Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (series)

"Nanoha" redirects here. For the title character, see Nanoha Takamachi.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
魔法少女リリカルなのは (Mahō Shōjo Ririkaru Nanoha)
Genre	Magical girl, Science fiction
Anime and Manga Portal

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (魔法少女リリカルなのは, Mahō Shōjo Ririkaru Nanoha^?) is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses three anime television series, a theatrical adaptation of the first series, multiple manga and Drama CD adaptations and sequels, as well as model figures and plastic models. It began in 2004 with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, an alternative universe spin-off of the Triangle Heart series, and is on-going to date.

The series is named after its protagonist Nanoha Takamachi. At the beginning of the series, Nanoha is a 9-year old schoolgirl in modern-day Japan, who is swept into a conflict between extra-dimensional factions vying for control over magical artifacts they discovered on Earth. Nanoha herself is revealed to be tremendously powerful in the extra-dimensional techno-magic and in later installments, leaves Earth altogether to pursue a magical career. In the chronologically latest franchise entry, Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force, she is 25.

Origins

Nanoha Takamachi first appeared as a minor character in the eroge visual novel Triangle Heart 3, released on December 8, 2000.^[1] She was first cast as a magical girl on a merchandise CD Triangle Heart 3 ~Lyrical Toy Box~, released on June 29, 2001.^[2] Nanoha's first animated appearance was in the first episode of Triangle Heart 3 OVA adaptation, released on July 24, 2003. All three titles, as well as the entire spin-off franchise starring Nanoha, were written by Masaki Tsuzuki (都築真紀^?).

Overview

See also: List of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha characters

In the plot premise of the original series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (2004), 21 "Jewel Seeds", highly destructive artifacts from another dimension, are accidentally scattered across Earth. After Nanoha assists an injured extradimensional magician in collecting them, she is drawn into a magical battle against a female mage named Fate Testarossa, who came to Earth to collect Jewel Seeds for her mother Precia. Attracted by their activity, the interdimensional police TSAB ("Time-Space Administration Bureau") intervenes to secure and seal the artifacts. In the end, Nanoha convinces Fate to rebel against Precia, who is defeated and apparently dies.

In Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's (2005), Nanoha continues her magical training. Six months after the original series, she and Fate encounter the "Wolkenritter", four mages who steal others' magical abilities to save Hayate Yagami, a wheelchair-using Japanese girl. Since the Wolkenritter are skilled in Ancient Belkan combat magic far superior to theirs, Nanoha and Fate fail to stop them and the Book of Darkness, an ancient artifact bound to Hayate, is activated. A worldwide catastrophe is only prevented thanks to TSAB and, most importantly, Hayate's intervention. In the following years, all primary characters leave Earth to pursue magical careers in the TSAB homeworld Mid-Childa.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS (2007) takes place ten years after A's and is set on Mid-Childa. Hayate, now a Lieutenant Colonel of TSAB, forms a special Riot Force 6 to counter the impending terrorist crisis organized by Dr. Scaglietti, former colleague and accomplice of Precia Testarossa, and his combat cyborgs ("Numbers"). Nanoha, Fate, and the Wolkenritter join the unit, along with four young mages whom they personally train ("Forwards"). Despite their preparations, the unit fails to protect Vivio, a girl targeted by Scaglietti and adopted by Nanoha, and the crisis strikes in full force, stopped in the nick of time by Riot Force 6's heroic efforts. The unit is then dissolved, with its members returning to their original posts.

A Drama CD titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Sound Stage X (2008) is set three years after the Jail Scaglietti Incident. It features the characters first introduced in StrikerS, mainly, the Forwards and the Numbers, investigating a serial murder case on Mid-Childa. Their investigation eventually leads them to the Mariage [sic], semi-sentient humanoid weapons from the Ancient Belkan era, and their elusive creator, Dark King Ixpellia.

Vivio's story is continued in the manga Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid (2009-ongoing), which is set four years after StrikerS. Vivio now attends a magical academy on Mid-Childa, where she meets Einhart Stratos, another descendant of the Ancient Belkan royalty.

Another manga, Magical Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force (2009-ongoing), set six years after StrikerS, focuses on a new protagonist, Touma Avenir. After Touma rescues a mute girl named Lily Strosek on remote world, he unwittingly becomes a fugitive from TSAB. The ex-members of Riot Force 6 join forces once again to avert a new crisis caused by dangerous Ancient Belkan legacy, the Book of the Silver Cross, to which Lily is apparently connected.

Media

Anime

Main article: List of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha episodes

Title	Format	Start date	End date	Episodes	Chronology
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (魔法少女リリカルなのは?)	TV	2004-10-01	2004-12-24	13	0065
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's (魔法少女リリカルなのは エース?)	TV	2005-10-01	2005-12-24	13	0065-66
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS (魔法少女リリカルなのはStrikerS?)	TV	2007-04-01	2007-09-23	26	0075-76[3]
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1st (魔法少女リリカルなのは The MOVIE 1st?)	Film	2010-01-23	N/A	N/A	0065
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 2nd A's (魔法少女リリカルなのは The MOVIE 2nd A's?)	Film	TBA 2012	N/A	N/A	0065-66

The MOVIEs are not expansions of the existing continuity but are instead re-tellings of the original animated series.^[4][5]

Manga and novels

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha novel is an adaptation of the first season, while Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's manga and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS THE COMICS are collections of short side-stories expanding the respective anime series. ViVid and Force are standalone, independent story arcs that take place several years after the events of StrikerS. The MOVIE 1st manga is an adapation of the animated film.

