So, this is the anime about an alternative history world, which alternative historicity consists in the fact that nobody ever developed something like skirts or women’s trousers there. Alas, poor Scotsmen, they never got their trademark clothes. (Actually I know that it is not skirt but kilt, so don’t throw your bagpipes at me, please. I’m just playing on stereotypes here.)
And now seriously. The first season was pretty nice. So nice that Japanese Ministry of Culture considered it as one of the best anime shows of the year. With all that success and cliffhanger at the end of the last episode it was evident for the second Strike Witches to arrive. However, the title was transferred from Gonzo to AIC, but that didn’t change anything important.
Once again Witches 2 has poor excuse for a plot. Alien bad guys are still fighting the Earth just because; the 501st Joint Fighter Wing is repelling their attacks thanks to cool invention made by professor to be missing; and even the cliffhanger from the end of the first season has very, very little significance. This is the same old story which became a cliché around 80s or so. To be fair, thanks to it Witches has some nostalgic flavour, because I watched a lot of shows of this type back when I was a kid. Well, the plot in Witches 2 isn’t bad or something, it’s just a decoration for the strongest point of the series: the characters.
We have moe girls here. They eat, take a bath, fight enemies, talk about friendship and save each other’s lives. Yep, that is simple, cute and sounds stupid, but that is the thing which made this show attractive. No, I don’t mean interesting — “attractive” is the most suitable word here. It’s just simple, relaxing and funny anime, which is not even pretending to have deep philosophy, cunning plot twists and other mind fare — direct hit for recreation. Some character development here, some humorous moments there, then sprinkle it with fanservice — and here you are, enjoyable series presented on a silver plate.
And concerning the fanservice. It maybe irritating at first, but since it’s the second season we’re talking about, I assume that you, guys, are got used to it already. Yeah, there is a bloody overdose of pantsu shots, enough to send the whole legion of those basement-dwelling otaku into the sea of ecstasy, but it’s too much for anime neophyte’s inexperienced eye to stand. Tastes differ though.
On a technical level all is okay. Art is detailed and well-drawn. The ships can look plastic, but making all that guns, ropes and fancy gadgets is very serious business, so I don’t have a right to complain about it. As for music, it sounds as cheerful and upbeat as it should be, so it suits Witches 2 well.
The overall score is seven points, one point lower than I gave to the first season. The reason for it is that Witches stagnated. No major changes were done by AIC, they simply used the channel created by Gonzo in the first season. The plus for it is that they didn’t screw up this anime, but reverse effect is that the show which doesn’t change will eventually become boring. If there will be any third season, I don’t want it to be done that way.
And yeah, that little creature who was with Miyafuji in the OVA, but not in first Witches… It didn’t showed up here either, so I found myself tricked. Hmph.
