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 ~

My faith in StrikerS is beginning to wane a little, we’re 8 episodes in and we still haven’t seen a mage vs mage battle outside training (loli rider mind control doesn’t count). I’m all for proper build up if it leads to concentrated awesomeness afterwards, but this is getting a little tedious.

Episode Rating: 6.5/10

Last episode the 6th mobile division were assigned to protect a relic auction which would most likely attract the automated bots of Dr. Scaglietti. The team manages to keep them at bay even when they are given a controlled power boost by Loli Rider, but during the mission one of Tea’s shots misfires and almost hits Subaru.

Having been scolded by Vita on site, after the mission Nanoha gives her a small lecture to make sure she thinks it over so it won’t happen again.

In the aftermath of the mission we also get to see Yuuno again, Fate tells him that the jewel seeds have been stolen from a research facility. While it probably wouldn’t be much of a problem to track them down with the 6th division, seeing them resurfaced a lot of Fate’s memories, the jewel seeds having been the things that changed the course of her life.

Back at 6th division headquarters, Tea goes out for a solo training session that lasts over 4 hours. Knowing the backgrounds of all the forwards and captains, she came to her own conclusion that she is the only one without a significant past, and to make up for her normality she must overwork herself.

Meanwhile, Vita asks Nanoha and Fate for some background info on Tea. Basically, her brother, whom taught her how to sharpshoot, was well on his way to becoming an enforcer. On the final mission before his death he let a rogue mage escape and his superior deemed him a failure. So the reason Tea tries so hard is to prove that the magic her brother taught her isn’t useless, and to accomplish his dream of becoming an enforcer.

*insert training scene montage*

To assess the rookies’ progress, mock battles are held. Teana & Subaru vs Nanoha, Erio & Caro vs Vita. Teana and Subaru are up first. The fight goes relatively well until the two rookies try something ridiculously dangerous, Subaru charges head on at Nanoha while Teana launches a surprise melee attack from above. Suddenly Nanoha disengages Raising Heart and blocks their attacks with her bare hands.

She is disappointed that they would try something so dangerous in a mock battle, rather than rely on the skills that they’ve been taught during training. Tea argues that she wants to get stronger so she can protect everyone, Nanoha tells her to cool her head, and hits Tea with her own move, Crossfire Shoot, and follows up with a finishing blow, ending the mock battle.

Thoughts

A lot of people are saying that this is the first time we’ve seen Nanoha angry, but I disagree. Nanoha wasn’t angry during this scene, rather than anger, you could see sadness and disappointment in her eyes. She wasn’t mad because they tried such an underhanded move, she was disappointed that rather than use the skills they train so hard to perfect, skills which Nanoha herself is teaching them, they decided to do something so reckless.

But damn, it was still a cruel punishment. Tea is giving it her all to become stronger and Nanoha just reminded her exactly how comparatively weak she is, using her own move against her no less. Not to mention she bound Subaru and forced her to watch as her best friend got blasted by the person she most admires.

Am I the only one who was surprised at how long Tea’s hair is?

As for Tea, her childhood is pretty cliche in anime terms, but again, Nanoha isn’t about overly complicated plot development. It’s simple and explains her motivation, so for the love of god let’s move on, please T_T. Tea used to be my favourite character, but her emo ways of late has made her fall to one of my least favourites.

Oh, and it looks like Subaru doesn’t go commando after all =(.

Other than some character development for Tea and Nanoha going militant during the mock battle, there was virtually no development in this episode. Aside from the confirmation that the jewel seeds were stolen, we’re still being kept in the dark about the underlying plot. No explanation of Scaglietti’s motives, no mention of what Loli Rider stole last episode, no information on the previously mentioned Project F. Nothing.

I don’t know what to say about StrikerS anymore, when I started blogging it I was hoping that I would be able to rave week after week like a senseless fanboy over all the “PEW PEW, BEAMRAPE!”. Instead I’m left trying to justify myself week after week, hanging on to the sliver of hope that the aforementioned awesomeness is on its way, all the while trying to piece together a plot that is going nowhere fast.

