Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A's

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha MOVIE 2nd A's Genre: Action, Magical Girl, Drama, Sci-Fi. Length: 1 movie, 2 hours 40 minutes. A side note guys - I ADORE the "Mahou Shojou Lyrical Nanoha" series. It's my favourite series. Therefore I may ramble on a bit thoughout this review. This movie is a retelling of the 2nd series, "A's" ... Most retell movies only have improved animation going for them, truncicating the plot to cram it into a shorter time limit. Nanoha had previously proved an exception to this, as the first movie not only perfectly retold the season, but ADDED details and backstory. It's a bit interesting to note nowthat 2nd movie DOES cut out a rather significant plot point, but I always hated that particular plot point, and never thought it made much sense. It's replaced by some more character development for Adrmial Lindsy and Chrono's father, which is a GOOD thing. Animation is amazing. It's easily a 10/10. The movie budget does not disapoint, as even the most complext of action sequences do not present a dull in animation. Action is incredible, it looks amazing and feels amazing. Much of the high impact action is intertwined with some fairly emotional moments (Such as Nanoha fighting down Reinforce while Fate struggles with her identity) Characters are as likable and fun as ever, with Nanoha and Fate taking center stage in all their glory. Interestingly, the yuri overtones between the two appear more obvious than the series (theres seriously a moment where they hold onto each others hips and stare into each others eyes....) but that's pretty cute. Nano-Fate is a thing. In the actual series, it was a bit more subtle. A non intuitive viewer might've had more trouble picking up their relationship. It's more obvious in this movie. Take it or leave it whether thats good or not. I'm personaly indifferent. My only disapointment was the end scene: In the series, it shows Nanoha and the rest grown up, in their "adult" forms. This was such an incredible highlight for me, marking the end of an era and the start of something amazing (Nanoha StrikerS). In the movie, only Fate appears SLIGHTLY older (and even then, by about a YEAR at maximum) and the rest are looking the same age. I can only hope that the StrikerS movie appears! SORRY! I tried to keep this as short as I could, but this IS a movie from my favorite anime series. Anyway, 100% recomended!

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A's is a movie rendition of the corresponding tv series, and a direct sequel to the 1st movie which covered the first season of the franchise. While the first incarnation started out as a fairly ordinary magical girl series, it eventually evolved into what could be described as the Magical Girl Lightshow of Befriending, involving flashy combat and interesting swaths of character development that made it unique in this genre. Visually speaking, the movie is extremely shiny and polished, despite a few moments of off model that were barely noticed. While the first movie looked great, it stillresorted to stills in combat scenes, but 2nd A's makes these weaknesses far less pronounced, leading to a ton of fluid movement. Regardless of the actual content of the movie, it sure does look appealing, especially for those into moe aesthetics. Unfortunately, it falters in the story department. This was to be expected, as the series was 13 episodes long with minimal filler. Trimming at anything significant would weaken the narrative, and unfortunately there are a few plot threads that simply will not make sense to those who haven't seen the tv series. That is most likely the greatest weakness of the movie, and I would have to recommend you watch the tv series first. What it does focus on, it does fairly well, and offers a lot of humanization to the antagonists of the story which makes the storytelling a more balanced affair. It's not too easy to take sides in this conflict for good reason, and that makes the movie more involving to watch. The movie actually doesn't spend that much time pew pew'ing all day as compared to the first movie, and focuses some on developing the characters' personalities and inner thoughts. Still, due to time constraints, certain key players from the tv series are left hanging but still left there leaving you wondering what they're supposed to do. I felt they could have fit them in more cleanly. In the end, I was very much satisfied to see Nanoha animated after an absence of three years. This movie is much more for fans though, and while I'd recommend that you could skip the first television series for the first movie, I really can't say the same for this. So, if you're into the series, you should know what to expect. If not, then try the television series, and give this a pass for now.

