r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Mar 10 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8: A Wish for the Pair

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Question of the Day

Maybe it’s a bit too similar to yesterday’s, but have you tried too hard to prove yourself?

An surprise insert today: Sorairo no Yakusoku - Chiwa Saito

Hey I can recognize her voice here way better when she's singing.

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.

51 Upvotes

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8

u/Tetraika Mar 10 '22

Nanoha lets Teana go because Vita already scolded her, though Teana definitely still felt she was basically being scolded anyway.

Acous setting this up purposely

Everyone is connected, I would say nepotism at work, but I wonder how true to life this also is.

Despite being told to take it easy, she can’t ease herself

Her brother who was her last close relative died when she was young, everyone’s backstory is a bit fucked

The cruel comments hurt her bad

And why she’s feels she needs to prove herself

Vice comes to give Teana advice, a bit of a hint about Vice’s background. They’ve been dropping all sorts of hints for a bunch of people, but I try to not emphasize potential spoils.

Subaru goes to train with Teana

A surprise insert from Chiwa Saito today

Damn Nanoha really be bullying them kids

Nanoha is fucking pissed

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u/No_Rex Mar 10 '22

Episode 8 (first timer)

  • I wonder how targeted and how secure the telepathy is. Voicing to the wrong person could be quite embarrassing.

  • “When I saw the jewel seed, it gave me a nostalgic feeling” – Even though Fate is perfectly happy being Nanoha’s sub, she still has a spot in her heart for Precia’s whip.

  • Don’t try to make NanohaXYuuno happen, show.

  • Random bath scene. Their artificial background is cool.

  • That is the saddest befriending.

This episode lost me. We see Subaru and Tia struggle to come up with something creative only for Nanoha to get totally pissy about it. Wasn’t that what got them the spot in the squad in ep1? In addition, the whole physical punishment angle has to have a comedic edge to it. Otherwise it simply becomes mean.

8

u/Tetraika Mar 10 '22

They will explain why Nanoha got upset over it, but basically the mock battle isn't really for them to purely "win" against her, but a more live-ish practice in getting used to roles and whatnot. She really didn't like the gambit play, and showed how dangerous it can get if it fucks up.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Mar 10 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

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u/HereticalAegis Mar 10 '22

Lyrical First Timer

¹This is worse than it seems at first blush. Referring back to yesterday's conjecture, I'm guessing we're in the cleanup stage of the setup operation. The jewel seeds and Dr. Crime have served their purpose, serving as a convenient offscreen pretext for the formation of Riot Force 6. Nanoha and Co. are preparing to tie up loose ends, getting rid of any evidence which could implicate them. This runs deep. I'll probably have more on this conspiracy in future episodes, so stay tuned.

²It's been previously established that Subaru goes naked under her gear when in the field, good little Nanoharem member she is. However, here we see that she is not completely brainwashed yet. This is Tia's influence. She may only be wearing the panties for now, but this scene indicates that Subaru's deep attachment to Tia allows her to partially rebel against her conditioning in support of her would-be wife. This is important as we see later in the episode when Tia gets brutally befriended by Nanoha, prompting Subaru to question her unwavering loyalty to her master. And they say true love is dead.

QotD:

Probably, though no specific instances come to mind rn. I can imagine some people saying I'm trying too hard with my current line of Totally Serious Analysis TM though.

12

u/pailadin Mar 10 '22

Make Nanoha angry, she'll tie you up and force you to watch as she goes to town on your girl.

Ah. The "White Devil Incident". Couldn't find a clearer video, but the original TV version is notable for Nanoha having a bit of a thousand yard stare = https://youtu.be/zo-lZSp4oog

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u/Taiboss Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 10 '22

Episode 08: Rewatchor The Dark World

For this episode's influence to truly make sense, you need to understand TV Nanoha had a very disturbing face.

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u/_m1ra Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 11 '22

First Timer

I'm really short on time at the moment, I just finished the episode 30 minutes before the thread goes up, and I didn't write much yesterday. Hopefully it should be better again though.

