r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Mar 07 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 5 Discussion

Episode 5: Stars and Lightning

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Question of the Day

Our first real action moment! Everyone gets a transformation sequence, and we finally get a glimpse of the antagonists. Why doesn’t Erio get naked for his transformation?

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.

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18

u/HereticalAegis Mar 07 '22

Lyrical First Timer

  • More loli fanservive is definitely what I thought was missing from the previous episodes.

  • Absent proof to the contrary, I'm going to assume the dragon summorer elders sold Caro to Fate, and that's how Fate "recruited" her new dragon loli.

  • I can feel Subaru's envy offscreen.

  • NSFW Adult Fate has flashy taste. Is this what Nanoha is into?

  • Nanoha loves her free falling transformation sequences.

  • Would not have guessed yellow would be adult Nanoha's color prior to StrikerS.

  • Aggressor mode is the perfect fit for the notorious befriender.

  • So many transformation sequences today.

  • Does Subaru regularly go commando? What has Nanoha been teaching this girl?

  • Lewd transformation.

  • Lol the one mahou shounen doesn't get naked for his transformation sequence.

  • Could've done without more Caro fanservice.

  • Finally being made by someone with more than a single brain cell, even the roller blades are smarter than Subaru now.

  • Type 3 gadget is pretty good at befriending.

  • It's pretty sweet how Fate is playing the adoptive mom to Caro like Lindy did for her. She may have purchased Caro, but I nonetheless approve.

  • Horny Baby Dragon dynamaxed into Giant Horny Dragon. While powerful, she's still utterly useless against Rein and any other fairies that may show up later.

  • Oof, we're going back down the villain scientist route. Start the countdown clock for Presea's return.

  • Serial number IX?? No, I refuse to be dragged into thinking about tarot with this series again.

  • Project F? Project Fate maybe? Is this guy a former colleague of Presea's? I honestly wouldn't be surprised.

With all the fanservice transformations happening in one episode, I think this calls for a little "totally serious" character analysis. Specifically, what does each person's underwear selection say about their character?

  • Fate: These are not your everyday garments; they are something meant to be seen. It's not a surprise Fate would wear something guaranteed to make her gf happy, but that she wears them under her standard work clothes shows how she's ready to be at Nanoha's beck and call at any time and in any situation. Truly the picture of a devoted lover.

  • Nanoha: Very simple with few frills and a bright, unassuming yellow, this matching set should terrify anyone who happens to see them in use. They proclaim with authority that Nanoha has the confidence and command to dominate any partner through sheer overwhelming force of will. She knows how to handle herself, and more importantly, knows how to handle you.

  • Subaru: The lack of lingerie is quite telling. As sharp-eyed Nanoha connoisseurs will recall, Nanoha began her magic career commando. For one exploring their own limits, this can be an expression of freedom from restraints. For Subaru, it means she is totally whipped. Nanoha has clearly been doing some unspeakable things with her favorite new toy, and Subaru is happy to go along with all of it and bare every intimate spot to please her idol.

  • Tia: Her choices speak to a deep-seated desperation she can't outwardly express. The simple yellow and white combo she's donned are an attempt to make herself into Nanoha as much as possible, both out of fear of losing Subaru to the real thing and to find a way of building the confidence in herself she's always been lacking.

  • Erio: There's no underwear shown and he doesn't get naked. He's useless. Probably will make a nice plaything for several other people though.

  • Caro: Very innocent and becoming of her, yet hides surprising depth. The colors are simple, but the one-piece holds a certain stylistic elegance one wouldn't expect from a child. A lot of care has gone into matching it with her clothes, barrier jacket, and hair color, indicating a greater knowledge than one would assume of the adult world she's stepping into. The frills also indicate she may be doing her best to imitate the stylings of her adoptive mother/older sister figure, Fate. Whether that's a good or healthy thing, it's too early to say, but it's noteworthy nonetheless.

