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[[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: A mind-blowing analysis that highlights the more sci-fi elements of StrikerS and the Lyrical Nanoha in general can be found [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Nanoha/comments/q0mmtu/about_barrier_jackets_programming/ here]]


to:

[[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: A mind-blowing analysis that highlights the more sci-fi elements of StrikerS and the Lyrical Nanoha in general can be found [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Nanoha/comments/q0mmtu/about_barrier_jackets_programming/ here]]

here]].

!!Dream Before Dusk: Lyrical Nanoha as the cradle of the [[MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction Dark Magical Girl genre]].
[[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: An essay exploring in-depth how this wave of DarkerAndEdgier takes on the once cheerful Magical Girl genre can be found [[https://weebservations.com/2021/05/10/magical-girl-lyrical-nanoha-dream-before-dusk/ here]].

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What makes Barrier Jackets stand out among other Mahou Shoujo Henshins? The fact that they are [[MagicFromTechnology programs]], which translates into the fact that they can be reprogrammed. Hence, their versatility in combat. So, first thing first, let's review what exactly are the Barrier Jackets according to the Lyrical Nanoha wiki:

--> Barrier Jacket is an extremely versatile and ubiquitous field-type defensive spell that summons a magical armor protecting a mage from external harm. Unlike other protective spells, it is usually [[InstantArmor auto-cast by the mage's Device upon its activation]] and only dispelled when it is critically damaged, destroyed, or deactivated by its master. The defensive capacities of Barrier Jackets are very high and allow mages to survive in life-threatening conditions, however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

So, they're spells, so what? Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.

But I digress — a Shoot spell, following this logic, is a complex algorithm that allows a mage to concentrate their mana in the form of spheres that can shoot energy beams. Conversely, a Defensive spell is another complex algorithm whose function is to protect a certain area from harm (you can cast it upon an object, a single person, or a group of people), either magical, physical, or chemical. And I think, even biological. To do so, the algorithm must tune the nature and the output of the defense as it recognizes and integrates info about the very same source of harm. Inputs I reckon would be the harm's nature (magical, physical, etc.), the magnitude of its power output if it's magical or kinetic, its composition if it's not, and the combined effect of the aforementioned variables. On top of that, it also must factor in the complex interactions resulted from these variables and the capacity and effect of the Defensive spell itself. A barrier works differently from a field, for example.

* Barrier type: These spells erect defensive barriers (e.g. Protection), usually in spherical or hemispherical shape, to absorb the power of an incoming attack in order to reduce damage. They can defend in all directions but are relatively easy to break.

* Field type: Not to be confused with force field spells below, field type spells directly affect an area around the user to nullify a specific energy type, thermal or electrical for example. They mostly take the form of protective clothing or auras.

* Shield type: This type describes spells that generate powerful shields. In contrast to barrier-type spells, shield-type spells can only guard in one direction but are much more difficult to penetrate. Instead of absorbing, they defend by repelling the energy drove against them.

What a pain! Now it makes sense why the Devices are AIs more often than not. Subaru and Teana have my utmost respect for crafting their own functional Devices without being experts nor having any college education on the field. A Cartridge hybrid and a Modern Belka nonetheless!

Again, I digress. The point is a Barrier Jacket does all of those things plus taking into account a mobility-speed-protection-mana reserves-magical output tradeoff because it is to be worn by a mage, not just cast on the air like a shield or a barrier.

So many variables!

Also, what about that ominous line?

--> however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

Besides the obvious fact that no Defensive spell can tank infinite amounts of harm, there's another drawback. As a program, it needs data to feed its algorithms. Whenever this data is absent or not properly recognized/integrated due to lack of time, the Defensive spell is rendered unable to protect whatever is behind it.

Take ''[=StrikerS=]''' episode 1. Ginga put a protective dome around a group of people so the flames and the toxic gases of the fire couldn't reach them. Revolver Knuckle (her Device) HAD to have processed the environmental conditions if it wasn't previously programmed with basic data about fires in order to cast a functional dome. What would have happened otherwise? Let's the Japanese wiki answer that (a rather rough translation, sorry):

--> In episode 16, Reinforce II analyzed the components of the aerosol shell and transferred the protection data to the forward members to protect them from the gas. Since the Barrier Jacket glowed then, it is possible that the Barrier Jacket programming, which is a field defense, was equipped with a gas filtration mechanism. On the contrary, if a very fast-acting gas (often lethal) was sprayed and the component data is unknown, the gas attack would have been effective against the mage.

Now, remember IRL scientists rely on complex-as-heck (and often fragile and costly) equipment to separate and identify a sample's constituents. Another layer of respect to the Devices, but it also means they can fail if they aren't quick enough in both processes — the separation/identification rounds and the calculations.

