Lyrical Nanoha/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

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* I'm on episode 7 of StrikerS, and I'm confused as to how the Anti-Magic Fields of the Gadgets work. Apparently they don't cancel out buff spells, so Erio could cut through that big one on the train and Signum could slice through them, but they cancel out ranged attacks...except that previously, when Tea had to do an incredibly complex technique to get her projectiles in, apparently just spamming more power is enough at the hotel? I'm confused.
* I'm on episode 7 of StrikerS, and I'm confused as to how the Anti-Magic Fields of the Gadgets work. Apparently they don't cancel out buff spells, so Erio could cut through that big one on the train and Signum could slice through them, but they cancel out ranged attacks...except that previously, when Tea had to do an incredibly complex technique to get her projectiles in, apparently just spamming more power is enough at the hotel? I'm confused.
** It does both actually. Elio clearly stated that it DID remove his boosts and he can't kill it with the strength of a 10 y.o. What Teana did in training and Caro on the train is an additional protection layer on top of basic spell function, which AMF removes first and gives core spell time to work. Plus in both cases there was additional boost of strength - so the spell was pumped quicker than AMF dismantled it.
** It does both actually. Elio clearly stated that it DID remove his boosts and he can't kill it with the strength of a 10 y.o. What Teana did in training and Caro on the train is an additional protection layer on top of basic spell function, which AMF removes first and gives core spell time to work. Plus in both cases there was additional boost of strength - so the spell was pumped quicker than AMF dismantled it.
** What needs to be understood is that Anti-Magic fields in this series seems to work more like the "Drain" status effect in ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' rather than a "forced deactivation" like you'd find in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' or ''[[Rifts]]''. Rather than cutting off the flow of magic, it ''eats'' it, like the grime off a penny dissolving in vinegar (or food in your stomach). Therefore, it can be fought by putting a protective layer around the buff that the field has to eat through first, or by simply putting out more magic than it can eat at a time.
** What needs to be understood is that Anti-Magic fields in this series seems to work more like the "Drain" status effect in ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' rather than a "forced deactivation" like you'd find in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' or ''[[Rifts]]''. Rather than cutting off the flow of magic, it ''eats'' it, like the grime off a penny dissolving in vinegar (or food in your stomach). Therefore, it can be fought by putting a protective layer around the buff that the field has to eat through first, or by simply putting out more magic than it can eat at a time.
*** Actually, the AMFs in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' can't penetrate barriers made of [[Deflector Shields|force]], which is exactly what the forwards are using.
*** Actually, the AMFs in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' can't penetrate barriers made of [[Deflector Shields|force]], which is exactly what the forwards are using.
** It was somewhat explained later in the third season that AMF works to suppress magic rather than preventing its use altogether. Rein remarks on this when the protagonists are inside a particularly powerful AMF which actually does cancel out all magic use.
** It was somewhat explained later in the third season that AMF works to suppress magic rather than preventing its use altogether. Rein remarks on this when the protagonists are inside a particularly powerful AMF which actually does cancel out all magic use.
{{quote|'''Reinforce''': It's impossible. I can't gather any magic! And communication as well.}}
{{quote|'''Reinforce''': It's impossible. I can't gather any magic! And communication as well.}}
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** Candy.
** Candy.
*** She actually DOES have candy in her pockets. She gave some to Fate in one of the Sound Stages. Go figure.
*** She actually DOES have candy in her pockets. She gave some to Fate in one of the Sound Stages. Go figure.
** [[Dungeons and Dragons|Spell components.]]
** [[Dungeons & Dragons|Spell components.]]
** Possibly dragon food for Fried in addition to the candy listed above.
** Possibly dragon food for Fried in addition to the candy listed above.


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** He created and raised them from birth. And can manipulate their creation to the point where every Number {{spoiler|has a replacement Scaglietti in their womb}}. Why wouldn't they be loyal? (If that fails to satisfy you, then he ''is'' [[A Wizard Did It|a powerful mage...]])