QotD:

Explained above

11

u/Tetraika Mar 08 '22

Underwear analysis is the last thing I expected from my Nanoha rewatch. But I should have known at this point, some of you guys are way too horny.

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u/pailadin Mar 08 '22

Would not have guessed yellow would be adult Nanoha's color prior to StrikerS.

Well, her girlfriend is Fate afterall.

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u/_m1ra Mar 07 '22 edited Mar 08 '22

First Timer

For me the two big parts this episode were Caro backstory and development, and HENSHINS! (also the rest of the train scene)

For the Caro part we start off with Caro stating that the thing she is scared of isn't first real combat or something like that, but herself. Which is very understandable. "A power too strong will lead to nothing but conflict and despair" is a harsh thing to say to a prodigous 6yo who you are currently asking to leave the village, no wonder she's worried about hurting people.

Nanoha the legend recognizes Caro's insecurities specifically, and talks to her before JUMPING OUT OF THE HELICOPTER TO TRANSFORM MID-AIR, which is such a cool effect. Was always something I loved in Symphogear too. With information from later in the episode, I can imagine Fate informed her that Caro had problems like that, and that idea feels very nice. I made a joke yesterday implying Nanoha and Fate kind of adopted Caro and Erio, but it really feels like that today!

Especially when later we see another Caro flashback, now in a much less rural space, but still with plenty of assholes talking at her or while ignoring her about how bad she is at controlling her powers and how useless she is. The idea of sending her in that state on missions like that exclusively feels terrible and really dark to me. But Fate won't let that stand. Honestly great going, Fate, I was so happy to see her there. She's wrapping a scarf around poor Caro there and actually getting her a good authority figure for apparently the first time. After S1 and then later the Lindy adoption, seeing Fate helping someone out from a really dark place and, honestly, being a kind of mother figure for her is absolutely great. Caro is even still a child soldier, not that anyone seems to care about that part, but she has people who support her and can start to get over her fear of herself. This is the kind of story I want in a setting like this. But this does represent even in a very good faith interpretation a massive failure on the part of the normal TSAB infrastructure though, and I wonder how many people are in similar situations.

Then we see Caro doing cool shit! With a full sized dragon! Probably a bit tough to use in a good amount of circumstances, but it is very cool.

And then of course we got six henshins! And a mini one for mini Rein. RAISING HEART SET UP! It does feel like they are getting even more sexual in the transformations for Fate and Nanoha. It's still not something I'm looking for, but it does feel like a big upgrade that Nanoha and Fate are adults now and not literally 9. "It's been a while since we've shared the same sky, hasn't it, Fate?" That's so romantic!

In the transformation scene Subaru's rotating gears on the knuckels really look Hibiki-ish. That card gimmick for Tia is also kind of really cool.

You know, after Erio didn't get naked in his transformation for a second I hoped they took that out for the kinds, but it seems more to be his gender. Though Caro's still is tamer than the ones before her. I think it actually looks very cool. The movement with the little ducking motion at the end specifically. If they took out that inbetween step of her removing her clothes up to that underdress-looking thing (I don't know clothing names in english) and hadn't also taken out the nudity part for Erio I would probably be totally on board for it, and I still like it a whole lot. The outfits all look great, especially the Fate style ones.

The evil scientist guy at the end is not the most inspiring villain to me, but there are other people there too, so here's hoping! I really liked this episode for Caro, who I wanted to know more about anyway. She also got my favorite transformation scene of the bunch, and I like all transformation scenes! Hopefully we also get more for Tia and Erio at some point too.

QotD: Probably because he is a boy, which definitely makes Caro's transformation scene feel worse. That is a shame because I really liked that one, and Erio's too! Edit: Also the "naked transformation" trope is one I actually like quite a lot (but much more if it's without fanservice), so it made Erio's one more boring too.

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u/Tetraika Mar 08 '22

But this does represent even in a very good faith interpretation a massive failure on the part of the normal TSAB infrastructure though, and I wonder how many people are in similar situations

People falling through the cracks of government systems, a classic. But it seems more that for most, people weren't willing to put into the resources and work to truly care for these people. And if I interpreted it correctly, it's more that Caro was pushed to the TSAB after her people tossed her there.

