Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 8

[ strikers08_ohshit.jpg" img removed ]

*SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS* HOLY SHI- Nanoha executes Tiia for insubordination.

Well, not really. But she does some serious damage in order to knock some sense into her wayward trainee (who has Dead Brother Complex). Just when I thought this was going to be 20 minutes of training session where Tiia overcomes the angst of almost killing Subaru in the previous episode and we go back to happy clappy mode, but what we get is Nanoha going White Devil, quietly sad, seemingly hollow but also terrifying in her calm and ruthless exercise of power - not just physically breaking Tiia but also shattering Subaru's mental image of her (what a Shinn face). And all this is linked to the serious injury that Nanoha suffered which was alluded to in the A's to StrikerS comic.

Added MQ screencaps and comments.

Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 7

Tiia-centric episode with a fair bit of fighting. On the latter bit, Riot Force 6 provides security for an auction which is a marvelous excuse for Hayate, Nanoha and Fate to don evening dresses. There is, however, no evening dress combat. Sigh. That's left to the Hayate Cosplay Company Belka Knights (with nekkid transformation scenes ex Zafira of course) and the newbies. Loli Rider is indeed a summoner and an expert one at that. She buffs the attacking gadgets with winged pins and also sends a shadowy summoned to retrieve the mystery goodie. Meanwhile Hayate is reunited with Verossa and Nanoha x Fate with Yuuno. Bleah.

Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 6

More training for the newbies. LTC Yagami requests help from MAJ Nakajima. Bad guy has left his name in the gadgets and the OP loli appears. Not much action but I was perfectly happy because of more Nanoha x Fate suggestiveness (Oh, Seven Arcs, you tease...), Signum gets called 'oneesan' but not by a girl *sigh* and a little bit more background into Erio.

Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 5

The Stars and Lightning Squads deploy with Nanoha and Fate doing the air superiority and combat air patrol stuff while the rookies assault the Gadgets in the runaway train. As much as I prefer MOAR old team, this episode was quite effective in raising my sympathy level towards Caro as a character. Would have been even more pleased if she, like her non-blood-related brother, had been spared the nekkid transformation scene but I suppose the lolicon outcry could have forced Seven Arcs to join GAINAX and KyoAni in replacing another director mid-stream.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 4

I agree completely with Owen S's observation that the 1 vs 2 cour comparison to explain why StrikerS has been off to a slow start is deeply flawed. In the first season, Fate didn't even show up until the middle of the fourth episode while we had a relatively slow buildup about 'Hi, I'm Nanoha Takamachi, this is my family etc etc.' and then gradually levelling up under Ferret Yuuno's instruction.

There appears to be a similar structure in StrikerS. The main new character Subaru has her back history and connection to Nanoha built up and, with the other three newbies, are being levelled up. Although we do know the members of the original cast, there is also considerable ground to cover, given that ten years have passed since the end of A's (not counting the last few minutes of the last episode), such as the setting up of Hayate's new unit - which isn't covered in the A's to StrikerS transition manga.

It's quite hard to do the 'start in the middle' narrative IMHO because although that was used in A's, we have the same knowledge about the new characters as Nanoha. That's not the case in StrikerS where the studio has decided that we, the audience, should be levelled up in our knowledge of the new characters to what the original cast members know. In any case, I have this sneaky suspicion that it's a no win situation either way. Instead of complaints about slow pacing, the 'start in the middle' alternative would probably provoke complaints of 'Who are these people!?', 'What's going on?', 'needs MOAR background' etc.

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*

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 3

First off, a big "Thank You!" to moyism for providing the raws to feed my Nanoha habit this season. Bit of a quiet admin-type episode, the members of Lost Property Riot Force 6 are introduced to each other, including the main support staff. While Hayate and Fate brief their superiors, Instructor Nanoha puts Subaru, Tiia, Erio and Caro through a training exercise - their first encounter with the Anti-Magic Field Gadget drones.

Magical Girl Nanoha StrikerS 1

*cue Roulette Roulette fanfare* Ooh, MAHO! Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 1!

Nanoha StrikerS 01

Let's recap. What was great about Nanoha As again? For this tanuki, it was the nekkid henshin sequence which they have deprived us of in StrikerS now that they are legal?! stylish action, engaging soundtrack, a simple yet well-executed/well-paced story and of course, lolicious Fate. Well, Fate outgrew item 4 (~sob) and while it's too early to speak for item 3, Nanoha StrikerS' debut certainly delivered the first 2 in spades.