Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
anabena24
I know it seems like just another magical girl anime. Yes, there are lots of similar shows out there with comparable power systems, but that doesn't stop this one from being an absolute gem. I believe it is exceptionally well written, has great, memorable characters and is very joyful to watch all in all. It may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy wholesome little stories about friendship or magical battles with cool power ups, I highly recommend this series.
Do not expect a superficial fight of good against evil, as neither of the sides are inherently selfish. It nicely depicts, that there is often an underlying cause for actions viewed as 'wrong', stemming from unfavorable circumstances the opposing side might find itself in. Nanoha teaches us from the start that we should always sto…
Read at the sourcefubuki_kira
a show that doesnt feature maybe as much of the content id expect from a magical girl show, relatively little in the ways of action scenes and very little actual interaction between nanoha and the overarching villain. generally for most of the show, she very much plays the ichigo, ending all of her earlier fights by blasting the foe with her divine shot. as the show progresses, she gradually incorporates what she sees into her fighting style, but between her and fate, her enemy through the show, neither really use all that many techniques.
still, you have a competently enough put together show, and a good timecapsule of its era. the worldbuilding can be a bit suspect. certain things like the vet's wall exploding in episode 1, or half a city being destroyed in episode 2 are handled with th…
Read at the sourcesillyfunnybug
i wish i could understand what people liked about this show. i was really looking forward to it because of the good reviews and how much praise it received, and i stuck it out til the end in case it would somehow improve, but it didn't. it was especially disappointing because i love the magical girl genre, and the director was also responsible for madoka magica, which i love so much. the fact that it is the same genre and so clearly trying to emulate what madoka magica had just makes it even more glaringly bad. the best thing i can say about this show is it has a goated voice cast. my review will contain light spoilers, but nothing that will actually spoil the plot.
if i had to sum it up in a few words, this anime is trying to be way too much, and it doesn't know what it wants to actually…
Read at the sourcetoitoist
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha was a strange anime to watch. There is a clear disconnect between the tone the series tries to convey and the way it actually develops. The anime attempts to blend elements that, in a way, are designed to appeal directly to the otaku audience, combining the mahou shoujo style with influences from RPGs and cybertechnology.
Right in the first episode, a particular scene stood out as odd to me: Nanoha is having a casual conversation with her family, but the way the sequence is animated — with exaggerated movements and a forced attempt to appear “moe” — gives off an artificial feeling. The direction seems overly focused on generating a stylized cuteness, which ends up having the opposite effect.
Throughout the narrative, I had the constant feeling of being guided…
Read at the sourceAnimelover875
Lyrical Nanoha (season one), in a few words, is a series that's very difficult to recommend, but if you can deal with the negatives, it could be worth investing time into. Let's start with the positives.
The series starts as a typical magical girl series with a focus on a "collect the items" mission and turns into something different by the end. There are a lot of great visuals and original songs here, and character designs tend to be mixed; Nanoha and Fate look great, but other characters fade into the background. The series somewhat mixes the slice-of-life genre with the magical girl aspect by giving Nanoha a rival in Fate, though this is later subverted. For what it's worth, Fate makes a great character for a variety of reasons; her character arc is extremely interesting and she gives…
Read at the sourceRingrose
I have heard about the Nanoha franchise for many years now, so I checked into it. While I’m not blown away, it is entertaining enough to keep my attention, which is rare for me.
The story essentially follows the adventures of Nanoha becoming a magical girl, collecting the jewel seeds with her animal sidekick, which is standard fare. The plot takes an odd turn when science fiction is thrown into the blender. Yes, Nanoha is not a pure magical girl show.
I happen to be a sucker for sci-fi, so this was a pleasant surprise for me. However, I have to admit this element has its drawbacks. It abandons the consistency of a magical girl monster of the week plot.
For another, it diminishes the importance of the Earthling characters, which is unfortunate. However, all the characters are interest…
Read at the sourcelamaraptor
I haven't watched a lot of Magical Girl up until this point. This is probably my first hardcore, no gimmicks, straight up magical girl series that isn't trying to subvert the genre in some way. What do I think of it so far? Meh.
I've seen the tropes that they use here made fun of and subverted in so many ways in so many other series that going back and seeing where it all started is actually kind of neat. In that sense it's refreshing to have a show just be what it is rather than use the genre parody as just a hook for the real gimmick. I find myself getting bored with it though for those same reasons. Nothing it does can really surprise me, it's the kids show that comes on in other anime that the younger character is obsessed with, but unironically.
