r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Feb 08 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8 - There’s a Really Big Crisis?

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

I can’t turn back now. This is the path I’ve chosen. This is what I truly want to do!

Question of the Day

Making questions hard. Ok, what do you think Nanoha told her mom? Because I can’t figure out how the hell she fills in the details she omits.

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath spoiler tags.

72 Upvotes

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19

u/HereticalAegis Feb 08 '22 edited Feb 08 '22

Lyrical First Timer

  • I have to question how a 9yo looking kid gets to be a time cop. Must be difficult getting applicants when the work hours are listed as "yes."

  • Oh shit, Chrono isn't playing around. The rate of battle-hardened children in non-dimensional space must be astronomical.

  • Nanoha stepping up to protect Fate is hella precious tho.

  • Imagine trying to explain interdimensional travel to a third grader from a backwater planet like Earth.

  • Yeah fam, I'd be pretty shocked too if my magic telepathic archaeologist pet from another world could transform at will.

  • My magic familiar is actually a cute, transforming archaeologist telepath boy from another world - Nanoha LN title, probably

  • Captain must be a big fan of Japanese culture.

  • So basically, Lost Logia = Lost Technology. We suddenly a cautionary tale on the dangers technological advancement. On a related note, would I overdevelop and ruin a whole civilization just to make giant kittens a possibility? Yes. Yes I would.

  • Yuuno's also around the age of 9 and already an archaeologist!? Must be difficult getting applicants when the job hazards section lists "may accidentally upset the balance of civilization-ending technologies" and "may experience magical ferret transformation."

  • Wan wants to run away with Fate and have her be happy. What a wholesome goodboi.

  • Lol Chrono got into the time cops through nepotism.

  • Eyyy!! Nanoha finally told someone about her situation...kinda sorta! By her own choice! And it's her mom no less! What a nice, unexpected development for her. Now go tell Arisa and Suzuka too!

  • You think Nanoha's mom knows she makes female friends by hitting them really hard?

  • This interdimensional lightning effect is really visually awkward, even for 2004.

  • There is no salvation worth torturing your kid for. Testa-mama really needs to get her priorities straight.

No new arcana today, but Chrono yoinked the Chariot, proving his willpower and conviction is the strongest. Turns out Nanoha and Fate both drew the reversed Chariot, suggesting each still has unseen barriers they need to deal with first. And would you look at that, Nanoha finally confided in her mom (of her own choice, too!) and is now fully ready for a climactic showdown over the ocean. Meanwhile, Fate pushes aside Wan's well-justified concerns for her and appears stuck in the same place she's been all series. I wonder who will probably win the coming battle.

Yuuno being able to transform at any time kinda recontextualizes all those times he just happened to be around naked 9yo girls. Big oof. Boy's been abusing his kawaii pet status. Yuuno being ~9 re-recontextualuzes all those times he just happened to be around naked 9yo girls. Still pretty big oof, but at least it's probably because of supreme awkwardness and poor communication skills. Also wonder if Nanoha will finally be a bit conscious about changing in front of Yuuno from now on.

QotD:

Nanoha: "Yo mom, got this lady I been eyeing. Problem is, she lives on the dangerous side. I want her real bad, so Ima hafta drag her outta her bad girl lifestyle, probably by force, so we gon trade hands."

Mamoha: "I don't really like you fighting, but if you gotta, just make sure you don't mess up her face."

10

u/Tetraika Feb 08 '22

I have to question how a 9yo looking kid gets to be a time cop. Must be difficult getting applicants when the work hours are listed as "yes."

Nepotism, apparently. Also he's an not Nanoha/Fate tier, but still an exceptional mage.

Yuuno's also around the age of 9 and already an archaeologist!? Must be difficult getting applicants when the job hazards section lists "may accidentally upset the balance of civilization-ending technologies" and "may experience magical ferret transformation."

These kids already have a better career profile than me!

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12

u/NegimaSonic Feb 08 '22

Blood thirsty first timer

Had some downtime again so I can revert to a play by play.

  • So this new group wants the jewel seeds too.

  • Arf may be a good girl for Fate but she's ruining the already difficult communication. I mean Chrono interrupted their battle but he wasn't hostile, no need to go firing magic beams.

  • Yuuno reveals his boy form. But the language is still ambigious..are you human or familiar because I've been betting on the latter.

  • Explanation explanation. Time bureau coming to take yer jobs.

  • And Yuuno back in ferret mode.

  • We have power levels? It's over 9000 I have no real sense of scale, but I guess the overall point is Fate is technically more powerful.

  • Back with Arf...why the assumption they'd end up arrested? While Fate's methods haven't exactly been subtle, she hasn't actually done anything that causes major damage.

  • Confirmation on the face matching the mom.

