Detonation was released on October 19, 2018.
MGLN Detonation provides examples of:
- Adaptation Origin Connection: In contrast to Gears of Destiny, where only the Florian sisters had ties to Eltria, all of the game-original characters have a history there. Yuri is even shown to have an indirect tie with the sisters' parents and grandparents.
- Astral Finale: The final battle takes place in low Earth orbit, with Nanoha and Amitie having to stop a Kill Sat from destroying the city.
- Bloodier and Gorier: While the Nanoha franchise has never shied away from blood before, this is by far the most visceral carnage seen so far (with the possible exception of Force), which includes the slaughter of the Planet Restoration Committee, the aftermath of Nanoha and Fate blowing Maxwell apart, and Nanoha's battle with the last Iris Unit that ends with her missing a arm.
- Book Ends: Reflection began with Amitie talking about her family farm as a child. The final scene of this movie is Amitie talking about her family farm as an adult.
- Brick Joke: When all the game-original characters return to Eltria at the end of the movie, their reentry has them crash straight into a pile of hay on the Florian family farm. During the epilogue when all of them are shown tending to the fields, Iris ends up crashing into that very same pile of hay when she returns.
- Call-Back: Yuri's Green Thumb abilities tie into her being a part of the Book of Darkness, as the Book was always represented by plant growth whenever it went out of control (with roots during Clyde's death and vines during the Wolkenritter's).
- Call-Forward: When Iris first learns about the powers of the Tome of the Night Sky, she compares it to a ring that grants wishes, presumably referring to the same story that Amitie and Kyrie would later read as children.
- Conveniently Interrupted Document: Yuri gives the heroes a page of the Tome of the Night Sky that has a recording of her backstory on it, but Iris burns the page before she can hand it over. Even with Levi managing to recover most of the data, it still results in a major jump from Iris and Yuri being friends to Yuri having supposedly murdered everyone on the Planet Restoration Committee.
- Darker and Edgier: While not quite as dark as Force, Detonation still ranks as one of the darker entries in the Nanoha canon from Iris and Yuri's bloody past, to the reveal of Maxwell's true sociopathic nature, to even briefly exploring Nanoha's existential angst and lack of self worth. It's still a Nanoha movie though, so thankfully not everything is doom and gloom.
- Happier Home Movie: Yuri provides a piece of the Tome of the Night Sky to the heroes near the beginning of the movie that contains recordings regarding her past with Iris. Unfortunately, Iris burns up most of the page before she can hand it over, so a bit of important data gets lost.
- Immediate Sequel: The movie begins with the very same line that Nanoha ended Reflection with (after a short recap).
- Improbable Infant Survival: Granz and Elanoa were the only known survivors of the Eltrian Planet Reclamation Committee slaughter when they were children in the backstory. Maxwell was specifically trying to trick Iris (who had traveled off base with them for the day to play) into thinking that Yuri was responsible and waited until a time that she wasn't present. The fact that Granz and Elanoa happened to be with her at the time was just good luck on their part.
- Mythology Gag:
- Levi is briefly shown enjoying a lollipop, referencing how they were her Trademark Favorite Food in the games.
- Dearche is shown cooking in the epilogue, referencing how she had copied Hayate's Supreme Chef status when she gained all her abilities.
- When Iris learns about the Tome of the Night Sky's powers from Yuri in a flashback, she compares it to a magic ring (presumably referring the same story that Amitie and Kyrie would later read as children), making a rather overt reference to the Eternal Ring system.
- In the final battle, Nanoha loses an eye and her right arm, pretty much the fate of all leading Gundam in their respective works. Considering that this movie throws all subtility out the window and straight-up uses the original Beam Rifle sound effect for Nanoha, this was definitely intentional.
- Non-Protagonist Resolver: Averted. This is the first time in the franchise that Nanoha is the one to foil that main villain's plan, let alone meet them face to face.
- Once More, with Clarity: Yuri's slaughter of the Planet Restoration Committee is shown without any context originally due to the recording that she gave the heroes having been damaged by Iris before she could hand it over. Phil Maxwell reveals later on that he was the one behind the slaughter, having used an army of Iris Units to kill everyone and then pulling a Thanatos Gambit by letting Yuri kill him when she confronted him to make it look like she was responsible.
- Red Shirt: The nameless army of TSAB agents is a given, sure. But their ineffectiveness in battle is lampshaded by Levi, who complains how they're so weak. This fact forces her to hold the line against the Iris army until Fate arrives.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Stern and Levi's Disney Deaths are changed to them simply turning back into their cat forms.
- Transformation Sequence: Averted. Since Detonation is an Immediate Sequel to Reflection all the characters are already transformed by the time the movie starts. Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate were given transformations for their Detonation Barrier Jackets in the Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story tie in though.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The head of Eltria's orbital colony deciding to cut funding to the Planet Restoration Committee and focus all efforts on relocating everyone off planet. Had he not done so, it's likely that Phil Maxwell wouldn't have decided to kill them all.
- Wham Shot: Phil Maxwell attacking the Materials after they defeat Yuri.
