#and nanoha can just see it in the kids eyes

[cheesytoucans]

also though as a quick aside I love how Vivio is all “my mamas are gal pals and I love them” when you know that there’s a certain girl on the horizon who is about to sweep in and teach Vivio the same lesson that Nanoha learned when she was a kid, that being: “holy shit look at that girl wow I’m not straight” 

[medea10]

Medea’s Top 10 Worst Mothers in Anime

[rickyriddle]

My top 10 yuri ships

Hi everyone! Here’s my top 10 favourite yuri ships in anime and manga (as well as Japanese game). Keep in mind that it’s my personal top 10 and I’m not saying those ships are better than the others, just that they are those I prefer.

10. Kaguya X Mokou (Touhou Project)

My favourite ship in Touhou Project. I have a thing for love/hate relationship as well as rivalry. Those two are immortals and keep trying to kill each other due to an old grudge. How romantic. But as immortals, they can understand each other since they are going through the same thing, and know they won’t end up alone. My main reason to ship them is that I find the concept of them being together really hot (and one of them as firepower so it’s fitting).

9. Yoko X Aya (Kiniro Mosaic)

Ship from one of my favourite slice of life anime. Yoko and Aya are the typical “shoujo manga couple” with the tsundere girl to shy to admit her feeling and the dense guy. But not as typical, since they are both girls. Aya, better known as Ayaya (or Gayaya), is so memeable. Her love for Yoko can be both cute and funny, and I do hope one day Yoko will realize her feelings and reciprocate them. They are what I prefer in Kiniro Mosaic, their episodes are those I enjoyed the most.

8. Otoya x Shiena (Akuma no Riddle)

I hesitate to put this one since I’m more obsessed about it than actually liking it, but I guess that I can’t just write so many fanfics about them and not put them on my top. I’m truly obsessed and fascinated by the possibility of this pairing. I must admit that I have a fascination for psychopaths, and a relationship with one of them intrigued me. So to see a normal girl like Shiena being paired with a psycho serial killer like Otoya is like a fantasy to me, it’s satisfying my dark fantasy. I like to imagine how they could actually work as a couple. So unhealthy and dark...Ah, not that I approve such relationship, but it’s fine in fiction. If you’re interested, here’s an analysis I made for them: OtoShie analysis.

7. Komaru X Touko (Danganronpa) 

A relationship that truly touched me. They are so good for each other, they support and help each other. I honestly ship them either romantically or as friends, I just want to see them together. Just seeing pictures of them together is enough to light up my mood. Touko has a hard time trusting others because of her past, so it’s moving to see her open up to Komaru and eventually see her as a close friend. And Komaru is just so sweet and adorable. Please Touko, forget about Togami and just go with Komaru, who respect and treat you well You deserves better than that rich prick!

6. Sakurako X Himawari (Yuru Yuri)

What’s better than a tsundere? Two tsunderes being tsun-tsun for each other! My favourite thing in that anime is actually those two and their interaction. Individually I don’t really like any of them, but together they are just gold. We know they actually like each other, but they can’t help but being rival. They used to be really close as kids but ended up fighting growing up (probably because of Hima’s boobs, they start all of this). But the rare sweet moments between them are what truly matters, and I hope for actual development for them.

5. Homura X Madoka & Sayaka X Kyouko (Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica)

Two ships for this positions since they are from the same anime and I can’t choose one. We can’t deny Homura’s love for Madoka, it’s pretty much canon with the third movie. Just how far she went for Madoka’s sake, the sacrifices she made, the pain she underwent. I wish for a happy conclusion for them, but I feel like it won’t be the case. As for KyouSaya, I like how both of them is tomboyish, it’s rare to see that type of yuri ship. They started as enemies to eventually friends, I liked the evolution of their relationships and they truly shine in the third movie. Again I wish them a happy conclusion. But it’s PMMM, so I doubt it will happen ^^’

4. Nanoha X Fate & Vivio X Einhart (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha)

Again, two ships at the same position for the same series, because I couldn’t choose. NanoFate is a classic in yuri, they are basically canon. I mean, they live together, sleep in the same bed, bath together, and adopted a girl they raised together. Everything about their relationship is perfect. They start off as enemies but learn to understand each other and eventually become close friends, and it continued to evolve as they grow older. Vivio and Einhart are kind of a mirror of their relationship but softer. They started as rivals and ended up friends, and their ancestors knew each other (they were a couple I think). There’s a good romantic potential with those two, sweet yet spicy. You know what they said. As mother as daughter.

3. Sumireko x Banba (Akuma no Riddle)

Another one from AnR, my otp, SumiBanba! With both Banba’s personality, Mahiru and Shinya. They are the combination of my two favourite type of ships: Overly cute and dark. Most of their interactions are so cute and fluff, yet since they are both not exactly sane (and Banba being clearly insane), there’s a potential of darkness with that ship, given Sumireko’s obsession with power. The potential of her abusing her power with Banba is strong, yet there’s also the potential for them to help each other with their respective issues. This relationship as both the potential to be good or bad, mostly depending of Sumireko’s action. If you're interested, I made quite a long post to analyze their relationship: SumiBanba analysis.

2. Hibiki X Miku (Symphogear)

Those two...I love them so much! They are so cute and fluff. They both have a strong bond with each other, they are calling each other sunshine and bright sun. They are so much acting like a married couple, even their VA agreed. I mean, they have bunk bed yet sleep in the same bed, while holding hands and cuddling. They are so perfect for each other, they compliment each other pretty well, Hibiki being more immature and Miku more responsible. And it’s pretty obvious that Miku does love Hibiki, it’s even confirmed in the OVA. But as Hibiki’s friend told her once, she’s as dense as a harem MC. Let’s hope they got actual romantic development in the upcoming season 5 (urgh only airing in April...)

Before I reveal my number 1 yuri ship, here are some ( a lot) honorable mentions...

Honorable mention

Every ship in Akuma no Riddle

Nana x Junna (Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight)

Shirabe X Kirika (Symphogear)

Shinobu X Alice (Kiniro Mosaic)

Zuikaku X Kaga (Kantai Collection)

Haruka X Michiru (Sailor Moon)

Minami X Yutaka (Lucky Star)

Haruka X Yuu (Sakura Trick)

Mahiru X Hiyoko (Danganronpa)

Akko X Diana (Little Witch Academia)

Croix X Chariot (Little Witch Academia)

Miu x Nanano (Koihime Musou)

Yuuna x Tougou (Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru)

And the number 1 is...

1. Bernkastel X Lambdadelta (Umineko No Naku Koro Ni)

Those two. Words are not enough to describe how much I love them. They are everything I love about a ship, they are cute yet dark, love/hate, and rivals. They are actually lovers, friends, enemies, rivals and opponents. Yes, they are canonly a couple. They are immortal witches who deeply love each other, yet also try to kill each other from time to time to pass time. Lots of candy and sugar symbolism with them, as well as stuff like “I’ll impale you to my bed and kiss you each morning and night” or “I’ll gouge your eyes so you can only look at me and put them into my tea”. So romantic, so fucked up. I love that. Despite all the creepiness, they do honestly love each other, they just have their own way to show it. I guess it’s normal when you’re a 1000 years old witch.

And this was my Top 10 yuri ships. If there are any yuri ships you like that wasn’t in my top or in the honourable mentions, don’t hesitate to share it with me and I’ll tell you what I think. Thanks for reading and seeya! :)

[isagrimorie]

Thing I noticed re-watching Nanoha Reflections:

Fate’s already taller than most of her peers!

Nanoha and Fate are damned strong to carry their friends! So magic + increase physical strength?

