Nanoha StrikerS: Wins tricks but who's keeping score?

Solid snipers win games, or can just ruin your day if you're on the wrong side of that scope. They sit in the back, don't make much noise, and hand you a one-way ticket back to your respawn point only after you've fought past a host of obstacles. That little sniper rifle icon in the corner with your name to the right of it feels completely arbitrary.

At the same time, the stereotypical sniper is underutilized, precisely because they choose to sit around waiting for enemies to round that fateful (and fatal) corner. When they add to their points column, it is a result that was a split second in the making.

Vice is that stereotypical sniper, by coincidence more than choice, but that coincidence was fabricated by a story writer. His situation is merely one coincidence in a battle marked by numerous arbitrary moments that seemed written with, what else, a split second's worth of consideration.

Playing trump does happen, especially in Euchre, but:

a) The universe, and by extension, Life, may be deterministic but since we can't compute the universe's interactions in general, we'll live with stochastic processes and random variables (that are neither random nor variables).

b) Since Life is random for all that we know, bad things can and do happen to everyone and everything, you included.

c) On the bright side, you might just be misfortune incarnate to your opponents, and will derive much hilarity when you dish out the pain. The probability of this event occurring is non-zero.

In a story context, it's a one-way street, which usually manifests as a I Am Not Left Handed scenario. This is convenient for writers, and not so interesting to viewers. Specific to StrikerS, we are teased with the use of never before seen abilities from almost every Section 6 combatant, abilities which basically win games, and then the series is over. I feel like I missed the PWN train and had to settle for the Half Decent bus.

At least we caught a glimpse of said train as it left the station.

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Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: Don't pull your punches

For the time being, yesy has turned into this serial subbing machine. I am not complaining.


I think I've seen more blood in episode 21 than in the first two seasons combined. Ironic, then, that fighting was really all the first two seasons were about, and it continues to be the main strength in this latest run.

Blood drives home the fact that, unlike the battles of old, people are really out to kill each other this time around. In the past, all the good guys did was get in the way of bad guys intent on accumulating stuff. Now, they have an objective to take, and the bad guys aren't accumulating trinkets (anymore) so much as endeavouring to hold the planet hostage and blow stuff up.

Nanoha StrikerS is worth following now more than ever (due in no small part to yesy), as the battle that was prompted by the events of episode 19 is going to round out the rest of this series. Mistakes under fire have already been made. Being shot in the leg (and the other incident in episode 21) is just the beginning of a very unclean day. This is definitely not the kid's show of the past two seasons.

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Nanoha StrikerS: Midchildan markets tumble. Towers, too.

Episode 16/17 was a grim day for The 6th MS Team (as well as Web 2.0, Sesame Street, and the Beastie Boys).

Nanoha StrikerS is in large part about growing the cast company, or just plain growing up. For the cast, there was plenty of growing up to be had by way of a thorough beat down. But continuing on with the corporate analogy, the startup days are over.

Non-stop confrontation is over. Do or die every episode, as a general rule, is over. Other people give the orders and impose crippling limits on their subordinates. A lot of the episodes have this comfortable, laid-back, secure desk job, feel. This might actually be because there are actual desk job scenes. Lots of them.

Training is just that. It's repetitive and progress is generally measured over weeks, if not months. I can appreciate training, but it's hard to make training scenes compelling to watch. Invariably all such scenes have, "Do this. Do that. Do this again. Here's a tip. Here's a new ability" ad nauseum.

When the characters involved in training don't totally suck but aren't absolutely brilliant either, it's doubly hard to watch with interest. There are no antics or mishaps from newbies, nor are there personality conflicts between n00bs and l33ts alike. Limbo characters just follow orders, over and over, and steadily get better. Their continued improvement is as assured as paint drying.

An elegant weapon for a more…civilized age

No doubt more consideration will be given to the replacement of our modern weapons with magical ones. It would have been nice if more information to that debate was offered up front in place of some of the training scenes. If nothing else, more office politics would have sufficed. Those teaser discussions between Gaiz and Auris brought nothing to the table, other than maybe Auris having a crisis of confidence (or conscience) in an elevator.

And finally, just some musings specific to episode 17.

Choke MOAR

Okay Vice, I understand that you might be high off the fumes from burning plastics, asbestos, and stuffed toy rabbits, but real snipers shake off the hallucinations. Are you not a pro sniper? Apparently, not pro enough. I suppose when you're washed up, you're washed up, damaged goods, etc.

Locked on? Screw the rules, I have technology!

It's not quite aimbot, but just who is in charge here? How good of a sniper are you if you need your rifle to tell you when to fire? But still, they should have had a better reason for deploying a sniper. The dude was holding a knife. For mages with barrier jackets, what is a knife going to do? And there are people who can hover! Rappel (or hover) down from the side, swing in, apply a barrier to the kid (or apply flash bang), kick butt.

If Vice doesn't pick up his sniper rifle again or if Teana doesn't receive pointers, I'll be disappointed. It means a scene was wasted talking about his past, which could have been easily inferred from his conveniently timed flashback.

This thing can turn on a dime, Macross Zero stylez!

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Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: A press release

Capital City, Midchilda, April 1, 2007 - The Time Space Administration Bureau Inc. (MSAQ: TSAB) announced today that it has agreed to acquire Nanoha Inc., responsible for such successful outcomes like Nanoha v0.1 and Nanoha Beta A's, for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, Nanoha Inc. will be renamed to The 6th MS Mobile Section 6, operating under the close scrutiny of the TSAB Ground Forces, its new parent division.

"We have had a good partnership in the past with Nanoha Inc. and have noted their continued cast growth and success in this very competitive market," said Regius Gaiz, Chief Tyrant of TSAB. "This is a mutually beneficial transaction, allowing us to impede the progress of Nanoha Inc. as well as keep tabs on some of its less desirable elements."

"I truly believe that this is a historic milestone for the company," said Nanoha Takamachi, CEO and co-founder of Nanoha Inc. "We have entered a new chapter where others choose our battles or prevent us from acting at all."

When the acquisition is complete, Nanoha Inc. will move to a permanent facility situated within firing range of the TSAB's Capital City Defense Forces. Bolstered by the recruitment of other suspicious elements into its front line staff, the newly christened Mobile Section 6 will provide token assistance in such areas as child assistance and lost and found, under the close supervision of high ranking inspectors of superior judgment and moral fibre.

About The Time Space Administration Bureau
The TSAB provides an ideal sandbox for playing politics and establishing shady connections. Founded in time immemorial, the TSAB enjoys frequent internal power struggles and grudge matches between its ground, naval, and air forces.

About Nanoha Inc.
Founded in 2004, Nanoha Inc. acquired Wolkenritter Intergalactic (Planetary!) to become a multi-faceted security Contractor organization. The company prides itself on its clear-cut battle lines even if the opponents are not. By capitalizing on this combat innovation, the company has brought WIN, EPIC, and the letter J to its myriad fans around the universe(s).

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some assembly required. Actual results may vary. Past performance is no indication of future returns. Correlation does not imply causation. Warranty void if seal is broken. No purchase necessary.

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