We’re deep in it now, folks. With our hero having made her final goodbyes to her family and settled accounts with basically all other lingering threads, it’s time for Nanoha and Fate to square off for what Nanoha herself described as the “first and final time.” Literally the entirety of this narrative has been building to this; while Nanoha has at times focused on more specific family drama, or on elaborating its wild worldbuilding, all of these smaller pieces have always existed in service of Nanoha and Fate’s relationship. The show may have started off with a more traditional magical girl quest, but at this point, even the jewel shards are only important insofar as they lend tangible stakes to Nanoha and Fate’s emotional/thematic battle.

Speaking of, I suppose a brief breakdown of our thematic narrative so far would probably be appropriate. Nanoha is a show about family and human connection above all else; Nanoha’s own family has been illustrated with uncommon specificity, while all of Fate’s problems stem from her inability to escape her mother’s reach. Nanoha the show understands that familial bonds aren’t inherently positive, but they are inherently powerful; for Nanoha, that power manifests as a great sense of self-assurance and concern for the people around her, while for Fate, that power keeps her from seeking to escape a deeply abusive relationship. The power and ambiguity of families is a theme that underlines many of my favorite works, from the restless Monogatari to the poignant Eccentric Family, and Nanoha is doing an excellent job of illustrating that complex and inescapable concept. I’ve seen few shows that handle familial abuse this well, and few shows that illustrate how a stable home can grant you true strength with Nanoha’s subtlety and focus. However this plays out, I’m confident the show will be steering this grand thematic clash to a satisfying end. Let’s get right to the battle of Fate and Nanoha!

Episode 11

The usual recap music has been replaced by a very urgent battle anthem, though Nanoha’s speech remains the same. I still don’t understand why the heck these are pre-caps, whose footage often covers the same episode we’re about to watch

We open with a fond memory of Fate and her mother, before she became so cruel. Abused people often hold onto a belief that whoever is abusing them might somehow “turn back” to the person they were before the abuse – and abusers often manipulate that, making their victims feel like it’s their own fault that the abuser is acting so cruel

Her mother refers to her as Alicia. Huh

I like these backgrounds well enough, but god does the early digipaint effect sting. These flowers are basically just red smudges against green – there’s no detail work in the backgrounds of early 00s anime, something that actually becomes more of a problem the more intricate and beautiful your backgrounds are trying to be. Pouring out another one for Haibane Renmei

So was Alicia her real daughter, and Fate’s just a clone or something?

“Because I love my oh so gentle mother…” Taking her mother’s words to heart, Fate now believes that it’s only Nanoha standing between her and the old mother she loved. If she can get the jewel seeds, that’ll fix everything

“Memories That Lie Beyond Time”

Chrono and Amy share a chat on the bridge. Apparently this whole Fate-Nanoha fight is basically just intended to buy time while they set a tracker on Fate

Weird little visual narrative of Chrono attempting to hair spray Amy’s ahoge. These two are such strange, disconnected characters – I appreciate Nanoha’s overall genre-splicing ambition, but the bridge crew never really felt like a tangible part of the narrative, and the fact that they act in the same casual manner as the Nanoha side of the narrative feels like a mistake

Cool shot as we approach the fight, using layers of green trees and a blur effect to create the sense of moving forward to the shoreline

Ooh, very solid animation for this faceoff. The focus is less on conveying grounded exchanges of attacks than on giving each of these girls a sense of presence and majesty; the camera moves more than the characters, zooming along their limbs as capes billow and wands are brandished

Also lots of symmetrical compositions, unsurprisingly

Damn, the animation here is terrific. For once, it’s not just effects animation – Fate dancing around and slashing through Nanoha’s projectile attacks carries a strong sense of momentum and fluidity. We can really feel how she’s throwing herself through the air, and how her weight and strength carry her whole body forward

The animation and direction are strong enough here that you can actually follow this fight as a series of visually coherent tactical choices, a rare and welcome thing

Hah, water drops fall on the “lens” for this ocean shot. A cute effect

Fate captures Nanoha, but Nanoha tells the familiars not to interfere

This show is very good at designing energy-based attacks that feel genuinely consequential. All the buildup for Fate’s casting, and the imposing visual spectacle of her electric network, make it clear to the audience that this attack must be dodged

Nanoha looking badass as hell in these closeups. She’s definitely grown over this show, though she already started out in a pretty healthy place

The random pentagrams and whatnot for their attacks make for fantastic mid-battle spectacle. Smart of them to bake engaging visual concepts into the base worldbuilding of how magic works in this world

Oh my god Nanoha you are going to atomize her this is not how you make friends

Nice visual imagery of Nanoha literally saving Fate, drawing her from the dark water into the sunlight

“Your mission is to take Precia Testarossa into custody!” Now we see a whole room full of battle mages. I really wish this show had done a better job of establishing the solidity of the scifi part of its narrative – this is the first time we’ve learned the Space Police employ more people than one mom, her son, and his friend

Precia’s blood cough is acting up today, it seems

I like how the music of the return eyecatch just carries through into the show proper

Yep, the mages discover Precia’s incubator room, with a girl who looks like Fate suspended in a big tube. So Fate was only ever a substitute

Precia effortlessly beats like every single mage at once. I guess I understand why they were relying on Nanoha then, these mages suck ass

So there was never any change Precia would “regain her love” for Fate, because all Fate ever had were happy memories implanted from Precia’s original daughter

Of course, as this show has emphasized, your “family” doesn’t have to just be your blood relatives. Precia’s failure to love Fate is her own crime to bear

“The name ‘Fate’ came from the research project she was involved in.” For once, a genuine explanation for an extremely anime name

The show essentially testing the extremes of its philosophy with Fate, stating that even artificial beings deserve a family

“Alicia smiled so much more brightly than you.” This woman sucks SO MUCH. She’s taken a theoretically sympathetic motivation and just squandered it by continuing to be the most selfish, callous person imaginable

So she made a doll version of her dead daughter, and then blamed that doll for reminding her of her dead daughter. Lady,

I suppose that certainly underlines the show’s perspective on abusers, though. Their happiness is not your responsibility – you will never make them happy, they will only take from you

Precia wants to go to Alhazred, “the forgotten land, where the forbidden technology was sealed”

God, this woman sure can laugh

And Done

It’s all coming down! We finally got Fate and Nanoha’s long-awaited clash, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Their dual was easily the most consistently impressive feat of animation this show has pulled off yet, offering fluid exchanges, lots of wonderfully dramatic pans, and a very tangible exchange of impactful attacks. Shows that rely on visual concepts like Nanoha’s beam-focused attacks have a tendency to get a little vague when it comes to the stakes of their fights – I mean, what’s one beam attack versus another? But this episode did a great job of emphasizing how much each attack cost both its wielder and target, making Nanoha’s victory feel earned and thrilling. And with Precia having revealed her true colors at last, there’s no more moral ambiguity left to hide behind – Precia sucks, Fate deserves better, Nanoha needs to kick Precia’s ass. I’m very ready for the next battle!

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