Nanoha - Q&A

[Keroko]

And yet the trick of the light persists even the second time we see her, in a photo displayed during the credits her eye is just the same dull coloring it is here. It should also be noted that Laguna's eye is the only eye we see as such.

I'm quite sure her eyesight hasn't recovered before StrikerS ending, but I was hoping there would be more info on whether her eye would recover in the future. If all we have is that outdated description and the anime, then I think I'll stick to not having recovered.

Would make her more fun to write too. A character starting out with a handicap... let's hope it wasn't her dominant eye.

[MeisterBabylon]

Smells like Niel Dylandy somehow...

[Keroko]

Laguna > Lockon in time of appearance, so no.

[Kyral]

Jupp. The future Laguna I use has also a blind eye.

Actually I find this a lot more interessting, not only because it makes her a handicaped character like Keroko stated, but also that 'magic damage' can even cripple people.

[Alavon]

When I read Nagumo's translation (god bless him...), there were moments where some of the characters mention Fate as Eriol and Caro's "mother". Is she really? Did she adopt them?

[Keroko]

Yes she did. Erio and Caro have trouble seeing her as a mother though, and see her more as an older sister.

Also, Nagumo is a girl.

[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by Kyral

Jupp. The future Laguna I use has also a blind eye.

Actually I find this a lot more interessting, not only because it makes her a handicaped character like Keroko stated, but also that 'magic damage' can even cripple people.

I just assumed that Storm Raider wasn't firing "magic damage" in the sense that we mean it (after all, we know that there are a variety of ways for magic to inflict "non-magic" damage; the first-encounter-with-AMF-drones in the manga goes through several). I mean, Nanoha would have just Divine Bustered the whole room and sorted the unconscious villains from the unconscious innocents. If the sniper rifle is set to "stun," then Laguna's injury, the potential for her to have permanent damage, and Vice's psychological hang-ups that are a strong contributor to RF6 losing the base all don't make any sense. Frankly, that entire psych-impairment is a complete wallbanger if he's shooting non-lethal magic damage.

Oh, hey, wait: in the RF6 battle, Vice is destroying Gadget Drones left and right. Since I think we can rule out him being a powerful enough mage that he can just overwhelm their AMF, that comes close to proving that he can fire physical damage.

(Oh, and from a narrative perspective, I do have to wonder about the idea that Laguna's eye is injured. That kind of paints Vice's recovery with an odd brush; I find it a lot easier for him to recover his confidence to help protect Tia from "Oniisan's such a numbnut; see, I'm not hurt!" than from "Oniisan shot my eye out of my skull, but I really don't blame him!")

Oh, hey, last question: where does it say that Laguna is Vice's actual sister as opposed to just a random kid from a hostage situation? I missed that completely.

Originally Posted by Keroko

Yes she did. Erio and Caro have trouble seeing her as a mother though, and see her more as an older sister.

Also, Nagumo is a girl.

Isn't that partly because while Fate adopted them, at the time she wasn't old enough to be their legal guardian so Lindy filled that role, making Fate their older sister in legal terms?

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

I just assumed that Storm Raider wasn't firing "magic damage" in the sense that we mean it (after all, we know that there are a variety of ways for magic to inflict "non-magic" damage; the first-encounter-with-AMF-drones in the manga goes through several). I mean, Nanoha would have just Divine Bustered the whole room and sorted the unconscious villains from the unconscious innocents. If the sniper rifle is set to "stun," then Laguna's injury, the potential for her to have permanent damage, and Vice's psychological hang-ups that are a strong contributor to RF6 losing the base all don't make any sense. Frankly, that entire psych-impairment is a complete wallbanger if he's shooting non-lethal magic damage.

I believe the booklet article stated something along the lines of 'despite it being a non-lethal round, because it hit a soft target -the eye- it still managed to cause permanent damage'

So magic damage isn't as completely non-lethal as we initially thought. More like... rubber bullet non-lethal. You can still screw up and hurt people with them if you're not careful.

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Oh, hey, last question: where does it say that Laguna is Vice's actual sister as opposed to just a random kid from a hostage situation? I missed that completely.

Laguna Gransenic. Both of them share the same surname.

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Isn't that partly because while Fate adopted them, at the time she wasn't old enough to be their legal guardian so Lindy filled that role, making Fate their older sister in legal terms?

At that time, but she eventually assumed full guardianship when she was old enough.

[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by Keroko

I believe the booklet article stated something along the lines of 'despite it being a non-lethal round, because it hit a soft target -the eye- it still managed to cause permanent damage'

So magic damage isn't as completely non-lethal as we initially thought. More like... rubber bullet non-lethal. You can still screw up and hurt people with them if you're not careful.

(Thanks for the tip on Laguna's last name. Darned All There In The Manual stuff...man, they REALLY should have someone NOT related to the hostage be doing the sniping in that situation!)

Okay, though, two more questions:

1. How is Vice destroying AMF-equipped Gadget Drones, then?

2. If a shot from a relatively low-power magic-damage attack hitting a soft target can cause permanent damage, then how the hell does Nanoha's Divine Buster (which is powerful enough to, oh, blow through multiple levels of armored bulkheads under AMF conditions) not cause permanent damage to things? I mean, the eyes are in the area of effect, and you can't tell me that they're taking less impact than they do from Vice's shot...

(Honestly, it sounds to me like whoever wrote the booklet got caught trying to justify the Vice scene and grabbed the easiest explanation without thinking it through but, eh, whatever...)

[Evangelion Xgouki]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

(Thanks for the tip on Laguna's last name. Darned All There In The Manual stuff...man, they REALLY should have someone NOT related to the hostage be doing the sniping in that situation!)

