Strike Witches II
Reviews and Reactions!
Review - Episode 01 | "Into the Sky Once More"
Synopsys — Six months after the Battle of Brittania, the 504th Joint Fighter Wing, while on a diplomatic mission to make contact with the Neuroi, encounter an even greater Neuroi den hovering over Venesia which wipes out the previous Neuroi and attacks relentlessly. Meanwhile, Yoshika, who had just graduated from middle school, receives a letter from Amaki Suwa, containing blueprints supposedly sent by her father. When Yoshika goes to the Fuso military base to deliver these to Major Sakamoto, she overhears a distress call from the 504th, sent by Yoshka's "dearest friend" Sgt. Lynette Bishop. Yoshika freaks when the distress call is cut off in mid-sentence. While trying to re-establish contact Major Sakamoto appears (seeming angry) and tells Yoshika to "go home" and bans her from the base.
A dejected Yoshika gloomily leaves the base. However, when she notices the Major boarding a Flying Boat with a new model Striker Unit, bound for Europe, Yoshika sneaks back onto the base and commendeers the Major's old Striker Unit and follows after the Flying Boat. At first, Sakamoto tells her to go back, knowing that Yoshika wants to become a Doctor at her familys' Medical Clinic. However, seeing the young girl's determination, (as well as knowing how stubborn she can be) Sakamoto relents. With her characteristic booming laugh, she holds out her hand and helps Yoshika onboard the FB. A week into their flight, just short of their destination, the FB is attacked by a Neuroi battleship.
Reaction — Outstanding beginning. Characters, character designs, backgrounds and direction, all are kagaiyake. If AIC Animation can keep this up for the whole season, this will be an outstanding seies.
Review - Episode 02 | "The Legendary Witches"
Synopsys — As the Neuroi continues to attack the plane, a fleet of battleships provide fire, but are easily defeated by the Neuroi. With Sakamotosan's Violet Lightning striker unit under repair, Yoshika flies into battle to protect the fleet with her shields until they can get away. Sakamoto's growing impatience with the repairs causes her to order the pilot to attack the Neuori directly. Although Sakamoto can no longer raise her shields for protection, she has an ace-in-the-hole... "Reppumaru" a Katana forged by Sakamoto herself, infusing it with powerful magic. No shield? No problem. The Major literally slices through the Neuroi particle beams, as well as the enemy ship. However, it soon reformed itself, its core continuously shifting places to avoid being destroyed. Yoshika has a tough time facing it until Shirley, Lucchini, Lynne and all the other witches arrive to assist, giving Mio the opportunity to destroy the Neuroi craft and Core with her Katana. Setting up base in Romagna, Minna receives orders from the central command to re-form the 501st Joint Fighter Wing.
Reaction — Lots of action, some actual suspense and a fantastic battle scene with AIC Animation pulling out the stops and giving each Witch an opportunity strut their individual powers. My favorites were Lucchini and Yeager's tandem attack and Hartmann and Barkhorn's "Sturm und Drang" attack. (Hartman's devistating twister put's the X-Men's Storm to shame.) ((I still call this the X-Witches, as their individual powers seem more Mutant than Magic. I digress.))
Review - Episode 03 | "Things we can Accomplish Together"
Synopsys — Major Sakamoto meets up with Takei Junko of the 504th Joint Fighter Wing to learn about the new breed of Neuroi. Meanwhile, having gotten out of shape following inactivity during the past six months, Yoshika, Lynne and Perrine are sent for flight training with Sakamoto's old flying instructor, Anna Ferrara. To the girls' surprise, their flight training consists of learning to fly on brooms... a practice the younger ladies find archaic. While they struggle at first, they soon start to get the hang of it, learning a little something about the application of practical magic. During their training, a Neuroi ship threatens to come into contact with Anna's home, so the girls team up to defeat it, their newly-learned skills helping them to push their Strikers to the limit.
Reaction — Girls in panties with broomsticks between their legs is a recepie for all sorts of delicious wrongness. God, the animators love this stuff.... and so do most otaku. Funniest moment — Perrine retreving her beloved Sakamoto's old training broom. Perrine: (rubbing the broomstick against her face) "Ahhh, this was Major Sakamoto's broom." Ferrara: (with raised eyebrow) "... the Hell?" This was a fun episode. I have never much cared for Perrine, but she does make a good comic foil. Yoshika still needs to smack her upside the head though.
Review - Episode 04 | "Harder, Faster, Greater"
Synopsys — The first season's fifth episode was
“Swift, Gigantic and Soft”, wherein Charlotte Yeager becomes the first person to break the sound barrier. This season's follow-up,
“Harder, Faster, Greater”, isn't as light-hearted, but it does a great job of fleshing out the competative nature of Yeager and Barkhorne's relationship.
