思い出は時の彼方なの。。。 Memories that Lies Beyond Time...
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Nanoha A's Episode 13: Standby, Ready (END)
Hayate-chan will be just fine, but Reinforce has a favor to ask of Nanoha and Fate. If they don't destroy her now the defense program will reactivate... At the park on a snowy day, Nanoha and Fate prepare to carry out Lin Force's final wish... but Hayate comes up in her wheelchair, crying and asking Lin Force to not leave her. Lin Force comforts Hayate... she's got to go. But she'll still be with Hayate....
With this incident behind them Fate and Nanoha talk about what they'll do next. Both still plan to help out the Space-Time Administration as they've done. Yuno comes along and Nanoha walks home with him, talking about what he'll be doing in the future... the next day Nanoha and Fate go to visit Hayate at the hospital. She seems to be doing well, and so does everybody in Volkenritter. Hayate's decided to become a mahou shoujo just like Nanoha and Fate, using the power that Lin Force left for her. Hayate, Nanoha, and Fate go to visit Arisa and Suzuka and tell them all about what's been going on. Lindy also pays a visit to Nanoha's family to explain things... and with that, the Book of Darkness case was closed....
6 Years Later... (start the ED... otona ni natte mo wasurenai~)
(つд⊂)ｺﾞｼｺﾞｼ
（ ゜д゜）ポカーン
Yup, six years later... Hayate-chan is still as cute as ever :) She seems to be living quite a happy life with Shamal, Signum, Vita... Vita hasn't grown at all. She's a dream girl fry... (And Zafira is now in cute puppy mode, lol. Fate is now officially former Captain Lindy's kid.. Chrono is a captain now, and Amy is still pretty much Amy ;) Yuuno-kun is in charge of the Infinite Archives now... though still no signs of any Nanoha x Yuuno flag. Oh well :P Graham is living back in his home country of England.. with twin cat girls. Bastard :P And Nanoha is... ehhh... Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate go to the roof of the school and take out their devices...
Chibi Reinforce is extremely cute :) Anyways... Ready, set up....
And no henshin scene for y'all :P Well, if the henshin scene when they were 9 is like that, when they're 15.... it'd prolly need an R-15 rating (^^;;) Honestly, Hayate-chan was the only of them I thought cute... everybody else was kinda.. bimyou~ (kinda not right...), I guess I'd say. Anyways, a nice conclusion to the show... and by the looks of this ending the Nanoha series overall, I'd guess...
Though it doesn't quite measure up to the first Nanoha, Nanoha A's still had its share of strong points. First of those being the excellent fighting scenes and extremely cool weapons and moves.. save for that battle with the last boss, but anyways ;) Another would be Hayate-chan and her relationship with Shamal, Signum, Zafira, and Vita. You could perhaps call them the main characters this time instead of Nanoha and Fate. They really are a family, and it was pretty easy to sympathize with them, though they were the "bad guys" at first. Nice job getting all of that through to the viewers, I think. We did get some good Nanoha x Fate moments here and there (though perhaps not enough), and Fate's dream in episode 11 was especially good.
Animation was consistent and pretty high quality for the most part, save for those couple of episodes where the animation director diverged from the norm too much (^^;;) Background music didn't exactly stand out to me, but it was still suitable for the most part. The OP, like Nanoha's OP, was the top class of the season, and even the year. I especially like how the lyrics tie in with the overall theme of the series so well -- that isn't the case in a lot of stuff I've watched. ED, once again like Nanoha, was good, and used to good effect there at the end ;)
I came into the fall season anticipating Nanoha A's the most, and I was more than satisfied with it in the end. A just about perfect blend of 燃え moe and 萌え moe, though weighted more towards 燃え moe than Nanoha. It wouldn't seem like we'll get another sequel, but I'm happy with how things ended so it's okay :)
btw, most of the Nanoha A's staff will be working on Inukami in the spring. Guess I'll have to check it out then ;)
Random Stats:
Interest: Very High, wanted to watch the next episode ASAP
Blogging: 13 of 13 (100%)
Favorite Episode: 11
MVP: Hayate-chan!
Keeping it? You bet I am ;) Once again, another one that'd prolly be worth it to get the DVDs, but...... ＿|￣|○
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 12: Evening's End, Journey's End
Hayate, Fate, and Nanoha speak this time before the OP. It should sound familiar since most of what they say is taken from the OP lyrics. Very nice :)
Anyways, we start off this time with Hayate and the yaten no madousho, now Lin Force. It's been completely separated from the protection program that will soon go on a rampage... Hayate brings back Shamal, Vita, Zafira, and Signum who are ready to serve the master of the yaten no madousho once again. Hayate shows a radiant smile to Nanoha :)
魔法少女はやてｷﾀ━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━ ！！！
Mahou shoujo Hayate kita---!
Hayate gives the set up command to Lin Force and raises her staff and transforms into a barrier jacket, along with getting a change of eye/hair color. Very cute :) Vita's very happy to see Hayate again, and Hayate's happy to see all of them again as well. Lin Force told her about all that went on, but that's for discussing later. Hayate apologizes to Nanoha and Fate.. Chrono arrives, breaking up the party for now. They've got to figure out how to get rid of the protection program.. they can either stop it with the strongest magic they've got.. or the Asura can fire its magic cannon, Arcansil, to destroy it. Chrono asks the others what they think -- the first would probably be difficult. But Vita says they absolutely can't fire the Arcansil since it'd destroy even Hayate's home. Yeah, it's pretty dang powerful (^^;;;) Nanoha and Fate both agree that they can't use it. Chrono and the captain don't want to use it either, but if there's no other choice... Arf suggests they just kick its ass, basically. Go figure ;).. but it seems that's given Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate an idea. They can't use Arcansil here, but if it were somewhere else... like up in space...
Meanwhile, Arisa and Suzuka watch from afar, not really knowing what's going on. But Suzuka feels like everything's going to be fine since Nanoha and Fate are fighting. Arisa would like to know what's going on since it's not making any sense to her ;)
Chrono agrees with the plan Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate have come up with. They'll have to break through the multiple barriers to damage the program, then use a simultaneous attack to damage the core, then use Yuno's teleportation magic to teleport it right in front of the Asura so it can fire Arcansil. That seems to be the best plan that there is.. Chrono brings out Durandal -- they can't change what's already happened; but they can change the future. Nice line for once, Chrono ;)
With 2 minutes left until the protection program goes wild, Hayate has Shamal heal Fate and Nanoha -- looks like a Curaga to me ;) The barrier around the program drops, showing off a last boss suitable for any number of Japanese console RPGs.
