Strike Witches 2 - Episode 12 (Completed)

No sooner had the final plan to defeat the Neuroi over Romagna been unveiled in the previous episode we found ourselves picking out obvious flaws and dangers with such scheme, and so it was hardly a surprise to find that the Neuroi-fied (and now flying) battleship Yamato malfunctioned at the critical moment, just as it was supposed to destroy the Neuroi hive into which it had just not-so subtly crashed.

With all of the other witches having exhausted their magical powers, the otherwise incapable of fighting Sakamoto finds herself left as the only hope in defeating their enemy, meaning that of course she sets off to use her remaining magic to power the Yamato's engine back up despite the cries of protest from her colleague. Despite her waning powers she does enough to make it to that Yamato and restart the engine, allowing for the decisive blow to be struck against the Neuroi hive...


...at least, that's how it initially appeared. Next thing we know Sakamoto is the captive of a massive Neuroi core as they begin their counter-attack, using Mio's shield generation abilities to protect themselves. The only remaining hope is a massive attack of magical power, and at this point what happens next should be easy enough to predict - of course it's Miyafuji who steps up to put her life on the line, somehow finding the power within herself to take off towards the enemy (and in turn persuading her comrades to find the courage to do likewise) before retrieving Sakamoto's sword Reppumaru from the deck of Yamato and using the last of her powers to unleash the "true" Reppuzan upon the Neuroi, destroying it completely and saving Sakamoto. So, all's well that ends well - The Neuroi are defeated, Romagna is saved, and the 501st Joint Fighter Wing is disbanded, albeit not before the complete collapse of the world's skirt and trouser industries I would wager. Oh, and there's room for a third season and a bevy of new characters, of course.

No matter your thoughts on either this series or the Strike Witches franchise as a whole, you'll probably find yourself having to tip yhour hat at least somewhat to this finale to Strike Witches 2 - quite simply, it was tremendous. Clearly a hefty chunk of the show's animation budget was spent here to create a visual feast which was impressive in its own right, while the story itself allowed for the required doses of emotion, tension and exciting action without ever over-extending itself, making for a gripping bit of entertainment that you couldn't help but be drawn into. This is exactly the kind of thing that Strike Witches can do when it really puts its mind to it - never mind the daft aspects of its premise, it knows how to dish out the action and spectacle and coupling it with a bit of heart. This ending alone arguably lifts this second season above its predecessor in a series which has followed the template of the first series a little too closely for my liking at times - for fans of the show, this was undoubtedly a highly polished product that did everything which expected of it, and as a result it's hard to be too harsh in my criticisms of it. Let's just pretend that episode seven never happened and call it a pretty good show, shall we?

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 11

As we reach the tail end of Strike Witches 2 (I could make a "tail end" joke here but I'll leave that to you lot), so we naturally also enter grand finale territory, with plenty still to be won and lost in the latest phase of the war against the Neuroi.

Before we even consider such things however, Sakamoto's condition becomes the main focus of concern, with her magical power seemingly waning at an alarming rate, the reasons for which are alluded to when Yoshika holds her sword Reppumaru for a moment, only for it to drain her almost instantaneously of all her power and earning her a stern telling off from her superior.


Sakamoto's state of mind isn't helped when she learns of the military's plan for the final push against the Neuroi hive over Romagna - rather than taking the lead, the Strike Witches themselves will be mere escorts for the real centrepiece of the showdown, that being the battleship Yamato, now kitted out with the ability for it to effectively turn into a Neuroi itself for a ten minute period.

Despite not liking these orders, the 501st Joint Fighter Wing has no option to comply, performing their frantic task of protecting the Yamato with speed and skill despite Sakamoto's near-exhausted magical abilities. It seems as though they've done enough as the Yamato completes its "Neuroification" and makes directly for the Neuroi hive, although the fact that this is the penultimate rather than the final episode should tell you that their master plan doesn't exactly go to plan...

If you're the type who complains when Strike Witches lacks a central plot to focus itself on (and I'm probably talking about myself here more often than not, truth be told), then you certainly can't argue that such storylines are lacking here. The trouble is, if you've also watched the first season of Strike Witches you'd be justified to note how similar so many aspects of this plot are to that initial series, from Sakamoto's loss of power, her disagreements with Minna over said loss of power, and of course the military relying on Neuroi-esque technology to win the day in preference to the Witches themselves. That said, this time around the action is slicker, the stakes higher and the drama thicker and more persuasive and before, so if you can get past those similarities this episode showcases pretty much everything that is good about this franchise when it works well and doesn't become too bogged down in fan service and whimsy. You still won't want to take the show too seriously, and it doesn't exhibit the same level of tension as other shows with such designs for their finale, but by the same token it isn't half bad either.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 10

The 501st Joint Fighter Wing's recent saving of the battleship Yamato clearly hasn't gone unnoticed by those higher in the military food chain as episode ten of Strike Witches 2 begins - Although this allows Minna to submit her petition for the Witches to push on in defeating the Neuroi, it appears that they will have to return the favour by engaging in something of a publicity stunt by working together with a high-profile Witch for their next mission.


