Nanoha StrikerS - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[Alexandrite]

Originally Posted by Petco

I read all of it. Though, a little weird was that it seems I read all that in around 2-3 minutes.

I guess it wasn't that long after all.

I agree with your post though. Like I said earlier, I enjoyed watching StrikerS but there was much room for improvements.

Guess it just looked long on my screen. Oh well.

[Kha]

Asage's post made me wonder... Who WAS Daddy Lutecia? I think it was mentioned somewhere that Megane really was Lutecia's mother meaning...

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Kha

Asage's post made me wonder... Who WAS Daddy Lutecia? I think it was mentioned somewhere that Megane really was Lutecia's mother meaning...

Do you REALLY want to know what I think? Base on my unwritten-but-told story of Clyde in Outer-Canaan ?

[Kha]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Do you REALLY want to know what I think? Base on my unwritten-but-told story of Clyde in Outer-Canaan ?

*gives Chaos airtime with Tomoyo-kicks*

Sorry but I was wondering about the canon facts there. If there's a lack, I'm game.

[Tormenk]

Originally Posted by Kha

Asage's post made me wonder... Who WAS Daddy Lutecia? I think it was mentioned somewhere that Megane really was Lutecia's mother meaning...

Gone along the way of Subaru and Ginga? Lulu and Megane does share quite a semblance just like Quint and her daughters. Based on the tech shown, Lutecia might not even have a real father.

That said, it is a point where it can messed with.

[Jimmy C]

Originally Posted by tormenk

Based on the tech shown, Lutecia might not even have a real father.

Yes she does. From ep24, we know Megane had Lutecia before she got whacked in Scaglietti's lab 8 years ago. That means Lu-chan is a natural child. They never mentioned who Mr. Alphino was, though.

[Tormenk]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Yes she does. From ep24, we know Megane had Lutecia before she got whacked in Scaglietti's lab 8 years ago. That means Lu-chan is a natural child. They never mentioned who Mr. Alphino was, though.

I was thinking of the possibilities that Lutecia could have been borned simply with Megane's genetic data before she went in the lab, since there seems to be a storage of such data as proven by the apparent theft of Quint's to create the Type 0s, though not entirely dismissing the idea she is natural born since I do bear in mind she is around the age of Erio and Caro.

[Jimmy C]

Originally Posted by tormenk

I was thinking of the possibilities that Lutecia could have been borned simply with Megane's genetic data before she went in the lab,

It's possible that Megane could have gotten Lutecia the same roundabout way that Quint got Ginga and Subaru. But I think somebody would be alarmed if 2 mages in the same unit found that their genetic data had been stolen, used to make children for seperate ilegal weapons programs that they coincidentally raid and find said children. What are the chances of that?

[Terrestrial Dream]

What a disappointment, this anime had potential but it was all waste for nothing. First of all there are too many damn unnecessary character in this show, so many of them didn't even affect the plot what so ever and felt like that the creator put them in the show for selling figurine or something (reminds me of certain Gundam from Destiny). Second the story was pretty bad, it was so generic and I felt that I could write a better story in five minutes. Thirdly the action sucked, the training scene were repetitive and the all of those mission they had were boring. The whole damn show felt like fan service show and it's just too bad since the show had great potential.

After A's, which was really good, I have to say that Strikers was a huge disappointment. Now I think there shouldn't be a fourth series, if they do make one make one in the same universe but with different characters.

[Kha]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Yes she does. From ep24, we know Megane had Lutecia before she got whacked in Scaglietti's lab 8 years ago. That means Lu-chan is a natural child. They never mentioned who Mr. Alphino was, though.

Ah sou this is the piece I was looking for. Now for the last piece of the mystery:

How old is Lutecia by episode 24? I'd want to know if Megane was carrying her at the time of the attack, or she was born at another time and somehow got converted to Jail's pawn.