Yuno, Arf, and Zafira attack first... I feel a song coming on -- "Brave Phoenix" by Nana Mizuki to be exact :) Vita, actually saying Nanoha's name correctly for the first time, goes next...
...attacking with a rather huge golden hammer, breaking one of the barriers. Nanoha breaks the next barrier with Raging Heart's Excelion Buster. Signum and Levantine in a new bow form are up next. Signum fires an explosive arrow, breaking another barrier. Fate and Bardiche go after that, breaking the last barrier. Zafira fires off another attack then Hayate casts stone (is this an RPG or something?). Chrono casts an ice spell with Durandal, freezing the whole thing. Fate, Nanoha, and Hayate attack at the same time (like a triple tech attack from Chrono Trigger) to probably bring it down to around 1 HP. Shamal gets its core, allowing Arf and Yuno to transfer it right in front of the Asura, which fires Arcansil for 99,999 damage, blowing it away (insert victory fanfare).
Snow starts falling on Nanoha and the others as Aimee reports that the plan worked. She also says that she returned Arisa and Suzuka back to where they were, confusing Arisa even more. But Hayate seems to have passed out.....
But Hayate's only exhausted from the battle, right? Hopefully... seems we'll see Reinforce in human form once again next time, so we'll see. Anyways, what was the darkness part of the Book of Darkness was quite weak for a last boss. Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate must be at level 90 or something. Anybody going to make a Nanoha RPG now? ;) I guess I would've liked to have seen a bit more of a fair battle, but we got to see all kinds of kakkoii special attacks and such (shoot, even Chrono was useful for once) so that's fine by me. Not to mention we got to see mahou shoujo Hayate. Hayate kawaii yo Hayate!
Seems the same animation director that did the previous episode where characters looked a bit odd in places was back this time. However, most of the time things looked fine so no complaints here ;) We'll be wrapping up things next time... it's over already? It's gone by too quickly ＿|￣|○ The last episode of Nanoha was quite something, so the last ep of Nanoha A's has quite a high bar to measure up to, so we'll see how it goes.
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 11: A Gift for Christmas Eve
Nanoha's left alone to fight the will of the Book of Darkness after Fate was sucked into the book. She, along with Hayate, are having an endless dream that they'll never awake from...
Nanoha: "There's no such thing as eternity. Everybody changes -- they have to change"
Nicely said, Nanoha (is she really only in 3rd grade?).
Meanwhile, inside the Book of Darkness.... Fate awakens in a bed to find another girl there. A woman, Rinisu, who seems to be the one in charge of taking care of Fate and the other girl comes in to tell them to wake up. Alf (in cute puppy form) finally wakes up. That other girl finally wakes up... her name is Alicia. Fate and Alicia go down to have breakfast with Fate's mother, Precia. Fate's hesistant, but this Precia is very different from the one she knew -- very gentle and loving... it can't be real, they're all gone.. but it's what she's always wished for...
Hayate opens her eyes... the will of the Book of Darkness tells her to go back to sleep, saying that she'll fulfill her wishes... but what did she wish for? To dream, for all of the sad reality she had to face to become a dream.
Meanwhile, Nanoha fights the will of the Book of Darkness, but she's too strong for her to handle. With only a few catridges left what's she to do? Raging Heart has a suggestion -- use Excelion Mode. But if Nanoha messes up then Raging Heart would... The will of the Book of Darkness tells her it's her time to sleep, but Nanoha isn't ready quite yet -- she'll save Hayate, Fate, and her as well. Nanoha actives Excelion Mode...
A very cute, but also quite sad eyecatch this time... 。゜・（ノД`）・゜・。
Fate and Alicia take refuge from the rain under a tree.. Fate realizes that it's all a dream. She and Alicia never existed together.. her mother was never that gentle towards her... It is a dream -- but Alicia asks Fate to stay with her and Arf and Precia and everybody else forever.
The will of the Book of Darkness says much the same thing to Hayate -- if she dreams she can stay with her friends forever. But that would be only a dream, nothing more.
Nanoha continues her battle with the will of the Book of Darkness, finally charging up Raging Heart to attack with Excelion Buster. And she manages to break through the shield, getting a direct hit from point blank range. But it doesn't seem to have had any kind of effect at all...
Hayate didn't wish for this, and the will of the Book of Darkness should be the same. The will of the Book of Darkness is deeply linked to Volkenritter, so she feels the same kinds love for Hayate, but there's nothing she can do to stop what's happening. When Hayate awoke to the power of the Book of Darkness she realizes a bit of what was going on, and she could relate to the sadness that Volkenritter must have gone though... but you can't simply forget it all. Hayate's the master of the Book of Darkness now -- she's got to listen to what she says.
Alicia gives Bardiche to a crying Fate as they embrace each other then part...
Hayate's going to give the Book of Darkness a new name -- she can do that as her master. I feel a song coming on... "Snow Rain" sung by Kana Ueda... Hayate manages to take control of the Will of the Book of Darkness and speaks to Nanoha. So long as the automatic protection program (what's fighting Nanoha) is running Hayate can't change its name, so she wants Nanoha to stop it. Yuno's got an idea and explains it easily to Nanoha. Basically -- use everything you've got to blow it away. Nanoha can definitely do that ;)
With Nanoha keeping the program stopped with a barrage of attacks, Hayate gives the Book of Darkness a new name -- Lin Force... Fate activates Bardiche's Zambar Form, changing it into a buster sword rather large sword that happens to be able to cut through dimensions as well. Very cool :) So now Fate's back with Nanoha... but there's still something coming, a rogue program that's not under Lin Force or Hayate's control. Chrono is on his way to the scene...
