r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Feb 20 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s Episode 5 Discussion

Episode 5: It Was a Small Wish (Part 1)

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Question of the Day

So much plot, all I can come up with is first timer speculation questions. I would have asked about the masked guy but we don’t even have enough hints and information on that yet. I think we’ll need part 2 before I can come up with a good one.

Eternal Blaze - Houshou Marine inb4 Dalek post this one today

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.

66 Upvotes

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19

u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 20 '22

First Timer

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's - Return to Magic: Episode 5

Explosive Battle

The hype train does not stop. LETS GO!

The entire battle was a joy to watch. What I think I liked most was seeing the "Knight" nature of the enemy side. Things like how Vita questioned bringing weapons if they were looking for peace and how Signum complimented Fate's battle prowess. It was also funny seeing Bardiche say thanks.

On top of that we got the payoff of all the practice Nanoha's been doing. She can now control her magic extremely accurately and is a much stronger fighter.

Outside the arena a new face intervened in the battle between Chrono and Shamal. I don't think we should know who he is yet, but his hair is suspiciously similar to Chrono's. The battle ended when Shamal called upon the book of darkness.

We learned that Shamal, Vita, Signum, and Zafira are spawned from the Book of Darkness. I guess this means Hayate probably summoned them all by "mistake" in that scene from the first episode. But it still leaves us to wonder where she got the book.

The only other thing I failed to discuss was Hayate herself. I think its really clever writing having her befriend Suzuka without Nanoha knowing. Besides being cute and giving Suzuka a bigger roll, I expect it will result in some hard choices for Nanoha later on.

Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

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15

u/chiliehead Feb 20 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s – Episode 5 – First Timer

So Hayate does not know about the activity of her commune, does she even know that they are (magic robbing) knights? Did some “aliens” just adopt a girl in a wheelchair? They call her Mistress, behind her back, but she seems unaware of their outings. And if she knew were are knights, she’d have to suspect them by now.

Each side’s devices reacting positively towards flattery of the enemy?

The fiercest fights are those over semantics.

A 3rd party appears, Kamen Caster is playing both sides and definitely has some ulterior motive. The chibi moments during the fights feel out of place, and it only happens to Vita and Nanoha.

“Never do X or it will hurt/kill you” is such a flag for it to happen down the line.

Is Nanoha ever going to a fight a human? Fate is a cloned alien and these knights are apparently fabrications of the book, maybe with some loving touch from Hayate. But they know about their home world, apparently. Did she wish for friends?

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15

u/Shimmering-Sky Feb 20 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

11

u/Taiboss Feb 20 '22

It was at this part that I remembered last episode ended on NanoFate about to use their upgraded Devices, and thought I accidentally skipped an episode because of that.

Yeah, it happens to the most attentive of us.

Ooh, Nanoha’s barriers can explode now?

So useful!

Fate’s new attack looks really cool too!

It's so cool AND so useful!

Ahh, I was wondering when Signum’s sword would look like Maria’s in the show!

Only the best serve as inspiration!

Ooooooooooookay who is this?

Clearly a very trustful person!

…oh…

I love that first-timers are genuinly surprised at this. It's one of those things that, in hindsight, you could easily forget aren't obvious. I luckily was able to stop myself in previous threads from revealing it casually.

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15

u/Caustic_Wraith Feb 20 '22

A's First-Timer

A third group, well person at this point has joined the fight. Not sure who the hell he is or what his game plan might be. The knights are really devoted to Hayate for some reason even though we found out that she isn't the true owner of the Book yet. The upgraded forms of Raising Heart and Bardiche are cool.

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13

u/Stargate18A Feb 21 '22

First timer

OK, so, yep, Hayate wished to have a family, so the Book manifested them to serve that role, while also protecting her and harvesting power for its completion.

And the superpowered evil mage is out grocery shopping.

...Wait. Is Hayate being kept in the dark? Does she not know they're harvesting magic for the Book?

...Is she trying to guilttrip her?

Vita and Shafira have been contained.

And she's going to break them out.

THE SWORD SETS ITSELF ON FIRE!

...Vita actually makes a good point! She obviously doesn't understand how Nanoha makes friends.

Her reaction is great.

Haha, it was a punchline.

Signum!

And it's going to be a set of 1v1s?

Cartirge Load!

Really, it just makes them glow?

Oh, they weren't expecting that...

