Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Encyclopedia
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 December 2004. The series is a spin-off
of the Triangle Heart
series and its story follows a young girl named Nanoha Takamachi who decides to help a young mage named Yūno to recover a set of twenty-one artifacts named the "Jewel Seeds".
Masaki Tsuzuki adapted the series into a novel, which Megami Bunko
published in August 2005. King Records has adapted several soundtracks and drama CDs from the series. A sequel to the anime series titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
produced by Seven Arcs premiered in Japan on October 2005, broadcast on Chiba TV
. A film adaptation of the anime series, also by Seven Arcs, was released in theaters on January 23, 2010, accompanied by a manga series which was serialized in Megami Magazine
between November 2009 and March 2011.
Geneon Entertainment licensed the anime series for English-language dubbed release in North America at Anime Expo
2007 (June 29 to July 2). Due to Geneon switching distribution labels between September 2007 and July 2008, Funimation Entertainment
distributed the series (in a single DVD
compilation-volume boxset) approximately one and a half years after the announcement of the licensing. Many production-credits for the English-language dubbed release were missing.
Moderately well-received by Japanese-language viewers, all DVD volumes peak-ranked seventy to twenty-second and below on the Oricon
Animation DVD ranking and remained on the chart for at least two weeks. The series received mixed reviews from English-language critics, with some praising and others criticising the pacing, visual style, and music of the series. G. B. Smith criticized the English-language dubbed release for its inconsistency in direction.
who reveals himself as a young shapeshifting
mage
named Yūno Scrya
. An archaeologist from a parallel universe, Yūno came to Earth to collect a set of twenty-one dangerous ancient artifacts named the that he first discovered in his own world. Jewel Seeds give living beings who come into contact with them unnatural powers, often turning them into monsters, and Yūno, injured while trying to collect them, must now rely on Nanoha while he convalesces in ferret form. He gives Nanoha an "intelligent device" (magical wand) called , and she unexpectedly shows strong aptitude for magic. As the two gather the Jewel Seeds, Nanoha learns magic from Yūno while continuing with her ordinary everyday life.
In retrieving her sixth Jewel Seed, Nanoha encounters another mage named Fate Testarossa
and her familiar
named Arf. More than a year before the story began, Fate's mother, Precia Testarossa, went insane when her daughter Alicia died, initiating "Project Fate", an illegal research program of cloning
and resurrection
, making her a fugitive from the interdimensional police known as Time-Space Administration Bureau (TSAB). Precia cloned Alicia to create Fate and implanted her with Alicia's memories; nevertheless, she cannot care for Fate as she did for Alicia and abuses her regularly. Despite this, Fate is extremely loyal to her due to Alicia's happy childhood memories, which she takes as her own. In the series, Precia uses Fate to collect Jewel Seeds and reach Al Hazard, a mythical world where Alicia could be truly brought back to life.
Nanoha and Fate repeatedly face off against each other over each new Jewel Seed they find, and the TSAB soon interferes to prevent the collateral damage caused by their battles. Nanoha eventually manages to overpower Fate and brings her to the TSAB, prompting Precia to abandon her and attempt a dimensional jump to Al Hazard with the power of the few Jewel Seeds that Fate managed to gather thus far. Gathering her resolve, Fate decides to aid the TSAB and Nanoha in their fight to stop Precia. Although they manage to minimize the destructive side effects of using the Jewel Seeds, they fail to prevent Precia from finishing the spell, and her final whereabouts are unknown. Fate and Nanoha decide to become friends, but Fate must first travel to TSAB homeworld to prove she was an unwilling accessory
in Precia's crimes.
visual novel
Triangle Heart 3 released on December 8, 2000. She first appeared, cast as a magical girl
, on the merchandise CD Triangle Heart 3 ~Lyrical Toy Box~ released on June 29, 2001 and that was written by Masaki Tsuzuki, the creator of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchise. Nanoha's first appearance in animation was in the first episode of the Triangle Heart 3 OVA-adaptation series that released on July 24, 2003.