Okay, though, two more questions:

1. How is Vice destroying AMF-equipped Gadget Drones, then?

2. If a shot from a relatively low-power magic-damage attack hitting a soft target can cause permanent damage, then how the hell does Nanoha's Divine Buster (which is powerful enough to, oh, blow through multiple levels of armored bulkheads under AMF conditions) not cause permanent damage to things? I mean, the eyes are in the area of effect, and you can't tell me that they're taking less impact than they do from Vice's shot...

(Honestly, it sounds to me like whoever wrote the booklet got caught trying to justify the Vice scene and grabbed the easiest explanation without thinking it through but, eh, whatever...)

1. My guess if that, like the different types of magical spells, Vice has a variety of magical 'bullets' he uses depending on the situation like stun rounds or penetration rounds to take out Drones. Since it was a hostage situation, he was probably using a magic round designed to immobilize or incapacitate the suspect. It might have even been some kind of kinetic round to knock him out. Instead of hitting the suspect it hit his sister which, due to the nature of the magic and delicate make up of the eye caused damage.

2. Maybe she can 'set' her magic to inflict damage to physical material but leave organics unharmed?

[Arkeus]

mmmh, i may be wrong, but i distinctly remember someone mentioning the fact Vice Bemoaned he was, at the time, not able to make "complete" magical damage.

Also, while Vice is not as strong as Teana, he *is* more experienced than begining!teana.

It is not that surprising that he could manage a technique that seemed to be about technique. Beside, mages are able to use techniques several ranks above their own with experience (in raw power). They just can't spam them (though in that case...i believe it was a tacnical difficulty more than strength).

[Tempy]

I'm sure everyone realizes this, but the eye is extremely fragile compared to the rest of the body. A hit that would cause no lasting damage could irrevocably destroy the eye. For example, a paintball hitting me in the chest would only leave a red mark, but if it hits my eye, then I would be a very sad (and angry) Tempest.

The same could be said of a magic attack directly to the eye.

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

1. How is Vice destroying AMF-equipped Gadget Drones, then?

Because he wasn't firing non-lethal rounds at the drones? I mean, just because he can fire non-lethal rounds doesn't mean he can't fire lethal ones.

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

2. If a shot from a relatively low-power magic-damage attack hitting a soft target can cause permanent damage, then how the hell does Nanoha's Divine Buster (which is powerful enough to, oh, blow through multiple levels of armored bulkheads under AMF conditions) not cause permanent damage to things? I mean, the eyes are in the area of effect, and you can't tell me that they're taking less impact than they do from Vice's shot...

You'll note that Nanoha has never fired her Divine Buster on unprotected civilians. Key difference there. Nanoha's adversaries either had magical defenses of their own (Barrier Jackets, barriers and whatnot), or were tougher then your average mage (in the case of Cyborgs)

I have little doubt that had Nanoha been in Vice's place firing a Divine Buster, an injured eye would have been the least of Laguna's worries.

[Nya~n]

What's the difference in job scope between an Enforcer(Fate, Chrono) and an Investigator(Verossa)?

[Keroko]

Investigators usually don't go to the front lines to fight, whereas Enforcers do.

Investigators gather intelligence so that others can do their work (Acous was not planning to fight at all in StrikerS for example). Enforcers are... more the James Bond type of investigators. They take action as well as investigate.

[al103]

Originally Posted by Nya~n

What's the difference in job scope between an Enforcer(Fate, Chrono) and an Investigator(Verossa)?

Fate is Agent AND Enforcer IIRC. And IIRC - Enforcer is front line attacker, powerful enough to operate on his/her own, Agent have right to investigate things on his own. SWAT and Detective. Could be wrong...

[Keroko]

It's not so much that Fate is both, but more that the Japanese word means both if I recall.

[arkhangelsk]

Originally Posted by Keroko

It's not so much that Fate is both, but more that the Japanese word means both if I recall.

Actually, it is more like the 執務官 doesn't mean either - the official Midchildran is "Executive Officer", for which the kanji translation is valid. They are just different "mappings" that are based more on superficially looking at her duties than looking at the Japanese.

To be fair, the "Executive Officer" thing came out very late in the game, and the kanji does not translate nicely into English. "Executive Officer" in English culture is a 2nd in command, which would have also looked true given what little we see of them, but is not accurate either. Other alternatives are such awkwardities as "Execute Duty Officer". Maybe the whole reason for picking the name is to avoid linkages to Terran positions.

Originally Posted by Keroko

Investigators usually don't go to the front lines to fight, whereas Enforcers do.

Investigators gather intelligence so that others can do their work (Acous was not planning to fight at all in StrikerS for example). Enforcers are... more the James Bond type of investigators. They take action as well as investigate.

Actually, Acous' primary duty is a 査察官, which is more an inspector (in the inspectorate or "internal affairs", not the Commonwealth rank sense).

Of course, then there are the 捜査官. It probably isn't so much a combat v. non-combat thing, since IIRC Ginga is a 捜査官 herself, and the 執務官s have different styles themselves (some are lone wolves and some like leading teams). However, since 執務官 are stated to have certain legal powers (which presumably are special to them), they probably have greater authority than the average 捜査官.

[Guernsey]

Why is Nanoha compared to Gundam?

[Evil Rick]

Originally Posted by Guernsey

Why is Nanoha compared to Gundam?

1) The main gundam mecha have very similar colors, armor style and attacks to Nanoha's

2) The term "white devil" comes from Gundam (I think)

3) The level of destruction in both shows