I like this pic, and it took me a moment to realize why.
In all the seasons, no matter the situation, Nanoha always had her hope, her confidence. Always optimistic. Always trying to make her opponent cease to be an enemy, rather than going in for the kill.
In various literatures, you usually see the most out of a character after she feels she has lost everything.
It's that point in a storyline where there's no sound effect, but there's an almost audible *snap* where the character discards everything but rage.
We haven't seen Nanoha in a real rage. Not yet. Teanna only made her mad and Quattro only brought her to fury.
It's a fault of the story. It was too light, always limited by that happy ending. Make it dark, kill a few characters. Watch Nanoha actually earn that nickname.
And then, at the end, when the backup, when her friends, finally arrive, the dust has settled, and scattered over the battlefield are the charred remnants of her opponents.
And that voice, the one that tells you what you are really thinking, whispers slowly in her mind, "Murderer," and she realizes that only then had she lost everything. Everything but despair.
--
Wow. That was way more emo that I usually think. Still, it'd make a pretty awesome scene, and fuel some much needed character growth for Nanoha.
It's a fault of the story. It was too light, always limited by that happy ending. Make it dark, kill a few characters. Watch Nanoha actually earn that nickname.
How about no? Emo and the mahou shoujo genre mix like oil and water, and I'll take happy endings over "character growth" any day of the week. This is Nanoha, not freaking School Days.
Buraian said: How can you truly enjoy the sweets in life until you have gone through the bitter, the sour, and the tragic. A brush with death, a broken heart, a bombshell on a test, the betrayal of a close friend, and so on. Those that have faced their adversity and found their own strength to move past it, forging a better future for themselves understand the true meaning of life. Then you will be truly satisfied with what you strive for. No wonder I never got into this series. I'll take my realistic fiction any day over it. It shows the true nature of being human.
SKULL PAULDRONS SO HUGE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PAULDRONS (also skulls)
Buraian said: How can you truly enjoy the sweets in life until you have gone through the bitter, the sour, and the tragic. A brush with death, a broken heart, a bombshell on a test, the betrayal of a close friend, and so on. Those that have faced their adversity and found their own strength to move past it, forging a better future for themselves understand the true meaning of life. Then you will be truly satisfied with what you strive for. No wonder I never got into this series. I'll take my realistic fiction any day over it. It shows the true nature of being human.
So being used abused and thrown away by a parent isn't enough adversity for you? Or living your life almost completely alone, suddenly gaining a family and then having it ripped away from you? How about suffering a near-fatal injury and nearly being crippled for life, unable to walk, much less fly or fight?
There's plenty of adversity in Nanoha if you just take two seconds to look for it. The series just doesn't focus on these things a great deal like Higurashi or Saikano do, and I for one like it very much that way. If Nanoha were a depressing series I wouldn't watch it, no matter how awesome it might otherwise be.
Sure, Hayate and Fate had some adversity in their stories.
Except... Fate took being thrown away very well. I think she knew it was coming, the speed at which she recovered.
Hayate ended up resurrecting the knights, and it wasn't exactly her own actions after the Book of Darkness took over and went crazy.
And near-fatal and near crippling injuries do not a berzerker make.
I'm not advocating making Nanoha a depressing series, it just needs a little bit more to make it more interesting. Depressing events are kinda like salt, too little and it's plain, too much and it's bitter, hit just the right balance and it becomes a very nice flavor. I'm not saying kill off everyone one-by-one.
Nanoha is a kind of simple character through the story. She spent most of her younger years alone, resulting in the desire to befriend people. She gets happier when she has more friends. She gets sad when they leave. She gets mad when they are hurt. What does she do when one is killed?
Death is a rare subject in the story. Even among the villains, only Fate's mother and sister died, and that was by falling. It was avoidable. Reinforce is still alive, if sealed. Some clever programming could restore her, I think, but Rein II is much cuter anyway.
Fate took being thrown away very well. I think she knew it was coming, the speed at which she recovered.
Which series were you watching? Fate was so traumatized by Precia's rejection that she had a Heroic BSOD and completely mentally shut down for a while. She still has scars from that betrayal well into StrikerS, otherwise Jail's "You're just like her" speech wouldn't have freaked her out like it did.
Hayate ended up resurrecting the knights, and it wasn't exactly her own actions after the Book of Darkness took over and went crazy.
Hayate only resurrected her knights because she overcame the pain of losing them in the first place and took control of the BoD. The fact that she got her family back doesn't change the fact that she had to go through losing them, anyways.
And near-fatal and near crippling injuries do not a berzerker make.
So? Nanoha needs berserker rage about as much as Signum needs another unison device. She's got tranquil fury in spades; berserker fury is Subaru's trademark anyways, and we certainly can't have the master imitating the student, can we?
What does she do when one is killed?
Heroic Blue Screen of Death.
Reinforce is still alive, if sealed. Some clever programming could restore her, I think, but Rein II is much cuter anyway.
Rein Eins isn't sealed; she's dead and gone and not coming back. She deleted herself to destroy any chance of the Book resurrecting itself and going on a rampage again. And before you mention the book Hayate uses in StrikerS, that's a book-type storage device Hayate uses to store her spells, with no connection whatsoever to the original book. Even Rein Zwei only shares the name of the original.
Buraian said: How can you truly enjoy the sweets in life until you have gone through the bitter, the sour, and the tragic. A brush with death, a broken heart, a bombshell on a test, the betrayal of a close friend, and so on. Those that have faced their adversity and found their own strength to move past it, forging a better future for themselves understand the true meaning of life. Then you will be truly satisfied with what you strive for. No wonder I never got into this series. I'll take my realistic fiction any day over it. It shows the true nature of being human.
aaah, another dwama fan. Huh, considering Nanoha already had her near death experience in the middle of a battle field with one of the most heart wrenching scenes I have seen with Vita screaming for the medics, I can't imagine why you would think it's light stuff. During the scene all the while Nanoha looks like she already knew she was gonna die and wanted to ease Vita's guilt. Of course, trying to give an encouraging smile works better when one isn't covered in blood and dying away.
All the LOL DRAMA aside, I like the effect of contrast in this pic. The only bright tones in it are Nanoha's eyes, and Bardiche and RH's crystals, so it draws your eye right to them.
I liked Nanoha as a generally light-hearted series with some tragic and dramatic bits to round it out. But it WOULD be pretty interesting to see what Nanoha would do if her precious Fate-chan got offed.