(L) Strike Witches TV (Mecha Musume)

[asaqe]

Originally Posted by Keroko

*shudders* I like the idea of the art, but the ribs makes it look like she's suffering from malnutrition. >_<

Realistic physical features has its disadvantages...

[selkirk]

Air Infantry around the World

Heidemarie W. Schnaufer (15 years old in '44)
Service: Karslander Air Force (Karlsländer Luftwaffe)
Familiar: Gyrfalcon
Rank: Captain (Hauptmann)

Karlsland's top night witch (nachthexe).
By the end of 1944, she was nearing a shot-down count of 100, all of which were scored in air combat at night.

Together with a magic radar antenna, a tell-tale feature of a night witch, she has a special night vision ability which allows her to see clearly through darkness by starlight.

As a child she had trouble controlling this night vision ability, and thus went through much of her life indoors in dimly lit conditions.
At the age of 10, she was admitted into a witch training program, and as she learned to control her powers, her talent as a night witch blossomed.

Soon, her night vision ability would no longer spontaneously activate, but the visual neurones which had already been damaged could not be healed even with magic, so she usually wears glasses with a strong prescription.

As if in response to her lonely childhood, she has a strong desire to make friends with others her age, which is surprising, especially in a night witch.

A currently serving night-fighter air infantryman in 1944.
Once she reaches 100 victories, she will be promoted to Major (Major), becoming Karlsland's youngest combat air wing commander (geschwaderkommodore).

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by Keroko

*shudders* I like the idea of the art, but the ribs makes it look like she's suffering from malnutrition. >_<

lol that's like pasting an anime-shaped head on a WW2 pin-up art

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by asaqe

Realistic physical features has its disadvantages...

Clearly. If the Strike Withes art style was realistic to begin with, it wouldn't be as noticeable. But this is anime, and its 'smooth curves all around' style to boot. To say it looks awkward would be putting it lightly.

[selkirk]

Alright, just finished all the Air Infantry around the World profiles . I'll just put all of the other ones here as well, for easy referencing if it's ever needed.

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Helma Lennartz (13 years old in '44)
Service: Karslander Air Force (Karlsländer Luftwaffe)
Familiar: Black cat

A member of the evaluation squad currently performing field tests on etherjet Strikers (usually known simply as jet Strikers).

Ever since the inception of the Preliminary Evaluation Squadron (Vorerprobungskommando), the squadron had been assembling accomplished and even elite veteran aces from all over the Karlslander Air Force. At only 13 years of age, and with a relatively short military career, Lennartz's selection was something of an oddity.

Overly serious and methodical, with a somewhat meddlesome personality, Lennartz even nags at the senior aces' personal lifestyle, and how they have to hold up their image as air infantry and be a role model for the entire military.
Of course, she gets brushed off immediately afterwards, but she is adored by her fellow squadron members as a sort of a squadron mascot, especially with the expression she puts on after being ignored.

Lennartz's shot-down count does not particularly stand out within the Karlslander Air Force, but nearly 70% of her victories were made in a jet Striker, and a large number of those victories were against large-scale Neuroi bombers. Thus, there are high expectations for her to become an ace of the new generation.

Her role model as a witch is Captain Gertrud Barkhorn.

A currently serving air infantryman in 1944, with the rank of Master Sergeant (Oberfeldwebel).

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Takei Junko (18 years old in '44)
Service: Fuso Imperial Navy (Fusou Koukoku Kaigun)
Familiar: White dog, believed to be of Kishu Inu breed
(The comic in which Takei primarily appears is a parallel setting to the anime, with differences in certain areas such as the way Miyafuji is recruited)

A naval ace selected by the Fuso Imperial Navy to join the European Battle Fleet. A coworker of Sakamoto, the two are on a first-name basis.

Because of the location of the base Takei was deployed to, and her behavior while there, she is also often called "the Lady of Reval".

Although she will defer to Sakamoto in matters regarding personal combat ability, Takei is well-respected for her command and logistic skills, so much so that even Sakamoto would listen to her advice on the battlefield.
After her European deployment ended, she returned to Fuso to train new recruits, and was later invited to the 504th Joint Fighter Wing.
(TL note: Humikane made a typo here and used JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) instead of JFW.)

