Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s

Japanese Title: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s
Genre: Action/Adventure
Format: 13 Episodes
Allegiance: Seven Arcs
Director: Kusakawa Keizou
Vintage: 2005
Intelligence Agency Report by: Drake
It’s been six months since Takamachi Nanoha, a normal everday 3rd grader, encountered a ferret and entered a world of battles, magic and adventure. All she wanted to do was reunite with her old friends, but fate was against that. Four warrior knights mysteriously appear in search of Linker Cores, a central source of magic in the world, to refill the pages of the “Book of Darkness” once more in the name of their mistress.

Field Agent Report by: Drake
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
9.00
8.25
9.75
9.25
9.00
Overall 9.25
(not an average)

Normally in my experience sequels never really match the original, and very few actually surpass it. However, I must admit that Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s exceeded all my expectations as a sequel toMagical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Virtually every element admired by fans about Nanoha returned and was pushed to the next level.

One of the greatest improvements was the plot. In Nanoha A’s, the series broke away from the “monster of the week” pattern that was found in the prequel. Instead, there’s a more clear-cut and direct plot: stop the Book of Darkness, which was a great change, seeing as it gave the plot more opportunities to be very intricate and interesting. It also further developed characters we met in Nanoha, as all the characters are back along with many new faces.

While the plot and characters have evolved to the next level, the visuals and music have also been kicked up a notch. Once again the producers bring us exceptionally well done fight sequences and beautiful art. Also back for a second round of splendid music is Mizuki Nana, who did a phenomenal job with the opening “Eternal Blaze.” The introduction of German-speaking Mage Rods also added a new flair to the series.

Overall the second installment of Magical Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha was extremely enjoyable and exceeded my expectations. I pray there’s a third installment on the way. However, judging from the final scenes, I don’t think we’ll have to worry. In the meantime, go watch Magical Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (if you haven’t already) and Magical Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s. You won’t be disappointed.