I love that Nanoha doesn’t forget her friends and are actually brought into the magical group, and Arisa and Suzuka’s parents were also invited in.

Team Mother got to relax and have coffee while Arisa’s dad took care of the kids.

Magical shields are effective against bullets. Take That people who are determined to show Grim Dark military easily winning against TSAB.

It was really awesome to watch Hayate fight and use magic and use it without using her barrier jacket.

Amitie is awesome.

Are is in mini mode, she’s really trying to conserve magical energy for Fate and that makes me want to hug her so much.

Um, how do they know who Hayate, Fate, and Nanoha are? Even down to Fate’s backstory? I doubt that was advertised -—wait, are they from a future????

I can’t get over how Hayate kept listing all of Amitie’s traffic violations! Something worthy of a future Special Branch Investigator and Future Commander.

Kyrie did a lot of terrible things and all for nothing. In the Nanohaverse, Ends Justify the Means never ever works out.

Nanoha (the character) must really hate ‘The End Justify the Means’ mentality because in her experience all that ever does is lead to more heartache with zero results.

Shooting poor Rein was just terrible!

Hayate calling the Tome of the Night Sky her treasure, shades of her fully embracing the Master of the Book role.

Maria says that Bardiche in particular is very hard to upgrade, possibly implying Bardiche’s design is unusual? After all Linith (who possibly had Precia’s knowledge in engineering) designed it. And as mentioned Precia was a genius, of a whole other level.

Arisa noticing Nanoha’s pensive look and thinking that with Nanoha, it’s not far off to think she might go somewhere she can’t follow. And knowing Nanoha’s future, it’s true, Nanoha moves to Midchilda. It’s very bittersweet.

It’s that look and her determination that had me questioning why Nanoha shifted to Combat Instructor, and on a Watsonian level I know it might have to do with Nanoha’s injury.

Fate has a long way to go becoming the Enforcer we saw in StrikerS, she still gets startled by appeals to her good nature, but her determination to help people like her, who was so determined to do anything to help the people they loved and unwilling to listen to anyone else might be the jumping point for Fate choosing to become an Enforcer.

Haha! Nanoha’s response to, ‘But why would Amita choose Fate as her interviewer?’ was a confident, ‘Maybe because she looks gentle?’ It’s like Nanoha is 100% startled when people don’t think that of Fate. I fully believe Nanoha goes around saying stuff like that to the point that Vita gets annoyed.

I am a bit confused about stealing the Tome of the Night Sky, I thought the Book was connected to Hayate’s linker core?

I honestly love that it’s Fate asking witness questions with Lindy on hand to supervise, it feels like a step for Fate becoming an Enforcer.

Hee. Fate unknowing using her charm to get Amita’s promise they’ll work together, and Amita getting more and more flustered at Fate’s enthusiasm and positivity.

Hah! Vita’s face learning that Amita chose Fate as an interview because of her ‘gentle face’ and Nanoha’s happy ‘validated!’ reaction is everything.

And then Fate insightfully zero-ing on an important detail that could help with their case/mission, Iris.

If you really think about it, Shamal’s powers are terrifying, she can reach in to get someone’s linker core, computer core, heart, if she so chooses. Good thing she’s on the side of good people.

Honestly Nanoha’s will power is something else, she doesn’t believe in half measures, she’ll lay everything on the table and the some more. Giving it her full 200% is always her life’s motto— which contributed to her injury in the future. And the reason why Nanoha’s learned to play things smartly, doesn’t mean she’ll stop giving everything her 200% when it comes down to it.

Nanoha’s fight with Stern showcases once again what an inventive fighter Nanoha is, most bombardment mages just stay where they are in a fight. Not Nanoha, she uses the Beam War as cover and momentum no move forward and make the fight a close quarters fight. When Nanoha tells Fate in StrikerS that she was sturdy, she wasn’t kidding. Kid’s tougher than a diamond. And a willpower that’s a thousand times tougher.

Fate’s first instinct this time around is to talk to her opponents, she internalized Nanoha’s method very well, but with her own twist, in that she’s initially not willing to give a fight her 100% until she’s certain. Nanoha’s technique is, talk to the opponent, get their motivations but if repeated reaching out is spurned. Make them listen through superior fire power.

Lindy saving Fate tho! Fate calling Lindy mom! Fate realizing all the people she lost is in her and she has more family because of it!

Hmmm… it seems like Bardiche is more connected to Fate. The moment Fate became more certain of what she wants, Bardiche became better (season/movie 1 and 2). The moment Fate became certain of her family, Bardiche activated (Reflections). Raging Heart (raging is so much better than raising heart! fight me!) seems to work with Fate as a true AI partner, the Book is a utensil to Hayate and Rein is a really cute true living constructed device. But just like Arf, Bardiche seems to be a part of Fate, he doesn’t need to vocalize his thoughts because he already knows Fate’s thoughts. They can work in sync without talking.

Body horror! BODY HORROR!!!

Is Iris the second villain in (animated) Nanohaverse who doesn’t have good motives beneath their terrible actions?

‘Goodbye, Stranger.’ Ouch. That is the harshest thing Iris could ever say to Kyrie, and this is the harshest wake-up call of all too. Again proving, in Nanohaverse, the End doesn’t justify the Means.

‘I’ve had enough of regretting because I gave up, causing someone to be sad. That is the purpose of my magic.’ Nanoha, you’re a fifth grader! You are 10! (or 11!).

I wonder why the Wolkenritter didn’t recognize Levi, Stern, and the King? I would’ve thought he was the previous owner of the Book?

BODY HORROR!!! BODY HORROR!!!!! AUGHHHH! EXPLODING EYE. WHYYYYYY??????

I love that when Nanoha and Fate aren’t partnered, Fate is usually partnered with Signum. They complete each other very well, and I would like to think Signum taught Fate more sword techniques. Fighting wise, Fate’s style is very diverse.

Although, I’m not keen at how often the Wolkenritter, especially Signum, are defeated in this movie.

AHHHHH. BODY HORROR. I SEEM TO HAVE ERASED THE AMOUNT OF BODY HORROR I SAW I THIS MOVIE. AND THEY’RE HURTING FATE AND SIGNUM! THEY ALREADY HURT CHRONO. STOP THIS!

I will always love how hungry Nanoha and Raging Heart to update their systems in order to level the playing field against an enemy.

Fighting wise, Fate has a diverse set of it. But Nanoha? Nanoha’s magitech capabilities are a hybrid of everything she can see a use for, there’s no limit to what Nanoha can and will incorporate to help her win a fight for a happy outcome.

‘A magician helping a crying child’ once again, this fits so well with what I think Fate’s Enforcer work in the future, that now it’s strange to me they’re not working for the same branch as partners.

Also, this is why Nanoha is the Ace of Aces.

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Last time on Nanoha, Jail got a very fancy cradle for all of his cyborg kids.  Has all the best features: dimensional warp drive, shielding, laser cannons, forest parkland on the deck… Anyway, Nanoha is not happy about this as it’s powered by her kid, and so things will presumably get violent very shortly.  Let’s find out just how violent with episode 20, “Infinite Greed”.

* Carim blames herself for not understanding her own prophecy, while Hayate tries to reassure her by saying nobody can know the future.  Despite the fact that they’re talking about a prophecy.  That foretold the future.

* Chrono calls up to tell Hayate that the Saint’s Cradle has just been officially designated Lost Logia: Highly Dangerous, so the fleet is moving in and her force has full permission to act.  It’d be kinda neat to see ship to ship fighting in this show, but given the nature of the show I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

* Uno’s plan as explained to the others is to get gain enough altitude and move to the proper position that they can use the Saint’s Cradle to use the magic of both of Midchilda’s moons to fuel an assault on the surface.  If they can pull that off, they’ll be able to hold the entire planet hostage, meaning the TSAB fleet won’t be able to touch them.