As an instructor, Takei stresses group cooperation and raising the overall standard of all her charges as most important, in contrast to the one-on-one spartan training offered by Sakamoto.

A currently serving Fuso Imperial Navy air infantryman in 1944.

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Anabuki Tomoko (14 years old in '37)
Service: Fuso Imperial Army (Fusou Koukoku Rikugun)
Familiar: Fox
Rank: Lieutenant (Shou-i)

Ever since her cadet days, Lt. Anabuki was an Army ace highly regarded for her good flying sense and skill with a sword.
She showed an especially impressive display of skill during the Fuso Sea Incident in 1937, when several Neuroi craft invaded from the skies above the Fuso Sea.

The propaganda film "Flash in the Fuso Sea" was produced half a year later. Lt. Anabuki starred as herself in the film, and she became a star in the eyes of the people.

Lt. Anabuki is depicted here wearing a flight suit specially designed for filming the movie, but it is not the flight suit she uses during actual combat for magical protection. The long scarf that was Lt. Anabuki's trademark at the time was also changed from plain white to bright red, to appear like a flash of lightning.

Neuroi in the movie were portrayed by various means such as witches and hot-air balloons, and blimps and witches were employed to help with the actual filming, so the final product was impressive in its scale.

In 1939, Lt. Anabuki was dispatched to the Volunteer Air Squadron in northern Suomus, where she achieved significant military gains. These events served as a driving force towards the creation of the Joint Fighter Wings.

One of the most famous witches in Fuso, she is particularly popular with other women and girls, and the Fuso doll that Lt. Anabuki modeled for is a much-adored present for adolescent girls.

Her familiar is Konbei, a fox.
Able to speak and understand human speech, Konbei is a rarity among familiars.
Konbei may in fact be one of the mythical foxes which grow more tails as they increase in age.

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Heidemarie W. Schnaufer (15 years old in '44)
Service: Karslander Air Force (Karlsländer Luftwaffe)
Familiar: Gyrfalcon
Rank: Captain (Hauptmann)

Karlsland's top night witch (nachthexe).
By the end of 1944, she was nearing a shot-down count of 100, all of which were scored in air combat at night.

Together with a magic radar antenna, a tell-tale feature of a night witch, she has a special night vision ability which allows her to see clearly through darkness by starlight.

As a child she had trouble controlling this night vision ability, and thus went through much of her life indoors in dimly lit conditions.
At the age of 10, she was admitted into a witch training program, and as she learned to control her powers, her talent as a night witch blossomed.

Soon, her night vision ability would no longer spontaneously activate, but the visual neurones which had already been damaged could not be healed even with magic, so she usually wears glasses with a strong prescription.

As if in response to her lonely childhood, she has a strong desire to make friends with others her age, which is surprising, especially in a night witch.

A currently serving night-fighter air infantryman in 1944.
Once she reaches 100 victories, she will be promoted to Major (Major), becoming Karlsland's youngest combat air wing commander (Geschwaderkommodore).

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Giuseppina Cenni (16 years old in '39)
Service: Romagnan Air Force (Sovrana Aeronatica Romagniana)
Familiar: Lynx
Rank: Warrant Officer (Maresciallo)

An ace witch of the Romagnan Air Force, she was transferred from the Mediterranean battlefields to Karlsland, but went missing in action after she was shot down en route over Neuroi territory.

Afterwards, she was able to return to friendly lines by herself, but lost both her memories and splendid flight skills.

She was sent to Suomus to serve with the Suomus Independent Volunteer Air Squadron to give her some time for rehabilitation, but it is there that the destiny in store for her unfolds...

The image here is from 1937, while she was serving with her original unit in Romagna. She was 14 at the time, with the rank of Master Sergeant (Sergente Maggiore).

Appears in Mr. Yamaguchi Noboru's "Strike Witches Book 3 - Clash in the Suomus Misfits Squadron. To find out more about her, please read the Suomus Misfits Squadron series from Sneaker Bunko.

