Watched the movie with UW subs just now. Can't say I liked it. It felt like an extra-length episode of the series - specifically, episode 12 of season 2, complete with boundless, unceasing Yoshika-worship. Not only she hogs the screen constantly, other characters can't shut up about how wonderful and amazing she is. If she's your favorite character I guess you're in for a treat, but if you like any other character, "HAHAHA FUCK YOU" is what you get.

(Especially if you wanted to see Eila, Sanya or Sakamoto. Their role is little more than a meaningless cameo and lasts maybe two minutes.)

There were some individual good parts. I liked the segment where Yoshika fights the neuroi without magic and has to employ clever tactics instead of just overpowering her way through. But overall not only was the movie aggravatingly focused on putting one character on a pedestal above others, its events felt small and of little importance; there's just random slice-of life until the Neuroi Of The Week appears and is swiftly defeated, just like in the series proper.

I'm disappointed.

>>4913

Oh, and Yoshika gets her magic back by just wanting it back. That is just terrible writing.

>>4913
I agree. It's not that it is not good. There are bits and pieces that really look good by it self, but overall the movie seems plain. Instead of a full feature movie, it feels like they are just slamming three episodes of TV-quality stories and make it looks like a 90-mins season 3 teaser, (especially seeing how they put TBC at the end).

When I heard there's a part for 502 I was really looking forward to it, but that part just last, idk, 5 mins? SAD. I wish there were more... (Good thing is that two of 502 now have their own CVs, and I'm hoping at least they will get more coverage in the very likely season 3)

I do like the Erika and Barkhorn parts, and is quite happy to see that the little details that didn't appear in the TV series were being taken care of, such as MP40 and the part where Barkhorn changes her MG42's red hot barrels. The tanks and ships were also very well drawn, even having water ripples when the cannons were firing.

Let's hope there're more World Witches coverage in S3...

Do they at least go back to the awesome instrumental scoring of Season 1?

Funnily enough the one thing about the Season 2 finale that made me want to punch the TV wasn't all the ERMAGERD YERSHIKA AWSUM nonsense, but the fact they just rammed 'Open Sky' in, when I was long sick of it from the start ... or end of the episodes, wherever the hell they put it and was jonesing HARD for 'Striker-no-hishou'.

>>4914

Yeah that part kind of came out of nowhere, even though we all knew it was going to happen.

I was hoping they would've found at least some clever way of making her get her power back instead of just.. getting it back.

Still completing my download but judging your comments, it feels like I'll hate Takamura even more after watching the movie.

>>4922
The movie is just like first two seasons but with a better quality, there is nothing conceptually new here. And yes, I really enjoyed it again.

>>4923
>The movie is just like first two seasons but with a better quality
>better quality

I wouldn't say so. I didn't see anything better in the movie than what it was in the TV series. It really felt like an extra-length episode of the series, not a movie with a movie-level budget.

For me it made me wonder why I liked this series to begin with, since it was so dull and spent so much time on two characters that, I understand, Humikane didn't even originally invent.

>I didn't see anything better in the movie than what it was in the TV series
Animation quality(character animation, battle scenes(MASSIVE battle in the first minutes)), attention to detail(barrel change for MG 42) and so on...

>>4924
I assume one of them is Shizuka right? Idk all the other Witches seem to be Humikane's daughters since most of them are from World Witches drawings

Everyone's opinions are totally valid.

For me:
Pros:
-I really enjoyed seeing Nipa and the 504th
-I appreciated the fact there was some new SW content and that Humikane is still developing the SW universe
-I liked seeing the characters aside from Yoshika and Shizuka interacting with each other
-I loved the gondola race
-As someone else said, I enjoyed the weapons and technicalities of Barkhorn and Hartmann's weapons

Cons:
-Movie centred around Yoshika and Shizuka (too much screen time I think)
-I wish I saw more of Sanya and Eila, not to mention the rest of the 502nd. Why bother even having a screen pan of the 502nd if there is no character development?
-While I appreciated the new neuroi, at the same time, the creativity disappointed me. Not like I would have been able to come up with anything more original myself, however.
-I waited for a year for the blu-ray to be released and subbed, and honestly, my expectations that I built up over the year were not met (I should not have had expectations to begin with)

Overall, I am thankful there is more SW content, but at the same time, it was not what I expected. I give it a 6/10

>>4929
Nah Shizuka and Yoshika are both Humikane's creation.
It's just that the animation director's bad work that make them look that bad. Especially Shizuka, she looks so out of place in the entire movie...
When the initial design of Shizuka came out from Humikane I was kinda like it.

I find the subs to be hard to follow. Some of the jargon is misplaced or could be said better. I'm not very impressed by the subbing.