* Huh, apparently Vivio had been cloned from the Belkan equivalent of the Shroud of Turin.  Though the way it’s phrased makes it sound like there are multiple “Belkan king” clone embryos out there, and Vivio’s just the one that was used.  And the priest who did it did so because… a cute girl asked him to.  What.

* Sein also asked about the High Council, as apparently they’re the ones who gave them funding besides Regius, and also approved of the artificial mage and Gadget projects.  And the “revival” of Lutecia and Zest, which it seems Regius did not know about given the way he practically wet himself when he saw who was coming to kill him.

* Ah, so Regius funded the cyborgs, while the High Council funded artificial mages and relics.  Both thinking this would help keep things safe, while breaking every law out there and putting their trust in a mad scientist. *slow clap* Great plan, there. Ends justifies the means, right? Yeah, this kind of crap is one of the many reasons why that philosophy is bullcrap.

* Out in the shadows the viewscreens of the High Council aren’t happy about this sudden yet inevitable betrayal.  But they don’t want to kill Jail because he might still be useful.  These guys are completely incapable of learning, aren’t they?

* … Those are brains in jars.  WHY IS THE HIGH COUNCIL A BUNCH OF BRAINS IN JARS?!  WELL I GUESS WANTING JAIL AROUND ISN’T THE ONLY BAD DECISION THEY’VE MADE, AS AT SOME POINT THEY APPARENTLY DECIDED TO BECOME BRAINS IN JARS!  Also they apparently want the Cradle themselves to install a fascist ruler who will in turn take orders from them.  Because fascist rulers are well known for wanting to listen to others once they have power.  Well let the record show, just because you’ve got nothing but brain that doesn’t mean it’s a very smart brain.

* Incidentally, who do the Brains have for their Pinkies?

* I think that musical sting was supposed to indicate that the woman taking care of the brains was the woman that seduced the priest?  Kinda hard to tell with the lighting and anime face.

* One of the Three Admirals calls up Chrono to exposit to him about the nature of the High Council, and that they were the ones who founded the TSAB.  The admiral also claims that Regius and the brains have always strove to preserve the peace.  Hayate points out that they’ve done a crap job if that’s the case as they trusted a known criminal and now they have a giant warship and an army of drones above the cities, meaning the peace just went down the crapper thanks to their “plans”.  Regardless of intent, thanks to them they now have a madman with a spaceship on their hands, and they have to do something about that.

* Fate apologizes to her kids that they ended up getting placed into different teams when Hayate decided to split the party, but the kids are more worried that she’s gonna go Rambo and try to take on Jail herself.

* Signum exposits what she’s found out about Zest.  He was once a mage in the TSAB who was a friend of Regius, but supposedly died 8 years ago.

* Oh hey, family portrait. Should make keeping track of who’s who easier as the collar isn’t always in a good spot to read.

* Nanoha and Vita break the news to the kids that they’re on their own for this mission.  But Nanoha tries to encourage them by telling them to close their eyes and remember their training.  These are very painful memories for them.

* Subaru needs a bit of extra encouragement, even though that’s the opposite of what Subaru had stuck around for.

* As Storm Raider carries the kids off to their battle the adults drop out of the bottom of the Arthra, and Carim completely removes their limiters.  Even Hayate’s.  Full power, total destruction!

* Fate flies up to Nanoha and tells her that she knows Nanoha won’t listen to anybody about not using her dangerous forbidden powerup, but that she’d appreciate it if Nanoha didn’t overdo it when she does inevitably use the thing.  I can only image the ulcers Fate would end up getting if Nanoha ever learned the Kaioken.

* Nanoha retorts that Fate’s just as likely to use her own forbidden powerup.  I swear, these two… this is what happens when shonen heroes fall in love.  Even if they are magical girls.

* Oh look, the woman who was taking care of the brains is one of Jail’s minions.  And she just killed two of them with cyborg claws before starting to monolog to the remaining brain.  I’m guessing she would be Due then.  Well, can’t say I’ll miss the brains.  Really, they were stupid enough to trust a mad scientist.

* On a sperate note, huh, we’re getting to see a character in this series actually make a kill. Mind you they’re brains in jars so there’s not a whole lot of gore here, but a kill is a kill.

* So the brains didn’t just hire Jail.  They created him.  And the code name for the project was Unlimited Desire.  Yeah, smooth going there guys.  Due even spells out that power you can’t control is inevitably going to come back to bite you, and that they were doomed from the moment they created the not-so-good doctor to do their dirty work.

* The episode ends with the TSAB mages going to town on the Cradle’s Gadget escort, and Chrono being informed the fleet will reach firing range in three hours.

 That episode took some unexpected twists.  You wouldn’t really expect brains in jars from a show called Magical Girl Magical Nanoha. You also wouldn’t expect them to kill the brains in the same episode.  But well, Due wasn’t wrong about that outcome being inevitable.  The brains metaphorically played with fire, and they got burned.  And by burned I mean they died, and their entire world is now in danger because they ignored the advice of never calling up something you can’t put back down. Stupid brains.  But beyond that it would seem the actual action was put off at least one more episode, as this was all pretty much exposition.  But it was exposition that left the viewers with a lot more answers rather than questions.  Other than “who thought it would be a good idea to take orders from brains in jars”?  Apparently not Jail and Hayate at least, though Regius and the Admirals seemed to disagree on that.  I think this would be one of the subjects I agree with Jail about.

[booksandchainmail]

nanoha vivid liveblog: episode 8

TOURNAMENT RC TOURNAMENT ARC TOURNAMENT ARC

oh the castle from the op

and looks like it’s the saint church, makes sense

… this was probably already established, I just forgot

must be awkward fighting clone jesus in a tournament when youre a nun

this is a really good point, and also raises questions about vivio’s friends all training together

some sort of invisibility?

Oh no wait she was the speedster right? So too fast to be seen

Also, cool device design

OH FUCK YEAH I LOVE TONFA

Okay, paying attention during the tournament section of the op this time, and it looks like harry punching with fire, 

victoria with a polearm and lightning,

unknown glasses girl with chain circles, chantez with her tonfa (do they spin?), 

shrine maiden with a katana, 

miura gets a longer segment, 

and then sieglinde still hooded

That is the least trustworthy thing you could possibly say

called it

I feel like attacking before your opponent is armed is cheating

Then again, vivio was in a fighting stance and ready to go, so maybe its legit

Also, on a closer look I think chantez’s weapons could also be wielded like swords (edit from later: no kidding she can, her style was listed as dual swords)

Huh, have we ever seen a non-transforming power up before?

naruto run

eye glint! magic is happening her folks

i will never get over how happy vivio looks all the time when she’s fighting

dramatic much?

wait what

(also i promise this looks genuinely worrying when its not a screencap paused on a goofy mouth) 

oh okay it was a vision? Killer intent or whatever?

Do not tempt fate like that chantez

like i said, maybe don’t fight clone jesus in church when you are a literal nun

d’awww

it’s the tie club

awww, they have a family gesture thing

KITTIES

...okay, those particular kitties are kinda doofy looking around the faces

agito has good clothes

AWWWWWWWW

HOW DARE YOU NOT LIKE THE CAT

LOOKIT HIM

thank you for giving this child one soft cute thing, even if it also a weapon

BABY KITTIES

well fuck now im sad

oh gods

so they just actually are nerds

okay then

that’s a really good name that i had completely forgotten from the manga and am now suddenly flashing back to

this is very fair, and a major disadvantage of being an unarmed fighter. normally that gets mitigated by speed i guess, but no one in this show seems to have trouble swinging giant weapons around, so that might not actually give an advantage

So golem practice for corona, and maybe some basic review just in case her golem goes down? Though at the level she’ll be competing at, basic skills probably won’t help

More martial arts for rio I guess. It might be better for to be training with her family since she uses their style?