Title	Format	Start date	End date	Volumes	Chronology
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (魔法少女リリカルなのは?)	Novel	2005-09[6]	N/A	1	0065
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's (魔法少女リリカルなのは エース?)	Manga	2005-08[7]	2006-01[8]	1[9]	0065-66
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS THE COMICS (魔法少女リリカルなのはStrikerS THE COMICS?)	Manga	2006-11[10]	2008-02[11]	2[12][13]	0075-76
Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force (魔法戦記リリカルなのはForce?)	Manga	2009-04-30[14]	TBA	TBA	0081
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid (魔法少女リリカルなのはViVid?)	Manga	2009-05-26	TBA	TBA	0079
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha MOVIE 1st THE COMICS (魔法少女リリカルなのはMOVIE 1st THE COMICS?)	Manga	2009-11[citation needed]	TBA	TBA	0065
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Force Dimension (魔法少女リリカルなのは Force Dimension?)	Manga	2011-03[15]	TBA	TBA	TBA

Radio drama

Main article: List of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha drama CDs

Video games

Title	Platforms	Developer	Publisher	Release date
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces	PSP	Witch Craft	Namco-Bandai	2010-01-21
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny	PSP	Witch Craft	Namco-Bandai	TBA
Nendoroid Generation[citation needed]	PSP	Banpresto	Namco-Bandai	TBA

Cultural impact

The franchise takes an innovative approach to the magical girl genre, focusing equally on characterization and magical combat. It was also praised for taking a more serious approach to social problems than other magical girl anime.^[16]

References

1. ^ "とらいあんぐるハート3 ～Sweet Songs Forever～" (in Japanese). JANIS. http://www.sp-janis.com/soft/trh3.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
2. ^ "とらいあんぐるハート3　リリカルおもちや箱" (in Japanese). JANIS. http://www.sp-janis.com/soft/trh_box2_1.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
3. ^ "To the Promised Sky". Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Chiba Television Broadcasting. September 23, 2007. No. 26. 17:26 minutes in. On-screen caption: "April 28, 0076" ("0076年 4月 28日"^?)
4. ^ "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st Announced". Anime News Network. July 28, 2008. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-28/magical-girl-lyrical-nanoha-the-movie-1st-announced. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
5. ^ "Next Pokémon, Nanoha Anime Movies Titled, Dated". Anime News Network. October 29, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-11-29/next-pokemon-nanoha-anime-movies-titled-dated. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
6. ^ "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (Magami Bunko) (Book)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4059035068/. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
7. ^ Tsuzuki, Masaki (August 2005). "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Chapter 1" (in Japanese). Megami Magazine (Gakken) 65. 
8. ^ Tsuzuki, Masaki (January 2006). "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Chapter 7" (in Japanese). Megami Magazine (Gakken) 70. 
9. ^ "魔法少女リリカルなのはＡ’ｓ" (in Japanese). Gakken. http://shop.gakken.co.jp/shop/order/k_ok/bookdisp.asp?isbn=4056043353. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
10. ^ Tsuzuki, Masaki (November 2006). "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS THE COMICS Chapter 1" (in Japanese). Megami Magazine (Gakken) 80. 
11. ^ Tsuzuki, Masaki (February 2008). "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS THE COMICS Chapter 13" (in Japanese). Megami Magazine (Gakken) 95. 
12. ^ "魔法少女リリカルなのはＳｔｒｉｋｅｒＳＴＨＥＣＯＭＩＣＳ１" (in Japanese). Gakken. http://shop.gakken.co.jp/shop/order/k_ok/bookdisp.asp?code=4013294. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
13. ^ "魔法少女リリカルなのはＳｔｒｉｋｅｒＳＴＨＥＣＯＭＩＣＳ２" (in Japanese). Gakken. http://shop.gakken.co.jp/shop/order/k_ok/bookdisp.asp?code=1960701600. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
14. ^ "Lyrical Nanoha's 4th Series to Launch as Comic". Anime News Network. 2009-03-06. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-03-06/lyrical-nanoha-4th-series-to-launch-as-comic. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
15. ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-01-28/kadokawa-to-launch-4-koma-nano-ace-magazine-in-march
16. ^ "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha". ICv2.com. July 2, 2007. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/10857.html. Retrieved 2009-06-13. "The Nanoha series have already gained quite a reputation here in the States among hardcore fans in part because of the genre-bending device of switching technology for 'magic,' and because the series' storylines involving real social problems like child abuse are considerably heavier and more intense than those in other magical girl series." 

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Funimation Official Website
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Wiki, an external wiki