Seven Arcs
produced the anime
television series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha with direction by Akiyuki Shinbo
and screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Broadcast across six stations of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
, it premiered on October 1, 2004 and aired weekly for thirteen episodes until its conclusion on December 25, 2004. Hiroaki Sano produced the music for the series. The series uses two pieces of theme music
; the opening theme is "Innocent Starter
" performed by Nana Mizuki
, and the ending theme is "Little Wish (Lyrical Step)
" performed by Yukari Tamura
. The series was released across five DVD compilation volumes in Japan between January 26, 2005 and May 25, 2005.
At Anime Expo
2007 (June 29 – July 2), Geneon Entertainment announced its acquisition of the English-language license of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and of its sequel, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
. However, Geneon cancelled its distribution agreement with ADV Films in September 2007. Funimation Entertainment
acquired rights for distribution of Geneon titles in July 2008, after which, Funimation announced that they would soon began distributing the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. Funimation began distributing the English release in a single DVD compilation-volume boxset on December 29, 2008.
The release was dubbed by Geneon Entertainment in association with World Production Group.
s and two albums in Japan. "Innocent Starter" was released on October 6, 2004. "Little Wish (Lyrical Step)" came out on October 21, 2004. Alive & Kicking was released on December 8, 2004 and contained the insert song "Take a Shot" that was featured in twelfth episode of the anime television series. The soundtrack album
titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Original Sound Track that contained the background music
used throughout the anime television series was released on May 11, 2005 and contains forty-one tracks.
published a one-hundred-eighty-page novelized adaptation titled (ISBN 978-4-05-903506-8) on September 30, 2005. Masaki Tsuzuki wrote the text and Kōji Hasegawa did the illustrations. The plot of the book follows the same story as the anime television series.
2009. Although the film retells the same story as the anime television series, Masaki Tsuzuki emphasized that the movie is not necessarily the "true history" of the story, but a "new parallel history."
The film was released on DVD and Bluray-Disc November 26, 2010, and includes English subtitles and an audience participation track.
's Megami Magazine
between November 2009 and March 2011. Like other THE COMICS series in the franchise, it expands upon the story, featuring events not seen in the movie. The series is compiled into two tankōbon, the first released on June 30, 2010 and the second released on March 31, 2011.
DVD chart and remained on the chart for three weeks. The second through fifth DVD volumes each peak-ranked 39th, 29th, 72nd, and 49th respectively and remained on the chart for two weeks. Before Geneon Entertainment's announcement of its acquisition of the license for the series at Anime Expo
2007, ICv2 reported that the series had gained a reputation among United States "hardcore" fans for its use of technology as a replacement for magic and being a magical girl
series that uncharacteristically deals with more "real" and "intense" social problems. Geneon's lack of a distributor between September 2007 and July 2008 left many English-language fans wondering as to what would occur to the distribution status of the series that Geneon had licensed - including Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. A fan pointed out that the English-languaged dubbed DVD boxset did not contain the credits for the director, automated dialogue replacement script adapter, and some voice actors. Many English-language viewers, even the more knowledgeable, reported being largely unfamiliar with many of the names of the English-language voice actors who contributed to the work.
Anime News Network
's Carl Kimlinger described the anime series as one filled with typical magical-girl
tropes and as one that takes otaku
-targeted entertainment to "its logical extreme" - filled with what he described as a "neutron-star" of otaku obsessions. Although Tim Jones of THEM Anime Reviews noted that the series did contain aspects typical of the magical girl genre, he stated that the anime had several unique aspects such as featuring characters fighting "physically" instead at long-range with magic and targeting "an older male demographic". Davey C. Jones of Active Anime praised the series for building up to "intense double climax" with the revelation of Fate's backstory and the final battle on Precia's ship. However, Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge criticized the anime series as too rushed, stating that it would have been "more engaging and fun" as a twenty-six-episode-long series as opposed to its current length of thirteen episodes. Tim Jones lauded the last five episodes of the series as its highlight due to the dramatic change in style the series underwent introducing "intrigue and excitement" to the show, criticizing the first few episodes as "most forgettable, boring, and just plain uninteresting episodes of any show [he had] ever seen".