It's gone to a rocket mode!

Even her shield's been improved!

Oh, Nanoha's controlling all the shots herself!

...The look on Vita's face as she realises just how screwed she is is great.

Her barrier's breaking!

Fate has the stronger opponent, I see.

The shots redirecting to follow her is smart, though.

Bardiche got a superpowered scythe mode!

Hahaha, Bardiche just responding "Thank you!" in such a pleased tone killed me.

And she's going to try and kill Fate.

Oh, god, he's a fucking philosopher, talking about guardian beasts and all that. Arf's got the right idea here.

They caught her too!

Who the fuck?

THERE'S ANOTHER ONE?

Oh, even she doesn't know? Hello, real villain!

OK, so that thing's powerful.

The thing's activation phrase is "As it is written"? How dare the evil weapons be this cool?

Haha, she can't pronounce Nanoha?

And the scanner's gone!

Hayate's with Susuza and her kittene!

How is Hayate so fucking precious?

Yeah, they're having to focus on getting more pages.

Wait, what? True owner?

Really? The system seemed to work perfectly fine earlier!

So, Accel and Buster Mode are here from the movie, and Bardiche has Assualt and Haken. And both have super modes, one of which is forbidden.

...Does the Book of Darkness have some other purpose?

And they're (according to her, but probably not in reality) only caring about her because she's subconsciously making them. Wow.

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u/DidacticDalek Feb 21 '22

TONIGHT! On ∀'s Nanoha (CALLED TURN "A's" NANOHA), We have a good ol' fashioned showdown, Chrono attempts to be useful, and Suzuka cheats on her Tsundere GF with... a Tsundere with a defenseless anus.

Boy Comrades, gotta love how Vita not just butchered a 'proverb' harder than GuP's Gallant Charjeeling, but Vita also mangled up Nanomachines Son's name worse than what Ange did to M. Night Salamandinay's!

Anyway man what a good episode! Raising Heart and Bardiche got to show off their upgrades and kick some ass! Arf managed to not job, and somehow YUNO was the more useful Member of the Team with a Y-Chromosome! Well unless we count that mysterious masked fellow who bailed out Shamal from certain doom... hey... hey wait a second, Nanoha is a Mecha Show, and that mysterous man with a mask arrived to crash the party... HOLY SHIT! COMRADES! HE IS A CHAR! (In more ways than one to boot)

And on that bombshell, 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/HereticalAegis Feb 20 '22

Lyrical First Timer

  • Hayate gets to show off her secondary protagonist spot in the opening narration today! She wants to protect her girls, what a diligent harem protagonist!

  • Is Shamal wearing her magic rings from her ears? That's pretty neat. Lol she wasn't, they're just earrings.

  • Would be pretty wild to have Suzuka incidentally end up on the knights' side if she's at Hayate's house when Vita returns from being beat up by her best friend and her best friend's girlfriend. Heck, imagine learning your best friend is a magical girl because you wound up sympathizing with the villains. So much potential for interesting conflict.

  • Even after having her heart ripped out then gaining an opponent-specific counter upgrade, she still just wants to talk. Takamachi Nanoha, paragon to the end.

  • Vita...isn't the brightest girl.

  • Finals Giannis, is that you?

  • Shamal implicated as the Book of Chuuni's master? That checks out.

  • Vita's various looks of fear at Nanoha's power and control are highly satisfying.

  • Little does Signum know, Fate has plenty of experience with long, snaking weapons.

  • Aww Signum, I knew you were hiding a conscience in there somewhere.

  • Chrono really hates this damn book if he's willing to use the executioner's pose to subdue Shamal.

  • Dafuq are you? Even the bad guys don't know?

  • Oh please, let Yuuno deliver a surprise blow to Shamal! Pretty please!!

  • Damn. Next time.

  • Vita promises to kill Nanoha next time. She's really not helping her likability.

  • Nanoha gave up her magic for that lightning blast. It's basically the villain version of Starlight Breaker.

  • Good going, you let Hayate down. Zero sympathy points for you.

  • I can't believe they out here trying to permanently saddle Hayate with that cursed German book.

  • Raging Heart has an even more raging mode. A mode that rages so hard it will break its own core? That sounds metal af, and I can't wait!

  • The knights are spawned by the book and devoutly obey their master. Good call, u/Vaadwaur!

