Nanoha StrikerS

[Valles]

Machines capable of magical flight are possible, as the Gadgets prove. That being the case, I'm doubtful that combat aircraft as Earth knows them ever developed in the dimensional societies. Aerodynamic and weight constraints impose too many design constraints for me to think that military designers would accept them willingly, and, given how humans think, the first flying ship would have come either before or shortly after the development of the first flight spell. Those aerodynes that do exist would, I think, primarily be occupying roles according to their costs, not their power... like, say, non-hot-zone personnel transport.
Another thing I doubt exists in the TSAB's member worlds is the guided missile. Everything we've seen that I can think of seems to indicate that Intelligent Devices differ from other magical computer systems far more in degree than in kind, and I'm inclined to make an unsupported leap and suggest that the reason for that is their decision-making ability... and that even something as bright as a scientific calculator is still going to be too costly to use like a throwaway. (Incidentally, I also think that Shari's skill-set is likely much rarer than she's letting on.) Also, building an anti-missile system using magic lightspeed beams or something seems like it'd be much simpler than the technical problems it presents in our world. True, there are externally guided spells like Divine Shooter or Schwalbe Flieger, but their owner needs to know where they are and where their target is before he can feed them the right instructions.
Finally, I think I've figured out the limiter problem.
It's not about individuals being jealous or cautious. It's about nation-states jockeying to control or neutralize tactical and strategic humanoid weapons that they and their rivals have sponsored into the supposedly neutral TSAB.
Ja, -n

===============================================
"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to kill you quite horribly now."

[Berk]

The irony being, of course, that Nanoha and Hayate are members of a world which is NOT a member of the TSAB.
They were at least partially dragooned.
After all. Are YOU going to leave a couple of S rank or higher mages just sitting around loose?- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[CattyNebulart]

another good reason for the limiters is a legacy system.we have maintained all kinds of wierd little habits, just because that is the way it has always been done. I can see the TSAB doing the same.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[LilFluff]

I don't speak enough Japanese to follow what's being said without subtitles. But, I can say this about episode seven. Vita demonstrates how what most ticks us off in others is reflections of our own weaknesses. How many times do we hear the other knights tell Vita not to lose control? And boy does she explode when she sees one of the others lose control and slip up (admittedly it was a nearly disastrous loss of control, if Vita hadn't been close enough to shield Subaru -- of course if Subaru hadn't frozen at the shock of it Vita wouldn't have had to step in...), which makes me wonder if Vita keeps being told to not lose control because she used to make the same kind of mistake.
And we discover a little more about the new characters. Who look to be on the wrong side of things. (Now how long until we learn more about this mysterious project that Caro was apparently part of)
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

[LilFluff]

Oh! And how could I forget to mention the other big news of episode seven. Ferret-(I'm a furry in denial)-boy shows up! Admittedly only for a brief bit, but he does show up.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

[Berk]

A Youtube link to the moment we've all been waiting for...
DEAR GOD SPOILER
Spoiler in white: The White Devil of the Administration Bureau Rides Again. Do NOT throw out everything you ever learned from your tactical instructor to try and land a hit on her and expect her to be impressed. Especially when she is one of the sorts who believes in corporal punishment and object lessons.- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[LilFluff]

Yowzers!
Um, guess I ought to do spoiler coloring...
I take it what she told Raging Heart was to remove the seals on her power?
Of course while I couldn't know just what was being said in episode seven without subtitles it seemed like Tiana was suffering from the shock of realizing what she almost did. I have the suspicion that perhaps Nanoha decided to force her to get back on the horse and try riding again. I think we also get even more of a sign that Tiana is perhaps a bit a younger Vita.
Which reminds me of a question. Was the origin of the knights ever given? I wonder if perhaps Vita and the others were not originally programs of the Book, but an actual group of knights who were absorbed into it .
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

[LilFluff]

I like the way Fencedude on the animeondvd.com forums put the events in episode 8.
"And Nanoha...DAMN Nanoha's scary. Nanoha doesn't get mad at you, she just becomes very disappointed. She's so sorry that she's going to have to punish you, but eventually you will understand that it was for your own good." Fencedude, a little more than halfway down page two of this thread.
And apparently she reduces her power before laying on the punishment. Ouch! Can we say, "this is why you don't talk back to the teacher or ignore her lessons," class? I knew you could.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