** He created and raised them from birth. And can manipulate their creation to the point where every Number {{spoiler|has a replacement Scaglietti in their womb}}. Why wouldn't they be loyal? (If that fails to satisfy you, then he ''is'' [[A Wizard Did It|a powerful mage...]])
** Exactly. His various character flaws aside, Scaglietti seems to genuinely care for the Numbers: he's never shown mistreating them or belittling them. They serve him because he's a father figure to them (or even literally their father for the ones who inherited his DNA). As for Lutecia, she helps him out because he holds the key to reviving her mother, and Zest just tags along to protect her; he doesn't like Scaglietti very much, and generally pursues his own objectives.
** Exactly. His various character flaws aside, Scaglietti seems to genuinely care for the Numbers: he's never shown mistreating them or belittling them. They serve him because he's a father figure to them (or even literally their father for the ones who inherited his DNA). As for Lutecia, she helps him out because he holds the key to reviving her mother, and Zest just tags along to protect her; he doesn't like Scaglietti very much, and generally pursues his own objectives.
** The first four Numbers had many of Scaglietti's genes, with Uno being an [[Opposite Sex Clone]] of Scaglietti himself. The younger ones seem to be in his debt for creating them, although some, like Cinque and Dieci, seem to have more loyalty to their sisters than to him (Cinque notes that she wants to atone for her crimes because she worries about her sisters and wants to protect them, and Dieci expresses doubts about Scaglietti's plans, but goes out to fight for her sisters' sake).
** The first four Numbers had many of Scaglietti's genes, with Uno being an [[Opposite Gender Clone]] of Scaglietti himself. The younger ones seem to be in his debt for creating them, although some, like Cinque and Dieci, seem to have more loyalty to their sisters than to him (Cinque notes that she wants to atone for her crimes because she worries about her sisters and wants to protect them, and Dieci expresses doubts about Scaglietti's plans, but goes out to fight for her sisters' sake).


* On the above note, why are the cyborgs, who for all intents and purposes utilizing free will, instantly forgiven and pardoned for their crimes. This goes for the other Nanoha series as well. It seems like very few criminals are actually punished in Nanoha, which seems quite strange considering the leadership and atmosphere as presented in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Striker S]]''. You can excuse some of this (for example, Precia being allowed to continue and go through with her experiments, and being allowed to 'run free' after her heinous crimes to continue them on her own) as being a part of the government conspiracy's Xanatos Gambits, but not most of the rest.
* On the above note, why are the cyborgs, who for all intents and purposes utilizing free will, instantly forgiven and pardoned for their crimes. This goes for the other Nanoha series as well. It seems like very few criminals are actually punished in Nanoha, which seems quite strange considering the leadership and atmosphere as presented in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Striker S]]''. You can excuse some of this (for example, Precia being allowed to continue and go through with her experiments, and being allowed to 'run free' after her heinous crimes to continue them on her own) as being a part of the government conspiracy's Xanatos Gambits, but not most of the rest.
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*** First there are links to the two videos on the [[Better on DVD]] Page, but for expediancy's sake [http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e379/Zeful/nanoha1.jpg TV version] and [http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e379/Zeful/nanoha2.jpg DVD Version]
*** First there are links to the two videos on the [[Better on DVD]] Page, but for expediancy's sake [http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e379/Zeful/nanoha1.jpg TV version] and [http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e379/Zeful/nanoha2.jpg DVD Version]
** This has been bugging me for a while already. I think Nanoha is 100% in the wrong here. It's fine for a pupil to go all out during a training and also ''to make mistakes''. I still don't see though what mistake Tea made, since she actually put up quite a fight, even though Nanoha was of course never in any kind of danger. Even then, Nanoha could simply have shown her what tactical mistakes she thought she made by showing her a video of the incident, instead of blowing her out of the sky, ''causing her to become unconscious''. Seriously, people, unconsciousness is no light matter and could easily lead to permanent damage, so I am amazed that Nanoha didn't even get reprimanded for this. What's worse, Tea still gets treated with a fair amount of disregard after that, including getting slapped by Fate. Yes, Tea acts like a whiny bitch, but she does have a point when she complains about her unfair treatment. I wouldn't have been surprised if Tea had left the training facilities and tried to get gain more power on her own, only to come back for Nanoha later.