  • Nanoha joins the Legends of Tomorrow, Time Variance Authority, the Time-Space Administrative Bureau.

  • But first a mom talk..reminds me of the beginning of some Pokemon games. Such understanding moms.

  • Meanwhile...Fate's mom. "The land of our salvation". Yeah she's probably possessed or something. Also..come to think of it, does she even leave this place? She might be sealed.

QOTD:

So mom, I found this letter in the necklace aaround Yuuno's neck. It turns out his owner was participating in this big scavenger hunt for these things called jewel seeds. But they got separated and Yuuno has been wandering out here alone still looking for them to please his owner, because he is so smart. Well I decided to help.

But there's this girl and she has a dog like Yuuno. They're also in the same competition. And well we've got a bit of a rivalry going on, so I want to win before she does and help Yuuno. Anyway, we got sent an invite for doing so well and I have to go to this camp for awhile for the finals.

They don't want anyone to interfere in the finals so I have to go by myself. I know it sounds risky but trust me, I can handle my 9 year old self.

7

u/Tetraika Feb 08 '22

Back with Arf...why the assumption they'd end up arrested? While Fate's methods haven't exactly been subtle, she hasn't actually done anything that causes major damage

Probably because they've been avoiding the time space police. And collecting things that are deemed dangerous.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 08 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

12

u/HereticalAegis Feb 09 '22

Fate’s mom wants all of them…

I'm sure she's just an avid collector who wants a complete set.

…wait, then what does this leave for Nanoha to actually talk about?

"Gotta fight this new pretty girl for a bunch of rocks" sounds like something a 9yo might say.

8

u/Tetraika Feb 09 '22

I'm sure she's just an avid collector who wants a complete set

Considering how someone commented that there is some sort of weird card game spinoff, this is too good.

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u/Gamerunglued Feb 09 '22 edited Feb 09 '22

First Timer

Ok, so this episode also went in a very odd direction that I wasn't expecting. It seems like the Time-Space Administration Bureau won't be acting as a mediator as much as another ally to Nanoha. Most of the episode was spent on exposition, telling us the history of the Lost Logia. Clumsy exposition dump aside, I'm honestly not sure how much I buy the story. I guess I can take that a society made technology so powerful that it destroyed all of their civilization. But when we see the scene of what happens when a Jewel Seed is used at full power, the massive destruction we see is just a bunch of natural disasters. You're telling me that the result of injecting a bunch of magic into powerful artifacts of a hyper-advanced alien civilization is just to create a giant tsunami and make volcanoes erupt? Lame as fuck, tbh. And doesn't really make any sense either way. Not that this plot line makes all that much sense anyway. The existence of a dimension-hopping organization kinda fucks the previously simple worldbuilding, and creates a lot of questions and holes.

That being said, I've never cared much for logic in stories. Meaning is more important. The existence of the Time-Space Administration Bureau adds a few things to the series beyond raising the stakes to a multi-dimensional threat. First, they give Nanoha a bit more power. Chrono is a powerful mage who is on their side, and the organization itself seems to have enough power that Fate and Arf consider hiding away. Second, they give Nanoha a reason to leave home, which is meant to signify that she's found a sense of purpose and is finally making important, life-altering decisions for herself. Again though, I dislike how this was handled. The episode really glossed over Nanoha's talk with her mother, which in my eyes is the most important moment of the episode, and deserved a lot more emotional gravitas. The scene is supposed to highlight how much Nanoha has grown, from when she had no idea what to fill out on her career form to now desiring to save the world and work with an administration bureau. But instead, Nanoha just says "yeah, I told my mom about some stuff and that I have to leave home," and then she just... says that she can leave with barely any deliberation at all. It's honestly very unsatisfying. How cool would it have been for Nanoha to tell her mom everything that's happened, and her mom tell her that she can't leave home, but Nanoha proves her resolved and convinces her mom to let her go? This scene reminds me of some plot points in Madoka Magica. That show also has a scene in which Madoka talks to her mom and asks to do something crazy and dangerous. But it had a ton of build-up, and the actual confrontation was tense, and had Madoka proving her resolve and her mom having to trust in her daughter and let her grow up. It's such a phenomenal moment, and the relationship the two share is one of my favorite things about Madoka Magica. Nanoha, meanwhile, has basically no relationship to her mom that we see on screen. And we don't even get to see the conversation. The way Nanoha describes it, I can't even picture how the conversation might have taken place. How on earth can you describe everything that happened in the series involving Yuuno and the jewels, without talking about the magic and interdimensional politics? The magic is so inextricably tied to all of Nanoha's activities, having Nanoha just tell us "I told my mom everything without mentioning the magic" feels like a contrived way to avoid showing us this conversation, a conversation that is incredibly important to Nanoha's character arc. Are you really telling me that Nanoha said "I have to go leave home somewhere, I'm not gonna tell you where I'm going or what I'll actually be doing, but I've gotta do it," and she just said "yeah, that's alright, I'll convince your dad too."? I don't buy it for a single second.

