Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
Encyclopedia
is a thirteen episode sequel to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
, a magical girl
alternate universe
spinoff of the Triangle Heart
series of games and OVAs. A third series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
, was released in 2007. A film adaptation, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's, is currently in production for a release in Summer 2012.
forms a contract with the intelligent weapon named the Book of Darkness
(whom Hayate later names Reinforce). As a result of this contract, four Belkan knights named Signum
, Vita
, Zafira, and Shamal appear in front of Hayate in order to fulfill the task of filling the pages of Book of Darkness by capturing magic from various sources. Once the pages of the Book are filled, its master, Hayate, will be able to make a single wish.
Since the end of the last anime series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
, the two nine-year-old girls named Nanoha and Fate have been exchanging video mails to tell each other of their situations on earth and in the Time-Space Administration Bureau respectively. At the beginning of the series set half a year after the first, Nanoha is attacked by Vita, who desires her magic in order to fill the Book's pages. As Nanoha is about to be defeated, Fate saves her, and Vita retreats.
As the knights continue to fill pages of the Book of Darkness, Nanoha Takamachi
and Fate Testarossa
try to stop them and retrieve the Book with the help of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. However despite their efforts and due to the well-intentioned but negative interference of Graham Gil and his familiars, the Book of Darkness is completed, its pages filled. It begins to go berserk in spite of the wishes of Hayate. Through a combined effort, Hayate, Fate, Nanoha, and their helpers manage to defeat the Book and later destroy it completely.
adaptation of the story was serialized in Megami Magazine
, with a few changes to the storyline, mostly elaborating on the characters. For example, Nanoha must also deal with Raising Heart draining her magical power with every move she makes, and explores how Hayate views the Wolkenritter as her children.
Gakken
released the manga in a single volume on February 18, 2006.
produced a thirteen-episode anime series, directed by Keizō Kusakawa
and written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Broadcasted on Chiba TV
, TV Saitama, and TV Kanagawa, it premiered on October 1, 2005 and aired weekly until its conclusion on December 24, 2005. The music for the series was produced by Hiroaki Sano. The series features two pieces of theme music
. "Eternal Blaze
", performed by Nana Mizuki
, is the opening theme. "Spiritual Garden
", performed by Yukari Tamura
, is the ending theme. In Japan, the series was released across six Region 2 DVD
compilation volumes between January 25, 2006 and June 21, 2006.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's was later licensed by Geneon
for English-language dubbed release in the United States
and Canada
. Funimation Entertainment
distributed the dubbed series across a Region 1 DVD boxset.
album charts, and the highest ranking album was the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Sound Stage 03, which peak ranked at 52nd and remained on the chart for 2 weeks.
The original soundtrack was released across six CDs entitled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Original Soundtrack Plus Vol.1~6 that were released alongside the DVD
volumes that compiled the series' episodes containing 57 tracks in total. A compilation album
entitled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Vocal Best Collection was released exclusively at Comiket
70 in August 2006, compiling many of the pieces of music used during the drama CDs. King Records released three maxi single
s for the series. "Eternal Blaze
" was released on October 19, 2005. "Spiritual Garden" was released on October 26, 2005. "Super Generation
" was released on January 18, 2006 that contained the track "Brave Phoenix", which was used as an insert to episode twelve of anime series.
. It is a 3D fighting game
with nine playable characters with multiple stories based on the A's storyline. A second game, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny, will be released on December 22, 2011 and will feature additional characters from the ViVid
and Force manga series.
, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
is an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
, a magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
alternate universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
spinoff of the Triangle Heart
Triangle Heart
, abbreviated as Toraha, is a series of eroge and OVAs that is most noted for its spin-off series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The name comes from the fact that each cast focuses on a "triangle" of one boy and two girls, though there are many other heroines.The OVA, based on the game Triangle...
series of games and OVAs. A third series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers
is the third season of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Nanoha anime was, in turn, a spin-off of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs, specifically Triangle Heart 3: Sweet Songs Forever...
, was released in 2007. A film adaptation, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's, is currently in production for a release in Summer 2012.
Plot
A nine-year-old wheelchair-using girl named Hayate YagamiHayate Yagami
is one of the main characters of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, though she appears in neither the previous series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha nor the original alternate story Triangle Heart. She is voiced by Kana Ueda in a strong Kansai dialect...
forms a contract with the intelligent weapon named the Book of Darkness
Reinforce (Nanoha)
is a key character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, who reveals herself near the end. She does not appear in either Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or the alternate universe shown in the Triangle Heart series. She is voiced by Sanae Kobayashi...
(whom Hayate later names Reinforce). As a result of this contract, four Belkan knights named Signum
Signum (Nanoha)
, voiced by Kaori Shimizu and Bailey Chadwick , is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. She appears in neither the previous series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha nor the alternate universe story Triangle Heart, but appears in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS...
, Vita
Vita (Nanoha)
is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, voiced by Asami Sanada. She appears in neither the previous series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha nor the later story Triangle Heart, but she does appear in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Vita is one of the Wolkenritter, a creation of the Book...
, Zafira, and Shamal appear in front of Hayate in order to fulfill the task of filling the pages of Book of Darkness by capturing magic from various sources. Once the pages of the Book are filled, its master, Hayate, will be able to make a single wish.
Since the end of the last anime series, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
is an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
, the two nine-year-old girls named Nanoha and Fate have been exchanging video mails to tell each other of their situations on earth and in the Time-Space Administration Bureau respectively. At the beginning of the series set half a year after the first, Nanoha is attacked by Vita, who desires her magic in order to fill the Book's pages. As Nanoha is about to be defeated, Fate saves her, and Vita retreats.