However, the movie itself was fun :D I liked it. Got my biannual dose of strike witches :P

>>4914
Yeah that was silly :P

Great movie!

Now if I could only find Heidemarie's bonus drama CD...

Any other group that will sub this? Just for the reference.

>>4977
Srike Subbers are putting together a sub. It's going to be less focused on pure translation and more focused on fluency between lines. It's worth looking into I guess.

Not sure when it'll be out. Maybe in the nest few days.

The whole film just feels like something made by people who love what they do for the fans who love what they made. I couldn't really ask for anything else.

I also got the main thing I wanted from the film which was Mio flying a biplane, the only thing that would have made it better for me was if Yoshika hadn't gotten here magic back and instead was stood on the plane with Mio fighting, because there's nothing a Witch can't do.

>>4987
>The whole film just feels like something made by people who love what they do for the fans who love what they made.

...Is that a really roundabout way to say "the film is made by Yoshika fans, for Yoshika fans?"

If so, I agree. That's exactly what it feels like.

liked:
-nipa getting struck by lightning

disliked:
hartman being useless outside of flying

>>5089
But that's entirely her character... Also found this:

http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=torrentinfo&tid=378327

>>5088

I wish she had more screen-time. Everything could use more Nipa.

HELMA FUCKING WHERE? HUMIKANE WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN US?

>>5212
There was better characters to take care of.

>>5236

Like focus 85% of time movie in Yoshika?

>>5237
And Hattori.

And fucking michiko

And Amelie

And well...
mainly Yoshika and Hattori, like I'd go so far as to say 90% of it is them. Sanya and Eila get 1% and Nipa .1%

>>5237
They had to find some way of getting Yoshika back to the front. I think it was a necessary sacrifice to continue the story.

>>5238
I would not go so far as to say 90%. A large portion was taken out for Lucchini and Shirley as well as Hartmann and Barkhorn. Yoshika was just the focus of it.

The problem is...

what if the third season it will be focus again only in Yoshika?

There is probably that the scenario can be Karlsland, so, that mean that the 502 can take a very important participation........OR MAYBE NOT

>>5241

Look, they increasingly can't even be bothered to let their Actual cast of characters rob the limelight from Yoshika the unique-and-special-snowflake. Stop deluding yourselves they are just going to toss them to the side, or, heaven forefend have them share airtime with your waifus-of-choice. It's not happening.

>>5241
I have to agree with >>5242
It WILL be about Yoshika and there's nothing you can do about it. So you can either like it or you can deal with it. I personally find Yoshika's character to be charming and essentiall to hold the cast together. I can't really see the 501st without Yoshika.

Also forget about seeing a season with another JFW... If anything, they'll have friends visit from other JFWs.

Third Season will most likely focus on Shizuka's admittance into the 501st. At least that's what I believe

I for one just wished Yoshika's character growth and development was well made, not like an instant wham upgrade, just-add-a-cup-of-a-fucked-up-situation.

I guess that's one disadvantage of having to cram in 11 or more characters in 12 episodes of a season.

What are the chances of seeing another JFW on the spotlight? Have another studio animate them entirely and not AIC, or perhaps, AIC but have another set of directors and scriptwriters. Kinda like a Sidestory adaption.


..which is unlikely to happen.

Otherwise we have to stick to other media, particularly the doujins for our daily dose of World Witches.

It wasn't as bad as you made it out to be. Maybe because I knew it'd be full on Miyafujesus show and didn't expect much. But all previously mentioned critique is still 110% valid.

>>5262
Miyafujesus LOL!
I wonder if she can walk on water and turn breads into girls with big breasts.

>>5263
No idea about that, but at least she can fuck up a series royally.

>>5320
Did you mean to post save a series?

>>5329
I'm pretty sure the ending ruined everything.

>>5346
I don't know if you noticed, but Miyafuji (honestly the main character of strike witches the anime so far(Even if I would like focus on more witches)) is able to fly again. The entire 501st is together and they fly off into the distant horizon ready to take on new threats in Karlsland in hopes to liberate it from the oppressing Neuroi...

That smells like a new season to me. And I'll be damned if I'm going to complain about it.

>>5347
I'm going to complain about that horrible character deus ex machining her powers back, that's pretty much it.

>>5368
Alright then.

I've been away from the Strike Witches thing for over a year now, and just decided to watch the movie. I was surprised at all of the little details I remembered. Overall, it was a pretty interesting movie. I thought it was pretty short, and they moved through events rather quickly with pretty abrupt transitions. I supposed that's the nature of a movie, but I feel like it's the same kind of story that they could have stretched out into a whole season if they wanted to.