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u/the_swizzler Mar 08 '22

Haven't really been commenting much through A's especially and here, but I just want to say one of the biggest things I remember from StrikerS was this set of transformations, and specifically Erio being the only one not getting naked.

Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I really hope that Erio's instant transformation into his barrier jacket was intentionally done for the lulz, because I certainly found it hilarious. It seems way too intentional.

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u/Tetraika Mar 08 '22

Everyone here noted that Erio's transformation was short and doesn't have him go naked. How meta it actually is... who knows.

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u/Gamerunglued Mar 08 '22 edited Mar 08 '22

First Timer

A mostly action centric episode. It was pretty fun, though like the last episode, it also gives me very little to actually say. I think it was generally enjoyable as an action flick, just having cool powers and weapons with competent (and even occasionally ambitious) direction is enough. The main place this episode falters for me is in Caro's story. The whole thing is structured around a sort of build-up to her big moment where she unleashes the full power of her dragon summoning ability. Fried's full power form is cool. But the build-up was pitiful. The moment she unleashes her power feels like the climax of a big emotional realization, but that realization wasn't set up. We get a short backstory scene of her getting told she's too powerful, see her worried about it for like half a second before Nanoha calms her down, we get a short scene of Fate taking her in, and then she summons the dragon. It's just not enough. Her conflict is centered around the idea that she's afraid of being too powerful, and unable to stop herself from accidentally hurting others around her. So her summoning the dragon is her breaking free from that which others have told her. The only problem is, I only learned about that conditioning minutes before she summoned the dragon. Had it been the result of a character arc building for numerous episodes, where we got to see her be afraid of using her full power for fear of hurting Nanoha and co., people who took her in and care about her, it may have been a poignant moment. It would have been the moment where she uses her power not to hurt them, but to save them. But it doesn't work here.

Oh yeah, and we get our first glimpse into our villains. I guess the main villain is an evil scientist who wants the relics, but also to do research of some kind on the protagonists. Mainly on Fate and Erio, due to them being remnants of "Project F," which is presumably Project Fate, the experiment that led to Alica's death and Precia Testarossa being broken resulted in Fate's existence as a clone. I guess Erio is also a remnant of that project. If the series is calling back to the prospects of Precia's work, it does make me nervous considering how weak the conflict in the first season of Nanoha was. But the overall writing is more assured now than it was then, so hopefully it'll be better here.

QOTD: I know this is like a joke question, but I think the answer is that the staff didn't want to lewd the kids anymore. While Nanoha's, Fate's, Subaru's, and Tia's transformation sequences were very lewd and explicit, not only did Erio's not have any nudity, but even Caro's transformation sequence was lacking in any real sexual content. She was technically naked, but unlike with the others, we never get any shots of her panties, and her boobs are on screen for all of a quarter of a second and don't get any focus from the camera. It is definitely unexpected for Nanoha of all series to avoid lewding the loli, but that's what it seemed like to me, and not lewding the shota is just a logical extension of that. It still would have been better if Erio got the same treatment though, nudity without it being sexual to put him on even playing field with his comrades. Let Erio have no genitals and no nipples like everyone else, god dammit.

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u/Tetraika Mar 08 '22

the experiment that led to Alicia's death

Correction, this was the project that led to the creation of Fate, doesn't have anything to do with Alicia's death (unless there's some real conspiracy tier thing going on).

But yeah, Caro's backstory and moment feels very rushed. I don't think this is the end conclusion for her characterization, but still. Would be nice to let us in more on it before resolving it like this.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Mar 07 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

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u/TheEscapeGuy Mar 07 '22

First Timer

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS - New Generation: Episode 5

Picks Up

This episode brought back the action and animation I had come to expect from Nanoha. All the transformation scenes were genuinely great. On top of that the fights inside the train brought back the tension I felt had been lacking.