Oh, and now it makes sense that Defensive spells are often multilayered. One or two top layers with generic data about the source of harm plus lower layers specifically tuned to efficiently repel the harm.

In either case, no data equals no protection which, in turn, equals having to soldier the damage and possibly die. Mind you, the only reason why Nanoha and co. don't outright die whenever magic able to level buildings hit them it's their Barrier Jackets. It's so effective that we rarely see them with serious injuries such as internal bleeding or brain damage. BUT, if the Barrier Jacket's programming fails to do the required tunings, they are as fragile as the next person.
Nothing conveys this delicate tradeoff more than the Purge Reactor spell. Forcibly dispelling all the Barrier Jacket defensive layers so they detonate and fend off a single attack before it gets to the caster. Pretty much in the fashion of tanks’ Reactive Armor, it disperses the momentum of the attack, originally focused on a point, so it causes less damage. Here, the Device sacrifices a powerful protection spell so it can launch it as an interceptor AND it also gains the mana the Barrier Jacket normally drains. Additionally, the wiki seems to suggest Purge Reactor can be loaded on other Devices for them to use since it was invented by Nanoha on a moment’s spurt. I wonder whether that was possible because she’s a prodigy. Guess not everyone can invent spells, just modify them.

To sum up all of this, mages wearing their Barrier Jackets are almost completely safe against the worst of magical and kinetic attacks since the only way to harm them would be to overpower both layers of protection (the Barrier Jackets plus standard Defensive spells). However, they are all the more vulnerable to chemical, biological, and non-kinetic physical sources of harm. That’s why Barrier Jackets are different from simple magic — magic does its thing and solves it all heedlessly of the variables at play, nearing its effects to [[DeusExMachina Deus-ex-Machina]] levels if not carefully handled.


to:

What makes Barrier Jackets stand out among other Mahou Shoujo Henshins? The fact [[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: A mind-blowing analysis that they are [[MagicFromTechnology programs]], which translates into highlights the fact that they can be reprogrammed. Hence, their versatility in combat. So, first thing first, let's review what exactly are the Barrier Jackets according to more sci-fi elements of StrikerS and the Lyrical Nanoha wiki:

--> Barrier Jacket is an extremely versatile and ubiquitous field-type defensive spell that summons a magical armor protecting a mage from external harm. Unlike other protective spells, it is usually [[InstantArmor auto-cast by the mage's Device upon its activation]] and only dispelled when it is critically damaged, destroyed, or deactivated by its master. The defensive capacities of Barrier Jackets are very high and allow mages to survive
in life-threatening conditions, however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

So, they're spells, so what? Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.

But I digress — a Shoot spell, following this logic, is a complex algorithm that allows a mage to concentrate their mana in the form of spheres that can shoot energy beams. Conversely, a Defensive spell is another complex algorithm whose function is to protect a certain area from harm (you can cast it upon an object, a single person, or a group of people), either magical, physical, or chemical. And I think, even biological. To do so, the algorithm must tune the nature and the output of the defense as it recognizes and integrates info about the very same source of harm. Inputs I reckon would be the harm's nature (magical, physical, etc.), the magnitude of its power output if it's magical or kinetic, its composition if it's not, and the combined effect of the aforementioned variables. On top of that, it also must factor in the complex interactions resulted from these variables and the capacity and effect of the Defensive spell itself. A barrier works differently from a field, for example.

* Barrier type: These spells erect defensive barriers (e.g. Protection), usually in spherical or hemispherical shape, to absorb the power of an incoming attack in order to reduce damage. They can defend in all directions but are relatively easy to break.

* Field type: Not to be confused with force field spells below, field type spells directly affect an area around the user to nullify a specific energy type, thermal or electrical for example. They mostly take the form of protective clothing or auras.

* Shield type: This type describes spells that generate powerful shields. In contrast to barrier-type spells, shield-type spells can only guard in one direction but are much more difficult to penetrate. Instead of absorbing, they defend by repelling the energy drove against them.

What a pain! Now it makes sense why the Devices are AIs more often than not. Subaru and Teana have my utmost respect for crafting their own functional Devices without being experts nor having any college education on the field. A Cartridge hybrid and a Modern Belka nonetheless!

Again, I digress. The point is a Barrier Jacket does all of those things plus taking into account a mobility-speed-protection-mana reserves-magical output tradeoff because it is to be worn by a mage, not just cast on the air like a shield or a barrier.

So many variables!

Also, what about that ominous line?

--> however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

Besides the obvious fact that no Defensive spell can tank infinite amounts of harm, there's another drawback. As a program, it needs data to feed its algorithms. Whenever this data is absent or not properly recognized/integrated due to lack of time, the Defensive spell is rendered unable to protect whatever is behind it.