[Jimmy C]

She was born well before the attack. Otherwise, Scaglietti wouldn't have needed the High Council's help to secure Lutecia.

[Kha]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

She was born well before the attack. Otherwise, Scaglietti wouldn't have needed the High Council's help to secure Lutecia.

Kk tyvm! More crack coming up!

[-MotokoAoyama-]

I'm not too picky with anime. For the complex plotline that makes me think, there is Higurashi. For the daily comedy, there is Lucky Star. Essentially, as long as Nanoha and company keeps blasting things apart with their colorful attacks, I'm fine with the show.

Thus I gave this an 8.

Now, I guess I should be more serious with this "overall series impression" things and actually write something constructive. Well, here is what I thought was good. Firstly, we got to see a lot of stuff go KABOOM, which is good. I love the White Devil scene, and I admit that Hayate blasting a few teams of planes down in episode 12 (somewhere there...can't remember if it was exactly episode 12) was a nice sight. I also liked the change of storyline. Instead of doing another childhood Nanoha adventure, we got to see an adult Nanoha training some newbies. Another good thing is the music. Both the opening and ending themes were very nicely done. The voice work is awesome too, especially Tamura Yukari and Nakahara Mai.

The bad...well...the ending left me feeling...hollow. I don't know how to describe it. The beginning of the series was quite slow, but eventually it caught up pace and then...there just doesn't seem to be a nice conclusion. The last few episodes were so rushed. Many key issues were left dangling there, or the answer was tossed at me in one or two lines. For instance, Lutecia's reason for fighting wasn't even elaborated on. The explanation came as a single line or something like that, which just felt...bad. And the final battle between Nanoha and Vivio really sucked. Vivio is the worst last boss ever. The whole thing was just Vivio holding back and Nanoha doing another "let me love you by blasting you to oblivion" move. The producers really need to be more creative with the endings. After two seasons of "let's talk things over and be friends again", we need some REAL villains (and Dr. S is a crappy villain, REALLY). Also, what is the purpose of Hayate anyway? She's a SS mage but she didn't get to do ANYTHING in the ending parts of the story. As some have already suggested, at least let her take down the ship with a SS ranked attack or something instead of having Chrono and his not-so-needed crew do the L'Arc en Ciel thing again. It gets boring, very boring... And was there even a reason for having 13 numeros? I can't even remember half of them! With a cast that large, there needs to be more character development. 26 episodes should've been adequate for such a task; that is, if they don't waste about 20 episodes of the show doing nothing.

Now, I seemed to have written more criticism than praise, but then, my rating was very much positive because I thought the few positive points about the series were enough to overshadow the numerous negative ones of lesser weight (well...to me). Would I like a 4th season? Yes, I would love to see more! StrikerS wasn't that great, THEREFORE, Nanoha deserves another chance. You have no idea how much I like the idea of powerful magic girls and their love to make things explode

[Bloodseeker]

Episodes 1-6 sucked. Well, they weren't boring or anything, but they definitely weren't up to Nanoha standards. Bad foreshadowing and training that doesn't really go anywhere during a time where we should REALLY be catching up on what the aces and velka knights have been doing for the past few years and getting to know Tia, Subaru, Elio, and Caro. 6/10

Episodes 7-9 are a great example of what they should have been doing for first 6 episodes: setting up problems that allows us to get to know the new leads really well. The development for Tia in these episodes is excellent, and there was plenty of good drama to keep things interesting. 8/10

Episode 10 was kinda pointless, but it was more entertaining than episodes 1-6. 7/10

Episodes 11 and 12 were a return to what makes Nanoha really stand out in the first place... the great action scenes. This episode felt like a homecoming. "Finally! Its stuff like THIS that got me into Nanoha." 8/10

Episodes 13-15 was a return to the crap that made up episodes 1-6, except worse, because...

