But make no mistake. Maybe people have the wrong impression from the title (which may account for the surprisingly low ratings), but StrikerS is, in fact, squarely in the Shonen denomination, and is a rambunctiously good Shonen to boot.
Plot
Lets have a quick summary. StrikerS is set 10 years after the previous iteration of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, in which the titular character has outgrown her loliness and become a full time Instructor, training the new generation of horribly underaged TSAB recruits. The cast is further expanded with the introduction of new recruits. As industry standard, a threat to world security soon arises, and Nanoha, together with her old friends from the previous season, as well as her new recruits, is responsible for stopping them, shonen-protagonist style.
When I say shonen-protagonist style, I mean, of course, "extremely violently and with great prejudice. The plot is par for the course, with a convincingly evil big bad, lots of cool henchmen, and lots, and lots of violence. It also manages to get some decent military intrigue going, and the last few episodes are a roller-coaster ride of emotions, where the action is fast-paced and gripping. It's a great step up from the previous seasons, and indeed, the complexity of the plot surpasses industry standard shonen, or even seinen fare.
Necessary recaps for viewers who have not seen the previous show are done extremely tastefully, telling just enough, but not totally spilling the beans, such that new viewers can jump right into the show, yet are still tempted to watch previous seasons. The continuation of previous plot elements to their conclusion in StrikerS is also done well, if a bit thuggishly at certain points.
Sadly, the show is hamstrung by its shonen trappings. I cannot talk any further to prevent spoilers, but suffice to say, the marvelous plot was, in the end, let down by the fact that the target audience for this show was, in fact, teenagers. Bit of a shame. It wasn't a deeply profound plot, but it was entertaining.
Aesthetics
The art is vey much the same as with the previous seasons, with one major difference: budget. No frame-dropping or awkward movements for us this time, no sirree! While not spectacular, the animation is nonetheless extremely high-quality, and the explosions are beautifully done.
Sound, sadly, appears to have taken a dip from previous seasons, even if still serviceable. The voice acting continues to be above-average, but sound effects have suffered slightly. The whimsical bassoon melodies from Season One and Two have disappeared, to be replaced by genericized faux-brass tunes. The character leitmotifs, however, remain as beautiful tunes.
Setting and Characters
To my surprise (and later, pleasure), the director of StrikerS has taken the ambitious step of rewriting the setting, dragging emphasis away from staples of the previous seasons (Familiars and Devices being the most obvious), instead putting the emphasis on political maneuvering and a certain degree of philosophy. The emphasis on human relations from the previous seasons remains strongly in force, and indeed, we continue to see well-rounded and strong characters, both familiar and new, grow and develop as the show progresses. It is extremely well done, and kudos should rightly go to the director for this.
However... again due to the shonen trappings of the show, the cast has gotten into a.. ballooning tendency due to their shonen protagonist invulnerability status. This leads to appearance issues, where a huge cast pool competes for limited airtime. While this is understandable, it is also regrettable, especially when characters whose deaths would have been perfectly placed to advance the plot stay alive.
Overview
The director has chosen to shunt the show to the mainstream, a smart and noble move. However, I do wish he'd have enough confidence to put down his artistic vision without fear of repercussion, although the realist in me tells me this will never happen. While I don't deny I enjoyed this show, it has the potential to be more, so, so much more. It's good, but calling it excellent would be a blatant lie.
8/10, very deservedly so.
