Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Nanoha is not spectacular in part, but as a whole it shines. I can explain this by saying that the animation, sound, story, and character development as seperate entities are nothing remarkable (with some deference to the opening sound track) - As a complete intertwining smorgasbord of sensual imagery, these elements form an exceptional, and enjoyable investment of time. The animation got me hooked in the first episode with two short lived but highly innovative sequences that are never again revisited in style or similarity. Lukily for me, that was not near as important in further episodes as I became further engrosed in the series.Overall, the animation is tight and beautiful, but that first episode has burned an image, of what anime COULD be like, in my mind for ever. The sound is well placed, the voice acting is quite pleasant but the Opening song is well beyond my expectations. Innocent Starter" has found a permanant place in my 5 star playlist. The story is your typical magical girl with a more mature touch (strange considering the youth of the characters). It does not fall in the trap of overly cute to the point of mindless "kawaiiness" that 99% of "Magical Girl" shows contain. That makes it new in my book! The characters really shine, besides the robot like, ultra caring of Nanoha herself, she is defined like a "passive aggressive" (all things can be worked out with words before violence) but more than willing to kick some !$! if she has to, kind of character. The character "Fate" is the truly dynamic character entity of this story and her pain and suffering is eclipsed only by Nanoha's compassion. Such character development is undoubtedly rare in "Magical Girl" anime prototypes. Fate-chan is, and will forever be my favorite character. This is an extremely valuable series, and a bargain at even the most outrageous prices of English Anime DvD's. If it is liscensed, I suggest picking it up with all due haste! I found myself looking forward to each new episode, all the way through the series' completion. I was ready with my popcorn and soda, and even brought out my most comfy chair, providing myself with the ultimate enjoyable experience. Overall - 8.5, could not use decimals so I bumped it down to a 8, only because It's sequel is even more innovative and exceptional.

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (I'll abbreviate it to MSLN in the review for the sake of convenience) is an anime about a magical girl named Nanoha. Along the way, she meets another magical girl named Fate, and tries to help her with her problems. story; At first, MSLN seems very typical. There's a girl, she discovers that she has magical powers, and she sets off to seal the jewel seeds which have gone rampant. As I said, typical, right? But then, along comes Fate Testarossa, and the whole story changes. Around the second half of the series, the plot picks up its pace, and it's hard tostop watching. Despite its childish appearance, the storyline is anything but that. art; The graphics in MSLN are very nice. Nanoha and Fate's battle outfits and weapons are well designed; they are complex, with much detail. The animation is smooth, and the transformation scenes are well done. My only complaint is how the ending theme was done. Whoever did that was very, VERY lazy. You'll know why when you see it. But besides that, the anime was very eye-pleasing. sound; The voices were good; they all matched the personalities of the characters. The opening was nice as well, but again, I found the ending quite lacking. The ending theme was a bit too childish, and the voice bothered me. But it's easy to skip over, so I guess I can't complain. Lastly, I'll comment on the weapons themselves. I understand why they speak, and why they speak in english, but some of the phrases were unnecessary and gave a strange feeling. For example, Nanoha's Raising Heart actually says 'all right', when Nanoha issues a command. character; The characters were well developed, in my opinion. Nanoha's situation was introduced early on, and much attention went to Fate's situation. Nanoha is the kind, caring girl with the perfect family, and Fate is the sad, desperate girl with the not-so-perfect family. The characters are lovable, and it's fun to watch them. enjoyment; MSLN was very enjoyable to watch. The 13 episodes went by fast. The characters are awesome, the battles are awesome, and the plot is great. I definitely enjoyed watching this anime. Maybe it's because I haven't watched a magical girl series in a long, long time (ie. Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura when I was little), but the anime was a refreshing change from all of the dramatic romance I've been watching. Overall, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha receives an 8. It was a very worthwhile watch, and I recommend it. I can't guarantee that it'll be your cup of tea, but it was definitely better than I'd expected. ♥