Take ''[=StrikerS=]''' episode 1. Ginga put a protective dome around a group of people so the flames and the toxic gases of the fire couldn't reach them. Revolver Knuckle (her Device) HAD to have processed the environmental conditions if it wasn't previously programmed with basic data about fires in order to cast a functional dome. What would have happened otherwise? Let's the Japanese wiki answer that (a rather rough translation, sorry):

--> In episode 16, Reinforce II analyzed the components of the aerosol shell and transferred the protection data to the forward members to protect them from the gas. Since the Barrier Jacket glowed then, it is possible that the Barrier Jacket programming, which is a field defense, was equipped with a gas filtration mechanism. On the contrary, if a very fast-acting gas (often lethal) was sprayed and the component data is unknown, the gas attack would have been effective against the mage.

Now, remember IRL scientists rely on complex-as-heck (and often fragile and costly) equipment to separate and identify a sample's constituents. Another layer of respect to the Devices, but it also means they can fail if they aren't quick enough in both processes — the separation/identification rounds and the calculations.

Oh, and now it makes sense that Defensive spells are often multilayered. One or two top layers with generic data about the source of harm plus lower layers specifically tuned to efficiently repel the harm.

In either case, no data equals no protection which, in turn, equals having to soldier the damage and possibly die. Mind you, the only reason why Nanoha and co. don't outright die whenever magic able to level buildings hit them it's their Barrier Jackets. It's so effective that we rarely see them with serious injuries such as internal bleeding or brain damage. BUT, if the Barrier Jacket's programming fails to do the required tunings, they are as fragile as the next person.
Nothing conveys this delicate tradeoff more than the Purge Reactor spell. Forcibly dispelling all the Barrier Jacket defensive layers so they detonate and fend off a single attack before it gets to the caster. Pretty much in the fashion of tanks’ Reactive Armor, it disperses the momentum of the attack, originally focused on a point, so it causes less damage. Here, the Device sacrifices a powerful protection spell so it can launch it as an interceptor AND it also gains the mana the Barrier Jacket normally drains. Additionally, the wiki seems to suggest Purge Reactor
general can be loaded on other Devices for them to use since it was invented by Nanoha on a moment’s spurt. I wonder whether that was possible because she’s a prodigy. Guess not everyone can invent spells, just modify them.

To sum up all of this, mages wearing their Barrier Jackets are almost completely safe against the worst of magical and kinetic attacks since the only way to harm them would be to overpower both layers of protection (the Barrier Jackets plus standard Defensive spells). However, they are all the more vulnerable to chemical, biological, and non-kinetic physical sources of harm. That’s why Barrier Jackets are different from simple magic — magic does its thing and solves it all heedlessly of the variables at play, nearing its effects to [[DeusExMachina Deus-ex-Machina]] levels if not carefully handled.

found [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Nanoha/comments/q0mmtu/about_barrier_jackets_programming/ here]]

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{{Pun So, they're spells, so what?}} Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.

to:

{{Pun So, they're spells, so what?}} what? Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


What makes Barrier Jackets stand out among other Mahou Shoujo Henshins? The fact that they are programs, which translates into the fact that they can be reprogrammed. Hence, their versatility in combat. So, first thing first, let's review what exactly are the Barrier Jackets according to the Lyrical Nanoha wiki:

--> Barrier Jacket is an extremely versatile and ubiquitous field-type defensive spell that summons a magical armor protecting a mage from external harm. Unlike other protective spells, it is usually auto-cast by the mage's Device upon its activation and only dispelled when it is critically damaged, destroyed, or deactivated by its master. The defensive capacities of Barrier Jackets are very high and allow mages to survive in life-threatening conditions, however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

So, they're spells, so what? Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.

But I digress — a Shoot spell following this logic is a complex algorithm that allows a mage to concentrate their mana in the form of spheres that can shoot energy beams. Conversely, a Defensive spell is another complex algorithm whose function is to protect a certain area from harm (you can cast it upon an object, a single person, or a group of people), either magical, physical, or chemical. And I think, even biological. To do so, the algorithm must tune the nature and the output of the defense as it recognizes and integrates info about the very same source of harm. Inputs I reckon would be the harm's nature (magical, physical, etc.), the magnitude of its power output if it's magical or kinetic, its composition if it's not, and the combined effect of the aforementioned variables. On top of that, it also must factor in the complex interactions resulted from these variables and the capacity and effect of the Defensive spell itself. A barrier works differently from a field, for example.

to:

What makes Barrier Jackets stand out among other Mahou Shoujo Henshins? The fact that they are programs, [[MagicFromTechnology programs]], which translates into the fact that they can be reprogrammed. Hence, their versatility in combat. So, first thing first, let's review what exactly are the Barrier Jackets according to the Lyrical Nanoha wiki:

--> Barrier Jacket is an extremely versatile and ubiquitous field-type defensive spell that summons a magical armor protecting a mage from external harm. Unlike other protective spells, it is usually [[InstantArmor auto-cast by the mage's Device upon its activation activation]] and only dispelled when it is critically damaged, destroyed, or deactivated by its master. The defensive capacities of Barrier Jackets are very high and allow mages to survive in life-threatening conditions, however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

{{Pun So, they're spells, so what? what?}} Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.

