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Signum (Nanoha)
Encyclopedia
, voiced by Kaori Shimizu (Japanese) and Bailey Chadwick (English), is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
. She appears in neither the previous series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
nor the alternate universe story Triangle Heart
, but appears in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
. Signum is the leader of the Wolkenritter (German
> "Cloud Knights"), a creation of the Book of Darkness
. Signum's weapon is a chain-link sword called Laevatein, and as a magical creation, she has no familiar. She is named for the Opel Signum
, much like characters of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
are named for cars, and her device appears to be named after the mythical sword Laevateinn
. As per the other Wolkenritter, she has no last name (though in earth she is known as Hayate's mother Yagami Signum).
and that she has started smiling sometimes. She is completely dedicated to Hayate, and as the leader of the Wolkenritter, fights for the others as well. Signum is the most serious of the Wolkenritter, having reservations about relaxing with Hayate, whom she unfailingly addresses as "Mistress Hayate" in contrast to Vita and Shamal. Signum forms a friendship and rivalry with Fate Testarossa
, and while she claims that she is considerably more skilled than Fate, she is willing to acknowledge Fate's skill to some degree.
Linker Core (a mage's source of magic) for the Book of Darkness
. Since the arrival of Nanoha's cavalry, Fate Testarossa
and Yūno Scrya
, Vita is cornered and Signum must come to her rescue with Shamal. The Wolkenritter overpower the TSAB troupe with their use of high-powered magical cartridges, and Signum manages to snap Fate's staff, Bardiche, in half. The battle ends with Shamal finally managing to get Nanoha's Linker Core and Nanoha breaking Vita's
barrier. Signum refuses to take a bath that night for fear of Hayate seeing the injuries sustained in her battle with Fate.
The Wolkenritter attack mages and monsters to steal their Linker Cores, their sources of magic, to fill the 666
pages of the Book of Darkness with this power before it saps any more of Hayate's and endangers her life by paralyzing her internal organs. They continue to obtain Linker Cores and fight off interference from the Time-Space Administration Bureau (TSAB), mainly Fate- with whom Signum faces off during every battle, and whose strength she respects- and Nanoha, while they try to keep Hayate from knowing that they are stealing magic for pages; she has told them that as long as she is mistress of the Book, she will not allow anyone to be harmed over it.
Signum, determined to save Hayate even if it means going against her wishes, convinces the other Wolkenritter to fill up the Book of Darkness anyway. What the Wolkenritter don't know about Hayate is that the Book, once completed, may stop sapping her Linker Core for pages, but that does not mean that it will stop hurting her or undo its damage. In fact, the master of the Book dies upon its completion. Signum continues to masquerade as a distant relative of Hayate's while covering up their deeds.
Just before the Book of Darkness is completed, Suzuka brings Hayate some friends in the hospital as the Wolkenritter are there... Nanoha and Fate. The warring groups recognize each other and their shared wish at once, and meet on the roof of the hospital. Nanoha and Fate try to tell the Wolkenritter about what will happen to Hayate, but their confrontation is cut short by both the interference of two masked men and the completion of the Book of Darkness with the Linker Cores of the Wolkenritter themselves. All that is left of Signum is her winter coat.
Alia and Lotte Liese, who turn out to be the masked "men", frame Nanoha and Fate for the death of Signum and the others. Hayate screams in horror for all of this to stop and is taken over by the will of the Book of Darkness, becoming the fearsome possessed woman inside of it just as the real duo escapes their prison. Meanwhile, Signum's spirit is trapped inside the Book of Darkness with the others. When Hayate rejects her own wish of vengeance, she reprograms the entire Book, but a virus still remains inside, the one that caused the evil aspect of the Book in the first place. Hayate awakens the spirits of Signum and her friends inside the book of Darkness, and she decides to join the fight against the automated defence program that Hayate describes as "the 'darkness' in the Book of Darkness." Signum turns Laevatein into a longbow to attack the rogue program and break through its barriers in conjunction with Fate. In the end, Reinforce releases all the Wolkenritter in physical forms at the cost of her own existence. Afterward, Signum tells Fate that they will fight again to settle their battle once and for all, and Fate notes that they will do so many times.