And vivio either needs a weapon, which I kinda doubt based on the shape of this anime, or techniques to counter weapons and range

With who? I guess it could be chantez, but that seems implausible for the whole “going to be competing against each other thing”

Presumably the tsab group is too busy with work, and hayate has her own candidate, so maybe another number?

Oh so it was another competitor, and a new character. Bit of a conflict of interest there, but im glad nove has made friends

And holy hells is she experienced

actually, I took a look at the wiki, and nove is technically 17 (barring clone weirdness). Which means she’s younger than this girl, and could totally be participating in this tournament. Honestly, if your teenager’s tournament has coaches who could compete in the age bracket they’re coaching it’s probably a sign you should narrow the brackets. 

That said, I’m guessing nove doesn’t compete because this is a civilian tournament, and even four years on I doubt she sees herself as a civiliain

So… do you have any strengths?

... they used to belong to jesus, so if anyone you’re fighting is religious it’ll throw them off?

Okay, I thought nove was just going to go for some sagebrecht power thing, given the eyes association, but using the cradle would probably disqualify vivio

~magical girl show technically~

called it!

didn’t call it!

Yeah, nanoha probably has access to a hell of a lot of training materials, plus footage of high power fights

oh, for chris? didn’t think of that

... the fact that he’s looking for this on his own raises disturbing questions about how sentient devices are

this reminds me a lot of bnha where baby izuku watches all might, except its just a tiny plushie

BUSTER HEAD

THE BEST NAME

Oh that’s gonna be hard for rio

Though they both have similar personalities I think? And maybe both use flames? So could be a fun matchup

So that’s sword girl against vivio? And her weakness is weapons, and that girl has a long sword…

Honestly kinda surprised it doesn’t look like einhart and vivio will fight each other

Maybe they’re saving that for past the qualifiers? But honestly with the power levels we’ve been shown, idk if vivio could make it realistically, and idk how much this show will push protagonist plot powers

OH 

So we do have two of our protag group in direct competition, but not a pairing that’s thematic

Huh

And no mention of who else is in that group. Probably at least one other important character? Victoria or sieglinde would have belkan relevance to einhart

theyre also so sweet and kind about violence

good team name!

Every group competing at once is probably the only practical way to get through this many people, but it must be annoying if two good/personal matches are on at once

this year’s contestants are noticeably more anime than the girls in the video from earlier

also, are there any guys in this thing? there’s no mention of it not being co-ed, so i guess were just running on nanoha rules of very few guys existing

His voice is so deep

There are at least 367 contestants in this thing? Even with six matches at once, that’s at least 60 rounds, and those things could run for a while

Oh she’s tiny and excitable, it’s like vivio’s mirror

HOW MANY CONTESTANTS ARE THERE?!!

also they can’t use devices this round, which makes things fairer I guess. Probably non-device weapons are allowed, otherwise this would bias towards hand-to-hand fighters, but this levels the playing field in terms of money and equipment

Someone weve never seen before, who’s disparaging towards our protagonist… yeah she’s going down

she is so nervous

in utter contrast to literally all of teachers being battle hardened knights

so she’s kicking focused? a good contrast to all the punch girls

also, im a big fan of miura’s opponent

MAGICAL GIRL LYRICAL NANOHA: where tiny girls beat up teenagers

Oh so that’s the personally important matchup they’re going for

also i guess it isn’t one ring per group

[cheesytoucans]

Like, Nanoha’s great, perhaps the best anime protagonist ever, but in my opinion nothing will ever top Fate’s character arc. Seeing everything she’s gone through, from her abuse at Precia’s hands, to her difficulty adjusting to having a loving mother in Lindy, to her dedicating her entire life to helping other children from broken homes, to her worrying about turning down the path Precia went down and overcompensating by becoming the kindest, gentlest mother a kid could ask for. (1/2)

(2/2) (hopefully the first part sent since Tumblr mobile was acting wacky) I just genuinely believe Fate is the best written character. I don’t mean in Nanoha, I don’t mean in anime, I mean in everything.

I totally feel you that Fate is a super well written character because she really is and her character arc is absolutely meaningful and powerful and heartwarming and I love her with all my heart. We so rarely get children in media who are abused but manage to overcome their abuse and grow and learn and heal and move on to better things in life and Fate is such a good example of a child who shouldn’t have had a single thing in life but created everything with nothing but her own conviction, a woman who loves her, and a new mother who was willing to be patient and help her heal.

All that being said though I have this huge sentimental attachment to Nanoha specifically which is totally biased on my part and kind of weird when I stop to think about it because I was abused by my own mother for a good portion of my life so you’d think that I would be more attached to Fate, but there’s something about how quiet Nanoha’s character arc is. There’s something about a kid who was neglected and pushed aside and who struggles to find meaning when she kind of feels as though she shouldn’t be feeling this way because she’s too kind to dwell on or think that she wasn’t treated fairly as a child. In Nanoha’s eyes it was inevitable, her parents are good people, her brother and sister are good people, and really they are. At the end of the day it was this unfortunate situation that probably couldn’t be helped but that still doesn’t make it right and especially not when it has to do with a young growing child. 

Because of that upbringing though it makes Nanoha who she is, as both a child and an adult. Nanoha feels this sort of obligation to help others, she’s so extremely kind and willing to get her hands dirty as a means to an end but because of her anxiety and feelings of worthlessness it makes her failures seem gargantuan in her mind. If a girl cries and she wasn’t able to help then it’s her fault in her head and she has to do something, anything to make it stop, to her it’s all her responsibility. Her drive to see girls happy is so big that when she gets lost in her own head you know that Nanoha would die to make it happen and it takes another person who’s more grounded than she is at the time to snap her out of it. Nanoha and Fate also mesh so well because of this.

They’re both such broken and hurt kids that when they see each other for the first time you can see the gears turn in their heads and that kind of thing happens after you’ve been abused and it hurts Nanoha so bad to see someone else hurt but it also drives her, helping others gives Nanoha a reason to live, it gives her that meaning back that she’s been looking for. It teaches her that there’s a place for her and people who care about her and she knows deep down that Fate would be absolutely crushed if anything were to happen to her and that keeps her coming home safe, and Nanoha is the kind of person who needs that because we all know what happens when Nanoha bites off more than she can chew. 

So I know what you’re saying about Fate being such a well written character because she absolutely is and the same can be said for Nanoha. The Nanoha from season one who felt useless and worthless and hugged her knees and got trapped in her own mind and berated herself for every failure is leagues different from the Nanoha who emerges from it all in strikers or reflection. And all of it is told in this way that’s so understated and left to your interpretation but you get it and it doesn’t need to spell it out for you because you get it and I think that’s the mark of really good character writing. That’s not to say that they like spell out every piece of Fate’s writing either but Nanoha’s is just more my style.

I also agree completely that Nanoha is one of the best protagonists in anime history and they really need to have more characters like her, a little girl who’s brave and strong but has all the flaws of a real person is exactly the kind of character that I think we all need in some way because at the end of the day, just like with Fate, it teaches you that it’s ok to hurt and feel bad sometimes and none of that means that you can’t be brave and strong and help someone too and that right there is one of the biggest strengths of this franchise.   