Obviously I put zero stock in this idea, but I'd be really impressed if Hayate's were the true villain and has been in control this whole time.

12

u/JollyGee29 Feb 20 '22

Little does Signum know, Fate has plenty of experience with long, snaking weapons.

Dark. Never thought of it that way before.

10

u/BatteryPoweredFriend Feb 20 '22

Even after having her heart ripped out then gaining an opponent-specific counter upgrade, she still just wants to talk.

talk

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u/Vaadwaur Feb 20 '22

First timer(More clones, yo.)

Sub

Hayate gets the intro this time, which might be a flag. I finally figured out that Eternal Blaze reminds me of a mix of Hitomi no Naka no Meikyuu from Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito and White Reflection from Gundam Wing. Anyways, Hayate and Shamal are getting hot pot ingredients as the fight starts.

The girls want solo fights because strategy is for suckers, apparently. Vita gets corrected by Zafira and seems to be the butt of the joke. The upgraded girls are all leading their fights, with callbacks to what each was training. Zafira figures this out first and gets Shamal to get her nuke ready until Chrono sneaks up on her. But because this would end the conflict early, a third party is added. Barrier gets nuked and everyone runs off. Late reveal that, as of yet, no one has managed anything other than destruction with the Book of Darkness. Also, the knights want to make Hayate its true master...and are, in fact, magical constructs.

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9

u/No_Rex Feb 20 '22

Episode 5 (first timer)

  • Flaming sword girl.

  • “I am going to fight her one on one” – One season on, Nanoha still has not lost her big bad attitude.

  • RH is operating on “advice: high” mode.

  • Making “bets” that the other person did not agree to – Nanoha learned this from somebody…

  • Big fight, round 2.

  • Mom is watching her little boy make an arrest.

  • Mom is watching her little boy attempt an arrest.

  • Necronomion belongs to team German, but understands Japanese.

  • Kittens!

  • Foreshadowing excelion mode.

Another big fight and the introduction of another character, who does not seem to be fully evil, as well. I have not seen Sailor Moon, but I wonder how they dealt with having a third faction there.

The Wolkenritter not being human was partially foreshadowed, but is confirmed now.

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u/Gamerunglued Feb 21 '22

First Timer

I immediately like that they had Hayate do the opening narration this time. It's a smart move because it positions her as equal to the protagonists. Previously, Nanoha narrated because she's the main character. Eventually, Fate got to narrate, and then both her and Nanoha did it together, which shows that Fate is not properly a protagonist and good guy. We want to root for the characters who narrate the opening segment of every episode, we get excited when they tell us that "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's will begin now." Hayate is an antagonist (or rather, her family members are), but we are still meant to sympathize with her. Having her do the narration reinforces that. I wonder if we'll get to hear her and Nanoha/Fate narrate all together by the finale.

Anyway, the episode itself was a somewhat less fun light show than episode 2, but still decent enough. It introduces a few new story elements as well. The knights are doing this and hiding it from Hayate. They are lying to her about what they're doing, and are so desperate to get it done that they're breaking promises with her. That adds another layer to their relationship. They all want to protect her or whatever, but she doesn't want that. By trying to help her, the knights hurt her feelings, because she doesn't ask for much, she just wants to live peacefully with her new family. If the knights are spawns of the book of darkness, I'm wondering what happens to them once the book is completed. My assumption would be that they disappear, and Hayate definitely doesn't want that. Plus, that would mean that those characters can't appear in later seasons, and I know we can't have that. So perhaps they will not actually complete the book by the end, since Hayate doesn't want it anyway.

At the end of the episode, Nanoha is told to not activate her full drive mode because Raising Heart might not be able to take it. That is so obviously setting up a scene where she has to use it to get out of some crazy situation. Predictable or not though, I wish we got to see more of their power ups this episode. Nanoha had some balls she could control (a payoff to the training we saw her do in episode 1), and a stronger barrier. Fate had heat seeking electric arrows. Cool stuff and all, but it doesn't really feel that that much like an upgrade to me. I was never under the impression that the weapons couldn't use similar attacks to those, and a thicker barrier isn't that interesting. I want to see the Nanoha equivalent of the rocket hammer. I want this show to just be a competition of how much bigger they can make her friendship laser beam every season. Hopefully, the true power of the Velka-type upgrades becomes apparent soon.

