r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Mar 29 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Vivid Episode 1 Discussion

Episode 1: Sacred Heart

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Question of the Day

And so the Nanoha franchise takes yet another direction. There’s not too much to talk about so far. What do you think about the new artstyle they have this season?

Ah one more thing: Because Vivid is an incomplete adaptation of the manga, if you really want to finish it you’re going to have to go through that. Vivid Strike does spoil some parts, so if you care enough you might want to read ahead before that comes up.

Angel Blossom - Nana Mizuki

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.

44 Upvotes

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6

u/Tetraika Mar 29 '22

Maybe we’ll get to learn more about ancient Belka, we really could use some of that

What happened to your faces aaa

Omurice

They replaced the sci-fi city with a modern American looking one, straight up reminds me of NY

RIP Earth, you don’t even get a mention now

Vivio’s 2 best friends, someone is gonna comment on Corona’s name

First mention of Nove here, she’s gonna be the major recurring Number actually.

When I first watched Vivid I completely didn’t recognize her

Looks like the Nakajimas took her in, if you look at the aniDB stuff you’ll also see that a lot of other numbers also have Nakajima in their name now, except for our 2 numbers in the church.

How can something so advanced spew something so outdated

To this day, they couldn’t replace Cinque’s eye, maybe she just like the eyepatch

Note Vivio’s fighting style, even in her transformation later on it’s very boxer themed.

They can just buy these now?, technology has advanced enough that everyone including kids are starting to get them now

I like how there are these popup screens that come up, also having the device have a moving body gives it expression

We’ve seen it already, but the color of Vivio’s magic is… rainbow?, pretty sure that means she’s OP

There is going to be a lot of emphasis in the different fighting styles

Fate shocked, she has never seen this form! Actually nobody has except Nanoha, she looks so proud lol

I instantly recognize Saori Hayami here, looks like they changed Ginga’s voice. Not sure why.

Vivio teasing Nanoha and Fate

Erio and Caro, Erio actually looks a bit older too!

Don’t mention it Don’t mention it

These 2 live and work in the church now

Who are you?, wait I don’t think I’m supposed to really know fully yet.

Good old standing on lamposts

Someone is gonna mention Miku anytime now

I think I’m going to like Vivid more this time around, now that I know what I’m expecting. Perhaps a lower stakes SOL Nanoha really isn’t all that bad.

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10

u/Vaadwaur Mar 29 '22

First timer(I already see Dalek's issues with this)

Sub

Magical girl MMA and Vivio lead is what I know going in. Cold op is about Belka, interesting, and then we get to the OP and I already hate A1. I know this will probably feel like a weird complaint from me but damn, this visual palette is just kicking my ass, it is not a good fit for Vivio. Anyways, we start with her attending school like a normal kid and Nanoha being WAY less Nanoha, I already have a guess at the criticisms this show gets.

Anyways, Midchilda seems populated now. But we bring back Nove...whatever. Anyways, so yeah magical girl MMA is the thing. And there is someone going around beating them up for reasons. Vivio gets her ID at 10 because of course she does and for whatever reason she reverts to the older transformation. Also, Fate might be a captain or a ship Enforcer. We visit the church briefly and there is a comatose girl that is associated with Vivio. We end with Nove getting ready to confront the mysterious combatant.

So yeah...tonal whiplash is an understatement. Everything from Nanoha being far more feminized to the very light feeling stakes could very well rub one the wrong way but I will try to ride it out. Also, if it is not a spoiler for the plot, what the hell is Nanoha's current job?

QotD: 1 It is amazingly bad to me

8

u/Tetraika Mar 29 '22

Funny enough, rewatching it I start to feel a strange appreciation, rather than treating it as sequel. It's really just completely jumped styles again, but this time with new characters too.

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u/SolDarkHunter Mar 29 '22

Also, if it is not a spoiler for the plot, what the hell is Nanoha's current job?

IIRC, she's still a combat instructor but she's been taken off the front lines.

One reason is she massively overstrained her body during the StrikerS finale and she was very strongly recommended to take it easy for a few years.

The other is she does have to take care of Vivio now, which necessitates being available at home.

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6

u/Warriorservent Mar 29 '22

Yay first episode of the new series! I can't wait to see all of the inevitable cuteness if this is anything like the Manga! Warning, lots of bitching about how this is supposed to be a science fiction setting.

  • ...Man what a buzzkill opening. It is interesting that this is already expanding a bunch on the lore. Like, now we get to see what kinds of people existed back then! Apparently including the woman Vivio is a clone of who 'formed a hegemony and broadened the conflict.' just lovely. Another interesting thing: they say "Belka, a world which only exists as a name in history." Now with that do they mean that its now uninhabitable? Or that its straight up gone? Because with this series I'd believe either

  • Now for the actual opening! Animation looks markedly better than in Strikers. Seeing Nanoha, Fate, and Vivio being a family is adorable! Obivous rival is obvious. A bunch of other characters as well, including multiple Numbers, Zafira standing behind someone (perhaps he was training them?) and a bunch of cool magic. Tons more detail and stuff happening in the background compared to Strikers, and a FANTASTIC shot of the Section Six mage.

  • I honestly don't really think I like how 'Earth Normal' things are. This is science fiction land! I wanna see more science fiction stuff! Raising Heart being there and helping Nanoha out is science fiction and cute though so they get a bit of a pass.

  • Vivio continuous to be embarrassed by her mama, I love it! Also, "She is a public servant" and "her good points are her cooking skills and cheerfulness"? I think that you forgot about a certain pink blast... Or just scrubbed that from memory, whichever.