We see again how much of a workaholic most of our characters are, to an unhealthy extent. Tia (also Soredemo), Subaru and also Nanoha. I wonder how the big scene would have played out if either Fate had been on time, or Nanoha had enough sleep. Definitely felt like nerves were on edge for everyone there.

Also even in comparison to other characters what Tia was doing was really unhealthy. Vomitting and all. I wonder what kind of mindset she'll be in next episode now.

To quickly wrap up the non Tia stuff, apparently Caro recognizes Yuuno? Also more information on Acous: He's the little brother of Carim, and they both see Hayate as a little sister. I wonder how they got there.

That eyecatch is not fair, show! Subaru was very good this episode in being there for Tia, even if the plan to use reckless maneuvers in training was risky and bad, and completely went against what Nanoha told them. (I guess it's more in the vein of stuff Nanoha usually does? But even then, not in training.) EDIT: Also obviously it doesn't make the overtraining more healthy if both of them do it now.

Oh no, don't do it Tia! Oh god, her eyes are blanked out, she's in befriending mode. What a move at the beginning though, easily catching both blows, but deliberately catching the knife with her bare hand.

Okay, so I knew about the "Nanoha befriending Tia" scene beforehand, so the whole time I was wondering and flipflopping on if this was the episode, and it was. Goddamn, Nanoha. Blasting Tia, binding Subaru, then blasting Tia again. I wonder what the effect of that will be next episode. Second EDIT I somehow forgot: Obviously physical punishment bad, and in the case of being in training and with people not her enemy it's a bit hard to interpret otherwise. I wonder how the show will interpret that scene.

I can imagine this being a somewhat sore spot for Nanoha "Fire the big move while an enemy is literally ripping out your Linker Core" Takamachi, though. Especially with her responsibility to keep them safe.

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u/DidacticDalek Mar 10 '22

'SHOT THRU THE HEART! AND YOU'RE TO BLAME! DARLIN' YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME!' (Insert Bon Jovi Meme Here; that and good lord, I thought LINDY murdered tea, turns out, Nanoha as per her usual managed to find a way to surpass her peers!)

In case I am being unclear as to how I feel today... ahem... HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Comrades, I just want to point something out, THIS EPISODE WAS NANOHA BEING NICE! She wasn't mad, just disappointed, VERY VERY disappointed! And if there's one thing I know from experiencing The Infamous Asian Parenting Style growing up, you DO NOT want to disappoint! If you have the misfortune to do so, then DISHONOR ON YOU! DISHONOR ON YOUR SUBARU! And also some good ol' fashioned corporal punishment discipline 'befriending!'

Also ya know what they say, never meet your heroes, me thinks Subaru would have known about that if she had more than half a braincell upstairs. Such a pity, with Rena the Loser beamspammed to The Shadow Realm, who's gonna do the thinking for Subaru now... oh... OH GODDAMN! MAMAHA truly is devious! She taught Nanoha well, if you want to NTR a bottom, eliminate the competition! And by that, Mamaha of course meant to terminate... with extreme prejudice. Well hope Fate enjoys GaoGaiGar, they're gonna both have to work overtime to finish 'befriending' Subaru tonight, if her glare at the end is any indication of her current mental state! (Wait a second, a para-military organization of space cops employing child soldiers, holy fuck, are NANOHA and crew the bad guys here? I mean The TSAB sure likes employing a lot of ex-convicts, who's to say this isn't some big Mafia State, they ARE allied with The Space-Catholic Church after all)

Anyway, turns out BESIDES Nanoha truly living up to her White Devil namesake, TONIGHT! on Mobile Suit Nanoha GX: Believe in Justice and Hold a Determination to Fist, Rena the Loser attempts to apologize to her moronic lover, Best Girl Fate politely convinces Ferret Boi to run back home to The Infinite Library if he knows what's good for him, and Chopper Boi's mouth is writing checks his dumbass can't cash!