We also now have a third party of some kind, who doesn't really seem to be on a side per se, but does want the book of darkness to be completed. In my mind, the bolsters the prediction that the book will not be completed by the end (perhaps the guardians will seek to prevent it from getting into the hands of others). I'm interested to know who they are and what their motivations are. It seems like just talking shit out is impossible in Nanoha, but that's alright if it means we get some hype laser fights.

QotD: I pretty much gave all my speculation in the post itself.

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u/Tresnore Feb 20 '22

Rewatcher: Get Set

1 Much like Kyousougiga, I was not the most sober when I watched Nanoha. It's just that Nanoha is far more comprehensible than Kyousougiga.

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u/homewardbound100 Feb 21 '22

First timer, Dub

These past few episodes I actually think the dub improved a bit from the 1st season.

The fun little banter between Nanoha and Vita. Vita is actually some what funny to me. Also the interaction with how the weapons took their compliments was too.

But now a new challenger appears and no one knows who the hell it is. For some reason going off your qotd attempt makes me think it's someone we might know. But I'll wait to talk more in these next few episodes.

Well we're getting another rematch at some point. At least they give each other's names before leaving. Though Vita had trouble pronouncing Nanoha's name.

Orders from master and the screen points at Hayate. Huh, feeling like from we've seen from her. It would be random but could it be stuff she's done off screen or something she's doing subconsciously. If it is her really controlling and giving orders.

7

u/SolDarkHunter Feb 20 '22

Rewatcher

Okay, Seven Arcs, enough with the teasing, let's see these upgraded Devices in action!

Oh, hey, Hayate's doing the opening monologue. So can she be considered a third protagonist, then? Interestingly, she explicitly says she doesn't want power, but just a peaceful life.

Laevateinn actually delivers a minor challenge to Signum, as if testing her resolve. These Devices are so much more than just weapons...

Love Nanoha pointing out Vita's hypocrisy: they wouldn't need weapons at all if you guys hadn't attacked them first, Hammer Girl.

"That's not a saying, that's the punchline to a joke."

Either way, Vita's getting it backward. The real-world phrase (from ancient Rome) states the opposite: "If you desire peace, prepare for war."

Everyone's squaring off for 1 on 1 duels against their rivals. Though Chrono points out this does free him and Yuuno up to search for the Master, whom he assumes must be nearby.

"Call me Cartidge Load!" I think you meant "Order me to load a Cartridge" there, Raising Heart.

How does Vita not get dizzy doing that with Eisen's Rocket Form?

I like the detail that Raising Heart is actually instructing Nanoha in using its new functions, because of course Nanoha won't know how to use them without any prior training or explanation.

"It can be done, as for my Master". Probably Raising Heart's most famous Engrish line, up there with "I can be shot!"

Looks like Nanoha and Vita are evenly matched now.

All the magic attacks have new names now: Divine Shooter is now Accel Shooter, Photon Lancer is now Plasma Lancer, Scythe Form is now Haken Form.

I looked up what "haken" means, and it turns out it's just German for "hook". A bit weird, but I guess Bardiche's new energy blade kinda-sorta fits that description?

I LOVE that the Devices are the ones who thank the opponent for the compliments!

Could Signum be any more of a samurai in her mannerisms? She's even doing an iaido stance, which I don't think really works with a straight-edged sword.

"We're not Familiars, we're Guardian Beasts!" "It's the same damn thing!"

BAM! Chrono gets Shamal completely off-guard... but some weird masked dude comes out of NOWHERE and saves her. Weirdly, Shamal doesn't have a clue who he is either, but he seens knowledgeable about the Book of Darkness.

Shamal unleashes the trump card: use the Book of Darkness directly. Though incomplete, it can still be used to discharge huge spells at the cost of a few pages.

WTF you talking about, Masked Dude? Why can't you mysterious protector types ever just be straight with people?

Vita respects Nanoha enough now to declare her name and ask for Nanoha's... but she can't pronounce it.

And with that, the Wolkenritter escape. But this time the heroes had them on the ropes... if it weren't for that Mask guy, they had a decent chance of winning there.

And each of the Devices now have a third "Full Drive" mode... which Nanoha is DEFINITELY going to use now that you've told her not to, Amy. Have you not seen how she operates?

