@Thousand:
! Yeah…I don't think a sequel is gonna happen. It seems to be wrapping up though it doesn't change how rushed the whole thing feels. Still kinda heart-breaking hearing about how everyone died. Though I guess that'll be moot when Asuna time-travels back. Still why the hell did Negi die? I mean what was the point of introducing the immortality thing then? Also why then hell does Negi, the hero of both worlds, only have a small, dinky grave at a random site instead of a huge monument which he totally deserves? Gah, this whole thing screams rushed.
Considering those are pretty much the same questions Asuna is asking, I think that's all going to be dealt with.
! The fact that she still has her memories, and woke up 30 years too late, are both signs that not all is as it should be. She SHOULD have been blanked back into Princess mode.
! The fact that Chao is there probably means there's going to be a bit of timetravel yet. Or theres a big ol' twist to come. Akamatsu isn't going to go all Gainax on us. Probably.
! And I assume Negi isn't really dead, and the grave is just a public front so he can go do things he needs to do. Note we DIDN'T find out who he ended up with, even though we got hints of everyone else.
@Nekketsu:
Btw, why do you keep insisting this is rushing things? A year ago Akamatsu stated that Negima was approaching its end. Next 3 chapters will be decisive, but I don't think it will feel rushed, at all.
Because there's still about 800 loose plot threads, some major, some minor. Even if all of them get a one sentence throw away line to deal with them in the next three chapters… its not a very satisfying payoff for any of them. Particularly the bigger threads like where the pactios came from, Negi's father, characters admitting their feelings to their loved ones, and such.
I mean, wrapping up
! the "Negi's village is turned to stone" plotline, which was a MAJOR lifeshaping event and goal that had multiple chapters dedicated to it before… off camera… in a single panel... is absolutely rushing it.
Even if the remaining 3 chapters are perfectly executed, extra long and glorious... they're still going to be rushing all the plot threads that remain... and no doubt missing a few.
@Jacko:
He would be the greatest dick in history if he himself rushed to the end after setting up all these amazing things.
I think Hitler and Pol Pot might be a little bit more dickish.
The other option is that the magazin forced him to and that would be dump, too.
Any event, it might be that he himself is just ready for the story to end and he's leaving space for fans to fill in the blanks. (Having mysteries remaining when a series is done isn't the worst thing in the world. Thats what lets fanfic and ongoing discussions thrive.) Where, while he COULD have kept the story running for another 2 or 3 years, all the big pieces are set up and the ending will be about the same either way, and having an extra two years of filler would only take away from what he's doing here with Asuna… and keep him from moving onto the next story that he's ready to tell.
10 years is a long time to work on one story. I've done it myself with Ninja High School. It's a LONG stint. Even if you love it and have a filled world of characters and dozens of stories left to tell... you're also ready to move on by that point and sometimes have to settle with just giving the audience a sample of what you had in mind rather than devoting more time to it yet.
There's also the possibility that there's a health or family issue, and he doesn't want to go all Togashi on his fans with multi-month hiatuses.