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Mahou shoujo with some zing I watched “Triangle Heart ~Sweet Songs Forever~” before Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, and personally, I’m glad that MSLN’s story is a lot different from Triangle Heart. Nanoha Takamachi was also a character in Triangle Heart, but she was sort of an extra character there. She takes the stage as main character in MSLN as a normal third grader who suddenly meets a ferret who is actually a mage from another world, and he asks Nanoha to help her collect Jewel Seeds that have scattered all over her world. It seems a lot like Card Captor Sakura, buteach MSLN episode isn’t as uniform as CCS episodes. The pacing is faster, which is good since MSLN only has 12 episodes. Also, Jewel Seeds aren’t cutesy like Clow Cards – they are way more dangerous and threatening. There are actually two magical girls in MSLN, there is Nanoha of course, and there’s also Fate Testarossa. I happen to like Fate more, because sometimes Nanoha’s too nice that you get tired of it. Fate is sort of like a 9 year old Rei Ayanami with better hair, so I definitely like her more. Some characters from Triangle Heart have also reappeared for MSLN, such as other members of the Takamachi family. The only difference is that they’re all leading normal lives and not working as bodyguards or agents for secret services. I’m familiar with most of the voice cast, but the names that stood out for me the most are Rie Kugimiya (Alisa Bannings) and Ai Shimizu (Suzuka Tsukimura). I liked their work in other series, especially Rie Kugimiya (Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku, Alphonse Elric from FMA), so I’m kind of disappointed that they got smaller parts in the series. Also, I like Raging Heart and Bardiche’s voice actors. I don’t know why but I like it when Raging Heart and Bardiche talk. I’m a bit iffy about the visuals, specially the character design. Nanoha and Fate’s designs were both age appropriate and proportionate, but for the older women, I didn’t like the oversized chests and wide hips. It’s also a bit inconsistent, scenes from the first episode looked different compared to the latter episodes. All in all, animation was good. Nana Mizuki did a great job in singing “Innocent Starter”, the opening theme. I wish it was more upbeat though, but since it was performed by the voice actor of Fate Testarossa, I guess I shouldn’t expect something more lively. I liked the ending theme more, “Little Wish ~Lyrical Step~” by Yukari Tamura, Nanoha’s voice actor.. It really fit Nanoha’s personality, and it was cute and catchy. I learned it right away. At first I was hesitant to watch Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, because I wasn’t really a fan of the Mahou Shoujo genre, thinking that most series of such genre was the same. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha had something in it, which makes it worth watching.

While perusing over titles in the magical girl genre it is almost impossible to miss that which is the Nanoha franchise these days. Touted by many as a revolutionary magical girl show with its Gundam like magical battles and its supposed expansive universe, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is certainly not lacking any hype. However, as reactions may vary, I found this show to be quite the disappointment. This show can definitely be split into two halves. The very beginning is typical enough for a mahou shoujo show, it certainly plays off the very roots of the genre with how Nanoha first finds and comes into contact withmagic, but what the show does after that is where the problems arise. The story is very mundane, and lacks any attractive force to it. Almost set up like a monster of the week show, Nanoha does very little to entertain. I was left questioning what was so damn unique about this show when everything about it just seemed so uninspiring, flat, and just frankly boring. One thing is for sure though and that is I couldn't see what so damn exciting or riveting about the fights at this juncture compared to other mahou shoujos. The show however does become much better in its second half or so when the character Fate Testarossa arrives. I was reaching the point of insurmountable rage about how this show could ever be considered such a classic in the genre when everything about it screamed boring. Fate, probably the best character in the show as far as I can see, injected this show with much needed life. Finally the universe in this show finally starts to be explored, even if just a little bit. There's a tangible conflict beyond finding little jewel shards. The conflict is exciting, and the events that unfold were nice to see. The relationship that Nanoha forms with Fate also becomes a very endearing one to behold. Another major improvement in the show was the action. Finally it started becoming more exciting. It wasn't the most riveting action ever by any means, but it finally achieved a standard of reasonably entertaining. I do however criticize the action in this show for lacking any sort of mental exercise. The action mostly consisted of beam spamming, shields, and binds, all which were executed at random intervals and varying strength. There is no real strategy to each engagement, so I can hardly consider it top tier action. However despite my positive comments on the second half, the jarring contrast between these two halves of the show is quite stark. Everything before Fate was a very light hearted mundane affair, but one of the things we're treated to in the second half is much darker (Compared to the first half) and it is hard to believe that this is the same show. It never really felt like there was a transition to this sort of violence and such as the show went along. Worst, it was only at this point that the show seemed like it really wanted to take itself seriously. The reason I take issue with the show suddenly wanting to take itself very seriously is that it becomes rather hard to hold a strong enough suspension of disbelief over the course of this show. I often quip that this show's title should be Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Therapist Girl Nanoha, because really, Nannoha displays wisdom way beyond her years. She's shown to be like an adult at the prime age of 9. The way she talks to both foes and allies displays a mental maturity beyond many adults you see in real life. Further things that arise over the course of the show that one must question is the incredibly weird family situation that Nanoha is in. The way they accept her going out at night without much suspicion, the way the mother lets Nanoha leave for months at a time with strangers for no good reason at all, is mind boggling. If a story wants to take itself serious, I also expect them to take care of such details seriously as well. Unfortunately, despite the major improvements in the second half of the show, it nonetheless concludes in a disappointing manner. The final conflict delivered isn't the type of conclusion I thought it deserved, and many of the characters were shafted. There were a couple of nice moments between some of the characters at the end, but everything felt rather underwhelming. Overall, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha isn't a bad series. If it had focused more on the elements presented in its second half, had better execution, and other such touch-ups, I'm sure I would've considered this quite the nice show. As is though, it skimps out on too many corners its story and presentation, and the first parts of this were extremely boring. It is hard to see this as a great show, let alone the classic that many tout it to be. This is both an overrated anime and a mahou shoujo, but is not a waste of your time.