That series was Seven Arcs 2004 anime, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Now, why do I bring up Madoka you ask? Well its because they are extremely similar (as most anime directed by Shinbo are). Heck, if it wasn't for Gen Urobuchi turning Madoka into a deep dark pit of death and despair, I'd think they were the same show. But Nanoha, being a lot less psychologically intense, gives it a lot more of an audience to appeal to. Then again, that also hurts the anime. As many "mature" anime fans would think, "Why would I want to watch a show about a 9 year-old magical girl searching for Jewel Seeds?"
Well that's what I'm here to tell ya
STORY: 7/10
(Short Summary) The story of Nanoha, starts off with 9 year-old Nanoha Takamachi, living her daily life, when suddenly, she discovers an injured ferret on the side of the road. She is worried about this ferret and wants to help it. But it turns out, that the ferret is a shape shifting mage that was sent to Earth to complete a specific task. This ferret, being injured, cannot complete this task, therfore he bestows upon Nanoha magical powers enabling her to transform into a Mage and fight off impending danger and collect items known as Jewel Seeds.
Now, that kind of a story doesn't sound like the most unique and interesting kind of story, but it's how Nanoha builds off of something so simple and turns it into a very interesting journey headlined by the characters and how they develop moving forward. It uses some run of the mill magical girl themes tied with uncharacteristically dealing with real social problems throughout the series. It ends up turning into a very unique series that is fun and awesome to watch.
CHARACTERS: 9/10
The characters in Nanoha go through many trials and tribulations throughout the series, in which they must find ways to deal with. Our lead Nanoha Takamachi is a bright and cheery young girl who's easy to love right from the start and became one of my more favorite female lead characters in anime. She starts off as anyone would in her situation, surprised, scared of what may happen, and hoping that she is able to do all that she is asked to do. And eventually comed to terms with her situation and finds that she now wants to do this instead of being forced to.
The other characters are memorable, and very well fleshed out. None more so than the second female lead, Fate Testarossa. Fate develops almost the most in the show, and is a really cool character to see go through her obstacles.
I found every character very enjoyable to see on screen, and was very happy with how they all turned out.
ART/ANIMATION: 8/10
I honestly loved the character designs for this show. There was just something about them, blending classic animating styles with new age ones, paired with wonderful use of colors and lighting. Considering this show was made 10 years ago back in 2004, by Studio Seven Arcs, I was impressed. It was an unexpectedly very well done.
SOUND: 8/10
The soundtrack gets the job done, and it gets it done well. It knows when to be serious, it knows when to be intense, and it knows when to be sad. And the tracks fit the show well. The Opening Theme was very good as well. The OP, like the soundtrack, fit the show near perfectly.
As for the voice acting, I also thought they excelled for every role. Nanoha was portrayed very nicely by the wonderful Yukari Tamura. But the best voice in the show, would be of Nana Mizuki's portrayal of Fate Testarossa. She hit that feel of dread in Fate's character perfectly. All the voice actors left nothing for me to complain about and did good jobs all around.
ENJOYMENT: 10/10
OVERALL: 9/10
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is an anime that at first glance, probably doesn't look like something you'd enjoy, but underneath the surface, lies an underrated anime from the Magical Girl genre that I feel is absolutely worth seeing by anyone who feels they'd like to see it. For me personally, I loved this anime. I loved every second of it. From the first minutes of episode 1 to the lasting minutes of episode 13. I had been holding it off for a while and after finally watching it I can honestly say that it met all of my expectations and excelled in every category. It is truly an anime that I won't soon forget.
