Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Signum is primarily a swordfighter, Nanoha specializes in powerful, focused ranged attacks... what the hell was Chrono's style?

Thinking about it a bit, I think Amuro would probably end up as a Jack of All Stats whose primary strength is versatility, and his fighting style would revolve around controlling the fight in order to negate his enemy's strengths and expose their weaknesses. Against a Fragile Speedster he's use binds and area attacks to prevent them from dodging. Against a Long-Range Fighter he'd close to melee range and prevent them from getting off any powerful blasts. Against a Close-Range Combatant he'd use speed and illusions to distract them and escape to where he can blast at them from outside their effective range. His device would be something fairly generic, probably a staff, but with a variety of forms — a gun-style blaster form and a sword-style melee form, at the very least.

Alternatively, I could see him as a Mighty Glacier, something that's not really represented in the Nanoha cast. (Maybe Yuuno as a Barrier Warrior counts? But he doesn't really do much in the way of actual fighting.) His device would be a shield, but with funnel-style Attack Drone bits (like the things that Nanoha uses during the final battle with Vivio in Strikers) that provide most of his offense for him.

Fair enough! Though, if the timelines have the same zero-year, then Nanoha is like eight years older than Amuro. (Yes, I realize that I'm applying logic to what's intended to be silly and amusing. This is because I find applying logic to silly and amusing things to be silly and amusing.)

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

Double post, but... episode 3 get!

Hey, Lucetia's still around. And Garyuu is still brooding dramatically in the background, as is his wont. Complete with Scarf of Asskicking billowing dramatically in the wind. Garyuu is awesome.

Does anyone else find it odd that they seem to have decided to make Raising Heart an actual character by having it hovering around with Nanoha and making comments in conversation, but Bardiche didn't get the same treatment? Especially with Sacred Heart doing the same thing.

Nanoha actually meets Einhart! "So, you're really good at martial arts, right?!" NANOHA-MAMA WILL TEST YOUR STRENGTH AND DECIDE IF YOU ARE WORTHY OF BEFRIENDING VIVIO. PREPARE YOURSELF, LITTLE GIRL. But then Vivio and Fate step in and ruins everything. Damn.

As an aside, what the hell is Nanoha doing these days? Fate seems to be working with the Navy (they mention that she's home because her ship is undergoing maintenance, for example) and Vivio at one point said that Nanoha was a government employee (I think they called her a civil servant?) but no real details. Is she still a training captain? Not really important to the plot, but just something I find myself wondering.

Lucetia has made extensive preparations for visitors. I guess she has a lot of free time.

Einhart is confused by this concept of "fun". Oh, wait, it's training? EINHART WILL HAVE MORE FUN THAN ANYONE ELSE HERE. The poor fish in that river will be traumatized for life. It also made me think of this.

Ha. Vivio noticed her own Les Yay. [Einhart] I've always been on my own. [Vivio] Well, now you're not, because you have me! Um. Like, as a friend. And a training partner. Yes, that is precisely what I meant. And nothing else. Yes. [Einhart] Yes, I also understand that that is what you meant and nothing else. Fistbump for training partners? [Vivio] *fistbump for training partners*

And while I'm at it, episode 4 too.

Why the hell does Lucetia have a (presumably rare) copy of an ancient Belkan monarch's memoirs? For an Exposition Dump, naturally. What the hell actually happened to Olivie, anyway?

Nove nearly lost it when Einhart said she can't imagine Nanoha and Fate in combat. Pity they cut the mock battle short before anything interesting could happen. And then Vivio and Einhart go off alone for some "light sparring". Because they're "training partners". Yes, that is the implication of that scene.

Hey, more fanservice, with the inevitable hot springs this time. And Garyuu serving drinks. I have no idea what that made me laugh as hard as it did. And weaponized Skinship Grope. Wow. Of course, why it was Rio of all people who flipped out when her transformed outfit is Chun Li levels of ridiculous, I have no idea.

Aaaand next episode is another mock battle. Here's hoping they actually go all out with this one, instead of cutting it short or going all Evasive Fight-Thread Episode on us.

edited 21st Nov '15 3:10:13 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

I think Nanoha may have been on extended sick leave (or at least relegated away from tasks that involve strenuous activity), because her idea of "holding back" is somewhat more laxly defined than most other people's idea, if she even knows what it means in practice.

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Yeah, fluff is that Nanoha got put on a desk job for a while after the Saint's Cradle incident because she kind of fucked up her Linker Core when she cast five Starlight Breakers under heavy AMF conditions or something.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

In Gears of Destiny, Chrono primarily centers on being a Bind user, which kinda screws him over. However, AFAIR in the anime he was more like a middle-ground between Nanoha and Fate. A bit shooty like Nanoha, but much faster on the attack than she was.