The girl in question is one Captain Hanna Marseille, another Witch from Karlsland who is already familiar with both Barkhorn and Hartmann as a result having fought alongside them both in the past. Unfortunately, this makes for an uneasy relationship between the competitive Marseille and Barkhorn in particular, as they not only come to blows but the former also refuses to work with the latter on their next mission, instead leaving Hartmann to pick up that particular task.

Unfortunately, that competitive streak displayed by Marseille is even more pronounced when up against fellow flying ace Hartmann, meaning that any hope of teamwork between the two is a remote possibility despite the best efforts of Minna to ensure that they work together. Come the day of the mission, even the normally placid Hartmann has been goaded into competing outright with her new comrade, although this doesn't actually seem to make any difference when it comes to defeating the Neuroi threat of this particular mission even if this rivalry spills over into the two shooting at one another after the battle itself is over.

As with the rest of its character line-up, Strike Witches has made the most of tying its new addition into actual Second World War history, with a clear nod to real-life pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille - a neat touch which is always an enjoyable bit of education alongside the frivolous nature of the series, although heaven only knows how fast these pilots would be spinning in their graves if they knew they were now only recognised as cute girls with animal ears and a penchant for not wearing pants. Anyhow, throwing another character into the mix also freshened up the episode somewhat as it offered up everything we've come to expect from the series - a couple of top-notch and well choreographed action scenes, a bit of personal drama between characters and an arbitrary discussion of breast size. It's just the kind of unique blend which makes Strike Witches 2 pretty fun to watch, so it's a case of mission accomplished on this occasion I would say.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 9

Episode nine of Strike Witches 2 begins with us spending some time with Perrine as she helps with rebuilding efforts in her native Gallia - An occasionally depressing task, not least when she's led by a young girl to a bridge that has been destroyed, leaving her lamenting the inability to put it right, knowing that even she doesn't have sufficient funds to get it fixed. This preoccupation with said bridge inspires her to some feats of daring against the Neuroi when she's next called into battle though, that's for sure.


Anyhow, no series such as this one would be complete without a beach episode of sorts, and that's exactly what we get here, dressed up in the name of "training" to spare us any more blatant excuses for putting all of the girls into swimsuits. Once that training is over however, Perrine becomes more than a little excited by Lucchini's discovery of what appears to be a treasure chest at the bottom of the sea, and after working their way through an array of chests within chests they eventually comes across what purports to be a treasure map.

Of course, Perrine can smell the opportunity to make some money and get her home town's bridge repaired, and so she sets off with Lucchini, Miyafuji and Lynette in tow to find the treasure, leaving the rest of the Witches worried as to their whereabouts and eventually following them. Cue Sakamoto getting drunk via some kind of booby trap (who gets drunk simply by having wine tipped on them? I must investigate this!), a giant moving statue, and a disappointing revelation for Perrine at the end of it all, tempered with an inevitable happy ending to her bridge conundrum.

As episodes of Strike Witches go, this was pretty much par for the course, giving us a bit of action before launching into some rather daft plot points that were nonetheless kind of entertaining if you can ignore the fact that they don't really make much sense at all. If nothing else, it was actually nice to see Perrine get a bit of an outing where she isn't acting aloof and stuck-up all the time, while Lucchini's presence always leaves me marvelling at Chiwa Saito's voice acting skills - that voice sounds hard to carry off.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 8

After all of the nonsense of the last episode of Strike Witches 2, we were certainly due some more serious fare from episode eight of the series and as soon as it became clear that we were skipping the normal opening credits it seemed that those prayers were answered and that this latest instalment would deliver.

The episode begins with Sakamoto practicing her Reppuzan; a practice session which Miyafuji walks in on and pleads to be taught this ability for herself in the hope that it would shorten the war against the Neuroi. Unsurprisingly, Sakamoto refuses on account of Yoshika's lack of experience, leaving her more than a little disheartened.

Despite Miyafuji getting herself back together with a renewed determination to do her best, she soon runs into an even bigger problem - Although her magical and healing powers seem to be as strong as ever, she's having more and more difficulty actually flying. Once this becomes clear during a practice session, Miyafuji is grounded until further notice, and with no problems with her either physical health or her Striker Unit nobody is sure quite where to turn next.


