SIGNUUUUUUUUM…

I’m not sure whether it was because the episode was centered around Nanoha, or whether there was a relative abundance of Signum, but I liked this episode. Though we’re still in dire need of a mage antagonist that doesn’t use machines to do their fighting.

Episode Rating: 8.5/10

Teana wakes up in Dr Shamal’s infirmary after being shot down by Nanoha, she ended up unconscious for the rest of the day not only because of the fight, but mainly due to the stress she’s been putting on her body lately.

Later, Fate approaches Nanoha to tell her that Subaru and Teana passed by the office to apologize. Nanoha laments on her failure as an instructor and says that she’ll have a talk with them tomorrow.

…PUNCH!

But when the two make their way inside, an alert is issued and the 6th Division is put on combat ready standby. Dr. Scaglietti has sent some more toys, and this time they are considerably faster. Rather than attack, the droids circle over vacant sea space and it’s clear that they are meant as a test to gauge the 6th Divisions Power.

Since the droids are airborne types, only Nanoha, Fate and Vita sortie, Signum stays behind and takes temporary control of the forwards. Nanoha also takes Teana off of combat readiness due to insubordination. Subaru and Teana end up yelling at their superiors, asking why it’s so wrong to push yourself past your limits to become stronger.

While the veterans take care of the battle, Shari invites the forwards inside to explain the reasoning behind Nanoha’s training. She explains the past of a young girl who had no knowledge of magic and was dragged into this world through no choice of her own. As the young girl grew she faced numerous battles with strong enemies that forced her to push the limits of her physique. Until one day, her body couldn’t take it any longer, and during a fight that would have been a piece of cake for Nanoha in her normal state, the stress got to her and she ended up so badly injured that she was told she may not walk again, let alone fly as an Ace.

So Nanoha’s training isn’t just a product of methodical, by the book protocol, she truly cares for her trainees and doesn’t want to see them go through the same thing she once did.

When Nanoha returns to find out what Shari did, she goes to talk with Teana. Nanoha apologizes for being a failure as an instructor and the frustration Teana must have gone through seeing little results from the sharpshooting training. But she wanted to refine her already developed skills before teaching her new things like long distance and melee combat. But that’s not to say she didn’t have the intention to do so, Nanoha releases a limiter on Teana’s device and Mode Two, a melee energy dagger, much like the one Teana came up with herself, is released.

Nanoha explains that Teana is a vital part of the team and that she’s underestimating her own abilities and importance. Teana cries and apologizes, and Nanoha’s befriending record remains flawless.

The next day, on the way to training (*sigh*) Fate explains to the forwards that there is another class of elite mages other than the Aces, who are experts in their specialized fields. This other class are those who can be trusted to overcome any situation, no matter how dire the circumstances or impossible the odds, such mages are known as StrikerS. Soon after the forwards began their training, Nanoha suggested that the rookies train to become first class strikers.

Thoughts

Pime Taradox!

There was a glaring inconsistency that has been bugging me in this episode, the video footage they showed of Nanoha’s past. The earlier scenes that were shown, the ones of Nanoha in school and when she met Yuuno, took place before TSAB even knew of her existence. It wasn’t until she went up against Fate that they started keeping tabs on her, so how exactly did they get the aforementioned footage!?

I try to watch Nanoha with as much suspended belief as possible, but this was a bit too much. The only explanation I can think of is that because they are the -TIME- and Space Administation Bureau, time is no obstacle to them and they can just go back and gather footage at will. But such convenience would raise questions about why they don’t use that power to go forward into the future and foresee coming events, etc etc. Typical time paradox theories. I’m just going to go with plot hole, which is a little disappointing, but at least we can ignore it and move on, rather than going into upper dimensional physics.

As for the episode itself, hopefully this episode puts an end to Teana’s emo streak. I don’t remember which blog said it, but someone compared Teana to Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion, and I couldn’t agree more. Besides the obvious parallel in appearance and their spunky tsundere attitude, their pasts and motivations are quite similar. They both got to where they are by self-destructive hardwork, and they also shared similarities in their traumatic childhoods, having to bear the loss of a loved one.

Lawl at Nanoha though, she’s can’t fathom the idea of someone not liking her, she looked so desperate pleading to Teana as Vita struggled to drag her back into the cargo bay XD

So StrikerS is getting a bit better, but we still haven’t had a proper mage battle, the robots just aren’t cutting it. There also wasn’t much in terms of plot development either, except that little bit with Loli Rider and her interest in relics. But it was interesting to learn more about Nanoha’s past and that she isn’t immune to occasional failure, it was painful seeing her struggle through rehab ;_;

But on that note, this new development doesn’t bode well for future fights. Now, in addition to limiters, the mages have to hold back in fear of wrecking their own bodies?! That’s not the Nanoha we all know and love D= I want to see beamrape used freely and inconsequentially like in A’s, adding limiters and physical limits ruins any hope of seeing those skyscraper height final attacks.

But then again, knowing Nanoha and Fate, they probably won’t listen to their own advice and end up pushing themselves anyways. It’ll put them out of commission for a while and be a nice buffer for the forwards to take over.

Browsing 4chan, I have heard news from those who can read moonspeak that StrikerS suddenly picks up from end of episode 10 onwards, rivaling A’s level goodness. God I hope they’re right, I’m going to lose it if they do another training episode -_-

Moar Signum! Just because.

~ Shirukii ~