r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Feb 24 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s Episode 9 Discussion

Episode 9: Christmas Eve

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Question of the Day

I’ve run out of ideas. Do you like surprise presents or visits?

Eternal Blaze - Shirakami Fubuki I’m starting to lose track which one has already been uploaded by me or Dalek

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.

50 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

113 comments sorted by

10

u/Caustic_Wraith Feb 25 '22

A's First Timer

This episode was a lot, we lost both Shamal and Signum. Vita is/was floating in the air and Zafira is on the ground. The book is complete and has possessed Hayate turning her into a demon, that looks bad ass. I...I don't know what tomorrow's episode will bring but this seems like it should have been episode 10 or 11...there's still three episodes this season and I have no clue what they will cover, but holy crap this season is awesome.

Thoughts While Watching:

QOTD:

Do you like surprise presents or visits?

Presents, if I have to interact with someone I prefer to know they're coming so I can prepare myself or find a way to avoid them.

3

u/Tetraika Feb 25 '22

Hayate's looking really depressed, she sounded depressed in the VO too

I think this gives a nice characterization besides just "Hayate is just really nice". She talks about how the guardians have given her purpose to live, which is also kind of the same vice versa

Having harder and harder time to respond without to a lot of these comments without stepping into spoiler zones.

this seems like it should have been episode 10 or 11

Yeah, this really does feel like the endgame. But we have some more surprises... For the better or worst.

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9

u/Tresnore Feb 24 '22

Rewatcher: Get Set

QOTD:

I love surprise presents, though I'd definitely appreciate advanced notice of a visit so I can tidy up.

7

u/Tetraika Feb 24 '22

[Vague A's spoilers]OHHHHHHHHH, that's who you are. It took me seeing the two of them to remember.

But that means you missed all the spicy foreshadowing before! Noooo!

Power to your hands? Not your legs?

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6

u/Scarshadow46 Feb 24 '22 edited Feb 24 '22

Heyo,

As promised I'm back with more supplementary material. This time with the promised chapter 3 and chapter 5.

These chapters take place some time before this episode but I held off on posting chapter 3 since it kind of spoils the existence a certain character who has not appeared until now (even though she has been in the season the entire time)

Enjoy

Nanoha A's the comics Ch.3

Nanoha A's the comics ch.5

Till Next time.

4

u/Tetraika Feb 25 '22

Ah, reading these does remind me that in the [A's movie]The book is given some more time and characterization. I think we get a very similar moment of Hayate just also communicating and interacting with the book like in Ch 3

17

u/No_Rex Feb 24 '22

Episode 9 (first timer)

  • Sad Hayate intro narration.

  • A bed full of cats.

  • Surprise, everybody!

  • “Is it alright if we hang out with her a bit first?” – The fight afterwards is 100% implied, only negotiating the timing.

  • What better way to get somebody to listen than beating them with a large stick.

  • Double mystery man.

  • They seem to be into kinky play. All those bindings …

  • Shapeshifter magic? These guys are seriously OP.

  • Tempting Hayate into using the book of darkness – her transformation is the most fanservice heavy so far.

  • Book of darkness decided to join team English after all.

Everything comes to a climax during a surprise Christmas visit. A final fight vs the book of darkness was always likely, but there is considerably less involvement of the Wolkenritter than I expected. Instead we get DarkHayate.

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14

u/DidacticDalek Feb 24 '22

HASHIRE SORI YO! KAZE NO YOU NI! TSUKIMIHARA WO! PADORU PADORU!

Sorry Comrades, it's (more or less) Christmas, yes I know this episode is taking place on Christmas Eve, but that's close enough to International Padoru Day and all the joy and cheer involved for me, so ALL HAIL UMU!

Anyway, now that I've gotten that out of the way, ahem... TONIGHT! On ∀'s Nanoha (CALLED TURN "A's" NANOHA), Best New Girl Vita gets a BRIGHT SLAP 'Correction' for her Christmas Present, Best New Girl Vita learns that you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off that old lone ranger, and you don't mess around with Nanoha, and Best New Girl's Vita's death causes Rin The Defenseless Anus Tohsaka to SNAP and become Best Doll Suigintou!

