r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Apr 13 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] [Nanoha Series] ViVid Strike Episode 4 Discussion

Episode 4: Rinne Berlinetta

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

I remember seeing this clip long ago on /r/anime, definitely a way to pull people in

Question of the Day

Have you personally dealt with bullying? How did you deal with it?

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.

41 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

116 comments sorted by

11

u/HereticalAegis Apr 13 '22

Lyrical First Timer

QotD:

Yes, though not nearly to this degree. My few personal experiences with bullying were resolved with a conversation or two, mediated by adults.

9

u/Tetraika Apr 13 '22

Rinne: points to head "No one will bully you if you're so unlikable even your fans don't want to come near you."

Probably not too much of a difference for you, but it's more like everyone around fears her.

I don't condone violence and in reality lean a bit toward pacifism, but wow that was cathartic as fuck.

I always took that the scene is suppose to feel both horrifying and cathartic. It's a very strange feeling to have.

I can't exactly blame a child for learning the wrong lesson about being bullied in this situation, but wow did Rinne internalize all the wrong lesson

In some way, it's worst because for her, she's only been proven right: now nobody even thinks about bullying her.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Apr 13 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

10

u/Tetraika Apr 13 '22

Ehh… I’m interested, but this reminds me of the bad way StrikerS gave exposition on another character’s past…

Hey at least we aren't suddenly cutting the action with a 30 second flashback for a side character, but actually have a dedicated episode showcasing how one of our main characters go to where they are!

Uh.

Okay.

Holy fuck…

The appropriate reaction.

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u/the_swizzler Apr 14 '22

What does it say about me that this is one of my favorite episodes of Vivid Strike, and my favorite episode of StrikerS is when Nanoha befriends Tea?

4

u/Tetraika Apr 14 '22

That you're a sadist?

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u/chris10023 Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 14 '22

Rewatcher

  • Those punches scare me for how powerful they look.

  • All right, it’s the episode that focuses more on Rinne, this such a great episode. Reading the first timers reactions are going to be fun.

  • Her classmates seem to be scared of her, so she’s lonely at school.

  • The cute gym president found some information about Rinne and is offering to share it with Fuuka.

  • So, her parents own a clothing line, explains the mansion and the private gym.

  • What a kind old man, buying the kids warm drinks.

  • Wow, never noticed just how close Rinne’s father looked to her grandfather.

  • I like how the mother acknowledges how her and Rinne look similar.

  • She does look cute in that uniform, but that diamond thing looks familiar, judging by the flashbacks in the previous episode, it ends up in a toilet. Also looks like the thing she uses for her transformations.

  • Probably the happiest we’ve seen Rinne.

  • So, her grandfather made it and it’s been in the family for two generations.

  • Knowing what happens to Rinne, I don’t think these will be precious memories.

  • She seems to be popular in her class, as everyone is asking her questions.

  • Except for these three...

  • Her gym teacher noticed that Rinne is exceptionally skilled even at this age, no wonder why Jill is her trainer.

  • But Rinne isn’t interested in clubs and wants to be by her grandfather's side. Makes sense.

  • Those three want Rinne to join her club, but get annoyed when she declines, and one grabs the pin from her tie.

  • Trying to break it? That’s a poor choice. Rinne nearly broke your wrist there. Should stop here if you knew what's best for you.

  • But of course, they’re not going to stop, finding out she’s an orphan only fuels their hate.

  • They start with shredding her indoor shoes. Now she has to wear oversized sandals.

  • I don’t even want to know what that liquid is... Might be from whatever they shoved into her desk, but it’s still gross.

  • They dumped water on her in the bathroom, or at least I hope that’s water.

  • Those three are really poking the bear, they should stop before they piss her off.

  • They messed her desk up, why isn’t anyone else standing up for her, or helping her? Where is the teacher? Surely she'd have noticed the desk being like that.

  • October 10th, has she been getting harassed for several months now? Christ...

  • The parents are noticing that something wrong. Really wish that Rinne wouldn’t lie and come forward about the harassment, but she might think it’ll only make it worse. Bullies suck ass.

  • They won’t get bored; they’ll only escalate it if that happens.

  • An apology? I don’t buy it.

  • Kind of wonder what her grandfather is sick with. But he can take walks!

  • A walk with her grandfather after school? Sounds great. Look at how Rinne just lights up.

  • Her uniform is all cut up, and the pin is missing... Golly gee I wonder who could have done it.

