hontou ni
19Apr/0720

A mild StrikerS lament

As a Fate-chan fanboy and a staunch supporter of the Nanoha franchise, it's a painful admission that I share some of Tsubaki's sentiments. 3 eps into the series and the magic of Nanoha A's seemed to be dwindling from StrikerS. I thought initially that the 'tragedy' of 9-to-19 Fate chan had finally gotten to me. But I realised I'm still getting my loli/lolicious character fix from Caro/Tiana respectively (Not the same euphoric high surely but enough to get by). Could it then be an issue of slipping production values? Though I noticed a dipping of animation standards, I still stand by my impression of ep 1. The action's is still largely enjoyable and the music, engaging. In addition, there has been a great deal of emphasis on character setup/development which I thought was one of the weaker aspects of As. So why am I not hungering for StrikerS 04 with the same ferocity I had devoured A's with?

The answer surfaced when I rewatched the first 2 eps of As: Tension. There is too little tension to draw us into the story. StrikerS opened with Subaru/Tiana's test while As debuted with Nanoha/Vita battle. While both battles were well animated visual-fests, the stakes were vastly different. Subaru/Tiana fight for career advancement/their dreams, while Nanoha fights for her life (or so the viewers were led to believe then. After all, only Haruhi knows what perverted enlightened Japanese minds would have Vita do to our lolicious 9 yr old heroine). The Nanoha/Vita encounter also ushers in the main plot while the StrikerS' test and subsequent training remain largely as part of the series setup. The battle in As ended in the shocking defeat of Nanoha while it's been exhilarating but cliched wins for the StrikerS gang. Somehow, I feel a lot more pumped up by the former. Plus, Vita's mysterious appearance with her knights (unknown origins, motivations yet having superior but obsure magic) deepened the plot and compelled us to catch the next ep for answers. I have yet to detect such driving elements in StrikerS.

I know it's unfair to compare As and StrikerS as Skane has mentioned it's a 1 cour vs 2 cour production and they can afford more time for buildup, necessary with the influx of the new cast. But in doing so, it undermines one of the main strengths of As which is a strong pace that gave us one hell of a ride from start to end. With StrikerS, I feel I'm still strapped in at the boarding bay, checking my safeties for the 7th time. I can only hope that pace picks up soon and that StrikerS 04 would have me squealing like a 13 yr old anime schoolgirl. (Hopefully not from Erio groping Caro again or Fate chan going "Nii-san" on Chrono).

Ah well... *checks seatbelt again*

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  3. Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 7

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Comments (20) Trackbacks (1)
  1. Owen S
    April 19th, 2007 - 01:41

    Apparently no one seems to get it. StrikerS is the first season all over again, you’ve got the new characters, you’ve got to level them up, give them backstory and characterisation, allow them to actually be able to kick ass before the ass kicking can begin. Comparing it to A’s is way too shortsighted, A’s was practically a direct continuation of the first season’s storyline wheras StrikerS is the start of something new.

    Comparing the second half of StrikerS (13-26) to A’s would make a lot more sense. First half (1-13) would naturally correspond to the first Nanoha season.

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  2. mikemil828
    April 19th, 2007 - 02:04

    //Though I noticed a dipping of animation standards,//

    It hard to talk about dipping animation standards when almost all of the raws out there are crap

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  3. Stripey
    April 19th, 2007 - 02:04

    Owen S: Heh, I think we do get it, it’s just we’re a little spoilt about it XD I believe it’s more accurate to say that most Nanoha supporters were made from As than its predecessor. I personally thought Season 1 to be merely above average but 2 to be awesome. And since my support of StrikerS stemmed mostly from my love of As, it naturally and unjustly inherited As’s expectations.

    I understand the need for character induction but the longer drawn it is, the more watered down the winning formula that drove hordes of fanboys to As. It is possible to weave more plot into character setup as SUNRISE so often do and Seven arcs have done so for the Knights in As. I’m just hoping they can work the same magic in StrikerS. :)

    mikemil828: It’s possible to make a distinction between picture and animation quality. It’s not about the sharpness of the pictures or the vibrancy of the colors but about facial proportionality and fluidity of movement which dropped a notch since ep 1. :)

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  4. TedFox
    April 19th, 2007 - 02:53

    You’re now watching your grandchildren already. give them time n space to grow up.