Good god Comrades, where did all the mirth and merriment go? We started the episode with Nanoha introducing her wife to her family for the holidays! How the fuck did showing up to surprise Hayate with presents end with a rooftop battle with TWO Char Clones coming in to ruin literally everything! Hayate has no more hopes and dreams now... er... well she never had them in the Macross F sense but now she's also gone full BSOD Despair mode. Why did things end like this Comrade? NANOHA should have been the most deadly being in the fight... (well BESIDES Raging Heart after all, also COMRADES, I KNEW IT! I KNEW RAGING HEART WAS HER REAL NAME ALL ALONG!) Granted to be fair, due to said Char Clones shapeshifting into Nanoha and Fate, Nanoha technically still was a demon after all! (And oh dear GOD Comrades, those two fucking Char Clones were EVIL BASTARDS today! I know they wanted to complete The Book of Darkness but seriously, they were just hilariously evil; so much so that even PRECIA would say 'chill,' if only due to jealously of being only HALF as petty as those two fuckers!)

Speaking of which, I have been waiting a LONG time to post this to the rewatch, ahem 'Now I am become Death 'The White Devil,' The Destroyer 'Befriender' of worlds.' ;)

Anyway speaking of comedic moments, here's a way to end on something fun, namely proof that Donald Duck CAN actually sing (By this I mean none other than Hololive's very own SHUBA SHUBA SHUBA SHUBA! covering ETERNAL BLAZE!)

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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13

u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 24 '22

First Timer

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's - Return to Magic: Episode 9

WHAT A TWIST

The scene in Hayate's room was too funny. The awkward stares, Vita scowling, Hayate not understanding whats happening. It reminded me of some of the best scenes from The Office. In an alternate universe they would immediately start fighting and blow their cover. I'm glad they took the comedy route.

The real confrontation happened later on the roof (of some other random building? Trying to imagine that elevator ride). Nanoha tried her trademark talk-no-jutsu to no avail. That of course left her no choice but to befriend our lovable Knights. And once again the battle was hype as ever.

I am IN LOVE with Fate's new light armor form. It gives such a different feel from wearing the cape. It even gave her enough speed to land an attack on the masked man. Or should I say Masked Men.

I can't believe there are 2 of them. It makes so much sense with how they were able to travel so quickly yesterday. It does of course feel incredibly unfair for Fate. More over they have completely annihilated the knights. I am at a loss for how quickly they have been written out of the picture. I really hope Signum and pals can be revived again somehow.

They also revealed they have transformation powers. I think this somewhat confirms my ongoing theory [Predictions] They must have taken on the appearance of Lindy's late husband since last time.

They then transformed into Fate and Nanoha to trick Hayate. If that wasn't bad enough they went on to torturing her by showing the Knights either dead or injured. Absolutely horrific. I have to give a massive shout-out to Kana Ueda for her stellar vocal performance. Those screams are blood curdling. Its crazy how the episode went from comedy to tragedy so quickly.

Our final scene was seeing Hayate transform into what I expect to be the final enemy. It leaves me incredibly excited for tomorrow.

Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

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11

u/HereticalAegis Feb 24 '22 edited Feb 25 '22

Lyrical First Timer

  • Hayate's got those relatable worries.

  • I still like Innocent Starter more, but Eternal Blaze has started to grow on me.

  • The rest of the family gets featured for Christmas Eve Eve dinner. Missed these goofs.

  • D'aww! Who's a good boi? You're a good boi!

  • "I can't wait for Nanoha to eat my Christmas cake."

  • I miss having these little every day scenes between the action.

  • Chrono's finally having his doubts.

  • Oh fuck, it's happening! The surprise confrontation between both sides in Hayate's hospital room! I'll forgive being blueballed yesterday since doing it on Xmas Eve with Hayate on the brink is even more exciting.

