Daijoubu

So I’m starting to pick away at my huge backlog, but I’m pretty bored with the first episode of this. I liked how in the old series the focus was on Nanoha and Fate and it started with their family and friends at first (even though they went to a lot of effort to introduce all these family members and then never used them much!). Then she gets caught up in a larger drama with the other cute characters and then that time-space organization gets involved. But here its all about these new cadets in this formalized police/military structure with ranks and evaluations. Shouldn’t magical girls be a little freer than this? They might be working as agents for some higher power, but they do best when they have to rely on their own inner strength (and their friends, of course!), and learn as they go, without a lot of rules and regulations getting in the way. Magical girls in formal training programs with exams to pass are not as fun, are they?

So yes, I miss the younger Nanoha and Fate. I’m not ashamed to say that they were cuter, and plot-wise they worked well, even though they were very mature for supposed third graders. I always mentally add a few years to whatever age anime characters are said to be in action/adventure shows like this because they are always more like adults in their actions and relationships. I guess that’s part of the balancing act of attracting otaku who want cute characters but also a deeper plot. But the animators could easily have made them a bit older to begin with, then they wouldn’t have to change their character designs as much now. It’s all in how they approach the character designs: the girls in Ichigo Mashimaro and the girls in Manabi Straight don’t look that different, but the latter are supposed to be much older, right? Otaku-types can like them all as cute characters, and of course none of them are real, but liking one is tainted as a loli-fetish while appreciating the other, as much as it might still be frowned on, at least can be said to be focused on older girls (…am I right? ^_^) Anyway, I’m just not used to these older versions.

I know there’s a lot more characters to be introduced and a plot to develop, so I won’t be too negative until I know more, but these new girls are kind of ordinary so far. But having Reinforce Zwei makes up for a lot, so I’ll certainly watch what happens next and wait for the inevitable heart-wrenching drama to unfold.