    (although I kinda feel the same way… wouldn’t it be nice to see loli nanoha flying around again)

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  5. Zyl
    April 19th, 2007 - 03:16

    I guess most fans of the Nanoha franchise have the opinion that ‘first season boring, A’s AWESOME’ because of the pace and fighting.

    Given that I follow the series for something completely different, I was actually pretty disappointed that A’s didn’t really build on Nanoha x Fate love-love. Had pretty low expectations of StrikerS, especially after the ‘tomodachi’ thing in the MEGAMI SS. Feeling more optimistic now but am I raising my expectations too much now?

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  6. RDrake
    April 19th, 2007 - 05:45

    Well, what can I say. Glad to know I’m not the only one?

    But yea, at least checking safeties more means a better ride later? Hopefully…

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  7. tj han
    April 19th, 2007 - 06:48

    Anyone who analyses Nanoha must be put in jail and give the ROTAN.

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  8. Stripey
    April 19th, 2007 - 09:15

    TedFox: Haha, yeah i should be more patient given my oyaji status. :) Well, I am still strapped for the ride… :P

    Zyl: At least you are getting some tidbits of yuri XD Zero siscon vibes btw Fate-Chrono so far and I don’t think there’ll be any XD I’m not sure Erio and Caro would be the same although they are non-blood related :P

    RDrake: heh, hopefully indeed. :) I’m all prepared for high thrills later on.

    tj han: And I have the stripes to show for it XD

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  9. flaskis
    April 19th, 2007 - 09:47

    Well, you do have a point there. A’s had a whole lot more tenshion, and Nanoha does fight for her life, more or less. But we have yet to see why these machines appear from nowhere, close to Lost Logica, and who the loli rider is, and what her quad-cornered-magic-circle-type of magic does (wow, that’s one heck of a word). And I also felt that episode 3 didn’t have this “I have to see the next episode” urge. And tbh the only thing good with that episode was seeing Nanoha sit on their bed while Fate was undressing herself ^o^

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  10. DrmChsr0
    April 19th, 2007 - 10:11

    Shallow, aren’t we all.

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  11. Tsubaki
    April 19th, 2007 - 11:13

    Episode 1 brought me tears of happiness. Episode 2 brought the tears of sleepiness. But I’ll still wear my Nanoha and Fate badge up high.

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  12. Crusader
    April 19th, 2007 - 16:47

    If this turns into another cabbage love you need to renew your license. To think I started a freaking marathon on your recommendation…

    Well I do hope it gets better…

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  13. deftoned
    April 19th, 2007 - 18:23

    The first 3 episodes of the first season sucked as well. There are 3 reason why I’m not surprised StrikerS hasn’t been the most engaging series thus far. First, all of our expectations were/are too high. When you have an amazing series like A’s, you’re already setting yourself up for disappointment with whatever is to follow. Second, the slow down was inevitable. We had a 10 year time jump, whereas between the first and second seasons, there was less than a year. A’s was a direct sequel, so we knew what was coming, and we didn’t need to re-introduce anyone that much. With StrikerS, what we knew from A’s barely applies now. So you’re going to have to touch upon each character again and introduce all the new characters. I look at Strikers more as a BRAND NEW series completely independent of MGLN and A’s, and when I look at it like that, what I see is a series that is starting slow, but has potential. It’s the same view I had when I watched the first series. Last, when it was announced that this was going to be a 26 episode series, I knew not to except immediate action. I don’t anticipate things to immediately get going. With that many episodes, yes, we’ll have 1 major overarching story, but we’re also going to get character development, shorter arcs, and the inevitable filler. It comes with it all.

    I fully agree that the first 3 episodes have been less than stellar, but I think all of us Nanoha fans were expecting way too much. It’s the Chrono Cross trend all over again. Everyone loved Chrono Trigger and when Chrono Cross first was announced, everyone went crazy for it. Then it got released…. The game itself received so much praise, yetso many people looked down upon it because “it wasn’t Chrono Trigger.” The same thing happened with Xenosaga–but much worse. However, if we put our Alter Fates and Megami posters aside (or at least our warm thoughts of them :P ), and look at StrikerS independent of A’s, what we have is a 26 episode series that just started. Comparisons and expectations are inevitable, but at it’s core, StrikerS is 10 years removed from A’s and has a new set of characters. I’ve waited for a a new Nanoha series, so I’m not jumping ship yet!