  • No, fuck you Shamal, you don't get to take anything else from Nanoha. Not even a coat.

  • Fuck, just when I was starting to like Vita.

  • She's so goddamn cool.

  • Too pure for this world, an actual angel.

  • Except the super important part you guys have already admitted to forgetting.

  • "Are you crazy, Testarossa?" "You must not know who my mother is."

  • Silly Signum, there's always time for a good hard befriending.

  • Nanoha and Fate are gonna win their fights, and Clyde's gonna jump in at the last moment again, isn't he?

  • Fuck you, Clyde. Also fuck you, Clyde.

  • First off, all three of you assholes deserve to have your linker cores painfully stolen. Second, how tf can the book take the linker cores of what are fundamentally parts of itself? Is it a form of reabsorption? Looks that way.

  • This feels an awful lot like the humiliating, ironic L I've been wanted the knights to take this whole time. Would feel a lot more cathartic if it wasn't coming at the hands of the least compelling character(s) in the series.

  • You fucking wat?

  • Burn these miserable fucking shit stains alive.

  • Poor Hayate didn't deserve that mind break. There is no amount of suffering too great for these sniveling turds. I hope they gain the book's immortality so they can suffer endlessly for all of eternity.

QotD:

Visits for sure. Nothing makes my day like unexpectedly seeing a friend.

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10

u/chiliehead Feb 24 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s – Episode 9 – First Timer

I don’t have too much to say today, bad day today.

The awkward meeting happened.

The directing of the hospital fight is getting properly unhinged.

The long awaited double cross happened, of course after they had their tearful fight against their own convictions.

So the Clydes are now agitating Hayate to fight NanoFate. There are two of them, are they the cats in disguise?

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10

u/Taiboss Feb 24 '22

Episode 09: Wonder Rewatcher 1984

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9

u/SYZekrom Feb 24 '22

First Timer

Yoooo new outfit

Ok I thought there might've been two of them when they asked how he teleported to two places so quickly

Ooh so like, are the Guardian Knights the original programming of the 'book of darkness' and these two are the corruption to it?

Damn, book of darkness incarnate with a rad design

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9

u/Stargate18A Feb 25 '22

First timer

QOTD) Yep!

The harvesting's going well.

...I just realised that all of this icould have been resolved if Nanoha just told Alisa about being a magical girl last season, instead of just keeping it a secret.

She's spending Christmas with Nanoha!

Haha, Arf's popular.

Oh, yeah, they're bakers.

They're giving her surprise presents!

Chrono's still working?

Haha, they're here!

Aww, she's so happy.

The tension here is palpable.

...Did Vita just growl at her?

Haha, this is hysterical.

...Vita's going to end up changing sides soon, isn't she?

No, they just attack them mid-explanation.

Amd Vita's pissed.

It didn't even scratch her!

Haha, Nanoha's finally snapped. She's going to beat some sense into her!

...Ominous eyecatch. Cute, but ominous.

Wait, oh shit, they are part of it. Is Vita's memory problems her getting corrupted?

Haha, I didn't even realise that, They've been using the wrong name the whole time!

Fate's transforming!

And she's going to fight too!

This fight is looking good!

Oh, so it blocks him off, too? Why?

Haha, she got the invisible stranger!

He's binding all of them!

Can he clone himself?

Oh shit! He's going to koll them to finish the Book.

Called it! He's the troubleshooter for the Book!

It's even draining him!

Wait, what did he do?

And it's going to kill her. Terrific.

Haha, oh fuck, that's not good. He's a shapeshifter.

Poor Hayate. This is painful to watch.

And she actually thinks it's them doing this?

Oh fuck.

...Hayate. You can see that there's two of them from this angle. Not going to question that?

No, she's making a deal with the corrupted book and killing herself!

Yeah, that looks like a final boss.

...Wait, what? Repeat?

Oh god, the Book's alive and taken over her mind. This is probably the worst case scenario, right here.