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Nikka Edvardine Katajainen (15 years old in '44)
Service: Suomus Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat)
Familiar: Snow Weasel

Attached to No.24 Squadron (Hävittäjälentolaivue 24), an elite unit of the Suomus Air Force.
As Eila is also a member of this squadron, the two are fellow squadron members.

Has the appearance of a young boy, and a very exacting personality, who can split any situation into black and white. As she can be too focused and serious at times, she sometimes misses what is happening in her surroundings, and thus is often caught in Eila's pranks.

Going by the numbers, she is an excellent ace, but due to number of times she has lost Strikers, no matter whether it was due to being shot at, crashing in flight, encountering engine trouble, or other unforeseeable accidents, she is called "Jinxed" Katajainen by those around her.
However, she has never gotten any teammates involved in her accidents, and has never suffered any lethal wounds despite all this.

With the number of irreplaceable Strikers she destroyed, and Katajainen herself showing no signs of remorse, she was pulled from front-line duty for a time, and put to work cleaning the hangar.

She possesses a special magical aptitude for hyper-regeneration, and by synergizing with her familiar's healing magic, she can heal most injuries nearly immediately.

A currently-serving air infantryman in the the Suomus Air Force in 1944. She holds the rank of Master Sergeant (Vääpeli).

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Kuroe Ayaka (17 years old in '39)
Service: Fuso Imperial Army (Fusou Koukoku Rikugun)
Familiar: Satsuma Dog

Works as a test pilot developing new Strikers with the Flight Evaluation Squad of the Fuso Imperial Army.

Formerly, an ace witch who fought with Anabuki Tomoko and Katoh Takeko during the Fuso Sea Incident.
Open and cheerful, she is a good-natured person who always shows great care for her subordinates.

Being a mechanical enthusiast who did not mind flying prototype models and foreign-developed Strikers, she was invited to the Flight Evaluation Squad.
She always kept the engineers happy with the way she could detail minute differences in the capabilities of the prototypes not through general feeling but through hard numbers.
She also collaborated in trials for witch uniforms and other equipment, and is shown here wearing a prototype Kantou-i type flight uniform.

She is a skilled soldier who is commonly ranked among the top ten Fuso witches in history, particularly regarding her skill with swords in close combat. By focusing her magic power into the tip of her fusotou (katana) and driving her entire force into a thrust, she once brought down a large-scale Neuroi with a core sheltered deep within its body, which would normally be extremely difficult to destroy with just a sword.

She retired for a time when she became 20 years old, but serving in the air infantry was a lifelong vocation for her and she enlisted once again half a year later. As her magic power showed little decay in strength, she was allowed to rejoin the Flight Evaluation Squad under the condition that she not be put on missions on the front lines.

****************

Air Infantry around the World

Wilma Bishop (16 years old in '39)
Service: Royal Farawayland Air Force
Familiar: Scottish Fold

The elder sister of Sgt. Lynette Bishop in the 501st Joint Fighter Wing.

Unlike her sister, Wilma is like a vibrant ball of energy.
Knowing that the enlistment procedures and training period for the Britannian Air Force were long, Wilma went to the Britannian Commonwealth nation Farawayland alone, and after receiving her mechanized air infantry qualifications there, returned to Europe as part of a deployment to aid in the defense of Britannia.

Naturally bright and playful, at home she is not unlike her sister, and loves both making and eating sweets. However, one constant source of worry for her is how the eating part affects her weight.

As an air infantryman, she did not have any particularly noteworthy skills, and never participated in any large operations. She continued fighting until she was 20, at which point she retired.

Wilma had always shown a liking for older men, and after retiring, she married a Farawayland Air Force officer 30 years her senior, surprising all of her family and friends.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by selkirk

Takei Junko (18 years old in '44)

After her European deployment ended, she returned to Fuso to train new recruits, and was later invited to the 504th Joint Fighter Wing.

- 504th? Hmmm. I may be reading into this too much, and I haven't read beyond ch.4 of the Manga, so it may be nothing, or...

