Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

It was an issue with the directing and animation I suppose. Right after Einhart used Unchain Knuckle in the manga, Nanoha fired some unnamed blast (probably Divine Buster) while she was distracted wondering wtf she just managed to pull off to force her to dodge, then blindsided her and blasted her with an instant Strike Stars (no charge time at all).

Not going to link pages, you should be able to find it on your own (chapter 14).

edited 13th May '15 4:22:01 AM by HanabiraKage

Since we're already 6 episodes in, which usually is 1 episode over the drop point for most people, lets recap and assess how the Vivid anime is doing so far...

=It manages to remain faithful to the manga, albeit with a few alterations here and there.

=Fanservice is notably toned down but still present, which is to be expected anyway.

=The fights are well animated, which should be, given that one of Lyrical Nanoha's selling points is the awesome fights. The only thing that really gets on my nerves is the sound of the magic circle/triangle which was changed. I prefer the "shing" sound from the first three seasons.

=Overall, it's a good adaptation and if they will cover until the major fights in the tournament arc, then we can expect more epic fights.

edited 14th May '15 2:20:28 PM by Hoki

I've found the fights to be better animated than the previous seasons, if not as good as the movies (an unfair comparison, I know, the movies probably had more money to spend).

My main problem with it is that the lack of any sort of central plot and kinda lackluster main characters (cheerful-moeblob-who-wants-to-get-stronger vs stoic-moeblob-who-wants-to-get-stronger) means that the only things holding my interest are the fights and my returning favourite minor characters like Nove.

I suspect this is one of those shows I'll keep watching up until I miss or forget an episode, after which I'll just drop it.

Y'know, I think the reason Vivid doesn't have a serious plot is because the original cast are still there. If they had a more serious plot, then the original cast would just come in and save the day. The only way it can have a story is if Vivio and the others fight battles themselves without Nanoha and co. interfering, and the only way to do that is through a magical tournament for young mages.

If they wanted to have a serious plot they could work something out. Fate, Teanna and Subaru are away on duty, Nanoha is on post-Strikers medical leave, the kids get separated and trapped somewhere out of their reach, etc. It's been a while since I listened to SSX, but it had the second generation deal with a major crisis without Nanoha and Fate getting involved.

I think the reason they don't have a plot is that they don't want one. They set out to make a lighthearted cutesy slice-of-life-ish story and that's what it is.

edited 14th May '15 3:40:25 PM by Gaunt88

I think we can both agree that Nanoha will go through hell and high water if Vivio is in danger, and being who she is, unless the enemy is somewhere in her mage rank with the requisite skills to match, she'll just curb-stomp anyone. Even if Nanoha wasn't available (which is highly unlikely), there's still the Saint Church, specifically Otto and Deed, Vivio's self-appointed bodyguards.

The "trapped somewhere away from the more powerful characters" thing already happened in the IL arc. Not to go over specific details but the "more powerful" character was played by Hayate, who has admitted to be very bad at personal combat. Yuuno was also there, which was jarring since as the chief librarian, he should be able to unlock most of the accessible sections of the IL that have been locked from the inside.

Yes, Vivid is lighter and softer, which is what the writers intended anyway, but from an in-universe perspective, any serious threat to Vivio and her friends can and will be solved easily,

Also, with regards to how the Transformation Sequence was handled in EP 6, keep in mind that the manga did that for everyone too. Only Erio had more clothes on and Lu had her old Barrier Jacket design.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

Does people need to be reminded again that Force was the "serious plot" one?

Your assertion would carry more weight if Force had managed to stick with an overall plot for very long, hadn't played the fanservice card badly in a few weird cases, and wasn't Force.

Nous restons ici.

Also, if Thoma weren't so goddamned stupid.

I find myself agreeing with this. Nostalgia more than anything is what's letting me continue watching; I've never been that much of a fan of the 'shounen-style tournament' plot setup.

As a side-note, it was a nice touch how Subaru and Nove had the exact same poses and camera angles for their section of the transformation sequence.

If they're intending to continue on with Force after this, I really hope they fix its characterization and plot problems:

• Make up their minds on making the Huckebein either Wolkenritter-style sympathetic of full-on irredeemable monsters
• Either continue with the series' staple magic-based combat or make a better excuse for them switching to conventional-style weaponry other than 'the enemy has extra-hax anti-magic'

I admittedly never read Force, just its TVTropes page , so I don't have a good grasp on Thoma personality-wise... though it would probably be better for him to be introduced as an actual newbie rather than invoking Remember the New Guy?.

edited 15th May '15 12:29:48 AM by Demovere

It worked beautifully in Mobile Fighter G Gundam, but in many ways the Gundam Fight was more like a framing device for the rest of the story.

I haven't read Force yet, either.

But I plan to do a fanfic rewrite of it.

And I will be addressing all of those points you brought up. And more. ...although I haven't figured out what my response/version to the magic-vs-AEC thing will be yet, since as said before, I have not yet read the manga.

edited 15th May '15 12:43:09 AM by EvaUnit01

It would be better if you read Force first before writing your fanfic, as it will give you a better grasp of each of the characters' personalities and beliefs.

I like this piece of fanart.◊

Probably happened.

Th art looks quite Deathsmiles-ish. Or something like that.

OK, so now it seems the manga has broken me to the point where I can't look at art featuring Ginga without wondering where the banana is.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

Banana?

Do they have to be one or the other? Neutral parties can exist in this setting you know.

The Omake basically has any strip she's in end with her being the victim of a Banana Peel gag.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

Dammit, even more chapters I missed?

