It will always be Raging Heart to me, romanization be damned.
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Guild Wars 2 SN: ArchonWing.9480 MyAnimeList || Reviews
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow, in a house dropped on an ugly, old woman.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Archon_Wing
lol could some of you actually watch the fucking movie before freaking out? I mean yes, I see some of these spoilers and realize some parts must be broken and badly put in, but taking things out of context doesn't help matters.
I mean at least the few of us that don't like Force actually read the some of the damned thing before littering the screen.
Of course, if you won't, that to me just justifies that the writers are a bunch of hacks that only care about making money. :]
I'm letting it download while at work (and my BD has shipped), so I plan to watch it tonight. And if I gave the impression I think it is going to be horrible, it wasn't my intent. I feel it will probably be decent, albeit with plot holes and diminished characterization that will bug me. I simply look at it objectively, with neither fanboy or hater eyes.
I will agree they are in it for the money, hence the rehashed material. I don't think Tsuzuki is a hack; to me, a hack is someone turning out cliched and/or copied material. For the most part, Tsuzuki has been braving new ground. His original take on the genre is what got me interested. Hence why I like Force, because it dares to be different.
And that is why I have issues with the movies and Vivid; it is hack writing to degenerate your story in order to attract the masses. Sorta like rehashing "A Christmas Carol" with more sex and explosions to turn it into a modern day Hollywood blockbuster. The story and characters suffer. In anime's case, it is moe and yuri instead of sex and explosions.
I actually thing the series gets its best when is just telling a simple story like the ones in the first two seasons. I like the Movie 1st despite its flaws in part because of it and so far nothing I hear about the Movie 2nd has made me thing it will be bad in any level. At least not when compare with the original show which, let’s be honest, wasn’t perfect to begging with so really expecting that from an adaptation is kind of pointless.
Heh, heh... nothing but the best version for me! I don't usually buy the Japanese releases of long TV series due to the sheer number of volumes on top of their exorbitant prices, but I do tend to splurge on movie releases as they are a one-off thing. (^.^)
Heh, heh... nothing but the best version for me! I don't usually buy the Japanese releases of long TV series due to the sheer number of volumes on top of their exorbitant prices, but I do tend to splurge on movie releases as they are a one-off thing. (^.^)
Sadly, I'm just sticking to the regular Super Special Edition (if that makes any sense).
Also, I do hope you guys liked the little summary/review thing I did awhile back. Hopefully the misinterpretations on my part didn't cause too many frustrations (learning a language is tough!). (^.^
Sadly, I'm just sticking to the regular Super Special Edition (if that makes any sense).
Also, I do hope you guys liked the little summary/review thing I did awhile back. Hopefully the misinterpretations on my part didn't cause too many frustrations (learning a language is tough!). (^.^
xD I got the best Animate version with the best box XD.
I think some of the hysteria is completely unjustified. While the movie has flaws, it's not really the horrible thing some people are painting it. It's an enjoyable movie, after all.
As for the lack of certain characters, the reason I'm not that bothered by that is that I feel they (and their plot threads) were really poorly handled in the series.
What really bothered me was the uneven quality in animation, as I said. I'm waiting the BD to check if there were any differences (since I bought the blasted thing I'm not getting the version that is circulating now online) with the theater version.
So now, here's my thoughts of this movie as I watched it.
Spoiler for Movie thoughts while watching it.:
So, right away, the movie starts out better than the first movie did, so, it gets points for doing that properly, however, seeing as it cuts straight ahead and doesn't show the Wolkenritter forming, it loses most of those points that it just gained.
Wow, they actually showed Nanoha at home. Considering they wrote out Nanoha's friends and family in the first movie, I'm surprised they'd show her at home. Wow, they even managed to remember Yuuno was SUPPOSED to be her teacher in magic, not that he DID anything in the first movie to prove this since it was Raising Heart that did all the teaching.
Faces STILL look off-model.
Reunion scene happens right away and takes away the impact that it had in the series, turning what was one of Fate's Big Damn Heroes moment into pointless fluff.
