Strike Witches review

Recently got the “Strike Witches” complete collection from Funimation. Spread over 2 DVD discs, it contains the entire first season of this excellent magical girl action series that is peppered with comedy, ecchi scenes and yuri moments.

Based on original designs by Shimada Humikane, ストライクウィッチーズ has been adapted into light novels, manga and anime form. You can see plenty of Shimda’s original art in the “Shimada Humikane Art Works“ book.

The story of “Strike Witches” takes place during the 1940’s on an alternate version of our earth, where magic and technology coexist. Thrust into a conflict that spreads across the globe against the alien Neuroi, the human race is in peril after the Neuroi quickly wipe out many nations.

Humanity’s best hope to defeat the airborne Neuroi lies with the witches of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, young girls with potent magical powers that are able to fly when donning their striker units.

One of the series’ prime and most visually obvious aspects are the copious amounts of fanservice, for which it is often judged by. But to limit one’s view of “Strike Witches” solely on the account of all the fanservice would be too hasty a judgment.

A tell-tale emblem of the fanservice level is the dubious fact that in the alternate world “Strike Witches” takes place in, women do not wear pants or skirts, they simply walk around with their panties or swimsuit bottoms showing in plain view. Each episode is packed with blatant pantsu shots and other fanservice scenes such as glances at character’s bosoms, scantily clad bed attire or bikini’s in the obligatory beach episode are plentiful.

On top of all that, each of the witches displays animal ears and tail when activating her magical powers, no doubt this was intentionally added to appeal to fans of animal eared girls.

To fully enjoy the series, viewers must be willing to accept, or better yet, enjoy all this fanservice, as such “Strike Witches” might not be for all audiences.
When the series first aired, I too was reluctant, assuming it would be mere mindless fanservice of a questionable level but after watching the first few episodes I was quickly proven wrong and discovered this terrific series holds much more.

Though present in large amounts, the fanservice stays digestible and never becomes offensively rude or of poor taste. “Strike Witches” shows how fanservice laden series should be, cute and even daring or sensual, but never without reserve and all in sufficient good taste.

Furthermore, the series offers other well executed elements next to that fanservice, such as its homage and accurate references to World War II era air combat, excellent animation and classic but well written character plots such as personal growth and overcoming challenges.

The World War II air combat homage is quite apparent , all of the striker units are reminiscent of propeller fighter planes such as the Mustang P51, Mitsubishi Zero, Messerschmitt Bf-109,… The witches themselves are actually based or named after famous ace pilots such as Pierre Clostermann, Erich Hartmann, Chuck Yeager,…

“Strike Witches” is full of such references to combat aviation from that era, including accurate recreations of fighter plane combat maneuvers and tactics. Plenty of attention to historical details was made to accurately recreate era weaponry and equipment, such as the Maschinengewehr 42 or M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.

While most characters may seem generic, they never come off as uninteresting. “Strike Witches” features a large cast, for there are no less than 11 witches in the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, yet the series manages to give every character its moment in the spotlights.

No characters jump off-screen as being novel or unexpectedly deep, most are based on well known character formula, but because we are shown their background story or because they get enough screentime to make them familiar, the viewer will end up knowing all of the witches well enough to care about them.

While we’re never told much about the pasts of Lynette, Perrine, Erica or Lucchini, their actions and interaction with the others firmly establishes their characters. We’re shown scenes or sub plots about the pasts of Minna, Gertrud and Shirley, which immediately makes the viewer feel more involved. So even though there’s so many girls next to the leading character Yoshika, throughout the episodes you become attached to all of them.

With such a large all female cast, yuri pairings and steamy scenes are a given. While some of the girls have strong bonds of friendship, like Lucchini and Shirley or Mio and Minna,… others are hinted or plainly shown to be more than friends, which either leads to humorous scenes such as Perrine’s jealous fits, Yoshika’s infatuation with Lynette’s bosom or to more endearing, romantic scenes like those between Sanya and Eila.

The animation by Gonzo is good all throughout the series, quality almost never drops, each episode is filled with gorgeous scenes and renderings of all the cute girls with plenty of attention to detail. The many air combat action scenes are fluid, fast and well done.

Music is more generic in “Strike Witches”, while the soundtrack is solid, it does not particularly excel but simply accompanies what is seen on screen. The opening track is an upbeat song full of hope, which accentuates the theme of Yoshika’s struggle to be able to achieve her goals as a witch.

Do recommend “Strike Witches” to everyone looking for a nice series with a good mix of action and humor. Regardless of the more niche elements it has like its fanservice, it will no doubt be a fun series to watch for all.

Those of you interested in seeing cute images of the “Strike Witches” girls should definitely check out Shimada Humikane’s artworks for the series.