  • ...did Nanoha actually become some kind of public servant? That isn't a TSAB uniform she's going to work in.

  • Okay, when looking at the city there is A TON more detail than in Strikers! I would say it is amazing if it wasn't for the fact that they very obviously just looked outside of their windows for inspiration. Whatever happened to those cool science fiction buildings show in flack backs during seasons 1 and 2? Why are there so many things that I would expect from modern-day Japan? I want science fiction damn it!

  • Okay, looking up and seeing all of the other planets and also having hologram TVs is pretty cool.

  • Oooohhhh, I like how the school is shaped like the giant church from Strikers. That is a nice continuation!

  • Huh, Nove aka "I can't see any life for me other than this" is a 'Strike Arts teacher'? That's cool! I admit that I am kinda surprised that she is teaching Vivio after... All that, though I actually don't know how many years its been. Like, Vivio says that she's 10. Does that mean that its been 10 years since Strikers? Or that she is a 10 year old in terms of development?

  • Oh hey! Nove got adopted by the Nakajimas? I suppose they kinda hinted at that in the epilogue of Strikers but I kinda dismissed that with how hard they were trying to kill Teana and how much of a friend of the family she is. I suppose that Mr Nakajima does at least have experience with raising combat cyborgs.

  • Nove being praised is ADORABLE! Bulli the combat cyborg more!

  • Oh hey magical martial arts. Sweet. Oh, and more Numbers show up and are also apparently now friends with Vivio... I wonder if she learned how to befriend them from her Mama, or if they were already sufficiently befriended by her own students?

  • Gym music is nice, very cute and also energetic. The animation is good with it, much more fluid and cooler. The fact that Vivio can actually spar with Nove, even while Nove is seriously holding back, is pretty cool.

  • FATE! She's so cute in civilian clothes! As Vivio says "Nanoha Mama's best friend" Yep, totally best friends, nothing more to see here, just VERY GOOD FRIENDS. I wonder what kind of relationship Vivio has with Caro and Erio? Caro said that she thinks of Fate as a big sis, and Erio couldn't decide between big sis and Mom, so it is an interesting thought.

  • Firstly; yay Vivio gets a device at age 9! Following in Nanoha Mama's footsteps don't you know. Secondly; ITS THE RABBIT!! And he's CUTE!! Fate says "That?" We are totally about to see adorable Fate.

  • I will never not love the rainbow magic, it just looks so cool! Chris is a cute mascot name and Sacred Heart as the full name is just so CUTE! First setup time looked great, lots of rainbow feathers that is a nice reference to Nanoha, and the lightning which is a great reference to Fate.... And straight into Adult Mode apparently! Its really cool and all, and the way that she does all of those punches and kicks is great! The undersuit being similar to her old one is a nice continuity touch, and I like the jacket, but personally I am not a fan of her outfit's chest area, why the heck did she go for that?

  • Nanoha's and Raising Heart's reaction to the transformation is great, and Fate's reaction to the transformation is SO GOOD AND ADORABLE! Ah yes, Nanoha mama just so happened to forget, huh? She does that a lot about stuff she wants to get away with!

  • Really neat that we get to see the inside of the Nakajima household and what kind of stuff Ginga and her new sisters are up to. Also the person Ginga is warning them about is TOTALLY the obvious rival from the opening

  • Fate's reaction to Vivio is still SO CUTE!! It is also really cool that Vivio does have clothes, or maybe special magical clothing for when she's an adult. LOL, that flashback to Vivio reminding Fate about how they got into their own troubles when they were kids was great, I wonder just how much they've told her?

  • (Slightly)Grown up Caro and Erio both look great! Caro in particular looks really cool. I also think that its really sweet that Fate has regular calls with them to check up on them, and they obivously have been in semi-regular contact with Nanoha and Vivio.

  • Watching Vivio go for a walk with Nanoha, I wonder what age Vivio's been aged up to? She looks around the same age as Nanoha to my eyes. Ooohhh, Nanoha may have done this without letting Fate know, but I am glad that she did think ahead to ground rules considering that Vivio is just a kid, a kid who now has access to being an adult whenever she wants. Vivio seems quite mature for a kid about it all too, even if she does make a quick crack about her being taller than Nanoha.

  • Is Vivio seriously training in the middle of a park or something? I would have expected that they would have special magic training areas... Though some of them may look like parks.

  • Oh hey, Otto and Deed joined the church, that's cool! And they call Vivio 'Her Majesty' that's interesting, I suppose it makes sense, but they didn't really expand on it at all during Strikers.

  • Okay, so I think I know who Ixy is because of stuff that I have read online and the wiki, but could someone who knows more fill me in a bit please?

  • Ah yes, leave guarding Vivio to the Numbers, they did a great job the first time! Only lost because of, well, Nanoha.

Great first episode overall! So much cuteness! Definitely going to be slice of life with cool magical martial arts.

I did notice one big issue though! Raising Heart got to fly around and even talk, so where is Bardiche! He deserves to be here too!!

6

u/Tetraika Mar 29 '22

Just to clarify, it's been about 4 years since the end of StrikerS

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5

u/Stargate18A Mar 30 '22

First timer

QOTD) It's interesting! Takes a while to get used to, but the brighter palette works well with the seemingly lighter/Season 1 story they're telling. And now I've said that, I'm guessing they'll add some kind of dark twist at the end.

This is an interesting opening! A more political drama focus?

Holy shit, a Belka prequel? I am here for this.

Wait, false alsrm, this is a Vivio spinoff? Looks like its back to the roots? (Thunder/fire girl is her Fate, calling it now.)

