Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
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| Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha | |
|---|---|
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| 魔法少女リリカルなのは (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha) |
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| Genre | Magical girl, Bishoujo |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Akiyuki Shinbo |
| Studio | Seven Arcs |
| Network | |
| Original run | 1 October 2004 – 25 December 2004 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
- "Nanoha" redirects here; for the title character, see Nanoha Takamachi.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (魔法少女リリカルなのは Mahō Shōjo Ririkaru Nanoha?) is a thirteen episode spin-off of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs that aired between October and December of 2004. Nanoha, the magical girl and younger sister of Kyōya and Miyuki, takes precedence here while her sword-wielding siblings are reduced to minor characters. Nanoha is also clearly set in an alternate universe; the late Shirō Fuwa was always named Takamachi and survived his originally fatal injury, new characters such as Fate Testarossa are added, and others, such as Fiasse Crystela, are removed.
A sequel, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, aired between October and December of 2005. A third series named Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS has been confirmed, and will begin airing sometime in 2007.[1] There have also been corresponding manga series bridging the story and adding new elements to it, as well as CD dramas.
The series, whilst having some of the traditional trappings of Magical Girl shows, differs in several key ways. First, Nanoha bases its 'magic' on technology in lieu of traditional 'magical' elements of said shows. Second, the series has more carefully crafted choreography than more typical magical girl shows, reflecting the different target demographic (teenage and young adult male viewers rather than the traditional young female audience of the magical girl genre). Third, and perhaps most importantly, the show's story is significantly more emotionally intense than those of other magical girl series, dealing with themes such as social alienation and child abuse.
Contents |
[edit] Story
Nanoha Takamachi is a 3rd grade elementary school girl. She lives with her parents who run a coffee shop, and her older sister and brother who are in high school and university respectively. Nanoha's regular life changes when she hears a voice calling to her on the way home and ends up rescuing an injured ferret (who is actually a transformed boy called Yūno, an archaeologist from a distant world). She obtains a magical crystal called Raising Heart, and gains magical powers.
After their encounter, Nanoha and Yūno have to collect the twenty-one "Jewel Seeds" (ジュエルシード Jueru Shĭdo?), powerful lost crystals from Yūno's world that grant wishes and are very dangerous when misused. However, Nanoha and Yūno are not the only ones after the Jewel Seeds. So is Fate Testarossa, a foreign girl with sad eyes...
[edit] Characters
[edit] Nanoha Takamachi
- 高町 なのは (Takamachi Nanoha?) (Voice: Yukari Tamura)
This sweet grade three student feels that, though she plays a good supporting role in others' lives, unlike the rest of her family and friends, she has no closest friend to turn to and no direction in her own life. However, when she meets Yūno and discovers her strong aptitude for magic, Nanoha activates Raising Heart out of a magical crystal that Yūno was carrying and wholeheartedly carries out her search for the Jewel Seeds. She's slightly dense and much too trusting, but has a tremendous insight that leads her to reach out to Fate.
[edit] Yūno Scrya
- ユーノ・スクライア (Yūno Sukuraia?) (Voice: Kaori Mizuhashi)
Yūno is a magic-user from the Garden of Time, and is the same age as Nanoha. Despite his young age, he worked as an archaeologist and discovered a set of ancient and powerful artifacts (the magical term for this is Lost Logia) known as the Jewel Seeds. When the Time-Space Administration Bureau lost the Jewel Seeds, Yūno went to Earth to track them down; whilst fleeing from monsters, he was injured and transformed himself into a ferret. He acts as Nanoha's familiar, though his true form is that of a regular human being and she did not create him.
[edit] Fate Testarossa
- フェイト・テスタロッサ (Feito Tesutarossa?) (Voice: Nana Mizuki)
Abused by her ruthless mother, Fate regardless remains blindly and unquestioningly loyal to Precia and carries out her search for the Jewel Seeds. When this search leads her to cross Nanoha, she scorns the naivete of her rival and strikes out against her. However, as Nanoha persists to try to learn her motivation and turn her to the side of good, Fate is faced with a shocking truth from everyone around her and must decide what to do with it.
[edit] Arf
- アルフ (Arufu?) (Voice: Natsuko Kuwatani)
Fate's outspoken dog-woman familiar. Her distaste of Precia is mutual, but she cannot do anything to protect Fate from her mother. Arf instead takes out her anger on her enemies. She is very kind to Fate and rather protective of her.
[edit] Precia Testarossa
- プレシア・テスタロッサ (Pureshia Tesutarossa?) (Voice: Rei Igarashi)
Precia is a madwoman and a fugitive in the Garden of Time. She instructs her daughter Fate to find the Jewel Seeds and beats her ruthlessly when she does not do enough to satisfy her. Precia desperately wants the Jewel Seeds to the point that she will not hesitate to remove any obstacles. She was kind and stable once upon a time, but any trace of that is long gone.