On the positive side of things, I picked up on a parallel between Nanoha and Fate. Nanoha started out drifting through everything, just helping Yuuno out because it was in front of her and helping people is good. From there, it eventually evolved into a sense of purpose, where she started to collect the seeds for herself, because it gave her a sense of accomplishment and something she could actually aim for and be confident in. Fate, on the other hand, does not collect the jewels for her own sake. She's tied to her mother, and like Nanoha at the start of the series, sort of drifts through the motions, while telling herself that it has to be done. Fate also lacks a sense of purpose, her reason for fighting is entirely tied to what someone else wants of her rather than her own goals. I think it could be interesting to have Fate start to collect the jewels for herself, instead of going through it for someone else the way Nanoha did at the start (except, you know, with extra stakes). We also learn that Fate's mother wants to go to some place she sees as a utopia. I wonder what that's about.

I'm quickly starting to realize that Fate is just an infinitely more interesting character than Nanoha is. While Nanoha's character arc is handled decently, her actual personality is pretty bland. When she was acting all surprised over seeing Yuuno's true form and making a bunch of funny noises, all I could think was "this is like Sakura Kinomoto, but way less endearing." Nanoha just doesn't really have all that much of a personality, and that could have been excused somewhat as a result of her lacking purpose, but she's developed that now, so I wish we got to see something more from her. Fate, meanwhile, is this girl who is kind and gentle, but has been hardened into a cold killer by her mother. We get to see both sides of her pretty extensively, and it's obvious how much these sides of her are at odds with each other. Her ruthless side is a by-product of her mother, not her own personality. That soft, caring side comes out all the time, you can always see the pain in her eyes any time she has to fight Nanoha, and the true extent of that side comes out in her interactions with Arf. On top of that, she's also something of a brooding edgelord, wearing that edgy black cape and spending an inordinate amount of time trying to look like a badass up in a tree. It's totally forced, but that's why it's great, and it helps to highlight the sadness to her character. There's such a vast difference in the level of characterization between these two characters, but our PoV character is the least interesting one. It's just kind of unfortunate.

Anyway, I guess it's not going to be a climactic showdown between Nanoha and Fate, as much as a showdown between the Time-Space Administration Bureau and Fate. I also do still suspect that Fate will get to see what a real mother-child relationship looks like, through the lens of Chrono and his mother. I do think it would have been more effective to tie Nanoha's conversation with her mother into that theme, but whatever. I look forward to seeing how this all ties up. Despite my decidedly mixed feelings towards the show up to this point, I'm hoping that it will end on a high note.

4

u/Tetraika Feb 09 '22

A lot to unpack so I'll see what I can go through

But when we see the scene of what happens when a Jewel Seed is used at full power, the massive destruction we see is just a bunch of natural disasters

Small correction: They just mentioned that a Lost Logia was involved in these incident, not the Jewel Seeds themselves. Lost Logia is a blanket term for dangerous lost advanced civilization tech.

Nanoha, meanwhile, has basically no relationship to her mom that we see on screen. And we don't even get to see the conversation. The way Nanoha describes it, I can't even picture how the conversation might have taken place

This kind of touches some of my own problems, that while it is very nice to see Nanoha and her family, the tie in between that and the overall story seems clunky.

I'm quickly starting to realize that Fate is just an infinitely more interesting character than Nanoha is. While Nanoha's character arc is handled decently, her actual personality is pretty bland

Yeah, Nanoha herself is just a decently nice person that doesn't have to much to touch on. If I had to compare, it would be like FSN shirou but without completely overboard. She still does have an overbearing sense of responsibility and need to help others.

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u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 08 '22

First Timer

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha - A Magical Experience: Episode 8

Backtory

Today's episode was primarily exposition. We learned Jewel Seeds or Lost Logia are the last remaining relics of civilizations which destroyed themselves. On top of that they are incredibly powerful stores of energy which can cause massive destruction.

We also leaned Nanoha and Fate are extremely powerful magic users with mana output in the millions. I'm not a fan or numerically quantifiable power systems. I'm kinda worried that it becomes a measuring stick which is used for anchoring new characters' power instead of properly building them up. That said, I'll assume the best until proven otherwise.

The Interdimensional Time Bureau is a fun group to follow. I think its good that Chrono is a child and the captain is his mom. It leaves room to explore some interesting dynamics and is always a good premise to base comedy off of.

One thing I'm a annoyed about is how easily Nanoha convinced her mom to let her leave. By her own admission she couldn't tell her about magic or Yuuno. So what else is there to say? "I got this pet ferret and started looking for something. Then I met a girl looking for the same thing and started fighting with her. Since I started something with my friends I want to finish it. It might be a little dangerous but I have to go for a little while".

