思い出は時の彼方なの。。。 Memories that Lies Beyond Time...
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Nanoha StrikerS — the S is for Sucks!!!
Nanoha StrikerS — the S is for Sucks!!!
I did not write this, and i hate the guy who did. Read the following:
"It seems like the entire world is against me on this, but I hate Nanoha. The entire series is generic and uninspired. The story is cliched and predictable. The characters are flat (in more than one way) and uninteresting.
I thought that maybe it’s because I am not a lolicon. Maybe it would be better if the girls were older. Nanoha StrikerS sounded like a pretty good idea. But apparently, I was wrong. It’s just as boring as ever. Let me summarize the first episode the way I saw it…
First we are introduced to Subaru, a generic hyperactive (as emphasized by her bandanna, her hand guards and her rollerskates) girl who was rescued by Nanoha from a fire and spent the following years of her life fantasizing about having hawt lesbian relationship with her saviour. I hate her.
Next to her is Teana, a generic tsundere twin-tail redhead who obviously has the hawts for Subaru but refuses to admit it due to her over-inflated pride. She is secretly jealous of Nanoha’s position in Subaru’s heart but at the same time she refuses to be true to her feelings and desperately tries to convince herself that she is straight. In other words, she’s a textbook example of tsunderekko. She carries a revolver that can also act as a grappling hook, making it one of the most innovative weapons in the entire series. Not.
The two of them are taking the qualifying exam to become serfs of the Space Time Administration. In order to pass the test to become agents for this paramilitary organization that seems to hire nearly nothing but girls, something that would’ve gotten it sued by ACLU if Japan were America, Subaru and Teana must destroy a bunch of targets within a set amount of time. Targets that move slower than the Earth’s tectonic plates and shoot tiny pulses of beams that look like they can’t even power a pocket calculator.
But somehow Teana manages to get owned anyway. The over-confident tsundere girl getting owned by a puny target drone? How unexpected. Clearly a new benchmark for future plot twists in the series.
And what is even more unexpected is that despite the leg injury suffered by Teana, the two of them managed to come up with a daring and vague plan to destroy the final boss which happens to be a large generical spherical object. Shocking. I was so touched by the friendship and love they displayed through their splendid teamwork that I weeped. Or maybe it’s just sand.
At this point I decided that maybe I should stop watching before the awesomeness of this show overwhelms my brain’s capacity and drives me insane with its sheer brilliance. But it was too late. My body refused to respond and I couldn’t lift my hands to reach for the left mouse button. I resigned to my fate (LOL FATE).
So anyway the two girls passed their test. Hurray! I didn’t see that one coming. Nanoha makes her grand entrance with a face that’s just as loli as ever. Apparently people in this show don’t grow older, they just grow bigger and taller. Either that or the character designer needs to work on his proportions.
Subaru immediately goes into wai wai fangirl mode and attempts to glomp Nanoha. Teana pretends to not care but curses Nanoha in her heart. And they live happily ever after. The end.
Actually, I admit that I’m not being fair to the episode with this summary… I made it sound more interesting than it really is. :/"
Sorry about the bad language and everything. And the reviews of the episodes were not by me either. I took them from other websites. The difference is that I have videos and the name of the episodes and they don't. MOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Labels: Nanoha StrikerS
Nanoha Episode 07: The Third Mage!?
After a recap we see a segment in which Nanoha-chan watches her sister practice swordsmanship in the morning. She speaks telepathically with Yuuno-kun about wanting to know more about Fayt-chan. The scene cuts back and forth between Miyuki's sword strikes and images of Fayt-chan. The meaning of this isn't terribly clear here, but gets revealed somewhat in episode 10.
Meanwhile Fayt-chan is going to visit her mother to give her a status update. Arf doesn't look too happy about this prospect - she terms her mother either `あの人' or `あの女'. Nanoha-chan herself seems awfully sad when she senses the two beam up (or whatever you want to call it).
Turns out the apprehension was justified. It's difficult to find a loving kind of amae between Fayt-chan and her mother. While they are dependant on each other in a way, it seems to be a rather sado-masochistic dependency.
We do get hints that there used to be a `normal' amae between Fayt-chan and her mother. For now, however, the relationship has been supplanted, in part, by a more conventional emotional bond, between Fayt-chan and Arf. Fayt-chan here acts as a mother figure (she created Arf, after all), but we can clearly see the two-way dependancy. Arf is terribly worried (to the point of seriously freaking out), and only wants Fayt-chan to be happy (as any good daughter should :p), but Arf also functions as a protector for Fayt-chan.