Actually, given her bombardment focus, Nanoha is probably the closest thing the franchise has to a proper Mighty Glacier.

So OYW!Amuro borders on being a Cake Eater, then. I can live with that.

They actually mentioned in episode 4 that Nanoha still has her job training other combat mages. Presumably she just lives at home instead of on-base like she did in Strikers.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

Nanoha is one of the more agile character, being able to fly in a setting where that's far from a universal ability, so not really a Mighty Glacier at all.

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She has to stay in one place in order to charge up her stronger moves, though, which she has to compensate for by ensaring her foes in Binds. In comparison to her comrades, she's closer to a glacier archetype than anyone other than Hayate.

x7 Considering how rich they are, makes sense that they might spend some to not have to get some books for home. Also, it's a copy, which pretty much means not rare. Maybe she got one to help better understand Einhart's situation.

As for what happened to Olivie...that's explained during the library visit. Anime ends long before that. But Strikers should be a clue.

edited 21st Nov '15 5:37:03 PM by arahman56

Bardiche is apparently too heavy to float as a triangle trinket and can only be used as a key chain as in Strikers. That or he's probably too stoic and cool and simply prefers to stay in the background.

Raising Heart patting the girls on their heads is one of the most adorable scenes in Nanoha.

Well. the training match/mock battle is coming...

She is, technically, a prisoner on that planet. She's not allowed to go anywhere other than to Mid-Childa. She's made the best of her time making a goddamn spa from scratch.

She presumably borrowed books from the IL, she also got the "make a device on your own" manual and a "build a goddamn spa on your own" manual from there.

What happened to Olivie? She died so that the Belkan wars came to an end. That's not even a spoiler, everyone and their dog knows it. What is explored on the later chapters of Vivid is her life prior to her Heroic Sacrifice.

Nanoha is still an instructor at the TSAB instructor corps. What many people seem to overlook is that she is the best TSAB instructor, and she spends most of the time making training regimens for other instructors to implement/testing new equipment and battle strategies and less time actually teaching rookies. When she does teach, she teaches entire platoons in advanced combat tactics for only a short time. This is why the Forwards are extremely lucky to be under her personal supervision and guidance for 6 months(?), since getting her to teach a small group of rookies from the ground up is like getting Gordon Ramsey to teach a small group of people how to cook.

Also, Nanoha apparently earns enough to live in such a big house, which is near enough that she and her daughter can walk to school and work. Seriously, that's one big house for a single mother and her daughter to live in.

"Single mother"

◊

What's that image from anyway?

Well, yeah, but I meant more specifically. Her conversation with the Hegemon certainly comes off as "I'm going off to die, so take care of everything for me after I'm gone" but I'm not at all clear on what she's going to do that she doesn't intend to survive, or how that would end the Warring States IN SPAAAAAACE era.

edited 21st Nov '15 7:59:16 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

That is explored in the latter parts of the manga, like I said earlier. Well one thing you ought to know now is that the Saint's Cradle that you saw in Strikers played an important part in the end of the Belkan wars.

It's a wonder how they managed to hide such a big damn ship that it was essentially forgotten until Jail literally brought it up,

It's from the "2nd Mother's Day" comic.

Or nobody tried to use it.

edited 21st Nov '15 9:18:49 PM by arahman56

Episode 6! Everyone fight everyone!

Wow but Lucetia's battle costume is ridiculous. It's basically a Pimped Out Jacket and a pair of panties. It's not even just a short skirt like a bunch of the other characters, it's deliberately got a split in the front. Seriously, what the hell?

Vivio, you say that you can't beat Einhart's martial arts so you'll have to use magic, then you fire a magic blast and then proceed to martial arts. What were you expecting to happen?

Corona's thing is creating Conspicuous CG golems, huh? That's actually pretty neat. I have the feeling that its primary role is going to be getting Worfed, though.

[Einhart] Senpai, notice fight me! [Nanoha] HELL YEAH I WILL! [Einhart] I will punch you a lot! [Subaru] That's totally not gonna work! [Nanoha] lolol bind'n'blast [Subaru] I told you that wouldn't work! [Einhart] I WILL PUNCH MY WAY OUT OF THIS! *breaks bind* [Nanoha] Very nice! *beamspam* [Einhart] x_x

Some shonen strategerizing, and then... huh, episode's over. They're actually spending more than one episode on this? Not sure if I'm impressed that they're giving it that much attention or annoyed that they're not doing more to advance the plot. Not that there have been much more than hints in that direction, anyway, but the series is half over at this point. Damn, this is going to be a No Ending thing, isn't it.