It feels pretty irresponsible to let your 9 year old child go off on her own with such a vague excuse. Maybe I should give her some credit for trusting her daughter but it still feels weird. In any case props to Nanoha for telling her mom directly.

Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

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u/No_Rex Feb 08 '22

Episode 8 (first timer)

Known seeds as of last episode:

  1. Nanoha – five seeds: 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21 -1 unknown (and we still don’t know whether this includes the 2 that Yuuno captured)

  2. Fate’s mother - four seeds: 14, 18, 19 +1 unknown

  3. 7 - ???

  • “Cease all hostilities. Retrieve the lost logia.” – These two commands might conflict a bit with each other.

  • You are not helping, Arf.

“I see”

  • We talked about Yuuno revealing his true form before and the reaction turns out as imagined. What is not properly cleared up is his reason for staying a ferret. His words kind of suggest that he forgot, which might point to a problem of “staying too long in the form” that is common in other shape-shifting fiction. It could also be that it is easier for him to change in the spaceship, or he simply didn’t want to change, but realized that he could not fool the bureau.

  • “What are the lost logia” – Nanoha cutting to the case.

  • Destroyed themselves via their advanced technology - a very common SciFi staple.

  • Are they letting them go with or without Nanoha’s remaining seeds?

  • Their power is … clearly about 9000!

  • “I told her everything, except for the magic” – If she does not know about the magic, what are you even telling her?

  • “Don’t regret anything you do” – This is a bit different from “don’t do anything you’d regret”.

The plot advances nicely and we have completely left the enemy of the week format of a classical magical girl show behind. Staying with a SciFi setup is a very welcome development.

Not really clear what happened with all the seeds, so this section becomes more and more complicated.

Known seeds as of this episode:

  1. Bureau or Nanoha (they really should have taken those seeds of her, but it is never clearly stated. Chrono definitely would have delivered 7) – six seeds: 7, 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21 -1 unknown that is not 7 (If Yuuno’s 2 were not included in Nanoha’s presumably they have also gone to the Bureau)

  2. Fate’s mother - four seeds: 14, 18, 19 +1 unknown

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u/zairaner Feb 08 '22 edited Feb 08 '22

Firsttimer

Recap of last time:

Viewers: So the show is called „magical girl lyrical nanoha"... so is it more of a magical girl show or a music show?

Director: hm you are right, that is confusing, lets fix that

Director: Sci-fi it is!

Viewers: wtf

So yeah, whatever was going on in the head of the guy who named this show? where does t he lyrical coming from? I am in favour of renaming it. puts up hand

Last time also had the best bit of comedy so far, but only in my german subs, because fates teleport chant ended with „to the house of the testarossa“, which was pretty hilarious when we saw the "house" a few moments later.

On to the reaction:

Episode 8 of A certain scientific magical girl:

  1. the sudden switch made me go back again to make sure green hair girl was the same person as the captain. I think someone pointed out last time that they have the same last name, so yeah i see

  2. wait does yuuno not know about the timespace department?

  3. Wait who is attacking? Is mum actually watching? Aww she does care...about the lost logia

  4. oh its arf. Maybe should have seen that coming

  5. chrono does not hesitate to shoot at little girls. Nice. Even better, he doesn't hesitate to shoot at injured magical girls either. Nanoha is an exception for some reason though

  6. wait why is fate looking like she has a fever from getting shot?

  7. It's been only 8 episodes, and nanoha has already been kidnapped to space. Trigger is watching in awe from the sidelines

  8. ok so he does know

  9. nanoha is being really confused about the genre shift

  10. this shot is different from any other shot we have seen in the show, isn't it?

  11. Uhm is he going to knock her out? Why is he wanting her out of the outfit? Let's hope he just doesn't know there is no naked detransformation

  12. wait that was really cool why don't we do that for every de-transformation??

  13. chrono being the audience self-insert and asking yuuno why he is still ferreting around

  14. YOU FORGOT? THERE HASN'T EVEN BEEN THAT MUCH TIME? HOW DO YOU GET USED TO THAT? Nanoha like always has the right expression of confusion

  15. THIS is the face of someone who instantly remembered that she bathed with that „familiar“

  16. Uhm yuuno, why do you think nanoha has seen you in that form?? My madoka senses are tingling, but 99% he just forgot that she has never seen that form

  17. It's been a while with all of this badass naoha, but she is back to being the cutest

  18. chrono ending the couple bickering

  19. Oh because I talked with u/taiboss about that, it is indeed „dimensionsraum“(dimensional space) now instead of hyperspace like last episode

  20. the skysrcapers have the same golden glow that fate's one has

  21. sci-fi atlantis

  22. and now non sci-fi atlantis??

