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Three years ago, I watched this anime and slapped it a rotten score. After all, an anime featuring pantless, gun-bopping teenage girls couldn’t possibly ascribe anything of depth to the varied community of anime goers and entertainment seekers today, right?

Right.

Then during my second time through, I realized something unbelievable about this series. This anime isn’t about half-naked chicks shooting down big, black cocks with guns. Right?

Right…ish.

So yes…by my THIRD time through I realized: Strike Witches is an idiot savant of an anime. It is an attempted excuse for Japan’s WWII guilt, and combined with incidental, radical feminism investigates a unique reality of victory for ... all humans and absolution of the original Axis Powers. Furthermore, rather than to be undone by fellow man, the retribution for all the anger of that era is instead unleashed upon an enigmatic alien race bent on aimless worldwide destruction.

Your 501st Fighter Wing. All the guns, less of the garments. (9/10)
Despite my rather despicable claims, this simple, misdirected story eagerly rakes in a “bare” perspective on Japanese postwar culture more than anything other anime series I’ve ever watched. Yoshika Miyafuji, our protagonist from the Fuso Nation, has after a series of misadventures found herself smack dab in the middle of an international war between humans and a hostile alien invader known as the Neuroi. Though the Neuroi’s intentions and methods are unknown, Miyafuji and the 501st Joint Fighters—the Strike Witches, or gun-wielding teenage girls utilizing magic-powered, leg-mounted rocket engines known as “Strikers” to fly—dedicate their lives (and panties) to the survival of mankind.

One of the most misunderstood things about this anime is its high degree of fanservice. Nearly every ten seconds the viewer is exposed to some sort of sexual innuendo, be it the slightest visual of pantsu or a blatant bath scene with boobs flopping about like custard. The delivery is unabashed in consistency, if not almost bewildering considering the depth of the alternate historical content. Indeed, this deceitful mask of perversion disguises a highly controversial possibility for this alternate universe as follows:

Despite being a relative time frame to what we live, there is no evidence for existing non-Japanese Asians, Jews, or Blacks in the entire series INCLUDING doujin and movie-based media. In the series, the closest to being black might be the Italian girl, Francesca, but considering the brutal circumstances of World War II it freaks me out that neither a Jew or a Chinese exists among the ranks of survivors.

For some reason only a small group of magical women between the ages of 12-20 seem to be effective as combatants. Men, older women, and machines seem to be rather defenseless, rendering none but Highly Effeminate Teenage Vixens (HETV) as our only hope.

What are the Neuroi? The mysterious qualities of the enemy are vividly explored, but some answers aren’t given. I find it fascinating that the Neuroi have chosen a spot of the world between Karlsland (Germany) and eastern Russia (Orussia) as their hive. If we consider the alignment of world powers during the war era, isn’t it interesting that the brutal enemy of humanity is stationed somewhere in Central Asia? Also, isn’t it just as interesting that the “good guys” in this series happen to hail from Japan (Fuso), Karlsland, and Orussia? Does anyone see what I’m getting at here?

My conclusion is that Strike Witches presents as an innocent peep show, when it ruthlessly stakes on radicalism and nationalism as the true berth of survival. The weakest races have been eliminated, and a unique gift of power to women establishes a rather unanticipated form of feminism—perhaps with the intent to balance out the missing historical factors of this show.

This is particularly true with feminism. Throughout the series we CLEARLY see the reduced sexuality of women’s legs, as nearly all women in the show do not wear pants. For the otaku this is obnoxiously fanservice; to the alternate reality, this is a normal getup. In this setting, men would have to start from this specific style of dress to find sexual arousal, and thus would be presented less opportunities to think perverse thoughts. Women, too, lose power through arousal of men, and are then more focused on careers and independence. I’m sure many a fan has tried to excuse this by saying that “in order to fit into the Strikers they can’t wear pants—blah blah—requiem stop talking—I’ll bite you” sort of argument is the most cogent.

The sad truth is that they’re only halfway there. Feminism wins simply by the lifestyle of this series, and—considering that all other types of Asians are missing—it is winning much more than races or gender stereotypes by default.

We also have evidence for radicalism through the consistent failures of men throughout both seasons. Airplanes, battleships, and maritime weapons are all rendered useless, bereaved of all duty but to serve as cannon fodder for the elite Witch squadrons. Commanders shrug helplessly while their ships are mercilessly crushed and sunk, and whatever authority they might even have over Witches is easily bypassed.