Of course, in these situations it never rains but it pours, and next thing we know the battleship Yamato is radioing in and reporting injuries after an explosion. Lynette and Yoshika volunteer their services, with the former having just about enough power to fly out to tend to the wounded, but when a Neuroi attack inevitably rears its head Miyafuji can't even take over, leaving Lynnete to handle it alone while the naval fleet escapes.

At this point, enter a rather hefty deus ex machina - A brand new prototype Striker Unit, created with the help of the letter received by Yoshika at the start of the series, and one which just so happens to be able to handle Miyafuji's burgeoning magical powers. So, Miyafuji saves Miss Bishop, destroys the Neuroi violently, and proves to be anything but the rookie Sakamoto made her out to be. Hurrah!

I suppose anything must seem like a vast improvement over the last episode, but if you can forgive that aforementioned deus ex machina then this was really a rather good episode which did a good job of portraying Miyafuji's emotional turmoil as her flying abilities dwindled and left her unable to help anybody before her magnificent return. Throw in some well-realised action scenes (although the CG is still a little too obvious a lot of the time) and a feel-good ending, and you have an instalment of Strike Witches 2 that stands out amongst some of the "fluffier" instalments its delivered of late.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 7

Given the fact that the original series of the already daft Strike Witches chose episode seven for its most fan service-laden instalment, and judging by its preview last week, I was very much expecting a similar ride for this seventh episode of Strike Witches 2. Along those lines I certainly wasn't disappointed. No, wait, I was disappointed - Indeed, this episode managing to top even its predecessor from the first series in terms of cobbling together a ridiculous plot.

The whole problem starts courtesy of Lucchini doing a little bit of early morning bug hunting outside, which includes her discovering a rather unusual and shiny little critter which she adds to her jar of goodies. Of course, this "bug" can only be one thing, and so it's no surprise when it escapes and starts tripping out the power all around the building.


What is surprising, and in fact makes no sense at all, is that this Neuroi bug also seems to have a predilection for crawling into the pants of any girl it can find, making it this show's equivalent of John Terry I suppose. Anyhow, this incredibly stupid plot point (coupled with a newly opened bath) serves as little more than an excuse for the girls to take their pants off a lot. Hurrah, I guess.

There really isn't anything more to be said about this episode - It was stupid (dare I say it was pants?), but if you watch this show for the fan service then you'll doubtless be delighted. If you're watching for the plot instead then... well, you probably shouldn't be watching Strike Witches 2 solely for its plot, but you'll be summarily disappointed anyway.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 6

In what is rather a change from recent episodes, this sixth instalment of Strike Witches 2 wastes little time in getting down to the core (ho ho, do you see what I did there?) of its action, with Eila doing her bit to impressively pick off a large number of Neuroi drones. But what is controlling them? Oh, only a 30,000 metre high monolith of sorts...


Of course, this kind of altitude is way beyond the normal range of a Striker Unit, so it's time to return to base to formulate a plan involving the use of rocket boosters to reach the required altitude; a tricky affair, given that these boosters eat up magic at a vast rate. Sanya is chosen as the best member of the squadron to take on this mission, but she still needs a second person to travel with her to act as her defensive shield. Eila is naturally the first to volunteer, but is turned down in favour of Miyafuji as she's never actually used a shield in battle on account of her ability to see slightly into the future, which renders it unnecessary for her in normal combat.

Eila refuses to take this decision sitting down, but her attempts to learn how to use a shield prove to be abortive in the extreme, and on account of her giving up so easily a rare argument and falling out develops between herself and Sanya. Of course, we can't have such falling outs within the world of Strike Witches, and thus Eila redeems herself at the last in what is actually a genuinely rather sweet moment (helped along by a pretty decent insert song) as she takes Miyafuji's place and succeeds in protecting Sanya as she completes her mission.

After a few episodes where the Neuroi threat was more of an after-thought than the main course, this episode was actually all the better for centring itself around a military problem which needed to be solved. Of course, this was largely little more than an excuse to bring the relationship between Eila and Sanya into focus, but given its backdrop and the way it panned out it worked well to make for an entertaining episode that was actually enhanced by its inevitably happy ending. Add in some nice touches like the use of a bouncing bomb during the episode to continue those deliberate World War II parallels, and this series continues to keep on trucking without losing itself too deeply in the mire of fan service for the sake of it.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 5

Disaster! The girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing have run out of rice! This means that it's time for a shopping trip, thus setting up the story for this fifth episode of Strike Witches 2.

