(L) Strike Witches 2

[dahl_moon]

Spoiler for OP Promo:

Spoiler for ED Promo:

Spoiler for Intro:

[Tk3997]

So more of the random super monster crap then *yawns* well there goes any hope of actual interesting combat that bears any resemblance to actual dogfighting. Suppose we can look forward to allot of standing around in the air shooting at fucking huge targets that can't maneuver for shit while just tanking the bullshit beam spam. Why even fucking coming up with an interesting premise if you're just going to ignore it for something utterly generic and boring?

[einhorn303]

Originally Posted by Tk3997

So more of the random super monster crap then *yawns* well there goes any hope of actual interesting combat that bears any resemblance to actual dogfighting. Suppose we can look forward to allot of standing around in the air shooting at fucking huge targets that can't maneuver for shit while just tanking the bullshit beam spam. Why even fucking coming up with an interesting premise if you're just going to ignore it for something utterly generic and boring?

Because it's a moe show primarily and an action show secondarily, not the other way around. And really it's more about military fetishism than any sort of real-world violence.

[drobertbaker]

Well put! And it's moe military fetishism to boot. Just check out the fanbase around here.

Originally Posted by Tk3997

So yeah this has no exactly filled me with glee and I see a dark cloud hovering over the closest thing to an air combat anime anywhere in sight at the moment... *sigh*

@Tk - Hoping for realistic air combat from little girls in their underwear with their legs stuck in tubes reeks of desperation. I recommend Sky Crawler for great dogfights. And turn it up loud! Sound by Industrial Light and Magic.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Tk3997

So more of the random super monster crap then *yawns* well there goes any hope of actual interesting combat that bears any resemblance to actual dogfighting. Suppose we can look forward to allot of standing around in the air shooting at fucking huge targets that can't maneuver for shit while just tanking the bullshit beam spam. Why even fucking coming up with an interesting premise if you're just going to ignore it for something utterly generic and boring?

- Hey, YOU'RE the one who expected cute girls in panties to have Top Gun-esque dogfighting action. You don't like it, fine. Not everyone does, and anime fandom isn't a fascist dictatorship.

Stop making it sound like it's all our fault that it's not what you want out of a series.

[Tk3997]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

Well put! And it's moe military fetishism to boot. Just check out the fanbase around here.

It's not getting by on moe, it's not that good at it frankly. Face it without it's interesting setting it would be in the trash heap with the rest of such shows now that the bubble for that stuff has imploded. The somewhat interesting setting, actual actions scenes, and admittedly clumsily first stab at some sort of drama and plot was what made it stand out.

If you acutally looked at the old thread you'd see allot of the fan base, with more then a passing interest anyway, you'd see little of it was focused heavily in the moe stuff. That has no lasting appeal it's "Empty calories" like a candy bar tastes alright when you're eating it, but you'll never look back and think about it again once you're done. If that's the road the SW Anime wants to take it's worse off for it. It could have been more and it could have used it's setting for more. See that's the thing I'm not hating on the show, I'm looking at it and wanting it to do better because I know it CAN. We see it in other media about the setting.

@Tk - Hoping for realistic air combat from little girls in their underwear with their legs stuck in tubes reeks of desperation.

No it reeks of hoping they'd take some of the better aspects and ideas from the novels and doujin which have both pantless fan service AND interesting fights and characters and try to integrate them. Instead it seems the anime is basiclly totally supplanting that part, which I like, with the monster of the week crap which I intensely loath.

I recommend Sky Crawler for great dogfights. And turn it up loud! Sound by Industrial Light and Magic.

3 minutes of pretty nice fighting in two hours of very bad preusdo-philosophical rambling hung on a plot as murky as a backed up septic tank does not a good movie make. (But I watched it for the fights anyway)

Originally Posted by einhorn303

Because it's a moe show primarily and an action show secondarily, not the other way around. And really it's more about military fetishism than any sort of real-world violence.

This isn't about violence this about having some fights with a intresting and unique style, which magic users that act fighter like prop planes could be, but "magic user that fight pretty much like flying mech against superpowered monster of the weak" does not IMO. It's not using it's interesting setting well and meeting it's potential IMO and that gives me a mixture of saddness/annoyance.