** This has been bugging me for a while already. I think Nanoha is 100% in the wrong here. It's fine for a pupil to go all out during a training and also ''to make mistakes''. I still don't see though what mistake Tea made, since she actually put up quite a fight, even though Nanoha was of course never in any kind of danger. Even then, Nanoha could simply have shown her what tactical mistakes she thought she made by showing her a video of the incident, instead of blowing her out of the sky, ''causing her to become unconscious''. Seriously, people, unconsciousness is no light matter and could easily lead to permanent damage, so I am amazed that Nanoha didn't even get reprimanded for this. What's worse, Tea still gets treated with a fair amount of disregard after that, including getting slapped by Fate. Yes, Tea acts like a whiny bitch, but she does have a point when she complains about her unfair treatment. I wouldn't have been surprised if Tea had left the training facilities and tried to get gain more power on her own, only to come back for Nanoha later.
*** Signum's the one who punches her. Shamal notes in Episode 9 that Teana was out for so long because she hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep lately and "all the stress (she's) accumulated lately has caught up with (her)". You can also see her doubling over during her [[Training From Hell]] and occasionally having trouble getting up in the morning.
*** Signum's the one who punches her. Shamal notes in Episode 9 that Teana was out for so long because she hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep lately and "all the stress (she's) accumulated lately has caught up with (her)". You can also see her doubling over during her [[Training from Hell]] and occasionally having trouble getting up in the morning.
** "Never in any kind of danger!?" What part of "One-hit kill" don't you understand? It's not that making mistakes is bad, it's just that the mistakes she made were really bad, if they're mistakes in the first place. You really don't try to jeporadize the lives of many of the people around you just for a training match. Remember, Tea's entire plan'a sucess depended on her hitting Nanoha with what was pretty much a single overpumped shot. If it hit, it would probably cause damage a lot more serious than unconsiousness. Besides, as it was shown, if she had missed or had been stopped like Nanoha had done, the results would have resulted in both of their defeats. Why did she get slapped by Fate? Because she was acting like it was barely her fault, if that at all. Essentially, she was blaming Nanoha for not letting her utilize her plan that would have resulted in serious injury. And how was that unfair treatment? If you're having a friendly practice match with your teacher in a self-defense class, do you try to make it so that in the end that they'll die? I would be pretty pissed off if my student tried to kill me. Even if it wouldn't have killed Nanoha, Tea didn't know that. From what she was thinking, I get the impression that she thought that the shot was perfectly capable of killing Nanoha.
** "Never in any kind of danger!?" What part of "One-hit kill" don't you understand? It's not that making mistakes is bad, it's just that the mistakes she made were really bad, if they're mistakes in the first place. You really don't try to jeporadize the lives of many of the people around you just for a training match. Remember, Tea's entire plan'a sucess depended on her hitting Nanoha with what was pretty much a single overpumped shot. If it hit, it would probably cause damage a lot more serious than unconsiousness. Besides, as it was shown, if she had missed or had been stopped like Nanoha had done, the results would have resulted in both of their defeats. Why did she get slapped by Fate? Because she was acting like it was barely her fault, if that at all. Essentially, she was blaming Nanoha for not letting her utilize her plan that would have resulted in serious injury. And how was that unfair treatment? If you're having a friendly practice match with your teacher in a self-defense class, do you try to make it so that in the end that they'll die? I would be pretty pissed off if my student tried to kill me. Even if it wouldn't have killed Nanoha, Tea didn't know that. From what she was thinking, I get the impression that she thought that the shot was perfectly capable of killing Nanoha.