A charming fellow by the name of Chrono comes in from the spaceship Asura, on behalf of the `Time-Space Administration Bureau'. We met him and some of his fellow crewmates earlier, interestingly to the tune of military music. In his capacity today he seems to be acting as a mediator..but Arf doesn't wait, and gets Fayt-chan out of there as fast as she can. It seems the two really have something to hide...
We see this even more in upcoming episodes, but Arf is taking a more proactive approach to protecting Fayt-chan - likely a result of the beating she took earlier at the hands of her mother (Arf commented afterward that, had she knew what was going to happen, she would have stopped Fayt-chan, no matter what..).
At this point, Fayt-chan seems almost senile (and she's what, ten years old?). She's trying to get her mother back the way she used to be - to regain that amae dependency. She's very dependant on her mother (she is ten, after all - who wouldn't?), but as her mother isn't responding in a very helpful manner, Fayt-chan instead latches on to the memory of her mother, who she could depend on. It seems, however, that she's descending more and more into this escapist fancy, and clearly can't go on indefinitely.
Labels: Nanoha
Nanoha Episode 06: Feelings That Can't Be Understood?
There are times in one's life where one begins to excel at a certain task - either by chance, in the course of pursuing your dream, or because circumstances force it upon you. One reaches a point where they are confident in their own skills in this area - no one is better than they.
But, we all live in a bubble - a small subset of the real world. As we grow and our understanding of the world expands, so too does that bubble expand. And it isn't long before one finds out that there is indeed someone better than themself - even at the thing that one has been striving for their whole life. This is a critical point for many - how does one handle this realization? For some, they acknowledge to themselves that there must be someone superior, somewhere - but even so, facing them for the first time can be daunting. Moreso for those who refuse to admit such a fact.
Under this pressure, it is easy to crack, and feel as though one is inferior to everyone - taking the inverse to the extreme. One withdraws from the world - there is already someone better than they - so there's no point in them even trying, ne?
Of course, we also each have our own unique take on any one thing - there are plenty of people out there better than I at summarizing anime, but none ramble on quite the same way I do ^_^. And it's that realization - the knowledge than one can provide something unique to the world, even if that uniqueness isn't perfect - that is really needed at a time like this.
Currently it seems as though Nanoha-chan is facing that crisis. What will she do, I wonder?
Nanoha-chan is feeling a little overwhelmed after the last incident between her and Fayt-chan. She's taken a propensity to zoning out and not paying attention to her friends, which Yankee Arisa-chan takes offense to.
Both Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan are certain Nanoha-chan is worrying over something, but she won't tell them (for what, we know, are obvious reasons). Still, they'd like to be able to help her, even if it only means commiserating with her..
A short scene as it's apparent Nanoha-chan brought them all together. The two of them obviously feel in debt to her - but Nanoha-chan isn't the type of gal who'd ask others for help.
Nanoha-chan ends up walking home alone - the first time in quite a while. So she's alone both emotionally and physically. Not a conducive environment to lifting one's spirits.
Arisa-chan is riding along with Suzuka-chan in Arisa-chan's limo (must be nice to have a rich Yankee as a friend). They chat a little - Suzuka-chan was even shier before they met, while Arisa-chan was even more Yankee-ish (can you believe it?). It seems as though meeting Nanoha-chan showed them both the postive aspects of themselves, and brought them together. I can definitely see a little of each of them in Nanoha-chan.
A series of flashbacks reveal what happened - Arisa-chan had taken something of Suzuka-chan's (her headband, it looks like) and was teasing her about it - when Nanoha-chan stepped in and slapped her. And then said:
Does that hurt? The hearts of people who have their precious things taken away from them, hurt a lot more.
I think it's quite a relevant quote, although it may not become fully apparent until later on. Suffice it to say that Nanoha-chan obviously places a higher value on emotions than on material things (rather endearing, really).
(Nanoha-chan stops on the way home to try to pull herself together.)
So, Arisa-chan and Nanoha-chan had gotten into a bit of a fight, and it was Suzuka-chan who'd stepped in and broken them up. (On another level, a case could be made for the symbolism of traffic - while they're talking about the gap between them, and their first fight, the limo was stuck in a traffic jam. As they realize they have to let Nanoha-chan do what she can on her own, and offer her encouragement, a lane suddenly opens and the limo takes off..)