Well, what exactly can I say besides that it was awesome. Nanoha quality at its best :)
I thought that perhaps Fate would have something to do with helping out Hayate, but that didn't quite turn out... more than a bit surprised to see Alicia and Precia show up. Happy to see them together as sisters finally, but so sad that it's not reality （ノД`） Fate's a strong girl to be able walk away from that. Same goes for Nanoha, who had some very good lines this time. She and Raging Heart in Excelion Mode were extremely カッコヨス. Fate and Bardiche in Buster Sword Zambar Mode, too :) And of course Hayate showed us just how strong she is this time, giving the Book of Darkness a new name. Absolutely perfect timing with the insert song (which was pretty good as well) to go along with that scene.
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 10: Destiny
Flashback: Chrono's father Clyde, refuses to leave his ship as the Book of Darkness unleashes its power. Graham is forced to shoot his ship down, so Clyde goes down along with it.... back in the present, Graham still blames himself for what happened...
Fate and Nanoha deal with the "Will of the Book of Darkness" while Chrono catches the hentai kamen guys with a bind spell. Surprise, surprise, they turn out to be the Lize catgirls. Yuno and Arf arrive to assist Fate and Nanoha as the Book of Darkness starts to cast another spell...
Chrono speaks with Graham and the Lize catgirls back at HQ. Chrono had it all figured out -- he knew that Graham was searching for a way to permanently seal the Book of Darkness and also that Graham knew Hayate was the current master of the Book of Darkness. Graham didn't like seeing her suffer like this, but it was her fate so that others' wouldn't suffer from the Book of Darkness. He had posed as her father's friend to support her and give her at least a bit of happiness before it all ended -- she, along with the Book of Darkness would be sealed away in another dimension never to come back. Hayate, having done nothing wrong, isn't deserving of such treatment -- Graham's actions are illegal, says Chrono. Besides that, someday, somewhere, someone will try to gain the power of the Book of Darkness and break the seal. Before Chrono leaves, Graham gives him the "Freezing Staff" Durandal, leaving it up to him as to how to use it.
Fate and Nanoha continue to fight, but the will of the Book of Darkness is quite strong. Being able to block both Nanoha's Divine Buster Extension and Fate's Plasma Smasher at the same time is definitely nothing to sneeze at. And that's not all -- it seems that after taking Nanoha's linker core earlier on she's learned Nanoha's Starlight Breaker. Nanoha, Fate, Arf, and Yuno make a hasty retreat... but there are some others still within the barrier. And...
Suzuka and Arisa!? Uh-oh.... looks like Nanoha and Fate's secret is out. But there's no time for that as Nanoha and Fate put up barriers to protect Suzuka and Arisa from the Starlight Breaker attack. Nanoha and Fate ask Yuno and Arf to take care of Suzuka and Arisa and leave... Nanoha and Fate try to communicate telepathically with the will of the Book of Darkness and Hayate, trying to tell them that they weren't the ones that hurt her friends. However... the will of the Book of Darkness says that she's only carrying out the wishes of her master for destruction -- she's only a tool to be used for that purpose alone...
...and here comes another attack, this time.. tentacles (^^;;) Nanoha tries once again to speak with the will of the Book of Darkness, asking her if she's really granting her master's wish. She can speak, she must have some kind of heart inside somewhere. Though she cries, she says that the tears aren't her own, they're her master's -- she's only a tool, she doesn't feel anything. Fate changes her barrier jacket to Sonic Form and breaks herself and Nanoha free. She asks for Hayate to be released.. but it's no good. The will of the Book of Darkness says she'll soon disappear, but so long as she's there she wants to fulfill her master's wish. Fate, having had enough, uses Sonic Drive and flies towards her to attack.. but her attack is blocked and she disappears, sucked into the Book of Darkness.....
Fate-chan!..... but, judging from the next ep preview she'll be doing her best inside the Book of Darkness to somehow save Hayate-chan, so things seem to be looking up :) Anyways, back to this time... it pretty much unfolded as expected, with Graham being the one behind things. I can understand him wanting to seal away the Book of Darkness because of what happened to Clyde, but still. It's rather cruel the way he's doing things... poor Hayate-chan 。゜・（ノД`）・゜・。 Seems he's given up on his plan, so we'll have to see how Chrono goes about things with Durandal. Perhaps finding a different way to seal away the Book of Darkness, or perhaps somehow reprogramming it to bring it back to its original form, the yaten no madousho.
However, what I did not expect was Suzuka and Arisa finding out that Nanoha and Fate are mahou shoujo. That's pretty much the first rule for mahou shoujo -- don't let anybody else know that you're a mahou shoujo. Be interesting to see how Suzuka and Arisa cope with things, and how much they'll be told about what's happening and such. Though finding all this stuff out has to be quite surprising, I don't doubt that they'll support Nanoha and Fate with all they've got in the end ;)
Next time, as mentioned, Fate is inside the Book of Darkness trying to save Hayate, and Nanoha takes on the will of the Book of Darkness by herself. Three episodes left, so we should be nearing the climax. Can't wait to see how things end up... hopefully happy for everybody ;)
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 09: Christmas Eve
December 22nd: Hayate is all by herself in her room at the hospital as Shamal speaks to Signum, who's out gathering pages for the Book of Darkness. Only 60 pages left...
December 23rd: Nanoha and Fate have dinner together with all of Nanoha's family for once. Arf is in full cute puppy mode ;) Seems Midoriya is pretty busy on Christmas Eve with couples and like coming in until late at night. After dinner, Suzuka, Fate, Arisa, and Nanoha trade text messages back and forth about going to see Hayate-chan to give her some Christmas presents on Christmas Eve...
Meanwhile, back on the Asura, Chrono seems to be busy doing some research... a picture of Graham comes up on the display. When Aimee comes in Chrono quickly shuts it down and says he was just looking up some stuff for himself... seems the report about the past of the Book of Darkness has been sent to Nanoha and Fate as well...
December 24th: While Vita, Shamal, and Signum are visiting Hayate at the hospital Suzuka and Arisa, along with Nanoha and Fate show up. Had to happen, didn't it... Suzuka and Arisa have absolutely no idea what's going on. In order to not alarm Hayate, Shamal and Signum act as if nothing's wrong. Vita stares at Nanoha. Kinda cute :) After Suzuka and Arisa leave, Nanoha and Fate meet Shamal and Signum on the roof of the hospital. Shamal and Signum won't allow them to get in their way... Nanoha tries to tell them what will happen to Hayate once the Book of Darkness is completed, but Vita comes flying in and attacks Nanoha with her hammer. Shamal's put up a barrier to stop communication, so Nanoha and Fate can't contact anyone... Vita cries as she attacks Nanoha.. Nanoha walks out from the flames and Vita calls her a devil. Then Nanoha will act like a devil to get her to listen to what she has to say ;)
The eyecatch this time...
