Comments on: Nanoha: My Thoughts

By: We don’t need no comment function at hontou ni sou omou?

We don’t need no comment function at hontou ni sou omou? — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:51:47 +0000

[...] books or articles, gain classic status by getting cited/linked repeatedly e.g. on AWESOMENESS, the monomyth or Insane Rants Full of [...]

By: Efferversence of fandom: Kyonko and MSLNFPFR at hontou ni sou omou?

Efferversence of fandom: Kyonko and MSLNFPFR at hontou ni sou omou? — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:56:30 +0000

[...] of the debates on substantialism versus relationism in sociology or NegativeZero’s classic Jungian psychological reading of the first two seasons. My own reading is rather more shallow and consists mainly of two main [...]

By: Danny Choo

Danny Choo — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:14:48 +0000

I’m usually happy when a show has nice girls in it ^^;

By: Wild Goose

Wild Goose — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:46:29 +0000

My thoughts on StrikerS is simple: The writing team is running out of time and episodes to do something great, but I am prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt until Episode 13.

I think they were trying to reflect a part of real life, which is that real life consists of training, training, training, and yet more training, and 5 brief minutes of heartstopping action (which is how a retired military officer described the military to me). That said, I still feel disappointed with the series.

For one, maybe I’m using the wrong yardstick here, but comparatively speaking, that hasn’t been that much action in StrikerS compared to A’s. A’s episodes 1-5 had more action that StrikerS 1-10, and this is despite StrikerS having more time…

I guess the writing staff want to slowly build up Mobile Division 6, but frankly, there is nothing compelling about the charecters. I remember watching Nanoha and instantly seeing a compelling relationship between Fate and Nanoha, as they progressed from rivals to friends. There’s no such compelling relationship here that I see…

On the other hand, it has to be remembered that Nanoha sucked until Fate showed up (that compelling relationship). I think Nanoha fans worldwide would be able to find some measure of forgiveness in their hearts if Lutecia and that other mysterious girl show up in Episode 11 for a battle royale. *shrug* It could be that this was deliberate… the slow as a turtle pace of plotting… and the Episode 11 will kickstart the intense battles and the like.

We’ll have to wait and see. *sighs*

By: NegativeZero

NegativeZero — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:48:03 +0000

Nanoha is definitely the protagonist. While it’s true that Fate and Hayate were the driving motivation behind those seasons, Nanoha is still the main character. The reason that Fate, Hayate and the Wolkenritter carry that feeling is that the theme of the show is about friendship (and redemption through friendship).

I agree that Nanoha is less interesting than some members of the cast in comparison, but she’s still the heroine. After all, it’s not Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Fate-chan. Though I’d still watch it if it was, of course.

By: T_I

T_I — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:44:58 +0000

I agree with you regarding some pacing problems, but it disagree on the POV character

personally I thought that the first season was more about Fate, and A’s was more about the wolkenritter and Hayate. It was never about HER journey. It was about the other girl’s.

if you think about it, Nanoha was never really the main character, or a character even.

Rather, a force of nature

StrikerS seems to follow suite.

By: tj han

tj han — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:17:22 +0000

Maybe it’s just me but I thought Strikers was far more interesting then As and G1.

In fact, I hated As and G1. It was shounen magical girl combined. Note that I still watched every episode.

Oh just because it’s interesting doesn’t make it “good”, ditto Mai Otome Zwei.

By: nae

nae — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:34:58 +0000

I’m impressed that you wrote an essay with Nanoha as the starting point. =) The points about the hero’s journey are interesting in themselves.

As for StrikerS… definitely needs more conflict. And actual interpersonal bonds that don’t just build on what has come before. It’s true that Nanoha was about friendship, or more precisely, friendships forged out of adversarial relationships or shared hardship, and I don’t see how the writers could’ve forgotten that. Ep 9 brought up the fact that the students haven’t risked their lives yet. I wonder if that could be a factor. They’re still in a greenhouse, sort of, and, bah, there are enough school shows around, why are they making another one.