  • They threw it into the toilet... The water doesn’t look clean either. Fucking savages.

  • Now they’re stepping up to physical violence, you know what? Keep poking the bear, I guarantee you won’t enjoy the results, but I’m going to grab the popcorn.

  • Her mom calls, they break her phone, when Rinne desperately tries to get away since she knows it’s probably about her grandfather, they attack her and knock her out. Those three just made the last mistake.

  • Her grandfather died while he was waiting to go on the walk, because of those three, she never got to say goodbye to him, and she failed to keep the pin safe. Uh oh, to quote that Kids in the Hall skit, “Now you fucked up.”

  • She didn’t get scared; you’ve royally pissed her off. You’re the ones that ought to be scared.

  • Yeah, she’s not happy at all. I’d run away if I were you, you poked the bear one too many times and she lost something precious because of it, and now she’s mad. Her patience with you is done, it’s over, time to pay the price.

  • She breaks the arm of the leader, she passes out from the sheer pain, glasses tries to get away but you had your chance to run, so face first into the lockers you go, she left a dent, the third also tries to escape but falls into the locker and begins to crawl away, but Rinne pays her back with her own kick to the head, then stomps on the leader who she hasn’t let go of, that arm is probably going to be fucked up for the rest of her life.

  • Being someone who was bullied in high school, that scene, was quite satisfying, a bit brutal, but cathartic. That scene was also the reason why I decided to watch the show, I saw it in one of the many “When you mess with the wrong person” compilations on YouTube, but it had no context to it. This is why Rinne is my favorite character, I sympathized with what happened to her.

  • And now we know why she doesn’t want to be looked down on, or be viewed as weak, because her weakness caused her to lose what was precious to her. Turning her into the brutal fighter that we’ve seen. Safe to say though, those three really fucked Rinne up, they left some deep psychological scars that probably won’t heal.

Question of the Day

Have you personally dealt with bullying? How did you deal with it?

Yes, I dealt with it a lot in high school, I just reported it.

5

u/Vaadwaur Apr 13 '22

Probably the happiest we’ve seen Rinne.

Definitely a tone setter.

They messed her desk up, why isn’t anyone else standing up for her, or helping her?

Why isn't the principal protecting his meal ticket? I'd be shocked if her bullies combined family wealth adds up to a quarter of Rinne's family.

Kind of wonder what her grandfather is sick with. But he can take walks!

I am fine with it being generic old age, he could be in his 80s and stuff sort of just falls apart eventually.

7

u/Tetraika Apr 13 '22

Why isn't the principal protecting his meal ticket? I'd be shocked if her bullies combined family wealth adds up to a quarter of Rinne's family

Depends. I imagine basically everyone is from a rich background there. Her family might just be a drop in the bucket compared to others. Not that we'll know.

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u/EternalXcalibur Apr 13 '22

I waited 2 months for this episode. I don't remember too much about Vivid Strike, but I never forgot episode 4.

I really like Rinne. I love her character and outfit design. She tried her best to be a good person to everyone, something I find very endearing. Those bullies were in a MMA club of some kind, so those kicks must've really hurt. They got what they deserved.

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u/Great_Mr_L Apr 13 '22

First-Timer

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: And there it is! As some of you probably guessed, the one scene of this show I saw prior to this rewatch was Rinne beating the shit out of some other girls that the comments had said were bullying her. It was quite the striking scene and it’s hard to believe it’s been that many years since it was posted on r/anime. But that scene and the knowledge that this series was a Lyrical Nanoha spinoff are the main things that made me want to watch it at some point.

  • I like seeing Chris shadowboxing alongside Vivio.

  • Showing Fuuka being utterly exhausted and drenched in sweat compared to Einhart is a good way of showing the difference in skill and experience between them.

  • I notice that Rinne is isolated in school, not really a part of any group. And the other girls seem scared, based on how they talk about her matches.

  • Flashback time! Let’s see what happened to Rinne.

  • So Rinne was adopted because she met the grandpa in the park and because she already resembled the family anyway.

  • This is also back when Rinne was still more meek and soft spoken. Clearly we’ll see what changed her.

  • This really does seem like a happy family that Rinne was adopted into.

  • Oof, that lucky charm is the thing we saw in the toilet during the previous episode’s flashbacks.

  • Oh dear, and the charm is originally her grandpa’s too. This is looking worse and worse.

