Every time I watch an anime like Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s, I’m torn.
On the one hand, it is a reasonably enjoyable boy’s version of a magical girl anime, but on the other hand it’s the kind of things that loli fetishists like. It’s not really cute or sweet – in fact it’s a bit grim and dark, which I quite like – and the fight scenes are okay. But if I were a bottom feeder who couldn’t admit that I’d never sleep with an actual adult female…I’d probably say the same things.
Which is why I’m torn. I feel dirty even enjoying this series marginally. The yuckiest thing is the girls’ new henshin. While I don’t mind nude transformation scenes, I *do* mind these. They are not as utterly repusive as the Ultimate Girl henshin, but they are definitely squicky.
Other than that, A’s is actually better than the original Lyrical Nanoha series. For one thing, there’s a plot.
In a nutshell:
An evil book, which creates fake guardian soldiers to protect it and gather power for it, tries to find a new master who will supply it with power, so it can destroy things. Once it has destroyed everything, it moves through space and time and does it all over again. The guardians this time are a tough chick, a smart chick and a goth kid….and the new master-to-be is a likeable disabled girl Hayate, who happens to befriend Nanoha’s friend Suzuka. So you *know* we’re going to have to “believe in” all of them at the end, so the book can either be destroyed or turned good, or something. Let’s face it – we’ll have to all be friends at the end. I’ve got money down that the fake guardians don’t totally disappear, even, because you just *know* Hayate will use the book’s power to give them real life.
Yuri fans will like the fact that Fate and Nanoha are not only reunited in this series, but get to live together – they even have some touching huggy scenes. Personally, I’m watching Signum, because I find practically non-verbal fightin’ adult women with swords more appealing than kids. ^_^
There’s alot more weapons and fighters in this series. Less monsters, more people = good story, in this case.
Ratings –
Art – 8
Character – 7
Story – 6
Yuri – 3
Music – 5
Overall – 6
The best characters this time around, IMHO, are Fate’s and Nanoha’s weapons themselves. Bardiche and Raising Heart have developed strong personalities – and I quite like them. They seem so eager to beat the crap out of the bad guys. ^_^
I always thought of the original Nanoha as the first half of Utena capped by a second half of Sailor Moon. I mean, the first few episodes set up all sorts of really interesting dichotomies and implications… and the second half completely fails to answer them in any sort of interesting way whatsoever. Things like Nanoha’s dad’s heavy scarring and the implication that magical girls always oversleep because they were up all night before fighting evil go absolutely nowhere, and the transformation sequence, which I took (with a lot of hope) as a subtle indication that this magic was not particularly nice (ie, the usual magical girl “everything will turn out okay because we get healing rays and new powers at convenient times and even if we transform naked out important bits are at least covered and not the focus of a five-second close-up”), turned out to just be lolicon ‘fanservice’ (I put quotes because it sure isn’t a service to me).
I like Nanoha because it’s a super robot anime disguised as a mahou shoujo, and because Nanoha believes in peace through superior firepower.
But what’s this? I’m labelled a can’t sleep with an adult women bottom feeder for liking this?
Really, Erica. This is coming from someone who liked Barasui’s Ichigo Marshmallow, whose author DID write child porn.
I’d say something rude right now if I wasn’t raised to respect my elders.
Amazing how often people who disagree with me don’t actually get what I write.
The above comments are *not* targeted at people who are not pedophiles and loli fetishists. So if you are not, then you have nothing to be offended about.
Reviews are, a priori, opinions. This is mine. I won’t apologize for not liking pedophiles and loli fetishists and thinking that less anime needs to be created for them. And letting them know that they are not nice people who love kids, but are instead heinous perverts who need to be castrated with a hot knife and tar.
No, I don’t think that’s what you said , Erica. You included “Oh this fights are awesome!” crowd as part of your bottom feeders.
Sorry, but I’m in that group of people who like nekketsu moe ( 燃え ), as you already know from my posting on the Yuricon list.
I admit there many people who don’t understand the spirit, but I would rather not have a fellow anime fan look down on me for that.
That’s just wrong.