Originally Posted by wavehawk

- Hey, YOU'RE the one who expected cute girls in panties to have Top Gun-esque dogfighting action.

I hoped for it because as noted that's what we got in the novels and Doujin and it's awesome, what we get in the anime is a bland super robot knock off. As I said I was hoping that having gotten a foot in the door the second season would take at least some of the "EU " flavor instead it just went down the same bland monster of the week path as S1.

This is SUPPOSED to be set in an alternate WWII with witches that are least nominally associated with fighter planes. God fucking forbid we get some action that vaguely looks like a fight from the time period. I'm not looking for hard flight sim level simulation here, but just having multiple enemy fighters that acutally looked and behaved like fighters instead of singular UFOs that fought like flying battleships would have been nice. (Wouldn't even be hard to explain the change in universe since the "send a single uber UFO!!!" tactic was working sooo well in S1) I'm not going to condemn it before watching it, but I really doubt the combat will be any better then the frankly rather boring stuff of S1.

You don't like it, fine. Not everyone does, and anime fandom isn't a fascist dictatorship.

You're right, I'll never express my opinions again what was I think being disappointed. I have no right to hope that parts of a setting I like would show up and be let down when they don't and instead we got more of parts I didn't like on the first go.

Stop making it sound like it's all our fault that it's not what you want out of a series.

How did I make it sound like the fandoms fault I didn't even mention you, quit looking for shit to get offended at. I commented on the trailers showing off the same old super weapon crap with disappointment.

The thing is I think the setting itself has the chops to be interesting without any need to be "dressed up" with moe and pantlessness.

[Peanutbutter]

Probably the only show I'll catch for the coming new season.

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by Tk3997

The thing is I think the setting itself has the chops to be interesting without any need to be "dressed up" with moe and pantlessness.

That's not a bug. That's a feature.

It's like people saying Sentai has the possibility to be interesting without the spandex and giant robots (I've seen people say that, sadly.) Some things are the building blocks of their universes.

[wavehawk]

Originally Posted by Tk3997

I hoped for it because as noted that's what we got in the novels and Doujin and it's awesome

- Ah fuck. I forgot about that.

I take back what I said--I'm an idiot who doesn't think before he posts. I think you're too annoyed with what the show's become, but I shouldn't be criticizing you too bloody much about it.

[einhorn303]

Originally Posted by Tk3997

If you acutally looked at the old thread you'd see allot of the fan base, with more then a passing interest anyway, you'd see little of it was focused heavily in the moe stuff.

That's just because all of the "hurrrr realism" people drove off the other fans. Look at a Strike Witches thread on any other forum (AnimeOnDVD, for example) and you'll see what the show's primary fanbase is like.

Also, I've read parts of the Soumous Misfits Squadron and Nogami Takeshi's doujinshi and doujin novels, and I don't see them as being all that different from the TV series. "Witches of the Sphinx" Vol 1 is 85% Marseille being a drunkard and Rachael being moe, and 15% a neuroi getting one-shot killed by a character's unrealistic ultimate technique.

[Dahak86]

promos look pretty good. Can't wait to see the rest. My only complaint probably being Mio's voice change, but it's too soon to say anything about it until this will start airing. lol, I was eagerly waiting SW2-ki for almost 2 years, and it's finally here. Still cannot believe it...

[pauldy]

I'm not necessarily watching Strike Witches series for girl bums & pantslessness..

As for moe though, i'm guilty of it..
Because i think that was the original concept of Mecha Musume/Shojo.. the anthropomorphism of military hardware into girls^

I've been into this type of character illustration even before Strike Witches took off into the mainstream.. though I didn't have access to the SW novels..
The OVA had less fanservice though, the witches did wear skirts & shorts.. at least when not deployed..

I believe Humikane didn't intend to turn Strike Witches into an anime to begin with. Considering they were just series of illustrations initially.. or that's how i think it is.

But i think the concept could be open to violence & such, considering we have these girls flying around with high caliber machine guns and having a military motiff.....

Having them freakin' cute doesn't mean they're only confined to lovey dovey or ecchi..

