For a long time I avoided the mahou shoujo genre of anime like the plague, until a friend recommended the series Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. After that, my perception of "magical girls" changed completely, and for the first time I realised the potential of the genre. Nanoha was like no other anime of its type, combining shounen action with a rather dark storyline, all packaged in a "cute" anime (complete with small fluffy sidekick).
It's unfortunate then, that the stereotypical mahou shoujo anime still reigns supreme.
The rather strangely titled Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1st (simply calling it Nanoha: The Movie would have sufficed as ... there's only one Nanoha in anime as far as I'm aware - feel free to correct me on this point though), is, as many anime fans may already know, about 9 year old Takamichi Nanoha, who answers a ferret's cry for help, obtains an intelligent device named Raising Heart (or Raging Heart, I'm still not sure which is correct), and becomes a magical girl tasked with finding "Jewel Seeds".
Cue the twinkly effects and soppy romance? Hell no! This is Nanoha, and she'd kick Sailor Moon's arse from here to the next dimension.
As far as the story goes, the movie is nothing more than a condensed retelling of the first series. Now some have tried to claim that the movie is a parallel history rather than a straightforward rehash (I'm looking at you Tsuzuki Masaki), however the differences between the two are very small indeed. While the movie takes liberties in an effort to condense information, the content is still pretty much the same (the major points anyway), so it puzzles me how anyone could consider this an alternative take on the original series.
Which brings me to a major problem I had with the movie. The plot flows rather nicely throughout the film, and the story has been compacted to a pretty good degree, however sacrifices have been made in order to accomodate the shortening of a 13 episode series into just over 2 hours. The biggest problem with the movie is that it has lost much of the charm the original series had, something which affects the characters in a big way. Granted there's more focus on the action, but one of the reasons why the whole Nanoha franchise works is because we see her grow from being a young, naive girl into the Ace of Aces, and much of that growth is missing from the movie.
Here's what I mean. Part of what I liked about the original Nanoha series was seeing how she came to terms with her new role and how it affected her relationship with her family and friends. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't have the time to go into this kind of detail so much of this is missing, and the upshot of this is that many of Nanoha's later actions, her fights with Fate and such, don't really have the same level of justification that they did in the series. The movie is nothing more than action for the sake of action, and the whole "alternate history" concept is only really noticable in a few small scenes..
But it's still enjoyable nonetheless :)
As for the effect of the shortened plot on the other characters, while the original series made some effort to round out certain individuals, the movie does nothing of the sort. Granted this is because of time constraints, however one can't help but wonder how fans of the series will take this distinct lack of characterisation and development, although in fairness to the movie, the viewer does get a good idea of Fate's motivations.
One thing that I did like is the fact that the cast from the original series and it's sequels have reprised their roles here, and their familiarity with the characters is telling as the performances are very good throughout. The only real downside to the acting is that there aren't too many opportunities for the seiyuu to display their talents because of the nature of the movie (i.e. it's far more action oriented), which limits their performances to a degree. As for the sound, the effects are exceptional throughout, especially during the combat sequences, while the music is very good not only in the scope of tracks, but also in their choregraphy.
In terms of looks, the movie is very clearly a reflection of the first series, and the characters and settings will be very familiar to those who have watched the original. The only real differences between the movie and the series are that the animation is, on the whole, better in the new version, and the action sequences are much more exciting now than they were before. Granted there are some minor visual alterations between the two, however these are nothing more than cosmetic changes to facilitate the belief that this is an "alternate history".
Now, did I enjoy the movie? Damn right I did. While I may not be a diehard fan of the franchise, Nanoha really did change my opinion of mahou shoujo, and while I may seem critical of the flaws in the film, that doesn't mean I didn't like it. The movie is very much an action based affair, and while this is an enjoyable romp in the realm of Nanoha, in all honesty I would much prefer to watch the original series. While the movie is a great way to while away a couple of hours, there is a distinct lack of character interaction that was part of the charm of the original series.
I doubt whether fans of the Nanoha franchise will find this a bad film as it enompasses a good deal of the plot from the original series. That said, while I enjoyed the movie a lot, there really is no competition as I much prefer the series. This isn't a bad film, not at all. It simply lacks some of the things that I liked about the original, and the fact that this is being pushed as an "alternate history" doesn't help matters.
In truth, while Nanoha: The Movie (see how much easier that is?), may be good, it's not the re-envisioning I expected or hoped for. The film could have been so much more if writer Tsuzuki Masaki, and director Kusakawa Keizou, had decided to follow one route only - either a complete alternate history, or a condensed retelling of the original series.
That said, this is a good action movie that suitably pays homage to the original, and while it can't really compare to the series in terms of depth, it will serve as a great introduction for new viewers who, like me, simply haven't realised just how good a mahou shoujo anime can be if done right.
Alternative Titles Japanese: 魔法少女リリカルなのは The MOVIE 1st Information Type: Movie Episodes: 1 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Jan 23, 2010 Producers: Aniplex Licensors: None found, add some Studios: Seven Arcs Source: Original Theme: Mahou Shoujo Duration: 2 hr. 10 min. Rating: R+ - Mild Nudity Statistics Score: 7.881 (scored by 15,453 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #8292 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #3979 Members: 31,442 Favorites: 198 Available AtResources |
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