Strike Witches episode 12 END ~ “…Happily ever after”

Sometimes you just have to laugh at the situation

Well its been one week and 3 days, but I’ve finally managed to have some time for myself to watch the last episode of this fun little series.

Thoughts: First thing’s first, Yoshika still fails to appeal to me. No matter how hard she tries to say things like ” I will protect you”, at the end of the day, they are all just the words of a naive little girl. Yet, I can’t help but feel frustration that she gained recognition for saving the day “all by herself” (or at least the image is getting from everyone else). If you would just take a look at how she fought the Warlock…I still don’t think she knows the difference between a friend or foe. The real heroes for me were Charlotte (who saved Mio and Perrine) and Perrine herself for not losing her temper after both Yoshika and Lynette lost their weapons (what the…).

However, despite the focus and fame being placed on someone who isn’t deserving of it at all, I have to say that this was quite a fitting end (if not also abit confusing) to the series. The action, suspense and even drama was played out quite well during the crucial scenes, which I am grateful for but again, why the heck is everyone admitting to have been in the wrong about Yoshika’s previous actions? Talk about a mood killer for me.

It was a surprise to see the Warlock taken down so easily by Lynette…then again, Yoshika was too busy trying to befriend it with no success. But to my pleasant surprise, to have the Warlock fuse with the ship thus the continuation with the battle was great to see (I mean, having all the witches sortie only to be late for the party would have been such a disappointment).

But after the fight and “blah blah” there was still one thing I just couldn’t get my head around…and that is the entire neuroi hive disappearing into thin air? What was that and where was the explanation for it? Heck I am still waiting for an explanation for the human shaped neuroi who first contacted Yoshika but seen as the series has just ended I guess we won’t be getting anything.

Another thing was how they also disbanded the 501st Joint Fighter Wing right after the battle…again. I know that the world still isn’t safe from a neuroi attack seen as this was only one hive out of numerous others so the decision to completely disband and for everyone to go back to their normal lives was rather odd for me. What about various other places where the war is still raging on or am I missing something here?

The epilogue was done quite nicely though giving us snap shots of what everyone else is doing (and going about with their yuri ways). However, I was surprised that Perrine wasn’t with Mio but with Yoshika’s Yuri lover who in turn should have been sticking to Yoshika like slime. Booooo!

But all doesn’t seem lost…not at all with a final “lulz” moment for Yoshika like that. Rather than a full closure, the letter at the end seemed more like an invitation to a second season for me. I personally wouldn’t mind one either as I really enjoyed this series as being one of those “guilty pleasure” series.

Screen caps and “wise guy” comments:

Hurry and go give her some backup…wait…what am I saying

Yippie!

Long story short, I just love listening to her voice however pointless it may be

I don’t know…what do you think?

Then!? What is there to “then” about, just shoot it down!

Why are you tryng to touch it!!

You don’t say…I thought it was santa, and santa is most definitely not your enemy

Dere dere ❤

I think perrine wouldn’t mind dying like that

The real heroes of the series

A flying ship

It has become God! Muhahaha

“Lucchini bullet!”

Noobs >.>

Noooooo!

Nooooo she isn’t ;_____;

I have to thank GONZO for the lack pants…Minna’s underwear *___*

Awwwwwww

Awwwwwwww

Poor Perrine

But at least Mio is having fun

Cue in season 2 ~ the search for Yoshika’s father saga

Overall series impressions:

I have to stress again, despite my innate hate for Yoshika as respectable character who deserves all her fame, it sure was enjoyable to be able to bitch about her like I did. She is ultimately an object of hate for me and a good one at that. There are some character I hate “hating” but thankfully Yoshika was of the other group and so my enjoyment of the series was never affected by he stunts. I just laugh them off as I go along.

As a series…a “mecha”/military/female-war series, I would definitely put this one over Sky Girls any day. The reason is simple, Strike witches doesn’t make me want to fall asleep like what Sky Girls did. This series has an extensive cast bursting with different personalities and though it was short, I really enjoyed what became of those short introductions.

If there was really any fault in the storytelling was the fact that it was short. The series was just too short to go into much depth with the characters so what we got was basically their “surface” characters. I would have very much liked to see more about each of them being developed and overall having fun together.

The plot of the series was fairly repetitive, featuring neuroi of the week type enemies with no explanation. The lack of neuroi origin and background also disturbed me as I don’t really feel the sense of despair they have cause (probably because the Witches have always won their battles). But for a cheap plot driver, it wasn’t so bad.
I just hope that they have a proper closure come the next season (not saying that it is anything confirmed, but I damn well hope we do get one).

For me, this was another GONZO title which shows us that they can produce enjoyable series even on a light hearted level. The cast really made the series more enjoyable for me and not forgetting the great voice acting. The series is solid if you are looking for some fun and don’t really care for any seriousness but at rare times it still manages to touch on a few emotions which can be quite moving.
I think this is a great series and that isn’t just because of being blinded by service. In fact, this type of service was more of a treat and heck of a lot more tasteful than the type feature on another kemonomimi series…

Overall rating; 8/10