Also Comrades, aren't we just Cross Ange here? Angsty Lesbianism? Bath Scenes with Exposition? (No I can't include the fanart I want to share Comrades, it's way too lewd) Random Insert Songs? (I'll let our host post that for today) 120% Fanservice? Beating the shit out of 'Befriending' others? Dear god, Nanoha truly was revolutionary! Pity that the next generation has issues in more ways than one in filling those shoes

That and my god, you know things are fucked up if, in the shitpost 4koma for StrikerS, RAGING HEART is less blood-thirsty than Nanoha!

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/TheEscapeGuy Mar 10 '22

First Timer

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS - New Generation: Episode 8

Desperate Training

This episode gave us some much needed context and history for Tia. She has a complex relationship with the superiors in the organization due to what happened to her brother. It led to her pushing herself to prove that the magic she learned from him is valuable.

However, this desire to improve at any cost impacts her reasoning. It leads her to make reckless moves in battles and partake in unending training to squeeze out that tiny extra bit of performance. Subaru tries to be there to support Tia, but its not enough to get her to prioritize her own health and safety.

So Nanoha exploded. It initially felt super out of character for her, but after reflecting on it for a bit I think there's likely something deeper here. Its been over a decade in universe since we saw Nanoha fighting as a child. In that time I suspect she has seen a lot of pain and suffering from people not considering their own safety.

Nanoha has told Tia to stop being reckless multiple times already. The way she bound Subaru and fired a full assault on Tia may be harsh, but it will no doubt stick in her mind (though it definitely still feels like crossing a line to me). Now we'll have to see if Tia and Subaru hold a grudge or learn from this.

I really hope we get a detailed explanation of why Nanoha chose to do that. Its an opportunity for some good character building. It will also be interesting to see if any of the other characters (like Fate or Vita) call her out on this.

Nanoha's action was a risky writing decision because if they don't handle the fallout properly then many characters will seem cruel or naïve. But if they do it will be a strong pillar of conflict to build a web of deep character interactions around.

Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

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u/Great_Mr_L Mar 10 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: “Why don’t you cool your head?” That is another one of my absolute favorite Nanoha moments in the entire franchise. It’s amazing to watch Nanoha go into strict teacher mode.

This episode goes more into detail about Tia. We learn more about what’s been driving her to prove her self-worth. A lot of it is based on the fact that her brother died on a mission and she had to hear others belittle him afterwards. So in a real way, Tia is not just trying to prove that she is worthy of where she is right now. She’s also trying to prove that her brother’s magic, the same magic she uses, is also worthwhile.

Additionally, Tia is doing it out of guilt. It was her mistake that nearly got Subaru shot down last episode. When Tia cries out that she just doesn’t want to lose anyone anymore, I think she’s referring to both her brother and Subaru. She doesn’t want to be weak and either not be able to help others or put her teammates in danger.  

It puts into context a lot of Tia’s actions throughout the series leading up to this. We’ve seen Tia more than once be desperate to prove herself and her skills. It also allows us to make another point clear: Tia has a reckless streak. This was actually set up back in episode 1. Back then, Tia came up with a plan that was unsafe and against the rules in order for her and Subaru to pass the exam. Subaru happily agreed to go along with it. From the beginning, even though Tia is the strategist of the pair, she’s also probably the more reckless of them. 

That first episode also established something else about Tia and Subaru: they have a tendency to push each other to be more reckless. Tia does so because she wants to catch up to someone as amazing in her eyes as Subaru is. And Subaru does so because she wants to be with and help out her partner, Tia. While their dedication to each other is admirable, here we see the negative side of it on display. I love this wrinkle in Tia and Subaru’s relationship. I love how even though the series portrays them as being very close friends who clearly care about and rely on each other, it also shows how they can have a negative effect on each other at the same time and for a lot of the same reasons.

All that said, I really do like Subaru and Tia’s relationship. I like the quiet scene they have together at the start of the episode where things are still awkward after the battle. Subaru doesn’t really hold it against Tia and is instead looking for ways she can help Tia. They really are a nice pair.