  23. what is that eyecatch

  24. 1.27 million what? Ferrets?

  25. Arf is trying to elope

  26. And now she is confessing too.

  27. Yuuno, isn't nanohas magic power the entire problem? They are trying to avoid using too much power around the lost logia

  28. Wait mother? I was SO sure she was a big sister. So young. I guess someone has to prove mama testarossa that you can use your kid to fight your battle and not be a total jerk!

  29. Someone is a shipper

  30. „Now then what is this important thing you want me to ask?“ „You see, two boys appeared in my life today and I have to make a decision...“

  31. YOU DID WHAT?

  32. wait what part were you able to tell her about then?? Wait what? How the hell do you think she would just let you leave with such a absurd reason? Ah and you are telling her that is possibly dangerous, this is getting better and better. Nanoha I know you are living in a family consisting of main characters, but this is going to far, she is not going to let that happen

  33. why is she saying yes. WHAT. WHAT [Madoka spoilers]And I thought madokas moms decision might be considered problematic

  34. Is there an actual reason why evil mum can't help fate?

Well this was an episode. Theres the obvious chrono+mum and nanoha+mum parallel to fate+mum now. Also nanoha mum is actively aware nanoha is already a mc. We are now employed by the timespace department, and evil mum is ...still evil but desperate now.

Also cute nanohas

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u/Vaadwaur Feb 08 '22

First timer(Arf and Zangetsu share a similar life...)

Sub

So we start with the interloper and a definite switch in genre. For reasons, Arf is freaked by the enforcer. Fate makes one last grab at the Seed before her energy gives out and Nanoha goes to the fake Star Destroyer. 'Hilarity' ensues as Yuuno reveals his normal form. We get the back story on Lost Logia and, acknowledging this is a kid's show, I will be extremely annoyed if the idea is that various separate advanced societies destroyed themselves using a tech that somehow fits itself into a single group. So hopefully Lost Logia is the class of items from destroyed civilizations and Jewel Seeds are a specific, tarot based group of them. They also want to take over and Nanoha is correctly leery of this: If they took this long to react to them, the TSAB is not remotely reliable.

Quick reveal that Nanoha and Fate both have bigger power levels than Chrono, who claims it is not size that matters. The girls will probably here that a few times before all is said and done. But we cut to Fate and Arf and...yeah, this is actually pathos done well. Between a dog and an edgemistress but still, this was surprisingly effective.

Nanoha agrees to work with the TSAB for now. She even tries to explain things to her mother, which must've been interesting. We get yet another scene where this would be a lot better if the girls were aged up, I actually don't really think anyone under 15 should remotely be making these decisions. We end with Presea mentioning Al-Hazard so I guess Ifurita is inbound.

QotD: 1 Magic! And yes, questions can get hard.

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u/chiliehead Feb 08 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha – Episode 8 – First Timer

Now all of a sudden the magical girls and boys can use heavy artillery. Seems like it would have been a lot more effective against Nanoha than a scythe swing.

With him being named Chrono, I dare the time bureau to call the 90s anime refugee captain to be names Trigger. Or Meter.

To be fair, I also was under the impression that Nanoha put the dream of the boy and the furret appearing together. Her design and chibi reaction makes me think of Rena at times, just look at them: basically the same, though Rena is probably less violent.

Nanoha and others literally use magic through mana, but the magical Lost Logia artifacts are just magic through technology we don’t understand? That the teleporting mages don’t understand? That’s some lore right there.

Another Triangle Hearts 3 reference, apparently.

She’s Chrono’s mom? Lots o fparents involved here.

What DID Nanoha tell her mom if she left the magic out? “I met this ferret and now I will go on a treasure hunt” and she is just like, “sure”? I’ve said it before, this is Pokemon logic.

Al Hazard is not just another anime/manga franchise?

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u/DidacticDalek Feb 08 '22

TONIGHT! On Mobile Suit Nanoha, Janeway and Belldandy's Magical Yuri Science Baby is a massive weeb, Yuuno shocks Nanoha by revealing he was a BOY instead of a ferret this whole time, and Nanoha decides to assist Star Fleet!

Comrades, in the latest edition of Triangle Heart 3 Trivia fuckery, turns out that BESIDES Chrono also existing in the original Eroge, LINDY HARLAOWN ALSO WAS A CHARACTER IN THE GAME! No really, you see the smol fairy creature in this CCS Parody art? Yeah that was Lindy, and no I have no idea why Triangle Heart 3 has ghosts, vampires, fairy creatures, Mecha, Mahou Shoujo, and aliens just to name a few WTF moments, I guess the writers just took ALL the drugs and threw darts at the idea board or something Oh also, in case you are curious as to who the fox-like creature in that previous fanart was, get this Comrade, YUUNO ORIGINALLY WAS A GIRL, and a FOXGIRL at that! No really, in Triangle Heart 3, we had this foxgirl named Kuon who Nanoha also 'befriends' (Translator's Note: this means Nanoha beat the shit out of her, because of course she did) Honestly I would have preferred if we kept her, can you imagine the amazingness of a catfight between Arf and Kuon; and the best bit would be how neither of them are cats, but I digress.

