On Face Value :
If there is one thing to say about reviewing this anime, it’s this; Strike Witches is not something that can be easily summarized. The anime seems to play in a sandbox of genres without ever really building a castle. It’s both exciting and absurd, seemingly trying to stick as many genres together as possible, but as a result never really “fits” with itself fully. And yet, if you take a certain amount of that for granted, the series is actually quite rewarding and can be watched both as a quick flick or a potentially deep story.
Story: Emotionally inconsistent, but good overall
The story is set in the period of World War II, only in this scenario things are little different. The entire Earth has been attacked by an unknown enemy they have named the Neuroi. We follow the story of a young girl name Yoshika Miyafuji, a natural born witch with a fantastic healing power whose father is the creator of a personal vehicle used by witches to battle the enemy, called the “Strike Unit”. Yoshika is asked to join the army but as her father was killed in the war, she is determined only to help protect the people she loves and never to harm. Eventually, when she receives a letter from her father whom she thought dead, Yoshika leaves with the military in hope that she may be reunited with him and thus the story is born.
And from there it continues rather like a series should. Oh no wait, no it doesn’t, this series is insane. The first scene with the characters in Strike Witches is rather Ecchi, which would be fine if the series was whole heartedly comedy and perversion, but it’s not. After a bit of… character introduction (read breast manipulation) the story opens up and gives us a dramatic taste of what this series will actually be in terms of relationships, dialogue, action and drama… and then it goes back to breasts. In any other series with drama and emotion, the ecchi is built up to scene by scene, but Strike Witches seems to quite simply blitzkrieg you with nakedness. Strike Witches is not exactly consistent with its emotions, so for a series with some rather serious scenes, it doesn’t make them easy to concentrate on.
But then, in a way, when you overlook those plunges into ephebophilic insanity, well shaped as it is, the overall idea of taking away from the downbeat really suits this series. It can be serious, but it doesn’t weigh on it too much, instead opting for an overall feel good story and considering it’s based around the WW2 era, that’s probably a bit of a relief.
At the time of writing this review, the second season has been announced. And it was rather obvious that Strike Witches was aiming for that. Much of the story is character introduction and the ending felt rather rushed, as if they had to have a climax, but didn’t quite know how to fit it in. But that’s forgivable. They gave us breasts.
Were this anime to focus on one genre fully, I believe it would be far better received and for those of you who don’t mind a mixture of things, you may find this a very enjoyable series.
Characters : The difference between a good and bad anime
The characters (and their breasts) are obviously the main focus in this series and they really are the biggest selling point of the series. They are likable and reasonably well developed (still talking about the characters here), with stories that are unique to each other and touching off something that can go much deeper in later seasons, although at this point some characters get left behind a tad too much. Hopefully these characters will be worked on a little more in the second season, but as is, you’re left a little hungry. The dialogue and scenes really do shine though and it’s clear that the actors were very comfortable with their characters, something that could really make or break a series. I believe these characters will be better presented in later seasons, but I can't merit it on hope, so for now I feel they could have done a little more with them.
Artwork and Animation : Nothing really wrong here.
Recently, it’s hard to find a series that isn’t animated well if they have any budget at all. After all, animation is huge in Japan and the industry is offered a lot of talent from which to pick and choose. This makes the road a difficult one for aspiring artists, but the reward so much greater for the viewers. Strike Witches isn’t really an exception in that respect. It isn’t exactly trying to break the mold by any means, but it does feature some rather well animated and artistic moments that seem to come from nowhere. Overall nothing new, but fitting and more than expected, so nothing to complain about.
Sound & Music : Nothing really wrong here either.
The music doesn’t really play a major role in this series unfortunately. There are a few moment where it stands out, but it seems that it’s really just there to set a mood and that’s it. It’s not bad by any means, in fact it suits the mood rather well. The series is quite a fast paced one being only 12 episodes long, so perhaps the beauty of the melodies just isn’t given enough time to sink in. Either way, the music isn’t going to be something that you’ll remember most. Sound, again, is nothing particularly special, but it does fit and nothing is irritating to listen to, which I suppose can be seen as a definite plus.
Value and Enjoyment :
Overall, I would say that Strike Witches isn’t your normal anime. At face value, the concept seems rather generic… at least as generic as anthropomorphic, flying leg armoured, topless, teenage witches can be. But it takes a lot of inspiration from anime that has gone before it and blends the elements together well to form something new. It’s a light watch and when taken that way, is really very enjoyable. This anime tried to be strong and soft, pleasing to watch, well rounded and most importantly, bouncy (remind you of anything?) and I think that has been achieved here. I don’t think this will be a season to watch over and over, but I am looking forward to the second season that will hopefully have a bit more of a balanced feel.