** I have to agree. The point wasn't that Tea was putting Nanoha into risk. She seems to be the kind of self-effacing messiah type that doesn't care for that, not to mention Tea had no chance of actually hurting her anyway. No, the point was, she was putting ''herself'', and Subaru too, into ''actual danger'', for something as stupid as ''pride''. See her quote in the moment "now... I understand you're trying your best... but a mock battle isn't a true fight to the death. If you're going to pretend to listen in practice and then... do something this dangerous and desperate in the real thing... what's the point in us practicing? Is my training... really that wrong and useless...?". And then Tea goes all hysterical (because she knows Nanoha's not ''completely'' in the wrong here), and tries to keep shooting at her, which is met with Nanoha counter-blasting her. Now, Nanoha seriously went overboard with the physical blasting (that second burst in particular probably wasn't really needed for making the point)... but I've known better trained and less emotional drill sergeants who'd have downright told a recruit to pack up and go home before they killed their mates, for stuff like this. Nanoha was just totally dissapointed, and incredibly worried (because, you know, I see about four ways that maneuver could have ended with a dead Tea if she'd tried it on someone who actually wanted to hurt her. Two of them also include dead Subaru for a kicker), and, well, she's a very emotional and, let's face it, pretty aggressive girl, without much of a way with words - this is stated to be one of her flaws. So she decided to show them the consequences of what they did, much like a sergeant might knock down the two cocky recruits and give them some bruises. Her voice pretty much said "I know they're going to hate me for this, but since training didn't work... maybe if they fear me, maybe they'll pay attention".
** I have to agree. The point wasn't that Tea was putting Nanoha into risk. She seems to be the kind of self-effacing messiah type that doesn't care for that, not to mention Tea had no chance of actually hurting her anyway. No, the point was, she was putting ''herself'', and Subaru too, into ''actual danger'', for something as stupid as ''pride''. See her quote in the moment "now... I understand you're trying your best... but a mock battle isn't a true fight to the death. If you're going to pretend to listen in practice and then... do something this dangerous and desperate in the real thing... what's the point in us practicing? Is my training... really that wrong and useless...?". And then Tea goes all hysterical (because she knows Nanoha's not ''completely'' in the wrong here), and tries to keep shooting at her, which is met with Nanoha counter-blasting her. Now, Nanoha seriously went overboard with the physical blasting (that second burst in particular probably wasn't really needed for making the point)... but I've known better trained and less emotional drill sergeants who'd have downright told a recruit to pack up and go home before they killed their mates, for stuff like this. Nanoha was just totally dissapointed, and incredibly worried (because, you know, I see about four ways that maneuver could have ended with a dead Tea if she'd tried it on someone who actually wanted to hurt her. Two of them also include dead Subaru for a kicker), and, well, she's a very emotional and, let's face it, pretty aggressive girl, without much of a way with words - this is stated to be one of her flaws. So she decided to show them the consequences of what they did, much like a sergeant might knock down the two cocky recruits and give them some bruises. Her voice pretty much said "I know they're going to hate me for this, but since training didn't work... maybe if they fear me, maybe they'll pay attention".
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** Any source for this? As far as I can recall, the only times when this could have come up was with the Book of Darkness (when anything less than the Arc-en-Ciel wouldn't have been enough), and against the Cradle (when they were worried that the full force of the interdimensional fleet would be insufficient). I had assumed that the ships had other combat capabilities that were simply not mentioned due to the lack of [[Ship-to-Ship Combat]] (hah) in the series.
** Any source for this? As far as I can recall, the only times when this could have come up was with the Book of Darkness (when anything less than the Arc-en-Ciel wouldn't have been enough), and against the Cradle (when they were worried that the full force of the interdimensional fleet would be insufficient). I had assumed that the ships had other combat capabilities that were simply not mentioned due to the lack of [[Ship-to-Ship Combat]] (hah) in the series.
*** Actually if you'll have a good look at Asura in first two series you'll see point-defense cannons. And they'll disappear in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Striker S]]'' when it's decommissioned. Also - bureau ships in StrikerS didn't used AeC on Cradle, but they main guns. AeC is installed only by special orders and require time for that (installing that is, orders could be bypassed after all) - and they didn't had it, also effects of cannons are not similar with AeC showings.