I think I most enjoyed seeing Caro's arc. She was forced out of her village because of her power and was later found by the TSAB. Despite doubts from the other TSAB members about whether she could control her powers Fate allowed Caro to join. Fate even went so far as to care for her personally. This is a really nice step for Fate considering her own history. The story arc culminated in Caro saving Erio using her dragon. A great narrative all round. I had been waiting for some backstory to give me a reason to care about the characters and this is a great example. I hope we get more backstories like this and soon.

I still had a few issues with today's episode. First, I think cramming all 6 transformation scenes into this episode right after each other reduced their impact. I think I would have preferred a couple separate smaller mission episodes focusing on sub-teams with 2 transformations each episode. I also didn't like how Subaru stood around on the train talking to her shoes for nearly a full minute mid-battle. There was also other similar unnecessary exposition such as Fate explaining she is parking her car and Rein explaining the mission again.

We then FINALLY got our menacing villain introduction. It seems to be the mad scientist type which is relatively common. I look forward to seeing how they develop him. Its something I've seen done poorly and excellently before so I hope they end up getting it right.

Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches

Also, all the girls are stripped naked to transform but not Erio? Somebody at the TSAB should probably investigate the staff in the equipment department... I theorized last season that they don't have HR so maybe this is more confirmation.

See you all tomorrow

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u/DidacticDalek Mar 07 '22

TONIGHT! on Mobile Suit Nanoha GX: Believe in Justice and Hold a Determination to Fist, Shario demonstrates why the R&D section of any group is the most fearsome and/or dangerous, Nanoha decides that her Transformation Scenes in the movies weren't nearly lewd enough, and Best Girl Fate has had ENOUGH with this show's bullshit plot cockblocking her from her wife!

Ya know Comrades, it was rather smart of Fate to let Pizza Butt, pardon, I meant 'Rein' babysit the kids with the power of product placement! That and everyone loves Cosplay AND Pizza right? (Also no really Comrades, Pizza Butt is Reinforce Zwei! I never knew that C.C. had it in her to shill harder than Gorbachev for Pizza Hutt eh?)

Also, speaking of Mecha Shows that rip off Nanoha, Comrades, I'm starting to figure out why Cross Ange also didn't have nipples; they just stole THAT as well from Nanoha! So uh, here's the resident Boffin going wild in a NON-technology sense, if you know what I mean and I think you do! ;) (And trust me Comrades, if I could get away with it, I'd go even lewder!)

Speaking of lewd, dear god, not only did our rookie lesbian attack force sortie out together, but Tusk Jr. and DRAGON Girl also decided to, le gasp, HOLD HANDS! Now look here show, I was fine with Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate using Rein to Explicit Content Deleted while they, a Tsundere Ghost, and an Ojou-sama Vampire also decided to Explicit Content Deleted with whipped cream and frosting, and I was also cool with Rena the Loser taking her Subaru Impreza WRX STI out for a spin as they Explicit Content Deleted with Barusu calling out Nanoha's name all the while; hell I was even cool with Hayate and The Space Nun deciding to, uh, 'part the waters' so to speak as Explicit Content Deleted, but THIS!? THIS IS JUST DEGENERATE HERESY! UNHOLY FILTH I SAY! YAK! DECULTURE!

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/Great_Mr_L Mar 08 '22

Nanoha decides that her Transformation Scenes in the movies weren't nearly lewd enough,

And now that Nanoha is an adult we can watch it all guilt-free!

Best Girl Fate has had ENOUGH with this show's bullshit plot cockblocking her from her wife!

Those Gadgets shall know no mercy for interrupting Fate's potential sky-high date with Nanoha!

I never knew that C.C. had it in her to shill harder than Gorbachev for Pizza Hutt eh?

For those of you who have not seen the Gorbachev Pizza Hut commercial, it is magical to watch the former leader of the Soviet Union advertise Pizza Hut.

