Strike Witches

Overall, Strike Witches is a mediocre show. Gonzo, the studio that developed it, needed a show with sales, and it shows. Looking back, Strike Witches is almost certainly a half-baked idea, a universe with little to no development and no real idea of what it wants to be. It started as a series of sketches and drawings by Fumikane, a world imagined at a surface level. Gonzo is more than happy to do the bare minimum expansion of the world needed to start a show, and it's quite apparent.

The first half of the series is largely over the top fanservice. It banks on the sheer audacity of the fanservice to entice audiences and generate buzz. If you took a shot of your favorite liquor every time there was an egregious panty--or rather, crotch--shot, you'd be dead. The girls' lack of proper pants is what Strike Witches is most known for, and though it's oddly cute and slightly lewd in the source drawings and concepts, it's particularly strange in a moving anime. Episode 7 is most guilty of the lewd pandering, opening with one of said crotch shots and embarking on a ludicrous story that only serves to bring the nudity to the 11th level.

Still, there are occasional glimpses of a good story. Sanya's character-driven episode, though filled with fanservice, is well done, and hints at what might have been if the show had decided to take itself more seriously. The last half of the season, about five episodes or so, introduces actual plot lines and drama, with characters revealing their pasts and dealing with developments that actually involve the setting. There's genuine interest generated, and it didn't take fanservice to do so. I often wonder what this series would have been like if it had decided to use characters or plot to drive it along, instead of unapologetic fanservice.

In the end, Strike Witches definitely feels like a show that wasn't thought out. It has very conflicting tones, what with the heavy emphasis on a continent on the brink of eradication, a hopeless war where mighty naval ships and mechanic might are seen as completely ineffective. At the same time, the girls live lighthearted lives, lewding each other in a carefree, almost comical manner. It doesn't know what story it wants to tell, or even if it wants to tell a story at all, given that it takes 8 episodes (more than half the series) to get rolling. The lack of heart and effort, combined with the studio's greed, really hurts Strike Witches.

I just wish they hadn't managed to mess up the golden combination of cute girls, magic, aliens, and 1940s tech.