As the knights continue to fill pages of the Book of Darkness, Nanoha Takamachi
Nanoha Takamachi
is the main and title character of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series and also appears in Triangle Heart. Minami Hokuto plays her in Triangle Heart, and Yukari Tamura in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. She has a strong aptitude in magic, a rarity for those born on Earth, amongst these numbered few...
and Fate Testarossa
Fate Testarossa
, also known as in A's epilogue and StrikerS, is a fictional character in the anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. She is voiced by Nana Mizuki....
try to stop them and retrieve the Book with the help of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. However despite their efforts and due to the well-intentioned but negative interference of Graham Gil and his familiars, the Book of Darkness is completed, its pages filled. It begins to go berserk in spite of the wishes of Hayate. Through a combined effort, Hayate, Fate, Nanoha, and their helpers manage to defeat the Book and later destroy it completely.
Manga
A mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation of the story was serialized in Megami Magazine
Megami Magazine
is a Japanese monthly magazine which focuses on bishōjo characters from anime and Japanese computer and console games. It is known for having many posters, pinups and large pictures among the articles. Digital Manga Publishing released compilations of what it determined to be the best of the...
, with a few changes to the storyline, mostly elaborating on the characters. For example, Nanoha must also deal with Raising Heart draining her magical power with every move she makes, and explores how Hayate views the Wolkenritter as her children.
Gakken
Gakken
is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 821 billion ....
released the manga in a single volume on February 18, 2006.
Anime
Seven ArcsSeven Arcs
is a Japanese animation studio established on May 31, 2002 and is located in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan. The company originally produced adult original video animation series under another animation studio named Arcturus since April 2000 and had the intention of eventually producing television anime...
produced a thirteen-episode anime series, directed by Keizō Kusakawa
Keizo Kusakawa
is a Japanese animation director. Kusakawa has mainly worked with Seven Arcs as a director for the anime the studio produces.-Anime involved in:*Inukami! The Movie : Director*Inukami! : Director...
and written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Broadcasted on Chiba TV
Chiba TV
, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...
, TV Saitama, and TV Kanagawa, it premiered on October 1, 2005 and aired weekly until its conclusion on December 24, 2005. The music for the series was produced by Hiroaki Sano. The series features two pieces of theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
. "Eternal Blaze
Eternal Blaze
"Eternal Blaze" is one of J-Pop singer Nana Mizuki's biggest hits and her twelfth single. It was released on October 19, 2005. It was used as the opening theme of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. "Eternal Blaze" spent two weeks in the top twenty of the Japanese Oricon charts, peaking at #2...
", performed by Nana Mizuki
Nana Mizuki
is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress. She was born and raised in Niihama, Ehime, Japan, Mizuki was trained as an enka singer. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1998; however, she released her debut single "Omoi", under the King Records label on December 6, 2000...
, is the opening theme. "Spiritual Garden
Spiritual Garden
"Spiritual Garden" is Yukari Tamura's ninth single, released on October 26, 2005. Spiritual Garden is the ending theme song for . The B-sides Cutie ♥ Cutie and Traveling with a sheep were opening and ending theme songs respectively for Yukari's radio show, .-Track listing:# Spiritual Garden#*...
", performed by Yukari Tamura
Yukari Tamura
, is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress, affiliated with the talent agency I'm Enterprise. Affectionately called Yukarin by her fans, she is also known for her high-pitched voice and interest in Lolita fashion...
, is the ending theme. In Japan, the series was released across six Region 2 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
compilation volumes between January 25, 2006 and June 21, 2006.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's was later licensed by Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
for English-language dubbed release in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
distributed the dubbed series across a Region 1 DVD boxset.
Audio CDs
A series of three drama CDs have been released by King Records between November 23, 2005 and March 8, 2006 entitled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Sound Stage 01~03. The CDs take place during and after the anime series. Each release charted on the OriconOricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
album charts, and the highest ranking album was the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Sound Stage 03, which peak ranked at 52nd and remained on the chart for 2 weeks.
The original soundtrack was released across six CDs entitled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Original Soundtrack Plus Vol.1~6 that were released alongside the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
volumes that compiled the series' episodes containing 57 tracks in total. A compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
entitled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Vocal Best Collection was released exclusively at Comiket
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
70 in August 2006, compiling many of the pieces of music used during the drama CDs. King Records released three maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
s for the series. "Eternal Blaze
Eternal Blaze
"Eternal Blaze" is one of J-Pop singer Nana Mizuki's biggest hits and her twelfth single. It was released on October 19, 2005. It was used as the opening theme of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. "Eternal Blaze" spent two weeks in the top twenty of the Japanese Oricon charts, peaking at #2...
" was released on October 19, 2005. "Spiritual Garden" was released on October 26, 2005. "Super Generation
Super Generation
"Super Generation" is the 13th single from the seiyuu and singer Nana Mizuki, released on January 18, 2006. The single was ranked #6 on the Japanese Oricon charts...
" was released on January 18, 2006 that contained the track "Brave Phoenix", which was used as an insert to episode twelve of anime series.
Video games
Namco-Bandai Games released a game adaptation, entitled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces, on January 21, 2010 for PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. It is a 3D fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
with nine playable characters with multiple stories based on the A's storyline. A second game, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny, will be released on December 22, 2011 and will feature additional characters from the ViVid
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid
is a spin-off manga series based on the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. It takes place after Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS and follows one of its characters, Vivio Takamachi....
and Force manga series.
Film
A theatrical film adaptation, titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's, is currently in production for a Summer 2012 release, following on from the 2010 adaptation of the first seriesMagical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
is an anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations broadcast thirteen episodes between October and...
, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st.