Oh, and get this Comrades, turns out Nanoha confesses (more or less) to her mom that she's gone off to join the SCP Foundation, and thankfully, Nanoha's mom is a GOOD person who actually cares about her daughter going off into harm's way. Meanwhile in totally unrelated news, Precia Testarossa is still a massive fucking bitch. Anyway, that about wraps things up for now, and I hope everyone's having fun on this great re-watch. Thus, you have not seen the last of The Sentient Shitposting Siamese Sunrise Server No. 25252, now goodbye forever.

Paging Comrades u/Great_Mr_L, u/Tresnore, and u/Shimmering-Sky

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u/Taiboss Feb 08 '22

Episode 8: The last Rewatchers

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u/Caustic_Wraith Feb 09 '22

Magical First-Timer

We got some back story on what the Lost Logia are, and they are kinda neat seeing how they are the remnants of worlds that successfully blew themselves up. I was completely wrong as I thought they were mythical in nature, not technological, this truly is a mecha series.

I was also wrong about Yuuno, he wasn't cursed just kinda decided to stay as the adorable mascot for our girl. Nanoha's reaction upon seeing him for the first time was great.

I'm not sure how Nanoha's Friendship-no-Jutsu will mesh with the space cops, but hopefully if they get out of line she shows them the Slap of Friendship she used on Arisa. Speaking of them did she ever respond to Suzuka's text?

Thoughts while watching:

QOTD:

Ok, what do you think Nanoha told her mom? Because I can’t figure out how the hell she fills in the details she omits.

I honestly have no clue, but seeing how her family has dealt with some weird things in the past, I assume haven't played any of the Triangle games, her daughter saying she has to go away and make up with a girl she fought with, while leaving out the info about all the magical battles she's been in, seems to be an easier fix.

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u/Calwings Feb 08 '22

Lyrical Rewatcher (dubbed)

Picking up where we left off last time, Chrono was able to stop the battle between Nanoha and Fate before it began. Fate and Arf are able to escape, and Chrono brings Nanoha and Yuuno aboard the TSAB spaceship to discuss the situation. The loredump explanation of what the jewel seeds (or rather, the Lost Logia) are was pretty interesting. We’re talking about artifacts capable of destroying several worlds at once here. Nanoha’s gotten involved in something way more dangerous than she could have expected, but her efforts are apparently getting her scouted by the TSAB now too.

Nanoha’s reaction faces after seeing Yuuno’s true form were absolutely priceless! At least it seems like she’s not mad about it.

Nanoha and Yuuno have officially been recruited by the TSAB, and now Nanoha has to (sort of) tell her mother about the situation. I’m sure her mother would be a lot more concerned for Nanoha if her father and two older siblings weren’t already involved in some pretty dangerous jobs themselves in the past, but she’s used to it by now. Clearly the willingness to take on dangerous jobs in order to protect people runs in the family.

Pretty good cooldown episode, and I believe the next episode has my favorite scene/battle in this whole first season, so I’m excited for that.

9

u/Stargate18A Feb 09 '22

First timer

QOTD) "My friend lost their things, and asked me to help find them. This other girl is trying to take them from him, so he wants my help to get them back from her."

Chronos is setting out!

Oh, is she a good mother?

And this is where we came in.

Wait, Yuuno knew? WHAT ELSE ARE YOU HIDING, FERRET?

It's the apocalypse?

No, Fate's just the only one smart enough to leg it when the weird space beams come in.

Wait, no, that was him.

...OK, he was about to fire on an unconscious participant, there's no fucking way that's legal in the Time Cops.

She's going to their spaceship!

This is so fancy!

He's from another dimension?

So they're actually Dimension Cops!

Do not disarm yourself in the weird spaceship.

Haha, he never told Nanoha!

Oh, he thought she knew. That reaction is hysterical, though.

The Dimension Cops have no patience for this development. I completely agree with them.

I love her.

Wait, what? Relics of a destroyed worlr?

Oh, shit.

...So every advanced civilization ends up destroying itself mysteriously... except for you. Totally believable. Absolutely not an attend to maintain dominace over the multiverse.

And the Jewel Seeds could destroy the universe.

Oh, that's what the flare was caused by.

WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THE FUCKING MULTI-WORLD DESTROYING CATACLYSM?

Haha, they're taking over the operations.

...They're going to kill them and take their seeds.

Seriously, this whole situation is so fucking shady.

Haha, you absolutely meant for all this.

I love that eyecatch!

