| Barrier Jacket | |
|---|---|
 The Three Aces wearing their iconic Barrier Jackets (Knight Armor in Hayate's case) | |
| Spell profile | |
| Other names | Knight Armor/ Knight Clothing (Belka) Combat Protective Clothing/ Engage Suit (Eclipse) Protect Suit/ Formula Suit (Eltria) Combat Equipment |
| Classification | |
| Magic system | Midchilda, Ancient Belka, Modern Belka, Special (EC), Formula Eltria |
| Category | Defense |
| Type | Field |
| Production | |
| Japanese name | (Baria Jaketto) |
| First app. | Nanoha (ep.1) |
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Barrier Jacket (
Effects[]
A Barrier Jacket is summoned when the mage activates their Device (mages who don't have a Device summon it manually) and is accompanied by a bright flash of light. Whatever normal clothes the mage is wearing at the time disappear until the Barrier Jacket is dismissed. It has been shown on at least one occasion that it is possible to activate a Device without summoning the Barrier Jacket, however, any situation requiring the former is also most likely to warrant the latter, anyway.
Technically, a Barrier Jacket consists of multiple layers of barriers and defensive fields.[3] Like other field-type spells, a Barrier Jacket constantly consumes the caster's mana while active. The more defense the Jacket provides, the higher its mana consumption. Alternatively, a Barrier Jacket can be configured to boost the caster's speed at the expense of defense (cf. Fate Testarossa's Sonic Form). Some mages develop multiple Barrier Jacket configurations and switch between them in combat, according to the situation (see Modes below).
Nanoha Takamachi has demonstrated that forcibly dispelling a Barrier Jacket can be used as a last-bid defense against a single attack, which then leaves the mage completely unprotected (see Reacter Purge).
Variations[]
- Barrier Jacket is the protective clothing cast by mages, i.e. Midchildan system practitioners and most of the Modern Belkan system practitioners. Certain Ancient Belkan martial artists also casts Barrier Jacket with command phrases related to Busō, e.g. Einhard Stratos[4] and Fuka Reventon, probably because they do not act as a knight nor wield a weapon-handling Device.
- Knight Armor (騎士甲冑 Kishi Kacchū, officially "Knight Armors",[5] lit. "knight armor and helmet"),[6] is the equivalent of Barrier Jacket cast by knights (most Ancient Belkan system practitioners). In the Belkan ages, its equivalent took form of armor sets, as confirmed by The MOVIE 2nd A's and Vita's flashback in ViVid chapter ex.
- Knight Clothing (騎士服 Kishi Fuku, officially "Knight Clothes",[5] also translated as "Knight's Garb") is a lighter variation of the Knight Armor. While it does not provide maximum protection, Knight Clothing allows for more agile maneuvering. The Wolkenritter wear these lighter variations with only a few armored pieces, since they were designed by Hayate.[6] The same applies to Reinforce Zwei.[7] Certain Modern Belkan system practitioners maintaining a Knight/Ritter rank instead of a Mage/Zauber also cast Knight Clothing instead of Barrier Jackets, e.g. Schach Nouera.[8]
- Combat Protective Clothing (戦闘防護服 Sentō Bōgyo Fuku) is the equivalent defense cast by Eclipse Drivers. It is knitted using the energies of the Divider.[9]
- Engage Suit (エンゲージスーツ Engēji Sūtsu) is the Combat Protective Clothing auto-equipped by the Stroseks when they are Engaged with their "formal Drivers" who cast Combat Protective Clothings,[10] bearing similarities with the Driver's.
- Protect Suit (プロテクトスーツ Purotekuto Sūtsu) is the protective clothing equipped by Amitie and Kyrie Florian, practitioners of Formula Eltria, in the portable continuity.
- Formula Suit (フォーミュラスーツ Fōmyura Sūtsu) is the protective clothing equipped by Amitie and Kyrie Florian, practitioners of Formula Eltria, in the movie continuity.
- Battle Clothing (戦闘装備 Sentō Sōbi, lit. Battle Equipment, officially "Battle Clothes"[5]) is considered as a general term for unnamed or unclassified protective clothings. Reinforce casts Battle Clothing as defense.[4] Thoma Avenir's basic Combat Protective Clothing was also once referred as Battle Clothing.[11] Olivie Sägebrecht also used Battle Clothing (戦装備 Ikusa Sōbi, lit. Battle Equipment) in the Belkan era.[12] Sieglinde Eremiah's protective clothing, despite with Busō as command phrase, is referred to as Eremian Battle Clothing in the ViVid-crossover cards in INNOCENT.
There is also non-magical protective clothing like Isis Egret's Armor Jacket. Additionally, some Device-like equipment, especially of wearable-type, can function as protective clothing, e.g. Silver Cape and Shell Coat.
Modes[]
Barrier Jackets are highly customizable. In addition to outward appearance, mages can tweak the spell's specs and parameters to better suit their preferred combat styles. Some mages design further Jacket forms or modes in addition to their default ones, so they can switch between them to quickly adapt to the battle at hand. Throughout the series, following alternative modes have been identified:
| Caster | Magic system | Alternative modes |
|---|---|---|
| Thoma Avenir | Midchilda Special (EC) | Black Knight |
| Mikaya Chevelle | Modern Belka | Storm Armor |
| Yuri Eberwein | Ancient Belka | Purple Sky Attire Purple Sky Attire (Red) |
| Amitie Florian | Formula Eltria | Protect Suit Formula Suit |
| Iris | Formula | Asteria |
| Teana Lanster | Mid-Childa | Stars Style |
| Material-D | Ancient Belka | Diabolique |
| Material-L | Midchilda | Slash Suit Slash Suit "Sprite Form" |
| Material-S | Midchilda | Heat Suit |
| Phil Maxwell | Formula | Maxwell |
| Erio Mondial | Modern Belka | Lightning Style |
| Subaru Nakajima | Modern Belka Special (IS) | Stars Style |
| Caro Ru Lushe | Mid-Childa | Lightning Style |
| Einhard Stratos | Ancient Belka | Armed Form |
| Nanoha Takamachi | Midchilda | Sacred Mode Exelion Mode/+ Modified Fortress Mode/Formula Mode/Formula II Aggressor Mode Exceed Mode |
| Els Tasmin | Midchilda | Black Justice |
| Fate Testarossa | Midchilda | Lightning Form Blaze Form/+ II/III Impulse Form Sonic/True Sonic Form |
| Hayate Yagami | Ancient Belka | Knight Armor Modified |
Gallery[]
Some examples of Barrier Jacket or Knight Armor designs:
References[]
- ^ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha/A's Visual Fan Book.
- ^ Barrier Jacket on the Japanese Nanoha wiki.
- ^ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS the Comics, chapter 2, page 11.
- ^ a b Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny.
- ^ a b c Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 2nd A's Official Guide Book.
- ^ a b Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, DVD Vol.1 booklet.
- ^ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, DVD Vol.2 booklet.
- ^ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Official Fan Book.
- ^ Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force NEXT, Design 03.
- ^ Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force, Vol.4, Record 15 Magic Dictionary.
- ^ Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force Vol.1, Record 01 Magic Dictionary.
- ^ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, chapter 58.