Why bother bringing up Yuuno earlier, Nanoha? over 10 minutes in and no sight of him. Sheesh, did he get written out of this movie already? I mean, I know he was written out to make room for Fate in the first movie, but the 2nd as well?
Anyway, not really liking the way they introduced Fate going to school. No build-up, no reveal, just bam, there.
Huh, Leti, surprised that they even bothered to have her show up in the movie at all.
Well, whaddya know? They actually mention that the Linker Core is the source of magical power for mages. I wonder if they'll expand on this in the movie. Oh wait, they did that in the first movie? Did Linker Cores come up in the first movie at all after that? No? Then WHY would they bother DOING THAT?! Seriously, movie, waiting on an explaination for what Linker Cores are. You don't get to get away with it by saying "look at the first movie" since there's NO REASON for the Linker Core explaination to be THERE!
Oh wow, Fate actually bothered mentioning Yuuno? Consider me shocked. Ah, I see, they only mentioned him to point out how he's not needed for this movie. My shock is now gone and I'm filled with utter disgust.
how long is this movie? 2.5 hours?! And it's barely been 12 minutes?! Ugh.
More fluff scenes with Nanoha and Fate. It does make sense that Fate would be worried about being on Earth, but... Sheesh! Laying it on thick, huh?
OH WOW! It only took over 13 minutes to show Yuuno in the movie! I'm surprised they actually bothered to do so. Already shoved into the library, huh?
15 seconds of screen time, huh? Wow, way to go, Tsuki, way to FUCKING go!
Still no sign of Nanoha's family. What? Does she live completely alone or something in this universe?
14 minutes in and Vita finally shows up.
Graf Eisen!! What did they do to your voice?!
Oh gods, so they have Vita drain Nanoha right away?! Holy fuck, let's just get this scene over with then since it's not that important to have anyone show up and help Nanoha out!
Ugh, I do NOT like how they introduce the Wolkenritter here. Instead of showing up to back each other up, nope, sorry, they're just there.
Arf gets nerfed SO fucking hard core here! At least in the series she put up a good fight against Zafira, here? Kicked back and then drained. Yeah, let's take the first fight of A's and strip away anything that made it good, THAT'S a GREAT idea, Tsuki!
I really didn't like how Fate was FAR more emotional in the movie than she was in the series to the same events.
I'm supposed to feel sympathy for the Wolkenritter here?! Fuck! I dislike them more HERE than I did in A's!
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT IS PATHETIC! THAT IS GROSSLY PATHETIC! *THIS* is what you guys are calling a good movie?! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! If I was in the theater, I would have walked out and demanded my money back!
22 minutes in and they already drained Fate, Nanoha and Arf. You still have over 2 hours of movie time left, what? You going to devote the rest to Hayate and the Wolkenritter?
How is Arf still alive even? If her magic got drained at the same time as Fate, she wouldn't be able to sustain herself. Either she dies, or Fate doesn't recover at all.
At least they show the book capable of moving around on its own, and some of the scenes that I saw earlier does allievate my concerns from earlier with the book just draining the Knights near the end of the movie.
... ONE DAY to recover?! OKAY, that's BULLSHIT! Either Fate should take longer or Arf should, what the HELL, Tsuki, did you forget that a familiar NEEDS to draw upon its master to survive?! Arf was low on power, what the hell?!
DAB? I thought it was TSAB?
Hmm, I do think that it's better that Mary explains the cartridge system than Chrono here.
OH! They actually keep the scene of Suzuka meeting Hayate in the movie? That's surprising, considering how the first movie went.
Urgh, this movie just, arrgh, so fast, EVERYTHING is just RUSHED right now!
Hmm, nice scene with Ishida, Hayate and Shamal there.
So, a training sequence here, huh? No, just no.
Oh yeah, you deserve to live in peace, huh? Sure you do! Thanks for reminding me why I disliked you in A's, Vita.
You had the cartridge system on hand, Mary?
I think I liked Lindy in charge during A's more than her not in charge. Minor, but just a comment.
