miniaturized world located within a glass sphere. Similar to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber of Dragonball Z, time moves at an accelerated rate, where a single hour in the normal world is equivalent to a full day within the sphere. She recently added an additional five spheres, one of which houses a giant castle, which she uses to train her apprentices. Due to a spell cast by Evangeline, occupants must stay for a "day" before being able to leave.
Other media
Mahō Sensei Negima! (1st anime)
Although consistently a thorn on Negi's side, she does assist when needed. In the final battle, her Pactio ability awakens her true power once again. In a rare act of kindness she casts a spell to reveal Sayo to the rest of the class because as she says "She's the only one to know how it feels to be trapped at the school." Her nails are initially purplish-white, purple in her adult form, but later they are the correct color of blood red. It is interesting to note that in this series her eyes are green but in all other medias her eyes are blue.
Negima!?
Eva eating ramen in "Negima!?"
The adult transformation of Evangeline, as depicted in "Negima!?"
Like the manga, Evangeline begins this series as Negi's enemy, desiring to fight him while feeling guilted towards her former relations with the Thousand Master/Nagi. She takes an active role much earlier than in the first anime, becoming an antagonist in the first episode. Though Evangeline retains some comedic traits, she is overall depict as far more threatening than in the first anime.
After her defeat against Negi, Evangeline tries to stay on the sidelines during the Star Crystal crisis, watching from a distance and spending more time eating ramen and drinking tea with Takamichi and Chachamaru. However Eva soon becomes a consistent target towards the Star Crystal's master, particularly after journeying into the "other world Mahora". In an early attempt, Eva is transformed into a giantess before she is finally pacified by the abilities of Chachamaru. Later, when the Star Crystal mastermind is finally realized, the powers of the crystal infect Eva, transforming her into a servant of the controller. With the assistance of his students, Negi defeats Evangeline again by doing a Pactio on her, freeing her from the evil influence.
- Within the series itself, Eva only had one Pactio release: during the final mass Pactio, she transforms into a doll-like Cosplay form much to her chagrin. However, an omake after the "Suka Incident" also shows Eva in her Suka form as a rabbit. Like her potential manga Pactio card as well as the first anime, Evangeline's potential armor card transforms her back into her adult form with full vampiric powers.
- Outside her relations with Negi, Eva's relations with Chachamaru are also emphasized, showing her concern for her robotic servant even when broken down from battles and always having her either serve or receive all meals that the vampire partakes in (even to the point of having Chachamaru buy takeout from a ramen stand Takamichi opens and waiting impatiently until she returned).
Profient in ice magic, Evangeline is a foe to be reckoned with.
- It is also implied that she can fence as in one episode she pulls out an ice rapier using her magic.
- Also, her nails are always uncolored when not in her adult form in this incarnation, as seen in the picture on the top right.
Trivia
- Evangeline bears a great number of similarities to Remilia Scarlet from Touhou (with elements of Alice Margatroid), one of the numerous Touhou references in the series.
- Evangeline A.K. McDowell is also very similar to Hiyori Sarugaki from Bleach. they both are short-tempered to certain people especially the main characters (Negi & Ichigo). They also train Negi and Ichigo to help them improve their skills and of cource their merciless masters. They show no mercy in battle because they both have a tragic past that makes them heartless towards others.
- The term "Shinso" as a type of powerful vampire may have been taken from the Nasuverse - Arcueid Brunestud, the only known vampire of that class, shares Evangeline's blonde hair and red eyes.
- She shares her seiyū with Ayumu Kasuga from Azumanga Daioh, better known as Osaka.
Notes and references
- ↑ The Negima Reader: Secrets Behind the Magic (Mysteries and Secrets Revealed! 13), although according to all official sources the K in Evangeline's name stands for Kitty (キティ).