Alright folks, we’re strapping in for another furious episode of Nanoha! Though to be honest, I can’t imagine this episode being any more furious than the last, which was easily the most action-packed episode this franchise has offered yet. Building upon the first season’s relatively concise vocabulary of magical combat, that episode saw Nanoha taking massive strides towards the diverse, cacophonous action madness of spiritual successors like Symphogear. Nanoha has always come off as a negotiation between magical girl drama and mecha action, but its apparent embrace of “signature weapons” this season has drawn its battles even closer to the giddy appeal of Gundam fights. Though the last fight was more a series of reveals and introductions than tactical exchanges, I’m already excited to see how the show marshals these tactical resources going forward.

And of course, there’s all the themey-wemey stuff. Nanoha’s first season had a few core themes, but the ambiguity of familial bonds was definitely its most central. Through the contrast of Nanoha and Fate, the show demonstrated the diverse influences our families can provide, along with the assurance that ultimately, we have the power to choose who we see as family. The first season had plenty of “can’t we all just get along” argumentation courtesy of Nanoha, but ultimately, its moral perspective wasn’t particularly ambiguous. Fate’s mother was a manipulating abuser, Fate was a victim of circumstance, and those who could be redeemed eventually all shuffled over the side of righteousness.

Here in season two, Nanoha seems to be testing its philosophy with an antagonistic family who are just as loving and supportive as Nanoha’s. Though they’re clearly up to some shady shit, Hayate’s family also support and care for each other, exemplifying what this show has consistently defined as its most central value. “What happens when personal moral conviction and professional obligation collide” is the root of endless dramas, and I’m excited to see Nanoha tackle a direct challenge to its conflation of familial love and moral righteousness. Let’s get right to it!

Episode 3

Ooh, this is new. For the first time, the cold open is narrated by Fate instead of Nanoha. Fate has been promoted to the co-author of this narrative!

This dovetails very neatly with Nanoha’s actual narrative position – she apparently just had her powers stolen, so Fate now has to shoulder her burdens for a time, including even this duty

This season seems to be testing Nanoha’s philosophy in a variety of ways, from the actual thematic contrast of these two families, to seeing if Nanoha can still support her philosophy if she doesn’t have the magical strength to enforce it

God, these space base shots are beautiful. Nanoha has always loved mechanical animation, but it’s rarely been able to use that for anything but wand transformations. The second we reach the space bureau headquarters, the show goes wild with wonderfully intricate scifi designs

One of the first season’s most noteworthy qualities was “creates a universe that’s ripe for further exploration,” so I’m not surprised to see season two immediately cashing in on that appeal

Nanoha’s “Linker Core” was apparently drained by the enemy’s attack. This information is relayed by Amy as the show contrasts her and Nice Mom’s reflections against the city outside, a common way of adding visual intrigue to necessary exposition. When a show is conveying information that doesn’t really demand emotional context, it will often set its visual resources to work on something else entirely, like an animated comedic gag or simply an alluring shot like this

Another neat shot as we pan back from the city through a window and into a nurse’s path, visually linking these two scenes through the city’s presence

Looks like Nanoha “won’t be able to use her magic for a while,” which is always a convenient narrative device. “For a while” tends to be author shorthand for “until it’s most dramatically compelling”

These cityscapes are letting the show echo some of the first season’s oddly geometric backgrounds while also, you know, making some in-universe sense. We can’t all go full Shinbo

Nanoha tries to act strong for Fate’s sake during their reunion. These two are far too adorable

Arf sitting patiently for Fate to come back, RT if agree

This scene’s most carefully animated shot is of Arf wagging her tail. I’m glad this director is such a learned scholar

We learn about people who use Velka-type magic. They favor wide range abilities, and use the “Cartridge System” to power their weapons (because it’s badass)

Giving these characters’ weapons a type of ammunition fits naturally into this world’s mechanical worldbuilding, while also giving the writers a new lever to create drama with. “I have ____ bullets left” is a useful dramatic tool

Amy announces that she’s been put in charge of this situation, further emphasizing the fact that the space bureau has three employees

Oh shit, there’s some old guy. Employee number four!

His name is Admiral Graham

Ooh, he’s actually from Nanoha’s world. A neat detail that quietly emphasizes the alien nature of this place – we don’t actively think about how everyone else here is an alien until we meet another earthling

We get an extended backstory for Graham, which in a normal show would imply “this man is important,” but in Nanoha could just as well imply the show just felt like it

Graham is basically being portrayed as another paragon of Nanoha’s philosophy, emphasizing loyalty to the people you love and treating Chrono like a son

So is he going to be a villain then, in order to further complicate this season’s interrogation of its themes?

And we jump immediately to a sequence of our ostensible villains enjoying a night at home, in idyllic familial repose

Signum was impressed by Fate’s swo-… scythemanship?

They’re apparently “Cloud Knights”

Apparently Lindy’s going to straight-up adopt Fate. Emphasizing the tangible validity of the families we choose

These scenes might play as frustratingly slow to Nanoha’s teen audience, but if any kids are watching this, this material seems the most important. Like a good Ojamajo Doremi episode, there’s a heavy focus on sorting out your feelings regarding complex personal situations, with the fact that these scenes rarely lead to a single clear resolution emphasizing that it is the discussion itself which is valuable, and that coming to conclusions regarding these things is an extended and collaborative process

They spend some time emphasizing that the Asura isn’t in working condition, which seems odd, because I’m not really sure what having the Asura available would have done to help them in the first place

Ah, I see. It’s to justify the overall team all actually settling on earth, as opposed to monitoring it from above

Oh my god Arf has a puppy form now she is too powerful

Having gained an earth apartment and new daughter, Lindy ascends to even higher echelons of Momness

And now Fate’s going to attend Nanoha’s school. It seems this entire episode was an extended setup for “all of Nanoha’s space friends are a part of her daily earth life now.” I suppose it’d be difficult to maintain the first season’s odd balance of focus forever, but it’s still resulting in a pretty slow episode

Lovely shots around the city as our antagonists prepare for their next move. I really like the color palette this show has adopted for the city – this mixture of pinks and blues gives this place a unique sense of fanciful mystery, making the landscape both beautiful and foreboding

Generally I don’t like it when shows attempt to use some vague “countdown to apocalypse” as a dramatic hook, because that’s the sort of thing authors can basically stretch as long as they feel like, but contextualizing the Book of Darkness’s path to completion by saying Nanoha brought it to over halfway finished does a reasonable job of adding some urgency

Vira’s ultimate goal seems to be “to live in tranquility with Hayate,” which doesn’t sound so bad

After an episode stuffed with exposition, we get the visual payoff of these three transformation sequences

Oh dang, it looks like both Raising Heart and Bardiche are demanding cartridges of their own. This is why other wand owners shouldn’t spoil their wands!

And Done

Well, that sure was a transition episode. After dazzling us with some of the best fights in the franchise so far for two episodes straight, I suppose a cooldown episode was probably due. Episodes like this unfortunately do demonstrate the absence of a creator like Akiyuki Shinbo – without his excellent compositions giving these conversations some visual intrigue, we were stuck sifting through a huge amount of exposition without all that much dramatic payoff. Fortunately, that exposition was balanced by a fair amount of warm slice of life material that exemplified Nanoha’s unusually thorough approach to personal drama, giving Fate’s thoughts on where she belongs plenty of room to breathe. And with our conflicts and initial setup firmly established, a platform has been built for plenty of dazzling fights to come. Let’s get our girls some cartridge rifles!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.