Remember the Wolkenritter and the younger Cyborgs? These guys are, like, the opposites of them.
On the MSLN front, things are getting... somewhat difficult. Vivid has become really objectifying (like whoa) and the pacing feels a bit iffy. I really liked the Takamachi family bits and the budding friendship between Vivio and Einhart, though. Also, I vote for more Sankt Kaiser Olivie and Klaus Ingvalt, 'cause they're cool and really OTP.
Force is a whole other kettle of fish. I hope the writers aren't under the impression that they are giving us sympathetic antagonists this time round, like the previous three seasons did (Vivid doesn't have an antagonist. It did for maybe two seconds, but Vivio turned out to be quite talented at befriending). Sure, we got the whole quirky familial antagonist dynamic that we've come to expect from Nanoha's baddies. However, the Hückebein lack something all of their predecessors had; they have so far failed to demonstrate any capacity for compassion or ethical behaviour, or anything other than sociopathy, really. And the explanation behind their behaviour in the last chapter amounted to "bawwww our virus will kill us if we don't commit genocide."
Basically, they're saying that it's alright to kill off hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and wipe entire towns off the map because their own piddly little lives are just sooo much more important. Contrast this with the very low mortality rate of Fate, the Wolkenritter, and the Cyborgs' activities. Further considerations include how Fate and the younger cyborgs were being manipulated by people in positions of authority, and who raised them to boot. And before they served Hayate, the Wolkenritter were forced to do the bidding of the previous masters of the Book of Darkness. I'm not saying that what they did was right, I'm just saying they were way more likeable.
With the way things are shaping up, the only bad guys I want to survive this season are the young Hückebein girls (who bear some resemblance to past antagonists) and Thoma's group, who I'm assuming are going the unwilling villain route. The rest can either DIAF or get locked up for eternity.
To comment on the series itself... I continue to not be happy about the problems of the franchise, specifically the standard moe-moe issues and the loli fanservice. But I can't see myself quitting, because where else am I going to get my dose of Badass Femmeslashy Military Career Ladies? (I mean, I've already finished watching FFXIII.)
Force is a whole other kettle of fish. I hope the writers aren't under the impression that they are giving us sympathetic antagonists this time round, like the previous three seasons did (Vivid doesn't have an antagonist. It did for maybe two seconds, but Vivio turned out to be quite talented at befriending). Sure, we got the whole quirky familial antagonist dynamic that we've come to expect from Nanoha's baddies. However, the Hückebein lack something all of their predecessors had; they have so far failed to demonstrate any capacity for compassion or ethical behaviour, or anything other than sociopathy, really. And the explanation behind their behaviour in the last chapter amounted to "bawwww our virus will kill us if we don't commit genocide."
Basically, they're saying that it's alright to kill off hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and wipe entire towns off the map because their own piddly little lives are just sooo much more important. Contrast this with the very low mortality rate of Fate, the Wolkenritter, and the Cyborgs' activities. Further considerations include how Fate and the younger cyborgs were being manipulated by people in positions of authority, and who raised them to boot. And before they served Hayate, the Wolkenritter were forced to do the bidding of the previous masters of the Book of Darkness. I'm not saying that what they did was right, I'm just saying they were way more likeable.
With the way things are shaping up, the only bad guys I want to survive this season are the young Hückebein girls (who bear some resemblance to past antagonists) and Thoma's group, who I'm assuming are going the unwilling villain route. The rest can either DIAF or get locked up for eternity.
To comment on the series itself... I continue to not be happy about the problems of the franchise, specifically the standard moe-moe issues and the loli fanservice. But I can't see myself quitting, because where else am I going to get my dose of Badass Femmeslashy Military Career Ladies? (I mean, I've already finished watching FFXIII.)