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

One, one episode. Two, two episodes.  Three, three episodes.  Four, four episodes.  Five, five episodes.  Six, six episodes.  Seven, seven episodes.  Eight, eight episodes.  Nine, nine episodes.  Ten, ten episodes.  Eleven, eleven, eleven episodes.  Twelve, twelve episodes!  Ah ah ah! This is episode twelve of StrikerS, “Numbers”!

 (Apologies for the horrible Count von Count impression.)

* This episode wastes no time getting back to the violence.

* Eww… the explosions from Agito’s fireballs caused sewer water to splash up onto the Forwards. They’re definitely gonna need a shower after this mission.  OK, they were probably gonna need one anyway, but this is a specific instance of ew.

* Vita and Rein fly through the tunnels to get to the kids.  Also the show decided they needed to give Vita a protracted upskirt shot during this.

* Agito seems a lot less sure of herself when she feels the immense power of a Wolkenritter approaching.

* And it’s hard to blame her.  Within seconds of getting there Rein encase Lutecia and Agito in an ice lower bud and Vita smashes Garyu through a pillar and into the wall.  Like, she didn’t even need to expend a cartridge for that.

* The bad guys make their escape through the walls and floor, and everybody’s structural damage plus a large summoned creature approaching is making the place start to come down, so it’s time to book it.  But before that, Tea gives Caro back her hat and asks for her help with a clever plan. Hopefully one that goes better than her previous clever plan, which ended in Nanoha blasting the crap out of her.

* Hayate continues to blow stuff up.  She’s very good at it.

* Elsewhere Regius is shown footage, has no idea what’s going on and dismisses it at first as amateurs playing at hero.  Then when he finds out who is involved he’s pissed that it’s Hayate, and he still thinks of her and Graham as criminals.  Once a crook always a crook in his eyes.  Never mind the fact that Hayate was just taking responsibility for others going against her orders, at age 9, the time of her suspended sentence passed long ago, and that as a citizen of a non-administered planet she was technically outside their jurisdiction anyway.  And what she’s doing is defending TSAB airspace from an illegal incursion from armed military drones.

* The assistant reminds Regius that would be an incredibly stupid comment to make in public.  He claims that he knows that, and blames it on the Navy being a bunch of poopyheads.  Maybe that’s not his choice of words, but it is about his level of maturity.

* Heh, the assistant then points out that Regius had denied funding for groups to handle this type of job for the past two years, so he better shut up about somebody else deciding to do the job he refused to.

* He orders that she try and dig up some kind of dirt they can use to bury the people who are actually doing their job, as well as the peacenik church that’s supporting them.  I can’t help but think it’s an odd thing to call a church “peace-addled” when they appoint knights and provide direct support for military organizations.

* Back at the action scene, Lutecia has summoned a big beetle with lightning powers above ground. Agito thinks they’re going to have a hard time finding the Relic case in the rubble, and is afraid they might actually end up killing one of the kids like this.  She also thinks the Doc is a perv for some reason.  Can’t imagine why.  Maybe it has something to do with creating a bunch of girls and having his direct subordinates dress in spandex.  In any case, she trusts the Doc and his minions about as much as Zest does, i.e. not at all.

* Lutecia unsummons Garyu so he can recover from the wound Vita gave him.  Looks like she cut his torso and arm open.  With a warhammer.  Somehow. But before she can unsummon the big bug as well Caro snares it with some chains, and the battle is back on.

* *facepalm* Tea, what did Nanoha say about the role of a shooter?  You should be shooting down Agito’s shots, not jumping out of the way.   …Though to be fair I’m not sure if you can shoot down a fireball.

* This second round is over with fairly quickly.  Lutecia and Agito are bound, and Vita arrests them for use of dangerous magic within city bounds and impeding an officer in the course of their duties.  I’m guessing the first would be the equivalent of discharging a firearm?  Anybody know what a likely sentence would be here?

* Elsewhere Quatro asks a new girl, Dieci (brown hair with a long ponytail and brown eyes), if she can see them.  Dieci confirms she can, and apparently has cybernetically enhanced eyes.  She targeting Storm Raider, but questions if it’s really OK to shoot. She’s sure the case will be alright, but not so sure about the little kid.  Quatro laughs and claims that both the Doc and “Uno” (I’m guessing that’s the Doc’s assistant) have assured her that if the little girl really is “a vessel for the Saints” it’ll take a lot more than this to kill her.

* Well, I guess what Team Four Star had to say about girls and guns in Hellsing Ultimate Abridged holds true here as well.

* The Doc’s assistant (Uno?) calls up Quatro and asks her to help Sein bail out Lutecia and Agito.

* Sein… apparently has a camera on her finger she uses as a periscope.  That’s just weird.  It’s also something I hope she can turn off, considering some of the squicky things hands must do.

* Quatro telepathically asks Lutecia to pass along some exact words to Vita.

* Fate and Nanoha fly back to the copter, but Nanoha senses something troubling on the way back. Apparently HQ sensed it too, it’s Dieci chargin’ her cannon, which they’re reading as an S-ranked attack.  Quatro has Lutecia ask if it’s OK to leave the thing unprotected like that.

* The blast goes off with a huge boom, and nobody can see through the resulting smoke/interference just what happened.  Vita is about to go Batman on Lutecia to get some answers, but Quint freaks out when she notices Sein’s hand periscope moving through the ground with a gentle ripple effect, rather than tearing through the concrete.

* Sein (a bluenette) leaps up through the ground and grabs the Relic case from Erio’s hands before diving back down straight through the overpass.  So, some sort of intangibility powers at least.  …That finger periscope is still weird though.

* Sein pops up again to grab Lutecia and take her with her.

* Quatro gloats about her brilliant strategy, only for Deici to tell her to shut up as she’s still trying to confirm whether or not she shot down the chopper or not.  Turns out… not.  Nanoha had put in a burst of speed and tanked the shot with her face.  And apparently took zero damage doing so.

* Nanoha is given permission to release her limiters (meaning she took that blast with the limiters still active).  While Quatro and Dieci boggle at this Fate fires at them from a distance, and appears at the place the land when they dodge.  Fate informs the two they’re under arrest for dangerous magic use in city bounds and attempted murder.

* Interesting, Quatro is flying away from Fate, but Dieci has to roof hop.  It’s decidedly less dignified.

* Quatro uses her illusions to make herself and Dieci vanish, but Hayate is already targeting the area with a spell.  How the ^&%#! did she get permission to fire into the city?!

* The two flee for dear life from Hayate’s Diabolic Emission, only to find themselves between Nanoha and Fate.  Some days it just really sucks to be a part of Team Evil.

* Wow.  OK, definitely seeing where Agito’s opinion of the Doc’s pervy nature comes from.

* Miss Butt is apparently named Tre, and she manages to get the two others from between Fate’s and Nanoha’s big beams of boom right before they would have gotten befriended with a vengeance.

* The bad girls have made their getaway, and Vita blames herself for letting them all escape. Subaru tries to interject, but when Vita points Graf Eisen at you in a “shut up” motion, you shut up.

* Over in some hideout the baddies thank Lutecia for the group teleport out of there, and Sein opens the Relic case.  But alas… it’s empty.

* Sein protests that this totally isn’t her fault, showing the scans she took before swiping it.  She’s positive it was the real case.  Tre meanwhile notices a strange magical signature coming from Caro’s hat.

* Sure enough, back with the heroes Tea explains that since she couldn’t come up with a fake that would fool the enemy for long, she instead took the Relic out of it’s case and had Caro seal it.  And then she wore it under her hat in the form of a flower headband.