1. Too much focus on a boring little moeblob. Vivio sucks.

2. This was the perfect time to develop the Numbers. Cinque hadn't been trashed yet, Nove and Wendi were just waking up, and Sette, Deed, and Otto were about to wake up. During that time, they could have shown each of them out on missions and given us a glimpse into what drives them as individuals and built their relationships with each other. This would have been a good time to introduce Due, too.

3. They had finally introduced some non-cannon fodder opponents, so it was a disappointment to watch them go back to the same crap that they were doing before.

5/10

I actually enjoyed episodes 16+ more than As. Episode 17 had a real "Empire Strikes Back" feel and was full of epic encounters, episodes 18-20 nicely developed the problem and told how Section 6 got back on their feet, turned Scaglietti from a generic mad scientist villain into someone that really seemed like he had his shit together, Quattro became the biggest evil bitch in the series to date (the cool kind), we got to see a little development for the other Numbers (not enough, but at least they were given some screentime), Tia, Subaru, and Nanoha all had great final showdown fights, Vita and Signum had good scenes as well, and Quattro getting blasted by Nanoha was classic. Some people complain about the last episode, but I honestly don't see why. It wrapped things up nicely. (though I was disappointed with Tre and Sette getting grouped in with the "bad" Numbers... Tre almost seemed like the big sister figure, and Sette didn't seem bad either; yes dammit, I know why, you don't need to tell me, but I still think that it would have been better if Fate had convinced them to turn or something)

Fate's fight was a letdown (despite sonic form and the swordchucks), and Elio and Caro vs. Lutecia and summons sucked (Elio, Caro, and Lutecia are boring characters anyways), but the good definitely overshadowed the bad. 9.2/10

Overall...

I think that I enjoyed StrikerS more than As. It introduced a lot of likable characters (Tia's my second favorite Nanoha character behind Fate now, Nanoha's more likable as an adult, Subaru and Ginga are awesome, the Numbers are a likable villain team, etc.), and like I said, I enjoyed the last 10 episodes even more than As. Hard to rate... 9/10 seems a little high for something with so many flaws. But, on the other hand, I've always told people that rate a show that they hate high or rate a show that they love low because of technical aspects like production quality or "depth" that stuff like that are just tools to an end and that the bottom line is how much you enjoyed the show. (this is why popular opinion amongst critics tends to suck so often... if you didn't enjoy Gears of War that much, then maybe you shouldn't have given it a 9.5 and GotY awards in 3 different categories, even it did seem like a technical masterpiece) So, considering that I'm going to remember it for its better qualities over its shortcomings and that I enjoyed it even more than As overall, 9/10 isn't too high.

[MedliSage]

Well, I suppose as my first post on this forum, I'll give my opinion on StrikerS... let's hope I don't screw up somehow and get banned...

Well, I'll start with the good! Hurray! (In no particular order)

The good:

1. The action. Oh glory, the action. I'll admit it took a little longer than I had hoped to start up, but man, it was good when we got it. That sick attack on Land Forces HQ in episode 17. Subaru going berserk ("Give Gin back!"), Caro doing her huge dragon-summon ("Don't destroy our home!"). Finally, the only word to describe those last few episodes is epic. I mean, BLASTER mode? Win. Riot Zanber? Win. Signum/Agito unison? Win. And don't forget about Nanoha blasting all the way into the deepest part of the cradle to almost kill Quattro (I think she should've died, but it was cool enough that I'm pretty much okay with it ). Finally, of course, that last Starlight Breaker on Vivio. She hit her so hard the relic came OUT of her.
2. Well, some of the character development, specifically Subaru and Teana. We got to see Subaru go from this little girl who idolizes Nanoha and sort of a crybaby into her own person, having the strength and courage to take down her own sister. Teana didn't have it quite as good as Subaru, but I still enjoyed watching her go from a girl who constantly overused her attacks to a very intelligent tactical commander. That last battle between her and those Numbers was pretty cool, I thought. :3
3. Music. I'm a pretty big fan of Nana Mizuki and Yukari Tamura (Mizuki-sama especially). I'll admit Secret Ambition and Hoshizora no Spica weren't the best (I thought anyway), but Massive Wonders was an amazing opening, as was Beautiful Amulet as an ending. Regardless of the audio, I really liked the animations for all 4 OPs/EDs. Especially Beautiful Amulet (although it somewhat reminded me of AIR... ) Now, the insert songs, I immensely enjoyed. Pray's one of my favorites of Mizuki-sama's work, and I love how they use the character's seiyuu's to perform songs in the series (like how Chiwa Saitou performed Sora iro no Yakusoku and is also Subaru's seiyuu, Yukari Tamura is Nanoha's seiyuu and Nana Mizuki is Fate's seiyuu).
4. Jail and Quattro. I hated them so much. But, they were good villains (especially Quattro at the end, I wanted to kill her so bad). In complete honesty, Jail's maniacal laugh he did a few times really creeped me out... >_> But, I liked how we got a real villain this time around -- I mean, back in A's, none of the Wolkenritter were really bad. And obviously, Fate ends up Nanoha's friend at the end of MGLN. I guess you could count Precia as a true villain, but I would classify her as just mentally unstable... she was insane, after. Anyway, getting back on topic, even though I hated Jail and Quattro for their actions, I thought they were pretty cool villains. Jail's speech to Fate really pissed me off though (especially when he said she was just like her mom).
5. After reading the previous posts, I know I'll get my head off for this one, but I have to say it anyway... Vivio. Yes, Vivio. ...SHE WAS JUST TOO CUTE!! And I loved that emotional scene between her and Nanoha in episode 25. I'll admit I'm a person that's really sappy for these kind of things however... (Before you ask, yes, I did cry... >>; )

Now, the moment we've dreaded... *dramatic music*

The bad:

1. The biggest problem I had with StrikerS was the shafting and creating of pointless characters who were later shafted. I suppose I was okay with Zafira (as he was pretty shafted in A's anyway)... but Hayate? Where's Hayate gone?! And Chrono.
Then of course, the pointless characters. I'm sad to say, Erio and Caro. What significance did they hold to the series? They had little to no development, and frankly, didn't DO anything. All they did was help Lulu at the end -- who turned out to be a pointless character, too. Getting on the topic of Lulu, I had so much high hopes when she first appeared. I mean, she came early, and looked important... and I loved her so much, she was so cute! D: Anyway, my point being... she... sort of did nothing at the end really. o_o; We didn't even get a proper mother/daughter reunion. She was just a shafted character used to occupy two other shafted characters.
Vice. Vice, Vice, Vice. Possibly the most pointless character I've ever seen. (As a warning, this part probably has some personal bias as I just dislike his character, too). OHMYGOD. I SHOT A GIRL LIKE FOREVER AGO SO I GAVE UP SHOOTING... *sob, sob* Do I really need to go into detail about him? They could have spent the money and time used on his character better elsewhere, namely Lutecia (because I love her so much) or...
2. The animation (at times). Hopefully the DVD will fix the quality issues. Maybe I just have high expectations (after seeing something like AIR [I thought it was beautiful]), I was expecting on-par quality with it. It wasn't as big of an issue as it was in A's for me however (specifically episode 7, that one bothered me -- they looked NOTHING like their usual selves), but again, hopefully the DVD will fix these.

Overall, I personally gave StrikerS a 9/10. I'm not sure if I liked it more than A's (that was too epic for words), but I did enjoy watching it. Somehow I doubt most people agree with me, but that's okay. Here's to a fourth season.

[wtffmp111]

I can agree with a lot of what you guys were saying. Nanoha and Fate are quite possibly my favorite anime girls ever, or at least they're way up there. So when StrikerS happened to be set in a time where I DIDN'T have to feel like a pedo for liking them... yay party!

The other huge bonus was that Yuuno got kicked out of being a major role! Chrono too! Yay! Now Fate and Nanoha can be together like they should be, no?