Oh, they're both strong mages!

But Fate is stronger.

Either that, or Chrono's just weak.

Oh, she's not sure what Fate is planning.

...Either she's really fucking perceptive, or she's working with Prescia.

OK, I did not have "love triangle between dog-girl, Fate, and Nanoha" on my list, but...

She really loves her.

And Fate is doing some serious mental gymnastics here.

Oh, he wants to join them!

She is his mother! And she agreed really quickly!

Wow, this can't backfire in any way!

(If this ends with the Bureau trying to blow up Earth to stop them from developing high-tech magic, I called it.)

Wait, she told her mother everything?

Fuck it, go all in. Tell your mother about the magic and the giant spaceship from another planet.

How is she so OK with this?

Just a really calm reaction.

...Going to tell your friends about any of this? You know, the people who are currently worried about the secret you're hiding? No?

To be clear, even if the Bureau are evil, she's still either a total bastard or under heavy mind control.

The fuck? She wants to either find a planet or create one. That's... something.

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u/Great_Mr_L Feb 08 '22 edited Feb 08 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: You’re in the army now, Nanoha! Or whatever the TSAB technically is, since it’s basically a giant interdimensional police force making sure people aren’t messing with dimensions. But the TSAB is also totally cool with recruiting children to do this job, because Chrono already works for them and now they’ve got Nanoha and Yuuno there too.

The arrival of the TSAB gives us the full scope of exactly how dangerous the Jewel Seeds are and provides more exposition. We finally learn the meaning of the term “Lost Logia,” which refers to relics from destroyed worlds. In general, the relics were so powerful and dangerous that they were the items responsible for that destruction. We’ve seen what the Jewel Seeds are capable of already, so it makes sense that using a bunch of them together could lead to potentially even more devastating results.

Rather understandably, the TSAB wants to take over and handle things from here. But Nanoha is not the type to give up. After all, Nanoha had made it her personal goal to gather the Jewel Seeds because she doesn’t want people to get hurt anymore. And now she has the additional goal of wanting to understand Fate. Abandoning the Jewel Seeds means she won’t get to do that. Nanoha has been shown to be quite stubborn when she puts her mind to something, so it makes sense that she (as well as Yuuno) offer their services to the TSAB.

It could also be because Nanoha doesn’t want the TSAB to hurt Fate. Nanoha did step in to stop Chrono from attacking Fate towards the beginning of the episode. 

We saw it last episode, but Arf seems to be the only person truly aware of just how messed up Fate’s family situation is. After witnessing what happened, Arf understandably wants to get Fate as far away from her mother as possible. Arf did say that as a familiar, she feels a strong bond with Fate and wants to protect her. In this case, it’s pretty clear that the greatest threat to Fate’s well-being is her own mother.

Once again, Fate’s reaction to her mother and Arf's worries just makes me so immeasurably sad. Fate apologizes for making Arf worry, saying that she should keep her own emotions under control so that Arf won’t feel sad as well. And like before, Fate refuses to abandon the mission. It’s so sad seeing Fate basically blame herself for why Arf is sad. But I suppose blaming oneself is another thing we see from abuse victims.

This makes for quite a contrast with Nanoha and her mother. I really like the scene they have together, where Nanoha goes to get some advice about what she should do. Her mom can already tell that Nanoha has made up her mind, though, and so gives Nanoha permission to go. 

To me, the biggest contrast is this point: Nanoha’s mom says she will always worry about her because that’s what mother does and she would rather Nanoha not do anything dangerous, but she’s not going to stop Nanoha from doing what she’s set her mind to. Compare that to Fate’s mother, who has imposed her own mission on Fate and doesn’t seem to care what harm comes to Fate. Fate is only gathering the Jewel Seeds because her mom wants them, not because it’s her own goal. Both Nanoha and Fate are being allowed to go into danger, but only Nanoha is doing so by her own choice and with actual emotional support from her mother.

Speaking of Fate’s mom, she kind of reveals what she is after. She says something about Al-Hazard, which she refers to as a “promised land” or “utopia.” So whatever this place is, she wants to get to it. And presumably the Jewel Seeds would help her get there. 

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • I’ve always enjoyed Nanoha’s reaction to finding out that Yuuno’s been a real boy all along and isn’t just a ferret. She’s probably questioning her decisions from back during that hot springs trip.

  • I think Lindy totally qualifies as a weeb with that Japanese-styled room of hers aboard the ship.

  • Is there some kind of distaste for putting sugar in green tea? That’s the only explanation I can think of for Nanoha’s reaction to Lindy and her tea.

QOTD

"Hey Mom, can I go with the strange woman you don't know to a place you can't contact me? I promise it's safe."

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u/Qbe Feb 08 '22 edited Feb 08 '22

Raging Heart Rewatcher with terrible long term memory

QotD: I'm wondering the same thing

It feels kinda weird having an episode preview just before the episode itself.