But I digress — a Shoot spell spell, following this logic logic, is a complex algorithm that allows a mage to concentrate their mana in the form of spheres that can shoot energy beams. Conversely, a Defensive spell is another complex algorithm whose function is to protect a certain area from harm (you can cast it upon an object, a single person, or a group of people), either magical, physical, or chemical. And I think, even biological. To do so, the algorithm must tune the nature and the output of the defense as it recognizes and integrates info about the very same source of harm. Inputs I reckon would be the harm's nature (magical, physical, etc.), the magnitude of its power output if it's magical or kinetic, its composition if it's not, and the combined effect of the aforementioned variables. On top of that, it also must factor in the complex interactions resulted from these variables and the capacity and effect of the Defensive spell itself. A barrier works differently from a field, for example.



Again, I digress. Sorry, people, it's just that I LOVE the very concept of the Devices. The point is a Barrier Jacket does all of those things plus taking into account a mobility-speed-protection-mana reserves-magical output tradeoff because it is to be worn by a mage, not just cast on the air like a shield or a barrier.

to:

Again, I digress. Sorry, people, it's just that I LOVE the very concept of the Devices. The point is a Barrier Jacket does all of those things plus taking into account a mobility-speed-protection-mana reserves-magical output tradeoff because it is to be worn by a mage, not just cast on the air like a shield or a barrier.



Besides, what about that ominous line?

to:

Besides, Also, what about that ominous line?



To sum up all of this, mages wearing their Barrier Jackets are almost completely safe against the worst of magical and kinetic attacks since the only way to harm them would be to overpower both layers of protection (the Barrier Jackets plus standard Defensive spells). However, they are all the more vulnerable to chemical, biological, and non-kinetic physical sources of harm. That’s why Barrier Jackets are different from simple magic — magic does its thing and solves it all heedlessly of the variables at play, nearing its effect to Deus-ex-Machina level if not carefully handled.


to:

To sum up all of this, mages wearing their Barrier Jackets are almost completely safe against the worst of magical and kinetic attacks since the only way to harm them would be to overpower both layers of protection (the Barrier Jackets plus standard Defensive spells). However, they are all the more vulnerable to chemical, biological, and non-kinetic physical sources of harm. That’s why Barrier Jackets are different from simple magic — magic does its thing and solves it all heedlessly of the variables at play, nearing its effect effects to Deus-ex-Machina level [[DeusExMachina Deus-ex-Machina]] levels if not carefully handled.

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

!!About the Barrier Jackets programming and how they play with the InstantArmor trope.
What makes Barrier Jackets stand out among other Mahou Shoujo Henshins? The fact that they are programs, which translates into the fact that they can be reprogrammed. Hence, their versatility in combat. So, first thing first, let's review what exactly are the Barrier Jackets according to the Lyrical Nanoha wiki:

--> Barrier Jacket is an extremely versatile and ubiquitous field-type defensive spell that summons a magical armor protecting a mage from external harm. Unlike other protective spells, it is usually auto-cast by the mage's Device upon its activation and only dispelled when it is critically damaged, destroyed, or deactivated by its master. The defensive capacities of Barrier Jackets are very high and allow mages to survive in life-threatening conditions, however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

So, they're spells, so what? Well, we know for a fact that Lyrical Nanoha's magic is only possible by means of complex programming that convert the mage's innate mana to a range of effects called spells. Programming a robot so it can perform a task, e.g., driving a car while taking into account external obstacles, it's exactly the same principle behind what a Device does. That's why you need to be an absolute prodigy in maths to be able to perform magic without a Device (as the manga of the 1st movie hints Nanoha is). In general, a mage needs to know their maths quite a lot.

But I digress — a Shoot spell following this logic is a complex algorithm that allows a mage to concentrate their mana in the form of spheres that can shoot energy beams. Conversely, a Defensive spell is another complex algorithm whose function is to protect a certain area from harm (you can cast it upon an object, a single person, or a group of people), either magical, physical, or chemical. And I think, even biological. To do so, the algorithm must tune the nature and the output of the defense as it recognizes and integrates info about the very same source of harm. Inputs I reckon would be the harm's nature (magical, physical, etc.), the magnitude of its power output if it's magical or kinetic, its composition if it's not, and the combined effect of the aforementioned variables. On top of that, it also must factor in the complex interactions resulted from these variables and the capacity and effect of the Defensive spell itself. A barrier works differently from a field, for example.

