AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 2nd A's Discussion Thread (spoilers)

Sunder the Gold · 2013-03-31, 22:29

Hey, so I'm watching the movie on Youtube. No subtitles, but would I honestly need them?

So, Yuuno casts an all-new spell: Caging Circle!

...I'm not sure what to think. It seems to incidentally wipe out a number of the Beast's tentacles just in getting set up, but it's not clear WHY. Is getting hit by this thing like getting hit with a Divine Buster? Given how the screen subtly shakes with each obliteration, there's clearly some force behind the ring's closure. But if so, why couldn't Yuuno cast a Divine Buster?

At least with Chain Bind, it made sense that the chains could cut if pulled hard enough. That sort of physical damage also made it clear why Yuuno would normally not use Chain Bind in that fashion against opponents like Fate and Arf.

More, Caging Circle doesn't seem to do all that much caging, except in serving as an anchor for Arf's Chain Bind. Which is kind of cool in itself, as it hints at the possibility of cooperative magic, where techniques are composed of multiple spells cast in concert by teams.

It (and the dual-forced teleport) also alludes to the fact that Yuuno taught Arf new tricks, and that they seem to have learned how to work together as a team. So, relationship development! Awesome. (The team-teleport also seems to surprise the Arthra's bridge-crew with how fast it works, and Shamal didn't help that spell at all.)

I can't say that Caging Circle actually DID anything on its own, though. The Beast stays put inside the circle even after the chain binds break, without even trying to test the circle's ring. It's not clear if the Beast is ignoring the ring as insignificant or deciding that it's too much trouble to challenge. It just moves forward a couple of steps when breaking out of the chains, stops short of the ring, and resorts to long-range attacks.

But I noticed that EVERYONE's attacks avoid striking the cage's ring. Vita hammers down through it. Fate's first slash sails over it. Signum shoots under it.

Fate's second slash --which comes from outside the Caging Circle-- is what finally breaks the spell. Conspicuously, THIS is when the Beast finally moves out of that spot, if only to float upwards now that it's lost its legs.

So maybe the Caging Circle was really powerful in the specific task of "keep the target from leaving the circle" while otherwise powerless to prevent the target from moving in any other way?

Oh, and Zafira displays his beam-firing punches from the video game; Raging Wolf Fang. It could even be considered a response to a long-range attack against him by the Beast.

I have to say, I like how Nanoha's initial role is to provide covering fire for Vita so that the Hammer Knight can get into position unmolested. Another nice bit of teamwork; more so than "everyone just hits the monster as hard as they can".

Nanoha gets to blast the thing with Starlight Breaker anyway, so why not give her something different and personally appropriate to do before that? Especially when, if she had the time to cast Force Burst / Excellion Buster, she could have just used an early Starlight Breaker.

2013-03-31, 22:29	Link #1053
Sunder the Gold Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011	Hey, so I'm watching the movie on Youtube. No subtitles, but would I honestly need them? So, Yuuno casts an all-new spell: Caging Circle! ...I'm not sure what to think. It seems to incidentally wipe out a number of the Beast's tentacles just in getting set up, but it's not clear WHY. Is getting hit by this thing like getting hit with a Divine Buster? Given how the screen subtly shakes with each obliteration, there's clearly some force behind the ring's closure. But if so, why couldn't Yuuno cast a Divine Buster? At least with Chain Bind, it made sense that the chains could cut if pulled hard enough. That sort of physical damage also made it clear why Yuuno would normally not use Chain Bind in that fashion against opponents like Fate and Arf. More, Caging Circle doesn't seem to do all that much caging, except in serving as an anchor for Arf's Chain Bind. Which is kind of cool in itself, as it hints at the possibility of cooperative magic, where techniques are composed of multiple spells cast in concert by teams. It (and the dual-forced teleport) also alludes to the fact that Yuuno taught Arf new tricks, and that they seem to have learned how to work together as a team. So, relationship development! Awesome. (The team-teleport also seems to surprise the Arthra's bridge-crew with how fast it works, and Shamal didn't help that spell at all.) I can't say that Caging Circle actually DID anything on its own, though. The Beast stays put inside the circle even after the chain binds break, without even trying to test the circle's ring. It's not clear if the Beast is ignoring the ring as insignificant or deciding that it's too much trouble to challenge. It just moves forward a couple of steps when breaking out of the chains, stops short of the ring, and resorts to long-range attacks. But I noticed that EVERYONE's attacks avoid striking the cage's ring. Vita hammers down through it. Fate's first slash sails over it. Signum shoots under it. Fate's second slash --which comes from outside the Caging Circle-- is what finally breaks the spell. Conspicuously, THIS is when the Beast finally moves out of that spot, if only to float upwards now that it's lost its legs. So maybe the Caging Circle was really powerful in the specific task of "keep the target from leaving the circle" while otherwise powerless to prevent the target from moving in any other way? Oh, and Zafira displays his beam-firing punches from the video game; Raging Wolf Fang. It could even be considered a response to a long-range attack against him by the Beast. I have to say, I like how Nanoha's initial role is to provide covering fire for Vita so that the Hammer Knight can get into position unmolested. Another nice bit of teamwork; more so than "everyone just hits the monster as hard as they can". Nanoha gets to blast the thing with Starlight Breaker anyway, so why not give her something different and personally appropriate to do before that? Especially when, if she had the time to cast Force Burst / Excellion Buster, she could have just used an early Starlight Breaker.