Get ready everybody, it’s time for another episode of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha! Nanoha’s last episode was a thrilling demonstration of all of Nanoha’s strengths, from Nanoha’s own compassion and convictions to the uniquely engaging mechanics of this show’s magical world. Rising from relatively genre-standard early episodes, the show has successfully combined magical girl trappings, shonen action, and scifi worldbuilding to arrive at something unique and influential, an aesthetic that would go on to inspire many other anime properties. It’s also just gotten very good; influential nature of its narrative choices aside, Nanoha is delivering consistently engaging visual spectacles and satisfyingly nuanced emotional moments, all building towards Nanoha finally connecting with the long-suffering Fate.

We’ve also built up a relatively robust thematic stew at this point, though it all sort of hinges on “the importance of human connection.” Nanoha’s compassionate conversations with her family present one ideal of connection, while Fate’s painfully well-observed conversations with Arf demonstrate another very valid kind of family. It is the fact that Nanoha has not just been supported, but genuinely trusted by both her friends and family that has instilled her with such personal strength; it is the view of both Nanoha herself and Nanoha the narrative that she could do nothing more righteous with that strength than share her trust with another. Whether through the family we’re born with or the family we choose, everyone needs that sense of trust and support. Let’s see if Nanoha can finally connect with her beleaguered rival!

Episode 10

“I’ll confront you directly, and just believe in the magic in my heart.” Nanoha is a profoundly confident and self-assured magical girl heroine. She’s had moments of doubt or guilt, but she’s risen above them in a way that doesn’t feel unearned, but more just feels reflective of her extreme strength as a person

We open in the rain, with Nanoha’s team having sealed the jewel seeds, but failed to capture Fate

“You both will be getting a lecture from me personally on your actions.” The captain’s overwhelming mom-ness continues to sort of undercut the solidity of this space force organization. Organizations like this require the tonal touchstones of seriousness almost as much as they require a sense of dramatic consequence, and Nanoha doesn’t really possess either – this ship is treated mostly like a gag, and I never feel like anything Nanoha did to cross these people would ever result in meaningful repercussions. Kinda funny to be watching this along with Evangelion, which is basically seriousness incarnate in terms of both the aesthetics and consequences of a bridge like this

“Everybody’s Separate Heart-felt Vows.” That episode title gets at what might be the crux of it – Nanoha takes its magical girl mechanics very seriously, while its scifi mechanics are pretty loose. It adopts some aesthetic touchstones of scifi, but conflicts ultimately come down to Heart and Love

“Your selfish actions could have affected the people around you.” Even this formal dressing down is framed in terms of Nanoha’s familial themes, and the need to be kind to those around you. It’s more a moral lecture than a professional one

“Taking your magnificent results into account, we’ll overlook your actions this time.” This I like. Nanoha isn’t able to get away with her actions because Mom is nice, she’s able to because she’s such an absurd font of power that they sort of have to tolerate her rebelliousness

The surreal backgrounds within this ship feel like the most obviously Shaft-influencing element of the production. Why have real backgrounds when you can have rippling, interlocking chains over giant curved obelisks in your meeting room

Evil Mom’s actual name is Precia Testarossa

“Rather than being surprised, she seemed more frightened.” Nanoha’s interjection into this discussion perfectly reflects her character. She’s still seeking simply to understand Fate

The scene ends on a nice profile shot of Nanoha that actually uses those chains to naturally transition to Fate’s situation

“You’re too cruel, Fate.” God this lady SUUUUCKS. These scenes don’t feel exploitative, but they sure are painful

“The results included a mid-scale dimensional disturbance at the beginning, which caused the fissuring of the entire central area, eventually engulfing the other areas.” See, this the kind of formal quasi-military speech we need to sell a bridge. In this case, the terminology is too wishy-washy to really feel convincing, but I’m glad they’re trying

Nice Mom recommends a home trip, which might just be her way of keeping Nanoha from rebelling again

Oh dang, turns out Mean Mom has blood cough. Guess there’s a reason for her urgency

Her private sanctum leans heavily on that black-on-red full color aesthetic Shinbo loves

“We have no more time. Neither me nor Alicia…” A graceful bit of storytelling to include her backstory as Nanoha’s mission briefing before we get to her personal story. The exposition fits naturally there, and helps inform this material

Arf takes a stand for Fate, which on the one hand Go Arf, but on the other hand Oh my god Arf don’t do this she is going to kill you

These blasted environments and the color work here strongly remind me of Shinbo’s Yu Yu Hakusho material

Okay whew, Arf blasts herself out of the ship. JOIN THE GOOD GUYS ARF, WE’VE GOT FREE COFFEE

“Never forget that the person who’s truly on your side is your mother.” More textbook abuse, as Fate’s mother intentionally works to isolate her from anyone else she can trust. If anyone ever tells you they’re the only one you can trust or rely on, please know that they don’t have your best interests at heart

Okay, Nice Mom (whose name is Lindy, thanks for reminding me show) actually comes back with Nanoha, which makes Nanoha’s whole cover story a lot more convincing

Arf teleported “anywhere,” but it turns out that anywhere was right beside the road Alisa’s driving down. Basically all narratives give themselves a few free passes in terms of “the people who need to run into each other actually do run into each other” moments

I love this grey-haired butler’s badass haircut. Keep rocking it, old dude

Nanoha’s second animated eyecatch reminds me of Madoka’s ending theme, our heroine walking forwards into oblivion

Alisa being nice to Arf is extremely good content. More scenes of people being nice to Arf please

Alisa actually describing her new dog feels like a bridge too far. “It has orange fur and a giant red jewel embedded in its forehead” oh yeah, I think I know that breed

“Promise me that you’ll save Fate.” I’m so happy about this turn. I really expected Arf to just get killed eventually in order to underline Evil Mom’s awfulness. If she can somehow survive this season, I think she’s safe for good!

I appreciate that there’s no friction regarding how Arf and Fate should be treated. The ship crew immediately understand they’re victims in this situation

Another scene emphasizing the bond between Nanoha and her friends. The show has built up Alisa’s feelings consistently enough that this essentially acts as a small arc conclusion, as she finally relays her honest feelings

“All I’ll be doing… is spending my time a little differently than usual. It’s all so I can continue to be direct with myself about my feelings from now on. It’s a small journey I must take so I don’t regret anything.” This is a nice little speech, and makes me wonder if it’s more intended as characterization for Nanoha or a moral lesson for its audience. “We must occasionally be brave and go outside our comfort zones to grow” feels more like a Doremi lesson than a Nanoha theme, though

They’re referring to Nanoha’s “indecision” as an active narrative thread, but I feel like she hasn’t been indecisive since episode two

“I know you’re a strong girl, so I won’t worry about you.” She’s going off to fight an abusive dimension-hopping mad scientist wizard, maybe you should worry a little

“You can’t even consider running away now.” Nanoha’s own victory condition is “understanding Fate’s feelings,” and she’s now demonstrating how far she’s come

And Done

That certainly was a sturdy episode! I had quibbles here and there about tonal choices and character arc beats, but the show continues to demonstrate great confidence and propulsive storytelling while leaving time for plenty of quieter personal moments. Most of the awkwardness of this episode came down to the various compromises necessitated by Nanoha’s assorted genre priorities, but the emotional core of the episode was very strong. I’m frankly gonna be a sucker for any episode that lets Arf be awesome; her concern for Fate is my favorite thing about this show, and seeing her fight for her friend’s sake was a fantastic payoff. I’m excited to see the gang all assembled on Nanoha’s side, and ready for the fireworks!

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