Tasked with making the shopping run to Romagna are Lucchini (for her local knowledge, of course), Shirley (as she's the only one who can drive a truck) and Miyafuji (because she somehow has to be part of every episode, no matter what). Lynette is also supposed to tag along, but declines for reasons that we soon discover, and that are pretty obvious when you consider who is behind the wheel. The requests for items to purchase on this shopping trip also soon come flooding in from various members of the team, leaving those involved with a pretty hefty list to worry about.


Of course, that isn't all they have to worry about, as before we know it Lucchini goes missing as she races off to rescue a "damsel in distress", befriends her, and ends up taking her on a tour of the city. Inevitably, the episode ends with a Neuroi attack that our three heroines have to see off, while Lucchini's friend Maria also turns out to be far more important than first acknowledged courtesy of a decidedly predictable twist in the tale.

While there were a couple of laugh out loud moments in the midst of what was a broadly fun episode, this instalment of Strike Witches 2 did suffer on account of its predictability - You could see various plot points coming a mile off, leaving the episode to tick along without anything to grab the viewer's attention or take them outside of their comfort zone. I suppose you could argue that this is entirely the point of a show like this, and it certainly wasn't a complete write-off in entertainment terms, but at least previous instalments have progressed in a way which wasn't entirely mapped out early on. So, this was probably the least spectacular episode of Strike Witches 2 so far, although to be honest I'm not entirely sure what more I was expecting of it...

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 4

Propeller-based engines are all well and good, but if you want speed then surely it has to be a jet engine all the way? So it goes that episode four of Strike Witches 2 sees a prototype jet engine make its début within the franchise for the first time.

Of course, normally you'd expect Shirley to jump at the chance of piloting something newer and faster, and indeed she does seem keen until Lucchini jumps the queue to give it a try and gets a nasty shock. Put off by this incident, she cedes her place as test pilot of the jet-powered Striker Unit to Barkhorn.


However, although she loses out on that occasion this decision does little to dampen the overly competitive spirit between Shirley and Barkhorn, as the former tries to best the latter in numerous tests only to be overcome by the new jet Striker Unit's capabilities in terms of speed, altitude and the ability to carry a ridiculous weight. Prototype that it is however, this new Striker Unit is still far from perfect, and its effect on Barkhorn leads to use of the device being banned after it causes her to run out of magic and crash into the sea. Predictably, not long after this decision is made we see the appearance of a super-fast and agile Neuroi, and it doesn't take a genius to guess what it's going to take to beat the enemy on this occasion...

Once again, Strike Witches 2 somehow manages to get away with its penchant for fan service at every opportunity (complete with blatant censorship) by putting together an overall package for the episode in terms of story and characters which is undeniably fun to watch. The rivalry between Shirley and Barkhorn is old as the hills in anime story-telling terms yet it's not over-used here, and the same goes for Barkhorn's requirement to disobey orders to save the day - It's been done to death and we all know it's going to happen, but when melded into another series of well-produced action scenes it was both tense and enjoyable. I really can't quite get my head around how Strike Witches still manages to work its way into my affections so easily despite its almost abhorrent use of every trick in the book to grab otaku hearts and minds, but work its way into my head it does simply by being an absolute and undoubtable dose of fun to watch.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 3

With the 501st Joint Fighter Wing back in action and reunited after their previous victories in Brittania, it perhaps isn't too surprising that the six monht break in action which followed has left some of the Witches looking decidedly out of shape, and a return to training soon proves that Yoshika, Perrine and Lynette are all in need of something a little more intensive to get them back to their best.

So, Sakamoto packs them all off to see the Witch who was instrumental in her own training, an old woman who prefers brooms over Striker Units and soon forces her new charges to dispense with their new-fangled technology before setting them the seemingly simple task of fetching some water. However, with the only well some distance away and only brooms to travel on, the three girls soon find that this kind of task is far more difficult (and not to mention embarrassing) without a Striker Unit to rely on.


Of course, this test of their abilities and attitudes eventually reaps dividends, and the three girls eventually learn the best way to approach this problem just in time to find themselves caught up with a passing Neuroi who looks set to destroy their new tutor's home. Thus, bravery and teamwork is both required and employed in spades to see them save the day, and the old woman's home. Hurrah!

While the whole broom angle of this episode was clearly only in place for one reason at the end of the day ("Oh, how it rubs my crotch!" pretty much summing that up), this was oddly still quite a satisfying episode in other ways. Its slapstick comedy was unspectacular but still did enough to draw a smile out of me, while the eventual battle against the Neuroi wasn't as spectacular as that which we were treated to in the opening episode, but it was still pretty polished and did the job to give us a decent end to a reasonably entertaining episode. It was no classic but it was fun, which is about all you can ask of a show like Strike Witches 2, while this instalment has also taught us that old Witches do wear pants, for which we can only be grateful. I wonder what the cut-off age where skirts or trousers become a requirement is in the world of Strike Witches?

