The end of all Yuuno, or In final defence of Nanoha StrikerS
Posted by: Owen S in Anime, Review, tags: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, Mahou Shoujo, Shounen
sadly, a couple of token appearances just didn’t cut it
StrikerS is finally over. I remember getting all lachrymose for some odd reason at the end of episode 1, and the same thing happened again in episode 26. To me, StrikerS was like watching a daughter grow up, having seen her through her formative years. Unfortunately, so did everyone else, and they werent as maudlin about it. It might be a far stretch to compare an anime franchise to human growth, but that was what StrikerS meant to me, for the most part.
So Ive harped on this at length before — expecting the same things that comprised of the first two seasons seemed like a short-sighted prediction more than anything. There were quite a few expectations this time around, in the same way anyone going into a newly-built fast food outlet would have expectations, but the problem was that this wasnt just another burger joint — if metaphors were anything to go by, StrikerS was a steakhouse that now offered beer and steak alongside burgers and fries.
Obviously this will seem like a rose-tinted defence, but I felt StrikerS was trying to offer a show that consciously differed this time around. Instead of the usual Action! Enemies! Befriending! that was the bread and butter of the previous two seasons, it wanted to bring new things to the table, all this while retaining core elements of what made the original so successful. Theres only so many times you can throw the same plot and premise at fans, and I think StrikerS did good to avoid that.
Returning to my metaphor, if the first season was the franchise taking its baby steps and the second its formative years, then the third, StrikerS, would be its rebellious adolescent years, where it finally grew and matured into a different thing altogether. The fandoms disappointment with the show could then be said to be like the disappointment parents have when they realise one day that the child they once cherished has now grown into the stereotypical teenager, temperamental and brooding. Some parents see no qualms in being the dictator of their childs life, while others are just more content with letting their child be, giving them all the freedom they need.
In other words, Im saying that those who thought they could see the universe of Nanoha take a jump of 10 years and still have everything stay the same way were terribly nave. A span of a years usually what it takes for a lot of things to change in the real world, so why not 10 years in a fictional one? The setting and premise grew along with the characters, be it from elementary school and casual befriending to Section Six and upholding the law (setting), or even a personal desire of Jewel Seeds/fuel for the Book of Darkness to a megalomaniacs desire of world domination and (premise).
Now that Ive established that the premise and setting did indeed differ greatly from the first two seasons, it goes without saying that everything else would differ in the same vein. While Fate and the Knights were potentially dangerous on a micro scale, they were problems that could essentially be solved with a lot of beam spam and good old-fashioned befriending. Scaglietti, on the other hand, was dangerous on a macro scale due to his weapons of mass destruction, even if they were good-looking impregnated female humanoid ones who could kick ass.
she was your woman/but she was my girl
It begs the question: if StrikerS wasnt about epic fights or the derrire-kicking of previous seasons, what was it all about? My answer is simple: growing up. StrikerS took on a decidedly strong emphasis on family this time around, even if it had been building towards what seemed like an inevitable direction from the start. As AD2225 notes here, almost everyone in Nanoha has a broken family of some sort. Whether its an abusive mother (Fate), a makeshift family (Hayate), a dead mother (Subaru/Ginga), a dead brother (Tea), or even an adopted hot mother (Erio/Caro), theyve certainly not had the best of childhoods.
The recurring theme of family, particularly Vivio and Erio/Caros adoption by Nanoha and Fate respectively, add on to the concept of growing up. Not only do the adoptions cast them in a light previously unheard of, it also shows the degree into which theyve matured by — the squeaky-voiced, pure-hearted girls we once knew are still there, but theyre just that little bit different now. Theyre more calm and collected, reassuring, level-headed, and far less emotional; in short, fine individuals well on their way to adulthood. Yet at the same time at their most emotionally vulnerable moments you realise how daunted they are at the prospect of growing up and more responsibilities, and you cant help but feel for them
Likewise, the opening scene of the first episode sets the tone for the rest of the series very well, introducing Subaru while showing off just how much Nanoha had progressed — fitting, given how StrikerS is about the old cast having come of age, and the new cast growing up alongside them. Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate, all have someone to take care of. They arent just magical girls anymore, theyre magical girls with responsibilities, and this is what marks the end of their innocent childhood: instead of having to rely on others, theyre now the someone that others rely upon, whether due to professional or personal reasons.
