Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS continues to pace itself for the long haul. In other words, we appear to be getting these morsels of plot progression a bit at a time, as well as something like one extended action scene per episode.

Hayate's new unit, which has been variously translated as "Riot Force 6″ among others, is formally established, and about half of the episode deals with the administrative side of things, like speeches and reports. New named characters mentioned are Griffiths, who appears to know Nanoha and Fate from before and I suspect may be Hayate's new adjutant or something, and Vice, who appears to be the unit helicopter pilot (and is typically laid-back). Also, said helicopter is apparently somewhat Intelligent, and named Storm Raider. This may be a foreshadowing of Cool Explosions to come. Also, we have Shario "please call me Shari", who's probably a glorified lab tech, but in a nice way.

Yeah, cast expansion overload. And that's not even counting the unnamed (in this episode) extras and bridge bunnies.

The other half of the episode (well, more like a third) involves the four new main characters (Subaru, Teana, Elio, and Caro) in another training sequence, this time against a new type of drone (simulated by the power of VIRTUAL REALITY or some such; possibly a takeoff on the holodeck concept from Star Trek, but on a larger scale), which incidentally Fate and Hayate report to the TSAB HQ of. I suspect these are likely going to be the primary Faceless Minions of the series.

Basically, these drones can call up an Anti-Magic Field, which nullifies most magical attacks directed at it. (Note that Nanoha, who appears to be proctoring this test, does not mention this to any of the testees until they figure it out themselves.) According to the report Hayate and Fate give, these drones were responsible for a great deal of destruction on other planets. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait for the subs before I figure out if there's any more information like why these drones exist, and what powers them if they nullify magic around them. Presumably they're pure tech, which implies that pure tech has already advanced to the level of enough antigravity to hover at high speeds.

Needless to say, the newbies flail around ineffectually for a while as they try to figure out how to catch these drones and give them the beating down they've been ordered to. Still, we get to see lots of superhuman acrobatics from Elio, who's a great deal more nimble than the average ten-year old boy.

I have to assume that it is part of the training that they do all of this sans Barrier Jackets.

Subaru reveals, once again, the fine art of acting before thinking, and attempts to Wing Road towards the drones, which simply apply anti-magic to said Wing Road. Well done, Subaru. Next time, don't use magic around an AMF if you'd rather not have it dispelled.

Teana decides to organize the team into some semblance of strategy. Elio goes to collapse a bridge onto the drones as physical damage goes right through an AMF, and Subaru figures out that if one attacks a drone by surprise and pins it down, the AMF doesn't get to activate. Or something.

Caro then commands her pet dragon Friedrich to lob a fireball at the drones, blocking their passage. So basically we have a ten-year old girl with a pet dragon which has about as much firepower as at least a tank. The legacy of overpowered little girls lives on in the series, it appears.

Not content with this, Caro summons forth something which sounded like "Alchemical Chain", which comes out of the ground via a square magical sigil. At Caro's feet, however, is a standard circular Midchildan sigil.

Seeing as the observers (Shario and Nanoha) are not especially surprised at the square sigil's presence (even if Shario is surprised that Caro is using it this way), I would hazard a guess that the mysterious girl in the opening animation (who has received the name of Lutecia, if reports are accurate) with the square sigil at her feet is either a user of a variation of Caro's magic, or is herself a summoned being.

Teana, for her part, theorizes that if there's an AMF around the drones, then a sufficiently brute force attack can overpower said AMF. Therefore, she charges and fires an AA-class magical shot, which does penetrate the AMF.

I suppose the fact that the magical blast drains her almost utterly is why she's still technically B-ranked, even if she can fire off AA-ranked shots. If a spell drains all your MP in one go, I don't think it's going in the standard repertoire.

After the training is over, we get to see a few scenes of the characters in various stages of fatigue. Hayate meets up with her Wolkenritter, the four newbies fall asleep in the lobby (and Elio sleeps cross-legged on the floor, for some reason), and Nanoha and Fate get ready to share a bed. (No, really.)

Next time, it looks as though the newbies get upgrades to their Devices. Also, Elio and Nanoha engage in what I hope is a mock battle, since otherwise Elio has No Chance To Survive Make His Time.

Overall, it feels as though the series creators know what viewers expect, which would be lots of Action and Excitement and Explosions and not really a lot of thinking to do, against an easy-to-understand and yet curiously compelling backstory. One can almost see the mission statement for the series going "Pace Oneself", meaning that while every episode may have some plot progression, they are spread out over fillers such that the plot itself is diluted and can go for the long haul.

But, as mentioned, the viewers want bite-sized chunks of Action, and the series delivers. Right now, I see any actual plot as a bonus.

Personally, I'm hoping to see more of Caro. Not just because she's the loli of the series, but because she has a New Type Of Magic, and in a series which classifies magic like Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha does, I'm sure there'll be reams of explanations about how it all works, and how it all fits together.

… of course, the fact that she's the loli of the series doesn't hurt either.

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