Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Review
Takamachi Nanoha is a 3rd grader elementary school girl. She lives with
her parents who run a coffee s hop, and her older sister and brother who
are students.
She was a normal girl until she met a boy that came from another world.
She happens to obtain a magical power from him. After their encounter,
Nanoha has to recollect "Jewel Seeds". They are from the other
world, and are scattered around Earth.
The boy from the other world can turn into a small animal, and she has
a magical wand that is materialized by Nanoha's will. With these two,
she has to recollect Jewel Seed. It will grant one's dream, but it also
causes various accidents as well. She begins to have a friendship with
the boy from the other world. She spends her secret life as a magical
girl late at night, early in the morning, after school, and on vaction.
She is a normal girl when she is with her friends and family.
During her adventures, there appears magical girls that has the same power of Nanoha,
because of this, her peaceful life is almost destroyed. 'I do my best…so
that I won't regret' Takamachi Nanoha, a third grader, though she isn't
good at sports, but she does her best with courage, magic, and her will,
that she won't lose. This show is a spin off of Triangle Hearts.
Review: this series was one of the few surprise packages
of 2004. And boy was I surprised. I am sure that most mahou shoujo shows
aren't everybody's cup of tea but this one is one of the rare ones which
are capable of entertaining anime fans across the board.
Sure…Card Captor Sakura still remains the benchmark for mahou shoujo show
(Sailormoon fans may beg to differ) but Nanoha surely does the genre a lot
of justice.
Animation (9/10) For a mahou shoujo title, Nanoha packs
a lot of action. Fast paced, sharp and fluid. Even some action-oriented
animes pale in comparison. With such shows, the best animation is usually
reserved for the henshin (transformation) scenes and Nanoha does not disappoint.
The spells that the girls cast are already part of the anime vocabulary
and goodness me, the animation is crisp and spectacular. Not to mention,
they still managed to keep it cute. The backdrops are bland but the colour
palette for the girls and the action are pretty decent.
Character Design (8/10) The mahou shoujo genre's trump
card. I find hard to keep my enthusiasm down considering how good the 2nd
season of Nanoha was. If I just take the 1st season into consideration,
I'd have to say that there is a lack of originality. It's the usual little
school-girl who suddenly came upon this special power and now her school
uniform adapted into her battle costume.
Luckily the other characters do
not fall into the same category and they are really distinct. But at least
the protagonists are cute, they act cute and they stay cute. Yep, if you
like cute stuff…you'll like them…A LOT. The battle costumes are quite nice
too, depending on where you are looking of course =D
Plot/Storyline (7/10) I wasn't too impressed in the beginning since it followed the usual mahou shouj o script but thankfully it got better as the antagonists are introduced. It is good that the 13 episodes are a single story arc with cute moments interspersed. The action level was kept consistent throughout with a crescendo towards the end. Though I felt, the antagonist's side of the story was a little too draggy for my liking and a bit too much angst. At least that gave the antagonist's chara design a major plus. It did really left me wanting more, and that was fulfilled when Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's was released the following year.
Sound (10/10) Amidst the cute-ness, I was really really impressed by the show's soundtrack. To sum it in one sentence: it was simply grand. I felt that it really gave a lot of backbone to the show. From the OP to the ED, there wasn't a let down. Especially at the battle sequences, the score was wonderfully arranged. The soundtrack is well worth the money (or download).
Value + Reviewer's Tilt (10/10) It really did revitalize interest in the genre as well as gave us anime fans something to cheer about during the drab 2004 winter season. I am fully taken in by the show and the sequels that have and yet to come. A definite must watch for fans of cute and a title which any anime fan can pick up and enjoy. I guess the surprise factor works eh?
Overall = 4.5 out of 5 stars (Not bad for a magical girl show, don't you think?)
Sources: AnimeNFO
Review by the Observer