Subaru Nakajima

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Subaru Nakajima
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha character
First appearance	StrikerS Episode 1
Last appearance	StrikerS Episode 26 + Sound Stage 04
Voiced by	Chiwa Saito
Profile
Age	15
Title	Forward Stars Front Attacker Rank: Private 1st Class
Home world	Mid-Childa
Affiliations	Time-Space Administration Bureau (TSAB) Mobile Division 6[1]
Information
Magic system	Modern Belka
Weapon	Mach Caliber + Revolver Knuckle (Right Hand)
Partner	Teana Lanster

Subaru Nakajima (スバル・ナカジマ, Subaru Nakajima^?) is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, voiced by Chiwa Saito. She's completely original to the series, not appearing in any of the previous series in the franchise. Subaru has a deep-rooted admiration of Nanoha Takamachi, aspiring to be just like her. Subaru even made her own version of Divine Buster. She is named after the car company Subaru and Nakajima Aircraft Company, the World War II-era name of Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru. Subaru means Pleiades in Japanese. Many aspects of her character, including her status as a cyborg, Mach Caliber transformation, and typical attack routine, appear to be a heavy nod to the 1997 anime The King of Braves GaoGaiGar and its sequel OVA.

[edit] Subaru in StrikerS

Four years before the events of the series, Subaru had been caught in a fire at a Mid-Childan airport along with her older sister Ginga. Confused and crying, just as a statue was about to crush her, she was rescued by Nanoha. Nanoha created a hole in the roof using Divine Buster to make her exit with Subaru, and the experience left Subaru with a deep admiration for and the desire to be just like Nanoha.^[2]

At the very start of the series, Subaru participated in a test with Teana Lanster to raise their Mage Ranks from C to B, though she didn't know that she and Teana were being observed by Nanoha, Fate T. Harlaown and Hayate Yagami as potential students and members of a new division of the TSAB Ground Armed Forces, Mobile Division 6. Though the 2 were accepted into the new division, they had failed the test. But they were given a special opportunity to retake it without having to wait. ^[2]

Subaru's excitement at being a member of the same squad as Nanoha and being taught directly her idol may have had her jumping, but Subaru, having a completely different way of fighting from her commander, instead trains in close combat with her sub-commander, Vita. Subaru's style is unrefined, as she initially opted to use barriers in situations where shields are more appropriate. ^[3]

In episode 6 of StrikerS, we learned that Subaru's family might have originated from Earth like Nanoha and Hayate. In their case, "Earth" is referred as "Non-Administrated Planet 97".

Subaru's friendship with Teana, though the latter may claim that it is strained, is very close, to the point of devotion. During a time when Teana was angsting over a friendly fire incident, Subaru made every effort to keep Teana's spirits up, helped her train and even criticised Nanoha's decisions to punish Teana for overdoing her efforts.^[4]

By episode 18, it is revealed that Subaru and Ginga are, in fact, not biological daughters of Genya Nakajima and his wife Quint (who was incapable of childbirth). The girls are actually cyborgs (as revealed in episode 17 when Subaru's left arm was damaged, revealing cybernetics), just like Jail Scaglietti's Numbers forces, acquired from a facility similar to that run by Scaglietti, then adopted by the Nakajimas because of their surprising resemblance to Quint.^[5] Even more startling is a revelation during a flashback in episode 23, when, while Quint was still alive, Ginga and Subaru were undergoing examination, and it was discovered that the siblings had very uncannily similar genetic makeup to Quint, leading to speculation that they were possibly clones of Quint, which would explain their physical resemblances.^[6]

By the end of the series, Subaru has assumed the field roles once held by Nanoha, and is last seen rescuing two children from a sinking ship.^[7]

[edit] Powers

Even though she uses Belka magics, Subaru is considered a mage instead of a knight.^[8] The reason for this has not been fully revealed in StrikerS. Subaru's form of magic-use is a hand-to-hand form called "Shooting Arts"^[8], which was taught to Subaru by her sister^[9] and is focused on shooting and magic-enhanced attacks.

• Revolver Shoot — Subaru's most basic attack. She uses this in almost all of her battles. It "shoots" a powerful sonic shockwave out of her Revolver Knuckle, capable of tearing through metal and even through weak defensive spells. Its range varies from close range to melee. Previously this spell consumed a single cartridge^[10], but after Subaru received Mach Caliber, she gained the ability to use this spell without the need to expend cartridges^[11]. Visually, it is a reference to the iconic Broken Magnum technique of GaoGaiGar fame.

• Revolver Cannon — A variation of Revolver Shoot, though it is a completely melee Magic-enhanced Attack spell instead of a close-ranged Shooting spell. It sends the target it strikes flying backwards. It was first shown in episode 15 as a counterattack when Subaru was sparring with Ginga.