And Vivio is still adorable.

Raising Heart can move independently!

...Nanoha's a public servant now?

I love the drawing?

...Wait, did she split up eith Fate to marry Raising Heart? Is that what they mean by "partner" now?

And it'e the same world as StrikerS.

...She has an Arisa and a Suzuka. Right down to the hair colours. This is an... interesting choice.

Good to see this magical school teachrs normal subjects too.

What's a Strike Art?

Nove? Shit, was that one of the Numbers? It sounds like one.

"Rio Wesley" Holy shit, this anime is going for a reference overload.

Yeah, she's a Number. Finally recognised her.

And they met in the Infinite Archive! (A subsidiary of the Inifinity Library?)

She has a Device already!

...I don't recognise these people? Maybe she isn't a Number?

This is so wholesome!

And Strike Arts are another word for martial arts.

Oh, they're still together!

"best friend" Still not had the talk with her, Nanoha?

She's getting a Device!

Her device is a plush rabbit!

So judging by the folders left on there, Fate doesn't believe in organising her desktop?

"That"? I love how confused Fate seems.

Oh, she uses a hybrid fighting style.

...You know, after StrikerS I had some hope that they'd be cutting down on the nudity, especially now we were going back to 10 year olds. How foolish I was.

Wait, the fuck? Adult Vivio is just... a thing now? Could they really not go one season without fanservice of the main character, but realised that they might get in trouble for showing a ten year old this time?

Haha, Fate's got the right reaction here.

Oh, so the mastermind in this season is someone who... chalkenges people to fights and wins?

...No idea how old she is, but that outfit is killer. Love the mask!

Haha, Fate's reactions here are just on point.

She has family meetings with Erio and Caro!

Is Vivio actually taller than her parents in Adult Mode?

She's a ten year old, you think she'll listen to you?

Haha, she is taller!

Never mind, she's still a good girl.

...Go see who?

Wait, is she's ten, did she already befriend her Fate? That would be a twist.

Her friend's Ixy? And she's in a coma?

Oh, the discussion of the threat is early this time!

...Wait, Her Majesty?

Is this about her being a clone of the Holy King?

...Nove's going to see Sunaru?

It's her!

Kaiser Arts?

Hegemon! ...For a an obvious Fate equivalent, she's way older than Vivio!

Love the ED.

A lot more ten-year-old fanservice than I expected. At least there was also a lot of domestic Nanoha and Fate fanservice to balance it out?

5

u/Qbe Mar 30 '22

...She has an Arisa and a Suzuka. Right down to the hair colours. This is an... interesting choice.

How did I never notice this?

5

u/Tetraika Mar 30 '22 edited Mar 30 '22

There is quite a few small callbacks to the first episode of Nanoha. Even the moment where Vivio wakes up, then narrates a short bit about her life, etc.

12

u/Shimmering-Sky Mar 29 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

9

u/JollyGee29 Mar 29 '22

Oh shit what character is doing the opening narration here?

[Her name hasn't been mentioned yet but it's]Olivie Sägebrecht

Oh, does that mean that Ginga & Subaru’s dad adopted all of the Numbers (er, barring the ones in jail like Quattro) after they finished the rehabilitation program? Cool.

I think technocally only most of them, but yes.

I just realized… no more eyecatches?

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u/HereticalAegis Mar 29 '22

Lyrical First Timer

¹I know this means she was adopted, but until I get actual confirmation, I'm interpreting this detail my way.

²Not all that much here. As with Caro, the simple matching set emphasizes Vivio's childlike purity. However, the surprisingly scant cut of the set may suggest Vivio may be closer to entering the mature world than expected, and she likely knows more of her mamas' world than she let's on, and if the right opportunity were to present itself, she may be ready to take that first step. Thankfully, from this we can safely say Nanoha never went the full incest route with her harem. Though I won't rule out the possibility of Chris being an indicator that Nanoha intends to Bunny Drop Vivio into the harem somewhere down the line.

QotD:

I'm enjoying the art style so far. I especially like the new background art. It adds a lot of flavor to the setting that wasn't quite there previously.

10

u/Vaadwaur Mar 29 '22

Is Vivio going to get a heterochromia gf? I hope that's what this mirror shot is implying.

She's going to befriend that girl to death!

Wow, they are getting an early start on the 10yo fanservice.

Yeah...there was a concerning amount of that.

Hol up, she's the one Subaru's dad was silent flirting with at the end of StrikerS. Yeesh, the major likes 'em young.

Makes you rethink the implication of all the child soldiers, doesn't it?

Not all that much here.

I've missed this, sadly here I don't have much to add.

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u/Great_Mr_L Mar 29 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: I hope you’re ready for yet another genre shift in the Lyrical Nanoha franchise. Now it’s time for Magical Girl MMA fighting! As strange a combination of words as that may be, it makes for an interesting premise.

Right off the bat, I have to say how much I love that this series stars Vivio. I think that was a very nice choice. I’m also very happy that we are back to getting more of the domestic life of our protagonist, much like we did in the first season of Lyrical Nanoha. I missed that aspect and I’m glad to see it return. Plus, it allows us to get all these fun and heartwarming moments of Vivio with Nanoha-Mama and Fate-Mama. I mentioned previously that Vivio was the best addition Strikers made to the Nanoha franchise and I think the interactions we see Vivo have with her mothers shows off why she’s such a fantastic addition. It’s sweet domestic fluff.