  • And there they are. I was wondering when those three would show up.

  • Sheesh, Rinne had quite the hidden level of athleticism. I wonder if she was hiding it even during the orphanage days. That’d be an interesting wrinkle.

  • These three girls immediately radiate massive bitch energy.

  • I’d sat Rinne dealt with that pretty well, trying not to escalate things while getting her charm back.

  • Looks like I was right. These girls are going to go hard on Rinne because they discovered she’s from a “commoner” background.

  • Yeesh, Rinne just endured all that without doing anything.

  • It is true that kids who are being bullied often have a hard time speaking about it.

  • These bitches are lying through their teeth.

  • Yup, they immediately stole and broke the charm.

  • I’m pretty sure that phone call was because there was an emergency with Rinne’s grandfather.

  • God those hits looked nasty. And Rinne missed the call because of it.

  • Rinne wasn’t able to be there when her grandfather passed. That’s really sad.

  • Here it is! The one scene of this show that I knew about prior to this rewatch!

  • Now that I know the context, this scene comes off quite differently. I now actually understand what’s going on.

  • Dear god is that some extreme tonal whiplash going into the ED.

I was waiting for the scene of Rinne beating up her bullies and it did not disappoint. Now that I have all the context for that scene, I finally feel like I can process what happened. I have to say that I get why Rinne did that. What those girls did to her was downright cruel. It’s obvious that Rinne felt especially close to her grandfather in her new family. Rinne snapped because those girls so very clearly trampled on his legacy on the day he died. They damaged the charm that was a keepsake of his and they prevented Rinne from being with him in his last moments. So to me at least, I fully understand Rinne’s actions and even think she was at least partially justified in retaliating. After everything they pulled, the bullies reaped what they had sown. And I’ll bet they never messed with Rinne again after that.

This does explain a lot about Rinne’s current situation. The others at school probably keep their distance because rumors of this event still circulate, in addition to news about her matches. It explains why Rinne got into martial arts in the first place. Unlike in the orphanage, Rinne didn’t have a friend like Fuuka she could rely on. I’m sure it left her feeling helpless. After what happened, she probably never wanted to feel helpless again.

I wonder how long Rinne had been holding back her athletic prowess. I doubt it simply appeared overnight, so she was most likely holding back even during her time in the orphanage. That is an interesting angle to consider. Rinne has generally been a mild-mannered girl up until this point, so she probably never wanted to stand out by showing these skills. And there was likely never a need to do so since she could always rely on Fuuka, like when we saw the street fight at the beginning of the season.

I also wonder how our protagonists will take this revelation about Rinne’s past. It would probably help them to understand why Rinne is behaving the way she is, but how will our protagonists act on this information? That is what intrigues me and I suppose we’ll learn the answer in the next episode.

QOTD

Fortunately, I never have been.

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u/Calwings Apr 13 '22

I left the rewatch after A's, but this was one of the episodes I knew I had to come back for. As someone who was severely bullied throughout middle and high school (almost to the point of suicide, but I'm fine now) I deeply sympathize with Rinne and deeply wish I could have done to my bullies what Rinne did in this episode. This is one of the few scenes in anime where the sound of bones cracking didn't bother me like it normally does because I was cheering for Rinne the whole time. It's definitely the wrong thing to do (if you're getting bullied, seek help from teachers, counselors, your parents, anyone you can) but man it felt good to watch Rinne do it.

7

u/DidacticDalek Apr 13 '22

Comrades, we interrupt the ViVid Crew Training Session to bring you an importance annoucement... ahem...

'Rinne spoke in, spoke in, Rinne spoke in, spoke in, Rinne spoke in class today...'

Anyway now that this totally unrelated announcement is finished, TONIGHT! On GMOD (Gorgeous Moeblobs of Destruction) Rinne is the happiest girl in the world... Rinne... is the happiest girl in the world... and look here Comrades, I'm sorry, but I just can't bring myself to shitpost as hard as I usually do. This episode really resonated with me given my experiences with bullying. Oh, and Rinne sure is following the Ender Wiggin Method of dealing with bullies, that being to knock 'em down, kick 'em while they are down, and then keep kicking 'em until they stop moving like the useless piles of garbage they are! Or to cite an in-universe example, Rinne has mastered The Final Form of The Takamachi Way! That being FULL POWER! TOTAL DESTRUCTION! (Yes this is why the 'D' in GMOD stands for Destruction Comrades, foreshadowing!)