Fate tries to tell Signum what'll happen to Hayate as Nanoha and Vita battle. Nanoha asks Vita why she doesn't know the real name of the Book of Darkness. Vita hesistates... Fate changes into her sonic form lightweight barrier jacket. She'll be able to move faster, but if she takes a hit that's it... Signum changes into her barrier jacket.. If they hadn't met like this then who knows how good comrades they might have been.. Fate thinks there's still time for them to be that... Nanoha asks Vita yet again if she knows the real name of the Book of Darkness. But as she does so she's caught up in a bind spell... so that means? Fate searches for the hentai kamen masked guy and attacks... but she's kicked.. by another hentai kamen masked guy!? One of the masked guys binds everyone with his magic... the other brings out the Book of Darkness and steals Shamal, Signum, Vita, and finally Zafira's linker cores to complete it. They all disappear.....
As Nanoha and Fate are bound and trapped in a crystal cage, the two hentai kamen masked guys transform into Nanoha and Fate and bring Hayate out to the roof. They tell her that her sickness is caused by the Book of Darkness and that she can't be cured, even if the Book of Darkness is completed. There's no way for her to be saved. Hayate asks them to release Vita and Zafira... they say they're broken, along with the Book of Darkness which was broken since long ago, thinking they could still use its powers... Hayate looks behind her to see only Shamal and Signum's coats.... Broken machines are useless.. so they'll break them. Hayate screams for them to stop.. they say she's free to force them to stop. Fate is cruel, isn't it?... the hentai kamen masked guys posing as Nanoha and Fate pull back...
Nanoha and Fate break out of the crystal cage but it's too late for them to save Hayate. She screams and awakens to the true power of the Book of Darkness, releasing the seal on the Book of Darkness, then transforming... no longer herself, she readies a spell of destruction......
Hayate-chan... 。゜・（ノД`）・゜・。
And Shamal and Vita and Zafira and Signum... 。゜・（ノД`）・゜・。
It had been speculated in other places that Hayate might end up being the "last boss", but I don't think quite like this... I was （ ﾟдﾟ）ﾎﾟｶｰﾝ a good bit with all that happened so quickly this time...
So there are two hentai kamen (sorry, that's what a lot of the Japanese bloggers call them, I can't help it) masked guys now. It would seem that the possibility that they're the Lize catgirls is rather high. One of them seems to be good at ranged magic, the other good at close-range fighting as they are.. It seems Chrono has gotten pretty suspicious of Graham as well... seems like next time we might find out who they actually are, and we might see Chrono's father as well... We are going to get a happy end out of this somehow, right? I want to see Hayate-chan's smile again
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 08: A Sad Resolve and A Courageous Choice
Captain Lindy informs the others that though Fate's linker core suffered some major damage she's in no mortal danger or anything. Aimee wants to take the blame for what happened... but they did manage to get a good shot of the masked man. He's pretty powerful... perhaps part of some organization? When Arf arrived on the scene he was already gone, and Signum was holding Fate.. it's a bit quicker than planned, but they'll be going back aboard the Asura.
Signum and Shamal talk about the masked man. He seems to want the Book of Darkness to be completed. But even if he steals it then he wouldn't be able to use it since he's not its master. But just in case... Zafira suggests that Shamal stay close to Hayate. Vita asks if when the Book of Darkness is completed and Hayate becomes its true master if she'll be happy. Hayate will gain enormous power as its master... but Vita feels like they're forgetting something very important... When Hayate wakes up and tries to get out of bed she collapses to the ground in pain...
Lindy talks to Fate about what's going on as Arf sleeps at her bedside. When Fate realizes Lindy's holding her hand she blushes a bit :).... at the hospital it seems that Hayate's doing just fine. Hayate says she just felt a bit dizzy and fell, that's all, no big deal. The doctor says wants to do some more tests and such while she's there, then takes Signum and Shamal outside. She wants them to put Hayate in the hospital for a bit because of what happened. They agree to do so and tell Hayate. Vita'll visit her every day! ;) After they leave Hayate clutches her chest in pain....
And the eyecatch this time. Cute :)
Yuno reports to Lindy, Aimee, and Chrono on what he's found out about the Book of Darkness from the records in the Infinite Archive. Seems the Book of Darkness isn't the original name.. it was originally called the 夜天の魔道書 Yaten no Madousho (guessing the kanji for "yaten") and was meant to be used to collect information on the spells of powerful mages all around for research. It gained the destructive power, along with the power to transfer and infinitely reappear it has now because someone changed its program. If it's not completed before a set time it starts eating away at the magical power of its master... and when it's completed it uses its master's magical powers without limit for destruction. All of its previous masters died soon after completing it... as for stopping or sealing it, it's probably next to impossible to stop or change the program before it's completed. Wow, Yuno can be useful sometimes, can't he? ;) Aimee, Chrono, and Lizalotte talk about the masked man... neither Chrono nor Lizalotte would be able to take him on...
Fate and Nanoha go to school as usual. There, Suzuka tells them of Hayate's condition. Arisa comes up witha very good idea -- why don't they all go to the hospital to visit Hayate after school? Suzuka sends a text message to Shamal to ask if it would be okay to see her, and... Shamal is very surprised at what she sees next -- a picture of Suzuka, Arisa, Nanoha, and Fate holding up a "Get Well Soon" banner. Shamal hurriedly talks to Signum to figure out what she should do... Signum says not to worry about it too much... Shamal goes secret agent as she listens in on Nanoha, Fate, Suzuka, and Arisa when they visit Hayate. Hayate's doctor takes Shamal to talk for a bit. Hayate's sickness is a very difficult one, but they're doing all they can. And all the support Hayate's getting from Shamal and all of her friends is helping her as well...