...and now that I think about it, I don't understand why the manga had to change the storyline in that way; they could have easily had a storyline with Junko and the manga-only characters without referencing the 501st, and it might have worked better that way.

[Keroko]

My conspiracy theoristic brain says that the manga is more in line with the novels, whereas the anime throws its own spin on things.

[wavehawk]

...I was going to suggest that little grey men with big eyes kidnapped the manga-ka and under threat of rear-end reforestation, forced him to rewrite the manga differently. ^_^ Kidding. And lacking sleep. Sorry.

I wish they could bring the characters together in a less messy way, if ever they plan to set things straight with the anime, manga, etc. that's been put out.

BTW, Selkirk--is Heidi the same character as the one 'poster' pic you hadn't translated? She looks the same, however, being Ger--Karslander, I don't think the picture and her history fit. I'll try and see if I can pick up a link to the pic I'm talking about.

EDIT: Here it is, possibly NSFW, so be warned. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ngrygoddh8.jpg

It looks a lot like her, but it can't be, right?

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by wavehawk

...I was going to suggest that little grey men with big eyes kidnapped the manga-ka and under threat of rear-end reforestation, forced him to rewrite the manga differently. ^_^

Well... that was my third theory. My second theory was that fans from the novels came to lynch him if he didn't retcon the anime pronto.

Originally Posted by wavehawk

I wish they could bring the characters together in a less messy way, if ever they plan to set things straight with the anime, manga, etc. that's been put out.

Retconning a situation like this is going to be a tough one. Either way, they're going to have to call one source false. The question then remains, which one? The anime? Or the manga?

On one hand, from what I've read so far the manga is linked far closer to the novels, so its easier to link the novels and manga together. If another anime were to be made in line with the manga, then it would be easier linked as well.

On the other hand, the anime has shown to have a rather wise audience itself, and may generate a second Strike Witches universe, similar to how game adaptations can alter a plot extensively and yet spawn an entirely different line of additional works regardless.

[selkirk]

Originally Posted by wavehawk

BTW, Selkirk--is Heidi the same character as the one 'poster' pic you hadn't translated? She looks the same, however, being Ger--Karslander, I don't think the picture and her history fit. I'll try and see if I can pick up a link to the pic I'm talking about.

EDIT: Here it is, possibly NSFW, so be warned. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ngrygoddh8.jpg

It looks a lot like her, but it can't be, right?

That's not Heidemarie. I might translate that one eventually, but it's been ret-conned to hell and back, and promptly forgotten about. To make a long story short, that's a "high-level spirit body" inside a Ki-61 supplemental module. These spirit bodies can take on forms for closer human contact, and are known by a variety of names such as shikigami, spirits, and familiars.

Of course, the current canon info on familiars is extremely sparse, and they're getting phased out except in the loosest sense of giving the characters some ears and tails. In the 1st novel, familiars still get mentioned in the first half, but don't show up at all in the later half. They aren't even mentioned in books 2-3.

The 2nd manga goes back to the familiars in a way at first (chapters 1-5), but sort of forgets about them in the second half again. Yoshika's familiar pushes her around at times, and it and Takei's dog lounge around in an underground hot springs on base (yes, seriously <_<), but that's about it.

Originally Posted by Keroko

My conspiracy theoristic brain says that the manga is more in line with the novels, whereas the anime throws its own spin on things.

Originally Posted by Keroko

Well... that was my third theory. My second theory was that fans from the novels came to lynch him if he didn't retcon the anime pronto.

Retconning a situation like this is going to be a tough one. Either way, they're going to have to call one source false. The question then remains, which one? The anime? Or the manga?

On one hand, from what I've read so far the manga is linked far closer to the novels, so its easier to link the novels and manga together. If another anime were to be made in line with the manga, then it would be easier linked as well.

On the other hand, the anime has shown to have a rather wise audience itself, and may generate a second Strike Witches universe, similar to how game adaptations can alter a plot extensively and yet spawn an entirely different line of additional works regardless.

