STORY:
Superb. That's all I can say for the story. Not only did the movie tied up a lot of loose ends which was a major flaw in the original anime series, it also included additional details such as the creation of Fate's weapon, as well as her magic teacher. It also explored more in-depth on the relationship between Fate and Precia Testarossa. Unnecessary elaboration from the original anime series was removed which made the plot moved smoother. The pacing was done well too.
One minor complain I have about the movie that hesitated me to give it a '10' is the appearance of way too many deus-ex-machina abilities (Mr. Screenwriter, you mean that Nanoha can create dozens of new skills in such a short span of time?)
ART:
Again, the art was tiers up from the original anime series. No more inconsistent use of animation (in Episode 1 of the original series), everything was done smooth and well. The fight scene between Nanoha and Fate was brilliantly animated. It gave me hopes for the famous fight scene between Vita and Nanoha in the next movie (A's).
SOUND:
One of the very few anime OSTs I have in my iTunes is the OST of this movie. Others include the Neon Genesis Evangelion OST and Puella Magi Madoka Magica etc. So, you can see how I love the soundtrack of the movie. Some of the best pieces from the OST include Raising Heart Set Up! (Nanoha's theme) and of course, Blitz of Gold (Fate's theme).
Besides that, the vocal pieces used in the movie are also good too. It was a bit of a disappointment since I did not get to hear Take a Shot, but this was compensated with not one, but TWO Nana Mizuki's vocals, Phantom Minds and Don't Be Long. Yukari Tamura's My Wish My Love is another insert song used in the movie, and among the three, Don't Be Long is the one that appeals to me the most. Probably because of the fact that it was used in one of the most epic scenes of the movie.
CHARACTER:
This movie should be named after Fate instead of Nanoha. As this suggests, the main character of the movie is actually Fate rather than Nanoha. Throughout the whole movie, it was Fate who got the most development. Arf as well, since she was the familiar of Fate. Precia Testarossa of course gets a lot more screentime and development than she had in the original anime series. Nanoha and Euno, on the other hand, their development was badly scrapped because of the shortening of the story. Nevertheless, being a biased person who prefers more Fate than Nanoha, I still give the 'CHARACTER' part of the movie an 8 (lol).
OVERALL:
Whoa! What a great ride! I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the course of the whole movie. Though not as top-notch as other anime movies such as Rebuild of Evangelion and Spirited Away, overall Lyrical Nanoha is still an awesome movie. I would expect such a wonderful experience again when I watch the 2nd Nanoha movie next year, especially since A's was the best series out of all the three in the franchise.
