Version 5.4 ~ Haruhi gave rock and roll to you.
karmaburn.com karmaburn.com
  • HOME

Dated 20 February 2007: Strike Witches, Sky Girls, and Mave-chan.

Eika
Eika from Sky Girls.

Perrine and Yoshika
Perrine-H. Clostermann and Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches.

Battle Fairy
Sentou Yousei Shoujo Tasukete! Mave-chan.

Having seen all three, I can say that the Strike Witches prelude has a superior score, and is better in that it has propeller and machine gun sound effects, but is otherwise inferior to Sky Girls in nearly all other aspects. However, the comparison is somewhat academic because Sentou Yousei Shoujo Tasukete! Mave-chan owns them both.

Dated 30 November 2008: There sure are a lot of crotch shots in Strike Witches

Sakamoto
Sakamoto takes an early lead.

It only took me five minutes of Strike Witches TV to dislike Miyafuji. On the other hand, I'll fully support the Chiba Saeko witch in anything she does because she's doing That Voice—plus smacking Miyafuji around unnecessarily hard.

Sakamoto
Wasn't this a Venus Versus Virus shtick?

I'm no big fan of eye patches, but having one doesn't stop Sakamoto from being the front runner. I'm also no fan of animal ears and tails, but thankfully the witches don't have them all the time.

Sakamoto
I think the glow means someone's about to get whaled on.

And even though I've only seen one episode of Strike Witches so far, I'm going to go ahead and say the show really should be about Ayako's character from Sky Girls slipping through a Final Countdown vortex and landing in the Strike Witches universe. Then the rest of the show could be about mahou no-jo Otoha trying to fit in with the rest of the crew and fighting Neuroi whatchamacallits while trying to get home. And then a mid-season Eika guest spot. Yeah.

Dated 6 December 2008: So that's why Strike Witches don't cut their legs off

Miyafuji
Miyafuji's propeller legs.

Strike witches don't saw their legs off with their propellers because they're MAGIC propellers. Now I see.

Dated 11 December 2008: Strike Witches unit patch

501st Strike Witches unit patch
The 501st Joint Fighter Wing unit patch.

I like the Strike Witches unit patch, but it's not quite as good as the Sky Girls unit patch. The strike witches don't actually wear this patch on the shoulder; they don't even have uniforms.


05:19< Evirus> After two episodes, this is actually pretty good.
05:20< lights> what are you watching
05:22< Evirus> .hack//SIGN
05:25< Sledeau> .hack//sign seems all right after 2 episodes...then the rest of the episodes are the exact same
05:26< Sledeau> but you keep watching because it FEELS like something SHOULD happen

Dated 25 February 2010: Strike Witches Axis Powers

Hartmann, Barkhorn, and Wilke
Hartmann, Barkhorn, and Wilke from Karlsland.

Just so you know, the only reason Gertrud Barkhorn isn't the best strike witch is because of Chiba Saeko giving Sakamoto an unfair boost.

Dated 30 May 2010: If true, the worst Strike Witches news ever

29:09:10< Seem> Evirus you're apparantly going to need to pick a new favourite Strike Witch, Saeko Chiba is being replaced with a different VA for season 2

That is some straight dog shit right there.

Dated 16 July 2010: Strike Witches II and its new Mio

Sakamoto
SAKAMOTO THE WHITE.

I'm opposed to changing voice actors as a matter of principle, and I still lament the absence of Chiba Saeko (one of my favorites) from the Strike Witches sequel, but I have to admit Seto Saori is doing a good job through at least the first two episodes.

Dated 4 August 2010: Strike Witches 2 is better than ever

Barkhorn
Barkhorn is awesome because she's always serious.

After re-watching the first season of Strike Witches while waiting for more episodes of Strike Witches 2, I've concluded that the sequel surpasses the original—at least through the latest four episodes. The real problem with the first season of Strike Witches is the show takes a tremendous dive during the final third of the show. The instant Wilcke pulls out that pistol the show effectively gets shot out of the sky and goes down in flames. The final three episodes of the last DVD were especially bad.

Yeager and Barkhorn
I love it when Barkhorn calls Yeager "Liberion."

Season two, on the other hand, returns to the elements that made the first season enjoyable. I am in favor of a retcon that wipes the "plot" episodes of the last season, merging the rest of what's left into a single continuous arc. True, in some respects the second season has been too much like the first season. For example, the recent episode about Karlsland's experimental striker unit evoked many of the same elements found in Charlotte Yeager's supersonic episode from the first season. But c'mon, Gertrude Barkhorn with JETS! The very idea brings a tear to my eye. So beautiful.

Yeager
The very recognizable Charlotte Yeager.

Besides, it's not all the same. There were numerous problems with the broom-training episode, but don't overlook the positive aspects it brought. First, it reminds us that the Strike Witches really are witches, as opposed to traditional magikal girls or true mecha musume. Second, it brought Perrine-H. Clostermann into the Lynette Bishop and Yoshika Miyafuji clique. Gallia's haughty witch was a bit of an outcast the first season, so it's nice to see her with friends this time around. It's easy to forget she's also one of the younger members of the wing.

Yoshika and Ursula
Hopefully Ursula isn't a complete slob like her sister.

Minor changes are the keys to success here. All too often sequels seem all too eager to screw up a good thing by making it bigger and better. Cameo appearance by Ursula Hartmann aside, I'm really glad Strike Witches 2 has not fallen to the temptation to overload the show with more and more witches. There's no question Strike Witches 2 could still crash and burn, but as long as it stays the course, I'm content to let this war go on as long as it has to.