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  14. Stripey
    April 19th, 2007 - 23:58

    flaskis:

    >tbh the only thing good with that episode was seeing Nanoha sit on their bed while Fate was undressing herself

    LOL! you spoketh for so many of us… XD Speaking of quad-cornered transmutation circles, I noticed Car uses it… could loli-rider be an avatar of Caro? :)

    DrmChsr0: Haha! Well, it was Love Hina that sparked my passion for anime… XD

    Tsubaki: *wearing my Fate-chan twin-tailed ribbons high too* :) I have no doubt it’ll get better… but can’t help but lament the pace now…. :P Yeah, we’re spoilt XD

    Crusader: Ah… marathons are the way to watch As at least :) And i suspect it’s the way to go for StrikerS too. I may lay off StrikerS until it hits midseries and devour it at one sitting. StrikerS still have that lingering scent of success… as for my license, I’m actually applying for an onee-siscon license thanks to Aonos (Sola). Any word from Main office? :)

    deftoned: Really appreciate your positive take on StrikerS! :) I guess many of us are still grappling with our little mahou shoujos growing up. Like yourself, Tsubaki and me are not jumping ship for 3 eps but I just thought the character intros could be better embedded in the plot. Citing an example would be Gundam SEED. It’s 52 eps but went off with a frantic start without much chara intro. It grips the audience like As’ debut did. But you are right in that our expectations were high. :) I guess that because we wished for nothing less than the best for our lovely Fate-chan :P

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  15. Vexx
    April 20th, 2007 - 13:17

    Yes… I’m very disappointed the raws have been mostly crap since a highlight of the show is the flashy effects and outfits.

    I think the ennui our blogger is feeling has to do with …. well, basically StrykerS reminds me of a “good old John Wayne WW2 Platoon trains and goes to war” flick. Its predictable and comfortable, a lot of the familiar cast are the officers and a bit battle weary. The bright earnest spunky young’uns’… etc.

    Nanoha season 1 was “young girl plunges into complete unknown” … its a wonder she didn’t collapse from the overload of all the alienness.

    I’m enjoying the series…but its lacking a bit of the pizzazz the first two seasons had (even allowing for the slow start of season 1). …. will probably watch it all though.

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  16. Xellos-_^
    April 20th, 2007 - 16:31

    As long as i get my Nanoha X Fate yuri i am ok with the slowness :D

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  17. Chaos2Frozen
    April 20th, 2007 - 17:16

    ” (Hopefully not from Erio groping Caro again or Fate chan going

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  18. DKellis
    April 20th, 2007 - 21:53

    To be honest, I’m already bracing myself for some of the severely off-design artwork seen in the middle episodes of the first two seasons.

    I can understand that the studios have to outsource the animation during crunchtime, especially if there’s plenty of action in the episodes, but sometimes the characters aren’t even recognizable as being humanoid, much less as themselves.

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  19. Vexx
    April 22nd, 2007 - 23:56

    Agreed… given Subaru’s outfit (midriff/hip baring) … the anatomy needs to be clean or it really detracts from the scene focus (which it has a few times). I’ve already seen more than average off-model facial moments and anatomy blinks than I expect from a Nanoha series.

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  20. Stripey
    April 23rd, 2007 - 00:43

    Vexx: Heh, I haven’t seen any John Wayne movies but yeah I think it’s a great illustration. The issue is exacerbated by the fact that we think we know the characters already (Fate-chan and gang), what they are capable off etc and just want to go straight into the action. I dunno, maybe it’s a guy thing to want to keep the foreplay intro as short as possible. XD

    Xellos-_^: Despite the bed scenes, I thought the shoujo-ai vibes to have dropped a level from the previous 2 seasons. Nanoha doesn’t seem to have the hots for Fate anymore and Fate carries this resigned-ness that Nanoha is never ever gonna to reciprocate her love… I don’t know, maybe I’m just not as yuri-intuned as Zyl or yourself to see it. LOL! XD

    Chaos2Frozen: LOL! One of my secret wishes was that Amy dies within 10 eps of StrikerS. Chrono is crushed but his spirit is nursed back to health by his babelicious giri-imouto, Fate-chan. Semi-taboo love ensues. Nanoha gets jealous and Chrono starts coughing out raising hearts. Keeping my fingers crossed. :)

    DKellis: My only hope is that they are skimping on peacetime drudgery to give us awesome warring later on :)

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