is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses five

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series, four theatrical films, multiple

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

and

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

adaptations and sequels, as well as model figures, plastic models and toys from

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

. Its inaugural installment was the 2004 television series of the same name, an alternate universe spin-off of the ''

Triangle Heart , abbreviated as ''Toraha'', is a series of eroge by Janis and OVAs by Mook and Seven Arcs that is best known for its spin-off series, '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha''. The name comes from the fact that each game focuses on a "triangle" of ...

'' series. The series is named after its protagonist

Nanoha Takamachi The following list introduces the characters of the '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' in Main and Movie Timeline. Protagonists Nanoha Series ; : : The main protagonist of the series, Nanoha is an ordinary nine year old girl that answered a ca ...

. At the beginning of the series, Nanoha is a 9-year old schoolgirl in modern-day Japan, who is swept into a conflict between extra-dimensional powers vying for control over magical artifacts they had discovered on Earth. Nanoha herself is revealed to be tremendously powerful in the extra-dimensional techno-magic and in later installments, leaves Earth altogether to pursue a magical career. In the latest entry, ''

Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force or ''Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force'' is a Japanese manga series written by Masaki Tsuzuki and illustrated by Yukari Higa. It is part of the fourth Nanoha series along with ViVid, and was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Nyantyp ...

'', she is 25. Nanoha's role has gradually diminished in later installments, and she only appears briefly in the 2016 spin-off anime ''

ViVid Strike! is a Japanese manga series written by Masaki Tsuzuki and illustrated by Takuya Fujima. It is part of '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' franchise, taking place four years after the events of ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS''. The seri ...

''.

Origins

Nanoha Takamachi first appeared as a minor character in the

eroge An ''eroge'' ( or , ''erogē''; ; a portmanteau of ''erotic game'' , ''erochikku gēmu'') is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. In 1982, Japan's Koei, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa (and later known for strategy ...

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

'' Triangle Heart 3'', released on December 8, 2000. She was first cast as a

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transfo ...

on a merchandise CD ''Triangle Heart 3 ~Lyrical Toy Box~'', released on June 29, 2001. Nanoha's first animated appearance was in the first episode of ''Triangle Heart 3''

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

adaptation, released on July 24, 2003. All three titles, as well as the entire spin-off franchise starring Nanoha, were written by .

Overview

Main timeline

In the plot premise of the original series, ''

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a Japanese 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), ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' series. T ...

'' (2004), 21 "Jewel Seeds", highly destructive artifacts from another dimension, are accidentally scattered across Earth. After Nanoha assists an injured extradimensional magician in collecting them, she is drawn into a magical battle against a female mage named

Fate Testarossa The following list introduces the characters of the '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' in Main and Movie Timeline. Protagonists Nanoha Series ; : : The main protagonist of the series, Nanoha is an ordinary nine year old girl that answered a ca ...

, who came to Earth to collect Jewel Seeds for her mother Precia. Attracted by their activity, the interdimensional police TSAB ("Time-Space Administration Bureau") intervenes to secure and to seal the artifacts. In the end, Nanoha convinces Fate to rebel against Precia, who is defeated and apparently dies. In ''

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's ("A's" is pronounced as "Ace") is an anime television series produced by Seven Arcs. It is the second anime in the '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' franchise, following the previous series. The series aired in Japan between October 1, 2 ...

'' (2005), Nanoha continues her magical training. Six months after the original series, she and Fate encounter the "Wolkenritter", four magic knights who steal others' magical abilities to save

Hayate Yagami The following list introduces the characters of the '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' in Main and Movie Timeline. Protagonists Nanoha Series ; : : The main protagonist of the series, Nanoha is an ordinary nine year old girl that answered a ca ...

, a wheelchair-using Japanese girl. Since the Wolkenritter are skilled in Ancient Belkan combat magic far superior to theirs, Nanoha and Fate fail to stop them and the Book of Darkness, an ancient artifact bound to Hayate, is activated. A worldwide catastrophe is only prevented thanks to TSAB and most importantly, Hayate's intervention. In the following years, all primary characters leave Earth to pursue magical careers in the TSAB homeworld Midchilda. ''

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''. This season aired ...

'' (2007) takes place ten years after ''A's'' and is set on Midchilda. Hayate, now a Lieutenant Colonel of TSAB, forms a special Riot Force 6 to counter the impending

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

crisis organized by Dr. Scaglietti, a former colleague and accomplice of Precia Testarossa, and his combat

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

s ("Numbers"). Nanoha, Fate, and the Wolkenritter join the unit, along with four young mages whom they personally train ("Forwards"). Despite their preparations, the unit fails to protect Vivio, a girl targeted by Scaglietti and adopted by Nanoha, and the crisis strikes in full force, stopped in the nick of time by Riot Force 6's heroic efforts. The unit is then dissolved, with its members returning to their original posts. A Drama CD titled '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Sound Stage X'' (2008) is set three years after the Jail Scaglietti Incident. It features the characters first introduced in ''StrikerS'', mainly the Forwards and the

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

, investigating a serial murder case on Midchilda. Their investigation eventually leads them to the , semi-sentient humanoid weapons from the Ancient Belkan era, and their elusive creator, Dark King Ixpellia. Vivio's story is continued in the manga ''

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid is a Japanese manga series written by Masaki Tsuzuki and illustrated by Takuya Fujima. It is part of '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' franchise, taking place four years after the events of ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS''. The serie ...