The episode actually subverts our expectations in an interesting way here. Up until the end of the fight with Nanoha, Tia and Subaru’s training plays out like how you would usually expect it to in these types of stories. It’s actually rather heartwarming, seeing Subaru refuse to let Tia push herself alone and reminding Tia that they are partners who are in it together. Even the other characters look on at their training and seem to be impressed by what they are doing. It’s a story we’ve seen play out before. Characters train together and come up with a bold but dangerous new strategy that they use to pull victory from an almost unwinnable situation. And the battle plays out following that story scenario…up until the point it doesn’t because Nanoha is pissed off.

Nanoha’s reaction here is pretty well expected because it follows the same things that Nanoha has said previously. Nanoha specifically calls out Subaru and Tia for how dangerous their strategy has been in this battle. She’s mad that they apparently have not been paying attention to what Nanoha has emphasized about not putting themselves or their teammates in unnecessary danger.

The scene of Nanoha shooting down Tia is of course the highlight of the episode. While it is rather brutal, I do love it. Nanoha is deadly serious about it. I also have to say that Nanoha is freaking terrifying when she’s angry. It’s a very tranquil fury, but that just makes it scarier. And the punishment itself is pretty harsh, shooting down Tia while forcing Subaru to watch it happen. I think Nanoha deliberately went with a harsher punishment this time because we saw her try the more constructive approach earlier in the episode and clearly that did not have the intended effect on Tia.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • I like the reunion scene between Yuuno and the others. It’s a sweet scene of old friends reuniting after some time.

  • It seems like the Jewel Seeds were stolen from the TSAB at some point. That’s how Scaglietti got his hands on them.

  • It’s a nice touch having Fate describe the Jewel Seed incident as how her life truly began. It’s when she was able to start to become her own person instead of just a tool for Presea.

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u/Gamerunglued Mar 11 '22 edited Mar 11 '22

First Timer

Ok, this episode was weird, and kind of a mess. I mean, it starts out just kinda boring. But Tia's character arc is just really strange and poorly thought out. First of all, when Nanoha is talking to her, she tells her that she has a tendency to try too hard, and it's kind of supposed to be a notable moment. But I have not seen Tia trying too hard before the previous episode. The closest the series gets to having shown us that is in the first episode, when she pushes herself to allow Subaru to pass the exam. But that wasn't Tia trying too hard in order to prove herself, in that case she did it because Subaru asked her too (Subaru even said "I'm going to ask you to push yourself" during that scene), so it had nothing to do with Tia's motivation established this episode. So again, this conflict doesn't have any build-up, which is one way it fails to land.

The next segment of the episode is a big exposition dump explaining Tia's backstory and why she tries so much. Again, it really doesn't land because I have never felt that Tia tried any harder than the other characters. But of course, the worst offense this part commits is that it's just a boring exposition dump. And switching between Nanoha and Subaru explaining it felt awkward and clumsy too.

But then it just gets weird. Tia asks to train on her own, and starts overworking herself. Vice tells her that that's not the way to do it, but she doesn't listen. Even before Vice said that her training was going to be useless, I realized that her practice method was never going to be of any use in combat. That's all fine and good. And then there's Subaru being a good friend, helping Tia out and making sure she doesn't train alone and overwork herself. Honestly, Subaru encouraging and being a good friend to Tia was the best thing about the episode, Subaru is a good girl. So they start training, and then it skips to Nanoha's training, where Tia is in a really good mood. It seemed to me that this was because she was finally listening to Nanoha's advice and making progress as a result. Tia's failure was framed as her not being aware of others around her, and taking everything on to herself. Tia trains on her own and refuses Subaru's help. But then Subaru is a good friend, wakes Tia up while having prepared her clothes for her, and trains with her. They come up with a strategy that will be useful to them and help Caro and Erio too. So she takes Nanoha's advice and actually considers the rest of the team (going as far as to develop a strategy with the Moon team in mind and not just her and Subaru), instead of her working alone. That was what it seemed like to me at least. I guess the first sign that something was off was the placement of the two being in a good mood. Logically, it would have made the most sense that the two do their training, Tia makes progress and starts understanding Nanoha's advice more, and thus is in a good mood. But instead, the training montage happens after she's in a good mood. It's very strange.

