Del Rey has announced that Negima, Volume 1: Magister Negi, by Ken Akamatsu will be published on April 27 as scheduled without any alterations to the author's original artwork.  Del Rey had originally decided to alter the art in 10 panels 'to get Ken Akamatsu's brilliant work into as many U.S. bookstores as possible' (see 'Del Rey Alters Negima Manga'), but the publisher has now decided, at the suggestion of a leading national book retailer, to shrinkwrap all copies of Negima with a label stating: 'Contains Explicit Content, Ages 16+.'

Dallas Middaugh, Del Rey's Director of Manga, told ICv2: 'By shrinkwrapping and stickering Negima without altering a single panel of its contents, we were able to be totally faithful to our author's storytelling art/creative expression while publishing his book responsibly.'