"Gentlemen, this is war. A war without question!"
"Cast aside all reason and follow the impulses of your hearts. On the streets! In the alleys! In the shopping arcade! All you see are enemies, and all enemies must be killed! Destroy them! Let them rot! If your heart is weak, you will be killed by the enemy! Destroy them! Let them rot! You, me, demons, even gods are no exception."
"Do you, like me, look forward to it? Mercilessly, as satisfying as taking a dump! A war that slaughters the crows of three thousand worlds, fiercer than a storm and more miserable than hell!"
"Good. Then let the war begin!"
After that intense declaration of war, silence fell. Everyone stared speechlessly at the fat boy in white who had delivered the speech, his arms spread wide in some inexplicable pose.
Andō Shū quietly took a few steps away and looked at him like he was an idiot. Feeling the strange gazes of the pedestrians around them, he helplessly held his forehead.
"Shun, I get what you're trying to say, but could you be a little more careful with your wording? I said normal. Just normal is fine."
The fat boy called Shun coughed and withdrew his pose. Under the burning gazes of the pedestrians, he no longer dared act recklessly.
"My side doesn't matter. What matters is the outcome of the war between you and Ryūi!"
"How youthful."
The pedestrians left with amused smiles.
"Calling it a war... I only said I didn't like Fate from 'Magical Girl Nanoha.'"
Andō Shū rolled his eyes. Those words immediately displeased another slightly chubby boy standing in front of him, who shouted,
"Fate-chan is my wife! You said that on purpose because you knew, didn't you!"
"How the hell would I know! Besides, Ryūi, wasn't your wife Kaori? Just a while ago, you were yelling that Kaori was your wife. How did it suddenly become Fate now?"
The boy called Ryūi snorted, looked up at the sky, and deliberately put on a profound expression.
"A man must experience one or two false loves before he can grow. There's no need to bring up those youthful memories anymore. Right now, my only wife is Fate. And as for what you just said—even if it was you, Andō, I absolutely cannot forgive anyone who badmouths Fate!"
Andō Shū shook his head as he walked.
"Even if it's anime, I don't get what you like about such an unreasonable girl. In 'Magical Girl Nanoha,' Nanoha is clearly the best! Too bad there isn't a girl with that kind of personality in our class."
Ryūi said disdainfully, "What do you know about Fate-chan?"
Andō Shū curled his lips. What he knew was the same as what everyone else knew. After all, 'Magical Girl Nanoha' had only aired four episodes so far, so the information available to viewers was all the same.
"In that case, let's settle it with skill. Same old rules. Whoever dies first loses. If we both clear it on one life, the kill count decides the winner."
Andō Shū pointed confidently at an arcade in the shopping street. It was summer vacation now, so as students, there were no restrictions on what they wanted to play.
"This is the war I desired!"
The boy named Shun covered half his face with his right hand and revealed an expectant smile.
Ryūi put his hands on his waist and naturally refused to back down.
"Fine! My love for Fate-chan will never lose to you!"
After an entire afternoon had passed, the wine-red sunset slanted against the buildings, weakly reflected onto the ground through the glass.
When the three of them came out of the arcade, the two besides Andō were both dejected. Ryūi muttered lifelessly,
"Impossible. This should be impossible! Andō, you win this time! But remember this. My love for Fate-chan is definitely not limited to this."
After saying that, he ran off.
"Was that guy crying? Just for an anime character? And a villain at that?"
Andō Shū's mouth twitched. Although he was an anime otaku too, compared to the people around him with the same hobby, he really could not be more ordinary.
The boy named Shun sighed.
"What a satisfying war. I should return and replenish my supplies, too. The next time we meet, victory will surely be mine."
"Oh~ See you then."
After they parted ways, Andō Shū walked along the street and found Ryūi's indignant expression rather amusing.
"Fate, huh. Judging from how the plot is developing, she'll probably be redeemed. Looking at her character design, I can understand why Ryūi is obsessed with her. But character design isn't the only important thing about a character! Nanoha really is better. I want a girlfriend like Nanoha so badly!"