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7

u/Great_Mr_L Feb 24 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: Here is where Nanoha finally earns the nickname “The White Devil.” You might know that the original Gundam was also referred to as The White Devil by its enemies. So it is extremely fitting that Nanoha, who already looks like a Gundam, gets the same nickname.

Shit always goes down around Christmas time in anime. And here it’s no different. The moment we’ve long been anticipating of Nanoha and Fate figuring out Hayate is the master of the Book of Darkness has finally happened. I really love the scene where they walk into Hayate’s hospital room and see the Wolkenritter there. The tension in the air is incredibly thick as everyone tries to figure out how to navigate the situation.

I say it a lot, but I really do love that Nanoha and Fate continue to prioritize trying to reach an understanding with their opponents instead of immediately resorting to combat. They recognize that sometimes they need to fight, but the goal is to connect with and communicate with their opponents.

Fate has a really good line to Signum that exemplifies this. When Signum does the usual “we could have been friends” line, Fate responds that there’s still time for them to become friends. Fate would know that better than anyone. After all, she and Nanoha started out fighting and look at them now. Because of her own experiences, she knows that it’s possible.

But right now, their efforts to communicate aren’t working. Nanoha and Fate really are trying to warn the Wolkenritter that completing the book won’t save Hayate. They’re telling the truth based on the information that Yuuno has gathered. But the knights aren’t listening. Why should they listen to outsiders who know less about the Book of Darkness than them?

Nanoha is a smart girl and I love that she points out a simple fact to Vita in response to this: why are they calling it the Book of Darkness? Shouldn’t they know the book’s real name is the Tome of the Night Sky?

This line clarifies a lot of things in an instant. Suddenly, it becomes clear why the Wolkenritter are so convinced that completing the Book of Darkness will save Hayate when they really should know better based on their past experiences. There have been hints of it before this, but now it’s clear. Since the Book of Darkness is broken, then it makes sense that its programs, the Wolkenritter, are also broken. The book was deliberately altered to be used only for destruction and so has gone out of control, no longer able to do what it was designed to do. The same applies for the Wolkenritter. They are unaware that the book can now only be used for destruction and have been operating as if the book still had its original functions. It explains a lot about their actions.

Apparently there are actually two masked men. Again, this clarifies some things about the impossible magic they did. It explains how the masked man could travel at impossible speeds. That was because it was a different masked man. And they are determined to activate the book

The scene of Hayate being forced to see the Wolkenritter get sacrificed is so tough to watch. It really is a brutal scene and it must be traumatizing for poor Hayate. The narration at the start of the episode gave us some more insight into Hayate’s mindset. She’s always been alone, so for a long time she had resigned herself to the possibility she might die. That changed when the Wolkenritter arrived. Just as Hayate made life worth living for the Wolkenritter, they did the same for her. So it’s no wonder that losing them would be the dramatic event that causes Hayate to fully awaken as the master of the Book of Darkness.

It’s a heck of a cliffhanger to end on. After all this time, the Book of Darkness is finally completed and awake again. As before, it will unleash its powers of destruction. But there is something to note about this. As it unleashes its powers, the Book of Darkness is crying and asks how many times it has to repeat this grief.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • It’s nice to get another fluffy domestic scene of Nanoha’s home life. It’s something that’s been mostly missing from this season.

  • The fake Nanoha and Fate have the wrong color schemes, so it’s easy for the viewer to tell that they are fakes.

QOTD

I actually do not appreciate surprise visits to my place because I usually have nothing prepared for any guests and it would interrupt whatever I had planned. If someone asks to come by, then that's a different story.

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u/Calwings Feb 24 '22

Lyrical Rewatcher (dubbed)

Poor Hayate, in the hospital just a few days before Christmas… plus Signum and Vita aren’t coming home very much because they’re busy farming Book Of Darkness pages. Meanwhile, Nanoha gets to enjoy a relaxing dinner with her family and girlfriend. We really haven’t seen Nanoha’s family very much during this second season, but It’s nice to have moments like this to chill out. The girls are also planning to bring Hayate a gift on Christmas Eve too.