Nanoha-chan made it back home, and tells Yuuno-kun about the events of the day over some taiyaki. She wants to go looking for some Jewel Seeds that evening..(presumably, to redeem herself - to make her feel as though she really is doing the right thing.)
Cut to Arf, in full kawaii-kitsune form, munching on some snacks. She goes to check on Fayt-chan. She hasn't eaten much (if any) of her dinner, doesn't look too happy, and seems to have some scratch marks on her back..she didn't make it out of their last meeting unscathed.
Well, she's going out hunting, too. Even though she's really pushing it. Since, of course, her mother really wants those seeds...
We're back at Midori-ya (Nanoha-chan's family's famires - I almost said 'Angel's Kiss'!), where Shinobu-san (Suzuka-chan's older sister) is conversing with Kyouya-san, Nanoha-chan's brother. Seems she's noticed Nanoha-chan is kinda down in the dunps. She offers to speak to her..but as Kyouya-san mentions, Nanoha-chan is the kind of girl that keeps her problems to herself. Even though this is a pretty blasted big problem for a third-grader.
It's a little after 7pm, and Nanoha-chan still hasn't found anything. Yuuno-kun offers to look around a little while she heads back to dinner. She pauses momentarily to check her email on her cell phone..no one's sent her anything. It's pretty clear that while she doesn't want to ask anyone for help, she really does want someone's help.
Or maybe, need someone's help. Fayt-chan is on the scene, and Arf releases a blast of magic to try to get a jewel seed to activate. Considering that it blacks out the city and causes a serious transformation in weather patterns, I'd say it's a big blast of magic.
Nanoha-chan detects this and transforms. Yuuno-kun detects it and thinks "Oh my god, we're screwed!". All right, not exactly, but I bet he's thinking that. Arf notices Nanoha-chan's transformation, and Fayt-chan sets up to seal the jewel seed before anyone can get in her way.
Nanoha-chan and Fayt-chan's sealing spells hit the seed (number 14, for the bean-counters at home) at exactly the same time.
In a flash of cluelessness, Nanoha-chan walks up to the seed and gazes at it, remembering the aformentioned meeting between her, Arisa-chan, and Suzuka-chan. Meanwhile Fayt-chan is, no doubt, heading there at full speed.
She does bring up an important point though - communication is the most important part of a relationship (right? ^_^) There's a parallel between that meeting, and the gap between her and Fayt-chan now.
Still, the whole let's-all-be-friends-okay? sequence, while destined to take place someday (this is mahou shoujo, so there's no getting around it), it doesn't mean it's going to happen right now. Fayt-chan has her own goals, and she needs the jewel seed to satisfy them.
Cut to Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan, after music practice, where Suzuka-chan is sending an email to Nanoha-chan. And man, is she fast at it or what.
Back to the battle between mahou shoujo.. Once again Nanoha-chan gives up her advantage to explain that she wants to learn more about Fayt-chan.. She explains why she's doing this (originally to help Yuuno-kun, and now to protect the city). Fayt-chan is about to answer her..but since it is Too Early In The Series ™, Arf interrupts and tells her not to bother...they're there for the jewel seed, not to have tea.
The two girls dash for the jewel seed, each of them hitting it at exactly the same time with their staff..and the resulting magical force cracks them both, sending up a brilliant light that even Suzuka-chan seems to notice.
Suzuka-chan sees that she hasn't got a reply back yet from Nanoha-chan (it's been what, five minutes?), and so she gets into Arisa-chan's to head home... and credits roll.
So we'll have to wait until next time to see what happens. Judging by the preview, though, it looks like Fayt-chan doesn't come on top, and her mother is none too happy.
I think there's an important theme running through the episode. In the intro, I talked about how each person brings their own uniqueness to the world, and implied that Nanoha-chan needed to learn this for herself. While that would make a 'good lesson (i.e. 'Everyone is special', I think that's more of an artificial theme based on recent circumstances. It could be ironic, actually, given that the characters are all stereotyped rather heavily.
So let me try again, and pick a theme more or less at random. The first one I can think of that might apply is 'belonging' - a kind of relationship where one feels at ease (or at home) with another.
First off, we have the 'simple' belonging, such as Nanoha-chan's parents with each other, Shinobu-san with Ryouya-san. While it's more outspoken in the first can than the second, it's obvious the two pairs feel at home together.