Andō Shū had indeed guessed the general development of 'Magical Girl Nanoha's' plot.
But turning an old-fashioned plot into something miraculous was precisely what made an animation director excellent.
The plot rhythm of 'Magical Girl Nanoha' was very similar to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.' The further it went, the more tense the story became. Every episode contained a large amount of plot content. The appearance of the Time-Space Administration Bureau revealed one corner of the world setting, and when the anime's main perspective shifted to Fate, the first page of a heartbreaking tragedy was turned.
······
'Magical Girl Nanoha' Episode 9—Falling into the Abyss.
On an island moving through the dimensional abyss, Fate, covered in wounds, was bound in midair by purple chains formed from magic. Blood dripped from her damaged magical battle outfit into the dimensional abyss below.
It was a bizarre, colorful world. At first glance, it seemed both extremely close and impossibly distant. If one fell into the dimensional abyss, without a precise magical device to locate dimensional coordinates, one would be lost there forever.
Fate's snow-white skin was covered in bloody whip marks. Massive blood loss caused her consciousness to blur, and in a daze, she recalled the truth she had never dared explore within her memories.
In those memories, it was a sunny world filled with green grass and flowers. Back then, her mother would often show her a gentle smile.
It was the smile she still desperately wished to see now.
But although the blonde little girl in the memories looked exactly like her, Fate knew that girl was not herself.
She only wanted her mother to show a happy smile again. Why could that wish never come true?
Tears slid down Fate's face. She bit her pale lower lip tightly, refusing to let herself cry out.
Within those memories lay the truth she had always been afraid to know, as well as the reason her mother, Precia Testarossa, had lost her smile.
Precia Testarossa's true daughter, Alicia Testarossa, had already died in an accident.
And she, Fate Testarossa, was merely a vessel carrying Alicia Testarossa's memories.
She possessed all of Alicia Testarossa's memories and all of Alicia Testarossa's emotions. She deeply loved her mother.
But Precia Testarossa would never hold even the slightest affection for her, a mere replica.
She was Alicia Testarossa.
Yet Alicia Testarossa was not her.
No matter how much effort she made, she was destined never to receive any reward.
From the very beginning, her birth had been meaningless.
"In that case... why did you create me?"
Bound by magical chains, Fate whispered in a voice overflowing with bitter despair as her consciousness gradually sank into darkness.
"Fate!"
Fate's familiar, Arf, transformed into a blue wolf and rushed out from a secret passage. Seeing Fate bound in midair, she called her name in heartache.
"Fate, I'll get you out soon! The Time-Space Administration Bureau is attacking this place right now. Lady Precia has no time to worry about us."
Arf hurriedly searched for traces of magic around them, wanting to sever the magical chains binding Fate.
······
🎵"make a little wish" — Although there are times when I stumble and lose my way,
Because you are by my side, I can always regain my strength and smile again.
Ah, crossing the sea and forests of cellophane,
Following the silver wind in search of what was lost.
Ah, I cried alone within the town of toys.🎵
······
Late at night, Andō Shū stared blankly at the final scene of Episode 9 of 'Magical Girl Nanoha.' The appearance of the sorrowful ending theme told him that this episode was over.
Ever since Episode 6, the anime's rhythm had clearly changed, and the narrative perspective was no longer centered on Nanoha.
The appearance of the Time-Space Administration Bureau had greatly surprised Andō Shū. From the name alone, one could tell what kind of organization it was, instantly enriching a magical-girl world that had previously seemed rather pale.
Nanoha and Fate's final battle had ended with both sides stopping. If the battle had continued, the space around Earth might have collapsed from dimensional tremors caused by the torrent of magical power.
The Hollywood-movie-level animation effects in that duel had left Andō Shū stunned. Nanoha's 'Starlight Breaker,' formed by gathering all her magic power, had simply blasted straight out of Earth, looking especially magnificent beneath the night sky.