Just like in season 2, there were a ridiculous amount of times that I said, "Wait, how did that happen?!" But in similar fashion, I just simply went with the flow and said, "Uh, ok, magic." Like for example Miyafuji being able to take out that Neuroi without any magic at all despite legions of human men not being able to do so EVER. Whatever.

And how did Sakamoto know to carry Shinden around with her? Well, I suppose that's something they'll have to answer on a drama CD that comes with the season 3 BDs or something.

Finally, this movie really showed off how Heidemarie is a boss. She's like 14 years old with a higher rank than Barkhorn and she soloed that one Neuroi whereas it took 5 of them in Venezia to destroy the same type. And then at the end, she was pretty much an honorary member of the 501st. I don't like her in a waifu sort of way, but I respect her a lot.

I have a few things to say.

Firstly, a thought concerning all this Miyafuji hate. (Yes, hate) It is one thing to not like the character and therefore not like the series based upon her, (notice I said series, not 'movie') but it is another thing to straight up deem the movie 'bad'. "I didn't like the movie because miyafuji" is a valid opinion. "The movie is bad because miyafuji" is an immature remark. This is my first thought: some of you are too immature to make a well formed opinion. So hush yourselves, alright?

I would also like to point out that Miyafuji was always the main character of the series. Don't kid yourselves. Sure, there were episodes focused on each character's struggles (Perrine's restoration of Gallia, Gertrude's sister to name a few) but the story was always about Yoshika's journey from an innocent, gifted student to a revered hero of a nation.

Many people have hated Miyafuji since season 1. "UGH I HATE HOW MIYAFUJI IS MAIN CHARACTER WUR IS MAI WAIFU TAKAHAKAMOKO SAN SAMA CHAN???" (I swear that is the most I will mock anybody in this post. Sorry.) Personally I think they did a good job with Miyafuji from S1E1 to the end of the movie. There were a lot of character-developing moments throughout that time. She has witnessed numerous deaths, grieved the loss of her father, nearly lost some of her comrades.. including her own life. Strike Witches is and always will be the story of that girl's journey through life. If you don't like it, that is fine. But don't come in here with LOL MOVIE SUCKED MIYAFUJI SUCKS BAD WRITING FAIL MOVIE PCE. You just look like a clown.

Lastly... yes I will agree that the method in which they gave Yoshika her powers back was... disappointing. I won't say it was lazy, even though it feels lazy. It was just a bit of a stretch. Unlike many people in this post, I won't criticize the 'plausability' of it (for god sake people, you're watching 14-16 year old girls fly around in legplanes with magical powers... you're like the people in theater for a Mission Impossible flick going "THATS IMPOSSIBLE WTF!!" at every explosion) Personally I was hoping for something to do with her father, or perhaps some sort of "gifting" of magic from the rest of the 501st. Cheesy, I know. Perhaps she could have remained powerless until midway through season 3? I lke the suggestion from anon earlier about Yoshika remaining powerless and hopping i the plane with Sakamoto. But... lets face it, the series probably should have ended in S2... so if you're going to continue the series, Miyafuji needs to fly.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I have always enjoyed the series even though If I were the creator I would have done certain parts of S1/S2/Movie differently. I will agree certain witches needed more screen time. Perrine has always been one of my favorites, and it was a shame to see her mellowed out on morphine. I was waiting for her to have an iconic spazz-attack towards Miyafuji. The scenes with Lucchini/Yeager and Hartmann/Barkhorn were cute, and often times funny. I'll probably remember those scenes the most along with Miyafuji's powerless "last stand" against the tower neuroi. The movie works well with the series.

>>5633
I'm sorry but have you listened to yourself or anyone else for that matter?
"...But the whole show is about little girls flying around in plane legs." is a poor excuse regardless of how you cut it. Miyafuji's powers came back out of nowhere, no foreshadowing, nothing, she just willed them back and it happened despite 'losing' her powers at the end of season 2. If you wrote the plot down and edited it into a book, you'd get laughed out of the room by every publisher outside Japan.

What you have to understand is that even if it is 'magic' any plot twist still has to fall within the realms of believability established by the setting. Or rather the 'laws' of the setting.

For example, most magical abilities shown so far tend to enhance the attributes of a witch to a certain degree,Gertrud gains super strength, Sanya gains a heightened perception that allows her to detect Neuroi. However if a witch suddenly showed up who could spit acid from her mouth, it would look kind of odd, since it's outwith the currently established laws of the setting.

In the same respect, Miyafuji regaining her powers is much the same. And by no means did she need to regain them. There are plenty of other witches that could become the MC of a hypothetical 3rd season, after all, it would seem queerer still, if they attempted to shoe horn her into a new group, right?

