< Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (anime)

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (anime)/Characters


For the Characters pages for the other seasons of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, see the main Characters page for this series.

Nanoha Takamachi

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura in Japanese, Cristina Valenzuela in English

"I'm fine with being a demon... I'll just use my hellish tools to get you to listen!"


Nanoha, the protagonist of the series, is introduced as a sweet little Ordinary Elementary School Student with a normal life. However, this changes when she answers a psychic call for help. Finding an injured ferret, Nanoha responsibly leaves takes it to a nearby vet. Later that night, however, she hears another call, and arrives in time to see the ferret under attack from a monster. The now-talking ferret explains that he's a mage, and gives her an Intelligent Device, Raising Heart, to fend off the attacking monster. With Raising Heart's help, Nanoha quickly learns the basics of magic, defeats the monster, and agrees to help Yuuno find and seal the remaining twenty Jewel Seeds before any more harm is done. Things proceed smoothly until another girl, Fate appears, and attacks Nanoha with a scythe-like Device. Even while she's defending herself, Nanoha realizes that Fate looks... sad. Nanoha is no stranger to sadness, having spent most of her childhood in an empty house. She resolves to do everything she can to learn about the mysterious girl and her reasons for fighting, and if possible, to become a friend she can count on. Nanoha temporarily joins the Time Space Administration Bureau, which had been monitoring unusual activity, but takes matters into her own hands when they decide to let Fate exhaust herself to more easily capture her, a method she deems far too cruel. The two finally decide to stake everything on a final match, which Nanoha wins. Fate is taken into custody by the TSAB, but before Nanoha has a chance to speak with her, Precia interrupts, and Nanoha watches as Fate's world crumbles around her. Angry at Precia's cruel treatment of Fate, she joins the TSAB Enforcer Chrono and Fate's own familiar Arf in an attack on Precia and Fate's home: the Garden of Time. The three are outmatched, until Fate returns to settle matters with Precia. Nanoha once again encourages Fate, and the two stop Precia from her mad plan to break reality. Precia dies in the collapse, but Nanoha manages to save Fate, and the two have a chance to talk several days later. Nanoha and Fate make official their friendship, and exchange hair ribbons as parting gifts.

Nanoha was later attacked by unknown forces, and beaten to near-unconsciousness without warning or explanation. Despite her exhaustion and wounds, Nanoha fights alongside her new friends to drive off the enemies. As she recovers, Raising Heart is upgraded with a magic cartridge system. Nanoha puts her strict training to use fighting the Book of Darkness and its' four knights, ultimately saving both them and Hayate Yagami, who was at the center of the incident.

She subsequently joins the TSAB, and moves to Mid-Childa where she serves as a Combat Instructor for the Air Force, becoming known as 'The Ace of the Sky'. Joining an elite task force under the command of her friend Hayate, Nanoha spends time training two promising young recruits. Hoping to save them from making the same mistakes that almost cost her her life, Nanoha stresses safety over risk, although she doesn't always practice what she preaches. She inadvertently becomes attached to a young girl named Vivio, a mysterious girl her squad rescued while on a mission. Vivio, however, is captured once again, and forced to power a nigh-indestructible warship. Faced with a situation not unlike Fates', Vivio is left questioning her own creation. As she and Nanoha are forced into combat, Nanoha goes to incredible lengths to save Vivio, and decides to officially adopt her.


Tropes befriended by Nanoha:

Yuuno Scrya

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi

Though the viewer gets to see him introduced first as a human mage, he's been badly injured and assumes the form of a ferret to better heal and recover. This is how Nanoha finds him, and he doesn't end up revealing his human form to her until halfway into the first season (not that he meant to keep it secret, it simply slipped his mind that he hadn't actually told her). In any case, Yuuno is looking for twenty one Jewel Seeds. Being unable and unsuited to use the Intelligent Device, Raising Heart, he gave it to Nanoha, with whom it is remarkably compatible. Yuuno assists Nanoha in most of her adventures during Season One, acting as a cross between a mentor and The Lancer (of the rare gentle-and-sweet variety).

The second season sees Yuuno having less action time, and more relegated to the backseat. However, his presence is still crucial as he helps in the battles against the Wolkenritter and the season's Big Bad. His research in the Infinite Library also provides crucial information about both.

The third season has him effectively Put on a Bus -- he only appears in two cameos in the anime... and after that, not at all. He has settled down as the Chief Librarian of the Infinite Library, in the same organization as his friends.

Tropes associated with Yuuno:

  • Adorably Precocious Child: In the earlier seasons. He later becomes a Bishounen.
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Established in his backstory. Given all of the skills Yuuno possesses, as well as how dangerous Lost Logia artifacts can be, and how there are sometimes very dangerous people who want to steal them, one can infer that this is a particularly hazardous occupation.
  • Alone in a Crowd: In the first season, Yuuno talks about how he grew up without parents, being raising communally by his clan. In the drama CDs, he mentions the Scyra family tent, which was often full of a lively, bustling crowd of people, and how comforting he finds such an atmosphere. He tells Nanoha that he's always been alone in the crowd, but he appreciates what they did for him, and he's happy to bear the name "Scrya".
  • Badass Adorable: Cute little ferret adroitly defends a cute little girl from a Big Badass Wolf. Later fights a hammer-loli knight as an Adorably Precocious Child.
  • Badass Bookworm: Further reinforced when he became a librarian.
  • Barrier Warrior: In Gears of Destiny, one of his long range attacks is Barrier Smash, where he dashes straight at his opponent in a flying tackle while protected by a barrier. He also possesses two "field-type" spells, which create magical circles that trap opponents caught within their boundaries; one field works as his grab move, and he causes it to explode underneath them. The other field is his counterattack, and seems to electrify the opponent before exploding and sending them flying back.
  • Berserk Button: Don't call him a familiar or make fun of his ferret transformation.
  • Brother Chuck: Despite the time that Vivio spends in the Infinite Library in Sound Stage X, Yuuno makes no appearance and no mention is made of him. Likewise, after the second season, no one thinks to ask him about all of the ancient history, cultures, figures of interest or pieces of forbidden technology that continue to plague and perplex people in the modern day, despite Yuuno being the most qualified man alive to come up with the answers.
  • Can't Catch Up: Realizes that Nanoha is considerably better at offensive magic than he is. In the Megami sound stage for A's, he says he realizes he'll never be as good at combat as Nanoha, which is part of the reason for deciding to support her by doing research. Of course, he's also the only mage in the entire extended series without even the most basic Device (after giving Raising Heart to Nanoha), and he still manages feats of power equaling those of the other mages. Now, maybe if he got one of his own...?
  • Crippling Overspecialization: Although he's a decent healer, a good teacher and an excellent scryer, he has no conventional firepower for knocking suspects or wanted criminals unconscious through magical damage.
    • Gears of Destiny finally reveals that this is not quite the case. Yuuno does in fact know offensive magic, including a magical projectile spell (a heat-seeking variant of Shoot Bullet, which is otherwise the most basic shooting magic in Midchildan system). However, his long range Chain Bind, Chain Anchor and Protection Smash attacks are mostly meant to get him into close range without getting shot, and he displays more varied, powerful and specialized attack spells in close quarters. He's still mostly defensive, with short combos and counters that let him blast his opponent back if he needs to create some room, which he can then use his long range skills to remove at his convenience.
  • Deflector Shields: One of Yuuno's specialties.
  • Demoted to Extra: He gets phased out more and more during subsequent seasons, to the point that he doesn't merit a mention in anything after StrikerS. He isn't even playable in the A's-centric Battle of Aces PSP game, though Gears of Destiny is correcting that. Then again, he may be in the wrong series...
  • Excuse Me While I Multitask: Other mages use Devices to help them do this to some degree, but Yuuno does it just fine on his own, even when dueling a superior opponent with far more combat experience. His abilities here, coupled with his talent for search magic, helped make him the head of the Infinity Library before he turned 10.
  • Familiar: Fate and Chrono mistake him for one, at first. This was understandable, since he was shapeshifted into an animal and fulfilled the same basic role for most of The Original Series.
  • Healing Hands
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation: In the first Megami Sound Stage, he says he's no good at combat magic.
  • Improbable Age: By StrikerS, Yuuno is a professor that regularly gives lectures at 19. At age 9, he was an Adventurer Archaeologist, not to mention an accomplished mage with diverse and potent skills.
  • Japanese Honorifics: Tends to use “-san” on older people, but none on people in his age group. He initially referred to Nanoha this way, when she first started helping him with the Jewel Seeds, until she told him to cut it out. He once gets into an argument with Chrono over whether Chrono gave him permission to use yobisute on him.
  • The Lancer: In the first season. Nanoha loves to blow stuff up, he protects her from return fire. Also, while Nanoha liked to think straightforwardly, he was more of the strategist between the two.
  • Minored in Asskicking: Considering that Yunno's Chain Binds can rip apart the body of a Superweapon Doom Program and that he can forcibly teleport people into space to suffocate to death, his merely average firepower belies how deadly he could really be in a fight if he put his mind to it. The Gears of Destiny game also reveals that he is able and willing to smash his enemies in the face with battering ram charges, melee shots deliver through palm-strikes, close-range chains, and explosive capture fields.
  • Non-Action Guy: Kinda sorta. Yuuno is certainly not shy about charging off into danger when people need his help, being just as reckless about that as Nanoha. However, he's first and foremost a scholar. While Nanoha pursues a career in the armed forces, Yuuno gets a job as chief librarian of the Infinite Library so he can continue his love of archaeology and research.
  • Non-Human Sidekick: Nanoha mistakes him for this initially. She wasn't the only one.
  • The Medic: Before Shamal's introduction to the team, he was the show's primary medic.
  • Megane: He starts sporting glasses by the Distant Finale and the third season.
  • Mr. Exposition: His role in the latter half of A's, and StrikerS.
  • The Obi Wrong: Quickly gets to the point where he has nothing to teach Nanoha, at least in the realm of combat magic.
  • Razor Floss: His Chain Bind is used this way in the final battle of the second season. A different version called Aleister Chain (or "Arrester" Chain) serves as his super-attack in Gears of Destiny; he binds his target up in two chains, then circles the target with two more, then yanks the second set tight. The second chains shatter and explode, followed by the first set.
  • Shallow Love Interest: Effectively treated this way by the creators, despite actually having a developed personality, loads of plot-potential, and plenty of combat power. Beyond his use as a romantic possibility for Nanoha, the writers simply were not interested in developing anything more about him; they don't even explain where or how he gained Raising Heart. So when they decided, as of Sound Stage X, not to Ship Tease Yuuno with Nanoha anymore; he disappeared entirely from the plot and never receives another mention. Even back when he was on-screen he had vanishingly few interactions with anyone else in the cast, even counting the supplementary material manga and drama CDs. He also could count as a sort-of Romantic False Lead, since he appears to Nanoha before her meeting with Fate, who the creator eventually stated she's Nanoha's true Love Interest.
  • Stone Wall: Even without a Device, Yuuno's defenses are stronger than Nanoha's, as Nanoha clarifies in the first Megami Sound Stage drama disk; she needs to use her full-strength with Raising Heart to pierce through. Exactly how strong his defenses are is a matter of debate; the issue is tricky, considering his lack of a Device versus the quality of the other character's Devices, and the fact that he doesn't fight as often. See also the Worf Effect entry below.
    • It's worth noting, though, that a firecracker that goes off on your open palm will leave only a small burn, while closing your fist around it will blow off your hand. So Yuuno's attempts to bottle lightning are bound to be less effective than his ability to defend against it.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Yuno vs. Euno, from Eunos, a now-defunct division of Mazda.
  • Useless Accessory: His side pouch is never used, but presumably contains Raising Heart.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 with Chrono. Chrono tends to tease him about his ferret form and pile on work for him to do, and while Yuuno doesn't take either without complaint, he and Chrono are essentially friends.
  • Weak but Skilled: A-rank mage without firepower, do the math. Of course, one of his powers is forced teleportation, which was good enough to send a target out into the deadly vacuum of space (or to potentially bury them underground or drown them in the ocean). He doesn't need to blast you to beat you.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: How many nine-year-olds do you know who feel so responsible for cleaning up their messes that, even when the mess isn't really their own fault, they'll travel to a world they've never heard of, all alone, without any family or friends, to face danger to life-and-limb in order to fix the problem before anyone gets hurt, even when they could have just waited for the regular authorities to eventually travel there and fix the problem themselves?
  • The Worf Effect: Keeping in mind the above comment that "defense" and "containment" are different ballgames, Yuuno has failed at least five times to contain the firepower of any of the resident Girls of Mass Destruction. The first four were attempts to conceal Nanoha's practice shots with Starlight Breaker from the rest of Earth with time/space-sealing magic; only the fourth failure is seen, and is used to demonstrate that Nanoha had accidentally discovered how to add a barrier-piercing quality to her most powerful attack. The fifth failure involved Nanoha and Fate pitting their strongest attacks against Hayate's in a practice chamber aboard the TSAB's space-station headquarters. Despite being well-aware of how powerful their friends were, Yuuno and veteran mage Chrono seemed to believe that Yuuno alone would be capable of preventing damage to the room; Chrono made no apparent effort to help, and Yuuno claimed there would be no damage. The room was completely totalled, at the least. However, on all cases, he did prevent damage to the surroundings. Take it as you will, and on all cases it was pretty much for comic effect.