[edit] Glossary of terms
- Main article: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha terminology
[edit] "Infamous" episodes
The series is generally appropriate for most age groups, save for the usually modest fanservice level, most obvious during Nanoha's "exploding underwear" henshin sequence. However, two episodes of the original series stand out as otherwise:
- Episode 5 depicts the nine-year-old girls, as well as older characters like Farin, Noel, Arf and Miyuki, running around an onsen naked; however, nothing objectionable is shown.
- Episode 7 contains a disturbing torture scene involving Fate.
[edit] Episode list
Note: Many of the names of the earlier episodes end in "nano" (なの), a phrase meaning "it is" or "is it?" and generally considered friendly. This appears to be a play on Nanoha's name. This was omitted in the fansubs, but is retained here.
| Episode # | Title | Air Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Is This a Mysterious Encounter, Nano?" "Sore wa fushigi na deai nano?" (それは不思議な出会いなの?) |
2004-10-01 | ||
| Nanoha comes to Yūno's rescue and is awakened to her powers. | ||||
| 02 | ""Lyrical" is the Magic Word, Nano?" "Mahō no jyumon wa ririkaru nano?" (魔法の呪文はリリカルなの?) |
2004-10-08 | ||
| Nanoha defeats her first monster, showing incredible talent. | ||||
| 03 | "The Town is in Great Danger, Nano?" "Machi wa kiken ga ippai nano?" (街は危険がいっぱいなの?) |
2004-10-15 | ||
| Nanoha's first "failure" comes when she gets to a Jewel Seed too late. | ||||
| 04 | "A Rival!? Another Magical Girl, Nano!" "Raibaru!? Mō hitori no mahō shōjo nano!" (ライバル!?もうひとりの魔法少女なの！) |
2004-10-22 | ||
| Nanoha meets Fate, a rival for the Jewel Seeds. | ||||
| 05 | "Here at Uminari Onsen, It's Like a Hot Water Town, Nano!" "Koko wa yu no machi, Uminari onsen nano" (ここは湯のまち、海鳴温泉なの) |
2004-10-29 | ||
| Fate and her familiar Arf challenge Nanoha at a hot spring. | ||||
| 06 | "Indecipherable Feelings, Nano?" "Wakari aenai kimochi nano?" (わかりあえない気持ちなの？) |
2004-11-05 | ||
| Alisa suspects that Nanoha is hiding something. | ||||
| 07 | "The Third Mage, Nano?" "Sannin me no mahō tsukai nano?" (三人目の魔法使いなの？) |
2004-11-12 | ||
| Fate's mother, the real villain, is revealed just as the Time-Space Administration Bureau arrives. | ||||
| 08 | "This is a Huge Crisis, Nano?" "Sore wa ōi naru kiki nano?" (それは大いなる危機なの？) |
2004-11-19 | ||
| Nanoha joins with the Time-Space Administration Bureau. | ||||
| 09 | "Climactic Battle Over the Sea, Nano!" "Kessen wa umi no ue de nano" (決戦は海の上でなの) |
2004-11-26 | ||
| Nanoha ignores orders and tries to help Fate. | ||||
| 10 | "All the Individual Heartfelt Vows, Nano!" "Sorezore no mune no chikai nano" (それぞれの胸の誓いなの) |
2004-12-03 | ||
| Arf is thrown out by Precia and joins Nanoha. | ||||
| 11 | "Memories That Lie Beyond Time, Nano!" "Omoide wa toki no kanata nano" (思い出は時の彼方なの) |
2004-12-10 | ||
| Nanoha and Fate battle for all the Jewel Seeds, and Fate's origin is revealed. | ||||
| 12 | "When Our Fate Is Sealed, Nano!" "Shukumei ga tojiru toki nano" (宿命が閉じるときなの) |
2004-12-17 | ||
| In the final battle, the TSAB march on the Garden of Time. | ||||
| 13 | "Say My Name" "Namae o yonde" (なまえをよんで) |
2004-12-24 | ||
| What will happen to Fate now? | ||||
[edit] Trivia
- Jewel Seed #14 appears two times in both episode 4 and episode 6.
- The text in pink under the logo reads "Magical girl lyrical Nanoha. She whispers some words mildly in your heart, and makes your gentle days."
- Starting in episode 7, the black title screen of later, "serious" episodes begins to replace the Raising Heart title screen. However, the Raising Heart screen reappears twice after that.
[edit] Theme songs
- Opening
- innocent starter performed by Nana Mizuki
- Ending
- Little Wish -lyrical step- performed by Yukari Tamura
- Insert Song
- Take a Shot performed by Nana Mizuki (in episode 12)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (Japanese) Official Site
| Nanoha |
|---|
| Series: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha | A's | Strikers | Triangle Heart (original source) |
| Characters |
| Main: Nanoha Takamachi | Yūno Scrya | Fate Testarossa | Arf | Hayate Yagami |
| Wolkenritter: Vita | Signum | Shamal | Zafira |
| Others: Precia Testarossa | Chrono Haraoun | Minor characters |
| Other |
| Misc: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha terminology |