Again coming back to the pre established rules of the setting, at the beginning of the film, a bunch of soldiers getting fucked over by the neuroi. Jump forward and hour and Shizuka is fighting the tower neuroi, even with her magical powers, she isn't able to take it down but then Miyafuki with a machine gun and a car is?

Considering that a group of professional soldiers couldn't take down the same neuroi, that Shizuka couldn't either, doesn't it seem strange that Miyafuji could with no powers? Surely if it was that easy, then there wouldn't be a neuroi war because everyone would be standing outside guns in hand, ready to take on any threats.

Though it isn't as much of an asspull as regaining her powers, it still seems ridiculous to accept that a 15 year old girl could do what a group of trained men and a witch couldn't do.

Then there's the Fuso ship on the Rhine, which seems like a little bit of a stretch since the Rhine isn't really deep enough to support a battleship, especially further inland. And even then, how did they even know to anchor there?
Further more, as some one else already pointed out, how did Mio even know to bring the strikers and why was she even flying a plane? It doesn't seem like it would have made much sense for her to learn before losing her powers because she could already fly anyway.

I understand the first two seasons and the movie are supposed to focus on Yoshika since she is the main character but it doesn't mean she could eclipse the other characters either, this isn't Shonen Jump, it is okay for the main character to be on par with the others rather than being leagues ahead in 'raw power' by defacto.

If you want to read a decent story with endearing characters set in the same universe, then go read the 1.5 manga and especially the Witches of Afrika & Witches of the sphinx doujinshi. Thought the final volume is a little weaker it's a good indication of the potential the series has. Even Dan Kanemitsu's short story in the 5th volume, turned out to be a more enjoyable than the movie, because it didn't rely on 'magic' to explain everything and instead showcased creativity in the practical use of weapons that were available to everyone in the squad.

>>5634
>Shizuka
No previous combat experience. She was a complete rookie.
>Yamato on the Rhine
It had floats attached to the sides. Silly, but they're there.
>Mio, strikers, plane
Valid question. If it ever gets explained, I'll bet she was somehow privy to the fact that Yoshika would be getting her magic back.

>>5634
I so like your post.

I share the same thoughts as you. I just couldn't pull it together and turn it into a post.

I personally liked the Afrika Doujins more, hoping another studio would adapt it into anime. Surprisingly it seems to have lesser fanservice than most Strike Witches Adaptions.

>>5634

to be fair, Charlotte knew how to fly a plane in the first season, so while the timing is suspect the fact that Mio can fly a plane is not.

>>5638
True though I think it makes more sense that Charlotte knows how to fly a plane, since she's all about speed.

>>5634
Good sir, I recommend reading the prequel short story of Maj. Sakamoto and salvage of Yamato published in the movie "complete file"
It will answer most of the questions you have regarding the two.

Seeing all the interviews make me feel sorry for Suzuki.
He's always cleaning up the mess Takamura made.
After all, he is the co-creator of the Strike Witches alongside humikane.

This may not be a movie matter but pertains to Strike Witches as a whole.

Anyone noticed how the propellers of striker units depicted differently in the anime, manga and official humikane illustrations?

and the anime we see that glowing-aura type propellers but in the manga and humikane versions, they're like the usual propellers we see in the real world, pretty much opaque.

>>5641
There's also a difference between the two seasons, with Humikane style in the first and shiny in the second.

>>5634

You didn't even read my post. Clearly you just scanned it and noticed I said I enjoyed the movie, assumed a bunch of garbage and spat it out at me. I said the method in which Miyafuji got her powers back was lazy, could have been done much better, but was necessary in order to continue the plot for a third season. Not only that, I said they probably shouldn't have done a movie and let the plot rest at season 2.
I struggled with reading your entire point. I really did. A big list of opinions being forced on me as 'fact'. Thanks for that. But I might as well address them specifically. Firstly, yeah her 'I need magic now pls' method of regaining her magic was lazy. I said that. Secondly, Sakamoto bringing the striker unit... again, lazy. I don't think anybody here is arguing against that. Thirdly, I want to say... in my opinion, there is no point in arguing realism. You say the Rhine isn't deep enough, I say most of the earth was changed. You say magic regaining not plausible, I say fantasy genre. What is the point, we'll probably never agree as they're both opinions.
I think that is the biggest factor in why I can enjoy the movie and others here can't. Some people need everything to line up perfectly in order to enjoy the movie.. they cling to inaccuracies or small bits of poor writing. Again the only point of my post was to tell people to stop acting like them not liking the movie = the movie is factually bad. I don't know why I tried to change POVs on the internet, I guess I was just annoyed and acted on impulse.
Again, the only thing I'm defending is her powers needed to come back for a third season. We ALL agree on everything else. The only difference is I liked the movie, and many here didn't.