Nanoha Cannot Be the Best Magical Girl Anime

[phanthach]

I take issue with people who declare Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (or one of its sequels) to be the best Magical Girl series ever. The magical girl genre is understandably focused primarily on relationships, the pursuit of love, and other similar themes. Nanoha, meanwhile, is noted for its magical girls engaging in earth-shattering battles with devastating laser barrages and bone-shattering impacts. The general impression I get from people who make the claim is that Nanoha is great because it’s a magical girl show without all the fluff and romance.
In other words, it’s the best magical girl show for being nothing like a magical girl show.
I don’t think this is a case of breaking genre conventions, though the thought occurred to me. It’s different from a show like Evangelion which turned the mecha genre on its ear because Evangelion did not go against what defines the mecha genre in the first place. The characters may have been emotional wrecks, but the common theme of humanity and its relationship with war and suffering is a long-running concept since even before First Gundam, and it’s present in Evangelion with a twist. Princess Tutu, as an example closer to the topic of Nanoha at hand, approaches the issue of meta-stories and the very nature of “story” itself, but it maintains itself as a magical girl series with, again, its emphasis on relationships.
I like the Nanoha series, but the appeal of it is more like a Sunrise mecha show than it is a magical girl series, and I think to judge it from that perspective is a little unusual. It would be like saying that a plate of spaghetti you just ate is the best yakisoba ever, despite tasting nothing like how a yakisoba should. The key word in mahou shoujo is shoujo, and personally I think the fact that Nanoha is basically only a magical girl show on the surface automatically disqualifies it.
PS: If you’re wondering what I consider to be the best magical girl series, Cardcaptor Sakura, of course.
________________________
Bariatric Surgery
Sales Recruitment

[Gjallarhorn]

The focus of a Magical Girl anime is on Magical Girls...Girls in outfits protecting the world in the name of friendship, and love, and all that hoopla. Nanoha just happens to add more violence into this mix, and tries to target itself toward a mixed demographic, rather than just a female demographic.

[Light Buster]

The focus of a Magical Girl anime is on Magical Girls...Girls in outfits protecting the world in the name of friendship, and love, and all that hoopla. Nanoha just happens to add more violence into this mix, and tries to target itself toward a mixed demographic, rather than just a female demographic.

I have to agree with you on that one. I mean, it's just violence added in. Makes things more interesting. It's not just for girls, it for everyone intrested.

[suzumi]

The key word in mahou shoujo is shoujo, and personally I think the fact that Nanoha is basically only a magical girl show on the surface automatically disqualifies it.

...You do know that "shoujo" means "girl/young girl", right?

If I recall correctly, Nanoha is a young girl (the shoujo bit) who can use magic (the mahou bit). So if she isn't a magical girl, then what is she?

[AzureDark]

I take issue with people who declare Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (or one of its sequels) to be the best Magical Girl series ever.

Whoever claims that needs to be properly given a kick in the rear anyway.

Knowing Nanoha's origins, I just do not fathom how it got all the way to 3 seasons and a feature-length film.

[Gjallarhorn]

Whoever claims that needs to be properly given a kick in the rear anyway.

Knowing Nanoha's origins, I just do not fathom how it got all the way to 3 seasons and a feature-length film.

I think the cause is the same people who managed to get K-ON! a second season.

[Diocletian]

Nope, Nanoha is Seven Arcs and K-On is Kyoto. I personally haven't watched Nanoha, and I'm not really that interested in it. Magical girl shows have never interested me.

[Gjallarhorn]

Nope, Nanoha is Seven Arcs and K-On is Kyoto. I personally haven't watched Nanoha, and I'm not really that interested in it. Magical girl shows have never interested me.

I didn't mean the animation studio, I meant the fans.

[Diocletian]

Oh! I still say they're kind of different. In K-On they want semi-retarded girls to do their bidding, but the guys from Nanoha want a girl that can kick butt but still needs protecting.

[小美ドクロchan]

Whoever claims that needs to be properly given a kick in the rear anyway.

Knowing Nanoha's origins, I just do not fathom how it got all the way to 3 seasons and a feature-length film.

Now now Azu-chan, nobody needs to be kicked for just stating their opinion.

I haven't finished the first series yet but I want to. It's really cute. It may be lolicon-ish but afterall a major Kodomo No Jikan fan is typing this. fffff.

[Light Buster]

Whoever claims that needs to be properly given a kick in the rear anyway.

Knowing Nanoha's origins, I just do not fathom how it got all the way to 3 seasons and a feature-length film.

Calm down AzureDark, no harm done in any shape or form. It'll be all right. I agree with you too.