*** Actually if you'll have a good look at Asura in first two series you'll see point-defense cannons. And they'll disappear in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Striker S]]'' when it's decommissioned. Also - bureau ships in StrikerS didn't used AeC on Cradle, but they main guns. AeC is installed only by special orders and require time for that (installing that is, orders could be bypassed after all) - and they didn't had it, also effects of cannons are not similar with AeC showings.
** Because the TSAB is scared of weapon tech. Because in their history, anything beyond a peashooter has a bad habit of being taken over either by a [[Mad Scientist]] or [[AI Is a Crapshoot]]. Rather, the question really should be; why do they trust the Asura and its Arc-En-Ciel?
** Because the TSAB is scared of weapon tech. Because in their history, anything beyond a peashooter has a bad habit of being taken over either by a [[Mad Scientist]] or [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot]]. Rather, the question really should be; why do they trust the Asura and its Arc-En-Ciel?
*** Probably because of things like the Cradle and the Book of Darkness running around?
*** Probably because of things like the Cradle and the Book of Darkness running around?
*** The Arthra's Arc-en-Ciel isn't always armed. They had to take it back to the TSAB HQ to get it activated so they could use it against the Book of Darkness. It can be assumed, then, that those weapons are disabled by default unless it is determined they are necessary. Also note that the one who had the key for it and fired it was an Admiral. The TSAB just takes the use of that weapon very very seriously, which they should.
*** The Arthra's Arc-en-Ciel isn't always armed. They had to take it back to the TSAB HQ to get it activated so they could use it against the Book of Darkness. It can be assumed, then, that those weapons are disabled by default unless it is determined they are necessary. Also note that the one who had the key for it and fired it was an Admiral. The TSAB just takes the use of that weapon very very seriously, which they should.
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** First off, Teana wasn't out for so long because of Nanoha's attack, she was out for so long because she was completely exhausted from over-training. She badly needed sleep, and her body took the first opportunity it had to get it. Also, I don't think they removed from combat readiness because she was recovering, but because they didn't think they could fully trust her after the extremes she went to in the last mission (her attitude upon hearing she was grounded certainly didn't help her case). In any case, Nanoha's... "correction" served several purposes: not only did it knock Teana out when she was clearly not in a sound state of mind, it also showed Teana just how effective shooting magic was. This was a point Nanoha wanted to make to Teana, since Teana was doubting the effectiveness of her own shooting magic, and that was driving her to over-work, something which Nanoha really does not want to see happen. She wasn't necessarily trying to punish Teana per se, she was trying to show Teana that she doesn't ''need'' to overwork herself... just be more patient and the strength she wants will come. Heavy-handed? Maybe, but that's Nanoha for you.
** First off, Teana wasn't out for so long because of Nanoha's attack, she was out for so long because she was completely exhausted from over-training. She badly needed sleep, and her body took the first opportunity it had to get it. Also, I don't think they removed from combat readiness because she was recovering, but because they didn't think they could fully trust her after the extremes she went to in the last mission (her attitude upon hearing she was grounded certainly didn't help her case). In any case, Nanoha's... "correction" served several purposes: not only did it knock Teana out when she was clearly not in a sound state of mind, it also showed Teana just how effective shooting magic was. This was a point Nanoha wanted to make to Teana, since Teana was doubting the effectiveness of her own shooting magic, and that was driving her to over-work, something which Nanoha really does not want to see happen. She wasn't necessarily trying to punish Teana per se, she was trying to show Teana that she doesn't ''need'' to overwork herself... just be more patient and the strength she wants will come. Heavy-handed? Maybe, but that's Nanoha for you.
