Strike Witches?

[OceanBlue]

If I dropped Sora no Woto after the first episode and thought the first season of K-On! dragged on after the first 4-or-so episodes [I haven't seen the second season yet, but I'm planning to], is it a good idea for me to watch Strike Witches?

Rather, what should I expect from Strike Witches. I know it has fanservice and focuses on character interactions, but...

[Divini]

Ahaha, I know most people go into it expecting fanservice, but I think the amount of fanservice that does appear surprises even them. In fact, the three things I remember most about the show was panty-less lolis, large breasts, and cat ears. Boy do they love their cat ears. Oh, and the yuri subtext. Plenty of that.

The plot? What plot? Nah, that's an overexaggeration . Anyway, it's mostly a feel-good plot with some seriousness, but not too much.

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

If I dropped Sora no Woto after the first episode and thought the first season of K-On! dragged on after the first 4-or-so episodes [I haven't seen the second season yet, but I'm planning to], is it a good idea for me to watch Strike Witches?

No.

Though I think you're being too fast with Sora no Woto. The show actually touches a very diverse range of emotions, much more than just moe. There are comedy/slice of life moments and there are serious moments, and remarkably enough (miraculous in fact given the horrible track record of 13 episodes anime series and original anime series), it does both well. To be sure it was never going to become an epic war show but the post-war setting isn't just a throwaway gimmick just to get K-On girls into uniform.

So yeah.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

No.

Though I think you're being too fast with Sora no Woto. The show actually touches a very diverse range of emotions, much more than just moe. There are comedy/slice of life moments and there are serious moments, and remarkably enough (miraculous in fact given the horrible track record of 13 episodes anime series and original anime series), it does both well. To be sure it was never going to become an epic war show but the post-war setting isn't just a throwaway gimmick just to get K-On girls into uniform.

So yeah.

To be honest, that's what I thought Sora no Woto was going to be [K-On with uniforms]. I guess I'm going to be giving that a try now.

But, just in case there's a misunderstanding, I didn't stop liking K-On because of moe. I stopped liking it because of the poor gags [which were repeated, which made it worse] and the flanderization of the characters, all in my opinion of course. How does K-On compare with Strike Witches?

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

To be honest, that's what I thought Sora no Woto was going to be [K-On with uniforms]. I guess I'm going to be giving that a try now.

There are a lot of episodes of the girls just having fun though, even though it's balanced by heavy flashbacks and a rather impressive finale. However I think you wouldn't feel badly disappointed, especially since you said your problem isn't moe in general but the gags in K-On!, which doesn't happen in Sora no Woto.

It's...hm, I guess you could say that its comedy is less gag-oriented and more suited to anime form and the characters didn't suffer anything close to a flanderization -- in fact it's quite the opposite, the characters get fleshed out throughout the series and you get a sense of why they are who they are.

But, just in case there's a misunderstanding, I didn't stop liking K-On because of moe. I stopped liking it because of the poor gags [which were repeated, which made it worse] and the flanderization of the characters, all in my opinion of course. How does K-On compare with Strike Witches?

I see. Well, I can say I agree since I do remember disliking a lot of K-On!'s jokes. Being idiotic and lazy isn't all that funny. Even Mio's flustered face gets boring after the nth time. =_=

As for Strike Witches, I actually find it somewhat difficult to compare to K-On! directly. It's a lot more fanservice-oriented, for one (K-On! at least didn't try to strip its characters of their pants and use creepy camera angles to reinforce the fact), and there are action scenes and stuff. I still wouldn't recommend it to someone who dislike K-On! jokes though: I didn't find it very funny either, and dropped it early on while I stuck through the entire first season of the K-On!

All this, of course, is marked with a big IMO.

[synaesthetic]

Watch Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. It's the only thing close to a "moe" series with a serious plot and a metric ass-ton of action.

The fanservice is rather surprisingly low, and gets lower as the series goes on.

[OceanBlue]

I've already seen Nanoha. Thanks for the suggestion though, since it really is something people should go watch if they haven't.

I guess I definitely need to check out Sora no Woto again. As for Strike Witches, I'm attracted to the idea of a yuri subtext, and fanservice isn't terrible either. I guess I'm going to try it out. Thanks for the replies.

[Seiryuu]

I think Funimation summed up SW pretty well with one of their ads:
It's a bird...
It's a plane...
It's... a girl with no pants!?

There's some real plot in here, and some messages, but it seems like these were just an excuse to make a full series where most in nations' cultures a young woman's typical outfit consisted of panties, shirt, and nothing else. And to take these pantless girls and make them move around alot so that they can show them in interesting positions/angles. That, and all the girls get kemonomimi for participating.

Don't get me wrong, I loved this series. It's not a major classic, but it is very, very funny.

[Qwey]

Its all about expectations. If you go to the theater to see Ninja Assassin and expect a movie with a strong plot and well developed characters, its not surprising if you don't like it. If you go and watch it for what it really is (a cheesy movie that just gives you an excuse to watch badass ninjas fight with a very thin plot and totally unexplained supernatural elements--it becomes much more fun and enjoyable. That is Strike Witches. If you want a show that doesn't have a super overbearing plot, want some fan service--although its thrown in your face enough for it to become a nonfactor IMO--just sort of blends into the background), want some action, its a really good show.

I think now more than ever, people are constantly comparing shows to the ABSOLUTE BEST of the anime world. You can't expect every show released to be the next Aria, Planetes, Moribito, etc. If you do, everything becomes stupid.

[synaesthetic]

Since when is Aria considered "the best?"

I tried to watch Strike Witches, but the ridiculousness of flying half loli, half WW2-era fighter planes without pants just made me feel so goddamned silly I had to stop. And that's saying a lot since I'm such a loli whore.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

I see. Well, I can say I agree since I do remember disliking a lot of K-On!'s jokes. Being idiotic and lazy isn't all that funny. Even Mio's flustered face gets boring after the nth time. =_=

K-On! season 1 was a mixed bag... I liked the show, but certain things about it bugged me. Plus it overshadowed the in my opinion superior Taisho Yakyuu Musume. For some reason I'm liking K-On!! (season 2) a lot more though than the original though.

As for Sora no Woto, it felt like a K-On ripoff to me for the first few episodes but I felt it got a lot better after that.

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I tried to watch Strike Witches, but the ridiculousness of flying half loli, half WW2-era fighter planes without pants just made me feel so goddamned silly I had to stop. And that's saying a lot since I'm such a loli whore.

Originally the silliness put me off, but hearing they managed to reference an actual historical incident in a panty theft episode convinced me to give it another go.