The 2nd manga is probably the odd one out here. The official fanbook has info on the anime (of course), along with bits on the novels, the old manga, and reprints of the original magazine columns, but nearly nothing on the manga (nothing on the side novel either). The character profiles have the old info for Suwa Goshiki and Nakajima Hayate. Takei doesn't show up at all. There's no mention of the 504th at all. Takei will be showing up in the DS game though, and she also showed up on Humikane's site.

Then again, other than the recruiting bit, the actual things the characters do afterwards don't overlap. This also goes for the side novel.

Anyway, it's currently a big mess, but there are really only a couple of irreconciliable differences between the two anyway. The main setting differences in the anime can be seen mostly as simplification and generalization... they rarely outright go against canon, but it can be easily be interpreted incorrectly by someone not familiar with the rest of the setting.

...I still have to say though, the 2nd manga gets pretty stupid by the end .

There are too many sources of info now... I'll just list a few in a rough timeline.

1. Original magazine columns
   • Knee-joints <-- ret-conned to straight-legged Strikers
   • Supplemental modules <-- gone
   • Non-leg supported Strikers <-- gone
   • Blausturmers <-- ret-conned to hives
   • Familiars <-- ret-conned to something much simpler
   • Neuroi designs <-- ret-conned to the black, honeycomb style.
2. 1st manga
   • Same as the original magazine columns
3. Suomus novels
   • Neuroi designs <-- ret-conned with a mostly stylistic change. The doujinshi still has the actual Neuroi behaving like those seen in these novels (greater numbers, projectile weaponry)
4. Preview OVA + booklet
5. 2nd manga
6. Anime
   • Neuroi forces <-- Doujinshi still has Neuroi forces in greater numbers, along with projectile weapons
   • The anime adds individual magic abilities, which seem to be entering canon. These don't really appear anywhere else though.
7. 501st side novels
8. Official doujinshi
   • I actually consider the doujinshi to be fairly authoratative. It combines the ret-conned stylistic elements of the anime, together with the setting seen practically everywhere else.
9. Anime booklets
10. Official fanbook
11. Humikane's site

Anyway, I'm probably not making any sense by now, so I'll stop. [/ramble]

[qmeister]

Thanks a lot for the clarifications, I was reading the bits of the novels that have been translated and was quite confused by a couple of things in there. It's nice to know someone's taking the time to do this interesting (to say the least) franchise.

[Piroko]

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...nveiled-early/

*facepalm*

Originally Posted by Piroko

Glad to see some sort of announcement on the site, but if it's something else cheesy(Like some promotion stuff for the games), I'll rage >_>

And what do we get?
Game title announcement. orz

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by selkirk

Anyway, it's currently a big mess, but there are really only a couple of irreconciliable differences between the two anyway. The main setting differences in the anime can be seen mostly as simplification and generalization... they rarely outright go against canon, but it can be easily be interpreted incorrectly by someone not familiar with the rest of the setting.

I'm curious then... how did they simplify familiars? They may not have much meaning, even in the novels, but they at least explain why the characters grow ears and tails, rather then just go 'lol! Kemonomimi!' like the anime.

I suppose that if they wanted to bring the two sources together, the Neuroi that attacked Brittania can be retconned as an 'experimental design on the Neuroi's part' or something like that (considering the regular design has been attacking virtually everywhere else). Same thing for the Hives, they're simply an aerial form of the Blausturmer. Individual magic skill is an addition rather then a change, so there is little need for a retcon here.

Of course, this is assuming they would be treating the novels as higher in the canon hierarchy, which may not be the case.

Originally Posted by Piroko

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...nveiled-early/

*facepalm*



And what do we get?
Game title announcement. orz

I'm not putting too much rage into this. I tried that trick yesterday, and no page of that sort showed up. It might be a decoy to throw people off, or a newsflash to make at a later time.

For example, what the people of 2chan and Sankaku fail to notice, is that this particular notice doesn't appear until the 28th. which is one day after the countdown. The announcement would be made on the 27th, which still has the 'Yoshika and Lynette teasing screen' (not to mention that the announcement of a title for an already confirmed game isn't really something worth raising a countdown for).