But like the stubborn masochist I am, I won’t give up hope just yet and continue to bet that A’s grade winnage is on its way. (Assuming yesy and Nanoha-DGz don’t drop subbing it that is)

On the positive side of things, this episode’s eyecatch was full of loli goodness

Aside: Subaru beating Caro in poll =O Blasphemy! Awaken your inner lolicon and give in to Caro!

~ Shirukii ~

I don’t know whether to be angry that Earth has been stripped of its name or happy that among the probable thousands of inhabitable and self governing planets, we’re 96th.

Anyways, I digress, this week’s episode was a step backwards compared to episode 05, and more of the same when compared to those before that. There was quite a bit of plot development though, we now have the name of StrikerS’s first villain, as well as an idea of his proficiency and prospective motives.

Episode Rating: 8/10

Well, let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first…

Yes, there was even more training this week. Nanoha’s spartan training continues as she works the forwards from sunrise to past sunset, this time employing Vita and Fate to help out. The team’s formation is also revealed:

Subaru; Front Attacker: Placed on the front lines of both attack and defense strategies. Charged with either breaking through initial defense barriers, or setting up their own and holding off the enemy.
Teana; Center Guard: Establishes a presence in the center of the battlefield providing medium range projectile support while nullifying that of the enemy’s.
Erio; Guard Wing: Versatile on the battlefield, a guard wing is expected to be able to both attack and provide support.
Caro; Full Back: Provides support to team members, whether offensive or defensive, through a range of ability boosting enchantments.

Taking care of more administrative duties, Hayate goes to visit Subaru’s father, Major Nakajima, to ask him for the cooperation of his investigation unit. Their main duty is to monitor known smuggling routes, routes which Hayate believes will be crucial information in future Lost Logia cases.

While at the base she runs into Ginga, Subaru’s sister and a member of the investigation squad, and lets her know of their plans and that she will be working with Fate. Fate having been the one who saved Ginga in the fire many years ago, she’s not at all displeased with the news. And in addition, the 6th Mobile Division has custom made a device for Ginga’s use.

Back at 6th Division headquarters, Fate is going through the data collected from the raid on the train when she notices something shocking. Acting as what seems to be an energy source is a gem that looks strikingly similar to the Jewel Seeds that she and Nanoha fought over in their youth, artifacts that are supposedly under TSAB’s lock and key.

On the same schematic she notices the name of the droids inventor, Jeil Scaglietti, a class-one dimensional criminal with a wide range warrant for his arrest. She reasons that his name being there means that it’s either an act of provocation or an attempt by another person to mislead them.

Cut to Scaglietti’s lab, where we see a vast number of life support capsules with what I can only assume are subjects of Project F, which the doctor mentioned last episode. It seems that the doctor is not acting entirely on his own, as he mentions an unidentified client to his secretary. Two more characters, Zest and Lutecia are also introduced whose motives are so far unknown.

Thoughts

If only they had cut out the training and spent the time on more plot development. Seeing the team train their strengths is great and all, but not if it eats up half an episode every single time.

The plot development itself was pretty interesting, although Scaglietti seems like your typical mad scientist type character, his composure remains calm and pensive. Although he’s probably a crappy mage (or not one at all) his character has a lot of potential. I also loved the throwback to the original Nanoha series with the jewel seeds, I just hope they’re logical in their explanation on how they tie in.

There was also the return of Subaru’s sister, Ginga, this episode. Even though she seemed like she had more magical ability in the past, I wonder how she stacks up to Subaru now. It looks like she has a desk job, so I doubt she’s been keeping up with her training as a mage, but Rein’s decision to give her a device makes me second guess that theory.

Then, suddenly…

Loli Rider!

Keeping with true Nanoha style, even more characters are introduced. With the ominous appearance of Zest, and the innocent appearance of Lutecia, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether they’re good, evil or just a neutral third party. Though, they’re probably after Lost Logia as well (isn’t everyone?) so they’ll have to exchange blows with the 6th Division eventually. Judging from the blatant emphasis put on the gloves Lutecia wears, I’m going to go ahead and assume she has some sort of connection to Caro, who has a similar device.

Other than that, my only other comment on this episode is that QUALITY seems to be becoming more of an issue. I hadn’t been too conscious of it in the previous episodes, but it stood out a little more this time. I smell outsourcing.

Obligatory Signum

Obligatory Vita

~ Shirukii ~

Four episodes of patient waiting were finally rewarded as the Nanoha series we all know and love finally started in episode five with an abundance of beamrape, and of course the ~5 mins of henshin scenes.

Episode Rating: 9.5/10

The episode gave me a scare at first, opting to start with a small flashback of Kyaro as a child…er, more of a child. Apparently her latent magical powers were so great and uncontrollable that the village thought it unsafe to keep her, and thus sent her off. Even the TSAB argued that her powers were far too unrefined for combat, but Fate decided to take her in anyways.

The flashbacks don’t last long though, as we’re thrown into action, after nearly a month of build up. Nanoha and Fate take to the skies to clear the path for the rookies, swatting down the droids with ease. Upon landing, the forwards get a taste of their newly upgraded devices, amazed at their convenience and strength. Teana and Subaru easily clear away the small droids and begin their advance to the relic. Kyaro and Elio, however, encounter a new, stronger, model which is equipped with advanced weaponry and a huge anti-magic field (AMF).

GAR!? In MY Nanoha?

The unfortunate lolis are thrown off the train, into freefall. But Kyaro saves the day by transforming Fried into his true form, a gigantic dragon, which she manages to keep fully under control. She applies AMF negation and power boost enchantments on Elio’s Strada and Elio breaks through the droid with one strike.

And as a bonus, we’re finally introduced to the human behind the droids, the main villain. He seems to be your typical mad scientist type, complete with pedo grin. He collects data of Nanoha, Fate and the forwards, valuing it higher than the actual relic. He also mentions that there are living subjects of Project F (Project Fate? lol) among them.

Thoughts

Warning, the following may be considered NSFW.

Ok, so rather than the battle, we all know what this episode was about. Henshin scenes! So, without further ado…

I must say, the animation team knows their audience really well, lengthy and skin filled henshin scenes aplenty. To further illustrate that point, take a look at Elio’s scene, it was like, 1/3 as long as the others, and fortunately, no skin was shown =D

*An interesting note, of all the girls, Subaru was the only one who’s pantsu were not shown…does that mean she goes commando =O!? Soda argues that she doesn’t and provided a fairly conclusive argument that she just blasts off all her clothes at once. Which would be fitting, given her style of doing things, but I’ll withhold my final opinion until concrete evidence is given for either case.

In terms of the episode itself, it succeeded in making Kyaro my favourite newcomer, leapfrogging over Subaru and Tia. In addition to being a pink haired loli, she has an interesting and traumatic past. It seems to have shaped her abilities, instead of using her power on offensive magic which she is not yet able to control, she opted to become a support mage, with the desire to help and protect those important to her.

I have little else to say about the episode in general, as not many plot elements or significant events were presented. I hope that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that plenty of beamrape action is to follow.

No henshin scene? Isn’t it sad Rein Zwei ;_;

~ Shirukii ~

Another training and administrative episode, but all that’s set to change soon, as the 6th Mobile Division gets their first deployment request. Which means that StrikerS should finally be breaking out of its build up stage into the beamrape all us A’s fans have been longing for.

Episode Rating: 8/10

The episode starts off with more of Nanoha’s merciless training regiment. After wearing them down through morning training, Nanoha finishes off with one last exercise, their goal is to either evade her attacks for five minutes or get a clean hit on her. With the forwards exhausted and the threat of restarting if any of them are hit, they opt for the latter.

Tia takes the leadership role and delegates everyone’s roles. Tia and Subaru try their luck first, using Tia’s silhouettes as diversions so Subaru can get up close. But Nanoha manages to shield the attack and counter with snipe shots. It’s Kyaro and Elio who manage to end the session, Kyaro boosts Elio’s already speedy device with an acceleration enchantment, and he charges head on into Nanoha. Although Elio takes most of the impact, he manages to break through Nanoha’s barrier and graze her barrier jacket.

After training, the forwards clean up and head to the tech department to be briefed on their new devices. Using data from training and the latest technology, Shari has refined the forwards’ devices. In order to keep their improvement gradually, they have placed limiters on the devices, which they will remove incrementally as the forwards improve.

It’s also revealed that commanders and captains have limiters placed on them as well, not only on their devices but also on their physical abilities. Hayate, originally at SS rank, was dropped four ranks down to A, and Nanoha and Fate at S+ were dropped two rank to AA rank. This is done to maintain a balance of power between units and within the unit itself.

Meanwhile, Hayate is being briefed by her superior, Carim, as to the situation with the relics and the droids searching for them. The situation is worsening as they are drawing closer to finding them and continually growing in strength. Hayate reassures Carim that everything will be fine and that the 6th Mobile Division is ready for deployment at any time.

As if on cue, a first class alert is issued and the 6th Mobile Division gets its first deployment request. A train carrying a relic-like object has been attacked by no less than 30 droids, some of unknown type and Hayate’s division has been assigned to intervene.

Thoughts

Somewhat of a boring episode, but a decent set up for the mission to come. Although I’m a little disappointed that a main adversary has yet to be identified. Battling sentient droids is fine, but it’s the mage vs mage fights that have always proved the best source of entertainment. No matter how powerful the machine, nothing compares to rivalries such as Nanoha vs Fate, Nanoha vs Vita, Signum vs Fate, and so on. But I suppose it will come in time.

lol, ALEЯT!

I hope next episode subdues the criticisms that StrikerS is boring and not living up to A’s. It’s been said again and again, but StrikerS is currently in the buildup stage, much like the first season of Nanoha. Remember when Nanoha was fighting trees and giant cats? Is this any worse?

Unfortunately, I’ve happened upon spoilers for episode 5, which suggest that it’s basically an episode dedicated to henshin scenes. Personally, I look forward to that =D Though I can see why some would call it a wasted episode.

I persevere with my theory that StrikerS will take off soon enough, with action rivaling A’s. They’ve even set up the limiter system! This of course means that somewhere down the line we’ll have a scene where Nanoha, Fate and Hayate are getting wtfpwned but are then granted permission to release their limiters and retaliate at full force. Hmm…why does this sound familiar.

Next week: Fate henshin scene! Followed by Elio henshin scene, orz T_T.

Mmm…fanservice <3

I was expecting it to fly =(

This week in StrikerS: Hawt Rein X Raising Heart action!

Another decent episode of StrikerS, though nothing really special, but it’s only the beginning of the series so I guess they’re taking their time building up the story elements. I just hope that this really is a long build up for the action to come, because although I can deal with it now, another 22 episodes of this pacing would not make for good anime.

Oh, and I lied. It’s a tomato.

Episode Rating: 8.5/10

This episode details the startup of Hayate’s unit which has been a long time in the making. Nanoha and Fate arrive in uniform, ready for duty, greeted by Hayate and Rein (lol desk). Another member of the unit interrupts to give his report, Griffith, an old acquaintance of the three who will be Hayate’s adjutant and in charge of logistics. He reports that the staff and forwards of the 6th Mobile Division have arrived and are in the lobby, awaiting Hayate’s address.

After Hayate’s speech, everyone gets to work. There’s a mini reunion scene between Signum and Fate, who used to be rivals. They haven’t met in nearly six months but now find themselves in the same unit, with Fate as Signum’s direct superior. Fate and Hayate head to the central command center to report to their superiors on the 6th Mobile Division’s status while Nanoha immediately begins the forward’s training.

Thanks to the help of central command, a state of the art training facility has been constructed, able to simulate any battle terrain. The site, along with tracking chips placed in their devices by the 6th Division’s mechanic, Shari, will help Nanoha track their progress.

And so they get started right away, summoning replicas of the battle droids shown at the end of episode two. However, the forwards have some trouble dealing with them, they’re too fast to hit with normal projectiles, and even when they connect their magical attacks are dissipated by their Anti-Magic Field (AMF). The forwards are eventually able to destroy them, using various tactics such as binding spells, barrier enchanted projectiles, or in Subaru’s case, just plain brute force.

Meanwhile, Fate and Hayate are at the central command centre reporting the start up of the 6th Mobile Division and requesting their first major assignment. The lost logia that caused the airport fire 4 years ago, Relic, has been missing and is known to be very dangerous. To add to that, someone has created the magic drones (now being used for training, oh the ironing) to search for specific lost logia. The chance of dimensional crime is high, so they are requesting permission to investigate the case.

Back at headquarters, the Velka Knight gang has dinner together for the first time in a while. They discuss the success of Hayate’s unit, which seems to have unanimous support, not to mention forward starters with plenty of potential…who happen to be exhausted from Nanoha’s intense training session that ran through the night.

Thoughts

Another mainly administrative episode, we’ll probably see a few more before getting into any real action.

I’ve noticed a few people commenting on how StrikerS isn’t living up to the standard set by A’s. Well…of course it’s not, A’s threw us right into the line of fire, with Vita assaulting Nanoha within minutes of the start up. But what we have to consider is that A’s already had a story built up for it, the first season was the buildup for A’s, which delivered concentrated, non-stop action.

But as Vita herself notes, the four new characters are “still hatchlings learning how to walk”. In other words, StrikerS (so far) is like the first season all over again. Plot lines must be rebuilt and characters must have their backgrounds fleshed out before we can get to city leveling aerial combat. It may seem slow now, but hopefully StrikerS will pick up later on and be better off having covered boring plot elements in the beginning.

The characters are building up fairly well, though we haven’t gotten any detailed information on them yet. But at least we’re seeing that they can work well together, adapting to each other’s styles in the heat of battle. Kyaro looks like a binding/support type mage, whereas Elio seems to be a Velka Knight descendant (triangle cast and German sounding device). We also see more of Tia’s abilities, being able to use AA rank techniques. And Subaru sticks with her tried and true “if I can’t break it, I’ll just hit it harder” mentality.

More Rein love this episode, I love how they manage to find mini versions of everything for her, the desk made me lol. I wonder why she ended up being such an energetic character though, I remember the original Reinforce being a little more reserved, almost stoic. I guess this was more “moe”.

I don’t think I have to explain why I took this screencap =P Signum is awesome, and as much as FeitoXNanoha has a place in my heart, FateXSignum would be made of all sorts of win.

On a related note…what is up with Nanoha’s bed!? It looks like it can fit around 5 people on it. So does that mean that Fate, Nanoha, Hayate and Rein sleeping together wasn’t just a one time thing o.O? If not, that needs to be animated, badly.

There is one thing that is becoming slightly annoying in StrikerS, the constant use of military ranks. I know that the Time/Space Administration Bureau is basically a military entity, but damn it’s getting annoying having to hear a character’s rank every single time. And some of them don’t even make sense, given age and experience. Oh well, minor detail.

So even though I’ll admit that StrikerS is a little boring at this point, there’s little doubt in my mind that it’ll pick up soon (or at least by the halfway point). Personally, I think I’d prefer they get all the boring stuff out of the way early, leaving nothing but condensed action for the end. That’s the formula they went with for the first two seasons, so I see no reason why they’d mess with success.

~ Shirukii ~

Lucky Star

The amount of controversy surrounding this series is ridiculous. No sooner than it came out did multiple bloggers start attacking Lucky Star and its producer Kyoto Animation.

I did not like the first episode, it just didn’t live up to its “comedy” genre. However, I will admit that the second episode was slightly better, not by much, but it certainly was an improvement. I’ll stick with it for now, in hopes of gradual improvement, but will not hesitate to drop it if it becomes repetitive. (Or I may just skip to the Lucky Channel skit at the end of each episode, the only segment of Lucky Star that never fails to amuse me)

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS

As one of the people who have been inexplicably drawn to the Nanoha series since the beginning, I had high hopes for this show. While it was far from being a let down, I can’t yet say whether I would classify the latest addition to the series a success.

There’s been a slew of new characters added to the already large roster, and this is make or break point for StrikerS. What it needs to do is develop these characters to the fullest extent possible while not relegating past characters to background scenery, all the while maintaining a reasonably sensible plot. Not exactly an easy task, but it seems to be coming along well, and I’m sure they’ll do their best to maintain their loyal fans and attract new ones.

On that note, someone find me an Alter Fate! The rarity of a place that stocks it rivals that of the original holo Charizard (I couldn’t think of a better analogy, orz ._.)

Sola

As lolikit-kun has repeatedly said:

The beauty of this show is better than sex

This series is mysterious in its ability to draw me in. I sit there with little idea of why I like it, but quickly realize that it doesn’t matter and watch in blind faith anyways.

Perhaps it’s the awesome characters (minus Aono), or the vague yet promising plot, hell maybe it’s even the well above average animation quality. But there’s just something about it that makes it win. Then again, I might just be a soraphile.

Hayate no Gotoku

THIS, my friends, is comedy done right. I have laughed through the better part of every episode so far. Whether it be because the comedy is much more direct than Lucky Star’s subtle cultural references and self-referential parodies, or the fact that it has a Shana clone, but I find myself enjoying this much more than any of the other comedy series this season.

Although the dynamic between Hayate and Nagi is the least impressive of the ShanaX______ series of late, it’s probably meant to be that way. Without any deep underlying connections between the two characters, their relationship is made pure love/hate comedy. That, coupled with the numerous anime references, conscious acknowledgment of the show being an anime (one of my favourite, yet underused, techniques) and general slapstick makes this show an excellent way to waste away 22 minutes of your life in weekly segments.

Nagasarete Airantou

I -HATED- the first episode of this series, but the problem wasn’t in its execution, it was a mishandling of expectations on my part. I went into Nagasarete Airantou expecting a harem type series, and was greeted with copious amounts of fanservice and a a recursive plot instead, needless to say I was sorely disappointed.

But I decided to give it a second chance anyways, because apparently I’m masochistic. This time I went in with a blank mind, ready to accept anything that was thrown at me, knowing that plot is a non-issue. And to my surprise, I found it quite entertaining. It was mindless, fansercivey and the plot didn’t advance an inch, but, admittedly, it was funny. If this doesn’t sound appealing but you’re curious anyways, I’ll save you the trouble, here’s the general template to any episode:

i. Girls compete for the right to bed Ikuto
ii. Suzu protects Ikuto, using her breasts in some way or another
iii. Nosebleeds
iv. Plot reset
v. Acknowledgment of plot reset

Touka Gettan

I once thought YamiBou was confusing anime I would ever see in my entire life. How naive of me. I should write in to Webster Dictionary and demand they add “WTF” to their dictionaries and list Touka Gettan as a synonym.

I dare someone to try and come up with a coherent explanation of what exactly is going on in this series.

Hitohira

Only one episode of Hitohira has been subbed so far, and I’m much too lazy to raw any further ones, but so far it seems promising enough. The premise isn’t exactly what I would call original, shy girls have been done in anime before, Mugi just takes it to the extreme. But with a cast of potentially interesting characters, decent animation, and yuri undertones, I’ll stick with it for now.

Claymore

I picked this one up on a whim and I must say, it’s surprisingly good. It has a typical shounen-esque plotline with evil beings and their slayers roaming around in the world of humans. But so far it’s tackled some interesting morality issues and its plot is developing nicely.

It was the swords and the gore that initially caught my attention, but the way the show (intentionally or not) deals with human nature is interesting. Human tendencies of hypocrisy, fear of the unknown and the moral issues of euthanasia are among those dealt with in the first two episodes alone. While it’s nothing really new in anime, it’s a nice change of pace from shows like Nagasarete so I hope the show stays it’s course and doesn’t end up being a mindless hack and slash.

* * *

I haven’t gotten around to doing: Seto no Hanayome, due to lack of subs, El Cazador de la Bruja, because I’m not done Madlax, and Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo, because lolikit-kun and Hinano said it sucked, my tastes lie somewhat close to them, so I can’t imagine I’d like it either. I may give it a chance in the future if I get extremely bored.

And on a closing note, I will most likely be dropping Lucky Star from my blogging schedule and need a replacement. I’m leaning to Claymore as the best candidate, but wanted to give the readers a say in it. I’ll throw up a poll, the choices are rather limited though, since Soda is thinking of picking up Hayate no Gotoku, I’m left with Hitohira, Nagasarete Airantou, Seto no Hanayome and Claymore as possible choices. Or if you think there’s another series this season that I should do, specify in a comment and I might give it a look.

EDIT* Added Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann since a few people seem to be recommending it.

~ Shirukii ~

A DFC is fine too?

Not much action in this episode, but on the other hand we do get to see some decent character development all around, so all is well. We’re also given a glimpse as to where the plot is heading, the scene at the end, with team Vita, hints that it’ll be another “evil forces grow beyond control” sort of deal. The Lost Logia have also been brought up again, so I’d expect that’ll be the basis for the main conflict again.

Episode Rating: 8.5/10

As Subaru and Tia’s exam comes to a close, Fate notices that Nanoha seems to know Subaru. Hayate reminds Fate of the airport fire incident and how it was Nanoha that saved Subaru, and incidentally Fate that saved her sister. Aww, isn’t that cute, Feito-chan is jealous ^^

Another flashback scene fills in the rest of what happened on that day. The smuggling of a dangerous artifact was the cause of the fire which caught the Space/Time Administration Bureau by surprise. Fate, Nanoha and Hayate happened to be available for emergency backup and were responsible for most of the civilian rescues. Among them, Major Genya Nakajima’s daughters, Subaru and Ginga, saved by Nanoha and Fate, respectively.

Pantsu.

After the ordeal, Hayate talks to Nanoha and Fate about starting her own all purpose squad for disaster relief, crime investigation and Lost Logia investigation. Not about to let their childhood friend take off on her own, they happily agree.

And so, four years later the unit is finally starting up, with Tia and Subaru being the first recruits. However, having failed their exam due to recklessness and endangerment of their partner, they’ll have to take a remedial course and redo the exam.

Elsewhere, two other candidates are arriving, Elio Mondial and Kyaro Ru Rushie. Selected, with high hopes, by Fate, although young, they apparently have high latent magical power.

The episode ends off with the former Velka Knights Vita, Shamal and Zafira fighting off rather advanced sentient robots, noting that they’re increasing in number and intelligence.

Thoughts

Decent episode, not nearly as much laser beam action as the first episode, but plot has to begin somewhere! I never really understood why the Nanoha series has such a huge fanbase, hell I don’t even know why I like it, but I’m pretty sure it’s not because of deep and intricate plots. So as long as the writers throw something semi comprehensible together, we’ll be fine.

Where the show has always stood out, in my opinion, is its characters, simplistic yet lovable. However, although it’s still really early in the series, I can’t say I’m taking a liking to the new characters…

I initially liked Tia (I’m going with Tia, makes more sense phonetically than Tea) but the second episode has proven her tsundere characteristics to be far too generic. At this point, you could take any stereotypical tsundere, give her a gun and magic power, and you’d have Tia. Hopefully she’ll develop a personality of her own throughout the remainder of the series.

Subaru also comes off as another generic character. She’s a little more entertaining than Tia because of her constant teasing and laid back attitude, so with some more screentime and insight into her background she could turn out to be really interesting…or just an angst fest, after all, she has broken into tears twice already.

Elio and Rushie, on the other hand, look far more interesting, I guess the writers have loli bias XD I’m already starting to like Rushie, mostly because she has a kick ass name. And pink hair, second only to blue in awesomeness…green a distant third.

However, the most awesome thing by far in this episode was…

SIGNUM! I have an unhealthy amount of fanboyism for Signum, actually, for katana wielding bishoujo in general. But Signum stands atop them all, for reasons stated in the previous paragraph. I hope she gets some quality screentime and isn’t relegated to administrative duties. Actually, that goes for all returning characters. Sure I want to see what the noobs can do, but not if it means sacrificing NanohaXFeito action.

Complimentary Vita love for Soda

Also, sorry for the lateness and rushing of posts of late, I’m in the midst of finals, so I’m trying to balance anime and studying. Anime tends to win XD But that leaves me in a bit of a bind for time in terms of studying and even less time for blogging. I’ll be finished in about a week, so things will pick up from there =D.

~ Shirukii ~

Alright, I suppose it’s time for me to start the spring blogging season with StrikerS and another 2 a.m. post. Sorry for the delay in getting this post up, it actually wasn’t a result of school work or laziness, I just couldn’t find a decent video file. The first release was of poor quality and in the subsequent subbed releases I couldn’t manage to screencap the scenes I wanted without subs getting in the way, so I ended up downloading the HD RAW and using that.