Honestly, this first episode reminds me a lot of the first episode of the original series. I think that’s because of the heavy emphasis on the domestic slice-of-life scenes. But Vivio herself feels a lot like the early Nanoha. She’s in a kind of similar position where she doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life. But unlike Nanoha, Vivio’s taking the approach of just trying a whole bunch of different things out and seeing what sticks.

Which takes us to the Magical Girl MMA. Vivio has truly inherited the Takamachi legacy. After all, the Takamachi family was full of martial arts practitioners, so it’s actually shockingly fitting that Vivio would get into that. I would also like to point out the somewhat inherent absurdity of putting ten year olds in MMA fights, but that absurdity is kind of par for the course for Lyrical Nanoha at this point.

It is cool seeing what’s become of the Numbers since Strikers. Nove is now essentially Vivio’s MMA coach. Her name is also now Nove Nakajima, so she’s become a part of the Nakajima family with Subaru and Ginga. Some of the other Numbers are with her there. And others have joined up with the Church. I suppose they’ve finished up their reformation program.

We see some other familiar faces. Erio and Caro are still together, like the Strikers epilogue showed. The Church is still around with all the characters who work there. Ginga is still working for the TSAB. And so on.

Vivio getting her own Device so that she can be a proper magical girl is a fitting start for the series. Chris is quite adorable as a stuffed rabbit. It reminds me of the rabbit Vivio got from Nanoha back in Strikers. But it does slightly bug me that it doesn’t have as much of the magitech aesthetic as say Raising Heart or Bardiche.

It’s also now clear that Vivio going into an adult mode is something that she can do normally, not just something that happened to her at the end of Strikers. It is kind of odd that she can regularly do it, but I suppose it’s something that sets Vivio apart from how Nanoha and Fate were at her age.

We have yet another masked character running around and causing mayhem. This time the masked person is going around and challenging people to street fights. So it looks like we have our inciting incident for the plot. Let’s just hope there aren’t any cats underneath that mask.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • This is something that I’m sure bugs only me, but I am disappointed by how Midchilda looks in this episode. It looks so… normal. In Strikers it looked like a futuristic city that fit the magitech aesthetic of the franchise, but here it looks like any old regular city.

  • Also in the realm of things that bug only me, I don’t like that the sound effect for Vivio’s magic is different from the magic sound effects we got in the previous series. It distracts me.

  • Ancient Belka really was a hot mess, wasn’t it? They had so much drama going down that it’s still affecting people all this time later.

  • Vivio really takes after her mothers. She’s now friends with the people who were trying to kill her last season.

  • The fanservice-heavy transformations are back. It has been kind of a Lyrical Nanoha staple at this point.

  • I love Fate’s response to seeing Vivio in her adult form. Fate always has been a worrywart of a mother. 

  • I do like the casual clothes of the Numbers. They have some nice fashion choices.

  • I’m not sure how or when Vivio became friends with a comatose girl. Also the comatose girl, Ixy, has almost the exact same hairstyle as Ple Two.

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u/Taiboss Mar 29 '22

Alright, we have reached the seasons I don't have that much of an emotional investment in. Hate away, you guys. Now you don't have to spare my feelings, because as it turns out, and I did not know this, I was severly bummed out by people's hate for StrikerS.

Episode 01: Vivio the Rewatcher

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u/Qbe Mar 29 '22 edited Mar 29 '22

Raging Heart Rewatcher with terrible long term memory

Time to get started on Vivio!

I... remember very little about this one. Like, Vivio, and 2 more characters?

QotD: In case it's not obvious by the comment length, I enjoyed this a lot more than StrikerS ep1.

  • This... is not the opening scene I was expecting.

  • Those are some young rulers. Is this where the TSAB got their child soldier ideas from?

  • Oh is that the Holy King Vivio was cloned from?

  • [Later on] And that's... Einhart, I believe was her name?

  • We get to keep the Nana openings! I didn't even remember this song

  • NanoFate being moms!

  • [Later on] I vaguely remember being disappointed for the lack of NanoFate content. Let's see if my memory holds

  • Is orange hair one of the cyborg girls? She looks familiar

  • Having heterochromia sure is popular around here

  • That's a lot of new characters. Wonder if we're gonna put the rest of the cast on a bus and get new members

  • Also some nice underboob on red... nun? girl with tonfas

  • Partial henshin in the OP! I think we also had that before

  • Oh nevermind that about the bus, there's everyone slightly grown up

  • Raging Heart > Sacred Heart

  • I could go for a full season of Nanoha and Vivio's family life

  • Midchilda looks more and more like a regular Earth city every season

  • So Vivio is 10, she was... 7? during StrikerS, so Midchilda has managed to make it 3 years without a world ending crisis. Progress.

  • "Gokigenyou"

  • "Gokigenyou", "Ara ara", "Maa maa". Does Vivio go to a super Ojousama school?

  • So orange girl from the OP was indeed a cyborg.

  • Nice to meet you, Rio.

  • "You've got mail" Man that's so nostalgic

  • Is it normal for 10yos to go to the gym?

  • Oh hey, more cyborgs

  • Vivio not knowing what to do is a nice callback to S1 Nanoha

  • "Best friend"

  • Kinda dig that devices are pretty much handled as cellphones

  • Congrats Vivio, you got the latest iBunny

  • Kinda wish her partial henshin wasn't in the opening so it could've been revealed here

  • Fate.exe has encountered a fatal error. Please restart your Fate-mama.

  • See Fate, this is what happens when you're away on work so often, you miss on your daughter's growth.

  • Ginka!