Long story short: I'll wait until the 27th before raging.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Keroko

For example, what the people of 2chan and Sankaku fail to notice, is that this particular notice doesn't appear until the 28th. which is one day after the countdown. The announcement would be made on the 27th, which still has the 'Yoshika and Lynette teasing screen' (not to mention that the announcement of a title for an already confirmed game isn't really something worth raising a countdown for).

That, and if you guys set your clocks BACK to 5 days before...

Originally Posted by selkirk

Countdown: 5 more days (2/22)
Perrine: U-Um... it's only 6 more days until the 28th. Right, Major Sakamoto?
Sakamoto: What are you talking about, Perrine? There's only 5 more days until the announcement on the 27th you know?
Perrine: Ah, ahhh, oh yes, that's right. Oh, what was I thinking...
Perrine: (Uuuu... but it's my birthday on the 28th...)

I might still be wrong, but this seems like a hint, yes?

[selkirk]

Originally Posted by Keroko

I'm not putting too much rage into this. I tried that trick yesterday, and no page of that sort showed up. It might be a decoy to throw people off, or a newsflash to make at a later time.

For example, what the people of 2chan and Sankaku fail to notice, is that this particular notice doesn't appear until the 28th. which is one day after the countdown. The announcement would be made on the 27th, which still has the 'Yoshika and Lynette teasing screen' (not to mention that the announcement of a title for an already confirmed game isn't really something worth raising a countdown for).

Long story short: I'll wait until the 27th before raging.

Originally Posted by wavehawk

That, and if you guys set your clocks BACK to 5 days before...

I might still be wrong, but this seems like a hint, yes?

That subtitle page also didn't exist when I translated the junk yesterday; it's a fairly new addition. I only got a blank black screen when I tried switching to the 28th.

There's also no "in-depth information" bit, which I'd be interested in regardless . Of course, news of a second more-canon series would be welcome.

Please, please be a troll.
Though I'll still be the #1 English-speaking Strike Witches fan and buy a limited edition version of the game. Even though I have neither a PS2 nor a DS <_<;.

Originally Posted by Keroko

I'm curious then... how did they simplify familiars? They may not have much meaning, even in the novels, but they at least explain why the characters grow ears and tails, rather then just go 'lol! Kemonomimi!' like the anime.

I suppose that if they wanted to bring the two sources together, the Neuroi that attacked Brittania can be retconned as an 'experimental design on the Neuroi's part' or something like that (considering the regular design has been attacking virtually everywhere else). Same thing for the Hives, they're simply an aerial form of the Blausturmer. Individual magic skill is an addition rather then a change, so there is little need for a retcon here.

Of course, this is assuming they would be treating the novels as higher in the canon hierarchy, which may not be the case.

Fanbook article on familiars:
[Setting] Witches can use magic by borrowing the magic power of a contracted familiar. Upon invocation of this magic power, the familiar's ears and tail appear on the witch. Also, it is said that the personality of a familiar can affect a witch's innate magic ability.

...is what is said, but in practically all the media, familiars are reduced to a single line in a profile somewhere. They have not actually physically manifested anywhere at all in the anime, in the novel after the second half of the first novel, the doujinshi manga/novelette, side novel, or even recent online official art.

The only place they've shown up recently is the second manga, but the only interesting bit of info there was retconned by Humikane's blog.
Miyafuji's familiar is an ero-oyaji (he's rather amusing in the one chapter he talks extensively). When Goshiki's familiar greets Yoshika with speech, Yoshika gets all surprised, but Goshiki basically says that of course familiars can speak. This little fact has been ret-conned in Tomoko's online profile. Hayate's cat familiar doesn't seem to speak, nor does Takei's dog. Yoshika's familiar is like "Don't you dare tell Yoshika that I can speak" while she's out of the room, then proceeds to play some pranks on Goshiki using cute puppy eyes with Yoshika, and "Keikaku doori" eye flashes at Goshiki when the latter tries to tell Yoshika.