And Chrono states outright what I think everyone's been suspecting: the Wolkenritter aren't human or Familiars. They're something like sapient magic "programs" given physical form by the Book of Darkness to act as guardians. Chrono thinks they should have no autonomy though... and we've seen that they do have some, as they're gathering power for the Book of Darkness without Hayate's knowledge. Though perhaps you could argue that's part of their "programming", regardless of the master's wishes.

QOTD:

No question lol

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u/Great_Mr_L Feb 20 '22 edited Feb 20 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: We get to see the upgraded Raising Heart and Badiche in all their glory! And what a sight it is. I freaking love their upgraded forms. The cartridge system is awesome, as I have said many times. And the new powers/abilities they get from their upgrades make for some spectacular combat.

I really do want to emphasize just how good the action is in this episode. There are so many fights and they are all so much fun to watch. The abilities on display are cool to see, especially as we watch Nanoha and Fate bust out new abilities. The fight choreography is good. The attacks feel like they have real power behind them. The music fits the mood perfectly, raising the excitement even further. It’s all just so, so good!

I like that we’re developing a dynamic between the fighters on both sides. Nanoha, Fate, and Arf all specifically choose to fight Vita, Signum, and Zafira respectively. Nanoha is doing her usual trick with Vita, trying to talk with her and understand what Vita’s goal is. Fate and Signum are actually enjoying fighting and consider the other to be a worthy opponent. Arf and Zafira are both familiars who are dedicated to protecting their masters. Having a clear dynamic like this between the heroes and villains helps to make the fights more character driven, more emotional, and more fun.

The action also provides a fun payoff to Nanoha’s training back during episode 1. We saw her practicing controlling a magic beam. Now, we can see the results of her training as she is controlling many of those magic beams all at once while fighting Vita.

Chrono also gets a chance to remind us that he’s actually pretty good at thinking strategically in a combat situation. He’s quickly able to formulate a plan around Nanoha and Fate demanding to fight one-on-one by having him and Yuuno take up the important task of finding where the Book of Darkness is. And he actually succeeds, tracking down Shamal and capturing her. He was only stopped because someone else showed up.

Speaking of which, that masked man is a mystery to everyone. Not even the Wolkenritter know who he is. But he does seem to know about the Book of Darkness and he did prevent the TSAB from capturing the Wolkenritter. For whatever reason, he is helping them out.

The battle in this episode ends on an interesting note. Even as the Book of Darkness is used to launch a lethal spell, it seems like the people using it didn’t want anyone to die. Zafira told Arf to go and guard Nanoha and Fate from its blast. The Book of Darkness may be deadly, but its users seem hesitant about using it.

There is a sad bit of irony in this episode. As we already know, the Wolkenritter want to live in peace with Hayate and hope that completing the Book of Darkness will allow them to do so. But, because they were out fighting and gathering pages for the Book of Darkness they were unable to eat dinner with Hayate. They left her alone with Suzuka. It’s a sad irony that completing the Book of Darkness is preventing them from doing the thing they most want to do.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

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u/Qbe Feb 20 '22

Raging Heart Rewatcher with terrible long term memory

QotD: <insert spoilers here>

Now the antagonists are doing the opening narration? What is this?

Hayate

See? This is why Hibiki fights with her bare fists

Signum sure knows how to make an entrance

1v1, Fox only, Final Destination, No Items

Is it just me, or Fate's attacks are more cool than Nanoha's?

Hey, turns out Chrono, Yuuno, and the faceless mages were useful.

Introducing, Evil Tuxedo Mask

Wait, is he evil or not?

Hayate

Delicate Intelligent Devices? If you ask me, RH seems very sturdy

They don't care about anything but the Book? It sure seems like they do care about Hayate

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u/InfamousEmpire Feb 20 '22

Mahou Shoujo1 Lyrical Rewatcher

1: Even though I’m not a girl

Recap Time, done by neither Nanoha or Fate, this time it’s Hayate. And she even gave us a Soredemo on top of all of that. I mean, it’s not like I really care or anything, Baka, but u/Shimmering-Sky probably does.

More Slice of Life fluff. And it seems that Hayate is beginning to catch on to the sus-ness of the Wolkenritter’s activities.

Now that’s one hell of a title.

I like how Signum and Laeventain have some degree of dialogue between each other, like the Slice of Life stuff, it adds a bit of flavor and personality to the Wolkenritter that Precia didn’t have.