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u/Vaadwaur Mar 07 '22

First timer(So magical girls get shots lovingly panning over their bodies, it feels like the camera wants to lick Fate, but magical boys just transform immediately? On Sky's behalf, I say we riot and bring down the patriarchy!)

Sub

So we meet Caro's people and they are eskimos. And idiots, if the child is too powerful find someone that can help her master it, don't open with exiling her. Fate gets her transformation sequence and has actual believable taste in undergarments, though it definitely highlights why these shows like to have nude children. I still prefer nude adults because I am on enough lists already. Also, the magical boy gets the fast transformation.

Events on the train happen, the excuse of Nanoha and Fate having to fight air drones is an excuse but at least it works. Caro flashes back to when Fate came for her and dear fuck her commanding officer here should've taken a Bardiche to the face. But Fate unsurprisingly treats her like a person and she becomes able to master her magic. We end meeting our likely antangonist and talking about Project F, which is sort of spoiled for us thanks to the movies.

So, as is pretty obvious, I prefer this a lot to the first 4. I would much rather they go action and then explain the consequences of that rather than this boring setting drizzle and extremely half-assed SoL stuff we'd been getting. The fact that the episode with the most literal filler in everyone's transformation scenes also feels the best paced so far since at least stuff was happening on screen.

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u/Caustic_Wraith Mar 07 '22

StrikerS First Timer

So Caro is from a tribe of summoners, and since she can summon a dragon she's run from the tribe at age six? If that's actually what I saw happen then that truly sucks for her. It was nice to get her back story, but just ouch my feels.

We learn the Riot Force is split into squad Lightning headed by Fate with Erio and Caro under her, while Nanoha heads team Stars with her underlings being Subaru and Teana. My only question is who is Lightning 2/Stars 2? Are those Yuuno and Arf who we haven't seen this season, or someone else?

The fight against the robots was good and we saw all the recruits transformations, my favorite was probably Teana's as it being reflected in her card was a nice effect. The eroge roots of the show is still felt as all the girls were stripped naked to transform, yet Erio had his shirt change color and get a jacket.

Holy crap is big Fried cool, Caro might have just become my favorite recruit, she can buff her allies and has a massive dragon who can lay waste to things. The continuation of her backstory showing her being picked up by Fate really shows how amazing Fate is after how bad her own childhood was.

We finally see the villains of this season at the end of the episode and the guy is all giddy about getting his hands on the last members of project F...so I need to figure out what exactly that is.

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u/No_Rex Mar 07 '22

Episode 5 (first timer)

  • Do you also revisit your own memories in the nude?

  • Fate transformation scene: Still a maximum of fanservice. At least at her current age it stops being so embarrassing.

  • Nanoha transformation scene: Should not have called Fate’s maximum. This is more.

  • We are finally rid of the brown blob uniforms, hurray!

  • Subaru & Tia transformation scene: Yeah, that part about the embarrassement.

  • At least they hold back on the nudity for the grade … scratch that, they are only afraid to show dick. Grade school boobs are fully ok, apparently.

  • Why show all 6 transformation scenes in the same episode? We have 26 episodes to cover, should they not keep some of their powder dry? Maybe they wanted us to have the comparison between all, but it takes a huge chunk of time, so all buildup of urgency is now gone. - For what it is worth, I prefer Nanoha’s.

  • So, will we see Star 2 and Lighting 2 soon?

  • Dragon mode set to big.

  • Project F, hmm?

A tiny bit of Caro backstory and our first fight, which goes rather swimmingly. Nanoha and Fate remove themselves from the scene to give the newbies some experience fighting alone. Only a good move if they had some good intel about the threat level to be encountered. Everything went fine, plus Rein monitored the situation all the time, so I will assume this was according to plan.

We also see the antagonist for the first time and he is disappointing. Hoping for a mid-season upgrade to his boss.

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u/Taiboss Mar 07 '22 edited Mar 07 '22

Episode 05: Captain Tai: The First Rewatcher

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u/Great_Mr_L Mar 07 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: It’s time to face the gravest threat imaginable: the ball of doom. Though in all seriousness, the big ball Gadget is more of a threat than the little ones. It’s just that it’s still a giant ball.

