173rd G-View: Strike Witches: The Movie

Ah, I had long been waiting for this day to come. The day this highly anticipated movie would breceive English subs from a benevolent group of fansubbers. The grand warriors of the sky had been successful enough to receive a cinematic feature. The main question is, was this film conclusion to the “501st Joint Fighter Wing” Saga a flight worth remembering or a sham best left forgotten. Join me as we learn the truth through my words of wisdom in my review of Strike Witches: the Movie.

As usual, a review of the movie’s main series.

54th G–View: Strike Witches

Warning: Since this is a sequel to the 2nd season, it’ll obviously contain spoilers of the season finale.

Genres: action, magic, science fiction

Themes: fanservice, mecha musume, military, yuri, witches

Running Time: 94 minutes

G-Rating: 8/10

Plot Summary: Yoshika Miyafuji which has now lost her witch powers and studies to be a doctor in her family clinic, is proposed with a military scholarship to study overseas. Shizuka Hattori, a new recruit of Fuso witches has the mission to escort her. Meanwhile a new kind of Neuroi appears and proves to be a worthy challenge to the abilities of fighting witches.

Meet Shizuka Hattori (Left), the newcomer and one of the protagonists along with the returning Yoshika. Their relationship is a classic “strict cadet who idolizes the protagonist but then finds out said protagonist isn’t the role model she thought”. In short:

Shizuka: “Officer. Stop fooling around and be more serious”

Yoshika: “Chill out cuz. I can be a badass my way. You don’t always have to follow the rules to protect everyone”.

You can guess how this will end.

Rambo, eat your heart out!

Speaking of Yoshika being a badass, if you watch this movie before checking out the previous two seasons, you won’t understand why Yoshika’s so highly revered by everyone. Despite her rise to greatness being somewhat cliche, it’s still worth checking out before picking up the film. Suffice to say, she more than proves herself worthy of praise.

While there aren’t any obligatory nude scenes, there are obviously other obligatory fanservice shots, especially during the kickass dogfights. Speaking of which…

While the battles between the Witches and the Neuroi are as glorious as ever, the Neuroi menace remains a mystery as nothing is revealed about their reasons for wanting to wipe out humanity. So they’re currently still mysterious alien invaders who probably want to replace mankind with their own race. I’m guessing this question’s answered in the manga but I don’t read the manga, so…still a mystery to me. Point is, the action scenes don’t disappoint, especially the final brawl, which is worthy of this song:

The meat of the show remains the same here; half action and the other half is character interaction. I’m pretty sure that these, alongside the fanservice (which is a minor factor imo) are the main reasons why this series remains popular despite the girls continuously refusing to purchase leg attire. Your show’s successful enough to green light a movie and you still won’t wear pants?

I can’t say much about the animation because both it and the music are the same as in the main series and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

While nation members will be somewha disappointed their favorite couples don’t seal the deal with their lips, they’ll be pleased to know there are indeed some sweet moments between established pairings. Yoshika even gets a new “an” if you know what I mean.

Driver’s licenses are for pussies.

One last thing before I wrap this one up:

In conclusion, similar to the K-ON movie, the SW movie was more of a setup for something bigger in the near future than a conclusion. I have a strong feeling we haven’t seen the last of the 501st Division. Either that, or we’re getting a new division next time…or another movie. Whatever it’ll be, I’m happy the SW anime franchise is far from over. Fans of the series will definitely enjoy seeing old and new faces alike. Fans of the manga will get a treat seeing manga exclusive characters make minor animated debuts. As for the haters, this movie won’t change your mind but as far as I’m concerned, SW remains the 2nd best military moe anime next to Sora no Woto and I’m looking forward to what’s next.