Next, if the Bechdel test were to be applied to this series, hardly a moment in it would fail. The entire series voids men of any appeal or authority, focusing the entire story on the Witches and their sisterhood. This is fascinating, especially considering that a tit or ass flies across the screen with all but sexual abandon. Even Yoshika’s awkward tit fetish remains effeminate, keeping the perversion limited only to women without delving into yuri or shoujo ai. Also, in great relief there are absolutely no random peeping scenes involving half-naked men getting punched by tiny women into the stratosphere while shouting “I AM LIKE…SO SORRY.” Or at least not as in the exhausting case of practically EVERY ecchi harem series known to otakukind.

Altogether, though the creator himself may not have even dreamed of this, his lewd creation defines “unique” in its background, plot, and style. It may have been designed to make men horny and stupid, but it could still be insightful enough for any informed viewer. For reasons such as this, I can offer a ridiculously high score.

Two-dimensional, but well-grown. (6/10)
While stock characters are expected for a series focused on as many pantsu shots as possible, making sure the characters actually fit together is not as such required. Strike Witches makes several attempts to go beyond that, particularly with complicated ladies like Minna, Eila, or Gertrud. I should not be spoiling this series at all in saying that our main protagonist lives up to our expectations, as her limitations and delimiters all come and go as expected. There are a few good moments for everyone, even support characters such as Shirley, Perrine, and Francesca.

Regardless, all of the girls make up for their limited personalities with well-placed anecdotes of growth. Mio, in particular, encounters a struggle that puts the entire squadron through many hardships, yet we see with her continued passion to save humanity a constant state of perseverance. When not enthused by boobs and butts, we actually start to see a little bit of depth to everyone as they fight their own personal battles, (at least moreso than the drooling we do while they fight the actual enemy.)

My personal favorite? Definitely Perrine. Not because she’s a prissy, tsuntsun nerd that offers the best personality-to-sexual-exploitation ratio; mainly just because she is easy to figure out. In fact, each witch has some sort of spice to her that feeds the lonely wolves like me. While it is designed as an advertisement net to catch and draw my attention, it is at least nice to get a little more differential between the women than a typical 21st century harem series with the same visual appeal.

Incidental music WIN. OP/ED fail. (8/10)
Neither the opening nor closing theme of either season was particularly fascinating. Though well composed and nicely sung, the openings are unfortunately the same, drab Ishida Yoko dancepop ditties that dominate such a small market with upbeat feel and trendy melody. Even though they are in the same court as Ishida, the I’ve Sound girls always manage to harness a stronger or more atmospheric melody. To its own justice the series should have had its own personal opening theme. Or perhaps rather than dance music, why not something on the side of a tune from the WWII era? Either way, another pop song about “Doing what I can do” and “loving some certain, undistinguished person” is justifiable for me to skip ahead one and a half minutes as soon as possible every time.

Meanwhile, the real groundwork is done by a time tested artist like Seikou Nagaoka. His track “Witch no Tatakai,” or “A Witch’s Fight” is a driving force for perhaps the entire series’ climactic moments. Written with a very powerful bass line, we can feel the surge of excitement build up as the melody creeps in at some point seconds later. The sort of “champion melody” rises out of the trumpets (or in some cases, an electric guitar) through the oscillating strings, and builds up more and more intensity when recapitulating for a second time through. This track is perfectly aligned for underdog victories, high speeds, and pretty much most highly emotional scenes on the battlefield. For something that he probably threw together in 20 minutes, the perfectly chained elements make it quite unforgettable—I still could recall it several years after my first viewing of the show!

Nagaoka also empowers more endearing moments with his gentle strings in “Eikou no Kiroku.” He draws out mystery with “Kunou” and its Dorian harp. He demonstrates his mastery of orchestration with the grinding bass harmonies in “Neuroi no Su he.” Without a doubt, the musical programming for a show like this fit all too perfectly to serve as distraction from the fanservice, or at least more than the jumpy tunes that surround each episode.

An animation behest to bre-hests. Ha. Ha. Ha. (7/10)
As a healthy male I would be criminalizing this series for giving the animation a score lower than 70 points. It is literally as though the animation studio took an extensive class on drawing vaginal protrusions and ample bosoms while studying butlery.
Seriously. Every few seconds, however subtle or obvious, a boob or butt is “served warm” to our eyes as a feast, delivering the most intoxicating form of perversion so much so that we are left passively molested by our screens. While many other series might put this one to shame in this regard, very few can deliver with the same degree of tastefulness.