So, Lindy had Durandal the whole time? That's a real let-down from the series, as it was Graham who had Durandal specifically made to deal with the Book of Darkness.
Mary, don't flip the girls off when pushing your glasses up your nose.
RH, shut up, I'm still mad at you.
Shamal, you really aren't making me like you guys any more, you know.
Wow, this is the ONLY good point of the movie so far, having Lindy stare down the Wolkenritter.
WAIT! How did Nanoha and Fate know the new names of their devices?!
Oh great, transformation scenes now.
more loli nipples from Nanoha.
So far, kind of meh. Okay, Fate, what do you got?
Oh look, Fate's got loli nipples now. Okay, that was actually a little cool with Bardiche's eye there.
Belts, lots of belts.
Otherwise, not too interesting from Fate either.
*Sigh* We could have had Lindy show off some real impressive skills, have to fight 3-on-1 for at least 10 seconds, but instead, no... Urgh...
Vita's a LOT more vicious here than in the series.
Again, RH is doing most of the work and Nanoha's not. Not shocking considering the first movie.
Okay, visually, the Vita vs Nanoha part there wasn't too bad, neat design for her powered up shield, but otherwise, nothing much there.
Now onto Signum and Fate here...
So, this is basically their desert fight, huh?
Yep, completely their desert fight, just shinier.
Signum's even MORE arrogant here than she was in A's if possible!
Arf vs Zafira now... Wow, one punch, then they start to retreat.
So, no Chrono cornering Shamal outside of the barrier, huh?
Hmm... So, a flash bomb instead of a lightning strike, huh? Woooow... so impressive, isn't it? /deadpan
OKAY! One thing bothers me about this scene...
They could drop Nanoha and Fate RIGHT on top of the dimensional barrier, but they couldn't do the same for Chrono and the squad?! W...T...F..?!
Now we get to the point where everyone talks about what happened in that fight...
Annnnd cut back to Hayate so we don't give Nanoha's family any screen time. Wow, how the heck did Nanoha get to be the way she is if she has no family and her friends barely show up?
Oh, so NOW they show the summoning for the Wolkenritter? Kind of late for that, isn't it?!
Ha! Well, at least they kept Hayate passing out in the movie.
See, THIS is the scene they should have saved for this moment!! Reinforce meeting Hayate!
Huh, Reinforce asked Hayate to be nice to the Knights? In canon, she was just nice to them.
Okay, seeing the looks of shock was kind of nice, and, HA! Cosplay maniac Hayate!
The family scene is nice. Heh, Vita can't use chopsticks. Kept the scenes of the requests for armor and Vita wanting a plush bunny. Though, I prefer the scenes from the series over the movie, simply for the conversations that happened there. It's minor though.
Still no word on a caretaker though even though we know how she was able to live at the house.
Vita, you're not growing, don't lie.
Okay, I will state that at least they kept the scenes of the Wolkenritter's family moments, so that counts for something.
HOLY SHIT! I fell out of my chair when I saw the next scene! Oh, should have figured, well, my shock is gone and now I'm just disappointed again.
More talking between Signum and Vita about the book now.
... I do NOT like how Clyde's death was handled here. Not at all, it had a LOT more impact in A's when Graham had to destroy the ship with Clyde on it. HELL! They could have just had ANYONE fly that ship out and get nuked.
Another thing missing just because they removed Graham from the movie.
Chrono buried his emotions pretty early on. So, now we see him being the way he was...
More talking between Fate and Lindy, describing Fate's feelings on Precia. Not so bad, I guess thta she'd want to talk about it...
Wait, I thought Fate didn't like being touched? She didn't flinch here.
URGH! SHUT UP, RAISING HEART!
I really preferred it when someone else explained the modes, not the devices.
STILL no sign of Nanoha's family.
So, wait, they can hold the Linker Core magic that they absorbed to give to the book for later?
... WAIT!
If that's the case...
Then WHY have the book with them at all?!
Seriously, Vita's complaint about needing more time makes no sense now!