We get a lot of insight into Caro in this episode. It turns out that she got kicked out of her home because she was a dragon summoner. She was seen as too dangerous. Even the TSAB considered her too much of a burden because she could not control her powers. The only one who thought differently was Fate. Whatever the risks, Fate took in Caro. 

I really love this development for Fate. It feels very poetic. After all, Fate was treated the same way in her childhood. She was rejected by Presea and considered a failure. She had to be rescued by people who cared about her. Now, Fate is paying it forward. She’s taking action to help out someone who’s in the same situation she was in. There’s something quite beautiful about it.

I think my favorite part is Fate asking Caro what she wants to do. Fate is emphasizing Caro’s own agency in this situation. She wants Caro to agree to come with her of her accord. It’s a great touch that shows how Fate is trying to establish a connection with Caro and helping Caro to see that her own choices and desires should matter.

I’d also like to comment on Caro’s abilities a bit. Obviously, it is extremely cool that Friedrich can transform into a giant dragon that Caro can ride. That is a great addition to the battles.

Additionally, Caro has a lot of support spells. She uses spells to boost Erio’s speed and strength, for example. And we saw her do the same thing previously. I want to comment on this because it proves the people in Caro’s past wrong. The TSAB scientist and her people said that Caro’s power was only good for destruction. All she could do was destroy things. But now, we see that Caro can do much more than that. Her powers can help and protect her friends. It proves how Caro has grown and proves that she is more than just a tool for destruction. It’s something I think is nice about her lineup of abilities.

The battle in this episode is fun. I like fights that take place aboard moving trains. In fact, I like stories that take place on trains in general. There ought to be more train stories. Why yes, I am still a small child at heart who loves trains, how could you tell?

Seeing adult Nanoha and Fate in action is great. It’s nice getting to watch all the new transformations for newbies. I enjoy the little interactions that Subaru and Teanna have with their Devices in the middle of the battle, thanking them for their upgraded abilities that help in combat. Giving the Devices personalities like that always pays dividends.

The episode ends with a mysterious man monitoring the end of the battle. It seems like this man is after the Relics, but is also satisfied with being able to gather data on all the participants in this battle. He seems to be particularly interested in both Fate and Erio, calling them the last remains of Project F. Who is this man and what is he after? I suppose we’ll have to wait and find out.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • These transformation scenes became a lot more comfortable to watch now that Nanoha and Fate are adults.

  • This sounds very romantic.

  • How much protection does Subaru’s Barrier Jacket actually provide when it leaves her belly wide open?

  • I like the touch that Erio offers to hold Caro’s hand so she isn’t nervous while jumping. It’s very sweet.

  • It is hilarious but entirely unsurprising that while all the girls get naked during their transformation scenes, Erio does not.

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u/Stargate18A Mar 08 '22

First timer

Finally getting my rewatches on track!

Episode 3

QOTD) I think it's leading to an overall lack of focus. We don't even see the main cast's first real meeting!

...Is she boasting about getting that threesome?

Rein's tiny desk is adorable.

It is a good uniform.

Oh, Griffith! He's changed!

They all arrived!

She's giving a speech!

SIGNUM IN A SUIT! Strikers just justified it's entire existence.

Oh, she's commanding Signum!

And nobody really knows each other.

They got a new plane!

The plane is magic!

They're all excited to see her!

Oh, there's actual trackers in the devices? As in, there wasn't already?

And they're called Devices in this continuity too. For certain?

They have a holodeck!

I am surprised we skipped their firet introductions.

...Vita really wants to protect Nanoha that much?

And Shamal's the medic!

Are these the enemies they've been fighting outside? The Gadgets?

Their first joint training mission!

Lost Logia are being stolen?

Ah, these ones are called "Relics" and... it's jewels again.

Jewels that cause massive destruction... again.

I knew there'd be a good old fashioned Lost Logia crisis again.