Fate Testarossa-Harlaown (Originally Fate Testarossa)

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki

"She has such beautiful, kind eyes... Yet, for some reason, she really looks... incredibly sad."
—Nanoha

First introduced as Nanoha's rival, Fate is the daughter of the Mad Scientist Precia Testarossa, and constantly yearned for her approval. Unfortunately for her, Precia had snapped, abused Fate constantly, and thoughtlessly threw her into dangerous and painful situations. When outside, Fate was usually assisted by her familiar Arf and armed with the Intelligent Device Bardiche. She first met (and fought) Nanoha Takamachi over the Jewel Seeds, which Fate had been ordered to capture. Considering herself unfit to be friends with such a pure-hearted and kind girl as Nanoha, Fate rejected her attempts at negotiation, determined to win back her mother's affection. Ultimately, she pushed herself far beyond her limits in a desperate gambit to obtain all the remaining Jewel Seeds at once, though Nanoha intervened when it became evident that Fate would not emerge unscathed. Shortly afterwards, Precia revealed Fate's origin; a failed clone of Precia's daughter, Alicia. Precia cruelly destroyed Fate's fragile hopes, and denounced her as both a daughter and a person. With her identity, memories, and motivation shattered, Fate fell into despair. However, with the encouragement of Arf, Bardiche, and Nanoha, she decided to face Precia one last time, and reaffirm her feelings as real, even if she herself is fake. Despite Fate's efforts, Precia died in the collapse of The Garden. Afterward, Fate was adopted by Lindy Harlaown, and awaits trial as a material witness, keeping in constant contact with her new friend, Nanoha.

The trial concluded quickly, and Fate quickly joined Nanoha in both everyday school life and the sudden battle against the Wolkenritter. During this time, she begins to develop her Fragile Speedster fighting style, with an upgraded, revolver-type magic cartridge Bardiche. She established a close bond with Signum based on mutual respect, and helped Nanoha defeat the Book of Darkness, thus freeing Hayate and her knights.

Years later, Fate is an Enforcer; a powerful agent of the Space-Time Administration Bureau. Known throughout the galaxy as "The Ace of the Navy", Fate investigates various incidents, but takes a particular interest in cases involving children, even adopting and raising two herself: Erio Mondial, a clone created with the very technology her mother helped develop, and Caro Ru Lushe, a young summoner with immense power, who was thrown out of her tribe and sent to a high-security special-protection building. Both her and her children joined Riot Force 6, where Fate encountered Jail Scarlietti, the man who started the project which ultimately led to her creation: Project Fate. Fighting him, Fate is forced to recognize the traits she and her mother have in common, namely, having her kids fight for her, but after some quick encouragement from Erio and Caro, Fate turns the tables and captures Jail. She also co-adopts Vivio alongside Nanoha, and the three are shown to be living happily together.