Theyve come a long way indeed, and while BluWacky is right about Nanoha in the sense that it doesnt follow true mahou shoujo conventions (discovering something about herself), its still present, only in an understated form more external than internal. In the first two seasons, Nanohas creed was that of dialogue; she would constantly try to understand the antagonists and their need to go about causing destruction and distress.
She doesnt need all that navel-gazing — on the other hand, she does need to get to know her enemies more since thats the type of person she is; as her transformation also grants her power, she uses it together with the White Devil persona to empathise with her enemies just that little bit more, i.e. through the aforementioned befriending. While it isnt mahou shoujo in the strictest sense, the tone in which battles commence never fall into the testosterone-filled melees of shounen, ensuring that whatever the reason for fighting, Nanoha et al remain pure of heart and steadfast in resolve, capturing the tone of mahou shoujo in this regard.
As you might have noticed, this changes significantly during StrikerS. Nanoha simply cant go around befriending her enemies anymore — for starters, shes duty-bound to uphold the law and arrest those who disturb the peace, and any befriending will have to wait until theyre sentenced and rehabilitated later. Nevermind how she later became friends with Fate and Hayate under the same circumstances, Scaglietti isnt exactly potential friend material to begin with.
one on one/the queen of two worlds/that would make her ours
Secondly, both Scaglietti and the Numbers fight for abstract, impersonal reasons that have nothing to do with obeying an order from ones mother or helping a paraplegic regain her health and mobility. This has the effect of not endearing the antagonists to us at all; while on one hand its realistic, on the other hand this means that we couldnt care less about what the bad guys, with the exception of Lutecia, are fighting for. Scaglietti is reduced to the Mad Scientist stereotype, while the Numbers are just another bunch of cyborgs, albeit ones with tight-fitting body suits and rainbow-coloured hair.
With regards to this aspect in particular, I thought that the final battle that Nanoha had was one of the best. Jokes about corporal discipline or this hurts Mummy as much as its going to hurt you aside, the Vivio-Nanoha battle showed that while StrikerS could get incoherent and impersonal at times, it could still pack a punch when it wanted to. Its a pity that Fate and Hayate were shafted in the battle department, but I suppose the focus on Nanoha was intentional; after all, this was the person whom with it all began, and it seemed fitting for things to end with her as well.
Did StrikerS have its faults? Definitely, although Im more than willing to overlook them in light of what it offered at the end of the day. The mood here was considerably darker and more contemplative, as can be evidenced through the monologues before each episode that almost, if not always, delivered in a depressing tone of voice. Aside from giving valuable insight into a characters feelings, they were there as a constant reminder about the simple things that they hoped for — wanting to be understood, desiring a place to belong, shouldering the collective burden — it humanised them in a way that the previous two seasons only began to scratch.
The final scene in the credits were befitting of a series of StrikerS magnitude, almost sentimental in presentation. After all, justice should always prevail, and it was nothing short of heartening to see the Forwards and Lightnings finally achieve their dreams. Those who watched the Nanoha series solely for the action missed the point completely, for it was always character first, action second, and those who expected anything else were doomed from the start to come away from it feeling disappointed.
P.S: Would I want a fourth series? Not really. The amount of anticipation and expectation that would surround any fourth season would be utterly ridiculous, since not only do the English-speaking fans have As to compare it to, they now also have StrikerS to whine about, which means that the only way that theyre going to be satisfied is if something blows up every 5 minutes, although Im all for a slice of life/comedy/romance spinoff involving Yuuno.
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November 7th, 2007 at 12:01 am
“it humanised them in a way that the previous two seasons only began to scratch.”
If you read my post on StrikerS, this is really what makes the show for me, and probably why I didn’t like the first series or A’s quite as much as others did. Though I expand on that much more there.
Yes Yuuno needed much more screen-time than he recieved, and yes I just wanted to punch Scaglietti and the cyborgs in the face. And I was satisfied when Nanoha et al. smacked them down. :D
March 11th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
[...] when you attempt to throw two or more of them together. It’s the sheer futility of making a Yoko Kanno reference in a Nanoha post title (a Venn diagram would easily illustrate the naivete behind this), or stringing together [...]