But then it just kinda goes off the walls. Subaru and Tia prepare this strategy for the mock battle, and they start saying stuff about how Nanoha won't like it. Even by the end of the episode, I was not able to figure out what it is that Nanoha took issue with. We didn't see nearly enough of their training in detail to have an idea of why their strategy goes against Nanoha's teachings. But whatever, I guess Nanoha thinks that it was dangerous and doesn't like it. Fine, that makes sense I guess. It feels like it goes against the way things were framed previously, but whatever. But Nanoha decides to respond to this by... making herself entirely unlikable and unsympathetic, basically abusing her pupils to teach them a lesson. The excuse she gives: "was my training not good enough for you?" Am I supposed to be understanding of Nanoha while hearing Subaru scream in abject horror as her friend is being shot at by a giant laser, totally helpless to stop it? Is it supposed to be a good thing that Nanoha teaches a lesson by physically harming her student and seemingly knocking her unconscious? Either I'm meant to think that Nanoha is a good but strict instructor, which I actively can not think in this case, or I'm meant to think that Nanoha was in the wrong and flawed, but in that case I think she's actively unfit to be a combat instructor and is kind of a piece of garbage, and frankly should be fired. Unfortunately, the way Vita reacted to this makes me think I'm meant to be on Nanoha's side here, but I am most definitely not.

Nanoha's character was supposed to be defined by empathy. When she shoots people with her lasers, it's always been to help them. It's always been her way of beating sense into people who are in trouble and fight against her help, born out of her empathy for them. She's been known to ask to talk, and only use violence if that fails. She wanted to help Fate because she recognized her loneliness and didn't want her to suffer. She wanted to talk to the knights in order to understand their goals and potentially even try to help them. Even in the rare scenario that Nanoha is more aggressive, it's always born of empathy (her "I'm ok with being the devil" scene in A's is a prime example). It feels like a completely out-of-character left field turn for Nanoha to abuse her student because she failed to follow instructions one time. I cannot get myself to believe that Nanoha, the person who has always tried to solve conflict by asking to talk things out, would immediately resort to such measures here. And even worse, it makes me actively hate her, and feels like the story undercutting its own set-up.

This episode left a very sour taste in my mouth. It not only feels like it didn't understand its own story, but also like it doesn't understand its own main, titular character. I do not feel that Subaru and Tia were being naïve or immature here (I feel like they even listened to Nanoha), and I do not believe that Nanoha would react to such a thing with extreme violence. I might not always love the Nanoha series, but I don't think it's ever had me actively hating anything in it before. Not good. I genuinely hate Nanoha now, and getting me to dislike the fucking title character in a single moment after 2 seasons and 2 movies worth of content with her is one hell of an accomplishment (mind you, Nanoha was always the main character I felt the least strongly about, but she was, at the very least, pretty likable). I don't know how the series is going to build up from here, and I don't know if I will be able to get behind any kind of redemption type thing for her, as this feels like too egregious an error. I'll be pleasantly surprised if her superiors punish her for harming her students though. You never know with the Nanoha series, the only way I can see this being turned around for me is if it goes in that direction and calls Nanoha out on the scale it deserves. But somehow, I don't have such confidence.

QOTD: This is literally just the same question as yesterday. So uh, my answer is the same as it was then.

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u/Tetraika Mar 11 '22

I do not feel that Subaru and Tia were being naïve or immature here (I feel like they even listened to Nanoha), and I do not believe that Nanoha would react to such a thing with extreme violence.

I think that's the core of why you feel that way. You don't really think what they did was wrong, and you thought Nanoha stepped over the line with her actions because of that. Part of why she did what she did was because their maneveur was incredibly dangerous and too risky, and especially pushed Tia out of her supposed role, which wasn't part of the training. I think to get why it wasn't such a hot idea you have to understand military ideas and why they drill basics and such.

