Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha stands by its names as a magical girl show in the sense of girl discovering magical powers with near-nude transformation and such, however it has several points that place it apart from it peers. It has action that is on par with Shounen with its battles and a more realistic plot then most magical girl series.
The show itselfs is short and goes by quick and lacks the 'slow' nature of most magical girl animes. The biggest thing about Nanoha is its straight to the point, we don't waste time battle random villains till the real villain reveals their FINAL plot in the last episodes. We get a straight story from episode one with no side-trips. The staffs the character's use are really interesting, I would explain more but its best for you to watch it and see for yourself.
The only downside is your left wanting more development of the smaller characters. It latest only 13 episodes and leaves no room for secondary character development and cause of that it suffers a bit in storyline and character. However considering how much plot they stuffed in 13 episodes I don't think many would complain about this.
Review Recommendation: If you like this title then It's sequel, "Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's" will impress you even more. It has even better battles, more actions, with a deeper plot.