* Tre apologizes to Lutecia, but she’s fine with it, explaining that she’s only after Relic #11, and going by the number in the case that one was #6.  I wonder why she’s after a certain Relic, as from what little we’ve seen thus far I was under the impression they were as interchangeable as the Jewel Seeds.

* And yes, this means we’re close to getting to where I haven’t seen the material coming up.  And while I’ve read about somethings I don’t know everything coming up.  I think it’s just another few episodes.  Shortly after VIvio gets two mommies.

* That evening the little girl is in the hospital.  Nanoha sees a stuffed bunny in the gift store and buys it for her, laying it next to her head as she calls out quietly for her mama in her sleep.

 And that’s the end of the episode and fight scene.  One thing I think is interesting is that this episode made it clear that the new antagonists are not a match for the previous heroes power-wise, and the only reason they’re managing to be any kind of threat is the element of surprise and gimmicks the heroes haven’t adjusted to yet.  Once they’re forced into momentary, direct confrontation, things go badly for the Doc’s crew incredibly quickly.  Usually it’s the heroes having to play catch-up to the villains setting a new bar as far as power goes, but no, this time the heroes have the advantage and the villains are having to be clever with how they go about things.

[booksandchainmail]

nanoha vivid liveblog: episode 2

When we left off, Vivio was training with her new plushie magical integrated thingy, and Nove had run into our favorite angsty LARPer

the most polite of serial street duelists

gods her name just keeps getting more and more elaborate. Also, is it ever explained where the Heidi part comes from? Or did she just pick a vaguely germanic belkan name.

Ok, those are awesome titles

nove gives zero fucks

fuck yeah! assert the right of your friends to not be defined by their pasts lives. *stares pointedly at einhart*

Also, does nove’s hoodie have an attached tie? bc that is awesome

oh my god einhart

the angst

Oh cool this time the op has lyrics attached

…gay

I’m really glad they kept the whole eye symbolism from OG nanoha (“that girl with the sad but beautiful eyes”), since vivid seems to be taking a lot from it tonally/thematically. It feels very full circle in a nice way.  

REALLY GAY

this is honestly just the best summary of nanoha as a whole

she does the foot tap thing! idk why this is a thing in anime, but i’m a fan

hnnng

hey. Nove. Remember that thing you said about her being a kid? Maybe keep that in mind.

the return of the rollerskates

This franchise sure has a thing for leotard and short poofy coats doesn’t it?

Here we have the rare anime phenomenon of a reasonable adult giving sensible advice

But alas, einhart is too emo to hear

Her determination to be in a very different show is adorable

Yeah, I can imagine that trying to drag warriors and the children of important people who have tried to move on and lead normal lives back into fighting would be a hot button for any of the combat cyborgs

The angst, it burns

That said I appreciate the consistent translation as queen, which is more accurate for olivie etc, even though the source material (or at least the random german) used king a lot

dominom pizza

Ok, I know ive been teasing einhart a lot for how wrapped up she is in the past drama, but this is genuinely tragic. She’s a child stuck with all these memories and associated trauma that she has absolutely no way to process or cope with, and so instead she’s just living with all this guilt she inherited, and trying desperately to hold herself above the standards of adult soldiers in a long-ago war. No wonder she sounds so drained and regretful all the time.

Gods. She’s twelve. And just… gods Someone please give this child a hug I mean I know vivio will be there to help soon, but this is painful to watch

But do we get to see her? Do we?

WE DO HELL YEAH

Please please please please give us tia as well I kinda still want to spell her name tea bc that’s the version that I saw when I was younger But consistency and all that I guess

Tia! My favorite of the forwards probably. And she’s looking as good as always. 

Come to think of it, she knows a fair amount about feeling guilty and afraid about not being strong enough, and pushing yourself too hard to the point where you collapse and risk hurting others

They’re just girlfriends! (you can’t really see it in a still image, but they turn to look at each other at the exact same time)

ITS HER! I know i get excited about a lot of characters showing up, but I remember reading the Vivid manga as it came out, and waiting every month for scraps of information on Belka, so getting to see Olivie so soon and so much is really cool for me.

Sorry claus, unfortunately you are too male and your romance to heterosexual for this show.

Ok, a side effect of those inherited memories is she talks like a Shakespeare character

Tia tia tia tia!

snort

please keep mildly roasting einhart

The best girlfriend, complete with food

Ok, looking at those photos: a bunch of vivio and her friends, plus one of caro and erio, and one of tia and subaru.

Probably a good thing einhart doesn’t look closely at them just yet

Sister! It just makes me really happy to see them all being family now. Nanoha is the best show for enemies-to-family fluff

Oh so now you spell it teana

Wait, this is subaru’s apartment, yes? So why is it “they” who took her in? Unless Subaru and teana live together... Please let that be true Come to think of, that bed they had einhart recuperating in is way too big for one person…

Nove in a tank top appreciation post

no particular reason, i just like having the two of them in the same picture

this guys nose looks wrong

HA! so it is spelled tea. you can fuck right off with your inferior spelling from earlier

im glad to see tea hasnt stopped snarking at subaru in the past four years

Im a fan of how nove is vaguely tsundere about being a teacher

Im also just a fan of nove in general

thats, uh, sure one way to describe a terrorist crisis

last tea and subaru appreciation post

uhhh

okay then

fate is permanently flustered by her wife

this nerd

The shows commitment to translating all the belkan titles as queen runs into and promptly ignores a bit of a problem with claus ingvalt

I would like to point out that some wiki sleuthing would indicate that the belkan war ended only a hundred years ago, which seems a bit too recent to be shrouded in myth

i completely forgot to listen to the ending last time, so here it is (with lyrics!)

The world reflected in your eyes/looks a little different from the way it had been until yesterday

that is real gay. and also once again a callback to nanofate way back in season one

this whole silhouette martials arts fight is really really cool. and also, once again, really really gay

this is a very pretty visual to leave off on

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Got something a bit different as far as me reacting to stuff this week.  See last time I queued up a Nanoha episode while I was waiting for Paint.net and Word to load I scrolled down the video listings on Amazon and saw something odd.  Apparently sometime in the early 80s somebody thought it would be a good idea to make a spoopy comedy titled “Saturday the 14th”.  I have never heard of this one before, and the title combined with the time it was made makes me think this would likely best be enjoyed with the company of a couple of robot puppets.  But I don’t have those, so I’m going this one alone.  Welcome to an unexpected bad movie night this Saturday the 14th with… Saturday the 14th.

* Credits ain’t even rolled yet and we already have badly a badly animated wolf and bat in front of a rotoscoped house.  Oh yeah, we’re dealing with “quality” here.

* So we open with creepy pedo vampire named Waldemar (don’t know how I’ll ever remember that name) trying to buy a house, and his wife being annoyed that he’s obviously being creepy pedo vampire in front of the real estate agent.

* So apparently there’s a problem with the house, involving some scene with “gags” about a rich person’s will telling various people to go &^%! themselves, and one couple, John and Mary, inherit a cured house.  The lawyer gags and dies before he can mention what the curse is.  Well, can’t fault the curse for efficiency.

* So apparently the naïve couple and their two kids are now moving into the house the vampire couple wants. The real estate agent tries to assure the vampires the family likely won’t stay for long.  Waldemar’s wife agrees, ominously.

* The family dog Rover decides he wants nothing to do with this place.  And the dog was the smartest of all.

* The son Billy disappears, and the couple assure themselves that this is like when they went to Disneyland and he hid inside of Pluto for 2 hours.  Not Pluto’s house, Pluto.  Guys, I think your son might be a furry.

* Of course shortly after entering the house a mirror falls down and breaks and a black cat runs by. This is a subtle movie.

