Pantsu anime Strike Witches fancies itself a serious drama with romantic and sentimental wartime themes and exciting aerial dog fighting action, if the latest episode, number eight, is anything to go by. Those keen to assert its credentials as a serious anime rather than a opportunity to scrutinise the nether regions and lately, nipples, of various adolescent girls are sure to be delighted, but serious pantsu fans will come away with little.
The serious scenes are very serious, with strong themes of ties of duty and conflicting loyalties, along with an exploration of the tender hearts of the young maidens themselves, struggling with alienation whilst serving their countries as unflinching weapons.
However, these shots are there to remind you, regularly, that it is all a glorious farce to justify 13-year-old girls doing the splits in mid air with nothing but their not-pantsu to preserve their modesty, amidst what must be a very respectable animation budget.
No real service of any kind in this episode aside from in the drama and action scenes as usual. The constitution of these episodes in this on/off fashion seems rather unbalanced.
What I was most impressed by is the quality of animation in this episode; it is fantastic. The CG battles and various landscape and panoramic views all look magnificent, and the witches are appealing and fluidly animated. Production values are really first class – you may wish to have a look if you have not yet done so out of pantsu related disinterest.
A new character appears?
No, just a figure, based on a witch you can see in the gallery.
Much like Sky Girls, it has all we need
The Boosttv version is cesnored. I can accept free streaming is censored but not the pay one. I never spent a cent for something edited. Aggravating this, Strikes fansub release uncut edition for certain episodes, so no way i support the official fansub. Epic fail.
Not sure, but the Witch doll looks extremely familiar to one of the characters in the light novel. :S
Otherwise, it was completely Gonzo-esque to pull some plot-twist at the end with Minna drawing a gun like that.
Oh, and this episode sucked balls. Horny male teenagers is the last thing I want to see in Strike Witches. I hope this is the last time, because it could seriously make me drop the series, as much as I like it.
Although I’m sure this episode was made with good intention, I was left highly disappointed. This was not the Pantsu Witches that I’m used to seeing every week. Here’s hoping that things will go back to normal soon and that this anime won’t try to be too serious.