I’m better than Sakura, honest!
A third review in as many days, this is again a double review of the first 2 seasons of Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha series. This will be done the way Jigoku Shoujo review was done, albeit with less pictures. The third season, as on writing, are still ongoing and I will watch it after they are fully subbed.
Story:-
From the title, it should be obvious to anyone that this series are similar to those of Sailormoon or Cardcaptor Sakura; with a magic-wielding girl (complete with the customary magical staff of course) saving the world from the villain who wants to destroy it. All this while dropping her mobile phone like a klutz. The only difference between the 2 seasons is who the villains are. You know, just like Spiderman movies. Only that, I think Nanoha is better than Spiderman anytime.
Still, I do think this series has better stories than Cardcaptor Sakura or Tsubasa Chronicles, for reasons that will be stated below.
First, unlike the 2 titles above and some other series in the same genre, the story of both season are relatively straightforward with no bullsh*t and unnecessary plot-twists. Not to say that this series does not have any plot-twists, but they are put there out of necessity, not because the story writers can.
Second, unusual for a magical girl series, they really has cut down those fan-service costume-changing scenes, using them only when necessary and not every time Nanoha changes to her battle attire. I really like this a lot, because it did not detract from the storyline.
Third, there are none of the romance crap that made me hate Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa Chronicles and others. Sure there are romantic elements here, but here they are relegated to the sidelines and do not really factored into the main storyline. Unlike certain anime series I have already named.
Fourth, because of their relatively short runs of 13 episodes each season, we do not have to deal with bullsh*t filler episodes that plagues many other titles in the same genre that has longer runs. Plus, even with their short runs, the pacing of the storyline in this series is simply perfect, not too fast or too slow.
This series is a fresh breath of air unlike the complex monstrosity that is Cardcaptor Sakura and its clones. Although it does not have exactly a compelling storyline the way last 5 episodes of Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori have, this series is still highly enjoyable.
Character Design:-
Not much different compared to Cardcaptor Sakura really. Definitely not exactly original.
Voice acting:-
With Yukari Tamura as the lead voice actress, there’s nothing that can go wrong really here. Not the greatest voice acting lineup but still can be considered as above average.
Music:-
It has good OP theme and OST, though the ED theme is forgettable.
Animation/Direction:-
The animation is really good, even at high-paced scenes. The special effects for all those magic are simple awesome. The directing though are not exactly stellar.
Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. That’s about it.
Nanoha is just to be abused by a mysterious person…..