Somehow I thought of Elfen Lied..


Although I'm still watching this Second season of SW nevertheless ^^

Anyways sorry for this senseless TL;DR of mine. ^

[Tk3997]

Originally Posted by Midonin

That's not a bug. That's a feature.

It's like people saying Sentai has the possibility to be interesting without the spandex and giant robots (I've seen people say that, sadly.) Some things are the building blocks of their universes.

The problem with this is that Sentai as a genre as defined by that stuff, alternate history fiction, which is at the base what SW is, is not defined by a lack of pants and rampant fan service. If you took away the spandex and such you'd not have Sentai, but if you put the girls in pants you'd still have alternate history fiction and it would still be SW. Hell keep the moe stuff that doesn't really bother me much, I'll gladly accept that as payment, but at least give me something interesting besides that.

Originally Posted by einhorn303

That's just because all of the "hurrrr realism" people drove off the other fans.Look at a Strike Witches thread on any other forum (AnimeOnDVD, for example) and you'll see what the show's primary fanbase is like.

No it's becasue once the season ended the guys just interested in the cutesy girls just wandered off. Even during the season as much of the discussion was about technical aspects and such as wasn't. If you think the military and alt-histroy aspects are not a huge part of the draw you're delusional. After all if you get rid of that what are you left with? Just a bunch of cutesy underaged girls running around without pants and while there might be a niche market for that I doubt it would not be anywhere near as popular.

Seriously I ask you guys if the girls ditched the Strikers, they did away with the WWII setting, and it was just the girls running around say a modern school setting with no pants would you be watching this? If the answer is no then it's pretty clear the technical and military aspect is part of the draw and so wanting to see it done right is hardly outlandish.

Also, I've read parts of the Soumous Misfits Squadron and Nogami Takeshi's doujinshi and doujin novels, and I don't see them as being all that different from the TV series.

Aside from you know from trying to show actual fighter aircraft tactics, enemies that resemble aircraft, lack of sci-fi beamspam nonsense, other parts of the military acutally contributing in a meaningful way, male characters with plot significance, a male character paired with a witch!

But yeah besides all that it's pretty much the same thing.

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by Tk3997

alternate history fiction, which is at the base what SW is, is not defined by a lack of pants and rampant fan service. If you took away the spandex and such you'd not have Sentai, but if you put the girls in pants you'd still have alternate history fiction and it would still be SW.

It has just as much in common with stuff like Lime-iro Senkitan/Ryukitan, both of which were quite similar. The quasi-magical girl format I suppose. And even then, removing it is still taking away a part of the show's identity, for better or worse. The meme has become ingrained in internet culture.

Originally Posted by Tk3997

then it's pretty clear the technical and military aspect is part of the draw

But not the only draw. That's something unique to every individual.

[pauldy]

The quasi-magical girl format I suppose. And even then, removing it is still taking away a part of the show's identity, for better or worse. The meme has become ingrained in internet culture.

I'd still watch Strike Witches even if they didn't have the Magic Elements. Perhaps like 40s nano machines, human enhancers & such though i believe that concept could be way off. Somehow more like Sky Girls speed..^

It's all about the Mecha Musume for me as it has always been, technical aspects & military history/politics is also a great plus... no, more like a preferred element.

Guess what, I've learned what a "Thach Weave" was from Strike Witches and i've been playing air combat sims for years (modern ones though)

I must be stupid for not knowing all the BFM/ACM.. ;p


I just have a curious question to everyone.
What are the reasons you watch Strike Witches?

^Good day^

[drobertbaker]

pantsu moe military, in that order.

Who could forget the Great Pantsu Robbery?

[pauldy]

As for me Mecha Musume/Moe Military, references to technical & Historical military motiffs..

All the rest, forgettable........ but tolerable.. ^

[Westlo]

I'm here for the camel toe and ass shots, holla.

[wavehawk]

...why do I get the feeling that something is going wrong here and that it's all my fault...?

[bombyethan1000]

Originally Posted by wavehawk

...why do I get the feeling that something is going wrong here and that it's all my fault...?

What do you mean? Please explain