Episode 01 - Wings to the Sky
Nanoha makes an impression on Subaru... without even having to befriend her.
Four years ago, then-11-year-old Subaru Nakajima was caught in a major disaster on the world of Mid-Childa. Trapped alone in a burning airport, she was rescued by an aerial mage of the Time-Space Administration Bureau — a young woman possessed of both immense power and a kind heart: the Ace of Aces, Nanoha Takamachi.
Now a newly-minted recruit of the same TSAB, Subaru, together with her best friend and partner Teana Lanster, is taking a mage's qualification exam. But this is more than a simple exam — the test is being overseen by none other than Nanoha herself, and also observed by two other remarkable individuals: Hayate Yagami and Fate Testarossa Harlaown. It seems they have plans for these two recruits...
Tropes
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: At the end of the episode, Nanoha gives Subaru a rather tender pat on the head as she remarks how much she's grown. The gesture contributes to Subaru's Tears of Joy (see below).
- All There in the Manual: The Strikers supplementary comics fill in some of the gaps between Subaru's flashback and the present day.
- Chekhov's Gun: The airport fire four years ago, seen in Subaru's flashback, will be tied into events a few more times in later episodes.
- Chekhov's Skill: Nanoha's Divine Buster attack, twice. First, in-episode, Subaru busts out her own version of it in the climactic fight, underlining how much her encounter with Nanoha has influenced her. Second, we see that it can blast through multiple solid walls — a fact which will become rather significant much, much later on...
- Establishing Character Moment: The indoor Shooting Gallery scene quickly establishes Subaru's Pollyanna-ish personality, Teana's slightly cynical pragmatism, and their mutual dynamic. It also displays their ability to react quickly and think outside the box, as well as the fact that they can be a bit reckless.
- Flashback: The episode opens with one, to the airport disaster four years previously.
- Following in Their Rescuer's Footsteps: Subaru's motivation for becoming a TSAB mage.
- Foreshadowing: The opening flashback contains several examples:
- Nanoha's Divine Buster (see Chekhov's Skill, above).
- Young Subaru calls out for her father and sister, but not for her mother, hinting at the latter's status as a Posthumous Character.
- Subaru, while scared, nonetheless seems oddly unaffected by the heat and smoke (see Hollywood Fire, below).
- The cause of the fire is not mentioned in this episode, but we find out later it was actually started by a smuggled Relic; this was part of the impetus for Hayate deciding to form a unit to investigate them.
- Heroic Fire Rescue: Nanoha's introduction sees her doing this for Subaru, leaving an indelible impression.
- Hollywood Fire: The airport fire seems to be an example of this — Subaru is clearly terrified when she's trapped by the flames, but doesn't seem particularly affected by heat or smoke. However, it's actually the first hint that there's more to Subaru than meets the eye.
- Shooting Gallery: The qualification exam consists of this. With attack robots thrown into the mix for good measure.
- Tears of Joy: Subaru breaks down in tears when she finds out that Nanoha still remembers and recognizes her.
