Mahou Senki Lyrical Nanoha Force Manga Discussion

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Arcc

You're aware that most of the people in the world aren't in Fiji, right? It's a not a huge slice of the globe out there in +12 or greater, so playing that card kinda makes you look silly.

- I never realized Australia was 'not a huge slice of the globe' by American standards. And I was dead serious. My FB was filled with idiots who actually fell for the Nisekoimonogatari joke and screaming expletives at me when I told them how obvious a gag it was.

That being said, I sadly concur.

- I honestly don't know what the plans were for Force. There were something about it I didn't like, but it was going in an interesting direction. While I'm not saying Vivid is going to be bad, I would much rather that Force was the one that was ongoing.

[Akiyoshi]

If FORCE does end up cancelled I at least expect Tsuzuki to give an interview where he explains what was his vision for that season and where the story could go if it continued. Or a novel/sound stage that wraps up the story.

[Zelene2004]

how many chapters were actually released?

[wavehawk]

I'll quote you the last mention of it:

Originally Posted by Der Langrisser

Chapter 31 was the last one published before hiatus in November 2013. You can check page 407 of this thread. I'll give you the link:

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...01625&page=407

So it's up to Chapter 31 (Raw), and as of today it's been 1 year and 4 months inactive.

The last time I saw a manga series go inactive this long and not officially been declared cancelled, it's either switched publishers (Jinki series, SO MANY FREAKING TIMES) or the mangaka has had health issues/dropped dead.

[Nachtwandler]

Tsuzuki is just busy with ViVid, Innocent and his work as a scriptwriter so I still hope he'll do smth with Force this year or at least next year.

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by Nachtwandler

Tsuzuki is just busy with ViVid, Innocent and his work as a scriptwriter so I still hope he'll do smth with Force this year or at least next year.

Assuming he's not asked to throw a 4th season of Dog Days on top of that.

[plomeplome]

One of the main killer for many people is that the main character is a guy.

[Nachtwandler]

Originally Posted by plomeplome

One of the main killer for many people is that the main character is a guy.

And I don't get it. It's a nice change (Gundam fans still asking for a female MC). The cast is still unappropiatly female and there's no harem.

[Alastoryagami]

Originally Posted by Nachtwandler

And I don't get it. It's a nice change (Gundam fans still asking for a female MC). The cast is still unappropiatly female and there's no harem.

The series could have more males, but it shouldn't have a male main character. It's a magical girl/woman series, and while the Nanoha franchise tried to shift from that, it's clear that that is not what most fans wanted. And rightfully so. There is nothing special about Nanoha Vivid, but it sells better simply because it sticks to its route. They should keep the fans they already have happy, and not try to alienate the old fans for new ones unless they really have confidence they made something great. Force was not even close to reaching that expectation. Nanoha is already popular in Japan, there is no reason to take unnecessary risks by turning a series inside out and making it something it never was..

[Rising Dragon]

The only complaints I've seen about a male main character in Nanoha has come from the Western side of the fandom, which the Japanese really do not give a shit about. Force's hiatus, from everything I can find, did not have anything to do with popularity, because Force was selling about as well as ViVid was prior to the hiatus. Whatever the reason for the hiatus, it wasn't because fans were butthurt over Thoma.

[Alastoryagami]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

The only complaints I've seen about a male main character in Nanoha has come from the Western side of the fandom, which the Japanese really do not give a shit about. Force's hiatus, from everything I can find, did not have anything to do with popularity, because Force was selling about as well as ViVid was prior to the hiatus. Whatever the reason for the hiatus, it wasn't because fans were butthurt over Thoma.

It was selling about as well during its first few volumes. Vivid dwarfed it after a point.

Force is the only Nanoha related thing to go on hiatus. We have to assume it was because of sales numbers. Tsuzuki wouldn't let something die that was profitable for him. Thoma isn't exclusively the problem, I'm sure he played a part. Some people disliked him because they didn't want a male main character, and others because they genuinely thought Thoma was a bland character.

We don't know what the majority of Japanese Nanoha fans thought of Force. That would require extensive research on their 2chan boards. And I'm sure I haven't seen any of that posted or translated before. I do know that Force fanart was minimal. Nanoha Fortress mode is the only thing I really saw much of, and that's probably because they liked the mecha look.