In an epilogue that takes place six years later, Signum has a 25 years old appearance(as she is ten years older than Fate and Nanoha), and still lives with the other Wolkenritter and Hayate, posing as the adoptive parent of Hayate.
In the epilogue issue of the A's manga series, stated as being five months after the conclusion of the A's anime, the Wolkenritter are shown as being officers of the Armed Corps, assigned to the Special Investigations Assistance Department.
The ongoing StrikerS manga series occurs six years after the events of A's and four years before the events of the StrikerS anime series. In it, the Wolkenritter have been reassigned to different departments within the TSAB, and work together only on special occasions; Signum is now an officer with the Midchilda Army, Vita and Shamal have been posted to the Central Office, and Zafira acts as bodyguard for both Hayate and Shamal. They still live together with Hayate, and are planning on moving their residence from Earth to Midchilda.
In a supplemental manga chapter taking place after StrikerS, Signum fights against Nanoha in a mock battle, and the match ends in draw.
In Nanoha Force, Signum engaged a battle with a terrorist Cypha but later find herself lying on a pool of her own blood with a sword sticking through her gut. Since then she remained catatonic. Hayate tried to find Bright Noa hoping that he'll slap her back into senses but unfortunately, Bright Noa have been dead for centuries.
to spar with him.
During the attack of Saint's Cradle, Signum fought with Knight Zest Grangeitz, who united with Agito. She performed unison with Reinforce Zwei
, but only managed to end the fight with a draw. The fight continues inside the headquarters of Capital City Defense Forces, and Signum came out victorious. In his dying breath, Zest asks her to take care of Agito and Lutecia Alpino. Agito, angry with Signum for killing Zest but grateful that she allowed him to die with honor, agrees to fight alongside Signum as her Unison Device, and together, the two destroy 50 gadgets that arrive as reinforcements.
, thus fans has noted that Signum might be based on or is a homage to the heroine of Super Robot Wars Advance
, Lamia Loveless. There have been a lot of similarities found between both characters:
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...
. She appears in neither the previous series 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...
nor the alternate universe story 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...
, but appears in 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...
. Signum is the leader of the Wolkenritter (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
> "Cloud Knights"), a creation of the Book of Darkness
Reinforce (Nanoha)
is a key character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, who reveals herself near the end. She does not appear in either Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or the alternate universe shown in the Triangle Heart series. She is voiced by Sanae Kobayashi...
. Signum's weapon is a chain-link sword called Laevatein, and as a magical creation, she has no familiar. She is named for the Opel Signum
Opel Signum
The Opel Signum was a large family car/executive hatchback engineered and manufactured by Opel in Germany between 2003 and 2008. It was almost exclusively sold in Europe. In the United Kingdom it was sold under the Vauxhall Signum nameplate...
, much like characters of 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...
are named for cars, and her device appears to be named after the mythical sword Laevateinn
Laevateinn
In Norse mythology, Lævateinn is a weapon mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Fjölsvinnsmál. The name Lævateinn does not appear in the original manuscript reading, but is an emendation from Hævateinn made by Sophus Bugge and others...
. As per the other Wolkenritter, she has no last name (though in earth she is known as Hayate's mother Yagami Signum).
Personality
Signum is generally seen as the cold one of the Wolkenritter, but Shamal has said that Signum's heart has warmed since they met their mistress Hayate YagamiHayate 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...
and that she has started smiling sometimes. She is completely dedicated to Hayate, and as the leader of the Wolkenritter, fights for the others as well. Signum is the most serious of the Wolkenritter, having reservations about relaxing with Hayate, whom she unfailingly addresses as "Mistress Hayate" in contrast to Vita and Shamal. Signum forms a friendship and rivalry with 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 while she claims that she is considerably more skilled than Fate, she is willing to acknowledge Fate's skill to some degree.
