Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's:  A

Goodness I've been away for a while.  Sorry about that, folks.

A while back I mentioned in my Nanoha StrikerS review about how the first season is okay and the second season is amazing.  Rewatching it has not changed my opinion.

Nanoha, as a franchise, is about magical girls that fight like giant robots.  It is also an eminently positive series, though often bittersweet.  A's in particular pulls at the heartstrings without feeling like it's trying too hard, and has no true villains, it is the situation which is wrong, and it is fixed through the application of love and superior firepower.

Like many series I love, I find it difficult to talk about A's.  It's extremely well-told and well-paced.  It expands on the characters we know and gives us plenty of time to get to know the new ones.  Perhaps the only negative thing I can say about Nanoha A's is that you need to watch the first season for it to make full sense.  I recommend the movie version ("Nanoha the Movie 1st"), which is considerably faster-paced and better animated than the original series, also shorter.

If the premise of 'magical girls fight like giant robots' appeals to you, you will love this show.  If that part doesn't appeal to you, but you want to see how to write a story with no evil characters in it, you should also watch this show.

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