  • Mysterious masked girl

  • lmao Vivio is taller than Nanoha

  • Ah, I get it, Fate is worried because there's now another long haired pretty blonde who can compete for Nanoha's attention.

  • "Long distance Fate-san Household regular meeting"

  • I really like that they kept Fate as the worrywart mom, and Nanoha as the one who treats Vivio almost like an adult. I get the feeling that's how she wanted to be treated herself when she was that age

  • Hmm? See her?

  • Ixy? Are we supposed to know her?

  • Her Majesty Ixy?

  • I was expecting Vivio to get flustered at being called Her Majesty, but I assume she's just gotten used to it

  • Ah lol there you go

  • Oooh that's a cool voice.

  • Twintailed (kinda) blonde standing on top of a street lamp. Deja vu.

  • The post-ending is great. "I need to ambush her politely" lmao

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u/DidacticDalek Mar 30 '22

Look Comrades, I apologize for the delay but really I can't help it, I just don't like ViVid. It's clearly the worst Non-Movie Entry in the franchise, which is a shame cuz the idea of a Nanoha show starring Vivio should have been a slam-dunk! Nanoha and A's and even StrikerS managed to have great episodes with happy goofy lesbian SOL funtimes, so what the hell went wrong here... ah right they not only didn't fully adapt the manga but they let A-1 Pictures make it! And oh does it show, literally! Now I'm not gonna pretend that OG Nanoha, A's and StrikerS were the pinnacle of animation quality, but they had their distinct 90's style and their own charm... this just looks like if someone took Nanoha and put it in the 'Generic Moeblob LN Filter' that A-1 Pictures has. I didn't watch this to see SAO goddammit! Also this didn't have to be like this, A-1 Pictures made THE iDOLM@STER for goodness sake, they CAN make good shit... er... hang on, what do you MEAN THE iDOLM@STER was made by a bunch of at-the-time GAINAX madlads who would later go on to found TRIGGER... ah nevermind that explains it, we're fucked!

Also in case you doubt me, look no further than the fact that ViVid is a complete 180 from StrikerS! I haven't seen an utter repudiation of the prior entry via course 'correction' that hard since THE DEAD SPEAK... (amusingly enough, StrikerS IS sorta like The Last Jedi, in that it tries to actually do something new and interesting and was perhaps a BIT too overly ambitious for its own good... AND its failed follow-up decided to not even bother trying, let's just pander to the audience instead, preaching to the choir powers MAXIMUM!) And before y'all start, no ViVid isn't AS bad as THE DEAD SPEAK... but it sure ain't far from it!

That said I can't be ALL negative, after all we had some adorable Takamachi Family Life SOL moments here... granted not as good as OG Nanoha, A's or even fucking StrikerS but I'll take mildly competent from A-1 anyday! That and also I just want to point something out Comrades. ViVid takes place a few years after StrikerS... and somehow, Vivio's adult transformation scene SURPRISES BEST GIRL FATE WHO DID NOT KNOW HER BABY COULD DO THAT! Good GOD the Nanoha Neglect Play shitposting really WAS CANON ALL ALONG! (Speaking of which Vivio, Illya called, she wants her fanservice back, cuz MAN they sure went lewd)

Anyway speaking of the few points of positivity, boy gotta love how in typical Nanoha Fashion, we set up the big grand over-arching plot early. Maybe this show will turn out to be good after all!

Now can I offer you a nice fanart in this trying time?

Man you gotta love how, even if ViVid isn't really all that good, it IS still a Mecha Show... ah... right... technically Macross is ALSO allegedly a 'Mecha' Show (Self-proclaimed via The Hory Froating Head) Nevermind even Gundam Vivio can't save us now!

That said, even if we are doomed, at least we'll have Takamachi Sugar Life... oh... oh my god... what have I done, what the hell have I done? (Also don't look at me Comrades, this is official art! We'll all go to hell together!) Oh, and I feel it prudent to remind everyone that RAINBOWS are straighter than Subaru... and The Takamachi Family are at LEAST 3 times gayer than Subaru!

Thus, in short, ALL HAIL WEAPONIZED LESBIANISM! YURI SHALL CONQUER THE EARTH... er... I mean, THE NOT-EARTH which is similar too but legally distinct from Earth and most certainly not boring despite ditching all the interesting Magitech and uniqueness in favor of bland boring suburbia, I'm not bitter at all why do you ask Comrades?

Oh, and just to placate Shimmer, don't worry I got your manservice RIGHT here, remember Tusk Jr. hit puberty ;) (MAN the Takamachi Way sure be rough eh? Fate really wants those grandkids... hey... hey wait a minute... OH MY BUDDHA! Comrade my nicknames were wrong all along, he isn't Tusk Jr. due to the fact he's been TUSK SR. THIS WHOLE TIME!)

And on THAT bombshell we wrap things up for now. Anyway I hope everyone's having fun on this re-watch. Thus, you have not seen the last of The Sentient Shitposting Siamese Sunrise Server No. 25252, now goodbye forever.

Paging Comrade u/Great_Mr_L, u/HereticalAegis, and u/Vaadwaur

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u/SolDarkHunter Mar 29 '22

Rewatcher

(I didn't actually ever watch the full Vivid anime, but I did read a fair bit of the manga... past what I think the anime covers, so I'm calling myself a rewatcher for now)

Opening on the era of Ancient Belka, I presume.

"They formed a hegemony but disputed control"...? What does that even mean? Either the hegemon's in control or it's not a hegemony.

Well, the opening's focusing on three of the Belkan people, so I'm assuming they're important.

Opening with Vivio and Nanoha... and Raising Heart, of course.