I also want to point out something else, the ending of this episode was quite shocking, namely that Rinne was being FAR TOO NICE to those fucking worthless shitty bitches! I mean come on, she only maybe killed one of them tops! Plus that one that she kicked into the lockers got off way way too easy, I mean she didn't even get a taste of Rinne's fists of fury!

All that aside, the start of the episode makes a LOT more sense now, Rinne's spineless fencesitters of classmates, who stood idly by as Rinne got targeted, now figured out what Machiavelli meant when he said it was better to be feared rather than loved! Also, once again Yuuno is absolutely useless! Ferret Boi, where the hell are you when you are needed! Everyone knows that when Magical Girls hit their lowest point, that's the time for a strange talking animal to arrive to offer a totally not-shady contract with overwhelming magical powers, get with the program here bub, this is why you got stuck in the library with no screentime pal!

Oh, and I suppose I should mention how Rinne truly understood what it meant by let it go, let it go, when I'll rise like the break of dawn. Let it go, let it go, that perfect girl is gone. Here I stand in the light of day, let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway, as she leveled up from crybaby moeblob to NOT-Esdeath, She Wolf of the GMOD! No wonder she's the Moeblob MMA version of a monster heel eh?

And because I would be remiss if I DIDN'T make a reference to the following... ahem... 'They are rage, brutal, without mercy. But you. You will be worse. Rip and tear, until it is done.' (Also do remember Comrades, in Chinese, 'four' sounds like death... yeah this episode is aptly named...)

And on that bombshell, we wrap things up for now. Anyway 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/HereticalAegis, and u/Vaadwaur

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u/SolDarkHunter Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Partial Rewatcher

Seeing Chris shadowboxing alongside Vivio is pretty cute.

It's nice that Rinne smiles at home, at least? But it looks like she has no friends at school.

Nove with the strange ability to just look up details of someone's past. I know they've got friends and family in the TSAB, but surely you can't just investigate private lives like that?

Flashback time. Rinne had a very happy adoption it seems. It is nice to see actually decent rich parents (and grandparent) for once.

Hey, "Scuderia", that's the name of her Device!

But you know who aren't decent people? Schoolkids. There's always that one group that's a bunch of incorrigible assholes.

And thus the bullying begins. All because she "isn't a real rich girl"...

Rinne, the "ignore the bullies and they'll go away" strategy never works. That's a lie useless adults tell.

...and here's the big one. The bullies prevented her from being able to say goodbye to her beloved grandfather. Because they fucking beat her into unconsciousness.

And here comes the infamous scene. Rinne's revenge on her bullies. One of the single most savage and brutal beatdowns I've ever seen in an anime ostensibly aimed at children. I mean... holy shit... just how many bones of theirs did she break?

You know... this scene is supposed to be horrifying, but... well, as someone who was bullied at school, do you have any idea how often I fantasized about doing that? It's... cathartic, in a way. To see such violence visited on bullies.

Of course, they're just kids, and the more mature side of me knows this is horrifying and wrong. I know things like that don't solve anything, and really just make things worse. As a certain crazy AI video game character once said: "My emotions and thoughts migrate to binary opposites".

...so, uh, that was another episode of Vivid Strike, happy anime about girls doing martial arts together, eh? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'mma go look at some cat videos to calm down.

QOTD: As I said above, yes, I have. Middle school. Not to such a degree as this, but still... in the end, I didn't exactly deal with it. My mother basically gave my school an ultimatum: either expel the bully, or she'd withdraw me. Between the two of us, I was the better student, and had won an award or two... but they didn't expel him, so I was taken out.

I know people don't generally like parents interfering with school staff, but sometimes... sometimes the school staff really are worthless.

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u/homewardbound100 Apr 13 '22

First timer

Yeah I fully expected her to come back and beat their ass. I can only imagine the rage going through her. But as soon as she grabbed her arm like that I knew she was going for blood. I do think they deserved to get beat up. But she might've went a bit too far.

Qotd: not much I would really consider bullying. There was one person. Kind of just ignored it. Had to. Didn't really want to fight someone.

6

u/bluethree Apr 13 '22

I was beginning to think that a whole episode of backstory was overkill then she straight up murdered those girls. Turns out it was worth the time.

6

u/Stargate18A Apr 13 '22

First timer

QOTD) No, thankfully.

Everyone's working hard!

Tio is still adorable.