Would it be possible to specify the related chapter(s)?

EVEN MORE EDIT: Strikers Manga you mean, right?

edited 15th May '15 7:40:19 PM by arahman56

Neutral at this point would be falling between two stools rather than a particularly viable option. They put effort into both extremes, a middle ground is no longer a place that effort can meet.

Nous restons ici.

Other fun things in the omake are

=Raising Heart being Ax-Crazy with blowing things up. It's sounds funnier if you read her crazy lines in Donna Burke's voice, especially when she calls Nanoha "Boss."

=Fate's constant attempts of wanting to take Nanoha to bed and failing because Nanoha is a dunce when it comes to these things.

=Hayate being a bonafide Cosplay Otaku Girl.

=Everyone thinking Vita likes Anything That Moves

=Zest being a bodybuilding nut

=Vice getting beat up for being a voyeur.

edited 15th May '15 9:05:49 PM by Hoki

ViVid is up to volume 13 though, but they're all raws. The translated chapters go up to like the first chapter or so of volume 11.

Funny you should mention that...

NANOHA FORCE REACTIONS

Chapter 00/Prologue - Fated Meeting

Well, the very first page has a shot of Reinforce Eins. I like.

Subaru drops an FFX reference. (Subaru: "Memories are precious, but you can't live with only memories." Rikku: "Memories are nice, but that's all they are.")

Okay, so the Book of the Silver Cross has to do with the epically colossal shitstorm that was the Belkan War era. Got it.

Brief shot of Touma and Lily. I have no objections at this time.

As per the last page, looks like Hayate might be growing her hair out. I like.

___________

Chapter 01 - Engage

Touma's hobbies include treasure hunting and photography, with a prime avenue of choice being ancient ruins. Seems like an honest, straightforward kid. Has a camera-like Device he wears around his neck, evidently called 'Steed'. Okay, why not?

Okay, so he knows Subaru, refers to her by the -chan suffix. The subtext of his telegram reads, to me, like he's addressing a Cool Big Sis. Touma informs Subaru that, as per their agreement, he is walking the universe on a journey of self-discovery. Seems legit.

....and what he discovers instead, is an incredibly shady-sounding scientific research crew. He attempts to leave quietly and forget what he saw, a perfectly sensible decision. And then he gets The Call. In a similar way to how Nanoha got hers, but less kid-friendly.

As any lead character worth his salt inevitably must, Touma decides to do something for the Distressed Damsel calling out to him. Steed, Genre Savvy to the end, tries half-heartedly to dissuade him from this course of action. Also, and I quote: "...I'll get scolded by your girlfriend if you get hurt." My reaction to that is twofold. First, that is the best excuse not to go on an adventure that I've ever heard, and second, . Not sure if Steed's being sincere, or snarky, though.

Observation: Touma can do the Mid-Childan equivalent of Alohamora seemingly without Steed assisting him.

...aaaaaand the Love Interest debuts via Crucified Hero Shot. Lovely. Touma appears to receive a small dose of mindfuck on making eye contact with the girl, which leads to tripping an alarm. Way to clear the Stealth Level, kid!

Oh shit. The kid's weeping blood now. Dammit. Also, despite our heroine's obvious pain and distress, she seems even more distressed on behalf of the errant shonen hero that just showed up to save her. ...also, he doesn't realize that she's not wearing anything until he's literally got her in his arms, at which point he finally freaks out like I was expecting him to earlier.

Also, there's talk of a "reaction" and "infection hazard". Such words never, ever mean anything good. Especially when they're in the context of each other. ...Suspicions which are confirmed when the automated defense protocol is to Kill It with Fire.

Observation: Touma does require Steed's help in using defensive spells. Must be that basic utility magic is just really simple, and holy shit this is a universe that trusts preteens and adolescents with a tool for presumably flawless breaking and entering.

Lily does some funky shit with Tohma that inverts his hair color, and gives him/both of them the power to survive in temperatures beyond the melting point of... "metal". No specific material was named, but that's still some pretty metal shit, I gotta confess.

And now Touma is whatever the remarkably-shady scientific research team "were about to create".

I like the shiny new gunblade. But then, I adore FFVIII, and OH MY GOD JUST LOOK AT THAT HOLY SHIT BEAM. ...given that Touma did that OOC and as if he knew how to do it all along, but then suddenly goes back to normal once Steed manages to get through to him, I'm going to assume that some kind of Heroic Safe Mode just happened. ...or maybe something like SEED Mode...

We finally get Touma's full name, and Lily Strosek also introduces herself to her new husbando.

Meanwhile, Fate and Tea are out wrecking face on another world, in search of the Book mentioned in the prologue, and a "Divider". ...which is probably Touma's new shiny, if the official name of his Holy Shit Beam is any indication.

The Enforcer duo allude to infection by the Eclipse, which sounds like ten kinds of bad mojo. The subtext is that Eclipse infectees - cue a shot of Touma and Lily - will be quarantined. Aggressively.

The current implications for the future are that we're getting the franchise's traditional Anti-Villain as The Protagonist, while the good guys we know and love are going to be playing Hero Antagonist this season. Should be pretty interesting if it continues to play out in this manner.

_____

Overall impressions: Okay, so I'll grant that Touma's kind of generic so far. I give no fucks at all about that, I'm just looking forward to reading the next few chapters tomorrow.

Could be there's some amount of dissent within the ranks. Maybe some of the individuals could be sympathetic antivillains, and maybe some of them could be Yazan Gable fanboys/girls.

Now this is one is surprisingly news to me. Example, please?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.