evilneko

Nanoha: Sore Loser

Some of what is below might be considered spoiler-ish. But hey, StrikerS isn't exactly the last Nanoha out there, so it really shouldn't be much of a spoiler.

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Recently I watched Nanoha StrikerS. I had at originally decided not to, because Nanoha just looks weird with boobs. I liked her (and Fate) much better as a loli. But, Vita-chan was still a loli, and I heard she did some awesome things in StrikerS, and I needed something to watch while waiting for more Shana III/Final episodes. Thus I went and found me some fansubs and started watching.

There's one episode in particular that bugs me about this SerieS. It's episode 8. Tea and Subaru try a new tactic in a mock battle with Nanoha. While Nano's distracted by Tea's illusions and Subaru trying to punch her in the face, Tea charges in and tries to hit Nano with a dagger formed on the end of her magic gun.

It works. Draws blood and everything.

And Nanoha is pissed. 

She proceeds to beat the shit out of Tea for her innovative, outside-the-box thinking, breaking her usual role as ranged attacker to charge in with a melee strike in an attempt to score a hit--and a successful one at that, despite Nano getting pissed and releasing the next mode on Raising Heart. She still failed to block or dodge the attack.

Let's go through the alternative ways Nanoha could've handled this:

• Take the hit like a good sport, congratulate Tea and Subaru on their win and admonish Tea about the dangers of her new tactic.
• Shoot Tea before she hit. She was aware enough to switch modes, after all.
• Dodge. Again, aware enough to switch modes.... 
• Dodge and shoot Tea in the back as she overshoots, nicely demonstrating the danger without punishing a student for being creative.

Oh yeah, and just to add one final hypocrisy, Nanoha later unlocks the next mode of Tea's device--a fucking dagger.

And did I mention Tea later uses a combined illusion, range, and melee strategy to win an exceedingly tough battle? Thankfully Nanoha's lesson about not thinking outside the box didn't sink in, or she would've died then. 

I realize some people are going to have counter-arguments, let me deal with a few.

1. Nanoha was concerned about Tea overworking herself. Not buying it, even if you point to Tea's little SUDDEN BREAKDOWN MOMENT after Nanoha basically cheated, and the explanation given in the next episode. Beating the shit out of your student isn't the way to do this. The only evidence Tea might have been overworking herself is her little breakdown, which frankly, was just too conveniently contrived. Where were the warning signs? There were none. Don't buy it.
2. Nanoha wanted to demonstrate what would happen in a real battle if Tea tried to pull that stunt on a vastly more-powerful mage, and the over-the-top beating was necessary as part of that. Yeah okay, and the whole scene where an instructor attempts to rape Demi Moore's character in GI Jane was completely necessary, too. Face it, Nanoha snapped. Just because she doesn't break role and melee, doesn't mean no one else can. Can you picture Nano getting pissed at Fate or Vita for doing the same thing? Both can and do attack in both ranged and melee, and they don't even do illusions to support them!
3. Tea's not skilled at melee. Well, how do you expect her to become skilled then? Nanoha could've gracefully accepted the loss and then told Tea to go practice with Vita, Fate, or Signum if she really wanted tactics like that to work in a real battle. While we're at it, let me point out: Nano's raising a bunch of one-trick ponies. None of the newbies gets any training outside their main area, and when one of them tries, Nano's response is essentially to pimpslap her and say "Know your role, bitch!" I remind you, Tea's even better-equipped for dual-role fighting than Vita and Fate. Tea will one day be able to kick Fate's ass and maybe Vita's too assuming she's allowed to grow.
4. Tea had already lost it. No evidence. See #1.

I think that's enough for right now. If someone makes a decent argument in comments, I'll throw it up here and address it.