And... other than this one chapter, they don't show up much more. Yoshika's familiar runs rampant around the 501st base the first day they get there, giving ample amounts of fanservice at the same time. He also lounges around a secret underground hot spring with Takei's dog, who keeps Yoshika's familiar in line when he tries to sneak over to the witches' side. He shows up on occasion later on, nudging Yoshika here or there, but doesn't really do anything of significance.

Regarding blausturmers, they seem to be completely replaced by hives. Not that big of a deal anyway, they're essentially the same thing. Neuroi miasma and what they use it for never showed up in the anime, so no problems there. The problem with establishing canonicity regarding weapons and/or designs is the timeframe, since the anime is set near the end of WW2 (though we have no idea how long the 2nd Neuroi War lasts), the novels are in 1939-40, and the doujinshi is in 1941-42 or so. Both the first and second manga should also be around 1944. Perhaps they took up the honeycomb in the late 1940s, but continued to use projectile guns and formations, and then switched to lasers and wunderwaffen in 1943-44? Then all three very different designs would still be canon.

Other bits of seemingly conflicting info such as the existance of Neuroi before WW2 and witches other than the 501st are pretty clearly following the canon established in the novels and other sources, not the anime.

[Midonin]

Alright, information on the first two Character CDs are up at Columbia's website. In addition to several talk tracks, the songs on each CD are as follows:

Yoshika and Mio
"Zenryaku, Ichiban Aitai Hito he" (前略、一番会いたい人へ) - Yoshika
"falcon eyes" - Mio
Yoshika and Mio solo versions of "Bookmark A Head"
"Prismatic Shugi (プリズマティック主義主義)" - Yoshika and Mio duet
"Ryoshuu (旅愁)" - Yoshika and Mio cover song duet

Sanya and Eila
"GOOD MORNING!!" - Eila
"twinkle star" - Sanya
Eila and Sanya solo versions of "Bookmark A Head"
"Sweet Duet" - Sanya & Eila Duet
"Kuroi Hitomi (黒い瞳)" - Sanya & Eila cover song duet

That's pretty cool. A song from the native country of each of the girls on their albums, in addition to all the character songs. I'm ecstatic about these.

[selkirk]

Oh, how nice. More versions of Bookmark Ahead.
As if 12 versions of it on the ED collection CD, the TV cut on the OST, the full version on the OP single, and the 6 versions of the textless ED that are the only DVD specials weren't enough.
I could always use another eleven solo versions of it.

Gah, at 2500 yen each, that's kind of a huge rip-off. Six songs, and 5 or so talk tracks. Grah.

[wavehawk]

@Selkirk: I think PS2 units have dropped in price, so it may not be as bad as you think. There's a lot of good PS2 games out there still available, and a lot of japanese games are still being produced for the PS2, so it's probably a worthy investment if you find one to your price range.

As for the DS, I think a new version of it will be released this year--meaning older DS units will also drop in price considerably. Arguably, the DS has (IMHO) more bang for buck in terms of game experience compared to the PSP (Although the PSP will always have games I want: Metal Gear Portable Ops, Gundam vs Gundam, Idolm@ster SP, etc...)

I don't own any portable/console units, but that's because I just bought my laptop, and I'm more of an FPS gamer anyway. (Call of Duty 4, Stalker, etc.) ^_^;;;

@Midonin: I guess that means the Karslander trio will be on one disc, and the song will obviously be Lilli Marleen...Not that I'd be dissapointed (I love Rie Tanaka's rendition of it in the TV series), but that's a song that probably won't do too well as a duet (or triede). But that's just my opinion.

[Midonin]

I've lived through Den-O. "Bookmark Ahead" has nothing on that.

@wavehawk: That said, the Karlslanders are grouped together on one album, with the other two being Lynne/Perrine/Yoshika and Shakkini.

Since I last made my post, looks like audio samples of the duets have gone up at the links.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Midonin

I've lived through Den-O. "Bookmark Ahead" has nothing on that.

- You ain't lived until you heard the Wavehawk version of Climax Jump, my man. Alcohol. LOTS of alcohol.

Hmmm. That actually intruiges me. You'd think that, with Konami being a sponsor, they would have wanted a hand in the Strike Witches game themselves?