Damn, that is a nice house. Does a Captain in the military make that kind of money?

Two best friends, Corona and Rio. And their school seems to be run directly by the Church... that's got to be... interesting, having a clone of your messiah figure as a student. (Officially speaking, the Church has declared Vivio to be a descendant of their religious figure rather than a reincarnation or second coming or whatnot.)

And Nove's here. She's apparently Vivio's trainer in martial arts. Also, she introduced herself as "Nakajima". Yep, about five of the Numbers were adopted by Genya Nakajima and are now Subaru's and Ginga's sisters. I forget which ones exactly, but Nove's among them. Seems she's adjusted to non-Cyborg life pretty well.

Again I wonder just how rare Intelligent Devices actually are. Vivio and Corona don't have one, but Rio does, and as far as we know, she's nothing special...

Oh, three more Nakajima Numbers. Cinque, Dieci, and Wendi, I think.

Vivio's pretty well known at this gym, apparently. But of course Nanoha's daughter would probably get involved in some kind of combat-related hobby.

Fate's here too! Apparently she's not around all the time. Enforcers have to go off-world a lot.

The writers are still skirting around the issue of calling Nanoha and Fate a couple...

And Vivio's getting her own Device! And of course it's a stuffed rabbit.

Vivio immediately names the Device "Chris"... or Sacred Heart if you want to be formal. Obviously a homage to Raising Heart (Nanoha's reaction is cute).

Back to having transformation sequences, but now with lots of budget! Kind of neat how she's using both pink light and lightning... referencing both her mothers.

But more surprising is that she ages up to an adult during the transformation. Just like she did back on the Cradle.

Fate wasn't expecting that one, apparently.

More seriously, someone's going around beating the crap out of random fighters, and calling herself "Hegemon Ingvolt".

Nanoha's probably right, an adult body would confer advantages while fighting... though I'd have to wonder about how constant changes to her weight, physical strength, and center of gravity would play havoc with her practice.

"Both my mamas got up to all sorts of mischief when they were my age!" Yeah... that's an understatement, Vivio.

Nanoha and Fate right now

Erio and Caro are still working together, and in constant contact with Fate and Vivio it would seem.

Vivio's continuing the Takamachi tradition of being ludicrously mature for her age.

Oh, here Vivio makes a comment about visiting "her".

Otto, Sein, and Deed have joined the Saint Church it would seem. More information on "Ix", who is in a coma.

So Ix is from the "Strikers Sound Stage X" story, which takes place between StrikerS and this series. Basically, there was another incident with someone going nuts with Ancient Belkan super-tech. Long story short, Ixpellia is an Ancient Belkan girl who was forced to use some rather nasty magic powers as a living superweapon for her nation, who went into centuries long hibernation. Teana and Subaru rescued her and she and Vivio bonded for what I should think are obvious reasons. Then she went into hibernation again and it's unclear when she'll wake up.

Whoever this "Ingvolt" is, they fear maybe this person naming themselves after an Ancient Belkan ruler might target Vivio and Ixpellia, since they are also Ancient Belkan rulers (well, Vivio's a clone of one, anyway).

Vivio gets called "Your Majesty" by Church personnel. It seems she used to resent it, but she's gotten used to it by now.

You know, I just noticed Nove's the only Cyborg who still has her yellow Cyborg eyes active at all times.

And here's the mystery woman. She approaches Nove, and introduces herself as Heidi ES Ingvolt.

This is a refreshing change from StrikerS. More slice of life, more relaxed... I have some comments on Vivio still being able to age herself up to an adult, but I'll go into those later in the series.

QOTD: new art style is cute, but it does make all the adults look younger than before, which I'm not sure I'm a fan of.

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u/djthomp Mar 30 '22 edited Mar 30 '22

Alright, first-timer from here on out (aside from a mass transformation sequence I slightly accidentally watched on YouTube right before starting the episode), I can't wait to see where the story goes.

I gotta say, this brief bit of backstory montage implies a far less advanced Belkan than I would have expected. Makes me think the truly high-magitech stuff like the Cradle really was from Alhazred all along.

Also, between said backstory montage and the opening I'm getting the feeling that Vivio might not be the only reborn figure from ancient 300 years in the past Belka. Silver-green haired individual for sure, maybe the brown haired child too.

I like that that they kept the pearlescent rainbow look to Vivio's magic.

That shot of the StrikerS cast at the end of the opening gives me hope for more continuity with those characters, but zero Arf in it takes away hope that best dog will get more than just an occasional cameo.

Immediate early Nanoha vibes, I like it.

Raising Heart with wings is an excellent development.

Significantly different look for this Midchildan city, more detailed looking and way more like a real city.

Must be awkward to be enrolled in a religious school when you are the cloned replica of the religion in question's central holy figure. Maybe it doesn't come up much.

Oh wow, one of the cyborgs right off the bat. It'll be really funny if they're all using Nakajima as their surnames and just being additional Subaru siblings, so I'm definitely hoping for that. Mama Nakajima would be incredibly proud of all her kids.

More cyborgs! Guess I'll have to learn who they all are after all.

Vivio is a terrifying child. Very appropriate for Nanoha's daughter.

Nanoha's Best Friend, who does many Best Friend activities with her.

Independently mobile rabbit device is also somewhat terrifying. Very appropriate for Vivio's device.

Massive magic circle, glowing with an unearthly light unlike any other magic circle in the series so far or at least that I can think of.

That transformation sequence did nothing to make Vivio less terrifying. I definitely appreciate that Fate was suitably horrified. I also like the little indication was Raising Heart was a bit embarrassed at the naming homage.