* Ah, apparently Billy is an electrician furry.  He was just off fixing the fuse box.  Also, the daughter Debbie thinks boarding school sounds good right about now.

* Ah, so the vampire couple are after something in particular in that house.  They are of course being dramatically vague about that.

* Huh, that’s a curse side effect I hadn’t thought of, and yet seems oddly appropriate.  Every channel on the TV is playing The Twilight Zone. I’ll give the movie credit for that one.

* Mary seems surprisingly calm about her efforts to dust off the skull in the pantry.

* Uncle Henry left them a note before he died.  In the fridge.  About not opening “the book”.  I can’t help but feel like it would have been better to tie that note to the book in question.

* Billy of course has found the Book of Evil.  And opened it.  Well at least this movie isn’t likely to go for tree rape, it’s only rated PG.

* John and Mary hear the sound of the real estate agent being mauled outside as they prepare for a lovely night together and assume the screams were an owl.  I ain’t never heard no owl like that.

* Ain’t never seen no owl like that either.

* OK, that was a pretty decent exchange between Billy and John when the kid is screaming about a monster. “Act your age.”  “I am acting my age.  You’re just used to me acting like a grownup.  I’m 10 years old and there’s a monster in here.”

* You can tell when Billy has given up all hope when his dad doesn’t notice the monster standing right behind him.

* And Mary got bit by one of the vampires while John was being useless.

* Billy has discovered that monsters don’t like the touch of the Book of Evil.  Time for good old fashion book bashing.

* It’s got to do wonders for a kid’s self esteem to smack a large monster hard enough they go stumbling out the window.

* Waldemar is convinced that whoever controls the book controls the world.  All hail Overlord Billy!

* I wonder which monster did the dishes.

* Why can’t I ever find rubber gloves large enough for my hands? Monsters apparently don’t have this problem.

* Fin pops out of the bubble bath while certain chords play that aren’t in any way similar to a certain shark’s theme.  I’m sure it’s just a dolphin owl.

* OK movie, did we really need to see a barely teenage girl strip down for her bath?  I sure hope the actress was 18 and just happened to look young.  Because that scene ain’t right.

* Rubber ducky scare.

* Look mister, I don’t care if you’re not going to hurt her or don’t have any interest in her species, you don’t go around accosting young teens in the bath.

* Well, at least one policeman is close enough to try and do something.  Advantage of having one as a neighbor I guess.

* Too bad the creature is freakishly durable, that cop nailed him right between the eyes with that gun shot.

* And the cop’s dead. Too bad, put up a surprisingly decent fight for a “caps are useless” point in a horror movie.

* Billy, if your sister dies now it’s all on you.  You don’t stuff unconscious people into a tub with water, and then after having to drag them out to prevent drowning, try to do it again.

* So after Mary is nearly torn apart by bats owls, John calls an exterminator.  And this exterminator has a Van Helsing working for him. I have the feeling that those other addresses mentioned mean something, but I hardly ever watch horror and thus can’t say.

* Helsing comes by to exterminate the bats (look for the book) and expects a guest room.  And dinner.  You don’t get rid of bats overnight.  Doesn’t anybody have work ethic anymore?

* The monsters are outright gaslighting little Debbie at this point.

* Well Rosemary’s Baby got namechecked at least.

* Van Helsing is now completely convinced, the Book is here.  And he’s now ranting about it at the dinner table.  Awkward conversation topics.  But at least it’s being brought out into the open now and Billy is admitting that he had it and opened it.  Heck if he can find anything after his mom cleaned his room though.

* OK, that one was pretty funny.  After Van Helsing asks John if he as any idea what kind of horrors would be in the house on Saturday the 14th (title drop!) after the Book has been opened, John thinks he should restrict the party guests to just the relatives.

* That night Waldemar uses mind control on the now partially-turned Mary to have her retrieve the book from wherever it was she hid the thing when she cleaned Billy’s room.  Which… is actually a pretty good plan on Waldemar’s part. If anybody knows where the thing is now, it’d be her.

* Ah-ha!  The linen closet!  But as she’s now partially monster she can’t touch the thing.  Which… makes me wonder how Waldemar was planning on using it.  It’s not like he can touch it either if even Mary can’t when she’s still somewhat human.

* Waldemar’s wife is the jealous type.  Not that she’s wrong…

* Monsters are so sloppy. Except for Wolfman.  Wolfman seems to be stuck with the job of tidying up after the others.  I do not envy Wolfman.

* I’m honestly surprised Debbie’s bladder held strong considering she was trying to make it to the bathroom before suddenly getting transported to the kitchen.  Never did make it to that bathroom… er, because she just snuck back to her room, not because she got eviscerated or anything.

* Van Helsing: fully willing to take advantage of the fact that people will believe anything is possible from bubbling, smoky beakers.

* The fate of the world is potentially hinging on their ability to throw a good party so as to collect enough positive energy.  We’re doomed.

* Well Debbie might have avoided an accident last night but unfortunately it seemed her mother ended up soiling the bed. (*ba-dum tssh*)

* Only a minute after meeting John’s relatives and Van Helsing is already convinced these people deserve anything that happens to them tonight.

* Who want to play “find the boy before the world ends”?

* Mary was planning on handling the Book… with oven mitts.  And somebody else took it.  Uh oh.

* Nice of the monsters to leave out the cop’s head where his wife could find it.  Of course everybody in this film has blinders on.

* Who wants to bet Billy just went to the bathroom?

* Oh hey, the real estate agent is undead now.

* You know, the phrase “room temperature IQ” gets thrown around a lot these days, but…

* Oh hey, they found Billy! And he’s got the book!  And is with Waldemar… and wearing a cape…

* And Van Helsing was a villain all along, as he too was in the book.

* OK, I think I just need to stae for the record that random sound effects rather than the usual vampiric hissing do not comedy make.  This scene is just cringe-worthy.

* And so Van Helsing gets his hands on the book to destroy it and thus make sure the monsters can’t be imprisoned again, and that just kills the monsters and Van Helsing.

* And so Waldemar and his wife bid them a fond farewell and Rover comes back.  The End.

 Yeah, that was kind of a crappy ending.  As for the rest of the movie, it was… meh?  Certainly not the worst thing I’ve sat through, and there were a couple of decent jokes and lines in there.  But a lot of the humor derived from how oblivious and stupid most of the people were, and that just gets old after a while.  Still, if you want to watch a cheesy movie with bad effects and acting then feel free to give this one a go.  Just be aware that you’d probably have a better time if you have friends to mock it with.

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

I am a horrible blogger. Got to whip this procrastination thing. Anyway, this is StrikerS episode 17, “That Day, Section Six (part 2)”.

* Opening narration is given by Uno, who explains the objectives of the mission.  1) Neutralize TSAB Ground HQ and Section 6 as bloodlessly as possible.  2) Capture the Vessel of the Saints, and if possible the Type 0’s.  As well there are apparently 11 out of 12 Numbers taking part in the mission, plus Zest, Lutecia, and Agito.

* Reinforced Vita and Zesito clash in the air all Dragonball like.  Rein notices that the coordination of Agito and Zest isn’t actually that good, they may have been able to Unison, but they’re not very compatible with each other.  By contrast, Reinforced Vita is working out fine.

* Numbers 9 and 11 (Nove and Wendi, not sure which is which) are having trouble in the tunnels once Tea throws out her illusions and Caro supplies the buffs.  They get knocked down, and four identical groups of the kids race down the various branches of the tunnels to escape.

* Another Number calls them up for assistance, as she’s fighting “the other Type 0”, who is Ginga.