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 2

After giving us our reintroduction to Yoshika Miyafuji, and in turn reuniting her with Mori Sakamoto, everything was left well and truly in place come the end of Strike Witches 2's opening episode to set them back into action against the new-look and even more powerful Neuroi.

Well, whaddya know, that's exactly what we get here. Despite Sakamoto's original plan being to lay low and outrun the attacking Neuroi craft which has them in its sights, it soon becomes clear that this won't be possible as the navy become involved and prove to be little more than sitting ducks in the face of this alien power. With the nearest known Witches half an hour away, it's up to Sakamoto and Miyafuji to save the day, although it soon transpires that even this is going to be decidedly difficult due to a malfunction with the former's Striker unit.


However, this means that we do get to see the new, improved Miyafuji in action - In particular her awesome defensive powers, which allows her to buy time for just long enough for Sakamoto to make her appearance and win the day with her newly forged sword in a series of scenes which bore more than a little resemblance to Asuka's victory against the first Angel to appear in Evangelion 2.22.

So, the day is one... or is it? Just as we congratulate ourselves on a job well done, so we see this Neuroi regenerating before our very eyes, complete with a mobile core just to make things all the more difficult. As Miyafuji goes into battle once again, it appears as though she's reached her limit... just in time for the rest of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing to crop up, joining forces with our intrepid duo to kick alien ass and save the day. Hurrah!

After a pretty decent introduction to the series last week, this second episode of the show really benefited from being able to ramp up the action side of things, with plenty of laser beams, big explosions, magical swords and so on the order of the day. This reliance on action even meant that we didn't find ourselves overly saturated with fan service... at least until near the end of the episode where AIC seemed to try to make up for lost time by piling in as many crotch shots as humanly possible. Still, all of the ingredients seem to be in place for a pretty good series - Its fun, the pacing is just about right so far, and the presentation in terms of both soundtrack and visuals are bang on the mark. My earlier comment will undoubtedly be the only time I ever mention Evangelion 2.22 and Strike Witches 2 in comparative terms, so make the most of it, but by the same token that doesn't stop this effort from being a pretty fun little series so far.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 1

The original series of Strike Witches has always been something of a figure of fun for me to poke and prod at from time to time, on account of its incredibly cynical use of as many moe database elements as it can muster melded with a hefty topping of fan service to create what can only be described as some kind of dragnet for otaku. That said however, I also have to confess that beyond those occasionally eye-rollingly blatant elements, the original series was a pretty fun and entertaining one to watch, which is exactly why I'm all signed up for the return of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing.

This second series wastes no time in setting up a couple of its core elements, first introducing a larger, even more powerful Neuroi threat to eclipse that of the first season, and then throwing us into a stylish, fast paced and panty-shot laden action scene that suggests that AIC's 2010 take on Strike Witches has learned not only what to keep in place to make the fans happy, but also what to improve upon.


With this new threat introduced, we return to the world of Yoshika Miyafuji, just in time to see her graduated from middle school. This episode makes a clear attempt to show how Yoshika has matured in the six months or so between this series and the first, as we see her use her magical powers to heal wounded animals with near-perfect control, while later in this opener we also note that her magical power has increased quite substantially over time as well. This isn't the clumsy but well-meaning Miyafuji of the first series, that's for sure.

With Yoshika back in the show's driving seat as protagonist, we get a plot that involves an incomprehensible letter delivered from her dead father which in turn sets her off to be reunited with Sakamoto, while her concern for the new Neuroi threat and the danger it poses to her fellow Witch friends soon leads her to follow Sakamoto into battle once again, thus setting the scene for the rest of the series no doubt.

The first thing that really stands out from this first episode of Strike Witches 2 is the more polished feel that it has over its predecessor. All of the base elements are the same, but there can be little doubt that AIC kicked things up a notch for that opening action sequence, and the whole thing feels a little "cleaner" in terms of animation quality - This is hopefully something that they can keep up throughout the season. That aside, it looks likes this show is set to gain the approval of anyone who enjoyed the original, as it's effectively been set up to give us more of the same but with some ramped up action and peril.

If it can keep things as entertaining as the first season then this certainly isn't a a bad thing; provided you can sit through this show without puzzling over imponderables such as "why don't they wear pants exactly?" and "why do they need to grow animals ears and tails when they use magic?" you could well find it to work reasonably well as an uncomplicated and mindless bit of fun.