* Barrier type: These spells erect defensive barriers (e.g. Protection), usually in spherical or hemispherical shape, to absorb the power of an incoming attack in order to reduce damage. They can defend in all directions but are relatively easy to break.

* Field type: Not to be confused with force field spells below, field type spells directly affect an area around the user to nullify a specific energy type, thermal or electrical for example. They mostly take the form of protective clothing or auras.

* Shield type: This type describes spells that generate powerful shields. In contrast to barrier-type spells, shield-type spells can only guard in one direction but are much more difficult to penetrate. Instead of absorbing, they defend by repelling the energy drove against them.

What a pain! Now it makes sense why the Devices are AIs more often than not. Subaru and Teana have my utmost respect for crafting their own functional Devices without being experts nor having any college education on the field. A Cartridge hybrid and a Modern Belka nonetheless!

Again, I digress. Sorry, people, it's just that I LOVE the very concept of the Devices. The point is a Barrier Jacket does all of those things plus taking into account a mobility-speed-protection-mana reserves-magical output tradeoff because it is to be worn by a mage, not just cast on the air like a shield or a barrier.

So many variables!

Besides, what about that ominous line?

--> however, they cannot be completely relied upon for protection.

Besides the obvious fact that no Defensive spell can tank infinite amounts of harm, there's another drawback. As a program, it needs data to feed its algorithms. Whenever this data is absent or not properly recognized/integrated due to lack of time, the Defensive spell is rendered unable to protect whatever is behind it.

Take ''[=StrikerS=]''' episode 1. Ginga put a protective dome around a group of people so the flames and the toxic gases of the fire couldn't reach them. Revolver Knuckle (her Device) HAD to have processed the environmental conditions if it wasn't previously programmed with basic data about fires in order to cast a functional dome. What would have happened otherwise? Let's the Japanese wiki answer that (a rather rough translation, sorry):

--> In episode 16, Reinforce II analyzed the components of the aerosol shell and transferred the protection data to the forward members to protect them from the gas. Since the Barrier Jacket glowed then, it is possible that the Barrier Jacket programming, which is a field defense, was equipped with a gas filtration mechanism. On the contrary, if a very fast-acting gas (often lethal) was sprayed and the component data is unknown, the gas attack would have been effective against the mage.

Now, remember IRL scientists rely on complex-as-heck (and often fragile and costly) equipment to separate and identify a sample's constituents. Another layer of respect to the Devices, but it also means they can fail if they aren't quick enough in both processes — the separation/identification rounds and the calculations.

Oh, and now it makes sense that Defensive spells are often multilayered. One or two top layers with generic data about the source of harm plus lower layers specifically tuned to efficiently repel the harm.

In either case, no data equals no protection which, in turn, equals having to soldier the damage and possibly die. Mind you, the only reason why Nanoha and co. don't outright die whenever magic able to level buildings hit them it's their Barrier Jackets. It's so effective that we rarely see them with serious injuries such as internal bleeding or brain damage. BUT, if the Barrier Jacket's programming fails to do the required tunings, they are as fragile as the next person.
Nothing conveys this delicate tradeoff more than the Purge Reactor spell. Forcibly dispelling all the Barrier Jacket defensive layers so they detonate and fend off a single attack before it gets to the caster. Pretty much in the fashion of tanks’ Reactive Armor, it disperses the momentum of the attack, originally focused on a point, so it causes less damage. Here, the Device sacrifices a powerful protection spell so it can launch it as an interceptor AND it also gains the mana the Barrier Jacket normally drains. Additionally, the wiki seems to suggest Purge Reactor can be loaded on other Devices for them to use since it was invented by Nanoha on a moment’s spurt. I wonder whether that was possible because she’s a prodigy. Guess not everyone can invent spells, just modify them.

To sum up all of this, mages wearing their Barrier Jackets are almost completely safe against the worst of magical and kinetic attacks since the only way to harm them would be to overpower both layers of protection (the Barrier Jackets plus standard Defensive spells). However, they are all the more vulnerable to chemical, biological, and non-kinetic physical sources of harm. That’s why Barrier Jackets are different from simple magic — magic does its thing and solves it all heedlessly of the variables at play, nearing its effect to Deus-ex-Machina level if not carefully handled.

