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Story starts generic and then gets quite interesting (3rd episode on).
Animation quality is very good. Characters and backgrounds are fairly well detailed. The combat sequences on are par with higher quality fighting anime.
Audio was also well done. I really enjoyed the OP and am trying to find the soundtrack.
Overall: A hidden gem of a series. Well worth watching.
Detailed review:
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Standby Ready.
This series popped up as a recommendation when during my quest for Cardcaptor Sakura and I immediately noticed similarities. My initial response was "meh at least I bought it as a discount."
And then something strange happened...
The more I watched it the more I liked it. I went from watching the first two episodes over a couple of months...to one a week...to the last half in one day.
I'd expect certain generic mediocre themes...and the show would almost always surprise by doing them differently and better.
Even the combat sequences are more than just the "wave the magic wand and it's done.'' In fact I'd consider this more shounen than shoujo.
There are several nice touches. The OP "Innocent Starter" is a light-hearted, yet touching piece (sung by the voice actor for Fate by the way) that captured the essence of series.
The main characters are very well developed. There isn't enough time to develop the supporting characters sadly but the show did well with the time frame they had.
Overall I'd say the series is quite short (13) yet the show accomplishes far more than being "just another magic girl" saga. The series doesn't need dozens or hundreds of episodes to develop, tell, and bring to a conclusion a well written story. And the writers do this without being contrived or cliché.
A final note: I'd strongly recommend the second season (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's) it's even *better*