Tropes associated with Fate:

  • Absurdly Youthful Mother: To Vivio, Erio and Caro, whom she adopts at a young age, young enough so that Lindy has to be the one to officially become Erio's guardian.
  • Abusive Parent: In one truly horrifying first season scene, Fate's mother chains her up and whips her as punishment for not collecting enough Jewel Seeds.
  • Action Mom: To her adopted children, Erio, Caro and Vivio.
  • Axe On A Stick: The "Axe of Light" Bardiche's default combat mode, which is, well, a bardiche.
  • Anti-Villain: In the first season. The only reason she's an antagonist is because she works for Precia Testarossa, who treats her horribly.
  • BFS:
  • Badass
  • Beam Spam: Bardiche's first spoken words in the franchise were "Photon Lancer. Full Autofire." and Fate seems infatuated with this and Macross Missile Massacre attacks in the first series, but has outgrown it by A's.
  • Big Damn Heroes: She does have a habit of saving Nanoha from deadly situations in the nick of time.
    • The first time, she helps Nanoha defeat Precia's mechas.
    • In the first episode of A's, she, along with Yuuno and Arf, save Nanoha just in time from Vita.
    • She intercepts Deville's attack on Nanoha in Force.
    • And one more if you count the Kaleid Liner crossover special, where she isn't even properly befriended yet.
  • Black Bra and Panties: Avoids the usual depiction by being the one of the most motherly people in the show.
  • Blank White Eyes: Sometimes used in ViVid, such as when Vivio transforms into Adult Mode.
  • Boobs of Steel: Fate has always been better in close combat than Nanoha, and in StrikerS her breasts are quite noticeably larger than Nanoha's. It also perhaps reflects how she's more of a classically-maternal person than Nanoha.
  • But Now I Must Go: To Alicia, in the Lotus Eater Machine.
  • Butt Monkey: Tends to get a fair amount of teasing from her friends, especially in the Comic a la Carte one shots, as she is socially awkward and easily embarrassed.
  • Calling The Old Woman Out: Completely averted. Instead of denouncing her for her cruel acts - especially revealing her status as a Replacement Goldfish and deeming her worthless at that - Fate says that even if Precia doesn't consider her a daughter, she still brought her into the world, and is her mother. Precia brushes it off, though.
  • Cannot Spit It Out:
    • During the first A's sound stage, Fate struggles with telling Nanoha that they could resolve the issue of who goes into the bath first by going in together, but gets interrupted by Amy and Miyuki's arrival and the subsequent decision to go to the public baths.
    • In the "Magical Cooking" short side story, Vivio lets her and Nanoha try her salt cookies with baked caviare and a whole bottle of brandy added as seasoning. Fate can't even swallow it and has to put significant effort to not spit it out, while wondering what to say when Vivio asks how it was. Luckily Nanoha has no such problem and simply says "It's terrible" with a smile on her face.
    • In the second StrikerS Sound Stage, she has difficulty talking to Erio and Caro about her concerns for them (specifically that they are hiding their problems from her), causing some unspoken tension between them.
  • Catch Phrase: Bardiche's catchphrase is "Get set."
  • Char Clone: To Nanoha's Amuro. She even progresses from the first type to the second type in A's. Thankfully, she did not progress to the third type.
  • Character Exaggeration: Following the original series, she is, for the most part, a relatively calm individual who is sometimes insecure. In the Comics A La Carte one shots, she gets exaggeratedly depressed over the smallest things, such as Vivio delaying giving her a gift for Mother’s Day until Father’s Day, or choosing to take a bath alone.
  • Cloning Blues: Fate is a Replacement Goldfish for Alicia Testarossa.
  • Clothing Damage:
    • In the original series, her Barrier Jacket gets torn up pretty badly in the final battle with Nanoha after she blocks a Starlight Breaker.
    • In the movie manga, it is instead caused by Precia using area magic on the entire field with no regard to whether or not Fate got caught up in the blast.
    • In ViVid, she goes Shin Sonic Form against Erio, but his speed allows him to keep up with her and he ends up shredding her outfit entirely, leaving just scraps covering anything important. And then Teana and Nanoha bombard the field with Starlight Breakers, leaving Fate in even fewer scraps of clothing than before.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Fate's Barrier Jacket is black and frequently includes a Dracula-esque high-collared black and red cape. Black is even stated to be her favourite color and she fights with an axe/scythe. And while she was a Dark Magical Girl, after her Heel Face Turn she became the closest friend Nanoha "befriended".
  • Dark Magical Girl: The poster child for this trope.
  • Doesn't Like Being Touched: Understandable, considering her past.
    • In A's, blushes and looks somewhat uncomfortable after Lindy takes her hand, prompting Lindy to apologize.
    • In ViVid she blushes when Vivio cups her face in her hands.
    • That said, she doesn't have this problem with Nanoha, though.
  • The Dragon: Quite an unusual example, but an example nonetheless since she's Precia's enforcer.
  • Dual-Wielding: Bardiche's Riot Zanber form.
  • Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: She gets these upon learning about her true origins.
  • Even the Girls Want Her: Especially in the A's manga.
  • Expy: She's got the equivalent of a Dead Little Sister, in the first season she served as the hero's rival, she was the product of a project, and she had a Heel Face Turn. In this sense she's a Gender Flipped, kinder version of Shadow
    • Take all of that, then add in the blonde hair and a form that lets her go Three Times Faster and she's a CHAR.
  • Extreme Doormat: In the first season, as per her Love Martyr status.
  • Fragile Speedster/Glass Cannon: Not noticeably so in normal combat despite being relatively weak in defensive magic, but her Sonic Drive Super Mode combined with Bardiche's Zamber form turns her into a hypersonic One-Hit-Point Wonder with a BFS. Fate is still alarmingly fast when in normal form, but her Sonic Form weakens her defenses and turns her inherent speed Up to Eleven.
