Buckle up folks, it’s time for another episode of Nanoha! The show actually seems to be moving towards its endgame at this point, as Nanoha joins up with the space force and Fate recommits to gathering those dang jewel seeds, each of them all the more strongly resolved to succeed. It frankly feels like we’ve only been with these characters for a very brief time, but Nanoha has never been a show that’s busy with overt narrative happenings – it focuses steadily on a variety of small, incidental moments, and tends to only have one major “plot event” per episode. That’s a perfectly reasonable narrative style, and last episode’s phenomenal conversation between Fate and Arf easily demonstrated its value.

Arf’s efforts to save Fate from her mother’s abuse have turned out to be Nanoha’s most poignant and well-observed material so far, offering a stark and well-written counterpoint to Nanoha’s own happy and mutually trusting family. Meanwhile, Nanoha’s recent engagements with the space force have expanded the show’s dramatic scale, and established a universe so primed for adventure that it seems strange we’re almost at the finale. Obviously shows actually get sequels because they turn out to be successes and the investors decide a second season’s worth the effort, but Nanoha’s world in particular feels like a story that’s practically begging for sequels. But before we can get to any of that, we’ve got Fate and Nanoha’s epic clash to witness. Let’s get right to it!

Episode 9

“I’m filled with feelings I want to pass onto you. Only to you, and your heart.” Nanoha’s opening monologues have gotten steadily more personal and directly aimed at Fate each episode

Incidentally, it feels like this cold open is filled with… scenes from the episode I’m about to watch? That seems like a really weird choice

“Due to the extensive nature of this task, we’ve recruited the mages who were originally seeking the Lost Logia.” There’s a bit of natural tension between the theoretically professionally constructed and expansive interdimensional space force and the fact that they’re recruiting two children to help find their lost trinkets. We haven’t really gotten any information to the effect of “only very special children can be so gifted in magic” or anything like that, so it just makes the space force feel either inept or like a dramatic cardboard cutout, imposing but hollow

Oh my god Yuuno and Nanoha look like tiny angry munchkins at this giant table. That sight gag was worth it

“While in the care of the Civil Affairs Bureau, these two have been assigned to us.” Yeah, that’s the sort of worldbuilding connective tissue this situation demanded. People often joke about the invented fantasy terms and organizations that bombastic scifi shows pepper themselves with (“my god, it’s Code Green!” “all seems to be following the progression outlined in the Tolmire Report” etc), but characters demonstrating assumed familiarity with a larger, unexplored worldbuilding context is an effective way to make that world’s overall solidity feel that much more convincing

Still not feeling basically anything they’re doing with Chrono as a character. A Chrono-Yuuno rivalry feels like a chore

“The Decisive Battle Over the Ocean!” Yeah, the whole cold open was spoilers. What gives, Nanoha

Another way shows like this can square the distance between their genres is to simply embrace an element of farce on the whole, like with the captain here slowly and methodically turning her tea into some kind of sugar slurry

It’s a very Nanoha choice to actually cut to her friends at school and see how they’re handling her absence. And in spite of the distance in relative stakes, “Alisa learns to trust Nanoha” is basically this show’s c-plot

Our cut to Nanoha and Yuuno mid-fight naturally implies they’ve gotten used to this – fights are no longer so exceptional an event that we even need to see their beginning

This episode feels a bit more bountiful animation-wise than the standard. A nice cut for this electric phoenix attempting to break free of Yuuno’s chains

Oh my god what are this show’s panty shots why. They remind me of Yozakura Quartet in that “we’re in the middle of a fight our heroes are sparring PANTIES alright back to the action” way

The shift to Nanoha now working under a fully realized scifi bridge crew is still very entertaining to me. What a great way to expand the show’s scope

I like the unique colors and rounded shapes of the bridge’s OS. The geometric focus echoes the symbology of this show’s magic system, emphasizing this organization’s balance of science and occult powers

Apparently Fate’s mother was exiled for Space Crimes

Nanoha really likes its fish-eye shots. I get that they’re going for a general tone of menace surrounding Fate’s family situation, but I’m not sure that’s really coming through here

What the heck is this hallway. Nanoha and Yuuno stop at, like… the gun barrel from James Bond openings, and have a conversation in front of a JoJo print

Even with the space force behind them, Nanoha and Yuuno have only gotten one more seed than Fate. The space force kinda sucks, huh

I’m not sure it was the right call to actually give just one member of the bridge crew a name. That sort of emphasizes how insubstantial this organization is – it’s the captain, her son, and Amy. There are times when introducing new characters can actually make your world feel less populated

Nanoha reflects on how she spent a lot of time alone as a child, which really puts her current competency and self-assuredness in perspective

Yuuno didn’t have parents, and was raised by the Scrya tribe as a whole

No more time for feelings, Fate’s up to some shit!

Fate’s going to activate ALL the remaining seeds? That seems… maybe rash, a little?

Once again, Nanoha saves its most fluid cuts for the magical effects

It makes sense; so far, this show’s version of magic has basically just been this barely-containable force you channel and then fire at someone, not a more subtle power that simply amplifies your own actions. Nanoha wants its magic to inspire awe, and so it makes the casting of spells itself into the visual/dramatic centerpiece

Very fluid animation of Nanoha desperately running down this hall. “Nanoha well-animatedly running somewhere in a panic” feels like a Nanoha staple

The bridge crew are perfectly willing to let Fate destroy herself

Nanoha opens by lending strength to Fate without asking for anything in return

This is a fantastic moment for Nanoha herself. I’d prefer if the show established her own experience with loneliness a little earlier, but having her “strength” in this segment be expressed through her unquestioned confidence in being a friend to Fate is wonderful. This is one of those segments that genuinely sells kindness itself as a tremendous kind of personal strength

Hah. I love this shot from a cove miles away, demonstrating the tremendous scale of this explosion

“I want us to be friends.” Nanoha presents the hard sell, an expression of emotional charity that stands at the heart of the magical girl genre

Aw shit, here comes mom

I love Arf going into full rage mode for Fate here. Arf is definitely my favorite character in this show, and I hope she doesn’t end up dying just to prove how evil Fate’s mom is

The strength of Arf’s attacks here actually feels natural not because of any in-universe mechanic, but because the tortured voice acting is so convincing

And Done

Damn, that was a thrilling episode! Nanoha really doesn’t have anything to prove anymore – the show’s narrative has gained texture and scope, while its aesthetic delivery seems as strong as ever. With all of its various assets demonstrating their full worth, we’re in thrill-a-minute payoff territory now, as Nanoha proves the genuine real-world strength of her compassion. That ocean battle was simultaneously one of Nanoha’s greatest moments both visually and emotionally; in spite of its grand aesthetic spectacle, it absolutely sold the fact that this victory was founded on Nanoha just being a friend to Fate. It was a crucial moment for the series, and Nanoha nailed it. I’m very excited for the next one!

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