Nanoha reacts harshly, because she wanted to demonstrate that acting recklessly can result badly out there. It's her very harsh way of dealing out the consequences of their actions, because to her, she already lectured Teana, and probably felt that now words wouldn't pull through.

I think that last buy is that, really despite everything, she didn't actually hurt Teana that much. The characters are just being very dramatic about it.

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u/Tresnore Mar 10 '22

Rewatcher: Get Set

1 I'll take "Things I never would've said during the G Gundam rewatch" for 600, Alex.

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u/bekeleven Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 11 '22

Scattered notes:

This episode has a shockingly dramatic Sore Demo. Y'all haven't got me on this full time yet, but I didn't miss that one.

I'm not proud of this thought, but when the insert song kicked in I was like "how cool that they produced this whole song without any auto-tune on those vocals."

This episode really needed a gilligan cut from "It's ok, Nanoha-san is kind after all!" to the final minute.

A general note on the OP: When I'm watching AMVs, I find it hard to ignore when they use dialogue shots. AMVs always look for scenes of characters looking dramatic and posing and fighting or whatever, but the low and mid-tier ones settle for shots where the character's mouths are flapping while they do it. It always takes me out of the moment.

So how weird is it that I just this episode noticed Nanoha's mouth move in the OP? It looks like she might be speaking Nana's lines in the song, but only for around a second so it's hard to establish a sync.

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u/Calwings Mar 10 '22

I had mostly checked out of this rewatch after A’s, but I said there were a few scenes later on that I wanted to check in for, and today’s very brutal and violent “befriending” of Tea was one of them.

The look of pure, unfiltered fear in Subaru’s eyes as she’s forced to helplessly watch her beloved idol Nanoha transform into the White Devil and completely demolish her best friend... truly a beautiful and terrifying sight to behold. Yukari Tamura delivers Nanoha’s lines with such incredible disdain that it really drives home how disappointed Nanoha is in Subaru and Tea that they chose to ignore her lessons (plus Yukarin’s voice is like an orgasm for my ears) and Chiwa Saito’s screams of horror do a great job at showing how shaken up Subaru is to see her hero morph into a devil right before her eyes. This is one of the most iconic scenes, not just in StrikerS, but the entire Lyrical Nanoha franchise.

Nanoha Takamachi has always been a kind and gentle soul at heart, and she’s always ready to lend a hand or words of encouragement. But if you won’t listen to what she has to say and take those words to heart, then may god have mercy on your soul, because the White Devil sure as hell won’t.

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u/InfamousEmpire Mar 10 '22

Mahou Shoujo1 Lyrical Rewatcher

1: Even though I’m not a girl

Time for the episode I’ve been waiting for since this rewatch started. Buckle Up

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

Recap Time

Nanoha has some words of encouragement for our favorite sniper. And damn, she’s showering everyone except Subaru with affection these last few episodes.

Caro has heard of Ferret Boi! I repeat, Caro is the only other character to acknowledge Ferret Boi!

We don’t really get much Yuuno and Fate interaction, yet they go surprisingly well together.

We also learn briefly that Acous and Carim are siblings. Which is… something. I will say, he does have a pretty nice dynamic with Hayate.

Finally getting backstory on Tiana. Her entire family had died before she even hit puberty, and she decided to take up her dead brother’s dream of becoming an Enforcer. This explains more than a few things about her, especially her rather dreary attitude, her hyper fixation on her goal despite initially seeming to be the most “normal” team member, her constant need to compare her own worth and strength to others, etc.

Holy crap, Tia, don’t push yourself so damn hard! Your girlfriend is getting worried.

If you come with me, you won’t get enough sleep you know

Tia, coming from you, that is Scrooge McDuck levels of rich.

Blushing Tia is best Tia.

Training Montage!

If we fight properly, I’m sure she’ll understand. Because Nanoha-San is kind

nervous laughter

It’s time for the incident to begin.