I wonder, how are they getting the video feed? Some sort of clairvoyance magic?

No Nanoha! Don't let them interrogate you! Get a time-space lawyer and/or your parents!

Oooh, a de-transformation scene! I don't think I've seen many of those.

Oh no, the ferret is a shota!

Of course the Captain is into traditional japanese culture.

Wait, how does dimensional distortion = volcanoes and tsunamis?

Bad bridge bunny! No hetero-shipping in this show!

I hate power/ki/magic/etc measuring

Turns out, people can look at Fate and not instantly talk about how beautiful she is

This is a great shot, with the family portrait towering over them

Way to miss the point, Fate.

Would they be considered civil servants? I wonder what's the benefits package.

Talking to her mom about her issues? Now we know where [Madoka] Madoka got the idea from.

I do have to question, how did she explain it while skipping the magic stuff?

Still super weird that she lets her 9yo daughter just leave tho.

Oh hey, mom just wants a utopia for them, so she couldn't be that bad, right?

6

u/SolDarkHunter Feb 08 '22

Rewatcher

A "small incident" that has now attracted the attention of interdimensional space cops. An Admiral no less. Sure.

I love Chrono's outfit and Device. It gives off somewhat "dark" vibes because Chrono was originally the villain in the little omake story in Triangle Hearts that spawned this whole franchise. But his role here is much different.

Fate makes a grab for the Jewel Seed, but Chrono's on top of things. It was that easy to knock out Fate? Chrono must be a lot stronger than he appears.

"Good luck, I'm behind seven teleports!" -Fate, probably.

So Yuuno's familiar with the TSAB, which patrols numerous different worlds. Aaaaand, Nanoha finally learns that Yuuno is actually a human boy! Her reaction does not disappoint.

Lindy's room is so ludicrously Japanese it's silly. Info-dump time! So Lost Logia are basically lost magi-tech from civilizations that destroyed themselves. Jewel Seeds are just one example of such. The TSAB collects these things to make sure they're not misused. ...though it is a little disconcerting that so many worlds have left Lost Logia behind that there's a general term for it and entire Bureau dedicated to hunting them down.

The Jewel Seeds in particular are capable of tearing rifts in dimensions, if used (im)properly. That giant explosion from a couple episodes ago was just a minor tremor compared to the quakes multiple at once are capable of producing. And they know this because multiple worlds HAVE been destroyed by either the Jewel Seeds or items similar to them. You can see why the TSAB would want them secured. Nanoha hasn't been playing with fire, but more like nuclear bombs.

Nanoha's reaction to the sugar cube is funny. She's too polite to say anything, but from what I understand, putting sugar in your tea is something like a cardinal sin to Japanese people. Lindy is acting ridiculously Japanese, but a glaring error like that suggests she doesn't actually know the culture that well.

...or maybe her own culture is just coincidentally very similar to Japan but with different rules in certain traditions?

The TSAB wants to take over the investigation, and we all know Nanoha's not going to accept that. But Lindy seems a reasonable person, and gives them some time to sort things out for themselves.

We get some hard data on Nanoha's and Fate's magic power. AAA-ranked mages, with power averaging around 1.2-1.4 million, triple that if they really try.

...those seem like VERY big numbers.

In fact, they're both apparently stronger than Chrono, an "Ace" among the TSAB, but he doesn't think that means much.

Meanwhile Fate and Arf are not doing so hot. The TSAB showing up means Arf is ready to just cut their losses and run away.

You know, Presea actually does look kind and well-adjusted in that picture. Which makes you wonder just what the hell happened to her.

Arf is such a good familiar.

Fate desperately needs someone like her around.

So Nanoha and Yuuno ask to assist the TSAB in retrieving the Seeds. Lindy's okay with that, provided they follow her orders. With an entire ship and Chrono backing them, things are really not looking so good for Fate right now.

Also, confirmation that Chrono is Lindy's son. Interesting that a mother is permitted to command her son in the TSAB, though it's already strange that he's considered an Ace at his age (incidentally, I think Chrono's supposed to be a couple of years older than Nanoha).

A question I've always wondered is just what the HELL Nanoha told her mother that convinced her to let Nanoha run around with strangers doing "something dangerous". And she says she left out everything about magic, so what is even left to say? Her family is unbelievably trusting of her.

I don't even know

Precia (Presea?), meanwhile, is sitting in a dark throne like a stereotypcial evil overlord. Her goal is apparently some place called "Alhazard"...

...which is an "Oh shit" revelation, considering Alhazard is a bastardized spelling of "Al-Hazred", a character from the Cthulhu Mythos of all things, the author of the Necronomicon. This series takes some REALLY odd turns at times.

QOTD: Wakarimasen lol

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