Nanoha-chan's sense of belonging with her friends is under strain right now - she's keeping her mahou shoujo-ness from them. The other two, though, seem resolved to stick by her, even though they don't know what it is that troubles them.
Fayt-chan's belonging with her mother is still to be revealed, but it seems to be a bit darker than Nanoha-chan's. Still, she doesn't question it one bit. It will be interesting to see how this works out. How does Fayt-chan feel that she belongs with her mother?
Even though it's been a while since I've seen the last episode, and I'm very behind writing about them, this one episode has got me back into the flow already. More to come. ^_^
Labels: Nanoha
Nanoha Episode 05: This is Like a Town of Hot Water, The Uminari Hot Springs!
Well, we've had our rival appear, and it looks like Nanoha-chan has her work cut out for her. I don't think she feels much like a 'normal third grader' anymore. At least, with her (usual) optimism and all-around niceness, she has folks like me cheering for her ^_^...
As we begin this episode Nanoha-chan is dreaming, or at least deep in thought. She believes that everyone has many paths in front of them, and that they just end up following one at random (or by choice?). She obviously is not a believer in predestiny..which could become important later on since it looks like her rival is pretty set in her ways.
Well, enough of that pondering. It's Golden Week! And everyone's off to enjoy their week off at an onsen (except for some of their lowly peons employees, who stay behind to tend their shop).
It's a pretty big vacation for them, as not only are Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan coming along, but so is Shinobu-san, and the Tsukimura family's maids, whom we met last episode.
Yuuno-kun cautions her to relax and enjoy herself, which she really needs after the stress of her last battle..er, loss.
Well, time to relax, then! This being a hot spring, there's lots of bathing, and towels, and ... stuff. Now, Yuuno-kun may be a guy and all, but remember that cute lil' ferrets get exclusive admission to female baths. He's not taking it too easy. Even though it's predictable, it's still funny. These are the least fanservice-y pics I could take out of the whole scene.
So despite Yuuno-kun's pleas, he of course ends up in the women's bath along with Nanoha-chan.
Short scene here with Nanoha-chan's parents. Enough to signify that there's more to their past than they're letting on. To wit, Shiro-san (the father):
Well..you and the kids don't need to worry about me anymore.
How many times have I said that mahou shoujo's magic is inherited more often than not? How many times? Well, here's one more.
Well, baths are over for the kids, and so Arisa-chan, Suzuka-chan, and Nanoha-chan are wandering around, deciding where to go next..
A rather cunning-looking lady (as in evil cunning) spots the three of them and walks up to Nanoha-chan, asking if she's the one 'that she was talking about'. If the odd jewel in her forehead doesn't mark her as strange (probably not, with what 'normal' teenagers do nowadays..), then her not-so-subtle remarks about Nanoha-chan definitely should.
Having a Yankee friend does come in handy as Arisa-chan uses her Gaijin Smash ability to fend off this annoying woman.
Under that pressure, the lady feigns innocence and remarks that she must have the wrong person. Nanoha-chan, of course, immediately falls for it, but Arisa-chan looks a little wiser..
Nanoha-chan gets an abrupt call back to reality as the lady telepathically calls out to her..and warns her to stay out of other people's business. Given hair colour (and the OP), and all that's gone on, I think I'm allowed to safely conclude she's Rival Girl's partner by now (I've already seen up to Episode 6, but I'm trying to keep from saying things too early... ^_^).
Arisa-chan's all in a huff about 'that woman'. Especially ironic is her comment that she should should observe 'moderation', when Arisa-chan herself is rather...lacking, in that department.
The lady engages telepathic contact with Rival Girl, aka Fayt-chan (the subbers translate her name as 'Fate', but I'll stick to the more literal writing here). The lady herself is Arf, suitable I suppose for a fox/dog-like being. Status update, blah, blah, but we hear that Fayt-chan has found the location of a jewel seed, and is closing in. She's going for it tonight. And we see Arf's animal nature manifest itself, too :) Any kitsune-mimi fans out there?
Time passes for the our heroine and her friend, until the aforementioned night happens to arrive. Nanoha-chan chats a bit with Yuuno-kun..he doesn't want her involved it in any more, but she ain't hearing none of it.
Hmm..a suspicious blue glow by the riverside. Wonder what that could be? Seed number 17 activates, and both Nanoha-chan and Fayt-chan notice it.
Fayt-chan and Arf are watching the seed activate, while Nanoha-chan is rushing towards the scene (we skip her transformation sequence, thankfully, giving us another minute of plot). Most important out of the conversation between Fayt-chan and Arf is that we see Fayt-chan doesn't know herself why her mother wants them, but is simply following her mother's orders.
