Beside the universe that the events of the story that takes mostly in place in are other dimensions. Within these other dimensions exist legendary artifacts of power known as Lost Logia. Several of these Lost Logia in the form of Jewel Seeds inadvertently made their way to Nanoha Takamichi's space, in Nanoha Takimichi's city, where their unstable potentials are reeking havoc. The mage-archeaologist who accidentally triggered their migration makes his way to Earth and Japan, taking the form of a telepathic ferret and enlisting the help of a native with an unusually high magical potential, aka, Nanoha Takamichi, to retrieve them, or seal them, before they fall into the wrong hands. Produced by Seven Arcs, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo (before he went completely Shaft), conceived and scripted by Masaki Tsuzuki, with character designs by Yasuhiro Okuda, the show's first half is a pretty textbook example of magical girls in action.
We're introduced to Nanoha, a third-grader with a loving family and equally loving friends in a “Meet _____” sort of sequence. We're introduced to magic as Nanoha explores the berth of her newfound abilities via a “Monster of the Week” sort of scenario. And during this time, Nanoha develops into her position, from one who reluctantly took up her staff, to one who wields it consciously and confidently for the sake of others, in spite of numerous opportunities to retire and return back to her safe life.
And then we're introduced to Fate Testarossa, a character who, in many respects, is the titular character's opposite. Aloof as opposed to affable, reserved as opposed to sociable, yet, if only by the look of her eyes, full of sadness rather than frost, she is also, in many respects, the titular character's equal, a person, a girl, gifted, but battered, yet otherwise normal, who wants to be loved by the one person in her life who is supposed to cherish her. And so the second half leads its audience from sunny peaks to dark valleys as the show explores Fate's sickening backstory and Nanoha's increasingly determined attempts to reach out to her from her tortured shell.
It's also at this point where the story branches out of its preset genre boundaries by blending narrative elements of sci-fi, bringing the story to a grander plane while simultaneously moving the plot. But perhaps the most consistently prolific sci-fi elements in the show, and arguably one of the most impressive things, are the magic staves, which simply ooze this sense of weightiness whenever they crackle into existence, crash into formation, and steam into and out of being. This, in turn, adds weight to the kinesthetics of the attacks. The attacks, in other words, look powerful and feel meaningful.
The OP “Innocent Starter” by Nana Mizuki uses a mixture of electronic keyboard, electric guitar, and steady drum beat, and vocals to imbue melancholy in an otherwise dynamic movement. The singer flexes her talents pretty expressively at the music's climax, weaving between one octave and another. The OP's visuals do a decent job highlighting the differences between Nanoha's and Fate's situations before having them confront stare down the other in a decisive flourish. The ED “Little Wish ~lyrical step~” by Yukari Tamari, on the other hand, is one note saccharine both to the ears and eyes, and potentially immersion breaking, given that it plays after every episode, even after the serious ones.
The main problems with this show are predominantly found in the aforementioned first half. The animation's fairly inconsistent from episode to episode, some of it due to Shinbo's idiosyncrasies, which were present in his direction even back then, but the rest probably due to limited budget. In addition, a significant portion of what is consistent is padding, stock magical staff and girl transformations, plus one episode dedicated mainly to... hot springs? Yeah, let's go with that. It's a non-issue by the second half, where it's clear where much of the budget went. But by far the most egregious dilemma is the show's generically formulaic beginnings. It's, perhaps, enjoyable for individuals who are fans of the genre, but to me, it's trends toward being too safe, too sappy, too simplistic. It's only later on when Nanoha's family and friends are explored in more depth.
Regardless, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is one of the first magical girl series that proved that the genre could handle mature issues without losing sight of what distinguished the magical girl genre to begin with, outside of, well, magical girls, themes such as righteousness and friendship, even if Nanoha has to “befriend” you to get that point across.
I give Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha a 7 out of 10.