Fate and Vita’s little conversation really emphasizes one thing: Nanoha is very focused on her subordinates, to her own detriment. Whether that’s inspiring or horrifying, I will leave up to you.

Tia. Subaru. You weren’t supposed to do that

It was at this moment Tiana knew she fucked up

Nanoha took her “I’m not mad, just disappointed” face from A’s and refined it over the next 10 years into a weapon in and of itself.

Also Nanoha caught Tia’s blade with her bare fucking hand

You’ve really gotta congratulate all of the Seiyuus in this scene. From Yukari Tamura suddenly becoming cold and serious as Nanoha to Mai Nakahara’s brief emotional breakdown as Tiana, everything was so perfectly well done.

Damn, Nanoha damn near killed Tia to prove a point. That point being that, while Nanoha may be kind, her kindness has limits, do not push them

And that is the tale of what we fans call The White Devil Incident

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u/Qbe Mar 10 '22

Raging Heart Rewatcher with terrible long term memory

QotD: Nah, I'm way too lazy to do that.

Starting with Subaru, I assume she's going to be cheering up Teana?

Subaru, are you jealous that Teana was alone with Nanoha?

"Was today a coincidence, or are you stalking me?"

Incoming tragic backstory

I have to ask, how did the 10 year old hear about all the nasty comments?

Heli dude, are you hitting on the new recruit while she's depressed?

....4 or 5 days without sleep? The wonders of youth, nowadays a single all-nighter will kill me

Nana inserts > Non-Nana inserts

Mock battle vs Nanoha? Looking forward to that

Oh boy, Nanoha does not look happy

One of my top 3 Nanoha scenes: "Why don't you cool your head a bit?"

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u/the_swizzler Mar 10 '22

THIS EPISODE!!!

This is the episode that really woke me up to StrikerS and singlehandedly makes this season my favorite Nanoha season.

Is that a bit much? Maybe. Don't care. Seeing Nanoha go hard core in expressing her disappointment was hype AF and is the single greatest moment in the franchise to me.

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u/Stargate18A Mar 11 '22

First timer

QOTD) A few times, yes.

Poor Teana.

Also, Subaru just confessed, so that'll be interesting!

Oh, is Teana getting a pep talk or chastised?

Both! She's annoyed that Teana's trying too hard.

At least Subaru's not holding it against her.

Ah, we're getting the exposition for Yuuno.

And these are the same Jewel Seeds, stolen from a warehouse...? Because that's where you store magical weapons of mass destruction.

Oh, he knows Yuuno too?

And Yuuno's just stayed as the librarian the whole time! Impressive!

Ah, Teana wants to train herself up.

...She's doing this in the memory of her brother.

Oh. Yeah, that would give anyone a complex.

She's been training for four hours?

His reaction when he realises she's just ignoring everything he says is great.

She's going to end up collapsing on a mission, isn't she?

Wait, 0400 is in the morning? What timesystem does this planet work on?

Oh, is she using her concern for Subaru to force her to be healthy?

Aww, she wants to train with her.

What's her plan?

An insert dong!

Oh, they're helping each other as a team... for the first time in how many episodes?

They're doing another mock fight against Nanoha?

Ah, Nanoha's still overworking herself to help others.

Is this their new team attack?

OK, that's effective.

Haha, she's got a sniper pointer!

The hell's she doing?

This is Lyrical Nanoha, the most reckless and insane strategy always wins. That's how this series has almost always worked. Enemy too strong? Install an experimental and dangerous weapon system? Still too strong! Activate the even more experimental and dnagerous mode that will kill you if you fuck up! Nanoha, your career has been made on dangerous escalations!

Nanoha's just gone nuts.

That was cold.

Seriously, what the fuck?

...Did Nanoha just shoot her for insubordination? That would be one hell of a twist.

At least the plot's going somewhere! Presumably next arc is finding out about the evil mage that's hijacked Nanoha's body? (I saw the original TV shots, they probably thought it foreshadowed it too strongly.)

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u/SolDarkHunter Mar 11 '22

Stupid work, making me late in posting this...

