Strike Witches 2 | Guns and lolis?

ALRIGHT. Sometimes, Japan decides it would be cool to do something like this, a weird concept like Strike Witches. Loli + Guns = Strike Witches. This by far is a very interesting concept, and it seemed to have caught on with other more recent Anime.

However, nevertheless, it is time to explore the Anime that is Strike Witches 2. Yes, not Strike Witches 1 but 2 #TwoSeasons.

After discovering that Neuroi are capable of communication with humans and making peace with the nest above Gallia the Witches squads are now on a mission to re-establish communication when a sudden attack vanishes the Neuroi; they now discover a new and massive nest that just appeared covering almost all Europe. Ruthless and without mercy it annihilates allied forces along with Witches. Word of the attack reaches Fuso and a support battalion is deployed to rescue the survivors. Among the rescue team is the former Striker captain Mio Sakamoto and the now civilian Yoshika Miyafuji who want to save their dear friends. – MyAnimeList

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Strike Witches 2 follows a very similar arrangement to the first series. While lacking in any real plot innovation, it expands on character development and adds some traditional “necessities” such as a beach episode. If you liked the first season despite its lacklustre plot, you probably enjoyed the character interactions. If that is the case then this series is for you. If you found the first series too ecchi, too boring, or just unorganized, you’ll find more of the same here.

Animation:
I think they upped the animation budget for this sequel. Within the first five minutes, you can tell that more attention has been given to the battle scenes and the choreography. The overall animation style is identical to the first series, the only major change being that the setting has moved to the Mediterranean. My version this time was not the DVD release so there were lots of god rays. There is still significant CGI, especially towards the end of the series and with the Neuroi, but overall it isn’t too distracting.

Sound:
The OP is a refreshing mix that I find superior to the original’s OP. The ED reminds me way too much of the ED to Infinite Stratos, though in this case, Infinite Stratos is still better. Overall, they both fit the theme and mood of the series quite well. The BGM is similar to the first series with a heavy focus on military drums and orchestral instruments. The VAs are the same as the original series. Ascertain episodes focus on certain Witches, particularly those that didn’t get much attention in the first series, the airtime of the VAs differs significantly from the first series.

Story:
The story follows almost an identical path to the first series. The series starts and finishes with a plot focus but has lots of episodic episodes in the middle exploring character relations and histories. Like the first series, the ending is a rushed and pretty hilariously bad climax.

What bothered me the most was that a lot of unanswered questions that I had from the first series (that I hoped would be answered) were not. The only one that is really explored in depth is the origin of the name “witches”. Men are also portrayed in a slightly negative way in the series, like the first series. Either they are the useless people manning ships destined for destruction or are mysterious military big-wigs that seem more focused on the political impression that the loss of their men or witches. In summary, don’t expect much in this department.

Character:
Character interactions, if anything is even better in this series. Whereas Miyafuji spent the first series getting familiar to the other witches, now we see them interacting like normal friends. We also see a lot more of the personalities of some of the witches that were somewhat “shelved” in the first series. While there isn’t a terrible amount of actual development, seeing how their different personalities mesh was quite enjoyable, though mind some interactions are borderline yuri.

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