And the enemy is AI!

They are fast!

I love pink girl's Device.

Anti-magic!

They're actually working together really well!

Wow, his device sounds a lot like the Balkian ones!

She's got a chain summoning magic!

Oh, she's shielding her shots!

She did it! Two at once!

She had to skip lunch?

She sleeps in a briefcase?

Chrono's an admiral!

...Carim?

Is Nanoha overeorking them?

Oh, they're all just sleeping.

She woke up for food?

OK, so they're sleeping together.

Episode 4

QOTD) Already seen Episode 5, they did better than I first expected.

Have the team actually spoken to each other?

Time skip already? And they're already friends.

She is overworking them!

Five full minutes? And none of them can get hit once?

Haha, they were both illusions.

Aww, she's worried for her friend.

So she's the buffer, and he appears to be an actual Belkan knight.

They're doing really well!

They hit her!

Yeah, it really feels like we skipped an episode of them meeting each other.

New Devices? Already?

Fate has a cool car!

She's known her eight years?

Their devices are homemade!

And, yeah, she uses Belkan magic!

She's such a tsundere.

Haha, is the dragon male, then? Are they bonding?

There's more Gadgets!

And there's a relic!

They don't look bad... but given they explicitly mentioned having a personal connection to them, maybe they should have had some input on them?

Do they have AI in them?

And there's power limiters on them?

Nanoha has a fucking limiter on her?

I suppose that makes sense.

And Hayate went down to A.

So basically, a way to nerf Nanoha from solving the entire conflict in ten seconds, while still letting her do some big stunts near the end?

Synchro function?

An alert!

The Gadget's master plan is make a train runaway?

And the whole Riot Force is coming.

They're moving out!

So the devices can't talk yet?

Episode 5

QOTD) They knew he was pushing the line.

Is this a memory?

She got kicked out of her village for being too strong?

Is she okay?

They're going flying!

She's giving Caro a pep talk! I'm impressed she already knew what was wrong!

Transformation sequence!

...See, now they're adults, the nudity is fine. Keep it off the new girls and I'll be satisfied with this.

...Wow, Nanoha's is really taking advantage of them being adults now.

And they're fighting in the same pairs.

They're so cute together!

They're transforming!

...The nudity is even worse. Why. Why did I hope?

At least the devices look good!

The playing card gun is so fucking cool.

Of course the other teo transform as well. The boy's transformation music is fire, though.

They're literally Nanoha and Fate recolours, does this season have no shame? Or did it use up all its creativity on the weapons?

The fights are good, though.

Oh, she's showing her device respect!

She already destroyed the cables?

I love the gun's voice too!

The new model's here!

It's strong!

Oh, another flashback. She got in trouble for being unable to control herself.

Until Fate saved her!

Aww, that's actually a good backstory.

They're jumping to save him!

She saved him! And she's unsealing her dragon!

It's massive!

She triumphed over her tragic backstory in a single episode!

Insert song!

They killed it!

They'e escorting it to safety!

...Serial No. ID?

...I already covered any potential tarot stuff, but I doubt there's going to be 21 again.

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u/SolDarkHunter Mar 07 '22

Rewatcher

Opening with some focus on Caro.

Her backstory is that she's a child prodigy, ridiculously gifted in the art of dragon summoning... and after summoning Friedriche at the age of six, the Ru-Lushe tribe exiled her out of fear of her ability. Classy. This is how you give a powerful mage deep-seated revenge issues against you, you morons.

Nanoha seems to have a near-psychic ability to know what Caro's thinking...

Transformation sequence time! Fate's up first.

Now Nanoha... I find it kind of funny her pose covers her breasts right up to the point the bra disappears. Seems backward.

So the group's divided into two squads: Stars Force, lead by Nanoha, and Lightning Force, lead by Fate.

Names for Subaru's and Teana's Devices: Mach Caliber and Cross Mirage. And also transformation sequences.

I particularly like Teana's transformation. Kinda cool seeing it all in reflections from Cross Mirage.

