Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

[Edvarius]

Alrighty, I dunno if I'm gonna have the energy to write this up in the morning before work so I'm getting it down now. Review should be up later today anyway.

A while back I requested the first season of this show be reviewed, and I am thrilled that it is now happening. But this wasn't just due to fanboying. That admittedly is a large part of it, but not all. My other reason is that I thought this would be a good show for facilitating discussion regarding the relation between Science Fiction and Fantasy as genres. What are they really, where exactly is the line drawn, why are they often associated with each other, which would this be, etc.

As for my feelings on MGLN, I do love this series, though I'll freely admit it has got some problems. I can't say for sure, but it seems like they didn't really have everything worked out yet when they started, as there are some aspects in the beginning that just sorta get quietly dropped later on. While it's never really bugged me I know others have complained about the pacing. And worst of all, by far... they really should have left out the loli fanservice. Like, this show could be used as an effective argument in favor of censorship. It always makes me hesitant to recommend it, which is sad because there's so much here I do genuinely love. I love the characters, the plot, and the setting. And while it's not the season being reviewed here, the second season is just so awesome!

But as for what Chuck thinks, well, we'll have to see. But I would like to request that if there's anybody else who has seen this show that they not fill the thread with spoilers. Like, I'm not about to demand it or ask a mod to stand guard over this thing, just please don't go filling the whole thing with discussions of later seasons or memes about the White Devil and Befriending. At least not until they're relevant. Thank you.

Now if you don't mind, I need to find a bunker to hide from the lynch mobs likely to form for me after this due to the aforementioned loli fanservice.

[Ikiry0]

The first season is alright but As is fantastic with character.

[AuRon]

I've never seen this show. It could be good, but if it features a lot of "loli fanservice", then I imagine it will be awkward/uncomfortable to watch SF Debris review it. Of course, I don't always watch the anime reviews, so there's a chance I won't watch this one.

[Mecha82]

Ah yes, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Anime that I was going to watch several years ago but never got into watching because of how much there is to it and lack of time. It's going to be interesting to see Chuck's take on this huge fan favorite anime.

[CrypticMirror]

Review Link: http://sfdebris.com/videos/anime/mgln1.php
Japan's weak nudity taboo strikes again.

I like the hairstyles on this character design, that is the sort of hair I prefer to see my anime characters wearing. And it doesn't have the plague of modern anime, the horrendously obvious cgi cut-n-paste facial shadows. Uh... Well, that is pretty much it. Maybe it made more of a splash when it first came out, but right now this falls very much into the meh camp for me now. Still, at least it isn't Isekai.

[Archon_Wing]

Good show for review; I haven't seen the review proper yet. The first major obstacle is definitely the first few episodes which are bland and have some rather creepy "fanservice" that permeates anime way too much. But it does get serious after a certain point. There's also some pretty humorous comparisons with Star Trek as the TSAB's security and use of Redshirts can really only be compared with the Starfleet's. Season 2 is much better, season 3 was ambitious but suffers from character overload and beyond is terrible.

I will admit that nowadays I would have never watched this show because it really does take a lot of patience to sit through and the budget of season 1 really leaves much to be desired. With the exception of a certain character, early 2000s anime designs (2000-2005) have not aged very well and the anime quality in general was pretty poor outside of stuff like Ghost in the Shell. Now if you don't agree with me, Kannaunzki no Miko was the same year and yea.....

It's also the same director as Madoka, so I'm sure people will find some similarities here and there. And yes the English VA is Cristina Vee though she is significantly less experienced here.

EDIT: Why did they dub the weapon's voice? It was in English to begin with!

[Rawbeard]

the "anime voices" of the english dub are so grating, I kinda understand why "weebs" got beat up in school.
I liked this show, though I don't remember much past liking it

[Mecha82]

Over all Chuck's take on those first three episodes was positive which is good sign when it comes to story and characters. Now I need to find time to watch MGLN and it's sequel series myself before Chuck has reviewed entire 1st series. Yes, there is more MGLN than just this one series.

[Ikiry0]

The first movie is a solid replacement for the first season (Which can take a while to get into gear). Interestingly, the movies are...a little bit propaganda-ish, in a fun way. They're in-universe movies, so elements of them have been changed by people to show/reduce some aspects.

[MrL1992]

the "anime voices" of the english dub are so grating, I kinda understand why "weebs" got beat up in school.
I liked this show, though I don't remember much past liking it

its just the style of acting they use, if you could understand Japanese, it would cone off the same way. I watched Pokémon when it first came out in the 90s so I got used to it young.

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If Chuck wants a magical girl show with more distinct personalities, 'Magical Girl Raising Project' has that in spades. Only one problem though, pretty much all the likable are systematically and vindictively murdered throughout its 12 episodes, leaving you pissed off and depressed by the end.