ARRRRGH!
Oh dear, Hayate go thump.
Shamal's going to do the cooking, no one trust her!
Oh look, NOW they're in the desert, a volcano?! Hmm... Yeah... Kind of,,, Okay, a flashback to the Knights in the past?
Hmm, swamp worm instead of desert worm?
OH WOW! It only took you an hour to get back into the movie there, Yuuno! A minute and a half! I'm shocked they'd give you that much time even considering that any screen time you've had has been so minor people wonder who you even are in these movies!
Hmm, now we finally get to Suzuka and Arisa inviting Nanoha and Fate to go visit Hayate.
Wahoo? *Snerk* Okay, that got me laughing.
Still, rushing through A's, aren't we?
So, Arisa, Suzuka, Nanoha and Fate end up meeting Hayate without the Wolkenritter there.
And now they walk in on Nanoha and Fate being there. Way to over-react there, Vita.
Hmm, either way, the scene played out the same, just how it started was different. Kind of meh over-all.
Half way through the movie. Ugh. Can this thing drag on any more?!
Rooftop scene now. Stupidly aggro there, Signum. Makes me wonder why they even want to reach out if the first thing you do is attack them. I mean, it's not like Nanoha has any reason to do so in these movies.
Oh look, the White Devil scene... *Shakes head* VERY underwhelming compared to A's. VERY disappointed in it.
Fate goes straight to Sonic Form, huh?
Okay, that Divine Buster was NOT point blank range, there was no freaking HINT that Vita was going to lose this fight, maybe be banged up, but not beaten. Now the Book of Darkness can block a Divine Buster huh? ... Yeah...
Urgh, this scene is pathetic, VERY pathetic. At least in the series it made some freaking SENSE! Here?
"Oh, sorry, don't like you anymore, die."
Whut?
Seriously? THIS is how Hayate goes into the Book of Darkness?
If anything, she should wish for its OWN destruction!
At least in the series she had someone to focus on, here?
Hayate would wish, more than anything else, to destroy the book or herself since THAT is why the Knights were taken from her!
In the series, it made a LOT more fucking sense as she had a TARGET for her rage!
Oh, look, what I pulled off in Blood That Flows happens here, pure darkness shoved into a Linker Core to change a person's personality.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!
Reinforce at least TOLD them that the reason she was doing this was because they (Nanoha and Fate) TOOK the knights from her in the series!!! (Granted, it was the twins, but so what?!)
So, Reinforce grabs the bundle of Snakes to fight for awhile on her own, huh? Hey, Reinforce, care to tell Hayate that she needs to wish for her own destruction?
Though, I admit, that is a cool device she has.
Oh, so now Fate's Ms. Exposition?
OH SURE! Get mad at them for fighting back! Wow, you are REALLY sympathetic, aren't you? /sarc
Rushed activation of the fire pillars, WHY am I not surprised?
So, Reinforce vs Nanoha and Fate now... Using binds, somewhat interesting, I suppose...
Oh sure, lecture them on YOUR FAULTS!
Since when are Fate's binds yellow locks like that?
Still an hour left of this movie, urgh... Dragging SOOOO much right now!
No Arisa and Suzuka getting sucked into the dimensional disturbance, of course.
ANNND Fate gets absorbed.
Oh please, PLEASE don't tell me we're going to stay in this Lotus Dream Eater for 30 minutes until Fate breaks out.
Oh thank god! We don't stay there for 30 minutes!
So now, Nanoha 1 on 1 with Reinforce.
Visually impressive, but still similar to the series, in fact, series version was better because Reinforce just busts through without needing an extra device to do so.
Wait, just realized...
No wings in her hair.
=/ FAIL!
Hayate talking to Reinforce now...
While Nanoha and Reinforce fight.
Oh wow! For once Nanoha actually takes some initive with Excellion Mode!
Subs are fail anyway, Exelion mode?
Okay, now THAT actually got me to raise an eyebrow. Reinforce using Photon Lancer Genocide Shift here.