My biggest detractor for score here is solely the key animation. Often during fight scenes the characters shapely figures would become too fluid and perhaps not-so-shapely. In fact, within the first five minutes of the series we see a rather terribly drawn view of Gertrud’s patooty, as it is quite clear that somebody was too busy completing key frames to actually bother providing detail to her shape. This same mistake happens several times, showing that despite the “ample” details, the budget wasn’t exactly such.

That said, the action scenes were made with good intention. The weapons are drawn badass—even to the extent that they can be as exciting as the…yep, you guessed it…perhaps the best action scene in the entire show might be the part in season one concerning Shirley and Mach 1; though not very detailed, the desired effect came through quite well. (As for the best episode, it is without debate the infamous sukebe-mushi of Season 2, episode 7.)

Uncomfortable for many at first, but the wounds will heal. (8/10)
And that is perhaps the best thing about Strike Witches, considering the great deal of socially unacceptable content unleashed over 8 hours visually. If you are a Forever Alone, this series will provide great comfort. If you want to see something controversial and can choke down the hypnotizing amount of female parts, give it a shot. OR even if you are looking for unique Feminist propaganda, this would be great material for a write up.

If you are a married man who wants to pick up a good series to watch with the family…while I would personally think how awesome you are for even trying to suggest this series, you might just want to save it for when the family goes to sleep (or if you watch in sprees, when they go to see the old folks for the weekend.)

Back in my days absorbed into slice of life anime, a word like "fascination" with Mushishi understated my feelings at the time. Try "enamoured." "Obsessed." It has a likeable, highly capable protagonist with such an introspective personality. It integrated the elements of mystery, fantasy, and the supernatural in far better ways than its dystopian (Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou) or complex (Ghost in the Shell) seinen contemporaries. It should also be noted that Aniplex’s responsibility for a great deal of superior anime promised a series like this success.

And yet, I am somewhat disappointed with this reboot…at least enough to squeeze a review out of me.

Episodic and unpredictable, ... Mushishi thrives on the characters and their accompanying pathophysiological development with mushi. A series of this nature demands this formula, especially considering Ginko’s knowledge and capability. The very first episode of the original series pulls us in; it is not the misleading shots of ghoulish, bacteria-shaped organisms with a quirk, but rather because of the characters and their interactions with them. In respect to the first season, Zoku Shou starts off in a similar predicament. A new episode, and there are new characters, new mushi, new conflicts, and a new set of consequences.

Simply, the formula that rebooted this series is also what dried it up. I knew that each episode could be enjoyed as a story on its own, and yet the continuing pattern of unresolved questions left the series to hang and dry like a dying rose. Even following the last episode, Ginko himself remains as enigmatic as the mushi he identifies with great ease.

Needless to say, with nearly a decade of improvement in animation techniques, the artwork maintained the quality of the original. Mushishi’s beautiful, postmodern approach to animation competes even with the most fluid of action-packed series. Colorful, mouth-watering brooks. Enchanting stares from teenage girls. Even the smoke rising from Ginko’s lip-glued-to-paper cigarettes looks sexy. While I’d love to offer it a perfect score, the animation had nearly a decade of room to offer even more dazzling footage, of which it did not.

As for my favorite subject in all of my reviews, the music and sound in general is breathtaking. Zoku Shou’s entire atmosphere benefitted from a ponderous, folk-like poem like Lucy Rose’s “Shiver” on the acoustic guitar. A series like this needs to have contemplative and mystical background music, such as the chimes and xylophones oscillating during mushi encounters. The ending themes, too, resonated well with whichever conclusions were reached. Toshio Masuda’s composition technique worked well in the ninja-ridden environment of Naruto, so I can imagine him being the perfect choice for a series as mysterious as Mushishi.

Overall, Zoku Shou lives up to the quality of a series like Mushishi, but only does that. I understand that many a fan would obsess about the nature of slice-of-life series or consistency with the manga (because for some reason all stories need be exactly like their manga or else they’re crap or some garbage like that), but as an avid fan myself I can only insist that the potential behind a supernatural mystery series such as Mushishi is wasted on single episode encounters, or rather as a break from pantsu shots and power ups. I am truly and deeply fond of this series and hope to see more of it, but I await the day someone at Aniplex—even if it be Urushibara herself—takes a risk to give the series what it deserves.

Before watching this anime, answer yourself the following questions:

1. Do you consider yourself weird?
2. Do you feel like you don’t have any true friends?
3. Do you think of sex constantly all day?
4. Do you feel like people don’t understand you?

