Now after two seasons, a film, and some spin-off OVAs the second iteration of Strike Witches called Brave Witches is here. With the exception of cameos, none of the original cast of characters return. The original series seemed to be pretty concluded, so the existence of this third season is already a bit confounding. You could honestly watch this series as a standalone work and I'm pretty sure that was why this work involved a name change instead of a sequential numbering. It's formulaic to the original work down to the final battle, and Brave Witches greatest problem is that the shock value has completely worn off.
The reason why Strike Witches worked was because it was so bombastic and so unapologetic. There were episodes dedicated to dumb ecchi shenanigans in ways that made your jaw drop. These were never overtly sexual, they were just really really ridiculous. Episodes dedicated to one of the girls refusing to put on underwear to attend an award ceremony and another one involving how to pick up brooms with your ass. These thinly veiled attempts at keeping the viewer involved worked because they were so outrageous. The creators had come up with an insane and nonsensical setting, story line, and character backgrounds all for what? To show you panty shots. It sounds stupid and it is. But it's that overly-complex dedication that wooed me and others to this series.
The reason why Brave Witches doesn't work is because it is safe and repetitive. The characters still don't wear pants but it feels natural at this point. The shock of the new is gone, and the dedication to create insane new scenarios to perplex the viewer seems to have left the creators' minds. The narrative from episode one to twelve is an atypical shounen series. The main character decides to join the Brave Witches despite not having any talent for magic and then ends up attempting to save the world. The characters are more muted than they were in the previous series, with most of them barely receiving any characterization or memorable lines. The worst part is that each character seems to be a carbon copy of a character from Strike Witches. Even the visuals don't look like they have been updated since 2007. For a 2017 anime, Brave Witches feels like it's just punching the clock.
My parting words on this series is that I really didn't expect much from it and I was still let down. As a fan of Strike Witches the last thing I expected from Brave Witches was wholesome family content and that's what I got. If Brave Witches wanted to lecture me about camaraderie and familial bonds I genuinely wished these girls were wearing pants. And that is the saddest part of Brave Witches. I walked into a series that had a very unique feel to it and left feeling betrayed because that special spark the creators imbued into this universe was gone. What's left is a generic mess riding on the coattails of it's parent series former glory.