Both Beveridge and Kimlinger criticized the series for conveying a sense of maturity that is "out of place" in a storyline that follows third-grade characters at the age of nine.
Beveridge described the anime series as having well-designed visuals with character designs produced with "strong, vibrant colors" that "all come across very well". Davey C. Jones praised the visual effects applied to the spells as making them "look extra spiffy and, well, magical". Kimlinger noted the use of multiple animation directors who gave "each episode a distinct look" and allowed the series to "retain a level of stylistic continuity" that he described as resulting in an "uneven, but ... undeniably appealing" look. Although Tim Jones praised the character designs as "distinct enough to distinguish [between] the fairly large cast", he criticized the animation quality as ranging from "okay to downright lazy". He stated that "aside from the great opening song, the music, though good, is forgettable", but described the ending theme as "lame". Beveridge stated that the "solid" musical score helps convey the "action cleanly".
Mania Entertainment's G. B. Smith criticized the English-language dubbed release by Geneon for having several inconsistencies in the performances, pronunciation of names and localization, but accredited these faults to the direction. Smith praised the voice actors in the English dub for the many of the main characters, stating that "here are several A rank performances that shine quite well"; however, Smith stated that "there is a noticeable drop off in the quality of the voices and the performances in the lesser and incidental characters." Smith noted that the subtitles and English dub diverged "sharply" in the way they name characters. Additionally, Smith criticized the English script for being excessively lip-synched producing "Weird Sounding English".
The film adaptation earned 380million yen (approx. $4.4million USD) during its release. The Bluray Disc version of the movie sold 58,000 copies in its first week and has been in the top position of the Bluray charts for its first two weeks of sale.
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 directed by Akiyuki Shinbo
Akiyuki Shinbo
, born September 27, 1961 in Fukushima, Japan, is a Japanese animation director. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004...
, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs
Seven Arcs
is a Japanese animation studio established on May 31, 2002 and is located in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan. The company originally produced adult original video animation series under another animation studio named Arcturus since April 2000 and had the intention of eventually producing television anime...
. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (series)
is a Japanese 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 figures and plastic models...
. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
The , is a group of Japan's reception fee-free commercial terrestrial television stations which are not members of the major national networks that has flagship in Tokyo and Osaka....
broadcast thirteen episodes between October and December 2004. The series is a 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 its story follows a young girl named Nanoha Takamachi who decides to help a young mage named Yūno to recover a set of twenty-one artifacts named the "Jewel Seeds".
Masaki Tsuzuki adapted the series into a novel, which Megami Bunko
Megami Bunko
is a publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Gakken. It was established in December 2004 and is a light novel label that is aimed at a young adult male readership.-A:-D:-E:-F:-G:-L:-M:-N:-O:-R:-S:-T:...
published in August 2005. King Records has adapted several soundtracks and drama CDs from the series. A sequel to the anime series titled 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...
produced by Seven Arcs premiered in Japan on October 2005, broadcast on Chiba TV
Chiba TV
, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...
. A film adaptation of the anime series, also by Seven Arcs, was released in theaters on January 23, 2010, accompanied by a manga series which was serialized in Megami Magazine
Megami Magazine
is a Japanese monthly magazine which focuses on bishōjo characters from anime and Japanese computer and console games. It is known for having many posters, pinups and large pictures among the articles. Digital Manga Publishing released compilations of what it determined to be the best of the...
between November 2009 and March 2011.
Geneon Entertainment licensed the anime series for English-language dubbed release in North America at Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2007 (June 29 to July 2). Due to Geneon switching distribution labels between September 2007 and July 2008, Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
distributed the series (in a single DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
compilation-volume boxset) approximately one and a half years after the announcement of the licensing. Many production-credits for the English-language dubbed release were missing.