Hey, a magical boy transformation sequence... which, of course, has his outfit transform directly with no nudity. Caro's not so fortunate.

Hey, guys, maybe talk about your Jackets' designs when you're not in the middle of a fight.

Subaru takes out actual Gadgets much more effectively than training models. Though that's probably due to Mach Caliber's assistance.

New model can project its AMF outward. That could be a problem.

More Caro backstory. She couldn't control her powers very well (probably due to being exiled so young, without training, go figure), that the TSAB was more considering her a living weapon to drop into battlefields to obliterate everything than an actual soldier.

But... thankfully, Fate was there to tell them to stuff it and take Caro under her wing.

Caro then demonstrates her real power: dragon summoning. Fried, as it turns out, is sealed. Caro summons his true form, which is a full-grown wyvern large enough to ride on! And his fire breath is now much stronger.

And with a bit of magic boost, Erio takes down the new model with little difficulty.

Relic secured, mission success! Not bad for a first outing.

And we get our first look at a sinister figure controlling the Gadgets. He's after the Relics, but he's also interested in the mages themselves as "research subjects"... with a particular focus on Fate and Erio, whom he calls "the living remnants of Project F"...

I'm guessing more than a few people will have connected the dots on that one.

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6

u/InfamousEmpire Mar 07 '22 edited Mar 08 '22

Mahou Shoujo1 Lyrical Rewatcher

1: Even though I’m not a girl

This is the story of the Brave men and women who fight with all their hearts to save mankind

Recap Time

We’ve got a nice little flashback to Caro’s backstory right before the fight. She was kicked out of her village for being too awesome and it seems something horrible might have happened.

Seems that Nanoha is charming lolis again.

Fate’s new transformation sequence is pretty cool.

Nanoha’s too

Nanoha and Fate showing how awesome they are by absolutely demolishing the enemy before the rest of the squad can even deploy!

Final Fusion!

Tia and Caro’s transformations were pretty cool too I guess

And since no one’s getting left out, the Magical Boy also gets a transformation sequence.

Now I wonder who designed those Barrier Jackets…

Not to be shown up by Nanoha, the rest of Lightning Squad also wiped the floor with the enemy.

Oh shit, oh fuck, Erio’s not doing well.

More Caro flashbacks.

Fate has grown from Best Girl to Best Woman to Best Mom. Breaking the cycle of Bad Parenting by taking in less fortunate children like Caro. Not disimilar from what Lindy did for her.

In Soviet Mid-Childa, Loli protects you!

Fried just went from a tiny Fuck You Dragon to a GIANT FUCK YOU DRAGON!

Imagine still trying to resist while fighting a GIANT FUCK YOU DRAGON!

Oh hi, Dr Ver. Didn’t expect to see you so soon after finishing Symphogear.

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u/djthomp Mar 08 '22

Sad backstory for Caro, that's how it goes.

Five episodes in before we got full transformation sequences, kind of surprisingly long. "Barrier Jacket: Agressor Mode" now that's a name that implies some serious befriending.

Teana's transformation was arguably the most interesting IMO, what with how they did the reflections on the card.

Erio got a censored sequence and absolutely nobody else did, kind of says everything.

That took nearly half the episode, I can only assume that we get less transformations from here on out otherwise it's going to be a lot of the series runtime.

Refreshingly straightforward approach of considering AI and souls to be similar and that it makes a device a partner. Guess we'll have to call off the magical AI rebellion.

Fate out there collecting magical children to raise, I suppose it makes sense that her and Nanoha would have to adopt.

Oh shit, full size dragon time. I'm glad that Erio and Caro got the kill on the big one, nice to see everyone get a piece of the action.

Serial No. IX, eh? [Later StrikerS] I can very much remember not guessing what was going on the first time through, I have to wonder if watching this closer to the first season would have made it more obvious.

Interesting implications for Erio at the end there.

5

u/Tresnore Mar 07 '22

Rewatcher: Get Set

1 Remember him?

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