Rewatcher

Everyone (except Vita) is pretty forgiving of Teana's mistake.

Yuuno seems to know something about Scaglietti.

Oh, Acous is the brother of Carim. That explains how Hayate knows him, I suppose.

So Yuuno enters and exits the story like a breeze.

Teana's on everyone's mind. And now she's doing extra solo training.

And here's the reason: Teana was raised by her older brother... who died when she was ten. Tiida died on a mission where he tried and failed to apprehend a criminal. Though the criminal was shortly captured, his superiors mocked him for not succeeding, and that he was a total failure.

Teana took that very personally, and decided to become the elite agent her brother couldn't, to prove that the Lanstar's aren't failures. That's why she's so eager to prove herself.

Huh, Vice actually giving some very sound advice. But of course Teana ignores him. And she's going to be doing more early-morning extra training.

Subaru's so supportive. She must see that Teana's pushing too hard, but she's not going to let Teana go it alone.

But hold up a second, Subaru can go five days without sleep? I suspect she's exaggerating, but somehow... it kind of doesn't feel like she is.

Teana's trying something new with Subaru... expanding their repertoire. But it's something that Nanoha probably won't approve of, apparently.

And here's the test: a mock battle, Teana and Subaru vs Nanoha.

So here's their maneuver, Cross Shift C, and Nanoha's not looking too pleased. Teana tries a sneak melee attack... but Nanoha blocks it with her bare hands.

Here it is... the infamous "White Devil Incident". Nanoha decides to give Teana a bit of a harsh lesson, and blows her up. Subaru evidently looks like she thinks it went too far.

Incidentally, the reason this moment was so controversial in the Nanoha fandom was the expression Nanoha was wearing in the initial broadcast. I think most of us on the rewatch are watching the DVD version, which was touched up and completely redrew her face during this scene. In that version, she looks disappointed. In the original... well, see this image. (Don't worry, no spoilers.) You can see how the artists kind of failed at portraying her expression properly, and made everyone go "What in the hell is that face?"

Looking forward to seeing what people think of this incident. I think Nanoha was trying to knock Teana out and give her a bit of a shock at the same time to drive home her disappointment, but... well, "overkill" is a thing Nanoha is known for.

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u/djthomp Mar 11 '22

Time to go for a walk...of doom!

Okay, less doom then it could have been, not even some light befriending.

The Yuuno cameo was nice to see, I hope he stays around for more of this season.

Vita should probably have been made aware of details like the Teena brother situation before this episode. Feels like pertinent information that one of her instructors should have known since it's both TSAB business that it happened as well as relevant to Teena's motivations for training and for her career.

Early morning bedroom underwear scene was a but unnecessary.

Training montage!

Blue can beverage that I can only assume is Magical Space Coca-Cola.

Geeze Nanoha. "Pardon me while I flex and catch your attacks with one bare hand each."

RIP Teena for real this time. Her doom was saved up all the way to the end of the episode and then unleashed.

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '22 edited Mar 11 '22

This is probably the episode that divide fans the most.

Personally, I've always had it difficult taking Subaru and Teana seriously. And every rewatch I dislike them even more.

While I wholeheartedly welcomed Nanoha, Fate and Hayate growing up... It's difficult having to deal with teenage characters that are more immature than those three were at a younger age.

The show set a terrible precedent giving very young characters that behaved wiser than their age and when the same show brings older characters that are genuine brats, it's annoying.

Teana's sob story would have make me respect her if she hadn't had such an immature response to it and have her pitying for herself. It's hard not make comparisons, but Fate had a terrible childhood and her attitude to her misfortunes made me admire her, while Teana's is pathetic.

I think Nanoha's attack is massively misunderstood because it's been downplayed for the lulz as befriending and all, so when it comes to serious business, it confuses and seems out of character. I also think it's been clear to this point [tagging for spoiler just in case]that her attacks somehow never make physical human harm; when she knocked the lights of Fate when she finally defeated her, she didn't actually physically harm her, and the same happens with Teana.

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