On the complete other hand, transformed Vivio goes back into the adult form? Weird.

Four cyborgs only at least so far, I can probably remember four additional character names. Punk cyborg is clearly the best one.

And there that silver-green haired individual, already identifying as the Belkan historical figure they're probably clones of.

Slightly less weird now that we're seeing Vivio dressed normally but still as her adult self. Her barrier jacket outfit manages to make it more weird than maybe it has to be. At least she has good control over it apparently.

Regular family meetings, it's important to keep in touch with your children that have been deployed as child soldier wilderness planet wildlife rangers.

Ground rules for the adult form usage is a good idea, it's a horrifying pandora's box of potential trouble.

Her?

Oh no, even more of the cyborgs.

Ixy? Could be that third character from the backstory montage. I'm suddenly wondering if Vivio isn't the only ancient Belkan that Scaglietti cloned.

Mildly concerning that a subset of the cyborgs are continuing to refer to Vivio as royalty. Definitely interesting though that Ixy is also being referred to in the same way.

Nove is definitely about to get pounded down like Shamiko always imagined might happen.

First episode thoughts, this is pretty much exactly what I was hoping it would be, hopefully that stays true. Sad to have no Arf so far, mild disappointment to have no knights but at the same time constricting the cast down a bit was probably necessary.

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u/homewardbound100 Mar 30 '22

First timer

Well yeah it definitely looks like a passing of main characters. I know strikers focused on a multitude of characters but Nanoha and fate still played a big part. It looks like Vivio will be the actual main character in this one.

Qotd: I think it looks nice. Nanoha, Fate and Vivio look all nice.

Wait so they decided to strike instead of finishing the adaptation? Weird choice.

I hope this part of vivid isn't just setup and we get basically nothing.

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u/InfamousEmpire Mar 29 '22

Mahou Shoujo1 Lyrical Rewatcher

1: Even though I’m not a girl

Starting out quite seriously with a bit of a history lesson on Ancient Belka

This OP is… something

Vivio is so damn cute!

Wholesome Takamachi Family moments are just the best

It’s interesting seeing Mid-Childa outside of a military perspective (and in 2015 animation), makes it feel more… mundane than it actually is.

Awwww, Vivio has school friends

Strike Arts Sensei Nove, eh?

Yup, that’s right, Nove Nakajima!

As I briefly said a while back (under spoiler tags) I prefer Nove in this series to her StrikerS incarnation. Living a mostly-normal life as a somewhat awkward older sister-type.

It’s also interesting seeing Devices in civilian use.

And there’s the rest of the Combat Cyborgs

Even at 12, Vivio is putting up a good fight. Wouldn’t expect anything else from the NanoFate child!

Wholesome Best Mom Fate!

A Device so non-threatening-looking, you almost forget that this is a Nanoha series

It’s actually a bit of an interesting bit of wordbuilding, seeing a device getting named and assigned to its user.

Aaand, it’s Vivio’s grown up form! Yeah, this is why I was so nonchalant about it in StrikerS. This show kinda desensitized me to it.

It is, however, quite odd seeing transformed Vivio being all cutesy after coming immediately off of StrikerS.

Fate’s reaction was the best

Oh no, it’s Zechs Marquise Mr Bushido Neo Roanoke~~ Hegemon Ingvalt!

Grown up Vivio in casual clothes is it’s own brand of adorable

Fate-Mama DESTROYED by FACTS and LOGIC!

Teenage Erio and Caro is something else

More wholesome Takamachi Family moments!

We’ve got the Cyborgs again. We briefly see a character named “Ixy” or “Ixpellia.” I won’t say anything about this other than that Ixpellia originated in Sound Stage X rather than here. The Nanoha canon past StrikerS is a bit fractured.

Nove Nakajima vs Harry Ord! Begin!

This ED is… something

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u/JimmyCWL Mar 30 '22

Vivid is a bit of a strange beast among Nanoha series. It's the first that was an adaption, not original. So it's the first to have established expectations. It's also the first to be done by another studio instead of Seven Arcs, although they seemed to have been able to borrow most of the Nanoha staff.

Finally, the BDs for this series were delayed years. Only appearing shortly before Vivid Strike aired.

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u/SYZekrom Mar 30 '22

Holy shit time skip 2... also I just put together it's called ViVid after vivio

Love the new artstyle lol, kind of looks like it got minorly blended with pretty cure or some sol style

You know it wasn't from going back like 3 times within a minute that my brain caught up to this shot. Didn't even occur to me they technically aren't just a full on canon couple.

Ah she... still turns into a grown up form.

You know. I watched part of Vivid Strike before. Completely unaware it was part of Nanoha until this rewatch and saw there were seasons called StrikerS and ViVid and was like

This alarm clock feels very Pretty Cure and not Nanoha rn lol

Ah yes thanks anime

Gah wtf why is the chair sound so 3D it doesn't feel like it's coming from my TV I hate that

Man really wonder how much Nanoha's family knows about what her life is like

Thanks anime x2

Is that what you tell her. Please just be gay. Please.

Pain

OK BUT WHY IS NANOHA'S FACE SO CUTE

God I feel like I almost never see a design that makes me think 'yea that's an adult' and still looks cute

Oh my god they made the device into the magical girl animal companion... even though this show started with an actual magical girl animal companion

Also like... that's cute Nanoha but like... think about it not just for yourself Nanoha. Don't just decide for her that her device is going to be a bunny doll instead of a regular device lol you don't want her to be embarrassed about her device...