After a rather long and involved transformation, Bardiche seals the jewel seed (note that that transformation scene is for the staff, not one of the mahou shoujo themselves. Nanoha-chan arrives just in time just a bit too late.
Boo-yeah. Arf goes into Wild Mode and faces off against Nanoha-chan and Yuuno-kun. We learn that Arf is actually a familiar - created by Fayt-chan herself. And devoted to her master/mistress.
Yuuno-kun shows his mettle as he, a wittle tiny ferret, blocks Arf off, telling Nanoha-chan to go for Fayt-chan. Arf doesn't seem too willing, but Yuuno-kun manages to teleport her somewhere. Probably up the creek without a paddle (har har). Yuuno-kun also disappears, of apparently to the same place.
Fayt-chan is somewhat impressed by Nanoha-chan's familiar. But he's not a familiar, he's her friend! (How cliché is that?)
Nanoha-chan tries to negotiate with Fayt-chan.
Fayt: Simply talking ... nothing will change through words alone.
Well, that sort of puts a damper into Nanoha-chan's efforts.
Fayt-chan challenges her to a duel. The loser gives one jewel seed to the victor. Nanoha-chan doesn't agree or anything, but it's not like she can just stand around.
And so the fight goes on (with a short cut to Yuuno-kun and Arf, who seem to be more or less evenly matched).
I know these intelligent devices talk in English, but even so:
Bardiche: 'Thunder Smasher.'
Raging Heart: 'Divine Buster.'
*evenly matched blasts*
Nanoha-chan: ライジング ハート、 お願い！
Raging Heart: 'All right.'
Too funny. This sort of stuff makes the show for me. If you didn't quite get the 'joke' here, I guess you have to try watching it. I'll just note here that quotes I wrote in English are in fact, spoken in (native) English during the show (the credits include two Americans).
Anyway, looks like Nanoha-chan pulled it off, there..her strength is superior to Fayt-chan's. However, as Arf point out, she's still too 甘い. Fayt-chan comes right back and points her scythe at her throat (it's written 'Size Slash', heh)..with no other choice, Raging Heart releases a seed and gives it to Fayt-chan. Nanoha-chan might not be too happy about it, but she keeps her life.
Fayt-chan leaves, but not before giving Nanoha-chan a final warning (i.e. don't mess with me). We also learn her full name: TESTAROSSA Fayt. However, Fayt-chan takes off before Nanoha-chan has a chance to give hers. (Since learning someone's name makes it that much harder to kill them...)
Well, doesn't this vacation just suck so far.
Looks like the next episode focuses on the conflict between Nanoha-chan and Fayt-chan, as well as the relationship Nanoha-chan has with her friends. Since I've already seen this episode a while ago, I won't speculate on anything here :)
Look forward to next time!
Labels: Nanoha
Nanoha Episode 04: A Rival!? Another Magical Girl!
If I recall correctly, this is the episode where Nanoha-chan's rival is about to be introduced, so without further ado, let us go on...
(As an aside, it feels weird watching anime with subtitles again. Hunh, imagine that.)
We start off this time with a rather serious-looking girl, atop a building (not Tokyo Tower. This isn't CLAMP's work). She says she's looking for the 'Lost Logia', otherwise known as jewel seeds. Oooh, rival! And her partner looks a mite more ferocious than Yuuno-kun. Much bigger, at least.
Well, enough of the doom and gloom, as it's daybreak at Nanoh-chan's house. Her brother Kyouya-san is taking her over to Suzuaka-chan's house (the rich girl). Can't wait. Neither can he apparently, as Shinobu-san (Suzuka-chan's elder sister) just may happen to have an interest in him. A mutual interest.
And so they're off on the bus. All this chipper music is a nice break from some of my previous entries.
Well, Suzuka-chan's house is large as expected. They're greeted by the requisite maid, in this case called Noel-san. (Ooooh, a foreign maid!)
Well, Suzuka-chan is there waiting for her, along with Yankee Arisa-chan. And an SPCA office's worth of cats. Someone who looks a lot like Suzuka-chan is also there, and is the obvious candidate to be Shinobu-san. (I keep thinking of that other Shinobu from Love Hina.
We also meet Farin-san, Suzuka-chan's personal maid. She goes to get them some tea, while Kyouya-san and Shinobu-san are going to 'spend some time in her room'. This is a kid's show, so we stick with Nanoha-chan's perspective.