Unfortunately after that, things kinda fall apart. The story was ok, but all the explanation (both characters talking and us seeing) was either rushed or incomprehensible. Seriously, when it ended I was like, what? They defeated everyone? Wth that didn't even feel like a fight, and I'm still wondering about like 100 different things.....

They really should have cut out like 70% of the characters in StrikerS. Training is alright, but it gets boring, and all we REALLY want to hear about are Nanoha and Fate!!!

So IMO, the series should have focused more on 1) Fate 2) Nanoha 3) Nanoha and Fate 4) N & F getting it on 5) a more "evil" bad guy 6) Much fewer bad guys 7) Development of said bad guy 8) Development of fewer good guys, but more of it, and finally: 9) Fate and Nanoha

Anyway, I gave it a 9 because I enjoyed watching N and F up till the unfufilling end, and I'd really like to see a 4th season that focuses on Nanoha and Fate.

[Eisdrache]

Originally Posted by wtffmp111

I can agree with a lot of what you guys were saying. Nanoha and Fate are quite possibly my favorite anime girls ever, or at least they're way up there. So when StrikerS happened to be set in a time where I DIDN'T have to feel like a pedo for liking them... yay party!

They really should have cut out like 70% of the characters in StrikerS. Training is alright, but it gets boring, and all we REALLY want to hear about are Nanoha and Fate!!!

So IMO, the series should have focused more on 1) Fate 2) Nanoha 3) Nanoha and Fate 4) N & F getting it on 5) a more "evil" bad guy 6) Much fewer bad guys 7) Development of said bad guy 8) Development of fewer good guys, but more of it, and finally: 9) Fate and Nanoha

You dont have to feel being a pedo for liking anime girls anyway, no matter what age they are.

For the rest of what I quoted, you shouldnt confuse your liking with those of other people, since not all of us watched the show just for the NxF pairing. Even if they didnt get a good character development, I liked most of the new characters they introduced, though I agree with you with Vice being one of the more annoying ones.

And to add a little bias from my part:
Blaster mode? Fail.
This series needed (much) more Rein/Vita unison too.

[Meatrose]

If it wasn't for Kaibutsu Oujo, this would have been "The worst show I saw 2007".

The goods:

* Fate and Nanoha ain't kids no more.

* It's always nice to get to spend some time with characters that you know from a show in the past.

The bads:

* The story was in my honest opinion really bad. Simple, shallow and predictable.

* The "we started out as sworn enemies, but let's be bestest friends" kind of thing is really pissing me off.

* Magical rollerblades -_-

* Underdeveloped characters.

* Bad pacing.

* [Scriptwriting session:]
- How do we appeal to otakus obsessing about untouched maidens and young girls who enjoys playing house... at the same time?
- I know, let all the characters adopt some children... that way they can be like mothers and still be virgins.
- Way to go Bob! You've earned yourself a raise.

* Vivio

* Bad animations. I must add though that I usually don't care about animations at all, but when every other thing about the show fails to appeal to me, I tend to turn my attention to the visual aspect of the show. I know that the DVD's will look better than the TV-series, but even the characterdesign came off as almost sloppy to me.

Okay, before you start flaming me... keep in mind that Mahou Shoujo as a theme has never been my cup of tea. If you're a fan of that kind of shows you shouldn't even listen to what I say since we don't think alike. I watched the previous seasons (Nanoha + A's) and thought they were kind of decent (5/10-ish). In other words, I wasn't expecting StrikerS to be good, but it still managed to disappoint me. What I'm trying to say though is that I think that the first two seasons were way better than this, but this seems to be the general opinion.

Final verdict: 2,5/10

[Nemesis]

Seeing the recent megami concept art, it tells me that this season was geared for failure.

[Mirificus]

Originally Posted by Adr 00

Seeing the recent megami concept art, it tells me that this season was geared for failure.

Can you elucidate?