Signum in A's
Signum enters the story when Vita has attempted to steal Nanoha Takamachi'sNanoha 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...
Linker Core (a mage's source of magic) for the Book of Darkness
Reinforce (Nanoha)
is a key character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, who reveals herself near the end. She does not appear in either Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or the alternate universe shown in the Triangle Heart series. She is voiced by Sanae Kobayashi...
. Since the arrival of Nanoha's cavalry, 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 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...
, Vita is cornered and Signum must come to her rescue with Shamal. The Wolkenritter overpower the TSAB troupe with their use of high-powered magical cartridges, and Signum manages to snap Fate's staff, Bardiche, in half. The battle ends with Shamal finally managing to get Nanoha's Linker Core and Nanoha breaking Vita's
Vita (Nanoha)
is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, voiced by Asami Sanada. She appears in neither the previous series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha nor the later story Triangle Heart, but she does appear in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Vita is one of the Wolkenritter, a creation of the Book...
barrier. Signum refuses to take a bath that night for fear of Hayate seeing the injuries sustained in her battle with Fate.
The Wolkenritter attack mages and monsters to steal their Linker Cores, their sources of magic, to fill the 666
666 (number)
666 is the natural number following 665 and preceding 667.- In mathematics :666 is the sum of the first 36 natural numbers 666 (six hundred and sixty-six) is the natural number following 665 and preceding 667.- In mathematics :666 is the sum of the first 36 natural numbers 666 (six hundred and...
pages of the Book of Darkness with this power before it saps any more of Hayate's and endangers her life by paralyzing her internal organs. They continue to obtain Linker Cores and fight off interference from the Time-Space Administration Bureau (TSAB), mainly Fate- with whom Signum faces off during every battle, and whose strength she respects- and Nanoha, while they try to keep Hayate from knowing that they are stealing magic for pages; she has told them that as long as she is mistress of the Book, she will not allow anyone to be harmed over it.
Signum, determined to save Hayate even if it means going against her wishes, convinces the other Wolkenritter to fill up the Book of Darkness anyway. What the Wolkenritter don't know about Hayate is that the Book, once completed, may stop sapping her Linker Core for pages, but that does not mean that it will stop hurting her or undo its damage. In fact, the master of the Book dies upon its completion. Signum continues to masquerade as a distant relative of Hayate's while covering up their deeds.
Just before the Book of Darkness is completed, Suzuka brings Hayate some friends in the hospital as the Wolkenritter are there... Nanoha and Fate. The warring groups recognize each other and their shared wish at once, and meet on the roof of the hospital. Nanoha and Fate try to tell the Wolkenritter about what will happen to Hayate, but their confrontation is cut short by both the interference of two masked men and the completion of the Book of Darkness with the Linker Cores of the Wolkenritter themselves. All that is left of Signum is her winter coat.
Alia and Lotte Liese, who turn out to be the masked "men", frame Nanoha and Fate for the death of Signum and the others. Hayate screams in horror for all of this to stop and is taken over by the will of the Book of Darkness, becoming the fearsome possessed woman inside of it just as the real duo escapes their prison. Meanwhile, Signum's spirit is trapped inside the Book of Darkness with the others. When Hayate rejects her own wish of vengeance, she reprograms the entire Book, but a virus still remains inside, the one that caused the evil aspect of the Book in the first place. Hayate awakens the spirits of Signum and her friends inside the book of Darkness, and she decides to join the fight against the automated defence program that Hayate describes as "the 'darkness' in the Book of Darkness." Signum turns Laevatein into a longbow to attack the rogue program and break through its barriers in conjunction with Fate. In the end, Reinforce releases all the Wolkenritter in physical forms at the cost of her own existence. Afterward, Signum tells Fate that they will fight again to settle their battle once and for all, and Fate notes that they will do so many times.