[Sweno]

yesy has episode 7 up-Terry
------
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint Exupery
"Luge strategy? Lie flat and try not to die." - Carmen Boyle (Olympic Luge Gold Medal winner - 1996)
Mary Sue's theme music
-Terry
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"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Valles]

Hmm. This is definitely Tia's major limelight arc. Given the look on her face at the end of the clips I've seen from 8, I suspect that Subaru's will be the next.
I like Hayate's earrings, but am slightly disappointed that Fate didn't do anything different with her hair.
I suspect that any further transformations seen from the Usual Suspects will either be glossed over like Hayate's in Ep. 2 or cut down like the Wolkenritter's.
Speaking of which, Shamal! Oh my!
This kid really is a lot like Rider, isn't she. ...only Gothic Lolita.
Heh. 'Garyuuno' ... I'm actually more amused by that than I am by the 'meddling kids' line. ^_^
I still say that this show's ending looks like a Bond film's opening.
Ja, -n

===============================================
"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to kill you quite horribly now."
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"

"Yes, and it was glorious."

[SkyeFire]

Subaru scratching Zafira's ears without noticing what she's doing...
Hayate, Fate, and Nanoha, all in high-end evening wear...
Shamal... henshin....
Signum... henshin...
Vita... um... okay, let's just not go there again, eh?
"Zafira can TALK!?!"
The view inside Tea's head certainly is at odds with the front she puts up. Girl's got *serious* confidence issues, plus typical overcompensation. Heck, she's even feeling second-rate compared to *Subaru.*
Gee, Vita, don't go getting all maternal on us now... Hey, put the hammer down! VITA! Hayate, HELP!!!
The loligoth is *too* darn similar to Carol for coincidence, especially their devices.
For another thing, she seems to have a real talent for "boosting" other combatants -- what she did to the Gadgets is awfully similar to what Carol has been doing for Erio.
I missed it before, but Rein's barrier outfit has the same mismatched stockings that Reinforce's gothic outfit did.
Speaking of: Rein's supposed to be pretty bad news in her own right -- the fact that she retreated from the bugs says something about loligoth's power level.
Poor Tea. I suspect the next ep is going to be even worse for her than this one was, and while I can't deny she deserves it... still, I feel for her.
Hayate gets approached by some bishie... whom she cheerfully mock-slugs in the gut while he starts messing with her hair. He doesnt' seem to be affected by what she's wearing -- must be gay. *Must* be.
"Yuuno-kun!" Girls, GIRLS -- either you didn't read your entire briefing, or someone in Intel section slipped up. If the head of the TSAB's archives is going to be speaking at an event like this, I'd say it was important enough to show up in the briefing material.

[Florin]

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The view inside Tea's head certainly is at odds with the front she puts up. Girl's got *serious* confidence issues, plus typical overcompensation. Heck, she's even feeling second-rate compared to *Subaru.*

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Good to know that the limiter system is completly successful in it's stated job of supressing jealousy and confidence issues eh?

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He doesnt' seem to be affected by what she's wearing -- must be gay. *Must* be.

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Or he spends all his time hanging around well built women who are forced to twirl around naked every time they want to blow something up. Might raise his reaction threshold slightly. Not to mention that hitting on Hayate would result in the ultimate form of the dreaded 'overprotective syblings/parent's syndrome'.

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Subaru scratching Zafira's ears without noticing what she's doing...

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I noticed that too After rewatching A's, I've come to the conclusion that both Arf and Zafira are more comfortable in thier animal forms, and only take human shape when the situation calls for it. After all, the guy eats out of a dog bowl, and didn't seem to have any problem getting walkies with a leash on.--
La Krueze: I just want everyone in the universe to suffer. Is that so wrong?
--
If you become a monster to put down a monster you've still got a monster running around at the end of the day and have as such not really solved the whole monster problem at all. 

