It's easier to think of Strike Witches more as unfulfilling pornography than a more traditional, coherent series; all the hallmarks are present: copious nudity, low camera angles, paper-thin plot, a cast reduced to caricatures, fake lesbianism and innumerable fetishes. It makes it more enjoyable to watch with this in mind as no longer can it be held to the same standards as other series - were that to happen one would likely not make it past the first five minutes of hackneyed, tedious plotting and be reduced to apoplectic cursing within ten. Instead, this is a brainless, fluffy, occasionally uncomfortable but mildly entertaining series that, like porn, walks the line between guilty pleasure and stupefying incredulity.
it echoes a studio desperate for a widespread hit - and what better way than firing as much ammunition as possible with the hope that some of it will hit?
Yoshika is a witch in her native country of Japan (Fuso in the series parlance). Her powers make her a perfect candidate for the Strike Witches, a group of young girls who use magic-enhancing machinery to fight against the Neuroi - enigmatic alien aggressors who have razed most of mainland Europe. Initially adverse to the idea, Yoshika's quest to find her father inevitably leads her into the force which consists of girls of various ages from all over the world from the British Lynette - a sharpshooter in training, to the German Erica - a fantastically talented but slovenly combatant, to the ghostly and clairvoyant Sanya. Yoshika's battle against the Neuroi may have only just begun, but she may be the key to turning the tide against them for good.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
Takashi Watanabe obviously woke up one morning, head still groggy from a night of drink, drugs and debauchery, one hand clutching a napkin with a list scrawled on it - ninjas, cyborgs, magic, gods, dragons, breasts - and in the other a production contract, sloppily signed by himself. There is no way else a series as bonkers as Ichiban Ushiro no Daimou could have been born except from some ill-informed bet or dare. Cramming this amount of content into twelve episodes means dispensing with a consistent art-style, rounded characters and coherent storytelling; that the series hangs together at all depends entirely on the infectious enthusiasm and deviant pleasure of wondering where the story could possibly go next.
a show that Michael Bay would create if he were a long time anime fan, slightly deranged and on the breadline
Despite Akuto Sai's desire to become a High Priest - a peerless champion for good - his Constant Magick Academy aptitude test predicts he will become a fearsome Demon King. Panic amongst the student population ensues and although Akuto remains defiant, forces begin to align themselves both for and against his ascension. Ancient clans such as the samurai Hattori and black magic Etou become involved, just as the ruling government sends an android to keep watch; Akuto isn't alone however, his childhood friend Keena and spirited minion Hiroshi stand by him, doubly so when the fearsome dragon and loyal servant of the Demon King Peterhausen is unearthed. Akuto's plan to remake the system of gods and scriptures may yet come to pass, though maybe not with him as the soldier of justice he envisioned.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
Another series another lascivious story seed, this time with the formation of a high school underwear club by a girl smitten with all things underwear. Rolling one's eyes and ploughing into the first three episodes of Chu-Bra!! it becomes increasingly apparent that this isn't the naughty teenage giggle parade that is expected from such a premise. Instead it is a charmingly sexless celebration of a girl whose passion is looked upon with disdain by the prudish or antagonistic students of a school that is all but aligned against her, a situation easy to relate to in principle if not in implementation.
Hiroki, who suffers from a rare form of underwear paralysis
At the entrance ceremony of middle school, Nayu embarrasses herself by tripping up when called to give the opening speech; this also inadvertently exposes her adult underwear to an unsuspecting student body who begin to circulate rumours about her partaking of compensated dating and other less wholesome activities. In reality however Nayu simply loves underwear, despite her adoration resulting in her being a pariah since junior school, it takes some investigation but two classmates, Yako and Haruka, discover the truth behind Nayu and become fast friends with her. As Nayu's confidence grows she suggests the formation of an underwear club, however this is met with resistance from the uptight head of the more generic handicrafts club and finding members proves an uphill struggle, even if she is wearing the brassier and panties her grandmother gifted her.
Around the ending credits of the second episode one realises that they've just watched a flock of women's underwear take flight, some with mock jet-streams behind them. That the key element of Sora no Otoshimono's story - a busty, docile angel that fell from a hole in the sky - is the most tame concept of the series demonstrates how abjectly bizarre it is. The opening episode starts out tritely enough but then plunges into bizarre areas as a mostly naked teen runs rampant around his school which is frozen in time, until the penultimate closing scene where everyone in the world apart from the protagonist and fallen angel have evaporated. Were it not borderline misogynistic towards the female cast, this would be a surreal but enjoyable show.
they can alter reality on a whim but not manufacture some more discreet clothing
The sparsely dressed angel that is ground-zero for the ensuing bedlam is completely obedient and accommodating towards the reprehensibly crude lead, Sakurai; the master-slave situation is instantly repulsive, more so that the master of the pair pays little to no attention to her beyond barking orders. The obscenity continues when an order goes awry and causes the other lead female, Mitsuki, to be sans underwear and handcuffed for a large portion of the episode. The first three episodes are intermittently funny but an undercurrent of repugnance sours the otherwise competent show.
There are many good panty episodes in anime: episode four of Mai-HiME springs to mind as one, episode three of Yoku wakaru gendai mahou is not. Whereas the former had comic timing well beyond what one would have expected its studio to be able to produce, the latter is tawdry, boring tripe and is just the crowning achievement of an another muddled and bland instalment in the chicks-with-sticks and magic genre.
arcane magic of the hand-waving, runic variety and the "modern" magic of binary and cellphones
The series opens strongly with a battle against a sharply dressed wizard by two small girls who promptly get pummelled; rewinding six hours, the viewer is then treated to the first (and likely not the last) exposure of a criminally underage girl's posterior - while being chased by the impossibly sedate antagonist and engaging in some cryptic dialogue with other notable cast members. The public display of flesh is uncomfortable viewing, not only for the implied age of the participant but the futility of its inclusion - lacking any development of characters or story, it borders on pornography. From this low starting point, the first three episodes stumble haphazardly around like a late-night drunkard: first episode events are neither explained or explored and it's only upon reflection that the upcoming twist is made obvious. Elsewhere, characters who were no more than bystanders are now learning magic with the protagonist while incidents are nothing more than contrivances for character collisions. All of this set to a constant barrage of camera angles designed to place the poorly drawn breasts of the more well endowed females front-and-centre.