In an epilogue that takes place six years later, Signum has a 25 years old appearance(as she is ten years older than Fate and Nanoha), and still lives with the other Wolkenritter and Hayate, posing as the adoptive parent of Hayate.
Signum in the manga
Two official manga series expand on what happens to the characters between A's and the sequel, StrikerS.In the epilogue issue of the A's manga series, stated as being five months after the conclusion of the A's anime, the Wolkenritter are shown as being officers of the Armed Corps, assigned to the Special Investigations Assistance Department.
The ongoing StrikerS manga series occurs six years after the events of A's and four years before the events of the StrikerS anime series. In it, the Wolkenritter have been reassigned to different departments within the TSAB, and work together only on special occasions; Signum is now an officer with the Midchilda Army, Vita and Shamal have been posted to the Central Office, and Zafira acts as bodyguard for both Hayate and Shamal. They still live together with Hayate, and are planning on moving their residence from Earth to Midchilda.
In a supplemental manga chapter taking place after StrikerS, Signum fights against Nanoha in a mock battle, and the match ends in draw.
In Nanoha Force, Signum engaged a battle with a terrorist Cypha but later find herself lying on a pool of her own blood with a sword sticking through her gut. Since then she remained catatonic. Hayate tried to find Bright Noa hoping that he'll slap her back into senses but unfortunately, Bright Noa have been dead for centuries.
Signum in StrikerS
Ten years after the epilogue of A's, Signum became the sub-commander of the Lightning Squad of the TSAB, working under Fate, who worked under Hayate. Unlike Vita, however, she did not participate in training the trainees, under the pretense that she is an old fashioned knight and can only teach to them is to get close to their enemies and rip them apart. However, near the end half of the series, she accepted the request of Erio MondialErio Mondial
is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Along with Caro Ru Lushe, he is one of the many kids that Fate Testarossa met and befriended while on duty, and one of the few that she actively looked after...
to spar with him.
During the attack of Saint's Cradle, Signum fought with Knight Zest Grangeitz, who united with Agito. She performed unison with Reinforce Zwei
Reinforce (Nanoha)
is a key character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, who reveals herself near the end. She does not appear in either Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or the alternate universe shown in the Triangle Heart series. She is voiced by Sanae Kobayashi...
, but only managed to end the fight with a draw. The fight continues inside the headquarters of Capital City Defense Forces, and Signum came out victorious. In his dying breath, Zest asks her to take care of Agito and Lutecia Alpino. Agito, angry with Signum for killing Zest but grateful that she allowed him to die with honor, agrees to fight alongside Signum as her Unison Device, and together, the two destroy 50 gadgets that arrive as reinforcements.
Powers
Much like Raising Heart and Bardiche speak English, the Wolkenritter's devices speak German. Translations are in parentheses.- Bogenform (Bow form) — Signum combines Laevatein with its scabbardScabbardA scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel.-Types of scabbards:...
to turn it into a longbow. - Nachladen — Not a real attack, just Laevatein reloading cartridges.
- Telepathy — Not notable, as like flight and teleportation, all other mages ihave it; however, her links appear to be strong with the other Wolkenritter, so it is tentatively listed here.
- Schlangenform (Snake form) — Laevatein expands into chain-link form.
- Schwertform (Sword form) — Laevatein returns to sword form.
- Transformation — Signum performs a group transformation with Vita and Shamal.
Defensive Abilities
- Knight Armour — Signum's battle costume consists of a battle dress designed for mobility, and armor plates. Although it is only referred to as "Armour" in the series, it seems to function similarly to the Barrier Jacket of the Mid-Childa magic system. Although Hayate discouraged her and the other Wolkenritter from fighting, she co-designed each of their costumes.
- Panzer Geist (Armor Spirit) — Creates a defensive aura, which surrounds Signum.