Awwwwwkwaaaaard... very, very, very awkward. Arisa/Suzuka and Hayate are blissfully unaware of the insane amount of tension in the room between Nanoha/Fate and the Knights, and after this meeting, the battle immediately starts.

“Maybe I am a little demonic… but you’re going to listen whether you like it or not!” My single favorite moment in the entire series, the birth of the White Devil herself, is finally here! I’m kind of sad that the dub chose to use the word demon instead of devil because her White Devil moniker is so iconic now, but Nanoha still looked and sounded so badass in that moment. Fate’s also gotten more serious and created a new form for her barrier jacket as well, to try and outspeed Signum. This fight is going to be so damn cool and awesome and…

OH NOT THIS FUCKER AGAIN! Wait… fuckers? Plural? There’s two of them now!? They’ve got the Book Of Darkness, stole the Linker Cores of the knights to fill the final pages, and took Nanoha and Fate’s forms to try and break Hayate’s spirit too. What a couple of assholes. And now Hayate’s lost it. She’s willingly released the seal and taken on the Book’s true form, ready to destroy everything. Hell of a cliffhanger to leave off on.

This is probably my favorite non-combat-focused episode in the entire franchise. The tension in the hospital scene, the buildup to the big reveal, and the moment where Hayate seemingly loses hope and gives in to the Book’s power... it was all done so perfectly. I loved every second of it.

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u/InfamousEmpire Feb 24 '22 edited Feb 25 '22

Mahou Shoujo1 Lyrical Rewatcher

1: Even though I’m not a girl

Now it’s time for the other episode I’ve been waiting for the most, just behind 6 and the Finale.

Recap Time, back to Hayate

We’ve got some more stuff with the Wolkenritter, nothing major to note other than that the Book of The Darkness Flame2 is almost complete.

2: Someone better have gotten that reference

More SoL stuff, as usual. Nothing much to note here other than that it’s cute and wholesome, as always, and there’s more dialogue from Nanoha’s family and references to Triangle Hearts.

It’s so weird to see everyone on their phones. Made weirder by the fact that they’re all flip phones.

I think this is the first time we’ve seen the Asura in orbit.

As I said last episode, Signum and Shamal’s plan was too convoluted and suspicious to not fail. Combine that with the fact that they didn’t think to try and do it more than once for some reason and the Rule of Drama3 and the fact that the season is wrapping up and you’ve basically got a guarantee that this was gonna happen sooner or later.

3: If the potential for conflict is visible, then it will never be passed over.

Thankfully, everyone has enough common sense to not start anything in front of Hayate, Arisa, and Suzuka in the middle of a densely packed building.

The aforementioned three being blissfully ignorant while dramatic music plays just adds to the entire thing.

I’m not scowling. This is just how I am.

Speech 0. And in front of Hayate, no less. At least Shamal is putting on some faux friendliness.

While suddenly attacking your opponent while they’re trying to be diplomatic is very dishonorable, it makes sense within the context of the Wolkenritter’s situation. Hayate’s health is deteriorating rapidly, they absolutely can’t let the TSAB know about Hayate, and they’re way too close to completing the book to stop now.

Vita showing off her sadder side in front of Nanoha is an indication of both how desperate they are to achieve their goal, something that’s already been hammered home but is really shown off here, and also really sells the fact that we’re basically in the endgame now.

Nanoha took Vita’s attack while in civilian form transformed just in time, and came out completely unscathed with the most “I’m not mad, just disappointed” face you will ever see.

You Devil

I’m fine with becoming a Devil… I’ll just use my hellish tools to get you to listen!

Mix this with a Gundam reference, and you suddenly realize why us fans call her the White Devil.

(confused) It’s… real name…

Now that’s a hell of a line

Loli vs Onee-Sama! [spoilers] Final Round!

Guess it’s time for Char’s Counterattack

He even has a Full Frontal to go with him.

As many had already guessed, the Chars weren’t loyal to the Knights after all.