Oh yeah, and I mentioned there were cats, right? Yuuno-kun is a bit taken aback at their somewhat overwhelming presence..
Suzuka-chan suddenly becomes more subtle than the Yankee and asks Nanoha-chan if there's anything on her mind. She seemed a little under the weather lately, so ... That's why she got invited over. Not 'cause they were friends or anything.
The moment is broken as one of the aforementioned cats (I did mention about the cats, ne?) takes off after Yuuno-kun, who is not too thrilled with this development.
The chas continues on underfoot Farin-san, who'd just made it in with the tea. Wanna guess where the tea goes? Despite the efforts of Nanoha-chan and Suzuka-chan to help out, a lot of it, indeed, ends up anywhere but on the tray it came in on.
We cut to Kyouya-san and Shinobu-san (both looking rather formal). Apparently this isn't the first time Farin-san has...ah... not quite excelled at her job.
A fresh batch of tea and cookies later (outside, and with Yuuno-kun safely tucked away), the topic turns to those cats, which I'm sure I've mentioned by now. Suzuka-chan mentions she has to give some of them away..but she's happy that they'll grow up nice and strong. I mention this since I do think there's a double meaning to it (beyond the fact that one of them is likely to end up encountering a jewel seed...)
Cue a kitten and a pretty blue light. Guess what happens?
Nanoha-chan and Yuuno-kun sense the jewel seed simultaneously. How do they get there without raising suspicion? Yuuno-kun dashes off (remember, he's a stupid little ferret), giving Nanoha-chan an opening to take off after him.
The little kitten activates the seed, and Suzuka-chan's desire for it to grow big and strong are fulfilled, and then some.
Yuuno-kun puts up a barrier - the only kind of thing he doesn't suck at, which, like X, prevents harm to those outside it.
Kinda necessary since kitty is now King Kitty. Nanoha-chan, ever the purveyor of wisdom:
It'd probably be a big problem for Suzuka-chan if it stayed that size.
Ahem.
Well, Nanoha is just about to seal it nice and gently, when a blast comes out of nowhere and nails the poor kitty.
Looks like our foreboding mahou shoujo is here. Along with her English-speaking wand, Bardiche, she dishes out the hurt.
Nanoha-chan's minute-long henshin seems refreshingly short after the minute-twenty seven of Magical Canan, but still.
She takes off to the kitty's defense and engages her 'wide area protection' spell, blocking any further photon rays.
Wide area protection isn't wide enough to protect against the kitty's feet, so the rival mage blasts those, causing the kitty, and Nanoha-chan, to go crashing down...
Nanoha-chan looks kinda ticked. Yuuno-kun looks kinda inferior.
Yuuno-kun remarks that she must be from his world, and that she knows the 'true identity' of the jewel seeds. Wait, there was a hidden meaning to them? No one told me!
A short battle ensues. Now, I have to wonder how smart these 'intelligent devices' (i.e. wands) really are. I mean, they blasted well announce what programs they're running beforehand. I can see it now:
Rival: "I'm going to attack you!"
Bardiche: "Attack Mode Set Up."
Nanoha-chan thinks 'Ah, she's gonna hit me!'
*Rival goes to swipe at her*
Raging Heart: "Dodge Left"
*Rival swoops left and strikes Nanoha-chan*
Nanoha-chan: "But..but..how'd you know I was going to be there..!?! Sniff.."
Right.
... Actually what happens isn't too far off from that. Nanoha-chan asks her rival why she's doing this, but gets rebuffed with 'It'll probably mean nothing to you'.
We square off with Nanoha-chan's 'Divine Buster' against the rival's 'Photon Lancer'. Since Bardiche sounds more.. I dunno...war-like, I'm guessing things aren't looking up for Nanoha-chan and company.
The kitty starts to get up, and Nanoha-chan, distracted by this, is caught off guard by her rival's shot. She did mumble an 'I'm sorry' beforehand, leading me to believe the two are going to end up pairing up sometime in the future.. (who am I kidding? That always happens!)
Nanoha-chan got blasted pretty bad, but Yuuno-kun's little cushion-barrier seems to somehow save her, even though she was falling at terminal velocity.
Her rival seals the jewel seed this time, of course. I just checked and it took 22 seconds for the girl to engage 'Sealing Mode' on Bardiche. It may be tough but man, it's slow. Needs a RAM upgrade, maybe?
