Strike Witches 02 – “To Do What I Can”

The majority of this episode is concerned with the Neuroi attack on the fleet, which mainly consisted of a huge airship blowing up lots of ships resulting undoubtedly in lots of casualties. It never really felt like that during the battle though – more like a test of will for Yoshika. We know from the first episode that she’s a bit stubborn and headstrong, as many stereotypical anime protagonists are, so now we get to see which she values more – pacifism or protection.

For an episode of Strike Witches from what little we know or can assume about it so far, it seems like a fairly serious episode.

This is something I really hope is expanded upon in future. The fact that Yoshika is portrayed as very staunchly anti-war in the first episode, and now, only one episode later, is fighting on the frontline in a war and deciding to continue doing so. Yeah, I know it’s because her dad told her to “protect” and stuff, but still, someone as headstrong and stubborn as Yoshika changing her mind about a very strongly held view like that in such a short period of time? I want to see how this plays out.

Part of the reason may have been that scene at Dr. Miyafuji’s grave. That was pretty unconfortable, wasn’t it? That seiyuu of Yoshika can certainly do a convincing wail of grief.

Part of me wants to believe that issues like the stance on war of Yoshika will be on the front burner in the future, but the other part is telling the first part not to get it’s hopes up. I don’t want to have high expectations only to find that this is just another fanservice show with some battle scenes and chichéd moe characters in-between and there is nothing of substance beneath it all. The ears and tail of the Witches ceremoniously popping out every time they use magic doesn’t really put my mind at ease on this front. I can see no other reason for this design choice other than to appeal to the furry fans.

Despite all this, I’ll probably watch Strike Witches no matter how “bad” it may get. Because the producers obviously know the appeal of these types of shows and actively cater for it. I certainly fell for it.