    • Just to drive the point home: In Force, she fights Deville of Hückebein, whose special skill is short-distance teleportation in combat, to a standstill. Deville first thinks Fate can teleport as well, before realizing that no, she's just that fast. And she wasn't using her Sonic Form, either.
  • Freudian Excuse: Her history with Precia made Fate determined to be a good mother to her adopted children to not end up like her. As Erio and Caro pointed out, she succeeded.
  • Girlish Pigtails
  • Gone Horribly Right: Jail made her all that she could be via genetic engineering for Precia. She eventually proceeds to beat the crap out of several of Jail's favored daughters and the man himself.
  • Hair of Gold
  • Happily Adopted: By Lindy.
  • Heel Face Turn: In the first season, not that she was evil anyway.
  • Heroic BSOD: Winds up with her finding that she's a placeholder while Precia tries to revive her daughter. She gets pushed over the cliff after Precia admits that she has always completely hated Fate despite Fate's unwavering dedication to her "mother" up till then.
  • Honor Before Reason: Fate helps free Signum from a monster's clutches rather than take the opportunity to capture her. Even Signum tells her she shouldn't have done that, albeit largely because Fate cost her a Linker Core by destroying the monster.
  • Hot Mom: As of StrikerS, Fate is a mother figure to Erio, Caro, and Vivio.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed
  • I Have the High Ground: Fate seems to enjoy this one.
  • I Just Want to be Loved: Why she tries hard to please her abusive mother in the first season. While she never gets Precia's love, she ends up with a new family, many friends by her side, and a loving girlfriend in Nanoha.
  • Improbable Age: A combat mage at age 9 and an Enforcer at age 12. Then again, Linith suggests that Precia should not be sending her out into combat until she is physically mature.
  • Japanese Sibling Terminology: She wonders what she should call Chrono once she joins his family as his younger sister. She occasionally calls Chrono "Onii-chan" much to his embarrassment, but otherwise tends to just use his first name, (or "Admiral Chrono" when she's on duty in front of people she doesn't know).
  • Knight of Cerebus: In the original series, heralds the start of the plot getting serious and Nanoha facing setbacks and failure on her quest for the Jewel Seeds.
  • Kuudere: Initially seems unfeeling, but after becoming friends with Nanoha, shows a kinder, gentler and often somewhat shy side.
  • Lady of War: Fate is typically soft-spoken, caring, and occasionally seems a little lost, but thoroughly competent in combat.
  • Laser Blade: Bardiche's scythe and various sword forms.
  • Love Martyr: Towards her first mother, Precia. Even after being cruelly rejected, she continues to love her because she brought her into the world, and to Fate, is still her mother even if she doesn't acknowledge her as a daughter.
  • Luminescent Blush: Gets this fairly often, especially in ViVid.
  • Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Something of a variation, in that she is The Dragon, and never betrayed Precia. Precia threw her away.
  • The Maiden Name Debate: When she's adopted by the Harlaown family, takes on "Testarossa-Harlaown" as her family name, as she considers both Precia and Lindy her mothers; the former for bringing her into the world and the latter for raising her.
  • My Mother Right Or Wrong: Initially uses this as a justification for her actions.
  • New Transfer Student: Briefly in A's.
  • Nice Girl: So very much.
  • Official Couple: With Nanoha.
  • Pet the Dog: Sound Stage 2, which deals with her backstory, set while she was still an antagonist, shows that she made Arf into a familiar solely to save her life, and set the contract open so that Arf can live the way she wants to, without having to worry about herself disappearing when it's fulfilled.
  • Phlebotinum Rebel: Subverted - while she's an indirect products of Jail's illegal research and the one in charge of Jail's capture, she doesn't treat him any differently than she would every other criminal.
  • Prince Charming: Frequently described as one to Nanoha.
  • Rapunzel Hair: In the first two seasons, her hair reaches almost down to her feet, and she reportedly has difficulty washing it on her own.
  • Replacement Goldfish: For Alicia.
  • Reverse Shrapnel: Photon/Plasma Lancer.
  • Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: With Nanoha in A's.
  • Save the Villain: Saves Signum from a desert monster, and in StrikerS, while it is not her primary goal, saves the lives of Scaglietti and several of his defeated cyborgs by stopping the self-destruct sequence.
  • Say My Name:
    • Last episode of Season 1, with Nanoha. Awww...
    • This comes up again at the end of the first episode in season 2. Nanoha is about to be killed by Vita, and she calls out Fate's name. And Fate appears.
    • And in episode 3 of A's, Nanoha and Fate are both hesitant and unable to look at each other, until they say each other's name, as they had promised to do the next time they met, back in season 1.
  • Sinister Scythe: Bardiche's Scythe Form, later upgraded to Haken Form.
  • Spirited Competitor: Likes sparring with Signum and Nanoha, although Shari implies that she stopped sparring with Nanoha for some time after she was injured (possibly for fear of her overexerting herself)
  • Straight Gay: To the point the series' creator and voice actress had to confirm she's a lesbian and in a relationship with Nanoha.
  • Stripperiffic: Her regular outfit in season one, quite possibly even more so than her Barrier Jacket.
  • Sugar and Ice Personality: She initially seems cold and unfeeling, but this is a mask made to cope with her mother's horrifying abuse. Nanoha manages to bring her out her kind-hearted and shy self.
  • Super Soldier: An unintentional case as she was meant to be just a clone of Alicia.
  • Too Many Belts: Her Barrier Jacket for the first two seasons.
  • The Unfavorite: A weird version: her sister is clearly the favorite of their mother because Fate is a clone of her 'sister' Alicia, and she's hated because she can't measure up to the original.
  • What Beautiful Eyes!: Nanoha certainly thought so.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Part of her initial depression, even before her Cloning Blues.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: The basic form of Fate's barrier jacket in StrikerS.