Anyway, Jewel Seed 14 has fallen into the evil clutches of an alien 3rd-grader.
After that rather over-expositioned scene, Nanoha-chan's rival silently regards her prone form..and walks off.
He went and got her brother, who took her in to Suzuka-chan's house. Her story of having tripped and fallen in the woods might have tricked them this time, but it doesn't look like it's gonna be easy to keep this kind of thing secret for very long.
Back in her room, Yuuno-kun explains the girl is from his world. Is she going to meet her again? Nanoha-chan isn't scared..just sad, and confused.
A scene in a high-rise apartment with the rival mahou shoujo clears that up pretty quick. She wonders how many seeds Nanoha-chan has. Well, they both probably need all of them. Not really a situation that lends itself to quick reconciliation.
Anyway, it looks like Rival Girl is doing this for her mother..if anything, her devotion is far stronger than Nanoha-chan's. Strong enough that she isn't going to let little things like compassion, kindness, or morality, get in her way, that is. :p
I'm going to go another couple episodes before I try any full-fledged analysis, but a couple points to ponder:
The jewel seeds act upon the desires of those who hold them, but I think it may also hint at Nanoha-chan's inner desires as well (to fall in love, to grow up, etc.). None of these are spelled out per se, as Nanoha-chan seems to have a 'good' life, but I'll be on the lookout in future to see how this applies.
Secondly, Nanoha-chan's rival holds an awful lot in common with Nanoha-chan herself. Almost as if she is how Nanoha-chan would be if she didn't have the close family ties, friends, etc., that she does now. Rival Girl has her mother, but no apparent friends, and given Rival Girl's rather dark and moody tone she doesn't seem to have had the most laughter-filled childhood. If Nanoha-chan were raised by evil stepparents, could she have turned out the same way? Perhaps...
Labels: Nanoha
Nanoha Episode 03: The Town's in A Lot of Danger?
Episode 3 starts to pick up in terms of seriousness, as we see the cloudier side of the Jewel seeds...
This episode begins at night, nearby Nanoha's school, where she starts off by capturing Jewel Seed #20 (for those counting, she has 5 seeds right now, out of 21 total. We've apparently skipped one in the meantime). She's a little tired after using her magic so much...it drains the user, which is especially tiring on those who aren't used to using it.
Yuuno-kun convinces Nanoha to take a break for the day (it's Sunday) so she ends up going with her father (who I'll call Takamachi-san) to watch a soccer game (a little league team that Takamachi-san coaches and sponsors (her family owns the Midoriya coffee shop/ famires)). Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan come along too.
Yuuno-kun doesn't know about the game (of course) so Nanoha explains it to him. We see that a certain female spectator seems to have a something of a crush on their team's goaltender...who helps them to a 2-0 win. Takamachi-san invites everyone over to their restaurant for some snacks (with perks like that, who wouldn't want to try hard to win?). Nanoha and friends sit outside and have some cake...though the cake is soon forgotten as Yuuno-kun becomes the center of (not entirely welcome) attention.
The goaltender seems to have something for the aforementioned girl, and walks off with her, putting something shiny in his pocket. It looks rather familiar...a Jewel Seed! Nanoha sees it out of the corner of her eye, but dismisses it as her mind playing tricks on her.
Nanoha heads home with her father, dead tired..and collapses on her bed. Yuuno-kun tells her to at least change into pajamas..which she does without a second thought, much to Yuuno-kun's embarassment (remember, we know he's actually a guy, but to Nanoha he's a cute little magical ferret mascot).
With Nanoha fast asleep, the action cuts to the soccer goaltender and his female companion. He offers her the Jewel Seed (thinking it's a pretty stone of some sort), but when the two touch hands..out sprouts a humoungous tree from inside the ground. Nanoha jerks awake at the sensation of the seed activating, and dashes off outside..
She reaches the roof of an apartment, and calls upon Raging Heart..The standard long transformation sequence commences. After that's done, Nanoha gets a good look at the devastation around her..more huge trees have sprung up all over town than Greenpeace could have planted in a decade. Yuuno-kun explains that when a human comes into contact with a Jewel Seed, a tremendous power results, much more than the dog from last time. Nanoha berates herself for not believing herself earlier..that kid did have a Jewel Seed after all!