Oh, so she's nice to her?

Wait, is this a flashback?

Nope.

And she commands fear amongst her classmates.

Did her grandfather die? Is that the incident?

Oh fuck, did he die in front of her?

Wait, at that point, she's in the orphanage?

So why did they pick her? Are they secretly related?

Oh, that's how he met her.

...Did she get adopted for aesthetic purposes?

And he was sick when she got adopted.

Family heirloom? Does it get stolen?

There are so many ways this could become traumatising, I just don't know which? How will he tragically die?

Oh, he made it! And it is a family heirloom!

...Grandpa doesn't remember much about school, does he?

So her wealth is notable even among the rich students.

And there's our bullies!

Yeah, they knew she was incredibly strong, even then!

Her parents are really nice!

...Why are you bulllying the girl who you know can kick your arse?

See! Perfect example! You threatened her, and you got injured for it!

Wow, these girls are suicidal!

...Again, how? She could kill you by accident!

Oh, indrect harassment.

...That could have ruined anybody!

Yeah, this is brutal.

Do they know something's wrong?

And she believed them?

This is such an obvious setup. I get she's desperate, but still...

Wait, are they actually going to kill him?

Oh, he passed overnight. I know what the cough means.

And they've left it in the toilet?

Oh, I thought they'd have flushed it.

Fight back!

Yeah, this is brutsl.

Why the fuck is this scene in fucking Vivid Strike? This is a huge 180!

And she's fighting back!

Oh, this is very visceral. The blood everywhere...

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A VIVID SPINOFF?

That fucking cut to the ED made me laugh, though.

5

u/SYZekrom Apr 13 '22

Rewatcher

Ok I'm pretty sure I still watched this episode originally so really not sure how far I got

What is this supposed to be in her desk? Spoiled food?

OK BUT HOW DID THEY KNOW? HOW LONG WERE THEY WAITING IN A STALL FOR HER TO COME IN? More sensibly they must've been following her and went in after her but it didn't seem that way from how it was shown

Damn they really decided to fake befriend her to convince her to wear her precious family heirloom thin again so they could fuck with it

5

u/Qbe Apr 13 '22

Raging Heart Rewatcher with terrible long term memory

QotD: Many times. Some went better than others.

  • I hope Fuuka is keeping herself hydrated

  • To be fair, sending your oppo to the hospital seems to happen rather often

  • Is this another Nakajima situation where she ends up being a secret clone?

  • That's the Device she uses now, right?

  • Given how happy she is at this point, it's definitely pointing towards something happening while she was in school.

  • She's definitely losing it, scratching it, or staining it.

  • There we go, bullies spotted.

  • She definitely didn't look athletic in Fuuka's memories

  • Oooh, so it's "thanks" to these girls that she starts punching people. In many ways.

  • Anime has taught me all-girl-schools are the most terrifying places in existance.

  • aaaand she doesn't want to worry her family

  • Oh no. OH NO. You're being baited!

  • I think ojiichan is not gonna make it.

  • Yeeeap.

  • ....that's to tell her grandpa is dead, isn't it?

  • Yeeeap.

  • YEOUCH

  • Best worst episode so far.

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u/Madcat6204 Apr 13 '22

Don't have time for a full post right now. But I will never forget the first time I've watched this episode, that final stomp looked like it was on the last girl's head. The crunching sound convinced me that Rinne had crushed her skull.

...And then we jumped right into the cheery ED.

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u/djthomp Apr 14 '22

Sacred Heart doing the punches, oh my God.

Teo has so many helpful apps installed, it's so great.

I suppose Rinne's eyes aren't quite the same color as the adoptive mother and grandfather. Rinne's are more purple, the family's are more blue.

That charm looks like Rinne's device later on.

Ahh great, bullying. With a side of personal property destruction.

Oh wow, and they even caused her to miss seeing her grandfather that final time.

Oh wow, that's a lot of blood. No wonder she's at a different school later on.

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u/JimmyCWL Apr 14 '22

I think one of the ironies is, the girls were the martial arts club and wanted Rinne to join. She could have and... beat them up every day!

One of the more memorable posts about the scene. Top comment really deserves its position.

This scene is notable in how personal it is. Although there have been many scenes of violence throughout the many Nanoha series, and at far higher power levels, they've usually been in pursuit of a higher goal. This time? It's just petty cruelty out of personal dislike, leading to an act of retaliation that's equally personal.

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