Anyway, episode 7!

Hey, Fate actually got in trouble for her habit of relying on MOAR SPEED all the time. Sure, she was getting double-teamed, but still.

Of course the giant robot has a rocket punch. It just wouldn't be right, otherwise.

Beam-O-War with Starlight Breakers! The notes on how everyone got knocked out were amusing. Corona's was the best, I think. "Blocked SLB-MR with Goliath. Provided little protection." She still had some HP left, though! Tea's was good too, though. "Somehow nullified SLB-MR." Even the training ground doesn't know how she managed that.

And the match comes down to Vivio vs Einhart. Which immediately comes down to punching each other again. Vivio, if you know that she's better at melee than you, why do you keep fighting her in melee? They get a mutual KO, which doesn't surprise me, but I'm slightly disappointed that they didn't go for the classic Cross Counter. Also: Clothing Damage for everybody!

Tournament Arc? Tournament Arc.

Einhart needs a Device? I wonder if that means — yep, there's Hayate and co. And... Agito and Rein aren't tiny any more for some reason? Sure, okay. Oh hey, that girl from the OP is Zaf's student, apparently. Also a girl from the Saint Church and... a Japanese Delinquent... named Harry. Also yet another Ancient Belka freakshow. And some dude in a hoodie, who's apparently the defending champion (who I also recognize from the OP).

edited 21st Nov '15 11:46:38 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

Reinforce Zwei has a human-sized mode that isn't very energy-efficient. Though I suppose she's only using it in ViVid since it makes some things more convenient.

It appears that the same applies to Agito.

It's also a continuity error. In the manga she didn't swap to that one until the start of the Tournament Arc; during the mock battle she was still wearing her StrikerS costume.

I think I'd prefer it if she'd stuck with that one all the way through, because the newer one just looks stupid to me.

edited 22nd Nov '15 4:08:23 AM by Deadbeatloser22

"Yup. That tasted purple."

Now, you're up to the same point in the anime as me. I'm going to have to catch up, since I've been enjoying your recaps Native Jovian and I'll need the context.

I assume that "the other Ancient Belkan Freakshow" is referring to Victoria Dalgruen, which is funny because she's only a little bit ancient belkan, in contrast to Vivio and Einhart, who are 100% ancient belkan.

What, no points for Rio and her dual magic conversion?

Of course Goliath will provide little protection from SLB, seeing as it can level cities and whatnot. I'll admit, Tea "Somehow Nullifying" Nanoha's SLB (though with great effort on her part) is funny, once you think about it. Seems more like she got lucky.

Yep. Another person going "my dad ancient Belkan royal ancestor can beat up yours! (and I'll prove it by beating you up now)".

How is Einhart 100% Ancient Belkan, though? Vivio is a clone of Olivie, so she's 100% pure-bred Ancient Belkan Royalty, sure, but I was under the impression that Einhart was simply a distant descendant of the Hegemon, the same way that this Victoria chick is apparently a distant descendant of this Thunder Emperor guy. It's just that Einhart happened to end up with some plot device genetic memories or whatever, not that she's actually more closely related to him in terms of consanguinity.

Though now that I think about it, where the hell is Einhart's family? She mentions that before meeting Nove she was by herself, she seems to live alone, and there's never any mention of having to ask permission to do things like go take a four-day vacation on another planet. What happened to her parents? Where does she get money to live on if she doesn't have either a job or a breadwinner in the household?

Eh, it honestly doesn't impress me. Okay, so she can use two different elements. So what? It's not like Elemental Powers make a big difference in the Nanoha-verse. It doesn't seem all that useful in actual combat. As for the rest of her... meh. She's a Genki Girl Kick Chick with an outfit designed for maximum Panty Shots. Nothing about her is particularly unique or interesting.

Well, Corona did survive the Starlight Breaker (even if she was still immobilized), so it's possible that they meant "provided a little protection" as in "kept her alive, just barely" rather than "provided little protection" as in "wasn't very effective at protecting her".

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

My headcanon as of now is that Einhart secretly mugged all those people she got into street brawls with before her debut.

That, or she's a regular contestant in the local underground bloodsport.

edited 22nd Nov '15 12:20:27 PM by EvaUnit01

She's blackmailing Rio's family for cash. That's why they can't afford to fix her teeth.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.

Blackmailing them with what, pictures of Rio with her panties visible? Given your recap, I was under the impression that most people can see those damn near any time they wished.

That one time she forgot to wear them?

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