Strike Witches (Japanese: ストライクウィッチーズ, Hepburn: Sutoraiku Witchīzu) is a Japanese media mix franchise originally created by Fumikane Shimada via a series of magazine illustration columns. The illustrations have since inspired several official light novel, manga, and anime series and various video games. The series revolves around teenage moe anthropomorphic girls who use machines attached to their legs to do aerial combat. The original video animation (OVA) preview episode was released in January 2007. The televised anime series later aired between July and September 2008. A second season aired between July and September 2010. A standalone film that continues the storyline was released in March 2012 and a three-part OVA series was released between September 2014 and May 2015. A third season aired from October to December 2020. A spin-off, titled Brave Witches, aired from October to December 2016, and a second spin-off, Luminous Witches, aired from July to September 2022.
Plot
On an alternate Earth during the World War II era, the world has been invaded by a mysterious alien force known as the Neuroi who take on forms similar to aircraft and spread a corrosive miasma. As a result, the armed forces of the world have allied together to combat the Neuroi threat instead of fighting among themselves. As the regular weaponry have no effect against the Neuroi's technology, the military instead calls upon Witches, young girls who possess magical abilities capable of fighting against the Neuroi. The Witches, who are inspired by famous real-life pilots, grow animal ears and tails when using their magic, and can use special machines known as Striker Units, which feature designs based on real-life aircraft, to fly through the sky and increase the strength of their magical ability in combat. The light novel series follows the Suomus Independent Volunteer Aerial Squadron, focusing on a dogfighter named Tomoko Anabuki. The main anime franchise follows Yoshika Miyafuji, a girl from the Fuso Empire who joins the titular Strike Witches to investigate the death of her father and help fight off the Neuroi. The spin-off anime series, Brave Witches, follows a Fuso girl named Hikari Karibuchi, who joins the titular Brave Witches to fight in the place of her injured sister Takami.
Production In a postscript column in Comp Ace, Fumikane Shimada had mentioned his desire to use his Mecha Musume concepts across a variety of media, leading to the production of the Strike Witches OVA by Gonzo. However, at about the same time Fumikane was also contracted to create the character designs for Sky Girls, which had its televised run in late 2007. During this time there was no word on the further development of a Strike Witches animated series, although promotional items such as plastic figures of the OVA's characters were released. Not until December 2007 was the anime officially announced, after which details were slowly released, such as the casting of the remaining main characters that had no lines in the OVA.
Media
Light novels Three separate light novel series have been published. The first, Strike Witches: Suomus Misfits Squadron (ストライクウィッチーズ： スオムスいらん子中隊, Sutoraiku Wichīzu: Iranko Chūtai), was written by Noboru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Hashigo Ueda. The first volume was published on September 30, 2006, and the third and last on June 28, 2008. The Suomus Misfits Squadron series is set in a different time period and location from the anime, and uses a different cast of characters. A reboot of the first series of light novels began in October 2018. It is written by Toshihiko Tsukiji and illustrated by Kōsuke Tsukinami. As of October 2020 four volumes have been published using the title Silent Witches Suoms Iranko Company ReBOOT!. The second light novel series, titled Strike Witches: Maidens' Volume (ストライクウィッチーズ： 乙女ノ巻, Sutoraiku Wichīzu: Otome no Maki), was written by Hidehisa Nanbō and illustrated by Hashigo Ueda. As of June 30, 2010, the fourth and last volume has been published. The publication of this series coincided with the anime television series, and uses the same cast of characters; however, while some of the chapters are adaptations of the anime episodes, several are original. The third light novel series Noble Witches (ノーブルウィッチーズ, Nōburu Wichīzu) is the stories about the 506th Joint Fighter Wing. The timeline of the story happens in between from the beginning of the Season 2 anime to the before of the film. It is authored by Hidehisa Nanbō. The first volume was published in Japan on 1 January 2015. Volume 2 was published on 1 May 2015 and Volume 3 is published on 1 October 2015. Volume 4 was published on 1 March 2016 and volume 5 was published on 1 November 2016. The latest volume 8 was published on 1 May 2018. There are versions with the five original CD dramas from volumes 3 to 7.
Manga There are ten manga series of Strike Witches:
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