After Suzuka and the others leave Shamal comes into Hayate's room. It's almost Christmas (December 13th to be exact), Hayate's first Christmas with everybody so she wants to have a lot of fun... At home, as Shamal prepares catridges for their next battle she talks to Signum of Hayate's condition. At this rate Hayate will only last perhaps another month at most. As Vita flies in a stormy world to gather more linker cores she thinks that something is odd about what they're doing.. but that's all they can do for now. She doesn't want Hayate to die... Graf Eisen changes into a huge gold and silver hammer as she attacks.....
Graham's catgirls, who call him their "father", talk to him as he looks over data about the Book of Darkness. He apologizes for making them be with him, but they don't mind -- his wish is their wish. This time around they'll be able to seal the Book of Darkness...
Hayate-chan... shinanaide! (don't die!). And she's trying her best to still show a happy face to everyone even though she's going through so much pain... such a good girl 。゜・（ノД`）・゜・。Vita seems to be the only that realizes that something's not quite right, perhaps about to remember what actually happened to her previous masters when the Book of Darkness was completed... hopefully she'll realize quickly as Hayate-chan hasn't got much longer... The next episode takes place on Christmas Eve, so... but I can't think they'd do it... I can hope for a happy ending where the Book of Darkness goes back to its original condition and Shamal, Signum, Zafira, and Vita don't disappear, and they all live together with Hayate in happiness forever, can't I? ;) Of course there's still the question of the masked man and what kinds of things Graham might know about what's going on and such.... next time it looks like y'all will need to have a box of tissues ready as everybody's crying. And there's no "na no" at the end of the title as usual, just "Christmas Eve", so it seems we'll have a pretty heavy story as Signum and the rest seem like they'll be fighting Nanoha and Fate again. But hopefully it won't come to that...
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 07: With A Broken Past and Present
Character design was off in places this time (sometimes more, sometimes less), so I guess that dampened my usual enthusiasm for blogging a bit. And where's Hayate-chan! Anyways, on with things.... ;)
Fate looks intently through a catalog for a cell phone. Geez, 3rd graders these days. Back when I was that age(ry :P Anyways, Fate finds a good one and Lindy buys it for her. Very cute :) Meanwhile, the catgirls and Yuno look for information about the Book of Darkness in the 無限書庫 mugen shoko (infinite archive), as the name implies a place full of the records of just about anything and everything.. Nanoha and Fate speak as Aimee comes back with some groceries, and soon after the emergency alarms go off -- Signum and the rest are at it again in another world, so Fate prepares to go.
Fate finds Signum having some problems with a rather big monster. I suppose this is tentacle monster week with Mai-Otome and now this (^^;;) Fate destroys the monster, saving Signum. Meanwhile, Arf and Zafira are ready to go at.. Aimee tells Fate she's supposed to capture Signum, not save her -- but she did destroy the monster that Signum was trying to obtain a linker core from -- stopping bad guys is her job ;) Though Signum's not really a bad guy as we all know...
Lindy and Graham speak with each other at the Time-Space Administration's HQ. Graham asks how progress is going in regards to the Book of Darkness. It's rather difficult, but Graham trusts her not to make a mistake like he did. Lindy says it wasn't his fault... Yuno searches through books in the Infinite Archive using his magic as one of the catgirls -- I'm sorry, I can't remember who is who. I'll stick names in to line up with the sub whenever that is ;) explain what happened the previous time the Book of Darkness showed up 11 years ago. Seems Chrono's father, Clyde, was involved, and ended up dying...
Signum and Fate continue the fierce battle from the previous time, with Fate showing off a new skill or two, including the "Plasma Smasher". As Arf and Zafira fight, Zafira tells Arf that their master knows nothing of the fact that they're gathering pages for the Book of Darkness -- they're doing it completely of their own will. Arf, not expecting to hear something like that, is a bit taken back...
Vita speeds towards the scene of the battle with the Book of Darkness as Shamal explains the situation to her. However, somebody is there to stop her -- Takamachi Nantoka! Nanoha! ;) Nanoha once again asks if they would talk things over. Vita doesn't want to talk to anybody of the Space-Time Administation, but Nanoha's simply someone who's working with them. Vita, however, doesn't want to talk, setting off a blast that gives her some time to get some distance. Nanoha readies Raging Heart, using two catridges to fire off "Divine Buster: Extension" at Vita. It seems a direct hit, so Nanoha worries that she overdid it -- nah, that's okay according to Raging Heart (^^;;) Actually, the masked guy somehow stopped it from hitting Vita... and even from that distance he manages to bind Nanoha. Signum and Fate, battered and beaten from their battle, comtemplate their next moves... but as they ready to attack, a hand appears out of Fate's chest.. the masked guy takes Fate's linker core out and offers it to Signum...
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 06: It Was A Small Wish (Part 2)
Continuing with the explanation of the Book of Darkness and Volkenritter, the "programs" that are only there to serve the master of the Book of Darkness. Fate seems to think she's like Volkenritter... Lindy replies with an emphatic no, she's an actual living human being. Signum and the others aren't supposed to have any emotions, but Nanoha saw Vita get mad and such, so something's going on... Chrono wants to gather some more data on the Book of Darkness, so he's got a favor to ask of Yuno... As Nanoha walks home she wonders what the master of the Book of Darkness is like. Yuno says (telepathically) that the Book of Darkness goes around randomly, so.. Nanoha wonders what if he/she were a kid around the same age as her. Bingo~ ;) And coincidentally, Suzuka sends Nanoha a pic of her and Hayate, saying that she'll introduce Hayate to her next time.
Hayate says goodbye to Suzuka the next morning and heads back home. Back at her house, Signum, Shamal, and Zafira wait. Vita seems to be out and about again... Shamal's a bit worried about Signum since she senses that her magical powers have gone down, but Signum will be okay. Shamal mentions that Signum's changed a lot -- not just her, but everybody has changed after Hayate became their master. One of Suzuka's maids gives Hayate a ride home -- Hayate explains that she's living with relatives, and every day is really fun for her. It's already been half a year since they came...
..moving back to the day when the Book of Darkness activated. Signum, Zafira, Vita, and Shamal appeared, wearing just black clothes, awaiting the command of their new master.. who is kinda out of it as Vita points out. They end up taking Hayate to the hospital... and of course they look rather suspicious. Hayate covers for them, saying they're relatives who came for her birthday, and the dressed up in costumes and such.. but don't Zafira's ears kinda give him away? (^^;;) Hayate was very different from their previous masters according to Signum. The Book of Darkness was there with Hayate as far as she can remember, but she didn't hear its voice or anything like that as Shamal asks. But she does know one thing she should do as the book's master -- take care of Signum and the rest. Unlike their previous masters, Hayate didn't treat them just as objects to be used or anything, she treated them like her family.