Her first job to clean up this mess is to find the Jewel Seed. It looks like it will take forever but Nanoha releases her searching magic (Yuuno-kun is continually amazed at the things she can do instinctively - she's much stronger than he, and she just started.) She finds the source of the power (the boy, girl, and Jewel Seed). It's pretty far away, but who needs public transit when you can nail the thing from afar? Her staff morphs into a cannon-like form and fires a bolt of light at the Jewel Seed. She seals it from about 2 miles away (interestingly, she knows it's number 10, even when she's that far away..either her eyesight is really good, or Raging Heart is somehow telling her..).
The girl and boy wake up, a little disoriented (after what happened, how can you blame them?). The trees are gone (so much for a short-term lucrative forestry contract), but the damage they caused remains. Nanoha vows never to let something like this happen again.
So things certainly are starting to turn serious (well, sorta). Nanoha is beginning to realize the implications of what the Jewel Seeds portend, as well as the burden placed upon her. What's more, she's all alone in doing so, except for Yuuno-kun (who she's already exceeded in terms of skill level). She mentioned that she felt apart from everyone else in the first episode, and she still is. She's trying to prove herself by gathering the Jewel Seeds, but can she really do it by herself?
Next episode her rival appears, and this question will become even more important...
Labels: Nanoha
Nanoha Episode 02: My Magical Incantation is "Lyrical"?
Well, we continue on with Episode 2 of the series, wrapping up the first battle and getting a handle on the backstory..
After a quick recap, it's back to the battle between Nanoha and Dark Slimy Monster #1. It dives for her..luckily her wand comes with built-in protective measures.
Little Ferret-san explains that Nanoha has to seal the monster using her new-found powers, and to do that she needs an incantation ... "Lyrical Magical!"
She defeats the monster, and receives Jewel Seed Number 21. Yup, you guessed it, that means there are at least 20 others, somewhere. Nanoha takes off out of the area to evade the police (you'd think they'd be grateful she trashed the place sealing the monster..), and ends up in a park with the ferret. The ferret introduces himself as Yuuno SCRYA, and after some initial difficulties calling Nanoha by name, finally manages it (cute :)).
Nanoha and Yuuno-kun attempt to make it back to her house...but aren't quite successful in making it past her brother and sister. After a little talking, though, the entire family is besotted with cute lil' Yuuno-kun...who bears it as well as he can. (We also get a glimse of something shiny on the ground at a local shrine.. foreshadowing, perhaps?)
In the meantime, Nanoha's gotta go to school, and can't stay to talk to Yuuno-kun about...well, whatever this whole thing is about. Not to worry, the Raging Heart jewel that Nanoha carries functions pretty well as a telepathic receiver. Apparently things are pretty boring at school, because she spends most of her day conversing with Yuuno-kun.
We learn that he's an archaelogist on his home world, and that he uncovered the Jewel Seeds, mystical gems that can grant the bearer great powers, and allow one to do great deeds. However (there's always a catch) they can also, of course, be used for not-so-good things. So, when the jewel seeds went missing, and nasty icky monsters like the fella from before get a hold of them, well, bad things happen. (This makes you wonder why people go around making collections of powerful magical items that can go haywire so easily. Then again, it's getting us an anime series, so I won't complain too much). So Yuuno-kun, our eternal and stalwart hero, decided to go get them back. Too bad he's not good enough on his own. Nanoha offers to help, though, and won't take no for an answer..
On her way home, Nanoha senses a strange presence..yup, it's another jewel seed. Nanoha and Yuuno-kun dash off to the aforementioned shrine. Thankfully the transformation sequence is abbreviated a little here (Nanoha even, somehow, skips past the activation password that is supposed to trigger the Raging Heart), because that gives Nanoha the extra 30 seconds she needs to defeat today's monster - a possesed dog. Turns out all she has to do is block the monster's attacks, and repels it, sufficiently stunned, so that she can extract the Jewel Seed from it (number 16 this time). This is good because Nanoha still hasn't learned any attacks.
So, we have another happy ending, as Nanoha and Yuuno-kun head home for some much-deserved (and much-needed) sleep.
So, the backstory has begun to be revealed. We still don't know much about Nanoha or her family or friends, though that's likely to change in upcoming episodes. Yuuno-kun was rather apologetic about the jewel seed incident, even though it wasn't him that lost them..either he's an apologetic guy by nature, or he has some more to do with the current situation than has appeared so far. Other than that, we've seen two mage battles in one episode, so I suppose we can't expect much character development just yet...stay tuned until next time, I guess :)
Labels: Nanoha