Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (series)
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese 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 figure
s and plastic model
s. 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.
visual novel
Triangle Heart 3, released on December 8, 2000. She was first cast as a magical girl
on a merchandise CD Triangle Heart 3 ~Lyrical Toy Box~, released on June 29, 2001. 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 .
(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 cyborg
s ("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 , 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.
The MOVIEs are not expansions of the existing continuity but are instead re-tellings of the original animated series.
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.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese multimedia franchise that encompasses three anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series, a theatrical adaptation of the first series, multiple manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and Drama CD adaptations and sequels, as well as model figure
Model figure
A model figure is a scale model representing a human, monster or other creature. Human figures may be either a generic figure of a type , a historical personage , or a fictional character .Model figures are sold both as kits for enthusiast to construct and paint and as pre-built, pre-painted...
s and plastic model
Plastic model
thumb|300px||4-year-old boy starts painting a plastic model he has assembled of the South Goodwin LightshipPlastic models, often called scale models, are models manufactured as kits which are assembled by hobbyists, and intended for static display....
s. It began in 2004 with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
is an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
, an alternative universe
Alternative universe (fan fiction)
An alternative universe , commonly abbreviated as AU, is a type or form of in which canonical facts of setting or characterization in the universe being explored or written about are deliberately changed.Stories that fall into this definition are usually what-ifs, where possibilities arising from...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the Triangle Heart
Triangle Heart
, abbreviated as Toraha, is a series of eroge and OVAs that is most noted for its spin-off series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The name comes from the fact that each cast focuses on a "triangle" of one boy and two girls, though there are many other heroines.The OVA, based on the game Triangle...
series, and is on-going to date.
The series is named after its protagonist Nanoha Takamachi
Nanoha Takamachi
is the main and title character of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series and also appears in Triangle Heart. Minami Hokuto plays her in Triangle Heart, and Yukari Tamura in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. She has a strong aptitude in magic, a rarity for those born on Earth, amongst these numbered few...
. 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
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
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 erogeEroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
Triangle Heart 3, released on December 8, 2000. She was first cast as a magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
on a merchandise CD Triangle Heart 3 ~Lyrical Toy Box~, released on June 29, 2001. 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 .
Overview
In the plot premise of the original series, Magical Girl Lyrical NanohaMagical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
is an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
(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
Fate Testarossa
, also known as in A's epilogue and StrikerS, is a fictional character in the anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. She is voiced by Nana Mizuki....
, 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
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
is a thirteen episode sequel to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, a magical girl alternate universe spinoff of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs. A third series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, was released in 2007...
(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
Hayate Yagami
is one of the main characters of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, though she appears in neither the previous series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha nor the original alternate story Triangle Heart. She is voiced by Kana Ueda in a strong Kansai dialect...
, 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
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers
is the third season of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Nanoha anime was, in turn, a spin-off of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs, specifically Triangle Heart 3: Sweet Songs Forever...
(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 cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s ("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
Numbers (Nanoha)
is a group of characters in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Jail Scaglietti's personal task force, they are all "combat cyborgs" , humans that acquired special abilities by implanting mechanical elements into their bodies. As their group name suggests, their specific names are all based on...
, investigating a serial murder case on Mid-Childa. Their investigation eventually leads them to the , 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
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid
is a spin-off manga series based on the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. It takes place after Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS and follows one of its characters, Vivio Takamachi....
(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
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
.
Another manga, Magical Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force
Magical Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force
or Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force is a Japanese manga series written by Masaki Tsuzuki and illustrated by Yukari Higa. It is the fourth Nanoha series, and is currently being serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Nyantype magazine, first appearing in that magazine's inaugural issue in April 2009...
(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.
Anime
| Title | | Format | | Start date | | End date | | Episodes | | Chronology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TV | 2004-10-01 | 2004-12-24 | 13 | 0065 | |
| TV | 2005-10-01 | 2005-12-24 | 13 | 0065-66 | |
| TV | 2007-04-01 | 2007-09-23 | 26 | 0075-76 | |
| Film | 2010-01-23 | N/A | N/A | 0065 | |
| 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novel | 2005-09 | N/A | 1 | 0065 | |
| Manga | 2005-08 | 2006-01 | 1 | 0065-66 | |
| Manga | 2006-11 | 2008-02 | 2 | 0075-76 | |
| Manga | 2009-04-30 | TBA | TBA | 0081 | |
| Manga | 2009-05-26 | TBA | TBA | 0079 | |
| Manga | 2009-11 | TBA | TBA | 0065 | |
| Manga | 2011-03 | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Video games
| Title | | Platforms | | Developer | | Publisher | | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces | PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... |
Witch Craft | Namco-Bandai | 2010-01-21 |
| Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny | PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... |
Witch Craft | Namco-Bandai | TBA |
| Nendoroid Generation | PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... |
Banpresto Banpresto is a Japanese toy company, best known in America for game development, headquartered in the Shinagawa Seaside West Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It was founded April 1977 as Hoei Sangyo, Co. Ltd. The company was renamed Coreland in 1982, and during the 1980s it worked mainly as a subcontractor for... |
Namco-Bandai | TBA |
Cultural impact
The franchise takes an innovative approach to the magical girlMagical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
genre, focusing equally on characterization and magical combat. It was also praised for taking a more serious approach to social problems
Social problems
Social problems are problems and difficulties that people often face in society. These include:*crime*corruption*poverty*homelessness*hunger*disease*drug addiction*alcoholism*schizophrenia*depression*pollution...
than other magical girl anime.