Arf

Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani

Fate's familiar, who accompanies her on her quest to find the Jewel Seeds. She despises Fate's mother and is only loyal to Fate. Late in the series, when she is injured after attacking Precia over her mistreatment of Fate, she retreats to Earth and seeks help from Nanoha, later helping in the assault on the Garden of Time. She fights alongside the heroes in A's, primarily facing off against Zafira.

In StrikerS, she takes on the form of a small child in order to use as little of Fate's mana as possible and stays behind to do household chores, believing that Fate has become strong enough to fight on her own.

Tropes associated with Arf:

  • Animorphism: Looks like a giant fox, though she's said to be a wolf and is mistaken for a dog on Earth.
  • Barrier Warrior: Has shades of this when fighting alongside Fate.
  • Battle Butler: Like most familiars.
  • The Berserker: Especially so in the 1st Movie. Nearly every scene has her screaming and tossing herself at enemies due to Fate getting hurt or others simply getting in Fate's way.
  • Berserk Button: Do anything to Fate and she will try to kill and/or eat you.
  • Big Badass Wolf: "Wolfs" on Mid-childa, look like gigantic foxes from earth apparently.
  • Big Eater
  • Cute Little Fangs: When in humanoid form.
  • Demoted to Extra: Six years after A's, retires from active duty because Fate is strong enough to fight on her own. She spends most of her time around the Harlaown house, doing chores and looking after Chrono and Amy's children. She wasn't playable in the A's-centric Battle of Aces.
  • Evil Counterpart: While not necessarily "evil", she does serve as Fate's counterpart for Yuuno in the first season.
  • Familiar
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Strongly dislikes Nanoha at first, thinking she's weak and is trying to trick Fate into abandoning her quest. She eventually decides to cooperate with Nanoha for Fate's sake, though, and starts to like her after seeing how happy Fate is after becoming Nanoha's friend.
  • Heel Face Turn: In Episode 10 of the first series, attacks Precia over how she treats Fate, and is defeated. After being found by Alisa, Nanoha and Yuuno meet her, and she agrees to help them save Fate.
  • Hey, You: Has quite a few insulting nicknames for Nanoha at first, before she's ultimately forced to work with her in saving Fate.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: While it's probably not something she does on a regular basis, Arf threatens, and later attempts, to swallow Nanoha whole.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: She hates Precia and tries to convince Fate to give up looking for the search for the Jewel Seeds on a few occasions, but nevertheless continues to help her. Fate later regrets not listening to Arf and causing her pain by persisting.
  • Non-Human Sidekick: Wolfgirl sidekick, but Arf is in fact a magical construct, though the series tends to view magical constructs and even sufficiently advanced Magitek devices as human enough. In A's, typically takes on the form of a small red dog when she's on Earth so as not to attract suspicion, and recommends that Zafira do the same toward the end of the last episode.
  • Older Than They Look: In StrikerS, which takes place 10 years after A's, she takes the form of a small girl to consume as little of Fate's mana as possible.
  • Only One Name
  • Petting Zoo People: Her humanoid form.
  • Roof Hopping: In the first season.
  • Screaming Warrior
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Spellings include Arf, Aruf and Alph. And to make things more confusing, the English dub uses... all of them. More recently, the official English subtitles from the home release of the movie used "Alf".
  • Talking Animal: A Mid-childan Dire Wolf, to be precise.
  • Third Person Person: In her early life as a familiar, as shown in Sound Stage 2 of The Original Series.
  • Undying Loyalty: Toward Fate, as a result of affection and appreciation rather than contract. Fate only made Arf a familiar to save her life, and made the terms of her contract to live as she wished. Fate also left the contract completely open in duration - only actual physical death will end it.
  • Unfortunate Names: It's hard to get much more unfortunate than Arf for a human/dog animorph.
  • Younger Than They Look: Her typical form in the first two seasons is a girl in her late teens or early twenties, but she was created by the nine-year-old Fate, and is thus younger than her. Interestingly enough, her "official" age is 16 as of the original series, despite being chronologically much younger.


Precia Testarossa

Voiced by: Rei Igarashi

The main antagonist of the original series, who seeks the Jewel Seeds to travel to Al Hazard to resurrect her dead daughter Alicia. Apparently died when she and the capsule containing Alicia's body fell into the trans-dimensional void.

Tropes associated with Precia:

  • Absolute Cleavage
  • Abusive Parents: Emotionally and physically towards Fate, although she was merely cold and distant before Linith's death. Which is a far cry from how she was to her real daughter Alicia.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: In The Movie. As she's falling, she remembers Alicia wanted a little sister, realizing she could have treated Fate as another daughter instead of a failed replacement for Alicia, somberly summing up her Fatal Flaw as she dies.

"I never notice things before it's too late..."