The 501st receives a prototype Jet Striker for field-testing. Charlotte and Trude first argue about who should take the maiden flight, but Charlotte takes a pass after her kick-on-the-side Lucchini gets a “weird” feeling from the unit. Barkhorne gets a weird feeling too, but it looks... well... more orgasmic than scary. After a series of manuvers it is apparent that the speed and weapons capabilities far outshine the reciprocal-engine models. But after a grueling day, Barkhorne appears more played out than usual. During the next morning's tests she is literally asleep at the wheel. Even though Yeager gets a massive head-start, Barkhorne blazes by and, after performing some spetacular areonautics, plunges into the ocean.
Obviously the Jet Striker sucks up an incredible amount of magic from the users body. Enough to seriously affect them physically. Barkhorne stubbornly wants to keep pushing, as the new units “could turn the tide of the war”.
Reaction — The art continues to amaze. AIC looks like they are pulling out all the stops for this, much like Kyoto Ani did for K-ON!! Instead of re-tooling, they took what Gonzo already had in place and slicked it up. Some good character development for the lesser-seen members of the cast. No laugh-out-loud moments which last week's episode was full of (like Instructor Anne's reaction to Perrine's broom fetish).
For me the biggest failing was lack of Yoshika. She was in two scenes and neither one had a prominant ass shot. That has to be a first for the series. It's just not Strike Witches without Yoshika's
plump little ass in the framing shot 3 or 4 times. *sigh* At least we have the ED.
Review - Episode 05 | "My Romangia"
Synopsys — Yoshika, Shirley and Franchesca go shopping for supplies in Rome. Franchescia sees a young girl being harassed by two large thugs. Unleasing her "Super-Lucchini-Kick" she lays the men out flat and escapes with the girl. Lucchini decides to show the girl her home town... Rome. After running into some orphans and taking everyone out for a day on the town, (using up all the supply money) she is happy to have made a new friend. When a large Neuori attack-ship thretens to decimate Rome, Lucchini surprises her newfound friend by declaring herself to be a Witch, who's duty is to protect the people of her hometown, and the world. Excusing herself, she leaps into her waiting Striker and heads off for battle. Her new friend watches with awe and admiration.
Reaction —"My Romangia" is a whimsical, lightweight piece that is very Lucchini-centric. Yes, the pre-pubecent firecracker of the 501st apparently has a sizable fan-base, and it is Saimoe Tourniment time again. So, if you are a Lucchini fan, you got to see lots of... ummmm... face-time (assuming her face in in her crotch area). Enough striped panties shots to burn indeliably into your memory. Lucchini is second only to Yoshika in the detail her nether-regions receive. I enjoyed watching Shirley and Franchesca interact as partners, which has only been glimpsed before. Sakamoto being mellow and Perrine being her usual tsundere self. And I love it when Yoshika interacts with anyone. Speaking of Yoshika, the producers must have heard me complain last week because this episode had not one, not two, but three sweet Yoshika ass-shots.
Review - Episode 06 | "Higher than the Sky"
Synopsys — The Witches discover a huge Neuroi spire whose core is in a location far beyond the altitude that their Striker Units can reach. Formulating a plan using rocket boosters to reach the required altitude, Sanya is chosen to attack the core. Having never needed to use a shield in combat, Eila becomes furious when Yoshika is chosen to protect Sanya instead of her. Eila tries to get Perrine to train her to use shields, but to no avail. Sanya becomes annoyed with Eila's willingness to give up and gets into a fight with her. The next day, as the Witches launch Sanya and Yoshika to the stratosphere, Eila apologizes and expresses her desire to protect Sanya, so Yoshika decides to switch places with her. Eila finally uses her shield to protect Sanya as she destroys the core.
Reaction —Pure yuri all the way as we explore the relationship between Elia and Sanya. Pretty tight storytelling all around. The rocket Strikers are pretty cool, although you have to wonder what R&D is thinking, inventing all these machines that take so much out of a person. In retrospect though, it may just be pointing out the high price of achiving lofty goals. Or how much you are willing to sacrifice to win. Also, the song playing as Sanya and Elia drop from low orbit, (a re-mix of "Sweet Duet" from Season One) fits nicely and does the job better than some extrainous dialogue.
Review - Episode 07 | "Creeping About"
Synopsys —It's a quiet, lazy morning on the base. Lucchini, uncharacteristically awake, is out collecting bugs (hey, she's 12). She finds one she's never seen before... shiny, deep grey with red markings. Tossing it in her jar, she dashes off hearing the bugle for morning mess. The jar is left temporarally forgotten on Yeager's workbench. The bug, a never-before-seen version of Neuroi, escapes the jar and begins to institute power taps all over the base. Just as everyone figures out what's what, the Neuroi "bug" tries to escape...or something. It actually keeps flying down everyone's panties. Colonel Wilcke destroys the enemy bug by...yes...farting. *sigh*
Reaction — Well, this is an episode...you just have to take it for what it is. Just like Episode 7 in the first season ("Nice 'n Breezy") this episode was about one thing. How much gratutious nudity can we pack into 24 and a half minutes? Answer: Quite a bit. Also, this is the fourth episode out of seven with extended bathing scenes. this show never leaves one wanting for fanservice.