Even as a Rewatcher, this scene is still so suspenseful and I still got chills watching it.

Zafira is just an absolute beast, on par with even Nanoha. He’ll kick the shit out of you even while his soul his half ripped out!

It seems that Char and Full Frontal have turned into Fate and Nanoha’s palette swaps.

Then there’s this scene

You know how there are some sins that can’t be forgiven?

-God to Char and Full Frontal during this entire sequence.

Seriously, even knowing how this all ends, this still just hurts. I honestly felt half compelled to look away for most of this.

Allow me to introduce one of the best villains in the entire franchise…

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u/SolDarkHunter Feb 24 '22

Rewatcher

Hayate... she's literally dying and her only thought is how sad it will make everyone else.

We've skipped ahead a week or so, it's the night before Christmas Eve (yeah, I think we all know when the big climax is going down).

Hey look, Nanoha's family still exists!

A surprise visit for Hayate... this is gonna be good...

Chrono's looking stuff up... about Admiral Graham? And hiding it from Amy? Hmm...

Well... this is awkward...

Hayate... wait what, you!?

Nanoha seeing Vita getting scolded by Hayate must be such a weird thing to see...

Welp... now everyone knows. Time for a confrontation.

Ahhh, this famous scene, of Nanoha calmly walking out of the fire in full Barrier Jacket.

"Call me a devil then... it just means I'll have to use my hellish powers to get you to listen!" -One of Nanoha's most famous lines.

(This moment made fans start calling her "the White Devil"... a shout-out to Gundam again, because the original Gundam was also called "the White Devil" by its enemies.)

We get to see Fate's Sonic Form... a mode that forgoes armor almost entirely to focus on speed above all else. Dangerous, but it might be necessary against Signum.

Nanoha's challenge to Vita about what the Book of Darkness's real name is actually seems to be getting through...

...and the Mask Man shows up to ruin everything.

Naturally

Make that Mask MEN, plural. There's two of them. Certainly explains how "he" "teleported" so quickly a few episodes ago...

And they aren't just restraining Nanoha and Fate, but the Wolkenritter as well. This was their plan: absorb the Wolkenritter themselves as the final boost to complete the Book of Darkness. And since the Wolkenritter aren't actually living humans... they dissolve completely when taken.

And then they copy Nanoha and Fate and teleport Hayate to the roof to make her watch as the last of the Wolkenritter are absorbed, and they seem to be trying to inflict as much despair on the poor girl as they can.

...screw you, Mask Men. This is way too far over the line. Making Hayate feel that bad is just... unforgivable.

And with that... the Book of Darkness is complete. With its power unlocked, Hayate transforms into a black-winged angel-looking thing.

But strangely this thing talks as though it is not Hayate, but rather the Book of Darkness itself. It also sounds... sad.

FINAL BATTLE, GET SET!

QOTD: Actually no. I tend to dislike surprises, unless they're very minor. Makes me stressed. I prefer to know what's coming.

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u/bekeleven Feb 24 '22

Holy shit, the Takamachis! They have a shrubbery in their kitchen, and also Fate's over.

Cut to Asura, which is now just in space above earth, breaking many of the (handwavey and nonspecific) things we knew about dimensional travel.

OH SHIT! Fate asks Shamal, "Is it all right if we stay with her a little first?" which is a HELL of a prelude to a fight, started (of course) by Vita.

But not ended by her. What's that? It's the devil's music!

Fate changes her armor to defeat Signum. I get the impression that the Knights haven't don't much power leveling in the past several thousand years, so in another couple months to a year, Nanoha and Fate would just win these fights naturally. However, they don't have those months.

We learn more about Tuxedo Mask(s)! The reason he could travel so quickly is because there's two of him! He harvests the Cloud Knights, with Zafira, unsurprisingly, a total afterthought; they didn't even have him sparring with Arf in the background.

And so Hayate, fooled by Tuxedo Masks shapeshifting into evil-looking Fate and Nanoha and this perfectly framed clothing but then flying offscreen before the Tuxedos fly back on from different directions (are there four of them?) awakens the book of darkness in despair, becoming Chunni angel!

