Ranked #5380

Strike Witches OVA

Don't be fooled by this OVA's incredibly low rank - the truth is that this show is actually just 7 minutes long, with the rest of the video being a more detailed explanation about the show, such as Striker Units, weapons, the base on the island, and some of the other characters. So naturally, this is going to sink to the bottom of the list.

However, this short OVA is an excellent way to introduce people to the world of Strike Witches. I think what I like best about this short snippet is that there aren't any obvious ecchi shots. Maybe a bath scene, but nothing like you would see in the two seasons that followed (not that they were bad, there were just times I felt it was unnecessary).

If you just want to know what Strike Witches is like, I guarantee this OVA will tell you if you're going to like it or not (again, be prepared for plenty of fanservice if you decide to continue.) And if you're still not sure, the two seasons that follow more or less go like this:

16 episodes of character development
2 episodes of wacky ecchi humor
6 episodes of more serious battles and small plot twists

Storywise, the most you'll get out of the Strike Witches OVA is Yoshika's reluctant point of view on guns and war; something you'll definitely notice at the beginning of the first season. But it doesn't go any further than that - you'll have to watch the television series and see the other girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing that she meets to understand why fans such as myself love Strike Witches! read more

I watched this Ova after i watched two of the later seasons of Strike Witches. And I was pleasently surprised.

Story 7/10
Although the story is rather short, there are many things explained in details, which I didn't see in the longer anime show. Finally a load of new things actually started to make sense to me. The weapons, the places. Finally something more then just ridiculous amounts of shear fanserwis and nothing else. It was actually a good introduction to the universe and my view about Strike Witches has changed. I am willing to check out the manga and novels now.

Art 6/10
The art is worse then the anime series, but it doesn't mean it's bad. It's pretty, gives a wibe of WWII at times and there are featured many interesting images.

Sound 7/10
The sound was good, it fit well with the theme. Nothing epic to go crazy and start getting mp3's of this, yet still quite satisfying.

Characters 8/10
The characters were shown fine for such a short amount of time. I was pleasently surprised about Major Sakamoto especially.

Enjoyment 7/10
This was actually pretty enjoying even compared to the longer anime series, the fun is balanced with the interesting facts well, but at the end a few parts just get slightly annoying.

Overall 7/10
This wasn't as bad as I expected this to be. This OVA might be my first step to stop my Strike Witches hate and a step that just invited me to an exploration of a whole new experience as I have higher hopes for other works now. read more