  • Beehive Barrier: Her magical shield is composed of hexagons, as seen when Arf flips the fuck out and attacks Precia for whipping Fate.
  • Big Bad: Precia is this in spades in season one and The Movie.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Inflicts this on Fate at least twice.
  • Creepy Monotone
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Defeats Arf and the enforcers sent after her with hardly any effort at all.
  • Disney Villain Death: Falls into an interdimensional void.
  • Domestic Abuser: Poor, poor Fate...
    • Troubled Abuser: She has been grieving her daughter Alicia's death, and the reason she abuses Fate is because she's a clone of her daughter who is too different from her.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Whipping Fate for not getting enough seeds.
  • Evil Matriarch
  • Evil Sorcerer
  • Fond Memories That Could Have Been: Her Fatal Flaw.
    • When Alicia died, she realized just how she has neglected her daughter and wished that she had spend more time with her. Too bad she went off the deep end.
    • A second one occurs in the movie, where as she falls to her death, Precia remembered that Alicia once wanted a little sister and realized that she could've treated Fate as another daughter instead of a failed replacement for Alicia. Unfortunately, there is no longer enough time left to make amends or even apologize.
  • Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!, Hot Mom, Older Than They Look: Looks in her 20s to early 30s, but is actually age 54 at the time of her introduction in episode 7. She doesn't even have a single middle/old age wrinkle on her face. Time has been very kind to her appearance.
  • Hate Sink: She used to be this in the original series, due to her horrifying abuse of Fate (who was a Love Martyr to her, sadly). She subverts this in the movie, when she becomes a Tragic Villain who has a Heel Realization just as she dies. She has grown out of this trope ever since.
  • Hey, You: Tends to refer to Fate as "that girl" when talking about her to others, possibly to reflect her contempt for her as a clone, but tends to address her by name when speaking to her.
  • Hoist By Her Own Petard: Desperate to reach Al Hazard before dying of her disease or being arrested by the TSAB, she tried to go do the dimensional transference when she had nine out of 21 Jewel Seeds, short of even the 14-seed bare minimum she suspected she would need. She falls to her death as the transference fails and her lair collapses.
  • Ignored Expert: In the movie, Precia tried to explain to her superiors that accelerating the timeline for the final stage of her reactor project from one month to one week was a bad idea. They didn't listen, and the disaster that resulted from that foolish management decision cost Precia her daughter and, eventually, her sanity.
  • Incurable Cough of Death: Suffering this as early as the second Sound Stage of the original series, which takes place two years before the series begins.
  • Knight of Cerebus
  • Love Makes You Evil: She completely lost it when her daughter Alicia died. In Alicia's words:

"She was a really kind person. Because she was so kind, she broke while trying to revive me after I died..."

Precia: I'll put an end to everything. To all the time this girl was deprived of when I lost her.. and also to the doll I created to play as my daughter.

  • Whip It Good: Precia's Intelligent Device has a whip form that sees frequent use. Mostly on Fate.

Linith

Voiced by: Masumi Asano

Precia's familiar, who was created to further Fate's education and make Bardiche. Although she cared greatly for Fate, she was unable to go against Precia, even at the end of her life. The records she left behind, however, helped prove Fate's innocence in the Lost Logia case.

Tropes associated with Linith:

  • All There in the Manual: In the TV series, she only appears once, in Fate's Lotus Eater Machine sequence with no explanation of who she is. However, she is central in the second Sound Stage, and is frequently referenced in the other Sound Stages and the manga. She is also in the flashbacks in The Movie and her role is further expanded in its accompanying manga.
  • But Now I Must Go: Disappears after Fate's training and Bardiche are complete, per her contract.
  • Catgirl: Though she usually conceals her feline features.
  • Familiar: Precia's. Created to teach Fate as the sole purpose of her contract.
  • Morality Chain: Precia still showed some bits of her lost humanity when Linith was around. After she disappeared, well, It Got Worse. Arf suggests that Linith would have told Precia off for hitting Fate for the book she retrieved not having what she wanted if she had still been around.
  • Parental Substitute: The closest thing to a mother figure Fate has until her adoption. When she "dies", she tells Precia that she regretted that Fate was not her own daughter.
  • Posthumous Character: She dies before the start of the series.
  • Servile Snarker: Has little respect for Precia, and is not above talking back or using sarcasm even during her Famous Last Words ("my never kind master, Precia"). Has a better relationship with Fate, but is not above teasing her a little over her being sleepy in her Lotus Eater Machine dream.
    • Gears of Destiny shows that she actually loves Precia a lot. Just like Fate want to be loved as Precia's daughter, so too she wants to be loved as Precia's familiar. She does reconcile with Precia at the end of her story arc.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Does it begin with an L or an R, and does it end with an s or a th? One of the most unfortunate names from a Romanization standpoint.


Alicia Testarossa

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki

Precia's deceased daughter, for whom Precia went completely nuts, and for whom Fate was cloned as a temporary replacement. Precia sought the lost technology of Al Hazard to resurrect her. If she wasn't already irreversibly dead, she became so when her pod fell into the trans-dimensional void alongside Precia. A false version of her was created in Fate's Lotus Eater Machine, where she regretted not having met in real life, and offers Fate some encouragement.

Tropes associated with Alicia:


Chrono Harlaown

Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi in the first two seasons, Tomokazu Sugita in StrikerS

One of the top enforcers on the Arthra and the son of Captain Lindy Harlaown. While not as powerful as Nanoha or Fate, Chrono (initially) has far more experience. Stoic and logical, Chrono prefers to assess a situation and wait for a chance to strike, and he can get somewhat annoyed by Nanoha's impulsive actions. Chrono singlehandedly determines cause of the unusual events in season 2, but hardly appears in season 3.