I have to give it a 7/10 though becau…
Read at the sourceStarshine63
it was incredible. the writing, the pacing, all the characters were well developed, and i love the story. it has so much depth to it, and it exceeded my expectations. it starts off one way and you think it's going to be this cute magical girl anime, but it gets really dark actually. and the plot and how it's written is better than anything i could've imagined it to be. even the fights were cool. they weren't dragged out, weren't overpowered, it was the perfect balance of everything. there is nothing that needed improvement. all the characters contributed to the plot and had a part in what made it what it was. like some shows, if you remove a character from the show, nothing would change. but with this show, the characters are all a necessary puzzle piece and removing one would destroy the…
Read at the sourceephemerry
The "Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha" is very unique, some might say that it was genre-bending at the time of its release. Before "Lyrical Nanoha" made its debut, the only place that you could really expect to find magical girls and spaceships in the same continuity would be on a videotape... playing an obscure, '90s OVA. This series made the idea of arcane magic having a scientific equation more of a mainstream idea, and lead to more technologically-enhanced mahō shōjo shows, like "Senki Zesshō Symphogear" and "Vividred Operation"!
⚠️ This review of Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha and Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 1st will contain spoilers ⚠️
—Story/Characters
Right off the bat, I would suggest skipping to the film version of Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha, if you don't want to commit to a full-…
Read at the sourceSanaeK10
I watched two old shows from 2004 this year. Mai-Hime and just recently, Nanoha S1. While Mai-Hime was an outdated show that wasn't easy to sit through, Nanoha can be described as a certified classic and one that deserves its reputation and legacy.
I never knew anything about the series beyond "it's that show with the lesbian couple and daughter" and only really watched the Reflection and Detonation movies (and not really liking either). The humble beginnings of the series from an eroge spinoff that actually has a half-decent plot and enjoyable characters (I hated everyone in the two films) was surprising to say the least.
There's a charming simplicity to S1 that you don't really see anymore, be it in the same franchise or otherwise. This leads to a good focus on what the show wants to t…
Read at the sourceTropicalFrost
This review applies to the entire series of Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (MSLN) which includes the second season (A's) and the first two movies as it's been nearly a year since its most recent release. If curious, my watch order would be Nanoha (1st season) -> Movie 1st -> Movie 2nd -> StrikerS (3rd season) for the main canon (skipped A's series because I feel the movie does a better job).
Story (8/10):
It's not a unique story by any means, but it is one that I find is executed well and gets its message across. Character arcs are satisfying to watch to their conclusion and the plot in general is fairly focused where new elements don't seem completely out of place.
Art (8/10):
Try not to notice that the hair is done the same for most characters. But aside from that, designs are simple but…
Read at the sourceHonghan1995
As the series opens, Nanoha Takamachi is presented as an ordinary girl, living with her family, taking the bus to school and playing the gold-hearted average girl to her multimillionaire best friends Alisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura. However, she always felt like a third wheel; her parents had each other, so did her siblings, and so did her best friends, while Nanoha had no such close companion. Additionally, she says she feels her life has no direction, as she has no plans for what she wants to do with herself. When she finds the injured Yūno in ferret form in the park, she brings him to a nearby veterinarian for care. Yūno later calls Nanoha telepathically as an unstable Jewel Seed attacks him, and he then gives her the red gem around his neck, known as Raising Heart. With his instruc…
Read at the sourceDesolatePsyche
First things first. My "reviews" system is explained on a blog entry. Which can be found through my profile.
------
✦Story
A trademark magical girl anime, I liked it. Especially considering I have soft spot for magic that consists of circles and runes. And aside that soft so charm type magic but thats another topic. Anyhow, the story was okay. It wasn't anything special or bad. It was fine, maybe back when it aired it was great, but I picked this franchise up just recently so it didn't impress me as much. Probably biggest complaint of the story was, that it felt quite moronic at times.
✦Art&Sound
Again, not sure how it was for the date it aired, as there are lot of better art/animation anime at this point and on top of that considering how much Anime I've seen it might be hard to impress…
Read at the sourcedeep3anime
Story: It's another magical girl anime. Story begins with a normal 3rd grade school girl finding a ferret named yuno, which gives her red jewel seeking her spiritual power as assistance. But to yuno's surprise her powers are greater than he imagined and so her maneuvers with the magic staff. Yuno explains her that due to his fault he lost some jewel shards, which can emit lot of destructive energy. So she says will help him. Later on she owns the search for the safety of her town's people but not only for yuno.