*** Nanoha mentions that Teana's physical and magical condition are less than optimal.
*** Nanoha mentions that Teana's physical and magical condition are less than optimal.
** There's also one of Teana's flaws as a character that creates a vicious cycle; whenever she makes a mistake, she gets depressed and tries to work harder to make up for it, which often leads to making another mistake (the problem started when she wanted to work hard to make up for almost shooting Subaru during the hotel mission, and her deciding to go on the offensive there was influenced by a desperate need to contribute after believing she didn't do much in Episode 5 or [[Striker S]] Sound Stage 1). This lesson appears to have stuck, because in [[Striker S Sound Stage X]], after {{spoiler|Runessa, Teana's partner for the case gets outed as [[The Mole]]}}, something Teana feels responsible for, she takes a leave of absence and returns to reduced duties for a while.
** There's also one of Teana's flaws as a character that creates a vicious cycle; whenever she makes a mistake, she gets depressed and tries to work harder to make up for it, which often leads to making another mistake (the problem started when she wanted to work hard to make up for almost shooting Subaru during the hotel mission, and her deciding to go on the offensive there was influenced by a desperate need to contribute after believing she didn't do much in Episode 5 or [[Striker S]] Sound Stage 1). This lesson appears to have stuck, because in [[StrikerS Sound Stage X]], after {{spoiler|Runessa, Teana's partner for the case gets outed as [[The Mole]]}}, something Teana feels responsible for, she takes a leave of absence and returns to reduced duties for a while.
** It was Nanoha's duty as an instructor to control the situation and mete out discipline, but she chose an overly forceful and counterproductive way to do it. It doesn't matter how safe the shots Nanoha fired were, shooting Teana down was a declaration of hostile intent, whether Nanoha wanted to send that message or not. Mages launch attacks like that at their ''enemies''. Blasting Teana in such a fashion qualifies as assault since it was clearly painful, it caused unconcsiousness (even though that unconsciousness was exacerbated by Teana's physical condition) and it caused low-grade medical trauma. (The show states that Teana can't help the Forwards repel the drones that show up, since Teana can't risk further strain on her body after being hit with Nanoha's shots.) Shooting Teana like that was along the bounds of a [[Real Life]] drill instructor tasering a recalcitrant student.
** It was Nanoha's duty as an instructor to control the situation and mete out discipline, but she chose an overly forceful and counterproductive way to do it. It doesn't matter how safe the shots Nanoha fired were, shooting Teana down was a declaration of hostile intent, whether Nanoha wanted to send that message or not. Mages launch attacks like that at their ''enemies''. Blasting Teana in such a fashion qualifies as assault since it was clearly painful, it caused unconcsiousness (even though that unconsciousness was exacerbated by Teana's physical condition) and it caused low-grade medical trauma. (The show states that Teana can't help the Forwards repel the drones that show up, since Teana can't risk further strain on her body after being hit with Nanoha's shots.) Shooting Teana like that was along the bounds of a [[Real Life]] drill instructor tasering a recalcitrant student.
*** Did you not notice the knife-attack Teana used on Nanoha? You know... how it cut up Nanoha's hand, and how Tea's intended strategy was for Subaru to distract Nanoha so she ''wouldn't be able to defend against it''? Nanoha's "declaration of hostile intent" is irrelevent, because Tea had already declared her own hostile intent. Shooting Teana like that was along the bounds of a [[Real Life]] drill instructor tasering a recalcitrant student ''who had just opened fire on them with live ammunition'' (probably with intent to "only wound" rather than kill, but ''hardly'' disproportionate or out-of-bounds).
*** Did you not notice the knife-attack Teana used on Nanoha? You know... how it cut up Nanoha's hand, and how Tea's intended strategy was for Subaru to distract Nanoha so she ''wouldn't be able to defend against it''? Nanoha's "declaration of hostile intent" is irrelevent, because Tea had already declared her own hostile intent. Shooting Teana like that was along the bounds of a [[Real Life]] drill instructor tasering a recalcitrant student ''who had just opened fire on them with live ammunition'' (probably with intent to "only wound" rather than kill, but ''hardly'' disproportionate or out-of-bounds).