Edit: I would also like to point out that Higa Yukari (artist of Nanoha Force) became the artist of the Nanoha Chronicles (essentially a remake of season 1) after Force was put on hiatus. So he's doing the art for a 1st season manga that has been adapted three times already rather than Nanoha Force; a sequel to the Nanoha franchise. What other explanation is there other than Nanoha Force being a complete flop?

[Rising Dragon]

There have been plenty of mangas that were profitable for their creators, that still had to go on hiatus for any number of reasons. Sometimes, money just doesn't factor into it. As for Higa, there's a good chance that the hiatus happened BECAUSE of the Chronicles remake. People only have so much time they can dedicate to multiple projects and remain healthy (and from what I've seen, some LN authors and manga-kas have notoriously poor health while they're working on their stories). Until an official announcement is made about why it was put on hiatus, we won't know. And in my experience, if something is a flop, they don't announce that it's put on "hiatus", which implies they'll return to the work at some point... they just outright cancel it. And the wording of the announcements list Force as a hiatus, and not a cancellation.

[Alastoryagami]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

There have been plenty of mangas that were profitable for their creators, that still had to go on hiatus for any number of reasons. Sometimes, money just doesn't factor into it. As for Higa, there's a good chance that the hiatus happened BECAUSE of the Chronicles remake. People only have so much time they can dedicate to multiple projects and remain healthy (and from what I've seen, some LN authors and manga-kas have notoriously poor health while they're working on their stories). Until an official announcement is made about why it was put on hiatus, we won't know. And in my experience, if something is a flop, they don't announce that it's put on "hiatus", which implies they'll return to the work at some point... they just outright cancel it. And the wording of the announcements list Force as a hiatus, and not a cancellation.

The chronicles remake didn't come until awhile after Force was put on hiatus. And don't you find it odd that a chronicles remake would take priority over Nanoha Force? That's what I'm getting at. How could Force be popular if they're prioritizing a manga remake over the continuation of a direct sequel?

[Rising Dragon]

No, I don't find it odd at all, unfortunately. Season 1 was without a doubt the most popular season, and dare I say it, because of how much of a hit Fate was with fans. Most people in the Nanoha fandom can't get enough of her, and reportedly many a person watched the 2nd movie purely to see the Lotus Eater Machine sequence of Fate stuck inside the Book of Darkness.

Nanoha Chronicles is a cash grab, plain and simple. The Nanoha franchise is a niche series, and will never generate the same kind of income as something like the Big Four mangas, so they ARE going to do what they can to get more money--and that includes rehashes of what drew people in in the first place. I'm not surprised that season 1 got another remake, nor would I be surprised if it gets yet another one somewhere down the line. Aggravating for people who want to see new content, sure, but certainly not surprising for anyone.

[Nachtwandler]

The official reason of hiatus was that Tsuzuki had complaints about the plot of Force and decided to have a long break and rethink how to move it. I doubt it has anything to do with protag.

My personal complaint with Force was the same. It's more mature but too inconsistent. It's harder to get hooked with unlike ViVid.

[Alastoryagami]

Originally Posted by Nachtwandler

The official reason of hiatus was that Tsuzuki had complaints about the plot of Force and decided to have a long break and rethink how to move it. I doubt it has anything to do with protag.

My personal complaint with Force was the same. It's more mature but too inconsistent. It's harder to get hooked with unlike ViVid.

The plot can entail many things. Although do you have a source on that? I don't recall any official source on the reason behind the hiatus.

[Rising Dragon]

Me neither, and us on TFF have someone from a translation team to help us decipher the moonrunes of their announcements, so we'd know if that was the case.

[ULTRADJ]

Any one know where I can see the pages of the half chapter of Force, Chapter 31, before the hiatus took place?

[rladls2121]

Nanoha Force, I cannot catch up to this series anymore.
I was almost lost in second half in Strikers.
And Vivid is where im almost, I mean almost complete lost track of plot and characters.
Other than Vivio is adopted daughter of Nanoha, im clueless about Vivid.
Not to mention the drama CD, the foreshadowing of Vivid was barely any of help to me.
Then this newest series seems to be darkest, even more than Strikers and when Nanoha was just 15 years old back then.
What's after Nanoha Force?
I think im going to collapse.

[Key Board]

I think Force's premise is intriguing

The military industrial complex theme is fresh
I'm reasonably confident that both companies are secretly working together
I think the TSAB have already been caught in the trap by contracting Caladwelch

It's just it's not executed in the best way.. Some of this may be because of character bloat, but I think it's more because of old elements not neccessarily integrating well with new concepts