Moderately well-received by Japanese-language viewers, all DVD volumes peak-ranked seventy to twenty-second and below on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Animation DVD ranking and remained on the chart for at least two weeks. The series received mixed reviews from English-language critics, with some praising and others criticising the pacing, visual style, and music of the series. G. B. Smith criticized the English-language dubbed release for its inconsistency in direction.
Plot
The storyline follows Nanoha Takamachi, a nine-year-old Japanese girl attending elementary school, who lives with her parents and her older siblings. Nanoha's regular everyday life ends when she rescues an injured ferretFerret
The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
who reveals himself as a young shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
mage
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
named Yūno Scrya
Yuno Scrya
is one of the major characters of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series, but not Triangle Heart. He is voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi. A mage and archaeologist at the age of nine, he comes from Mid-childa in search of the Jewel Seeds and becomes Nanoha's partner. He is also a shapeshifter, turning into...
. An archaeologist from a parallel universe, Yūno came to Earth to collect a set of twenty-one dangerous ancient artifacts named the that he first discovered in his own world. Jewel Seeds give living beings who come into contact with them unnatural powers, often turning them into monsters, and Yūno, injured while trying to collect them, must now rely on Nanoha while he convalesces in ferret form. He gives Nanoha an "intelligent device" (magical wand) called , and she unexpectedly shows strong aptitude for magic. As the two gather the Jewel Seeds, Nanoha learns magic from Yūno while continuing with her ordinary everyday life.
In retrieving her sixth Jewel Seed, Nanoha encounters another 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....
and her familiar
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
named Arf. More than a year before the story began, Fate's mother, Precia Testarossa, went insane when her daughter Alicia died, initiating "Project Fate", an illegal research program of cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
and resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
, making her a fugitive from the interdimensional police known as Time-Space Administration Bureau (TSAB). Precia cloned Alicia to create Fate and implanted her with Alicia's memories; nevertheless, she cannot care for Fate as she did for Alicia and abuses her regularly. Despite this, Fate is extremely loyal to her due to Alicia's happy childhood memories, which she takes as her own. In the series, Precia uses Fate to collect Jewel Seeds and reach Al Hazard, a mythical world where Alicia could be truly brought back to life.
Nanoha and Fate repeatedly face off against each other over each new Jewel Seed they find, and the TSAB soon interferes to prevent the collateral damage caused by their battles. Nanoha eventually manages to overpower Fate and brings her to the TSAB, prompting Precia to abandon her and attempt a dimensional jump to Al Hazard with the power of the few Jewel Seeds that Fate managed to gather thus far. Gathering her resolve, Fate decides to aid the TSAB and Nanoha in their fight to stop Precia. Although they manage to minimize the destructive side effects of using the Jewel Seeds, they fail to prevent Precia from finishing the spell, and her final whereabouts are unknown. Fate and Nanoha decide to become friends, but Fate must first travel to TSAB homeworld to prove she was an unwilling accessory
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
in Precia's crimes.
Production
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 first appeared, 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 the merchandise CD Triangle Heart 3 ~Lyrical Toy Box~ released on June 29, 2001 and that was written by Masaki Tsuzuki, the creator of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchise. Nanoha's first appearance in animation was in the first episode of the Triangle Heart 3 OVA-adaptation series that released on July 24, 2003.
Seven Arcs
Seven Arcs
is a Japanese animation studio established on May 31, 2002 and is located in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan. The company originally produced adult original video animation series under another animation studio named Arcturus since April 2000 and had the intention of eventually producing television anime...
produced the 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 Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha with direction by Akiyuki Shinbo
Akiyuki Shinbo
, born September 27, 1961 in Fukushima, Japan, is a Japanese animation director. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004...
and screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Broadcast across six stations of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
The , is a group of Japan's reception fee-free commercial terrestrial television stations which are not members of the major national networks that has flagship in Tokyo and Osaka....