I *said* that if *I* were the kind of person to never have sex with an adult female, *I’d* be likely to say these things. Too. Because the kinds of people I see as loser fanboys frequently *do* say such things. I do NOT say that this makes them all pedos, but, yes, my general opinion is that much of what passes for “moe” is pedophilia. (If you like looking at little girls naked, that ought to be a dead giveaway. If you don’t, then I’m not talking about you, so stop being all wounded.)
Okazu is my opinions about things, the way I see them. I can’t stop you from being offended, but if you read the whole post, you’ll see that I also say that I enjoy the anime myself. Just not the loli-feti bits.
It’s ridiculous to ask me to not to look down on some people – we all do, it’s a human prerogative. I’m not a god or a saint, I’m a person.
Feel free to look down on me for being an opinionated bitch.
(Frankly, I think that being an opinionated bitch is significantly less harmful than being a pedophile, but hey, that’s just my opinion.)
You probably know by now that my problem is I with the with way you phrase that. The context. You see, you ARE associating my kind with pedophiles.
I like my nekketsu moeru gibberish exchange of battle phrases and explosions, thank you, which just as nerdish as the other things you like. So it’s only natural if I take offense if someone, a fellow anime fan, probably a fujoushi even, associates me with a bottom feeder pedophile for liking that.
And yes, this is your blog. Yes, you can say what you want, true. But keep in mind that communication a two way process.
You’re putting your comments here for someone to read. And if a certain someone has something to say in return, then well, it’s just as “ridiculous” to ask them not to voice their opinion.
Yes, you should notice that this whole argument was never about underage naked girls. Yes, it’s such a soap opera, No, I can’t force at all to change your entry, and I never expected you to, but yes, but some things need to be set straight.
You’re just looking for an excuse to fight, like you always do, right? Okay, I’ll give you points for trying to be subtle.
This post is 9 years old, fyi.
You’re certainly entitled to your own opinions, but your opinion is neither consistant with your own postings, or fair. I’d like to remind you of your April 2005 post on Gakuen Alice. There you fervently wish for a kiss between Mikan and Hotaru. Last time I checked, both Mikan and Hotaru are quite underage. So in that post you’re practically drooling over the possibility of two lolis kissing but it’s not a sign that you have pedophilia yourself? You did give the show a Yuri rating of 7 our of 10, that’s pretty high.
If you feel I’m wrong, then you need to check your justifications for calling fans of Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s pedophiles, “bottom feeders who [can’t] admit that [they’d] never sleep with an actual adult female”.
So here’s an opinion of my own, I think you’re the one with the real problem, unable to cope with the feelings inside yourself, and lashing out at all those who can accept them. It doesn’t meant you’re a pedophile, it means you have feelings you wish you didn’t. Not to mention it’s also very possible to enjoy cute things, and cute girls underage without wanting to hop in the sack with them. You seem incapable, or simply unwilling, accepting or understanding this distinction however.
Lots of people enjoy cute things, and while Nanoha A’s transformation sequences are quite over the top, they also don’t draw anything in when they girls are nude. You can see much more detailed info on girls of all ages in the pages of a JCPenny Catalog. You also seem to have completely missed that contrary to the outfits in magical girl shows made for girls, the school uniforms in Nanoha (and Nanoha A’s) are far more realistic in length, covering more than most shoujo heroine’s outfits ever hope to. Even Nanoha’s battle outfit is quite sedate, with a skirt as long as her school uniform. Fate’s is shorter, yes, much so, but then again Viita’s battle outfit is almost as long as Nanoha’s.
All in all I find most magical girl shows made for girls to cater to a “loli” audience more than Nanoha & Nanoha A’s has. That you ignore those facts and bash those that like the series just make you look silly, and pitiful. I honestly hope you find some help and get some peace with your life.
And I suspect you’ll delete my comment because you can’t stand real criticism. Please feel free to prove me wrong.
NanohaxYuuno all the way. Personally, I thought the girls’ love pairing in this show was Hayate and Vita. That was adorable.
….yunno can be in love with nanoha but is obvious that she isnt in love with him, yeah, she cares about him..LIKE A PET XDDD
he is only ..like 3 seconds in every episode, in strikes..not even there XD
nanofate all the way!! X3- thats what the majority of the fans wants and believe
even the seiyuus!
What? Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is Yuri? D : Aw.
I thought that I thought Nanoha and Yuuno ended up together. When they reunited in Strikers, did you see the expressions on their faces?