ANNNND cut out something that could be awesome to go check on Fate.
Any comment that Fate's alive from anyone? I mean, was that commented on yet by anyone?
Urgh, total fluff, HAVE to skip it! I'd rather watch the fight scene between Reinforce and Nanoha than the fluff. It made more sense in the series since we had only little bits and pieces of Fate's back story up until then, then we see how tragic Precia's change was, here, we already KNOW from the first movie!
Seriously, they could have cut the Lotus Dream Eater OUT and nothing of value would have been lost!
Huh, that was nice, showing Nanoha actually causing Reinforce enough problems that it's felt in the Dream World.
Nice quick fight sequence there, liked the part of Nanoha getting hit and rolling on the rocks there.
Why are you trying so hard, Nanoha? It's not like you have any reason to, what, with having no backstory or motivations.
Perferred the TV version ACS Excellion Buster more to this version.
More fluff, but at least we got Fate with Bardiche again.
Reinforce is pissed.
Get to see Zambar form, nothing changed from canon there.
Shippu Zinrai, huh?
Okay, No, NO, NO, *NO*!
TV version was better with the way Fate got out!
SERIOUSLY! Fate just took away awesome points from Hayate AND Nanoha at the SAME TIME!
Thanks, TSUKI! THANKS!
Oh, big drill, SO WHAT?! You took away awesome points from Nanoha AND Hayate JUST to TRY and make up for Fate's Big Damn Heroes moment that she missed out on at the start of the movie!
Sorry, Tsuki, you're failing pretty badly here.
Oh, so Reinforce doesn't even get stopped by Hayate, but rather the Protection Program?
FAAAAAIL!!!
NOW Snow Rain plays?
URGH! Seriously! It's too late, 7Arcs! You took away Hayate's awesome scenes already!
OH! WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING YUUNO EXPLAIN ANYTHING NOW?!
Really, his scene here was POINTLESS! He wasn't even IN the movie for the most part!
Hayate names Reinforce now.
Seriously, sorry, this just isn't that impressive, you REALLY took away from the charm and awesomeness that made A's up, Tsuki with this movie.
At least they kept the Guardian Knights reactivation in the movie. Music isn't as good though. Plus no oath of loyalty to their master here. That was one of the better parts of the anime.
Wow, they gave Hayate a transformation sequence here? Shocking.
And now to show off the limit break beatdown.
Huh...
Okay...
FINALLY the movie puts something impressive on the screen!
Preferred the music from A's over this.
Oh wow! the thing fights back?!
Wait, only Vita gets a shot at the thing?!
Huh, okay, I DO like Signum's flame falcon here.
Wow, even Zafira gets to do more damage to it than Nanoha has so far.
Wait, WHAT?! Nanoha doesn't even get a CHANCE to break a barrier here?!
Okay, Eternal Coffin and Mystaline are more impressive here.
And now Triple Breaker...
Meh, not that impressive visually.
Wait! When did they decide to fire it in space? Weren't they going to fire it at the planet before? When did they get talked into firing it into space?
Huh, okay, that's some fast regen.
Music for this part of the movie after Snow Rain was better in canon than the movie.
Yeah, catch Hayate before she falls into the ocean there, Reinforce.
Now the Reinforce offers to sacrafice herself for the rest scene.
It goes pretty much like it does in canon.
What? No Fate and Signum promising rematches with each other here?
Talking about what they're going to do in the future now...
And now skip ahead 2 years to Rein Zwei talking about the events that transpired.
Vita's bunny is breeding! SOMEONE STOP IT!
Rein Zwei is cute though. So, 2 year time skip instead of 6, huh?
Huh, so Nanoha DOES reveal magic to Arisa and Suzuka... Why? Who knows why, earlier in the movie it was stated that they couldn't reveal it to them. Go figure.
Wait, Raising Heart can float on its own? Doesn't it need wings to do that?
Anyway, now that I've seen the movie, here's my final thoughts on it.
Spoiler for Final thoughts:
Visually, it's nice, very pretty and it had some surprises.