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* Further problem, and essential death of the theory: ''Soundstage X actually does feature the Mariage using mass weaponry.'' Subaru Nakajima's Barrier Jacket soaks an antitank rocket without significant effort. This is Midchilda and they have starships, so this could well mean that attempts to harm mages with mass weapons are futile. Even in the best case and it's an RPG or Carl Gustav clone, it puts a B-ranker on a par with a Main Battle Tank. The bar on the high jump to injure a mage is not easily reached.

to:

** I seriously doubt the Gadget Drones, designed to be as cheap and expendable as possible, were equipped with the best mass weapons available. On the other hand, exactly what kind of logic leads to the 'lasers = no railguns'.
* Further problem, and essential death of the theory: ''Soundstage X actually does feature the Mariage using mass weaponry.'' Subaru Nakajima's Barrier Jacket soaks an antitank rocket railgun without significant effort. This is Midchilda and they have starships, so this could well mean that attempts to harm mages with mass weapons are futile. Even in the best case and it's an RPG or Carl Gustav clone, it puts a B-ranker on a par with a Main Battle Tank. The bar on the high jump to injure a mage is not easily reached.


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** The Mariage did attack from ambush. Hence how it was able to 'take its time to fire'. And it ''was'' only Subaru's barrier jacket in the way, and it ''was'' a sniper *anti-tank* railgun (an older one, granted). I'd say that's damn well good enough.
* BDZ: I'll try to resist snarking too much. The main issue is that high level mages are not [[OneManArmy completely invincible]], excepting, perhaps, the use of certain Lost Logia. Mass weapons can defeat them. Magic can defeat them. If they get overwhelmed by a bunch of lower-level mages, they lose - they can't attack or defend against everything at once. Remember the 20 some Enforcers that had pinned down Vita and Zafira? (Vita was pretty confident, but she'd be pretty confident against ''anything''.) That's why they're essentially used as shocktroopers and special forces: you use them to attack key points in support of your main forces. Of course, they *are* much more powerful than modern special forces, who are typically lightly equipped - Ace mages combine the firepower of a tank with the manuverability of an aircraft, and the versatility of infantry. The TSAB held the line just fine against the Gadget Drones - platforms designed ''specifically'' to counter their weapons. It's true that the Gadgets were cheap... but that showed in the massive disparity of numbers (that the TSAB was still defeating), and it wasn't like the TSAB had its entire forces there. The reason the Numbers could have broken the line was because... they're high level mages (or a very good ersatz), and that, plus the stress all along, was enough that they could break through at any point, allowing Scaglietti's legions to attack from behind, or reach Clanagan (and I doubt their target recognition is anything other than 'shoot anything that isn't broadcasting a friendly IFF)/the GFCC (Again)). It's true that Scaglietti's forces (which could be called 'conventional' only in the crudest sense) technically 'won' in three out of four of their major ground engagements. But let's look as what those engagements entailled:
**1st was a bolt-from-the-blue attack at a hardened but non-alert target. Scaglietti's forces were successful in besieging the target thanks to special forces action to disable the bulk of its defenses, but were unable to penetrate en-masse: the fail-safe defenses and secondary systems took over almost immediately! Once inside, Scaglietti's elites, however, were able to... ambush and kidnap a lone TSAB officer. Specifically, a Master Sergeant. Note that a large number of the TSAB and Mid-Childa CDF high command, as well as political and media figures (including the C-in-C of the Capital Defense Forces, who Scaglietti had a personal grudge against, and Scaglietti is not one to not let personal grudges get in the way of tactical planning), were also present in the building, but were not attacked. Jail then melodramatically announced he would destroy the GFCC, after his force had successfully ambushed and occupied the immediate response force... an Aerial Forces section. Meanwhile, his forces attacked an undefended base (contrary to what RTS's might tell you, a typical military base is not an impregnible fortress.), burned down a building with RA artillery, and abducted a 7 year old. They were then driven off by a combination of TSAB reinforcements and an SSish mage (Voltaire - magical creature, anyways).
**2nd was a... elite mages performing a special forces action against an artillery position(?) with a section-sized garrisson, supported by the flying cannon fodder known as Gadget Drones. They won handily.
***3rd was a *real* action, a massed assault on Clanagan intended to keep the ground forces occupied so they couldn't... attack... a spaceship. Okay. (I'd suggest the real objective was something else, but I can't ''prove'' that.) The TSAB successfully held out with limited forces (they had some on hand, but not enough to fight an entire army - it's like if Al-Qaeda followed up 9/11 with a massed landing in New York City, plus unveiling that they had obtained control of Atlantis's nuclear arsenal), sending one of their many Striker sections to counter the enemy's advance. While Scaglietti's legions ''technically'' accomplished their apparent objective, I give this to the TSAB overall. Surprisingly enough, pinning the Ground Forces/CDF in place did nothing to prevent the Aerial Forces from attacking and boarding Scaglietti's starship, and the one Special Forces squad completely defeated the enemy elites (I suspect Scaglietti planned for them to die, though). Nota bene: the most impressive of the bunch was one moderately powered/trained mage ''obliteraiting'' *three* more powerful enemies. Granted, that was through exploitation of Scaglietti's questionable training methods, but still... it puts the lie to the idea 'low ranked mages can't defeated higher ranked mages' (higher ranked ''super-mages'' in armor designed especaly to counter mere human mages, at that. And better than obliterating actually: obliterated enemies can't fight for you. Also kinda tragic.) That's without even counting that Nanoha was weaker than Fate to begin with... or a group of A-AAA mages defeating an *SSS* rank (granted, a rather nonsentient SSS rank).
* (BDZ Cont.) There was also the Battle (or rather massacre) of Clanagan Bay. The MRLS M-270 is nice, but it doesn't fly, nor shoot guided tac-nukes (at aircraft (comparable to F-22s in speed/manuverability!). And then conjure space-time distortions.)