After that duel ended, the anime's main perspective shifted from Nanoha to Fate, describing the incident from her point of view.
All the foreshadowing behind Fate's strange behavior was revealed one by one. This included the preparations she made to avoid injuring the kitten possessed by a Jewel Seed, and how she had constantly held back her strength against Nanoha's attacks because she did not want to hurt her.
She was an incomparably gentle little girl who had been forced to play the role of a cold villain, bearing a burden ordinary people could not imagine.
Every gentle action she took showed just how cruel the fate she faced truly was. Every episode seemed to say how close this kind and gentle little girl was to the abyss of despair—or rather, it merely explained the fact that she had long since been trapped in that abyss.
After watching Episode 9, Andō Shū only felt extremely depressed, with a lingering gloom he could not shake.
At this moment, his understanding of the character Fate had completely changed. From finding her annoying at first, to now feeling heartache and even resonance, he had also come to like this anime character.
"This is the first time I've felt that a character being redeemed wouldn't be bad. No, I should say I really hope Fate-chan can get a good ending. With Nanoha around, there should be no need to worry!"
Andō Shū sighed heavily and muttered to himself. After returning to his room, he remained unable to sleep for a long time because of his gloomy mood.
"Beep~!"
He got out of bed and pressed the power button on his computer. He urgently wanted to share his feelings online with other people who liked this anime.
[Fate wasn't a bad character from the moment she first appeared, but I never expected her circumstances to be this pitiful. This episode clearly didn't have any exaggerated special-effects battles, yet it felt even more exciting to me. Every character has their own traits. I like Nanoha even more now, and at the same time, I've also come to like Fate! — Andō-san.]
He left that comment in the 'Magical Girl Nanoha' discussion section on Nice.
Soon, other replies appeared.
[The plot of this anime is unexpectedly mature. I originally thought it was children-oriented, but after watching Episode 9, I feel it's more suitable for teenagers. — Ninja Ranshirō.]
[Fate-chan's situation really is pitiful. The only thing we can hope for now is for Nanoha to save this poor little girl. Rather, that should be the inevitable outcome, right? I can't describe how I feel right now. This is the first time that, even though I can predict where the plot is going, I desperately hope it really develops that way. I really want to see Nanoha save Fate. — Muramasa Demon Blade.]
[Precia Testarossa is truly hateful, but her backstory makes it hard to completely hate her. If I had a daughter as cute as Fate, I wouldn't even have enough time to spoil her every day! I really want to see Fate's gentle smile. — Kagami Shūchū.]
[This episode made me cry. With the flashbacks added in, the atmosphere of these episodes has been way too oppressive. It's completely different from the animation style from before! — Sakura.]
[I don't care! I don't care! I don't care! If Fate doesn't get a good ending, I'm sending blades to the production company! — Ten Years Later.]
[This is the first time I've liked a magical girl anime. I hope it gets a good ending. — Kyoto Samurai.]
[The production team can go die! Go die! Go die! Important things must be said three times. How dare you abuse my Fate!!!! — Working Overtime Tonight.]
At past one in the morning, the comment section for 'Magical Girl Nanoha' was unexpectedly lively. The white-hot stage of the plot had attracted more and more people, and many viewers came here to share their feelings after staying up late to watch Episode 9.
Current 'Magical Girl Nanoha' section on Nice:
Views: 4,682,794
Subscribers: 2,282,231
Overall Rating: 9.6
Comments: 5,372,856
After Episode 9 finished airing, the television ratings reached 8.4%, making it an extremely popular work in the late-night slot, the sort that might not appear even once in an entire year.
The current ratings were 5.3% for 'Magical Girl MeowMeow Lu,' 6.5% for 'Miracle Girl,' and 9.8% for 'Magical Girl MeowMeowMeow.'
With its near-explosive growth in popularity, 'Magical Girl Nanoha' had squeezed into second place, only 1.4% behind 'Magical Girl MeowMeowMeow,' a magical girl anime that had already been airing for more than a year.
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