However, the rest of the movie is a mess and a half. Such major time cut down on SEVERAL characters, removal of badass scenes and awesome moments, scenes that COULD have been awesome were written out completely. I mean, even if just a few more seconds with Durandal, I would have LOVED to have seen Lindy vs Vita, Signum and Zafira, if even for a few moments, but, nope, can't have that!
Spoiler for Pros and Cons:
Pros: Good visuals, some surprises with the scenes, the protection program fighting back! Whee! Not to mention Reinforce's own device, even if it was snakes. Fight scenes with Reinforce was the most impressive part of the movie.
Cons: Rushed, VERY rushed, removal of Fate's Big Damn Heroes at the start of the movie just to put it in the end and RUINING HAYATE'S CMOA! Music after Snow Rain was VERY poor compared to canon. That damn Lotus Dream Eater sequence that could have been removed for more awesome fight scenes for Fate, Nanoha AND Reinforce! The fights with the Wolkenritter were VERY much meh over-all, no Starlight Breaker to break the barrier, thus killing off Nanoha's determinator status in A's rather quickly. No Fate eating dinner with the Takamachi family, since they were WRITTEN OUT AGAIN!!
Spoiler for Final verdict:
So, over-all, pretty movie, if you like Fate, you like the movie, but, on the whole, VASTLY INFERIOR to the original canon source. Way better than the first movie, but that's not saying much, since the first movie was just that bad. It's nice, but I feel like I wasted my time watching the movie.
And that's my thoughts on it.
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My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
Hey, that's three points higher than the first movie. Talk about progress!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanya
Okay, that Divine Buster was NOT point blank range, there was no freaking HINT that Vita was going to lose this fight, maybe be banged up, but not beaten. Now the Book of Darkness can block a Divine Buster huh? ... Yeah...
It was point blank in the sense it was unavoidable. Whether it hit her from a meter away or 100 meters, it would still have the same impact.
And that is why I have issues with the movies and Vivid; it is hack writing to degenerate your story in order to attract the masses. Sorta like rehashing "A Christmas Carol" with more sex and explosions to turn it into a modern day Hollywood blockbuster. The story and characters suffer. In anime's case, it is moe and yuri instead of sex and explosions.
Heh. It's how I view the new Star Trek movies, lol. They might not be bad alone, but at the same time, it seems like when you move something to the big screen, it's always going to cause everything to converge to a certain point of standard movie appeal (action, sex, etc) as you listed. I bring this up, simply because that's a series where action wasn't the main focus, but as part as the Big Screen version, it's needed to wake up the general audience. Effects are... questionable at best.
Still, I am welcome to them changing the narrative, since as you might have noted, at least the franchise tries something new every time. Even if I don't like it. I'm just hoping it won't contain their tendency to try and appease everyone (and end up no one). And yes, I have a number of gripes about the 1st movie regarding this....
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It doesn't sound like my love is getting to you.
I will not lose anymore; I will not give up.
More passion than hope, much deeper than despair.... Love! Avatar/Sig courtesy of TheEroKing
Guild Wars 2 SN: ArchonWing.9480 MyAnimeList || Reviews
Right, finally got to watch it. Word of warning: If I sound like a nitpicking "why the hell did you even notice that?" kind of guy, well, I'm an editor. Paying attention to minuscule details is part of my job.
The bad:
Lindy's shafting. This was already bad enough in A's, but at least there she was tied to the command chair, giving her a bit of an excuse. Here she doesn't make it to any of the fights, despite being about as close to any of them as Nanoha and Fate because she walked. Woman, you're a mage! Fly, dammit! Second fight she does make it, but plot means she doesn't get to do much, making her appearance a tease at best.
Chrono going "I'm not going to tell my mother this is the planet-destroying Book of Darkness we're dealing with" is not only pants-on-head retarded, it's also out of character for Chrono, who takes his job very seriously.