And it's bath time now for Vita and Hayate. After the bath, they all have dinner together. Vita doesn't seem to know how to use chopsticks properly.
Hayate's with Shamal and Signum in the library. Apparently Hayate needs to make suitable clothes for them to use while fighting. Hayate doesn't want them to fight or anything, but she's got an idea, so they all go to a toy store. There, Vita spots that rabbit we've always seen her with. And Hayate does get it for her of course.
And after Vita takes it out of the bag she shows us a big smile. Too cute :) So time went by pretty leisurely for all... Signum carries Hayate out (ohime-sama dakko~) one night and asks her if she wants to gain the power of the Book of Darkness. If she does, she should be able to cure her paralysis in her legs. but Hayate doesn't want to trouble other people, she's plenty happy with things as they are. Though her parents are dead, a friend of her dad's is helping with expenses, and more than anything else she's together with Signum and the rest.
Awwww... so sweet :) Vita comes running up, asking if she can have some popsicles in the freezer. She's still hungry after already eating so much? Well, Hayate's cooking is gigauma (giga-yummy), she says. Not terauma? ;) Hayate does have one command for Signum -- she has no interest in the power of the Book of Darkness and wants everybody to forget about it so long as she's master. She only wants everybody to get along well, that's all.
However, those carefree days were not to last. Hayate's doctor says that the paralysis in Hayate's legs is slowly spreading up her body, and will soon place her life in danger. Signum blames herself for not realizing what was going on earlier... it's the curse of the Book of Darkness. The book has been intimately connected with Hayate ever since she was born, and since Hayate's linker core is still immature the book's strong magical power ate away at her, causing her paralysis. And ever since Signum and the rest appeared the spread of the paralysis has gained speed... Vita wants to save Hayate no matter what, so there's got to be a way. They all start gathering pages to the Book of Darkness, thinking that if it's completed that Hayate can be saved by its power.
Back to the present, Vita is on another world fighting and gathering pages as usual, and she's rather beat up. But that doesn't matter to her. She's not hurting at all. She's doing it all for Hayate...
Chrono, Yuno, and Aimee head to HQ to see some people that can help them out in learning more about the Book of Darkness. They happen to be two catgirls (Graham's familiars) who were Chrono's teachers. One of them jumps Chrono behind a couch and "eats" him (^^;;;) Said girl is also interested in eating Yuno (but he ain't a rat, you know). Chrono wants them to help Yuno in finding out more about the Book of Darkness.
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 05: It Was A Small Wish (Part 1)
Hayate's out shopping for groceries with Shamal. She mentions that Shamal and the rest have been out more than usual lately, leaving her by herself. But she knows it's part of their job so she's just fine. Shamal says that it'll be over pretty soon, and if she says so then Hayate believes it...
Signum arrives to back up Zafira and Vita as they prepare to take on Nanoha and Fate. Nanoha and Fate aren't there to fight them -- they wish to talk and find out their motives for completing the Book of Darkness. Vita's not interested in talking -- especially with someone who's got out a weapon like Nanoha :P Nanoha and Fate ask both Yuno and Arf to not interfere with their fight. Chrono and Yuno decide to split up and search for the master of the Book of Darkness. So it's time for Nanoha and Fate to show off their new powers, giving the cartridge load command to Raging Heart Excelion and Bardiche Assault. Nanoha takes on Vita, and unlike before, Nanoha's able to block her attack pretty easily. And with her new Axel Shooter she's even able to break Vita's shield. Meanwhile, Fate takes on Signum, and just as Nanoha, Fate's doing much better this time. After a Plasma Lancer attack, Fate manages to get in a swipe with Bardiche in sycthe form. Signum's impressed with Fate and Bardiche's strength now -- Bardiche says "Thank You" after being complimented :)
Arf takes on Zafira... Zafira realizes that the situation isn't looking too good for them, so he suggests to Shamal, who's outside the barrier, that they pull back for now. But Shamal's magic isn't strong enough to break the barrier... and as she talks Chrono sneaks up behind. Good job, Chrono! Well... it doesn't last long, though, as a masked man kicks Chrono out of the way. The masked man suggests to Shamal that she use the power of the Book of Darkness to break the barrier. As Chrono confronts the masked man, Shamal calls forth the power of the Book of Darkness... while it charges up, Signum and Fate call of their fight for now, and Nanoha and Vita do the same after introducing themselves to each other. Vita thinks Nanoha's name is hard to say :P The power of the Book of Darkness is released, destroying the barrier (it looks much like the Ultima spell from the Final Fantasy games), and Fate and Nanoha are safe thanks to Yuno and Arf's protection...
Hayate's over at Suzuka's house playing with her cats. Kawaii~ :) Signum calls her to apologize for being so late that they couldn't have a nabe together. But Hayate's okay with things.. she's got dinner made, along with dessert for them. Hayate talks with Vita as Shamal and Signum step outside to talk about the battle. They have no idea who that masked man is or what his goals are... since she had to use the Book of Darkness they lost some pages, and there's not much time left. They have to work as quickly as possible to make Hayate the true master of the Book of Darkness....
Aimee explains Bardiche and Raging Heart's new systems to Nanoha and Fate. The catridge system wasn't originally intended to be used in Intelligent Devices since it could be dangerous, but since they wanted to become stronger, no matter what, to protect their masters they went through with it. Both have three modes, two normal modes then a full drive mode.
Raging Heart
Axel: Middle range projectile attack
Buster: Even more powerful projectile attack
Bardiche
Assault: General purpose mode
Haken (hook): Scythe mode
Aimee warns Nanoha and Fate not to use the full drive mode since it could damage the devices, especially Raging Heart's Excelion mode. Chrono and Lindy, along with Arf, talk about the Book of Darkness. It seems to Chrono that the Velca knights were trying to complete the book of their own will. It wouldn't odd if they were doing it for someone who wished to have the power of the Book of Darkness. However, unlike the Jewel Seeds, the power of the Book of Darkness can't be controlled well, and it can only be used to destruction. The Velca Knights are neither human nor familiar -- they're artificial personalities created by the book's magic, and they're supposed to be programmed only to follow the orders of their master, nothing more....
...but it's clear that they've gone beyond that to having their own feelings, especially in regards to Hayate. Hayate-chan's such a good girl... wonder how much she really knows about what's going on. I would guess that she doesn't know that Signum and the rest are just "programs" to be used by the Book of Darkness, and as such they could just disappear and such...
Anyways, fighting this time was good as usual, though they had to save the finish for another time :P Raging Heart's Axel Shooter is pretty cool... all that training Nanoha did really paid off, didn't it? ;) And poor Chrono looked like he'd have his time in the spotlight, but it wasn't to be thanks to that mysterious masked man who helped out Shamal for some reason or another. To gain the power of the book for himself somehow? Perhaps he'll be the "last boss" since I can't see Shamal or Vita or Zafira or Signum as really bad....
Looks like next time we'll learn more about the past of the Velca Knights, as well as what happened when Hayate first met them. Sounds interesting :)
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 04: New Powers, Activate!
Hayate's day starts early at 6:30am as she gets up to make breakfast for everyone. Vita doesn't seem to be a morning person. kawaii~ :) Nanoha and Fate's days start early as well, both going out to train...
It's Fate's first day of school in Nanoha's class. She introduces herself (kawaii~), then gets a barrage of questions from her new classmates, asking her where she went to school before and such... Chrono and Aimee discuss the current situation. Seems that Volkenritter is now going to other worlds to obtain linker cores for the Book of Darkness. The Book of Darkness uses the magical power from the linker cores to complete pages, and when all 666 pages are filled its true power will be released, power strong enough to interfere with dimensions. Even if its destroyed, or its master dies, it will reappear in another world, so all they can do is secure it before its completed...
Signum takes Hayate to the hospital for a check-up. The current treatment doesn't seem to be producing any results, but they'll keep with it for now. After Hayate leaves the doctor speaks with Signum, asking her how Hayate's day-to-day life is going. Other than her legs being paralyzed (麻痺 mahi) she's perfectly healthy, Signum answers. In order to prevent the paralysis from progressing, the treatment will be a bit more rough on Hayate from now on...
After a fun-filled day at school, Fate talks with Nanoha in her room. Nanoha asks her what she thinks about the people they're fighting against. Fate says she can't sense any ill intent from them... somewhat like she was before meeting Nanoha. She couldn't express herself and wouldn't listen to others who were trying to talk to her. She did whatever she could to please her mother, even though she was abused... But it's not impossible to express your feelings -- that's what Nanoha taught her. And if fighting is neccessary to accomplish that, then she'll do it. She'll become stronger.. and so will Nanoha.
Hayate meets up with Suzuka once again in the library... meanwhile, Zafira and Vita are gathering linker cores in another world from those giant creatures Aimee mentioned earlier. But they're only worth about 3 pages in the Book of Darkness... and so things go on as usual for everyone until that night...
Nanoha and the gang go to the Space-Time Administration headquarters to retrieve Bardiche and Raging Heart, but as they do so a situation comes up. Zafira and Vita have been surrounded by Space-Time Administration mages, and Chrono attacks them from above with his magic. Aimee says she's sending reinforcements -- Fate and Nanoha arrive on the scene and activate Bardiche and Raging Heart. However, they won't react.. Aimee tells Nanoha and Fate to call them by their new names...
レイジングハート エクセリオン！
Raging Heart Excelion!
バルディッシュ アサルト！
Bardiche Assault!
And it's time for what we've all been waiting for ;)
With the upgrade comes new transformation sequences, Nanoha then Fate's. Vita and Zafira realize that Nanoha and Fate now can use the same cartidge system they use and...
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 03: Reunion, and Moving!
At the headquarters of the Space-Time Adminstration Nanoha's healing from her injuries from the battle. Her linker core, the source of magical power, is much smaller than it was before, but it's already started to recover according to the doctor so everything's fine. Fate comes in to visit Nanoha. They're both happy to finally be able to see each other again :) Fate, Nanoha, and Crono go to see Yuno and Arf who are looking over Bardiche and Raging Heart. They won't be able to recover themselves so they'll need some replacement parts. But what were those weapons Vita and the rest were using? Crono explains: their magic is different than that of Bardiche and Raging Heart, using a cartidge system to increase their power...
Fate, Nanoha, and Crono go to visit an advisor of the Space-Time administration, Admiral Gil Graham. He's a very nice person, and he happens to be from Earth like Nanoha. He even got his powers in much the same was as she did. He only has one request of them: that they not betray each other as friends. He won't limit their actions if they do so...
Shifting scenes to Hayate's house, where everybody's taking it pretty easy. It's time for Vita and Hayate to have a bath. But Signum doesn't want to go along like she normally would... Zafira knows she's worried about the recent battle. Turns out Signum was injured... and now what y'all have all been waiting for:
Really cute eyecatch this time :)
Nanoha talks with Aimee about Fate. Seems that Lindy's going to be Fate's mom now, which would make Crono her onii-chan (lucky). The Asura's currently under repair so they've got to think of a way to carry out their mission of investigating what's going on. Lindy meets with the members of her crew. In order to carry out their duty they're going to be moving into a place pretty close to where Nanoha lives :)
So everybody moves in, with Arf showing off her new kawaii puppy form, and Yuno being the usual ferret. Nanoha seems to have forgotten that Yuno's a boy given how she cuddles him. Yuno, you damn lucky bastard ferret! ;) Suzuka and Arisa come over to say hi to everybody. They're pretty much already friends with Fate since they've been sending video letters back and forth. They all go to have tea at Midori-ya and Lindy greets Nanoha's parents. Someone from the school comes with a uniform for Fate. Turns out that Fate's going to be going to the same school as Nanoha, and in the same class as well.
Crono and Aimee talk about the Book of Darkness. It eats linker cores to write pages, and once all the pages are completed... Crono doesn't know exactly what'll happen, but it'll be something big... Vita and Hayate sleep together, but Vita wakes up to go meet up with Signum, Zafira, and Shamal. They realize that the Space-Time Adminstration is investigating them now.. Vita asks how many pages of the Book of Darkness they've completed. They've gotten 340 pages written in the Book of Darkness so far, more than halfway through (there are 666 pages in total). Vita wants to finish it quickly so that she and Hayate can live peacefully together forever... they all transform and go about their business...