Tropes associated with Chrono:

  • Adorably Precocious Child: In earlier seasons.
  • Badass Longcoat: Standard issue for TSAB Enforcers.
  • The Comically Serious: He claims he called Yuuno "ferret boy" as a joke, though you'd never tell from his tone.
  • Disappeared Dad: Clyde Harlaown died in the quest to seal the Book of Darkness.
  • Flechette Storm: Stinger Blade.
  • Happily Married: To Amy.
  • An Ice Person: Specializes in temperature manipulation, and the Durandal allows him to freeze targets easily.
  • Improbable Age: He is a highly trained elite special agent at the age of 14. And doesn't look any older than Nanoha in the beginning.
  • Luminescent Blush: In the last episode of the first season, when Nanoha says he's a nice guy for reassuring her that the bureau will take Fate's circumstances into account.
  • Older Than They Look: Despite looking as old as nine-year-old Nanoha (probably because that's also how old he seemed in Magical Toybox), he's actually five years older. After the first time-skip, however, he starts looking his age.
  • Opposites Attract: With Amy.
  • Spikes of Villainy: At one point in the series' development, he was going to be a bad guy. His barrier jacket's spikes are the only remnant of this.
  • Not So Stoic: Almost always maintains an air of cold professionalism, but he gets flustered whenever someone suggests that he a nice guy, or when Fate calls him "Onii-chan". And when Lotte Lieze shoves his face between her breasts in a hug.
  • Trap Master: His fighting syle in the Nanoha games. Instead of a stronger projectile attack, Chrono sets-up invisible Delayed Binds that trigger when his opponent flies too close to them.
  • Weak but Skilled: As he says, it takes more than power to make a great mage. Chrono's first appearance has him intervening in a fight between Nanoha and Fate, each of whom has substantially more raw magical power than him. He also uses an obscure spell to capture and unmask the masked men in A's who turn out to be his teachers. In the supplementary manga, he likewise handily defeats Fate in a one-on-one match despite her superior power, although it's implied that she has improved to the point where he has to take her seriously to win.


Lindy Harlaown

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa

Chrono's mother and the captain of the Arthra. Despite her authority, Lindy is a gentle and easygoing woman, and (like Nanoha) would rather talk things out before resorting to force. However, it's implied that she possesses incredible power, suppressing a dimensional tremor by herself. She is responsible for giving Nanoha most of her orders in the original series and A's. She adopts Fate, and serves as the legal guardian for Erio and Caro, as Fate was too young to officially do so.

Tropes associated with Lindy:


Amy Limietta

Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka

An officer on the Arthra who is relatively playful, in contrast to the highly serious Chrono. She ends up marrying him.

Tropes associated with Amy:


Kyouya Takamachi

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa

Nanoha's older brother, who is a college student in the first series. He was the hero in Triangle Heart 3 ～sweet songs forever～, but the only things that carry over are his skill with swords and his relationship with Shinobu.

Tropes associated with Kyouya:

  • Covert Pervert: Hinted to be quite a big one at the audio dramas, as a Jewel Seed (which acts based on the desires of those who come into contact with it) turns into a water monster that tries ripping off girls' swimsuits.
  • Demoted to Extra: He was the hero in Triangle Heart 3 ～sweet songs forever～. In Nanoha, he only has a few appearances, and only in the first two seasons.
  • Heir to the Dojo
  • Put on a Bus: In Germany with Shinobu in the first Sound Stage of StrikerS, where the rest of the family appears.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend: He seems fairly shy about his relationship with Shinobu.
  • The Stoic: Not to the same degree as Chrono, but fairly serious most of the time, and supposedly even more so before getting into a relationship with Shinobu.


Miyuki Takamachi

Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi

Nanoha's older sister (who may or may not be her cousin, as she was Triangle Heart 3 ～sweet songs forever～). A high-school student in the original series. She's quite fond of petting Yuuno.

Tropes associated with Miyuki:

  • Cool Big Sis
  • Demoted to Extra: Somewhat less so than the other members of the family besides Nanoha, as she becomes friends with Amy in the sound stages, but she's still virtually gone after A's.
  • Heir to the Dojo
  • Japanese Sibling Terminology: Her referring to Kyouya as "Kyou-chan" could suggest that she's his cousin, but Nanoha uses this as a way of suggesting that Fate doesn't necessarily have to use terms for older siblings on Chrono.
  • Meganekko


Momoko Takamachi

Nanoha's mother, who runs a cafe called the Midoriya.

Tropes associated with Momoko:

  • Hot Mom: She look exactly the same in ViVid as she did in the first series, fourteen years earlier.
  • Open-Minded Parent: Fairly understanding about letting Nanoha go away for several days in season 1. Also didn't even blink when Lindy explained the situation, and nonchalantly greets her 19-year old daughter in the Sound Stage when she stops by to visit with her students after moving to another planet/dimension.

Students: Her mom treats Nanoha like she's a normal girl!


Shirou Takamachi

Voiced by: Kazuya Ichijou

Nanoha's father, who is alive in this version but quit his bodyguard job after being hospitalized for a long time.

Tropes associated with Shirou:


Alisa Bannings

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya

One of Nanoha's schoolfriends. Alisa has the honor of being the first person to be on the receiving end of a Nanoha befriending, when Nanoha hit her for bullying Suzuka. She got better soon, thankfully.

Tropes associated with Alisa:

Suzuka Tsukimura

Voiced by: Ai Shimizu

Another of Nanoha's school friends, and the little sister of Kyoya's girlfriend Shinobu. She meets and becomes friends with Hayate (the normal way, not a Nanoha-style "befriending") in A's, and helps introduce Nanoha to her.

Tropes associated with Suzuka:

Noel and Farin

The head maid of the Tsukimura family and Suzuka's personal maid, respectively.

Tropes associated with Noel and Farin:


Shinobu Tsukimura

Suzuka's older sister and Kyouya's girlfriend.

  1. ↑ At least in this universe; in Triangle Heart Chrono had that dubious honor.
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