[Berk]

That green-haired guy is Verossa Acous.
He's Hayate's predecessor as The Littlest Velkan Knight in the TSAB. They're also very good friends, which probably means that they're well insulated against one another's senses of humor.
He was also Chrono's roommate back in their Academy days. (He's also voiced by Daisuke Ono. Which, when paired with Tomokazu Sugita doing Chrono is COMEDY GOLD.)
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[CattyNebulart]

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Speaking of: Rein's supposed to be pretty bad news in her own right -- the fact that she retreated from the bugs says something about loligoth's power level.

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I was kinda annyoed by that. Even if Reinforce has her power limited a bit she still used to blow up planets involuntarily. Sure a Ragnarok Breaker might be overkill but I'm sure she knows a few weaker spells that would crush the bugs like, well bugs.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[Berk]

It might have something to do with the fact that Rein is also heavily reliant on magic to get around. If she were to wind up inside of an AMF while she's trying to fire a spell off at those things she'd be in very, very serious trouble- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[Valles]

Also, I suspect that, like Hayate, most of Rein's spells are aria-types. With the drones closing on her like that, she might well simply not have been able to get one off in time. Probably she could have managed anyway, but the risk was legitimate and she was only supposed to be scouting anyway, so.
Ja, -n

===============================================
"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to kill you quite horribly now."

[Berk]

With regards to episode 9:
Love isn't over. It's just beginning.
Be prepared to wince, folks. But it'll be worth it in the end, I promise.- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[The Hunterminator]

I've just found an odd little video of what Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha could have been.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_RBghAfiW8&NR=1
THANK GOD!!!

[ECSNorway]

Gyyyyyuuuuhhhhhh. Scary. Make it go away!--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[LantisEscudo]

That video was actually a promo for a video game that predates Nanoha.
The Triangle Heart series had three games, with an additional three spinoff/sidestory games. The third spinoff game was also titled Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, and ended up getting itself spun off into the set of anime series that we all know and love.
This video was included on the Triangle Heart ~Sweet Songs Forever~ Soundstage VA DVD, which was itself a promo for the then-upcoming TH~SSF~ OVA series.
It's a fun look at the origins of a series.------------
Honou Productions
------------
Honou Productions.

[Florin]

Yesy has finally released episode 8's fansub.--
La Krueze: I just want everyone in the universe to suffer. Is that so wrong?
--
If you become a monster to put down a monster you've still got a monster running around at the end of the day and have as such not really solved the whole monster problem at all. 

[The Hunterminator]

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Yesy has finally released episode 8's fansub.

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*Launches torrent faster than you can blink*

[LilFluff]

Ouch! I mean, ouch! From the raw video I could see that the White Demon came out and slapped them physically but that ending line is pretty serious too.
Of course it is a pretty good object lesson. Lose control of yourself and refuse to acknowledge it and you will end up dead.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

[Valles]

Tia's feelings in this are particularly painful, since I see something very similar in the mirror all the time.
The animation subcontractor that got used for the first half of this episode wasn't worth their pay. No matter how little it was, it was too much.
Mmm. Subaruservice. Nummy.
And, though I wasn't prepared to say so without seeing the full, translated version, I think that Nanoha made a serious miscall here, though one that's perfectly in character with what we know from her. The disconnect or disagreement I'm seeing between her training and Tea's actions is, quite simply, whether the mission or the agent's survival is given the higher priority. Tea knew what would likely happen to her if her idea didn't work, but didn't consider her own survival a mission objective. Beating the shit out of her isn't going to alter that equation. Once victory means more than life, the definition of risk undergoes a complete state-change that renders increased odds nothing more than a tactical consideration.
If anything, this will only make Teana more desperate.
And, five grade power difference or not, I would still be seriously worried about having anyone look at me the way Subaru was at the end.
Ja, -n

===============================================
"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to kill you quite horribly now."

[LilFluff]

Ya think? Nanoha just blasted her partner, then blasted her a second time allowing her to take a pretty decent fall. From what I could make out of the next episode Tea doesn't even wake up until well after dark. This is in a world where you can get both physical and magical healing.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.