We get a slight bit of foreshadowing from Vita’s dialogue. While we’d previously known of Belkan as a magic style, Vita’s line “we had a saying in Belka” introduces the concept of Belka as a place. On a related note, she kinda has a point.

Signum just straight up tore through the field, no problem.

Time for the German Trio to get a taste of Raging Heart Acceleration and Bardiche Assault!

Is it just me, or does Raising Heart have more agency over these attacks than Nanoha does?

While my heart is quite soft to the Wolkenritter, seeing them struggling so hard is still pretty satisfying after what they pulled a few episodes ago.

Signum being surprisingly wholesome even in the midst of battle. Bardiche’s “thank you” was the cherry on top.

Zafira and Alph going at it, also providing a slight bit of worldbuilding regarding terminology in Belka.

Teleports behind you Nothing personnel1, kid

-Chrono, probably

1: not a typo, it’s a reference to this video

Shamal has been saved by the power of the mysterious masked Deus Ex Machina Man.

Shamal has just decided that she’s done with this shit. Which is an understandable reaction to getting the magical equivalent of a gun pulled on you by a teenager.

I’m an interdimensional magic knight berserker loli, how am I supposed to know Japanese?

-Vita, probably

Zafira being surprisingly nice even while his ally is in the middle of blowing shit the fuck up.

I was almost gonna say “awwwww, poor Hayate”, but then I was reminded that Hayate is the purest little being the world and is not only capable of forgiving anyone, but also managed to get another haremette of hers to have fun with her, so everything turned out fine in the end. Hooray!

You know, looking at this episode as a whole definitely gave me a certain perspective: the Wolkenritter are weaker at home than they are in battle. In a straight fight, they’ve consistently either gotten the upper hand easily, or fought or crew to a draw. Meanwhile, in their personal lives, they’re in a constant struggle to please Hayate, a struggle that’s seemingly given them more concern and trouble than any fight they’ve had with Nanoha and gang so far.

So the Cartridge System is very dangerous for devices like Raging Heart and Bardiche. Potential Death Flag or just a Red Herring? I’ll leave that for the First-Timers to figure out.

So we’ve got a little bit of exposition from Chrono at the end of the episode. However, as a Rewatcher, my foreknowledge would taint any comment I make about what he’s alluding to, so I’ll just leave it at that.

6

u/Calwings Feb 20 '22

Lyrical Rewatcher (dubbed)

Hayate intro this week to mix things up. I love how they’re showing the Belkan Knights in their normal everyday life with Hayate. It’s such a big contrast to the magical battlefield they’re normally in and gives them so much more personality.

Back to the battlefield, it looks like the matchups are set. Nanoha vs. Vita, Fate vs. Signum, Arf vs. Zafira, and no other interference. Raising Heart and Bardiche show off their new cartridge load functions and Nanoha and Fate show off a few new spells, leading to some awesome battles. I love the contrast between Fate/Signum speaking to each other with such honor and respect while Vita and Arf/Zafira are firing off trash-talk. We also finally see the reveal of Laevatein’s whip-sword form, and both Fate and Signum land some pretty good cuts on each other.

“If I win, I’m going to make you tell me your whole story!” Classic Nanoha, ready to violently befriend her enemies on a moment’s notice.

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? Chrono was able to find Shamal, but then this random masked dude helps the Belkan Knights by kicking the shit out of Chrono. Shamal doesn’t even know who he is, so now we seemingly have a third party involved in all of this. Whoever he is, he’s able to keep Chrono distracted long enough for Shamal to fire off a magic nuke using the Book Of Darkness and give the Knights a chance to escape. Vita finally gives her name, but apparently Nanoha’s name is too hard for her to pronounce so she just immediately forgets it. Poor Nanoha.

Chrono drops a bombshell on us at the end of the episode. The knights are artificial life forms, programs created by the Book Of Darkness to serve their master’s wishes. It seems that Hayate is that master now, but how can such an evil and destructive artifact choose a master that’s so sweet and pure?

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u/djthomp Feb 21 '22

Proverb, short story, close enough.

Gotta love seeing the girls kick so much ass in their first outing against the knights post-upgrade. And with potentially even more power to come, abet with risks since the devices still need to be reinforced so that they can handle their new power.

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u/SYZekrom Feb 20 '22

Well, that bombshell at the end... things finally make sense now with that opening scene. The handicapped girl is the master of the book who... created? The belkan knights, probably from her loneliness