* Nanoha and Fate meet up with both the kids and Sister Schach.  They brief each other on what’s going on and Devices are handed over. They try to contact the Long Arch, and find out it’s under attack by gadgets.  Can’t get a hold of Ginga either.  The team splits again to take care of the various situations.

* Shamal and Zafira try to defend the base, but they’re slightly ludicrously outnumbered.  And while normally gadgets wouldn’t be that big of a threat, throwing a couple of the far tougher and actually thought-capable Numbers in there makes it a bit more tricky.

* Well somebody’s a Star Wars fangirl.  Also, is that an actual male member of the Numbers, or just one that’s sufficiently tomboy?

* Huh, apparently Hayate can sense when her knights get taken down.  Also, apparently Shamal and Zefira are down and out.

* Vice is doing his best to protect the non-combatants in the Long Arch with an RH-type Device, which he holds like a rifle.

* Fate and her kids fly to reinforce their base but get stopped by yet two more Numbers.  Fate orders Caro and Erio to proceed while she deals with these two.  Erio at least agrees, as he figures she can’t fight to her fullest with them getting in the way.  And while normally I roll my eyes at that, this is an aerial battle and neither he nor Caro can fly on their own, they’re having to ride Fried.  That’s not a minor consideration.

* Zest decides to retreat when he senses Signum coming to help out, and Agito is pissed.  So pissed she breaks the Unison so she can launch a huge fireball on her own.  Reinforced Vita zooms over to stop her, only for Zest to fire himself at them like a bullet and smash Graf Eisen to pieces.  Vita is knocked out of Unison and sent flying, with Rein unconscious. Welp, he’s gotta pay for that one. NOBODY HURTS THE MOST ADORABLE DEVICE IN EXISTENCE.  AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE HAMMER.  I’M NOT SURE THAT GRAF EISEN WOULD WANT TO BE CONSIDERED ADORABLE. MAYBE HE DOES, I DUNNO.

* Subaru races on ahead of Nanoha and Tea to Ginga’s position, only to find Wendi, Nove, and a 3rd Number I don’t know with a large box they’re about to shove a bloody and broken Ginga into.  There’s a bit of silence as they all stare at each other in shock.

* Then Subaru’s eyes go all yellow and mechanical as she does a screaming powerup.  Seriously, I’m surprised Dragonball Super didn’t take some inspiration from this show for the universe of magical girls.

* Subaru ignores the shots that are bloodying her as she speeds forward and smashes the Number’s skater, though the force of the blows she’s giving isn’t very good for her Devices. The other Number, Cinque, tells the other two to get out of there while she holds the berserk cyborg Subaru off.

* I wonder what the freakier image is, Cinque lying on the ground with her one eye all staticy, or Subaru having a chunk of her arm missing from the counter attack, revealing the mechanical parts where her bones should be, and yet she’s still screaming and advancing.

* Sein arrives to phase Cinque out of there, much to the one-eye’d Number’s relief.  Pretty sure she was convinced Subaru was going to flat out kill her.  I’m halfway convinced Subaru was going to kill her.

* With her target gone Subaru’s device breaks down, and Subaru is reduced to a crying wreck as Nanoha and Tea find her.

* Over in the burning wreckage of the Long Arch Griffith receives a report that all systems are down at this point.  Elsewhere on base Vice has done a good job of blasting gadgets but has a flashback when Lutecia steps out.

* Oh man, I hope this ain’t going where I think it is.

* Well, uh, the rifle fired a beam so there’s a chance the shot was non-lethal.  On the other hand when Vice missed the shot he accidentally shot that girl in the eye.

* This episode is just full of body horror, isn’t it?

* Anyway, Vice is triggered in a big way and puts up no defense as Lutecia blasts him aside.

* The personnel of Section 6 are down, and Lutecia and Garyu have their target, VIvio.

* Caro and Erio arrive just in time to see them flying off with Vivio, which means it’s time for Erio’s own flashback.  One of him being dragged away from his parents by men in suits, one of whom smugly explains to the upset couple that they know for a fact that “Erio Mondial” died of illness, and this boy is just a clone.

* Back in the present Erio is now officially pissed at seeing a girl being dragged away from her home, and orders his Device into it’s second from, giving the spear rocket boosters.

* Erio, might not be able to fly on his own, but a rocket spear can still take you far.  Too bad those Numbers were still around to beat him down into the ocean.

* Fate tries to grill her opponents on Jail’s location.  The two don’t understand why Fate is so opposed to the Doc, as he’s the one that established the framework for Project Fate.  In a way he’s like Fate’s dad.  Yeah… if that’s the case he’s the deadbeat who basically just acted like a proverbial sperm-donor and is behind over a decade’s worth of child support. Anyway, the two teleport away promising that Fate won’t be able to beat them next time.

* Over at the Long Arch Uno broadcasts the fact that the complete destruction of the facility will begin in 5 minutes, but they’re not going to prevent anybody from evacuating.  Never mind all of the people who are unconscious in there.

* Caro has fished Erio out of the water, and is tearing up, questioning why this is happening.  Then she stands up and casts Dragon Mount Summon, calling for a being called Voltaire.

* …That’s a big dragon.

* Caro screams not to destroy their home as Voltaire gets to work on the gadgets.

* Back over at Ground HQ Jail has popped up on the vid screen to gloat and claim this was due to TSAB oppression with things like “peace” and “keeping the world destroying artifacts out of the hands of people who wanna press the shiny button”.  But hey, he isn’t interested in mindless killing, and if they ever wat his tech he’ll be sure to give them a good deal!  Then he evil laughs, because the guy is nuttier than squirrel poo.

* Carim is depressed that they couldn’t prevent the prophecy, but Hayate claims that Section 6 isn’t finished yet.  The camera disagrees, using a shot of Vivio’s bunny burning to close out the episode.

 Well, that’s it for that one.  This had a whole lot of revelations and some pretty unsettling imagery in it.  It was also an unquestionable win for Team Evil. But anyway, as for those revelations. While Subaru and Ginga being cyborgs is something that could have been figured out before the official reveal, the sight of Subaru actually going cyborg was pretty freaky.  And even more so was the sight of her flesh being torn from her mechanical arm.  Really, the episode did not skimp on the blood in this one. Although Ginga and Subaru being cyborgs makes me wonder about some of the more practical aspects.  Like, obviously the girls grew as they got older. Did they get replacement parts occasionally during those “special check-ups” to try and bring them up to speed to the size their bodies should be at that age?  Or did the nanomachines that were mentioned as being a part of creating a combat cyborg give them something close to a normal human rate of “bone” growth? Either one seems like it could be ludicrously complicated, with having to deal with needing to rapidly grow the flesh if they’re providing bigger parts every so often, or the nanomachines having to partially deconstruct and then reconstruct the mechanisms of their limbs to appropriately increase size as needed.  Talk about growing pains…

 Anyway, with regards to Erio it was actually a surprise to see that his parents didn’t kick him out.  I figured it would have been like Fate’s situation with the parents coming to resent the clone.  And while it might have gotten to that point eventually, when he got taken away, well, it hadn’t.  Which makes me wonder why he was taken in the first place.  Just who were the ones who took him in the first place?  If they were acting in an official capacity, that would imply that just making a clone is seen as enough to fetch the Midchildian equivalent of the CPA on you.  Which kinda backfired in this case given that Erio obviously was abandoned later on when Fate came by to take him in.

 And finally there’s the revelation about Vice.  With something like that it makes sense that he retired as a combatant.  Yeah, I can’t imagine the kind of mental trauma that could result from accidentally shooting a little girl in the eye.  It makes me wonder how good the therapists are in the TSAB. Because he obviously needed them at some point.