Saving one of the key factors until last, its time to talk about the fanservice. However the other plot line, concerning Mio and how she is gradually losing her powers, is much better and adds a lot more to her character, only cementing her as my firm favourite in the show. On the whole the plot is weaker than its predecessor, with more focus going on one-shot character-centric episodes rather than the overarching story, which only really has a dominant presence in the first and last few episodes. After what seemed like a good closing note in the first season, the reformation of the Strike Witches does come across as a little abrupt. The second season saw production of the show move from Gonzo to AIC Spirits, but this doesn't really affect the art quality of the show other than a more gratuitous use of CGI for the ships (and sometimes the witches mid-flight). It certainly saves the best for last, with the final aerial battle blowing the rest out of the sky! The aerial battles are superb, fast-paced and give an excellent feel of hot-shot pilots on the battlefield. There are a few duds when it comes to the one-shot stories, but all help to build up the relationship between the extensive main cast. Each character have their own distinctive personalities and tend to pair off in the show, but they all play off each other nicely and are more like a family than a fighter unit. However the human characters receive excellent characterisation, if a little unbalanced (this is fixed in the second season however). Who or what the Neuroi are is never properly explored, and instead the audience is just expected to accept that they're here and they're dangerous. The first season offers a lot of promise, but doesn't quite answer a lot of the series' more interesting questions. The show also makes several references to tactics and machinery used in WW2. Japan is known as Fuso Empire, the United States of America is the United States of Liberion, Germany is Imperial Karlsland, France is Gallia, Great Britain is the Commonwealth of Britannia, Austria is Ostmark, the Soviet Union is the Orussia Empire, modern Italy is split between the Duchies of Romagna and Venezia, Finland is Suomus, Norway and Sweden are Baltland, New Germany (Argentina) is Neue Karlsland in South Liberion, and Spain Hispania. The nations from which the main characters hail are also based on major world powers of the time, but with different names and altered territories. But six months later, Venesia is attacked by an even stronger Neuroi threat and the Witches are called into action once again. Together the unit battle the Neuroi and eventually liberate Britannia, leading to their disbandment. Along with the Major and Yoshika taking up the rank of Sargent, the rest of the Strike Witches are Wishing to protect people, Yoshika accepts her offer and joins the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, or the Strike Witches. Despite initially refusing her offer, Yoshika receives a letter from her presumed dead father, in which he is seen with a striker unit and a young Mio. When using their magic powers, each girl grows and pair of animal ears and a tail (why exactly is never explained) and fights in aerial combat via the use of a striker unit - plane-like machines which attach to the legs and amplify strength, speed and magic power.Īfter noticing her magical ability, Major Mio Sakamoto offers Yoshika Miyafuji the chance to join the aerial infantry dedicated to battling the Neuroi. Unable to battle the threat of the Neuroi alone, the army employs witches (or magical girls if you'd prefer) to fight for the planet. Only here the enemies aren't Nazis, instead it is the Neuroi - an alien lifeform which began their widespread invasion of Earth in the year 1939. Strike Witches is set on an alternate Earth during the midst of World War 2. This review will look at both seasons of the anime. Moe girls, magic and fighter planes collide in a battle for the planet against alien lifeforms in Strike Witches! After starting out as a short preview OVA in early 2007, Strike Witches went on to have a 12-episode series in 2008 and then a sequel series in 2010, also comprised of 12-episodes.
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