'' (2009-2017), which is set four years after ''StrikerS''. Vivio now attends a magical academy on Midchilda, where she meets Einhart Stratos, another descendant of the Ancient Belkan

royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

. Together with their friends, the two of them participate in the Inter-Middle, a magical combat

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

for young mages. A spin-off anime series, ''ViVid Strike!'' (2016), stars a teen magical martial artist Fuka Reventon, who trains under Einhart for a rematch against her estranged childhood friend, Rinne Berlinetta. Another manga, ''

'' (2009-2013, on hiatus), set six years after ''StrikerS'', focuses on a new protagonist, Thoma Avenir. After Thoma rescues a mute girl named Lily Strosek on remote world, he unwittingly becomes a fugitive from TSAB. The ex-members of Riot Force 6 join forces once again to avert a new crisis caused by dangerous Ancient Belkan legacy, the Book of the Silver Cross, to which Lily is apparently connected, and the Hückebein family, an interdimensional terrorist cell with sights on Thoma.

Alternate timelines

The

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

video game ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces'' (2010) is set in an

alternate timeline Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

which diverges from the main series at the end of the second anime series. In it, Nanoha and Fate refuse to seal Reinforce, allowing the Book of Darkness to regenerate its defenses and use the heroes' own dark clones to attack them. In the sequel, ''The Gears of Destiny'' (2011), the heroines must battle

time-travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

ing humanoid Gears for the future of their respective worlds, and even meet characters from the future (of the main timeline). The first two theatric movies were largely faithful adaptations of the first two anime seasons, but starting with ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection'' (2017), the movies' continuity sharply diverged from the main one by cross-introducing the Gears (who are human in this continuity) to the Earth after Reinforce had been sealed. ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation'' (2018) concludes the story arc that started in ''Reflection''. ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Innocent'' (2012-2014) is a spin-off manga series set in a universe parallel to the main franchise, where the main characters are ordinary girls who battle each other in a magical card game called "Brave Duel". A follow-up sequel manga, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Innocents'' (2014-2016), featuring younger Subaru and Teana was published after the first spin-off ended.

Media

Anime

To date, there have been three anime television series produced by

Seven Arcs is a Japanese anime production company and former studio, established on May 31, 2002, by former Pierrot staff. The studio made its first animated television series, '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'', in 2004. Since then, the company has produced ...

. The first series, ''

'', aired in Japan between October and December 2004. The second series, ''

'', aired between October and December 2005. The third series, ''

'', aired between April and September 2007. The first two series were licensed in North America by

Geneon (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Tokyo, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distributi ...

and distributed by

Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

. A theatrical retelling of the first series, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st'', was released in theaters on January 23, 2010, with an adaptation of the second series, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's'', released on July 14, 2012. The third and fourth movies, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection'' and ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation'', released in 2017 and 2018, have an original story based on elements from the ''A's Portable'' games. ''Reflection'' was released on July 22, 2017, while ''Detonation'' was released on October 19, 2018. An anime television adaptation of the ''

'' manga series aired between April and June 2015, and was produced by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

. In 2016, a new original anime was released, ''

'', once again animated by Seven Arcs, which focuses on new original characters, Fuka and Rinne.

Manga and novel

''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' novel is an adaptation of the first season, while the ''A's'' manga and ''StrikerS THE COMICS'' are collections of short side-stories expanding the respective anime series. ''ViVid'' and ''Force'' are standalone, independent story arcs that take place several years after the events of ''StrikerS''. ''The MOVIE 1st'' manga, similar to the ''A's'' and ''StrikerS'' manga series, expand on the storyline of the movie. ''Innocent'' is set in a parallel world to the main franchise.

Radio drama

Video games

Two

fighting games A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attac ...

based on ''A's'' were released by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

for

in January 2010 and December 2011 respectively. Characters from the ''Nanoha'' franchise appear in the crossover role-playing game, ''Nendoroid Generation'', which is based on the

Nendoroid The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearance. Th ...

series of figures.

Cultural impact

The franchise takes an innovative approach to the

genre, focusing much more on combat whereas typical titles focus more on characterization, as well as being targeted at a male demographic. ICv2 praised the ''Nanoha'' franchise for taking a more serious approach to

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

such as

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

than other magical girl anime. John Oppliger, an analyst for

AnimeNation AnimeNation was an American business that included RentAnime.com, a discussion forum, anime industry news, and a column called "Ask John." It was previously a retailer of anime and manga products until 2014 and an anime licensing and distributio ...

, identified two ways in which the ''Lyrical Nanoha'' franchise deviates from the magical girl genre conventions: the tone and feel of the conflict and the presentation of its central heroine,

. About the former, he observed that although another magical girl series, ''

Futari wa Pretty Cure , known as simply ''Pretty Cure'' outside Japan, is a Japanese magical girl anime series produced by Toei Animation and broadcast across Japan on ANN for 97 episodes. It is the first series in the ''Pretty Cure'' metaseries created by Izum ...

'', preceded the first ''Lyrical Nanoha'' anime by six months in introducing an unprecedented amount of

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

to the genre, the fights in ''Pretty Cure'' were still strongly tied to the emotional state and drama of their participants. Whereas in ''Nanoha'', the battles are akin to "magical gunfights"; they appear objective, mechanical, and deadly and are inspired more by the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

genres than by the traditional magical girl conflicts. Regarding the latter, Oppliger described the show as trying to evoke

sympathy Sympathy is the perception of, understanding of, and reaction to the distress or need of another life form. According to David Hume, this sympathetic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint from a personal perspective to the perspective of ano ...

for Nanoha Takamachi instead of

empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...

, i.e. ''Nanoha'' presents its heroine from an external

point of view Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronou ...

to make the audience feel for her but not want to be her or to be like her, as other magical girl series do. Such perspective is, according to Oppliger, "used for conventional

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

anime" and makes the anime more accessible to the older male demographic.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Nanoha Mass media franchises Fiction about magic Seinen manga Shōnen manga