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--> Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a thirteen episode anime directed by Akiyuki Shinbo that aired between October and December of 2004.
The series is a spin-off of the Triangle Heart series of games and OVAs. Nanoha, the magical girl and younger sister of Kyōya and Miyuki, takes precedence here while her sword-wielding siblings are reduced to minor characters. Nanoha is also clearly set in an alternate universe; the late Shirō Fuwa was always named Takamachi and survived his originally fatal injury, new characters such as Fate Testarossa are added, and others, such as Fiasse Crystela, are removed.
A sequel, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, aired between October and December of 2005. A third series, titled Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS began airing on April 1 2007. There have also been corresponding manga series bridging the story and adding new elements to it, as well as CD dramas.
It was announced at AnimeExpo 2007 that Lyrical Nanoha and its sequel, Lyrical Nanoha A's, have been licensed by Geneon for English language distribution; however, Geneon has since ceased distribution of DVDs in North America, and an English language release seems uncertain.
