“I could file a lawsuit against you for obstructing business.” – Lutecia Alpine 2015
Impression
If I were to describe this episode in one word, it would be ‘fanservice’. And I don’t just mean ecchi fanservice, although there was a wonderful amount of that as well. For a spin-off which has its protagonists specialise in martial arts instead of aerial magic-based combat, having even a taste of the latter is already a treat in itself. It was really nostalgic to see Wing Road and an adult Nanoha in her barrier jacket! Poor Einhart must have gotten a shock to learn the truth about both Nanoha and Fate, after having thought that they didn’t do magic at all and were just ‘family-oriented, beautiful and warm-hearted mothers’ – although they’re that too! I want Einhart to witness them at their greatest, though, so it’s unfortunate that their maximum output will be limited during the mock battle. You see, this is the thing about working for the TSAB as an adult and having to comply with all sorts of regulations and rules. I remember Hayate having to go through stages of clearance before she was allowed to go all-out in StrikerS, despite the reality that she essentially commanded a private army of lesbians. Back on Earth, they could do whatever they wanted!
The relationship between Vivio and Einhart is steadily improving! It’s progressing fairly slowly, but progress is being made. I get the feeling that Vivio certainly sympathizes with, and is interested in Einhart’s recollections, but at the same time isn’t too sure how to respond – because she’s linked to the Sankt Kaiser in a way fundamentally different to how Einhart is liked to the Hegemon Ingvalt. I did love how Einhart kept pausing at various points to apologize to Vivio for the depressing nature of her story though – and the fact that she’s even willing to open up to her is a positive sign for their relationship.
As for ‘fanservice’ in its traditional meaning, what we got was surprisingly lewd. Not that I had any problems with it, of course! It was pretty daring actually – I mean, there were leaves when required and stuff (and Garyuu had his tray of drinks cover up Caro once) but I feel like they tried their best. All the girls had at least one little moment thanks to Sein, from the lolis to the more well-endowed like Teana. Was Tea really always that stacked?
And some got a bit more focus than others, like Lutecia. Mm, Lutecia. She can be my lawyer as well as my property agent. I actually spent a couple of moments after Sein was introduced wondering exactly who she was. But as she continued swimming around I realized: it’s Deep Diver-chan! I swear she looks completely different. A lot cuter than I seem to remember. Then again, it’s been four years and rehab must have changed her for the better. It’s always wonderful seeing more of the Numbers enjoy life after Jail – and it’s gotta be better than life in jail, amirite?
“Was Tea really always that stacked?”
Well, she’s 20 now, compared to 16 in StrikerS, so maybe she hadn’t quite finished developing at the time.
I continue to find it amusing how many folks comment on the ecchi nature of the onsen scene, when the anime has censored it so thoroughly compared to the original version!
In other news, clearly Lutecia has managed to find some things to do with herself, having been living on an unihabited world with only her mother and her summons (aside from vistors) for the past four years. I’m a bit sad that they didn’t include her “If I kept a rare pet in the onsen, don’t you think I would have bragged about it by now?” line, since that both highlghted her new personality, and the fact that she’s pretty self-aware.
But hey, fun times were had by all, Rio got to show off a bit, next episode everyone beats up everyone else, and we all go home happy (hopefully).
Tea was blessed by the time-skip! I didn’t even know that line existed, but now that I do, I’m also sad that they didn’t include it. Lutecia has the best one-liners.
I went back to read the onsen scene, and… wow, they really didn’t hold back. Just like Nanoha! Thank you for that, I got to see something nice 😀
Vantage, if you’re waiting on FFF for the new episode, you should really just go ahead and watch the anon subs. In my experience so far, not only have they been quicker, they’re actually more accurate (weird as that sounds).
It’s partly that, and partly because I’ve been pretty tight on time lately. It’s been all I could do to keep up with blogging my other shows, and Nanoha took the fall as I didn’t know when the subs would turn up. I have no intention of dropping it though, rest assured. I’ll do something about it in the days to come.
Glad to know that anon is reliable though!
Not to try to put too much pressure on you, but… It’s one thing to do episodes 6 and 7 in one make-up post that covers both of them. But you’re almost to the point of having episode 8 be out as well, and it really won’t work in a single post with those two. The atmosphere and themes in 8 are going to be entirely different than what 6 and 7 were focusing on. You really should try to get a post out for the two episodes that we have already before it ends up being three episodes instead.
Vantage at the moment is in the middle of doing his crazy exams so please be understanding of his delays
Also we don’t do Three Episodes in One Entries (or at least try to avoid that), so Episode 8 may end up solo either way
I actually plan to do 6 and 7 individually as well, so don’t worry! I’ll be all done with exams this time next week.