• Divine Buster — Subaru's own version of Nanoha's Divine Buster, though with some minor differences. Subaru performs the move by creating a ball of magic in front of her and punching it with her Revolver Knuckle^[10], unlike Nanoha's Divine Buster which is charged and fired by Raising Heart. It's also used more similarly to Revolver Shoot than the original Divine Buster^[9]. Subaru wasn't taught this ability; she made it herself using Nanoha as her inspiration. Unlike Nanoha's Divine Buster, it is a short burst of energy rather than a full beam. This spell consumes 2 cartridges. Visually, the design, pose and execution of Subaru's Divine Buster is a reference to the Broken Phantom technique used by GaoFighGar.
• Barrier Jacket — Subaru's Barrier Jacket is fairly similar to Nanoha's though it lacks a few elements. As a user of the Modern Belka system, it's referred as a Barrier Jacket rather than Knight Armor as in the Ancient Belka system.
• Protection — Like the Protection used by Nanoha, this an Auto-Guard spell used by Mach Caliber, though the actual barrier is projected from the Revolver Knuckle. Subaru's Protection is fairly strong, able to take blows from Vita's Graf Eisen without breaking.^[3] Visually, Protection is a reference to the Protect Shade technique used by GaoGaiGar.
• Wing Road — Subaru creates a road for her to travel through the air using Mach Caliber. This essentially allows Subaru to fly without the need to develop the actual skills required for flight.
• Absorb Grip^[12] — Also referred to as "Assault Grip", Absorb Grip creates an attractive force between the wheels of Mach Caliber and the surface they are in contact with. This force is strong enough to enable Subaru to traverse even completely vertical surfaces, such as walls.^[11]
• Gear Second — First seen in episode 15, this ability increases the speed of Mach Caliber's movement.
• Gear Excelion — Mach Caliber's Full Drive, this is the "upgraded" version of the "Gear Second" ability. In this form, Mach Caliber has wings (resembling Nanoha's "Accel Fin"). Those wings (presumably) enhance Subaru's speed and ability to jump. Mach Caliber says "ACS Standby", indicating that Gear Excelion may allow Subaru to use the Axel Charge System used by Nanoha in Excelion Mode. Subaru uses the Full Drive of her Mach Caliber, followed by a Divine Buster blast from her Revolver Knuckle, to knock out her sister Ginga and free her from the control of Scaglietti. ^[13]

In addition to her magic ability, Subaru has a Combat cyborg mode, in which she taps into her full cyborg strength and enables usage of her IS. Her eyes change to amber while in this mode, and her magic circle changes to the combat cyborg circle. Subaru's IS is Oscillating Breaker, a close-range energy attack similar to Revolver Shoot but several orders of magnitude more powerful, with exceptional effectiveness against electronic parts and the cyborgs' physical frames. A cyborg will definitely be killed instantly should she/he take one hit undefended. ^[14] The first time that Subaru performed her IS, her Revolver Knuckle loaded four cartridges, though she does not do so in Episode 26. It appears that she can only perform Oscillating Breaker with a hand that is wearing a Revolver Knuckle, as she only does so with her right hand in Episode 17 but performs a one-two use of the move in Episode 26 while wearing both Knuckles. Mach Caliber was not designed with this form in mind, however, and breaks apart from the strain the first time Subaru uses it. As a result, Mach Caliber was upgraded in episode 19 to improve its performance to the point where it was able to handle Subaru's full power - a similar upgrade was performed by Jail Scaglietti to Ginga's Blitz Caliber at the same time. In the StrikerS manga, Shario refers to Wing Road as another Inherent Skill while putting the finishing touches on Mach Caliber, stating that programming Mach Caliber to be able to use Wing Road on its' own is complicating the device's completion. ^[15]

Subaru has on occasion punctured barriers by punching them with a spinning Revolver Knuckle, then opening her hand into the barrier, causing it to shatter. She did this in Episode 1 against the boss drone, as well as in Episode 23 to puncture Ginga's barrier. On both occasions this was done to leave the target open to a direct hit by Divine Buster.

As of episode 23, Mach Caliber is capable of fighting if Subaru is unconscious by means of using Wing Road, its own boosters and the Revolver Knuckle.

[edit] References

Nanoha
Series: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha | A's | Strikers | Triangle Heart
Characters
Main: Nanoha Takamachi | Yūno Scrya | Fate Testarossa | Arf | Hayate Yagami | Subaru Nakajima
Wolkenritter: Vita | Signum | Shamal | Zafira | Reinforce
Time-Space Administration Bureau: Chrono Harlaown | Teana Lanster | Erio Mondial | Caro Ru Lushe
Takamachi Family: Kyōya Takamachi | Miyuki Takamachi | Vivio
Scaglietti's organization: Jail Scaglietti | Uno | Due | Tre | Quattro | Sette
Others: Precia Testarossa |Alisa Bannings | Suzuka Tsukimura | Lutecia Alpine | Agito Zest Grangaitz | Cinque | Sein | Otto | Nove | Dieci | Wendi | Deed | Minor characters
Other
Glossary | Episodes