, it premiered on October 1, 2004 and aired weekly for thirteen episodes until its conclusion on December 25, 2004. Hiroaki Sano produced the music for the series. The series uses two pieces of theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
; the opening theme is "Innocent Starter
Innocent starter
"Innocent Starter" is Nana Mizuki's 10th single. The title track was the opening theme for the anime Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. It was ranked #9 on the Japanese Oricon charts.-Track listing:#Innocent Starter#*Lyrics: Nana Mizuki...
" performed by Nana Mizuki
Nana Mizuki
is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress. She was born and raised in Niihama, Ehime, Japan, Mizuki was trained as an enka singer. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1998; however, she released her debut single "Omoi", under the King Records label on December 6, 2000...
, and the ending theme is "Little Wish (Lyrical Step)
Little Wish ~lyrical step~
"Little Wish: Lyrical Step" is Yukari Tamura's seventh single, released on October 21, 2004. It's the ending theme song for .-Track listing:* "Little Wish: Lyrical Step"*: Lyrics by: Karen Shiina*: Composition and Arrangement by: Masatomo Ota...
" performed by Yukari Tamura
Yukari Tamura
, is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress, affiliated with the talent agency I'm Enterprise. Affectionately called Yukarin by her fans, she is also known for her high-pitched voice and interest in Lolita fashion...
. The series was released across five DVD compilation volumes in Japan between January 26, 2005 and May 25, 2005.
At Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2007 (June 29 – July 2), Geneon Entertainment announced its acquisition of the English-language license of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and of its sequel, 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...
. However, Geneon cancelled its distribution agreement with ADV Films in September 2007. Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
acquired rights for distribution of Geneon titles in July 2008, after which, Funimation announced that they would soon began distributing the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. Funimation began distributing the English release in a single DVD compilation-volume boxset on December 29, 2008.
The release was dubbed by Geneon Entertainment in association with World Production Group.
CDs
King Records released two maxi singleMaxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
s and two albums in Japan. "Innocent Starter" was released on October 6, 2004. "Little Wish (Lyrical Step)" came out on October 21, 2004. Alive & Kicking was released on December 8, 2004 and contained the insert song "Take a Shot" that was featured in twelfth episode of the anime television series. The soundtrack album
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Original Sound Track that contained the background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
used throughout the anime television series was released on May 11, 2005 and contains forty-one tracks.
Drama CDs
King Records has released three drama CD adaptations of the series in Japan. The first, titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Sound Stage 01, appeared on November 26, 2004 and contained sixteen tracks; its story takes place between episodes two and three of the anime television series. Sound Stage 02 followed on January 13, 2005 containing nineteen tracks, and its story takes place between episodes five and six of the anime series. King Records released the final CD, Sound Stage 03, on April 6, 2005; it contains sixteen tracks, and its story takes place after the conclusion of the anime series.Novel
Megami BunkoMegami Bunko
is a publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Gakken. It was established in December 2004 and is a light novel label that is aimed at a young adult male readership.-A:-D:-E:-F:-G:-L:-M:-N:-O:-R:-S:-T:...
published a one-hundred-eighty-page novelized adaptation titled (ISBN 978-4-05-903506-8) on September 30, 2005. Masaki Tsuzuki wrote the text and Kōji Hasegawa did the illustrations. The plot of the book follows the same story as the anime television series.
Film
An anime film titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 1st and adapted from the anime television series was released in Japan on January 23, 2010. Aniplex displayed a trailer of the film as well as character-design sketches and original drawings at its booth at Tokyo International Anime FairTokyo International Anime Fair
The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair is one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event is held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and...
2009. Although the film retells the same story as the anime television series, Masaki Tsuzuki emphasized that the movie is not necessarily the "true history" of the story, but a "new parallel history."
The film was released on DVD and Bluray-Disc November 26, 2010, and includes English subtitles and an audience participation track.
Manga
A manga illustrated by Kōji Hasegawa based on the movie adaptation, titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha MOVIE 1st THE COMICS was serialized in GakkenGakken
is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 821 billion ....