Review - Episode 08 | "Please Grant Me Wings"
Synopsys — The Witches discover a huge Neuroi spire whose core is in a location far beyond the altitude that their Striker Units can reach. Formulating a plan using rocket boosters to reach the required altitude, Sanya is chosen to attack the core. Having never needed to use a shield in combat, Eila becomes furious when Yoshika is chosen to protect Sanya instead of her. Eila tries to get Perrine to train her to use shields, but to no avail. Sanya becomes annoyed with Eila's willingness to give up and gets into a fight with her. The next day, as the Witches launch Sanya and Yoshika to the stratosphere, Eila apologizes and expresses her desire to protect Sanya, so Yoshika decides to switch places with her. Eila finally uses her shield to protect Sanya as she destroys the core.
Reaction —"My Romangia"
Review - Episode 09 | "The Bridge to Tomorrow"
Synopsys — The Witches discover a huge Neuroi spire whose core is in a location far beyond the altitude that their Striker Units can reach. Formulating a plan using rocket boosters to reach the required altitude, Sanya is chosen to attack the core. Having never needed to use a shield in combat, Eila becomes furious when Yoshika is chosen to protect Sanya instead of her. Eila tries to get Perrine to train her to use shields, but to no avail. Sanya becomes annoyed with Eila's willingness to give up and gets into a fight with her. The next day, as the Witches launch Sanya and Yoshika to the stratosphere, Eila apologizes and expresses her desire to protect Sanya, so Yoshika decides to switch places with her. Eila finally uses her shield to protect Sanya as she destroys the core.
Reaction —"My Romangia"
Review - Episode 10 | "500 Overs"
Synopsys — The Witches discover a huge Neuroi spire whose core is in a location far beyond the altitude that their Striker Units can reach. Formulating a plan using rocket boosters to reach the required altitude, Sanya is chosen to attack the core. Having never needed to use a shield in combat, Eila becomes furious when Yoshika is chosen to protect Sanya instead of her. Eila tries to get Perrine to train her to use shields, but to no avail. Sanya becomes annoyed with Eila's willingness to give up and gets into a fight with her. The next day, as the Witches launch Sanya and Yoshika to the stratosphere, Eila apologizes and expresses her desire to protect Sanya, so Yoshika decides to switch places with her. Eila finally uses her shield to protect Sanya as she destroys the core.
Reaction —"My Romangia"
Review - Episode 11 | "To Be Myself"
Synopsys — The Witches discover a huge Neuroi spire whose core is in a location far beyond the altitude that their Striker Units can reach. Formulating a plan using rocket boosters to reach the required altitude, Sanya is chosen to attack the core. Having never needed to use a shield in combat, Eila becomes furious when Yoshika is chosen to protect Sanya instead of her. Eila tries to get Perrine to train her to use shields, but to no avail. Sanya becomes annoyed with Eila's willingness to give up and gets into a fight with her. The next day, as the Witches launch Sanya and Yoshika to the stratosphere, Eila apologizes and expresses her desire to protect Sanya, so Yoshika decides to switch places with her. Eila finally uses her shield to protect Sanya as she destroys the core.
Reaction —"My Romangia"
Review - Episode 12 | "Beyond the Skies to Eternity"
Synopsys — The Witches discover a huge Neuroi spire whose core is in a location far beyond the altitude that their Striker Units can reach. Formulating a plan using rocket boosters to reach the required altitude, Sanya is chosen to attack the core. Having never needed to use a shield in combat, Eila becomes furious when Yoshika is chosen to protect Sanya instead of her. Eila tries to get Perrine to train her to use shields, but to no avail. Sanya becomes annoyed with Eila's willingness to give up and gets into a fight with her. The next day, as the Witches launch Sanya and Yoshika to the stratosphere, Eila apologizes and expresses her desire to protect Sanya, so Yoshika decides to switch places with her. Eila finally uses her shield to protect Sanya as she destroys the core.
Reaction —"My Romangia"
Strike Witches takes place on a Parallel Earth in the mid twentieth century. The land masses and national boundries are quite similar to our own, save for the names (i.e. America = United States of Liberion, Imperial Japan = Fuso Empire, etc.) And, as in our own reality, 1939 brings a world on the brink of war. Nations are drawing battle lines and choosing sides. However, before war can break out Earth is visited by an alien race, the enigmatic Neuroi, which begin an invasion of unprecedented scale on humanity. Correctly perceving a larger threat, the nations of the world put aside their petty squabbles and band together to fight the Neuroi.