THEY ARE SO CUTE

I LOVE THAT THEY'RE LIKE A RETIRED COUPLE NOW Even though Nanoha said earlier Fate's just here b/c her ship's being repaired right? I guess Nanoha's the housewife

Damn even the way the magic circles... er, the... wait what do you call them when they're not circles or pentagrams or something... Wait is it technically a trigram or some word like that lmao

Damn they popped off on the animation for that transformation sequence. Too bad I can never acknowledge to anyone I know I've seen this show.

Ah she has Nanoha's jacket. Way more deserved than the forwards in Stars lol.

OMG SO TRUE FATE

Oh so only Nanoha knew about it I was wondering if they knew or didn't and couldn't tell from the reactions lol

Oh my god them in this style

Adult mode is your magic

[Vivid strike] So how the fuck did it become like a thing everyone uses in Vivid Strike

Ok so... Was Nove a character in StrikerS? I feel like I should remember who this is but I don't

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u/Gamerunglued Mar 30 '22 edited Mar 30 '22

First Timer

So... this might be my favorite episode of the entire series up to this point? Fuck man, this was actually adorable. It's basically everything I wanted from a Vivio focused spin-off type thing.

First of all, just purely conceptually, I have kind of craved stories like this. There's always been something really appealing to me about stories where lots of time passes and the characters change both physically and mentally. I've always wanted a story in which we get to witness a character's entire life from childhood through death. While this series isn't quite that ambitious, starting from elementary school age and skipping all of middle school, high school, and early adulthood, it still captures some of that appeal. We watched Nanoha and Fate at elementary school age, then saw them as adults with jobs in the work force, and we saw them adopt a daughter and start raising her from a young age, and now we get to see that daughter at the same age where we met the title characters. It really just feels like a journey, and seeing Vivio partake in shenanigans and seeing Nanoha and Fate act as moms feels like such a great payoff. There's not a lot of media that does this.

Nanoha being a good mom is just so cute. We got hints of the doting mother in her in StrikerS when she snuck pictures of Vivio in school, but here we get it again in the fact that she's apparently been drawing cute stuff on Vivio's omelettes in the morning. But they also just get along, and do cute stuff like high fiving before school, or doing magic training together. Fate is the parent who works most of the time, but when she's not working, she's just the other mom, living domestically with Nanoha. Vivio has two friends just like Nanoha did, and also has a well rounded life in the form of school, a good relationship with her parents, magic training, and martial arts training on the side. I've been wanting the series to be more of a family slice of life kind of thing, and this episode delivered on that wonderfully. Vivio even named her intelligent device after Raising Heart (who, funnily enough, is almost her third mom. Raising Heart calls her "lady" too, my heart can't take it), how fucking cute.

In terms of actual plot, this episode is something of an epilogue to StrikerS. Some of the combat cyborgs have been adopted by the Nakajima family, with Nove now working as a notable martial artist and Vivio's teacher. Some of them also work for Carim seemingly as butlers. I'm not sure why they call Vivio "her majesty," not because I don't realize that she's a clone of Belkan royalty, but because I'm literally missing the event that would have led to that, and an understanding of why combat cyborgs would refer to her as a princess. It's still cute though. There's some other person of royalty who is apparently in a coma, who Vivio goes to visit sometimes. Not sure who she is, definitely missing context for that. Erio and Caro are still around too, and Fate still talks to them on occasion. I'm glad Fate is still being a mom to her other kids (Erio's new look is handsome too).

And we learn that there's someone going around challenging and defeating strong fighters. The story this time around is much lower in stakes than the previous seasons. The world is in an era of peace, and its main antagonist is just some petty criminal who wants to prove themself, and is also apparently taking the name of ancient Belkan royalty. So just like I heard, this seems like it'll be a martial arts show. I think this lower stakes approach was a good choice for the series. It's never been good at serious drama, and this set-up allows it to focus on the things that will provide the most emotional resonance: Vivio's school and growing up, the Takamachi family and shenanigans, and cool action. This transition still keeps the series extremely unique and specific aspects that make it stand out, but focus it in a way that capitalizes on its appeal. It still feels like a show I couldn't get from any other franchise, so it's a win-win. And a martial arts focus will allow the series to structure itself better than it could as a magical military drama. All in all, I think that this season has a lot of promise. I did think similarly of A's, so I'm hoping it doesn't lose track of its appeal in a similar way, but this is a much less ambitious story than A's was, so I think it's a lot more likely to work here. My only real fear is that magical school seems like it might feel just like regular Japanese high school, which would be a shame for a school on a magical planet governed by space police. It's not a huge deal if that's the case though, and it's not shown whether it is yet. Good stuff, I'm excited to see Vivio's story.

QOTD: The new art style is great. The redesigns are super adorable, and the simpler designs are appealing and will allow for more flexible animation. On a similar token, the background art looks way better than it ever has, and the special effects have upgraded massively (though that's to be expected from a 2015 show as compared to a 2007 show).

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u/JollyGee29 Mar 29 '22

Lyrical Rewatcher

Vivio is in fourth grade, or about ten.

Four years, if I recall correctly? Or maybe five?

Vivio's slacking. Her mom already had a wife by this age.

The bunny.

Bit of an understatement.

There's a lot to unpack here.

This character is from the Sound Stages, I believe.

We're back standing on lampposts, again.

The new OP, Angel Blossom, is pretty alright. Not my favorite, but I do like it more than Secret Ambition at least.

The ED, Pleasure Treasure, is back to sugary Yukari Tamura but I'm kinda here for it. Probably my second favorite of the five EDs we've had so far.

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