This lack of investment also (obviously) bleeds into the character moments. Combining the camera’s priority being butts with the generally lousy artistry of the CG means all of the well-drawn shots are situated roughly five inches from a character’s crotch, leaving no room for exciting sequences and a consistent sense of “how can anyone die in a scene that only cares about vaginas.” Any sense of pacing or drama is lost in the crowning desire to Get Those Panties In There. We get no sense of scale or momentum – we just get crotches and butts, whizzing past as the characters grimly fire their weapons at a big CG thing.
Though the direction is really just serviceable throughout, when it comes to the fight scenes, the prioritization of panties over drama means there’s no real reason to care.
First, they make sure the battle scenes have absolutely no tension whatsoever. These panty shots serve a variety of key purposes in the show. That first sequence that introduces the girls in battle is easily the worst offender – every single character is introduced with an extended panty-flash sequence so invasive they often verge on grotesque. The show takes place in a world where pants apparently don’t exist (I’d assumed this would be handwaved by the apparel necessities of the striker unit, but even Yoshika’s ordinary classmates just don’t believe in pants), and the show takes full, leering advantage of that to indulge in every single fanservice shot imaginable. Strike Witches’ claim to fame, the one thing that separates it (at least so far) from the many shows much like it, is that it just Can’t. If this was an ordinary show, I’d give it a two out of five in the preview guide, say “maybe you’ll like it if you’re really, really into this genre,” and be done with it.īut this isn’t an ordinary show. The artistry and animation are lousy, and the CG of the battle scenes very bad.
Strike witches episodes full#
This world wasn’t designed from the ground up as a compelling or coherent universe – it’s “I like WWII military stuff” + “I like panties,” full stop. The premise is definitely more convoluted than most, and the seams of its “let’s find a way to throw a bunch of classic WWII countries together as friends to fight something” objectives definitely show. The episode moves well enough, though its beats are very tired and routine. There’s nothing much to say about the narrative elements of this show’s premise. Yoshika doesn’t want to fight, but it seems like Mio might lead her to the truth about her father, and so she tags along back to Britannia until they’re ambushed on the high seas. Yoshika has plenty of magical potential, though, and so she’s scouted out by the military officer Mio Sakamoto. After that, we meet Yoshika, a young girl who hates war because it stole her father away. The show opens with a very dull battle between a bunch of flying girls and one of these evil ships, which is noteworthy only for this episode’s one defining feature (which I will certainly get to). This means all the big WWII fan favorites get to team up in fighting this threat, which they do through use of the “striker unit,” magical airplane boots that young girls fly around in to shoot bad guys. In an alternate 1940s, World War II is replaced by the attack of the “Neurois,” evil CG planes that threaten all countries indiscriminately. Well, for the most part, it was a functional but unremarkable first episode of what’s almost certainly going to play out as part slice of life, part action drama. So, how was the first episode of Strike Witches? When Saint Peter scans down my MAL at the pearly gates, he’ll take a momentary pause at the S section, glance at me with one raised eyebrow, and then continue without a word. The first episode of Strike Witches now exists in my past. You got me to make despairing jokes on twitter about Strike Witches. I open up my viewing schedule for anything you all want to support, and what happens? You fund The Room and God Damn Strike Witches.
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