Anyways, I suppose the point of this long rambling discussion is to say this: Elite mages ''are'' really powerful. But they're not invincible, nor is the series an excercise in class warfare (Nanoha lives in a fracking townhouse). With the benefit of excellent training, surprise, and other firepower multipliers, they can accomplish amazing things - in that way, they are somewhat like knights (although in methodology they're a bit more like commandos). And yes, they *could* be overwhelmed by a handful of guys weilding mass weapons. But they could also be overwhelmed by a handful of lesser mages as well - it's not an issue of 'mass weapons mean the rich guys can get hurt', and that doesn't make them worthless. A ''Nimitz''' class aircraft carrier, centerpiece of the USN, is an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield, but it costs something like 6.2 ''billion'' dollars, without even counting the planes. A $3,800,000 torpedo can snap it half. A main battle tank costs something in the area of 6,500,000, yet can be destroyed by a $85,000 missile. This does not make them worthless or obsolete. It's not quite like that, anyways: you need heavy weapons to efficiently take down high-level mages, and to actually match them... you basically need Mobile Infantry power armor, only better. Magic has its advantages - it burns through nonliving matter like paper, yet can be made (or simply is) nonlethal - very nice for counterinsurgency/police operations (imagine if every weapon in the US Army had a less lethal option). It requires minimal supply, and has the ability to produce effects that would... difficult... with conventional weapons system. A barrier jacket provides defenses normally associated with heavy armored vehicles... while looking like street clothing (or it ''could'' anyways)). It turns normal humans into reflex-boosted flying super-strong leviathans. Which reminds me: don't forget that mages aren't just dumb hunks of firepower and barriers. So you've got a bunch of guys in cover, waiting to ambush a mage with their AT weapons. Okay. What's to prevent the mage from detecting them on searchers, or with the remote probes that they can summon (if they know where to ambush, the mage knows where to scout) - or just ''spotting'' them (the mage is likely better trained at spotting ambushes than they are concealing themselves) before/as they reveal themselves, and then flying the hell out of dodge at Mach 3? Followed, of course, by saturating the area with long range burst spells - they can't exactly use civilians as cover... because magic is less-lethal. Alternatively, what's to prevent a bunch of D-rank mages waiting in hiding to ambush a high-level mage with a dozen bombardment attacks from every direction? (Besides... you know. All the things I just mentioned). Or better yet, what's to prevent a group of modestly trained mages (C/B rank (or heck, just a few such mages out of a larger group) from lying in wait, concealed by illusion spells, until their target approaches - at which time they throw a couple quick binds at them, to prevent them from running away just long enough to get hit by the aforementioned dozen some bombardment spells. (Several things, no doubt, but it's better than the original plan).
I think the ''real'' issue is simply lethality. Magic has a integral less-lethal option and/or requirement (sometimes its suggested that only certain things are less-lethal... but if so, apparently ''everyone'' uses it. Most other types of weapons do not, and almost certainly not in a 'high power' form. With magic, you can have an effect that burns through a tank's armor and knocks out the crew inside. That's hard to do with a HEAT warhead/railgun/laser/whatever. Banning the more ridiculous WMD (think 'planet collapsing Imaginary Path bombs' or 'interdimensional RKKVs') was also a concern, but not the only one... honestly, the reasons Fate gives seem a little silly. An Arc-En-Ciel, after all, is fired by the turn of a key, and 'obliterates everything within 100 kilometers' (for reference, the Tsar Bomba, the biggest nuclear weapon ever detonated, had a 'total destruction' blast radius of 25 kilometers.) This was from a weapon mounted on a police ship.
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* The Mariage thing is commonly brought up as a point against conventional weapons, but on closer look it is overinflated: One must recognise that the cyborg zombie took its time to fire, presumably giving Subaru time to bring up barriers and shielding, but still hurt her greatly enough that she would probably not have survived without [[spoiler: being a Combat Cyborg]]. A serious opponent would presumably not be so stupid, but instead use sneak attacks/sniper railgun etc. so only the Barrier Jacket stands in the way of the attack. Yes, multiple-A and above mages may need much more effort, I will not deny. However, having most of the RedshirtArmy under threat would pose a serious operational problem if the series actually cared about military realities such as holding ground/the line while the commandos/knights/elite mages did their thing.
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* An issue cited by Erio in one episode is an allusion to what the real concern is, namely weapons of mass destruction, pointing out that a child with virtually no training could essentially wipe out a city with a press of a button (probably not figuring the resources needed to construct such a weapon or the work needed to set it up so it ''can'' be launched with the press of a button, but still...). In StrikerS, we're introduced to the Saint's Cradle, which is essentially a gigantic weapons system of the type so feared by the Bureau. And it's worth pointing out that during the main battle, most of which we don't get to see because of the focus on the main characters, it's implied that all the mages on the ground and in the air are being hard-pressed by the gadget drones. It's worth pointing out that had Riot Force 6 not been tying up the Numbers that they defensive lines would have been broken completely in a relatively short period of time. Also, the main problem pointed out above is the fact that Jail was able to produce countless numbers of Gadget Drones over a relatively short period of time, while it takes months or even years of training to produce mages of sufficient competency to be a threat. Given that the Bureau forces were (with the exception of R.F. 6) on the defensive throughout the entire battle means that the Gadget Drones were serving their purpose, since the mages needed to go on the ''offensive'' in order to have any hope of victory. The Gadget Drones were mostly there to keep the mages in check until the Cradle could reach the prime position for orbital bombardment. If it weren't for Section 6, who had put a ton of work into training specifically to combat AMF equipped weapons, it is very likely that Jail would have won.