Alright, so to be clear, this movie is a remake of the original series. I love the Mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha series and out of all 3 series, I enjoyed A's the most. So I was thrilled to hear that they'd make a remake. A lot of this review will be me ranting so please bear with me. Story 9/10 The story was amazng as usual and I think that it was very fitting. Cramming 13 episodes which are 23 minutes each into a 2hour 40 movie will obviously get rid of some scenes. But the major down point in that was that they took out the mainvillain that appeared in the original. In a sense, that made the show go from being a story where there is a mastermind manipulating 2 sides to a pointless battle caused by a misunderstanding and 'lack of communication'. Art 10/10 The art and animation is the part that stands out the most. It was made in shiny new animation which flowed smoothly and made everything better. They even redesigned the weapons to make them look even better. Sound 10/10 I don't really pay attention to sound much: Its more like if it's good it doesn't stand out but if it's bad I will pay attention. But nevertheless, i found myself looking for some soundtracks and even taking note of the ost that i liked the most. Character 8/10 The reason that the character is lower than most of the other points is because as said before, the lack of an actual villain or mastermind. The one that had an ulterior motive and you were trying to find the identity of. Overall 10/10 Overall, as a movie, it was awesome and as a remake it was very good. Now that I think back, it might have been necessary to remove the villain to make its length acceptable and at the same time not be rushed. But I think that if you watched the original series, you will notice the difference.

"Mahou shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A's" surpasses it's predecessor in literally ever aspect. For the longest time I've always figured sequels were inferior products just by definition alone, but Nanoha 2 proved just how wrong I was. Story: 8 This adaption of the second season's events was handled far better than its prequel's attempt at the first season. Gone is the jagged pacing of the previous film, which I'm thankful for. Along with that the tale is just far more interesting this time around. Our heroes were up against a foe that actually felt more like a threat. This is largely because of thefirst fight in the film which highlights this fact. True to form like the prequel, Nanoha 2's antagonists are even more interesting, and have their own special dynamic that makes the film. We also get a glimpse at the world of these magi, which added a much needed scale to how the world works.With the stakes higher, action better, and script tighter, Nanoha's second film raises the bar higher. Art: 9 So this is what having a budget looks like. Although I was a littler underwhelmed with the production values of the first film this second outing was truly outstanding. The action scenes were bright, vibrant, and eye popping. Transformation sequences were also stunning, and same can be said about the character designs. Sound: 8 The OST this time around was truly a force. Unlike the first film the music wasn't hidden in the background, and made itself present. It was incredibly affective at amplifying the tone of the show, and added to the overall impact-fullness of scenes. The voice acting was also solid, and everyone did a fantastic job except for one. Raising Heart's voice actress still is bad. Luckily she didn't have as many lines this time around so it didn't hurt the overall production as much as the first. Other than that small complaint no real problems in this department. Character: 8 I'm still impressed by the amount of attention the villains receive in this series. Because of this the aren't really villains, but people with their own goals/hopes. The antagonists this time around are better than ever. The Knights were all interesting in their own right, and there Master as well. As returning characters go the whole gang is back in one way or another. Fate is still in my opinion one of the strongest points of this series. Nanoha I still find to be lacking, which is depressing considering she is the title character. She has no more depth beyond that she is kind which is a nice trait, but I would like a little more. Chrono and his mother also have layers added to them, which is a welcome addition. One complaint besides Nanoha is that Yunno sort of gets side lined because of the expanded cast. Although necessary considering how many more characters needed screen time/development I missed that furry bastard. Enjoyment: 9 This movie knocked my socks off in terms of jump in quality. I really enjoyed this sequel, and couldn't of been more pleased. Overall: 8.4 Tighter script, fantastic villains, and a wonderful continuation of the Lyrical Nanoha series. This sequel raises the bar even higher, and delivers the goods. If you are a fan of this genre then I would highly recommend this movie. I was skeptical going in because of my thoughts of the first film (I still liked it, but just wasn't quite there for me), but this film gave me what I wanted. Anyways those are my thoughts, and always thanks for reading.

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