First impressions for this anime are looking really good, the first episode introduced a few new characters while matching the fast paced action template that worked so well for A’s. I still miss loli fate though =(

Episode Rating: 9/10

OMGIMINAFIRE

StrikerS starts off with a flashback…err, sorta, it’s a flashback relative to the StrikerS timeline, but the future relative to A’s timeline…you figure it out. Anyways, I digress, in this flashback we’re introduced to an unfortunate loli trapped in a fire which has just consumer the rest of her family. Her tear filled wandering proves to be dangerous, as she ends up in the path of a gigantic collapsing statue. Seconds away from death, Nanoha to the rescue! She bind spells the falling statue and comforts the angsting loli in distress…

Load Silver Cartridge…Lute!

…and then proceeds to tear a hole in the roof to make their escape. I would argue that a simple barrier allowing them to walk out the front door would have been just as effective…but then again Nanoha has never been an advocate of self restraint.

Flash forward to the present and our pitiable loli is all grown up, vowing to grow stronger so that she can do more than just cry in the face of adversity. With friend and partner Tea in tow, the two prepare to take the exam to up their mage ranks from C to B rank.

A quick briefing from the ridiculously moe Reinforce Zwei and they’re off. The exam consists of an obstacle course where they go around destroying sentient targets and cross the finish line before time is up. All is going well until Tea sprains her ankle covering Subaru, right before the final obstacle, a scaled up version of the robots they’re been facing.

Tea tells Subaru to go ahead and complete the exam without her, but the next evaluation is half a year away. So instead Subaru comes up with a dangerous plan, using Teana to distract the target with clones, Subaru plans on charging head on and destroying it in one blow.

The plan works and the two make it to the finish line in time, but are scolded by Rein for being so reckless, crossing the line at much too high a speed and needing to be saved by Nanoha. She congratulates the two for making it to the end as Fate and Hayate stand by, waiting for Nanoha’s pass/fail verdict.

Thoughts

A great way to start off the spring season. While it’s still too early to say whether StrikerS has lived up to my expectations or not, this episode was by no means a bad start. However, to truly succeed, StrikerS has to do more than copypasta the techniques from A’s, it has to find some way to surpass it.

The first episode doesn’t give us any indication on what direction the plot will be going in, but I suspect that the typical threat of worldwide destruction will do.

The new characters were the highlight of the episode for me, Teana and Subaru look like they’re the main characters of the series, a FateXNanoha paralleling if anything. Both are interesting characters, Teana has your typical cool and collected perfectionist type personality, while Subaru is more of the reckless daydreamer. I’m leaning towards Tea as my favourite of the duo, mostly because of my unnatural love of all things tsundere.

But I have to admit that Subaru’s weapon is 10x as badass as Tea’s. Unlike most other mages who rely on projectile attacks or long reach melee weapons, Subaru uses gauntlets! While it does limit her ability in long rage combat, it’s awesome to see the sheer destructive force of her close range attacks. She also takes a page out of Nanoha’s book and copies her Diving Buster attack.

Not to discount Tea though, that gun is still awesome and I must have watched her cartridge reload technique a good five times XD

On the subject of weapons, it’s interesting how all the Space / Time Administration Bureau mages have adopted the cartridge system. Poor velka knights had their technology stolen =( imagine how much money they would have made if they patented it! (my inner engineer talking)

Further on the topic of weapons, who can forget Reinforce Zwei, Hayate’s unison device. This thing had me rolling on the floor, writhing in moe. I mean…come on, she’s 30 cm tall!

And so despite the loss of loli Fate, StrikerS is proving to live up to the hype. I just hope the new lolis don’t phase out Nanoha and Fate completely, the return of the Velka knights is a must as well, and by Velka knights I mean Signum @_@

I don’t know why everyone calls her MILFate…she’s only 19 -_-

lawl, yuri undertones, I like :3

Btw, what’s the verdict on Tiana vs Teana as the official name?

~ Shirukii ~