's Megami Magazine
Megami Magazine
is a Japanese monthly magazine which focuses on bishōjo characters from anime and Japanese computer and console games. It is known for having many posters, pinups and large pictures among the articles. Digital Manga Publishing released compilations of what it determined to be the best of the...
between November 2009 and March 2011. Like other THE COMICS series in the franchise, it expands upon the story, featuring events not seen in the movie. The series is compiled into two tankōbon, the first released on June 30, 2010 and the second released on March 31, 2011.
Reception
In Japan, the first DVD compilation-volume peak-ranked 38th on the OriconOricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
DVD chart and remained on the chart for three weeks. The second through fifth DVD volumes each peak-ranked 39th, 29th, 72nd, and 49th respectively and remained on the chart for two weeks. Before Geneon Entertainment's announcement of its acquisition of the license for the series at Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2007, ICv2 reported that the series had gained a reputation among United States "hardcore" fans for its use of technology as a replacement for magic and being 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...
series that uncharacteristically deals with more "real" and "intense" social problems. Geneon's lack of a distributor between September 2007 and July 2008 left many English-language fans wondering as to what would occur to the distribution status of the series that Geneon had licensed - including Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. A fan pointed out that the English-languaged dubbed DVD boxset did not contain the credits for the director, automated dialogue replacement script adapter, and some voice actors. Many English-language viewers, even the more knowledgeable, reported being largely unfamiliar with many of the names of the English-language voice actors who contributed to the work.
Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
's Carl Kimlinger described the anime series as one filled with typical 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...
tropes and as one that takes otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
-targeted entertainment to "its logical extreme" - filled with what he described as a "neutron-star" of otaku obsessions. Although Tim Jones of THEM Anime Reviews noted that the series did contain aspects typical of the magical girl genre, he stated that the anime had several unique aspects such as featuring characters fighting "physically" instead at long-range with magic and targeting "an older male demographic". Davey C. Jones of Active Anime praised the series for building up to "intense double climax" with the revelation of Fate's backstory and the final battle on Precia's ship. However, Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge criticized the anime series as too rushed, stating that it would have been "more engaging and fun" as a twenty-six-episode-long series as opposed to its current length of thirteen episodes. Tim Jones lauded the last five episodes of the series as its highlight due to the dramatic change in style the series underwent introducing "intrigue and excitement" to the show, criticizing the first few episodes as "most forgettable, boring, and just plain uninteresting episodes of any show [he had] ever seen".
Both Beveridge and Kimlinger criticized the series for conveying a sense of maturity that is "out of place" in a storyline that follows third-grade characters at the age of nine.
Beveridge described the anime series as having well-designed visuals with character designs produced with "strong, vibrant colors" that "all come across very well". Davey C. Jones praised the visual effects applied to the spells as making them "look extra spiffy and, well, magical". Kimlinger noted the use of multiple animation directors who gave "each episode a distinct look" and allowed the series to "retain a level of stylistic continuity" that he described as resulting in an "uneven, but ... undeniably appealing" look. Although Tim Jones praised the character designs as "distinct enough to distinguish [between] the fairly large cast", he criticized the animation quality as ranging from "okay to downright lazy". He stated that "aside from the great opening song, the music, though good, is forgettable", but described the ending theme as "lame". Beveridge stated that the "solid" musical score helps convey the "action cleanly".
Mania Entertainment's G. B. Smith criticized the English-language dubbed release by Geneon for having several inconsistencies in the performances, pronunciation of names and localization, but accredited these faults to the direction. Smith praised the voice actors in the English dub for the many of the main characters, stating that "here are several A rank performances that shine quite well"; however, Smith stated that "there is a noticeable drop off in the quality of the voices and the performances in the lesser and incidental characters." Smith noted that the subtitles and English dub diverged "sharply" in the way they name characters. Additionally, Smith criticized the English script for being excessively lip-synched producing "Weird Sounding English".
The film adaptation earned 380million yen (approx. $4.4million USD) during its release. The Bluray Disc version of the movie sold 58,000 copies in its first week and has been in the top position of the Bluray charts for its first two weeks of sale.