The roflstomp Nanoha and Fate suffered in the beginning makes their ensuing comeback a rather jarring contrast. "Shounen-style" upgrades are nothing new to magical girl series (case in point: Every single sailor moon season) but Nanoha sidestepped that in A's a bit by having the fighters perform about the same level with gear being the defining factor. Now it makes less sense.
Without the Lieze twins to interrupt them every time they were about to talk, the Wolkenritter took hit from the idiot bat by refusing to listen to Nanoha and Fate trying to tell them the book was broken and finishing it would kill Hayate.
Without the twins, the Book of Darkness going berserk was pretty much a case of "because plot." The movie explains what makes it, but the "why now" part remains unanswered. The defense program was turned into a clearly visible external "chain" of sorts. The problem here is that it turns it from a corruptible but invisible influence to a clear target, which leaves a nagging feeling of "who don't they just destroy the chain?" It's also much less of a leap to believe something internal regrows than something external. I would have left that detail as it was in the series.
Speaking of which, Reinforce had a lot more self-control in this fight. Which is bad, because it hands her the same idiot ball the Wolkenritter had by targeting Nanoha and Fate even though they are trying to help her. In the series at least she had little to no control over herself.
First thing I noticed is that the movie is still very Fate-centric when it comes to a spotlight choice between Nanoha or Fate. The reason for this is obvious: Fate is the most popular character in the franchise. I would have diverted some of that screentime to Nanoha instead. As always, my first suggestion would be to take out the Lotus Eater dream (a scene which, while superior in terms of storyboarding to it's series counterpart, still doesn't add a thing to the A's plot), which'd give about ten minutes of screentime to build on Nanoha.
Speaking of which, Fate breaking out of the dream on her own just in time to save Nanoha felt like needless fan-pandering.
The intro is... needlessly dramatic. Hayate almost getting hit by a truck served no visible purpose to the plot, and beyond the addition of Reinforce's introduction the scene was exactly the same as it was in the series, making the change... completely pointless.
The good:
The music. I don't know why people tend to overlook this, but music is quite a mood maker, and the music in this movie is great. Really damn great in some scenes.
While the berserking was pretty much "because plot" the Book of Darkness autonomy is not nearly as bad as I feared. It's a bit of a shift from the series, but the Book's autonomy is introduced early in the movie and is maintained consistently Also, on the autonomy, contrary to popular belief this is not at all a divergence from canon. The book was capable of autonomous action in the manga as well. Introducing it early on is actually an improvement.
Yuuno's still there. In fact, most of his plot-relevant scenes are still there. It's really just his fight scenes that got cut.
Reinforce gets introduced earlier, making her less appearance less of a "wait, who's that?" moment
Mariel also gets a proper introduction here, something that did not happen in the series.
In many scenes that remained plotwise the same, the storyboarding is much, much improved. This may sound small, but as a result it means that roughly 70% of the movie flows faster, has better camera angles, more detailed movements and even extra actions that were not taken in the series.
They also added a nice conclusive scene from the manga, the one where Nanoha Hayate and Fate are having tea and talking about what happened. Good scene, glad they added it.
Hayate has a henshin! Okay, it's not exactly the standard "set up" henshin Nanoha and Fate have, but it makes more than up for that by having a huge buildup and being unique on multiple fronts. It counts, dammit!
The "lolwut?":
Nanoha and Fate's melee training, and especially Nanoha matching Fate, was pretty out of the blue.
The "stuff I noticed":
Bardiche's butler voice has long since surpassed the series in awesome. It's almost like I'm hearing Tony Stark's Jervis.
When casting a barrier after loading a cartridge, Nanoha uses a new magic circle. And it looks awesome.
The defense program's final battle felt more JRPG final boss than ever before. I kind of miss the singing though, now it just does low grunts.
Conclusion:
Overall? A good movie. There's a couple of changes that either weren't really needed, or the result of a 12 episode series being squished in a the time-span roughly 5 episodes, but overall I believe these plotholes do not outweigh the improvements to the storyboard and various other elements. While it does have a feeling of being 'incomplete' for viewers of the series, I believe new viewers will not feel as if they missed anything big.
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