If you answered yes and no appropriately for a normal human being, skip this anime and watch something else...you're in for torture.

If you answered no to all of these questions, you're fine. Watch with contentment.
...
If you answered yes to all of these questions, though, slap on some naked butler porn and start whacking with toothpaste at the prologue of Episode 1—this anime was made specifically for you.

(Psst. I answered yes to all of them.)

“Watashi ga mottenai no wa dou kangaetemo omaera ga warui,”—or from hereforth Watamote—would be equally as titled as “The Autobiography of the Narcissistic, Melancholic Otaku.” It outlines the boring, waste-of-food lifestyle of an introverted, 21st century teenager, Kuroki Tomoko, and her misadventures in becoming a sociable person. With the lewd objective of capturing the hearts and souls of her peers, with each episode she draws forth a depressing, yet outlandishly hilarious conclusion.

The plot in this anime is episodic, outlining the seasons of the school year more definitely as the series progresses. Tomoko struggles with communication, and all but too often winds up doing something socially awkward or unacceptable at little expense of notice to her colleagues. The series gradually draws towards more embarrassing or heartbreaking consequences, all-in-all while Tomoko remains spirited through to the narrow conclusion. I strongly feel that the story itself is the weakest part and precisely why the series faces much scrutiny; the balance of the plotline heavily relies on a character that is distrusted by the audience, and rapidly grows repetitive with the endless frustration. I think the series would have benefitted more with another arc, possibly more focused on the character changes that slowly developed as Tomoko’s continued failures amassed.

Which in regards to the characters, this series shines. Tomoko is undoubtedly a relatable character to a part of all of us—wherein we seek to blame others for our weaknesses, try to change too quickly, and excuse our dark thoughts with solidarity in loneliness. In my lifetime I cannot stress enough how often I’ve thought along similar lines as Tomoko about my peers, only to realize in the end just how catastrophic that was to my personality. The consistent negativity and judgmental thoughts that she exudes are enough to make anyone feel sorry for her, if not additionally hate her.

Yet, brilliantly, she emblazons the series as the protagonist (or dare I say “anti-hero”.) We watch her struggle to an end to become a happier person, sometimes even feeling proud that she has sought out meaningful changes. Also, considering her level of social anxiety it is fascinating watching her persist and continue to look brightly toward the future. After all we might choose to hate her, but are forced to love her.

Laughing the entire time.

Tomoki, her brother, is another catch. Though he remains secondary and purely comical, he provides the audience a chance to see Tomoko act as herself. His shrewd responses and sarcasm add just the right amount of flavor. Though many disagree with me, I feel that this was enough to keep the focus on Tomoko alone, preventing her from being trapped in the inner monologue.

Izumi Kitta, did an astronomical job voicing for Tomoko. Being a good seiyuu is something expected out of Japan, but her mastery of inner monologue and conflict gave the series a bigger kick than had it been a higher-pitched tsundere. Voicing in a darker, messier timbre than a typical shoujo, Kitta employed the role with the right snappiness and vulgarity expected from a person like Tomoko. Also, her emphasis on certain words and sounds in Japanese (for those of you who don’t speak Japanese just call me a name and skip this part), especially puns and sexual innuendos are outstanding. The general grit of her tone alone kept the series best in the balance.

The opening ranks high on my top 10 favorites. I am a classical musician and absolutely hate scream, yet I am enamoured with this opening. The 1 minute and 30 seconds of clashing drum sets, vein-popping growls, and echoing female vocals are accompanied by a vignette of Tomoko’s personal struggle. There is a great deal of innuendo of sexual repression and symbolism that is profound to this series. I strongly recommend to everyone to not skip the introduction when watching this series, as it will constantly refresh you about the deepest meaning of the series itself. The background music is perfect, too. It actually is quite unnoticeable, maybe perhaps for a few weird, sexualized beats, elevator music or accordions. For a series of this nature I think stronger BGMs would make the subject too lighthearted, which defeats the purpose of Tomoko’s character study.

Artwork in Watamote is bewildering. The splash of light effect and heavy detail on the eyes deceives us to believe that the series is meant to be cute. It, of course, does have many cute moments, but the choice of ambiguously dark colors or animation methods (such as crayon during imaginary scenes) retains the moody quite well. There is a great amount of detail on the passage of time, as we see emphasis on Tomoko’s moods reflect the time of the day.

