The endgame is upon us, everyone! Though I’d had a moderate suspicion that this season would actually end through dialogue, rather than cataclysmic action spectacle, it turns out we’re actually getting the best of both worlds. A’s eleventh episode pretty much covered the dialogue end of this argument, with both Fate and Hayate directly confronting their central emotional conflicts.

On Hayate’s side, her quick journey from despair to actually comforting the Book of Darkness offered one more demonstration of her incredible personal strength and emotional character. With her progressively crippling injury and absent family, no one would have blamed Hayate for despairing at any point in this season. Instead, she’s been a persistent source of strength to those around her, actually having to assure both her guardians and the book itself that she is not someone to be pitied, and is rather someone they themselves can rely on. In a series that often focuses on epic exchanges of physical prowess, Hayate has consistently demonstrated that strength comes in many forms, with her charitable, unwavering spirit proving to be the only force that could turn her guardians into a family, and her cursed tome into a friend.

On Fate’s side, her rejection of a happily ever after with Precia and Alicia demonstrated a different kind of emotional strength. This paradise was exactly the resolution she was seeking all through Nanoha’s first season – but having embraced Nanoha as a friend and Lindy as a mother, she’s learned the incomparable strength of the bonds you choose for yourself, as opposed to the false peace of “how my family is supposed to be.” Though at first she was hesitant to move out from her mother’s shadow, Fate has proven she’s no longer dependent on anyone, and that she’s strong enough to actually reject the past in order to embrace the family she’s chosen for herself.

Though their journeys there have been quite different, each of these stories have served as resounding arguments for the variable nature of family, and the joy and power gained through sharing both your strength and your vulnerability with others. And with each of them having demonstrated their clear emotional strength, it’s time for the battle to shift to more practical terms, as our heroes attempt to stop the rampaging Book of Darkness. With Yuuno having conveniently laid out the conditions of this fight as “I don’t give a shit, just hit her with everything,” I’m guessing it’s finally time for the fireworks. LET’S GET TO IT!

Episode 12

We open with Raising Heart exploding with magical energy, as is right and proper

The cold open is shared by all three leads now, emphasizing their unity

As the book stalls its own detonation program, Hayate restores the guardian knights. Looks like we’re getting one of everyone’s favorite payoffs – the former enemy rivals now fighting side by side

So is Hayate just going to end this season as an insanely powerful sorceress with a personal army of magical knights? Pretty good deal, though I suppose she’s earned it

Hayate seems to have gained the title Queen of the Night Sky, which is pretty sweet in its own right

She also gets a series of transformations and new commands, as she first gains a new battle robe and staff, and then transforms them again for the heck of it, changing her hair and eye color as well. I’m not really someone who’s into either magical girl shows or giant robot shows for their transformation sequences, but I still find it endearing how much these shows themselves value these moments, and essentially turn them into visual validations of emotional growth. Our moments of personal revelation in the real world don’t tend to be tied to dramatic physical transformations, but anime lets these characters express their new strength in the clearest possible way, naturally emphasizing how growing up is a process of continuous reinvention. I think shows that take these genres and go “but what if they were dark/emotionally scouring” often miss the fact that these genres already serve as natural metaphors for personal growth

It also frustrates me that these warm-hearted and perhaps aesthetically indulgent metaphors are treated as a symptom of a juvenile narrative, when really, “learning to effectively coexist and trust others” is a far more meaningful and adulthood-relevant topic than “what would you do if all your friends were dead” or whatnot. But I suppose there’s no use venting about that when the reality is that popular culture will always show undue respect to the thematic interests and purchasing power of adolescent boys

Hayate is finally able to offer Vita a “welcome home,” centering us right back on the importance of family

“I’m sorry Fate, Nanoha. My children have caused you so much trouble.” Hayate ascends to ultimate momdom

So it seems Hayate was able to separate her new book Reinforce from the Book of Darkness’s defense program

The Arc-en-ciel will apparently blow up everything within hundreds of kilometers of its target. Let’s try not to use that plan, then

I appreciate Chrono actually consulting with Hayate and the guardians for potential options. As with Fate, the Space-Time Bureau is again proving remarkably understanding of these complex family situations

Or maybe they just have to be understanding, considering their strongest warriors are apparently Nanoha and Fate

Arf is bored and just wants to blow it up. Great expression work from her, and a very in-character contribution to a discussion that’s largely over her head

The girls propose moving the defense program to outer space in order to blow it up

We check in with Alisa and Suzuka, whose presence in this final arc continues to kinda perplex me. They haven’t really contributed anything to the active narrative, so perhaps the show is simply using this to integrate them more closely into Fate and Nanoha’s private world. With both Fate and Nanoha now attending school (and Hayate presumably soon to follow), it would certainly be harder to write more of the slice of life material from the first season if Alisa and Suzuka had no idea what their other friends are up to

I suppose the first season also did something similar though, with a couple scenes affirming Alisa and Suzuka’s faith in their friend as Nanoha was off battling at Precia’s fortress

Amy’s analysis of their plan seems to be “moving the defense program to space doesn’t make any sense, but whatever, these girls have so much magical energy they can do it anyway”

“It’s a very risky plan that relies on all of our powers…” I get the feeling Chrono will be saying a lot of that as this franchise continues to introduce new characters. Gotta give all those characters something to do!

“The past we’ve lost cannot be changed.” Chrono of all people with a punchy reiteration of this franchise’s emphasis on forgiveness and letting go. I like the nuance of Nanoha simultaneously preaching forgiveness as a virtue, while also emphasizing how Fate was absolutely right to let go of Precia

“That’s why I’ll fight the present, and change the future!” Half of Chrono’s lines make me think there’s a separate camera crew filming him for a different show that’s occurring at the same time as Nanoha

Shamal heals up Fate and Nanoha. The team has gained a white mage!

Man, what the heck are they even going to have all these characters do in season three? Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate can at this point field a pretty powerful army all by themselves

Meanwhile, the familiars and Yuuno handle crowd control. They’ve got a pretty balance MMO party at this point, though I suppose they’re a little light on tanks

I really, really appreciate that Vita’s special attack is A Bigger Hammer. That is the most Vita thing ever

“Little girl, giant hammer” is such a powerful aesthetic

Their plan is essentially just an excuse for each character to do a luxuriously animated power attack one after another, and it is great

Signum attaches her sheath to her sword and it becomes a giant bow. Man, these guardian knights were really holding out on us

It seems like they gave the awakened defensive program a sort of convoluted visual appearance in large part to give all of these characters something meaningful to do. It’s surrounded by barbs and tentacles and layers of shields, which lets every single attack by our heroes feel consequential – they’re not simply rebounding off one enemy until they eventually succeed, they’re bushwacking their way through a progression of defenses that are each countered by one hero in turn. An interesting way to visually convey a sense of narrative progression within a many-character action scene

“As I thought, average attacks like this won’t work.” Lowkey savagery by Amy

It seems like Hayate’s legs actually work in this power form. It might seem mean to say, but I kinda hope they don’t stick with that – treating Hayate’s condition as something to “evolve past” feels like a betrayal of her earlier characterization, which emphasized how she was incredibly strong in ways irrelevant to physical strength. Having her just power up to also gain physical strength feels kinda lazy, and anime could use more positive wheelchair-bound characters who aren’t all grizzled scientists with tales of tragic hubris to recount

That said, all three of our leads charging their greatest power attacks at once is sick as hell. This show has successfully established its action variables such that the moment Nanoha says “STARLIIIIIGHT,” you know shit’s about to hit the fan

Oh wow, gorgeous fluid effects animation for all three of their beams converging on the target. In contrast with Nanoha’s pink and Fate’s yellow, it seems Hayate’s powers have a greyscale energy

And Lindy gets a badass Misato Katsuragi-style moment, as she fires the Arc-en-ciel

They succeed, but Hayate collapses!

And Done

Well, that was a lot of fun. There wasn’t so much to analyze in a thematic or character sense this time – this was all delirious action payoff, as Nanoha demonstrated the profound visual appeal of its stylish magic and combat systems. There was less of a tactical appeal for this fight, but also a strong sense of satisfaction in seeing these characters who’ve clashed for so many episodes now finally collaborating, and actually demonstrating their strongest powers yet. Nanoha is always pretty terrific when it comes to the major spectacles, and this was one of its most titanic spectacles so far. This franchise continues to be a consistently thoughtful yet unabashedly indulgent celebration of mecha, magical girls, and their mutual affinity for giant laser beams.

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