Offensive Abilities
– Signum spins Laevatein in Schlangenform(a whip) and makes fire elemental energy run along the blade. A typhoon of flames is formed in the air between the segments of the blade, which is then thrown against the enemy. Though this attack falls within the Shooting-Type category, it has roughly the same power as Fate's Plasma Smasher, a Bombardment-Type Spell. – Signum creates a shaft of flames and holds it as if it were a sword. By swinging her arm, she can then throw the flames against enemies that are far away. With the help of Agito, Signum used this spell to destroy over 50 Gadget Type-II with one single strike. – this is a weaker version of the Hiryū Issen with Laevatein in Schwertform, which covers the sword's blade with flames in order to increase its attack power. Beyond that, however, it is otherwise an ordinary melee strike.- Sturm Falken (Storm Falcon) - Laevatein's only known attack in Bogenform (Bow Form), and one of her most powerful solo attacks (that is, without Agito/Unison's assistance). The arrow fired from the bow can reach up to the speed of sound (Mach 1) and explodes outward in a beam comparable to Nanoha's Divine Buster.
Allusions
The creator of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is noted as a fan of Super Robot WarsSuper Robot Wars
is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Banpresto, which is now a Japanese division of Namco Bandai. The main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to...
, thus fans has noted that Signum might be based on or is a homage to the heroine of Super Robot Wars Advance
Super Robot Wars Advance
is a video game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, part of Banpresto's Super Robot Wars franchise and the first to appear on the Game Boy Advance handheld. It was ported onto mobile phones as part of the Super Robot Wars i collection in 2006 and released as an enhanced remake on the PlayStation...
, Lamia Loveless. There have been a lot of similarities found between both characters:
- A lot of Signum's spells bear similarities to the attacks executed by the Angelg, Lamia's canonical mecha, particularly the sword and bow attacks (And although Angelg lacked a chain-sword, Laevatein's Schlangenform translates into 'Snake Form', while LamiaLamia (mythology)In ancient Greek mythology, Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya who became a child-eating daemon. Aristophanes claimed her name derived from the Greek word for gullet , referring to her habit of devouring children....
is also a name of a mythological snake demon). Furthermore, Signum's overall fighting style resembles that of Lamia's other mecha, Vaisaga. - They are voiced by the same voice actressSeiyuVoice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
, Kaori Shimizu, with her using similar voice level (she is also known to voice younger characters with lighter voices). - They have similar backgrounds:
- Signum was once an artificial intelligence within the Book of Darkness, with ruthless attitude, devoid of any personalities, but gradually changes as she served Hayate
- Lamia was created as an android only to fulfill orders, but after being surrounded with other people, she began to develop her own conscience and free will.
- They were somehow connected with men who were considered dead once:
- Signum fought against Zest Grangeitz, a former member of Capital City Defense Forces, formerly presumed to be dead.
- One of Lamia's predecessors in the W-Series is W15, based on the Shadow Mirror universe's Sanger Zonvolt, which was considered killed in action beforehand. Also later includes Axel Almer, who was thought to be dead in Original Generations, but came back alive in the Gaiden.
- Signum's color scheme matches Angelg's (Pink and white).
- In the final episode of StrikerS, Signum managed to perform a unison with Agito, resulting a new outfit resembling Lamia's outfit, colored in blue
- Both of them also experienced events where they were thought to be dead, but in truth, they were still alive. They also underwent some reprogramming in process, but the ones to ultimately save them turns out to be their masters or sorts.
- In the end of A's, Signum was abruptly deleted by the Alia and Lotte Liese under Gil Graham as a result of being absorbed into the Book of Darkness, only to be called back by Hayate two episodes later, reprogrammed with more power and her memories intact.
- In the end of the bonus section of Original Generations, Lamia was abruptly killed by Wilhelm von Juergen. In the continuation of the events in Original Generation Gaiden, it turns out she was slightly reprogrammed by Duminuss and fell under her control. Later on, her former captain Axel Almer ultimately saved and restored her.