Aimee gets a call from HQ from someone who was trying to fix up Bardiche and Ranging Hearts. Seems there's an error -- both display a message saying that they're lacking a certain part, "CVK-792". Aimee knows what that part is... a cartridge system.
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 02: The Storm of Battle Once Again
After Arisa and Suzuka talk over the phone about Fate coming back and doing a welcoming party and such for her, we continue from where we left off last time with Yuno and Fate arriving on the scene to assist Nanoha. Fate and Viita fight it out, and Alf is there, too. They've got the number advantage so they should win... well, no, since Vita's comrades, Signum and Zafira come to assist her. Signum fights Fate with her huge flaming sword (that reloads.. I want one of those... those cartridges seem to have some kind of magical energy in them). Signum's strong.. really strong (^^;;) Bardiche gets cut in half and Fate gets sent flying down through a building. Bardiche is just fine since its core isn't broken and regenerates itself. Yuuno comes to assist her and they devise a plan to break through the barrier somehow. Fate goes back to fighting with Signum and Yuuno takes on Vita, with Alf trying to take care of Zefira. All Nanoha can do is watch...
Hayate makes dinner as she talks to Shamal over the phone. Shamal's busy so she'll be coming back a bit late, but Hayate can take care of things on her own just fine. Shamal's at the scene of the fight with the Book of Darkness... Fate, Yuno, and Arf are having a pretty tough time with their opponents as Nanoha looks on. Raging Heart tells Nanoha to use the Starlight Breaker to break the barrier. Though in that condition... Raging Heart trusts her master so the countdown begins... and gets stuck on three. As the camera pans up we see an arm sticking out of Nanoha's chest -- it's Shamal. She was a bit off so she sticks her arm in again and takes out the linker core, the energy that the Book of Darkness uses to write its pages. Nanoha manages to stay composed enough to fire away the Starlight Breaker, which destroys the barrier. Lindy, Aimee, and Crono aboard the Asura can now see the situation there as Vita, Signum, Zefira, and Shamal get away. Nanoha collapses and Fate comes to support her... Chrono spots Shamal holding the Book of Darkness.. He seems familiar with it...
Labels: Nanoha A's
Nanoha A's Episode 01: The Beginning Was All Too Sudden
June 3rd, 9:05PM: A girl in a wheelchair checks the answering machine and has a message from her doctor. Seems her birthday is tomorrow so the doctor will take the girl, Hayate, off somewhere to eat to celebrate. As Hayate reads in her bed a book on the shelf suddenly emits a dark light and the chains holding it closed break. It then speaks... in German (thankfully there are subtitles), saying it's activating...
December 1st, 6:35AM: Nanoha Takamachi is up early for some shooting practice with Raging Heart. She shoots a can up into the air then shoots it with her magical powers more than 100 times in the air, though she misses the wastebasket by just a bit. Still rather impressive, though. At home Nanoha gets ready for school and we see a picture she has of Fate, along with a DVD with a video message from Fate. Her family's doing fine as usual, though a bit sad since Yuuno's not around. Nanoha receives yet another video message from Fate in the mail...
Meanwhile, aboard the Time-Space Administration ship Asura, Captain Lindy and Aimee seem to be doing well as usual, getting ready to dock at headquarters. Chrono, along with Yuuno, Fate, and Arf prepare for the trial concerning the incidents of last season.. Chrono calls Yuuno a ferret, rather pissing him off. Fate and Arf try to calm him down a bit... Seems not all is well at headquarters. The Lost Logia are apparently showing up in various worlds again, and the most sought after of them has surfaced, so the Asura will have to be ready to go once again. Fate takes a look at the photo of Nanoha she has -- Nanoha's been sending her video letters as well... Back in Nanoha's city, an unknown mahou shoujo has easily beaten two others. She's got the book Hayate had in her room earlier, and collects something from the two fallen magic soldiers, food for the Book of Darkness.
Suzuka is browsing at the library when she sees Hayate trying to reach a book and goes over to help. They introduce themselves and find out they're the same age and all. Hayate leaves with two other women who take care of her, Signum and Shamal. Hayate asks where Vita is.. She's out playing around according to Signum, but Zafira is with her so she'll be okay. But even though they might be apart at times they're always by Hayate.
That night, Vita (that girl from earlier) and Zafiru are out above the town searching for something. Vita's been sensing magical power from somewhere off and on... if she can get whoever it is she'd be able to add 20 pages in one shot to the Book of Darkness. She casts a barrier around the town and pinpoints the location of the magical power.. it's Nanoha, and Vita speeds towards her. Nanoha's able to stop one of Vita's attacks but Vita comes from behind and knocks her off the building she's on. Time to transform!... But it's the same as the previous season so no need to go over it again. Nanoha and Vita go at it, attacking each other as the fly around, with Nanoha putting Raging Heart into Shooting Mode and letting go a Divine Buster that nearly gets Vita. It did mess up her hat so she's really pissed off.. she comes at Nanoha full bore with her hammer, now powered up, and eventually breaks through Nanoha's shield and cracks Raging Heart, sending Nanoha flying through a window. Vita attacks again and knocks Nanoha backwards again.. looks like it's over for Nanoha. But someone shows up to protect Nanoha from Vita's next attack. It's Fate (and Yuuno, too)! Fate says Nanoha's her friend, and she prepares to fight Vita..
Wow, really heating things up here in just the first episode! Having this much fighting this first episode and in the OP would seem to indicate that we'll see much more of it this time around. I'll welcome it if it's done as well this time, though hopefully not all the time. Love that Fate called Nanoha a "friend" :) She and Nanoha are as cute and cool as they were last time. Looking forward to seeing them fight together... though they're gonna have a tough fight with Vita. That girl's pretty dang powerful.. would've liked to see a different transformation sequence for Nanoha, but the previous one was just fine so I can't complain much (not saying it's good because of that, okay?).... but seeing the double transformation from the OP in the actual episode would be nice ;)
Labels: Nanoha A's
