First Impressions / Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid

「本気の気持ち」 (Honki no kimochi)
“True Feelings”

We delve more into what makes Einhart tick as the fateful meeting between Belkan ruler throwbacks takes place.

Einhart’s Hegemon Past – I Spoke To Soon

So, last week my overriding feeling was “Enough of this memory junk, it was better in Dune, get on with the fighting!” And while I do think it was done better in Dune … no, well, more interestingly (in later books, not the original one), that’s no mark against Nanoha ViVid. What was lacking was enough time spent delving into why Einhart-chan is doing the things she’s doing, and we got enough of that here. So yes, I spoke too soon, and I actually do care about what Einhart-chan is dealing with here. I’m still watching this mostly for the fighting, but at least one of the main cast has some kind of character conflict now.

Einhart’s Disappointment

Sometimes it’s not what’s said that matters. Sometimes it’s all about what’s said on your face. I’m constantly surprised when TV, movies, and comics don’t make full use of what they can do better than the pure written word of a book: unspoken communication. To be sure, a book can do it as well, but when you can bury meaning in the actor’s portrayal, where the watcher isn’t sure it happened (but it still hits home)… *shivers* And then again, I’m not surprised that it’s underutilized, because those kinds of subconscious communication are hard to deliver and hard to direct.

When Einhart knocked Vivio away, and then her expression … it’s such a small thing, but it really was painful. It made me feel Vivio’s discomfort, her confusion, all of it springing from very real (and very common) miscommunication brought on by differing expectations. A good moment that built both characters nicely.

Magical Fist Fight of Feelings

The last battle was nice in a very sports anime kind of way—you don’t necessarily know how it’s going to end. (Which reminds me, I should watch more sports anime.) But more than that, it was the feelings. After Einhart all but dismissed Vivio the week before, seeing them go into adult mode and having Vivio fight her nearly to a standstill is the foundation of a more equal friendship. Plus, you know, exciting action, so that’s fun!

I especially liked that Vivio didn’t win. I wasn’t necessary; all she needed to do was earn Einhart’s respect with her earnest effort, and winning wasn’t required for that. It would have also rang false, since Einhart was painted as outclassing Vivio throughout both battles. This means that Vivio will have to put in a lot of hard work to be a proper rival to Einhart … something that’s not common on the-fate-of-the-world-is-on-the-line action anime, but is more common among sports anime.

Looking Ahead – A Beautiful Friendship

If I didn’t know this was based on a manga, I’d say this was the end of the first light novel. The end of this episode left me going “D’aaawww, Einhart-chan is embarrassed! So, what’s next?” It sounds like this series will continue with the martial arts focus (as in, tournaments as much as anything), which is cool with me. Also, yuri. I think we can safely count on more yuri. Says Stilts in his guise as Captain Obvious, I know, I’ve been a real help.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – We delve more into what makes Einhart tick as the fateful meeting between Belkan ruler throwbacks takes place #nanohavivid 03

Random thoughts:

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now available in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel short story. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: People as things, Cut away the boring bits, Sheet music, and Wage Slave Rebellion is officially in print.

Full-length images: 02.

 

Preview

15 Comments

    1. I actually wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that someone way back in the line of the Saint Kings and the Ingvalts deliberately programmed that trait into their bloodline. The powerful mages and royals of Ancient Belka were kind of infamous for altering themselves to gain powerful magic and unique abilities and traits, and ensuring that those would be passed on to their descendants. The idea that their descendants might not want those changes passed on to them because the things were traumatic and dangerous (Einhart can vouch for traumatic; Vivio and SPOILER can vouch for dangerous) was not something that seemed to concern them.

      Wanderer
      Reply

    3. Honestly, it’s one of those things where you don’t even notice it, in context. First, there was only the one with heterochromia, and it was unusual and worth noting, and now the second one is added in later, and linked to the first, so it makes sense … but when you come in right here, there’s a definite sense of, “Wow … what’s with all the heterochromia and/or lesbians?”

      A legitimate question. I just happen to like both.

      (Especially the yuri)

      Stilts
      Reply

    4. Oh, and on the subject of duality. If you pay attention to Vivio’s transformation, it has elements from both Nanoha and Fate.

      The initial part had lightning effects, similar to Fate’s. The latter part is mostly feathers and pure magical energy, similar to Nanoha’s.

      MasterDragonKnight
      Reply

  2. I’m glad to see you understand Einhart a bit better, Stilts. She is a good person, and she deserves sympathy and hugs. 🙂

    There are several points and several characters in Vivid that make use of unspoken communication to great effect. Proper use of character expressions really can be a picture that’s worth a thousand words, and I feel that the manga, at least, has used it quite well multiple times. This episode was definitely one of them. Hopefully that will continue to carry over.

    Wanderer
    Reply

      1. The proper way to make friends, of course! 😛

        Keep in mind, all of Nanoha’s friends have been made this way. Even Arisa and Suzuka, who she became friends with before she became a mage, were befriended by first getting into a fight with them. Thus, nanoha can have unwavering faith that this is the proper way to come to understand people and become friends with them: it has always worked for every single friend she has.

        Wanderer
        Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *