dedric.reynolds - 2015-10-23 19:18:31

The Strike Witches series follows Yoshika Miyafuji, teenage girl who goes to school (in a skirtless uniform) and helps her mother and grandmother around their medical clinic. Her father, Dr. Miyafuji, the inventor of the Striker Unit (what you're here for, if not the butts) has been MIA for some time. Yoshika, appalled by war, ends up enlisting in the navy in order to find out about the fate of her father. Hilarity ensues as she enters the boob-and-butt-festival that is the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, a group of elite ace pilots, even though she has no combat experience whatsoever. Doesn't it sound idiotic? Guess what? It's actually not half bad.

As part of the Strike Witches fandom, I've endured many a slight against my favorite anime. Every single one has been accurate. Yes, this show is 75% fanservice and 25% inaccurate WWII history. Yes, it caters to fanboys who just want to see boobies and big guns. But does it have potential? You bet. Nearly every character has the major components of a good one. They have reasons for their behavior, they have motives, they're relatable. The writers and animators could have focused on this aspect, and Strike Witches would have been a whole lot better. Hell, they could have kept in all the butts and cameltoe if they wanted. A little character development would have made this show a great challenge to the general flat-as-a-board ecchi character group. However, they decided to appeal to a mishmash of historical buffs and drooling, mindless fanboys.

Despite all this, I think that Strike Witches is worth watching. As a SW fan, I've learned more about WWII than I ever learned in high school. People claim the same thing of Hetalia, but somehow Hetalia manages to annoy me even more than Strike Witches does. That's beside the point. Strike Witches has a huge universe to build on, appealing animation, and is basically a big bundle of untapped potential. Until that potential is tapped, I'll keep searching for an anime with character, story, and sweet butts.

joyce39 - 2015-05-19 00:34:15

This far exceeded my expectations greatly, this is quite literally the following...

It like soft evangelion random aliens attacking earth and shit without the metal issues and replaced with animal lolis with magical powers to use plane legs and every now and again the girls love their oppai and have some yuri moments...

If that didn't somehow sell it to you i dont even know how....

jerde.paxton - 2015-03-17 03:13:25

young girls no pants cant complain                                                                     

mohamed.crooks - 2014-11-28 02:42:29

1 episode in, and i already know this show is literally nothing but tits and ass

logan60 - 2013-10-23 19:52:20

Strike Witches is an interesting franchise to say the least. Although most American audiences are only familiar with the Anime, in Japan it was preceded by a series of light novels, art albums and 2 manga story arcs (not to mention the obsequious doujins of course).

The anime is a peculiar beast indeed. There is no denying it is a light and fluffy moé-fest that is about as deep as a kiddie-pool. But, gods, it is done with such craft.
The animation (by AIC Spirits, taking over from GONZO) is gorgeous to behold. And the attention to backgrounds, period detail and incidental music just make the whole thing come together.

Even if you have a problem with the copious amount of gratuitous fanservice, one has to admit it is undeniably fun and, at times, even clever. The characters are all likable. Even resident tsundere Perrine Cloistermann gets to sport her deréderé side, almost nonexistent in the first season. A few of the episodes revisit already trodden ground, but even these expand upon the mythos rather than just repeating a theme.

The series climax is achieved only with a significant sacrifice by the main protagonist. An irreversible loss that is gladly made in order to protect everyone, as she had always wished to.

Strike Witches is not groundbreaking nor important in the larger scheme of things. What it IS, is a fun, lighthearted romp that is skillfully produced and enjoyable to watch…. more than once.

carrie.legros - 2013-07-29 21:05:07

Strike witches is not the best anime ever but it's got buckets of charm and cute!

The story is interesting for a show which features trouser less girls flying around, the sound is good and upbeat, the animation is very clean and well done especially in the action scenes.

So we move on to the characters, any one who watches this, love it or hate it will come away with a character they just love. They each are unique with there own stereotypically anime girl traits.( Which isn't always a bad thing )

the action is fast passed however it dose not carry too much tension but it's not too dull as there is always a twist with every fight.

But seriously don't be put off by the obvious fan service give the first 3 episodes a try and see what you think you may be surprised for good or bad :)

Perrine x!x

remington21 - 2013-05-28 14:18:06

DISCLAIMER: This review focuses on the truly bad. You may not like this review because of this or if you really love this anime. Read at your own discretion!Strike Witches is one of those animes that are so bad that it makes you wonder if Japan holds a highly publicized competition in which manga/anime writers compete to make the most annoying and horrible piece of work. If said competition existed, Strike Witches may very well have been 2008's winner.Now let's get down to business--major points only:THE GOOD:Many will point you to the excessive ecchi scenes and tell you this anime is trash. This is not true.The fact is, the single redeeming factor in this anime is the panty shots. They are drawn and animated with extreme detail and grace so that the viewer immediately knows that the creators put a considerable amount of work into them. Too bad nothing else in Strike Witches is worth noting--not even the battle sequences, for which there is maybe one or two nice, though unfortunately short, ones.THE BAD:The story is about as predictable and idiotic as they come. It's the type of story we must bear with--to try with all of our might not to surf reddit on the side, lest we gouge our eyes out with a rusty spoon. The ludicrous gear invented by possibly the most moronic of engineers that somehow drives the existence of the Strike Witches may be enough to turn some away. Giant robots would have been better. The plot? Easy: we are witches (magical girls), and we are fighting aliens and there may or may not be a twist at the very end. Please don't fall asleep.THE UGLY:The most dreadful part of this anime is the characters.Miyafuji, Yoshika is about as annoying as they come. She is the "I want to protect everyone pacifist with uncommonly strong feelings" type that seems unfortunately common in most Animes.Strike Witches takes it one step further and makes her out to be some kind of angel (yes, she's that flawless). Everyone else is just there to slow her down. Strike Witches pretty much becomes a show about a Japanese Loli angel going about unleashing her latent awesomeness at key moments and fixing everyone's problems with her feelings. By the end of Strike Witches, it is clear that Miyafuji could probably win the war by herself and achieve world peace if it wasn't for her strong feelings and her annoying comrades/higher-ups. Her personality is pure, unadulterated molasses, flawless to the core. It's acceptable to some, but many may want something more than unchanging perfection so that we might witness something grow, or watch more than a single angle for the duration of 12 episodes.Too bad the creators didn't stop at Miyafuji. They decide to inflict upon the viewers another near-angel type character: Sakamoto, Mio.Sakamoto, Mio is seemingly the only other character that doesn't do too much to get in the way of Miyafuji's greatness. She is equipped with the most annoying laugh in the show and a personality that can only be described as strong-willed but with hidden super feelings on reserve. Sakamoto is the one who has discovered Miyafuji and wants train her and watch her "grow" to surpass her. She is in the end, without fault. Her personality is infused with enough sugar to make the sweet-tooth puke. While she isn't even half as annoying as Miyafuji, she still ranks as the second worst character in the show.All other characters are there for comic relief, ecchi scene composition, and getting in the way of Japanese Loli Angel Miyafuji so as to drive the "plot". They follow typical character models, which for some viewers may become a tad tedious, but their dialogue is thankfully terse and useless anyway. They can be grouped into the the "white loli girls" or "evil white higher-ups" categories. They are ostensibly essential.Overall, one must have a stomach for this type of holier-than-thou type story in order to truly enjoy Strike Witches. The ecchi, while serving its purpose in pulling the Anime back into the realm of the watchable, may not be enough for some. Watch at your own risk.

gratke - 2013-03-04 19:22:39

A rather unique spin on World War Two, First of all, I LIKED Strike Witches a lot (enough to buy a bunch of merchandise and whatnot!) however I still DON'T understand why the witches (and all females in the show for that matter) don't wear pants. All the males get to wear pants, but our lovely witches are stuck flitting about in the sky in their knickers. (Not that there is anything wrong with this!) The plot is rock solid here, the characters are each memorable in their own ways, and offer something unique with each of their personalities (I