At this point I’ve reviewed quite a few instalments in the Nanoha franchise. Including the first film and the A’s series. Thus far, it’s been a very strong franchise and I hope we’re ending this year’s film festival week on a high note with this.
Story:
We open with Hayate taking the bus while holding a chained up book in her lap. She’ get’s wheeling herself home in her chair when a sleeping truck driver nearly rams into her only for her to be saved by a mysterious light. Meanwhile, Nanoha is beyond excited for Fate’s upcoming return. They’re enjoying their reunion when we learn that mages and magical creatures alike have been attacked and had their linker cores drained. These events are quickly linked with the Book of Darkness incident that cost Captain Lindy her husband years ago.
The narrative of this film is really well put together. They set up the story with Hayate and her knights in a way that makes them and their cause come across as misguided but highly sympathetic. The film does a fantastic job of showcasing the knights’ desperation and building up on that as they approach the climax. The sequence where Fate comes face to face with her past trauma is brilliant. The NanoFate scenes where they’re very blatantly in the early stages of falling in love are adorable. The climax itself is incredible. It has high stakes, a grand scope and some very powerful moments. Then we have the ending which has some excellently handled bittersweet elements.
Characters:
This franchise has always had really strong casts and this film is no different. Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, The knights, Lindy, the members of the time-space bureau, Arf, Suzuka, Alisa they’re all great characters. A big part of the casts’ strength comes from the inter-personal relationships and how the characters interact with one another. And it’s not just the les-yay fuelled interactions that are superb. Seeing Suzuka befriend Hayate, Nanoha try to understand Vita, Liny assume a motherly role for Fate & watching Fate and Signum come to mutual respect are all very compelling relationship dynamics.
Art:
The film looks incredible. The characters have the best versions of their designs. The action sequences are really excellent. The backgrounds are vibrant. The one issue I have is with the transformation sequences. Which have been a continuing issue with this franchise. They’re very weirdly fan-servicey. Keep in mind, these characters are around nine or ten years old. And we have shots showing off their bare butts and chests. Who exactly are these shots for?
Sound:
The acting is fantastic. This franchise has always had an amazing vocal cast. Tamura Yukari, Mizuki Nana, Ueda Kana, Sanada Asami, Kuwatani Natsuko, Shimizu Kaori, Yuzuki Ryouka and the rest all reprise their roles flawlessly. The music is another aspect that the franchise always does really well and gets handled perfectly in this film.
Ho-yay:
There’s a lot. We get the obvious romantic tension betwixt Nanoha and Fate. There’s also a lot of it with Hayate and Vita. In addition to that, Arf gets really blushy around Captain Lindy. Methinks she wants the two of them to be Fate’s mums together.
Areas of Improvement:
- The transformation sequences desperately need reworked.
- I’m not joking. No transformation sequence involving a little girl should involve nudity.
- For the one action sequence that Lindy was directly involved in it would have been cool to see more of her directly using her magic and getting involved since it’s not really something we’ve seen from the franchise.
Final Thoughts:
Honestly, most of the elements in this film are so well-handled and genuinely fantastic that I’m tempted to hand out a perfect score. The one thing that’s stopping me from doing that is the weird and creepy fan-service involved in the transformation sequences. Due to that, I’m going to give it a 9/10. It’s absolutely worth watching. I would just suggest skipping through the transformation sequences.
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