Characters: The only strong character for me in this anime is Chrono of Time-space bureau. He seems to be a child but his knowledge and composure were out of his age.
Art: It's the only plus point of the anime besides music.
I am not at all satisfied with this anime for the fol…
Read at the sourceInsaneLeader13
"It was a small incident that happened to me, Nanoha Takamachi, a girl who was supposed to be a third grader."
~Nanoha Takamachi, at the start of every episode of this series.
If this is a 'small' incident, I'm rather curious as to what defines a 'large' one.
Let us break this down.
Note: For clarification, I will refer to this series as 'Lyrical Nanoha'. The titular character, I will refer to as 'Nanoha'. I hope this will ease confusion.
Story: 6/10 Lyrical Nanoha's story is simple. There is no way around this fact. But in it's simplicity, it works quite well.
Our main character, Nanoha, comes across an injured ferret-like creature named 'Yuuno' with a strange bead, after thinking that she 'hears' it calling her. After a 'small incident', she ends up working for said creature to capt…
Read at the sourceJupiter05
Let me start off by saying that I am a complete fantasy maniac. In other words, I really love watching anime that include transformations, spells, and talking animals. This probably tweaked my rate on this anime up a little. If any of you like fantasy anime, then you'd be missing out on a lot of things if you didn't or are not going to watch this anime.
Story [9]
The story line for this anime was (in my opinion) exceptionally good. It was not as easy to predict as I thought it would be. I enjoy it when there are sudden plot twists or confusions because it keeps the one watching the anime on their toes. What would a story be if it would be easy to predict? Boring! I would spoil a lot of things for you here, but I know hat I am strictly forbidden to do that so I will spoil nothing!
Art […
Read at the sourcektulu007
Welcome to the new year, everyone. It's time for magical girl anime month and let's open with a look at Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. Nanoha is the first TV production of Seven Arcs. The same studio that did Sekirei & Inukami, both exceedingly stupid. So, how did their first foray into tv anime go?
Story:
Our tale opens with our protagonist, 3rd grader Takamachi Nanoha, getting a psychic message in a dream asking for her help. The next morning she finds an injured ferret on her way to school, hearing a call for help that leads her to it. She and her friends take it to a vet. The three discuss what they should do with it, eventually deciding that Nanoha should ask her family if they can keep it, at least until it recovers. The discussion goes well but when she's about to go to bed she hear…
Read at the sourceZachM
In 2011, director Akiyuki Shinbo teamed up with Studio SHAFT and writer Gen Urobuchi to create an anime by the name of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Prior to Madoka, Shinbo was known to have only directed one other series from the Magical Girl genre.
That series was Seven Arcs 2004 anime, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Now, why do I bring up Madoka you ask? Well its because they are extremely similar (as most anime directed by Shinbo are). Heck, if it wasn't for Gen Urobuchi turning Madoka into a deep dark pit of death and despair, I'd think they were the same show. But Nanoha, being a lot less psychologically intense, gives it a lot more of an audience to appeal to. Then again, that also hurts the anime. As many "mature" anime fans would think, "Why would I want to watch a show about a 9 year…
Read at the sourceZeroReq011
A few episodes into this series, I couldn't quite tell what exactly was especially grim about this series, it being one of the quintessential dark magical girl narratives. Fairly ordinary girl meets fairly odd ferret. Fairly odd ferret provides her with a charm of sorts, granting her magical abilities to fight off malevolent creatures and contain arcane energies plaguing her hometown. Fairly standard magical girl setup. Then, several episodes later, I understood.
Beside the universe that the events of the story that takes mostly in place in are other dimensions. Within these other dimensions exist legendary artifacts of power known as Lost Logia. Several of these Lost Logia in the form of Jewel Seeds inadvertently made their way to Nanoha Takamichi's space, in Nanoha Takimichi's city, whe…
Read at the sourceReckoner
While perusing over titles in the magical girl genre it is almost impossible to miss that which is the Nanoha franchise these days. Touted by many as a revolutionary magical girl show with its Gundam like magical battles and its supposed expansive universe, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is certainly not lacking any hype.
However, as reactions may vary, I found this show to be quite the disappointment. This show can definitely be split into two halves.
The very beginning is typical enough for a mahou shoujo show, it certainly plays off the very roots of the genre with how Nanoha first finds and comes into contact with magic, but what the show does after that is where the problems arise. The story is very mundane, and lacks any attractive force to it. Almost set up like a monster of the week…
Read at the source