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* An issue cited by Erio in one episode is an allusion to what the real concern is, namely weapons of mass destruction, pointing out that a child with virtually no training could essentially wipe out a city with a press of a button (probably not figuring the resources needed to construct such a weapon or the work needed to set it up so it ''can'' be launched with the press of a button, but still...). In StrikerS, ''[=StrikerS=]'', we're introduced to the Saint's Cradle, which is essentially a gigantic weapons system of the type so feared by the Bureau. And it's worth pointing out that during the main battle, most of which we don't get to see because of the focus on the main characters, it's implied that all the mages on the ground and in the air are being hard-pressed by the gadget drones. It's worth pointing out that had Riot Force 6 not been tying up the Numbers that they defensive lines would have been broken completely in a relatively short period of time. Also, the main problem pointed out above is the fact that Jail was able to produce countless numbers of Gadget Drones over a relatively short period of time, while it takes months or even years of training to produce mages of sufficient competency to be a threat. Given that the Bureau forces were (with the exception of R.F. 6) on the defensive throughout the entire battle means that the Gadget Drones were serving their purpose, since the mages needed to go on the ''offensive'' in order to have any hope of victory. The Gadget Drones were mostly there to keep the mages in check until the Cradle could reach the prime position for orbital bombardment. If it weren't for Section 6, who had put a ton of work into training specifically to combat AMF equipped weapons, it is very likely that Jail would have won.
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* An issue cited by Erio in one episode is an allusion to what the real concern is, namely weapons of mass destruction, pointing out that a child with virtually no training could essentially wipe out a city with a press of a button (probably not figuring the resources needed to construct such a weapon or the work needed to set it up so it ''can'' be launched with the press of a button, but still...). In StrikerS, we're introduced to the Saint's Cradle, which is essentially a gigantic weapons system of the type so feared by the Bureau. And it's worth pointing out that during the main battle, most of which we don't get to see because of the focus on the main characters, it's implied that all the mages on the ground and in the air are being hard-pressed by the gadget drones. It's worth pointing out that had Riot Force 6 not been tying up the Numbers that they defensive lines would have been broken completely in a relatively short period of time. Also, the main problem pointed out above is the fact that Jail was able to produce countless numbers of Gadget Drones over a relatively short period of time, while it takes months or even years of training to produce mages of sufficient competency to be a threat. Given that the Bureau forces were (with the exception of R.F. 6) on the defensive throughout the entire battle means that the Gadget Drones were serving their purpose, since the mages needed to go on the ''offensive'' in order to have any hope of victory. The Gadget Drones were mostly there to keep the mages in check until the Cradle could reach the prime position for orbital bombardment. If it weren't for Section 6, who had put a ton of work into training specifically to combat AMF equipped weapons, it is very likely that Jail would have won.

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