Again, if you’re afraid of seeing disgusting or repulsive behavior from your protagonist, then go watch cheap, direct-to-video Christmas films. Watamote thrives on less perfect minds and hearts, engaging them as It does Tomoko about her issues and choices.

And again, make sure your naked butlers are well…nevermind.

A work inviting the nostalgic elements of the unforgettable Onegai series, Ano Natsu de Matteru broadens the original idea with surprising dramatic elements, twists on cliché comedy, and realistic maturation of stock characters. This is difficult to do with the highly-abused romantic-comedy genre in 21st century anime.

In the beginning, the main character, Kirishima Kaito, films the evening sky pondering the wabi-sabi of afterlife. Suddenly, Takatsuki Ichika, bursts into his empty life with a quirky, sci-fi brilliance. A summer of teenage passion and emotion ensues, all backed by a camera, questionable beverages, men in black suits, horny siblings and alien invasions. Ironically, ... I doubt I’ve surprised anyone so far.

And I don’t intend to do so. What is surprising is that by cramming all of these elements into a half season was actually able to work! Though it is not difficult to throw a teenage romance into any science fiction, Ano Natsu’s atmosphere is significantly more down-to-earth; it is more like throwing science fiction into a teenage romance. This style requires a significant plot and meaningful dialogue, as without it the audience would be more inclined to learn all the goodies about aliens and the appeal of space travel. Ano Natsu survives this potentially fatal topic change by honing in on the simple, cliché questions about love and commitment. In the same regard as Onegai Teacher, love steals the stage from science fiction, setting the series apart from either genre.

At first each character is stock and uninteresting. The main character emulates the undersexed, over-emotionalized egoist that brands any action by his female counterpart as doing something in consequence of him. I grew weary of him quickly, as this is one of the tenants of a male protagonist in Japanese romance, and it drives me utterly insane. Unexpectedly, this weakness is examined thoroughly in one early episode, and the audience starts to see a more three-dimensional character as the plot thickens throughout the series.

Ichika resembles Mizuho from Onegai Teacher a bit too much. I am certain this is partially fanservice to the drooling mob (which I’m included in) that picked up this series. Her character flaws are typical of a stock heroine throughout the entire series, though she throws a surprise here or there to make her seem more authentic. Kanna, too, shares typical flaws of her character type whilst throwing a curveball here or there.
I found Mio to be the most unique character, with Remon coming in a close second. I find it sad that even their characters are becoming a standard in the anime market. Mio’s actions and interests were kept well hidden, leaving me guessing quite a bit about her. Remon’s antics and creepy laugh kept me rolling on the floor, preventing the mood from becoming too melodramatic. Without them the series would have crashed and burned halfway through.

I find now that I only give top scores to experimental animations. Ano Natsu’s animation stays true to the shape of the Onegai series—no evident increase in the standard size of eyes, consistent body shapes, and simple effects. Daydreaming scenes add a little haze of glowing colors, and there is diminution of water droplets or goofy eyes which are prevalent in most romantic comedies. While this is a nice getaway from the standard of this genre, there is little to be breathtaking in terms of artwork.

The opening is reminiscent of KOTOKO’s “Shooting Star,” as is the ending to I’ve’s “Love a Riddle.” Over the years I’ve become an intense music critic, and I cannot say that hardly anything impressed me musically. The lush pop rhythms and consequential music do give a nice flair to the series, but they are commonplace in today’s anime music. The voice acting was superb, although I do miss Kikuko-sama’s gentle, mature voice for the female lead (especially in this genre.) I do find it exciting that the great idol Horie Yui got a small part towards the end of the series, which is perhaps why I am selfish enough to bump the score from as low as a five to a six.

"Ano Natsu de Matteru" - though translated as "Waiting in the Summer," is strange gramatically. "Ano” usually refers to something in the distance (usually in the past), though the verb “matteru” is best translated in the present participle. I’ve found no discussion on it, and simply asking a Japanese results in an “oooohh…I see” and a smirk to deny clarity on it. My best guess has to do with a specific time in the past that is presently being “recalled” by Kaito’s narration.

Since I am a fan of this subgenre, I obviously enjoyed it. This might be okay for those who have significant others, but it would be a big mistake for those who want a colossal plot and complicated characters. Thus, I recommend this to the lovesick, teenage-to-young-adult males who want a few good laughs and gushy romance.



SIDE-NOTE: This is my first review on MAL, and I am pleased to contribute after years of feeling uninspired to express my opinion of anime via the internet. I hope this will be useful for somebody.