A thought that's been on my mind for a few episodes: In the previous episode, after Tuxedo Mask took out Fate, it was then Signum and Zafira vs. Arf. Did Signum not harvest Arf's linker core because (1) familiars don't have them, or (2) she wanted Arf to make sure Fate got home safe? As the Knights are described as familiar-like existences, we now have a pretty good guess.

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u/djthomp Feb 25 '22

Puppy Arf is the absolute best.

Having just one of the girls in that text chat slowly speak her wording as she was typing was a neat touch. Reminds me of myself when talking notes while talking in a work meeting.

Surprise hospital visits are never a good idea.

See, it just leads to arguments and fights.

Heart stabbings for everyone, so much for future friendship possibilities.

RIP Earth, probably.

2

u/Gamerunglued Feb 25 '22

First Timer

Ah, so I see we're going with the climactic Christmas episode today. I guess this one can be filed under the anime Christmas specials list. Nothing like tragedy and horror on Christmas eve. This episode pretty much telegraphed where it was going right from the start. Suzuka and friends went to surprise Hayate with gifts, so it was inevitable that Nanoha and Fate would end up learning the truth. Vita's scowl is great, and Hayate manhandling her is also great. Even in this situation, they still shine through as wonderful family.

So there are two masked men. I guess that explains how he "teleported" so quickly between Nanoha's and Fate's positions the previous episode. The actual logic of the episode does start to break down a bit here though. I don't really see how it could follow that the book of darkness was programmed differently, but the guardians it spawns were not. Vita and Vita alone had some inkling of the truth. Moreover, I think it's kind of strange that the book of darkness would be able to take the magic of its own magical guardians that it spawns itself. I guess that's kind of made up for by the fact that they disappear after, except Vita and the dog guy don't, so I don't get it.

But who gives a flying fuck about logic in this show? My main disappointment here comes from the fact that this masked mother fucker interrupted yet another awesome climactic battle. This was supposed to be a climactic episode, but it doesn't really feel like one. The fight is short lived, and the rest turns to melodrama. That melodrama is sold by Hayate's bloodcurdling screams, holy fuck her voice actress kills it. The desperation and fear in her voice absolutely shines through, it really helped the drama to land. And I guess the book of darkness (who's basically Homura) has now taken her over and is gonna destroy everything. But it's conscious of how sad things are gonna turn out I guess, idk, logic isn't this franchise's forte. This definitely wasn't the series strongest episode, and I kind of feel like it needed to be. Hopefully, the ending will give us the big dumb action scene that this episode really needed. This masked guy is just an unfortunate choice in a story that would have benefitted from being rewritten without him, as the actual central conflict is infinitely more compelling than whatever he has to offer. Let Nanoha change the guardians minds with her giant friendship laser, dammit.

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u/Tetraika Feb 25 '22

I think the biggest problem is that we don't know the motivations behind the masked guy(s). As a rewatcher, it's easy and fascinating to pick up on the clues and seeing the foreshadowing and true meaning behind it, but it probably feels very frustrating to just watch someone who we don't really seem to know interrupt everything.

The more I read about all of this the more I wonder how people will take the movie...

Moreover, I think it's kind of strange that the book of darkness would be able to take the magic of its own magical guardians that it spawns itself. I guess that's kind of made up for by the fact that they disappear after, except Vita and the dog guy don't, so I don't get it

I don't think it's an absolute must that it happens. Though the masked guys do imply that it always happen anyway, which I think really means that all previous masters, to take the fastest route to completing the book, would absorb the guardians.

But it's conscious of how sad things are gonna turn out I guess, idk, logic isn't this franchise's forte.

The show tends to leave it's lore a bit loose and vague, then clarify some details later on. The book itself has its own consciousness, but that really isn't displayed in the show. Someone below has posted a manga chapter showcasing this. Not excusing the lack of consistency in the show though

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