Magic schoolgirls with machinegun legs fight aliens in 1940s panties. History class will NEVER be the same.
24 minSeason 3 • Episode 12
LatestYoshika is trapped inside the dome around Berlin, and the rest of the Witches are cut off. Can they get inside to save her in time?
The year is 1939 - it was then that the Neuroi appeared. Nobody knows where they came from or what their ultimate agenda is, but the fact remains that their attacks drove people out of their towns and cities. In order to take arms against them, humanity develops a new anti-Neuroi weapon called the "Striker Unit." Using the power of magic to fight against the monsters, this new device enhances and amplifies the power of female magic-wielders. To use this device, young witches from all over the world have been brought together to form an elite task force unit called the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, commonly known as the "Strike Witches."
Practical Effects
Striker Unit mechanical designs slap harder than they should
Writing
Surprisingly coherent WWII alt-history worldbuilding
Score
OPs that slap, military marches with idol energy
Ami Koshimizu
Charlotte E Yeager (voice)
Ayuru Ohashi
Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen (voice)
Sakura Nogawa
Erica Hartmann (voice)
Misato Fukuen
Yoshika Miyafuji (voice)
Chiwa Saito
Francesca Lucchini (voice)
Kaori Nazuka
Lynette Bishop (voice)
Mai Kadowaki
Sanya V. Litvyak (voice)
Rie Tanaka
Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke (voice)
Mie Sonozaki
Gertrud Barkhorn (voice)
Miyuki Sawashiro
Perrine-H. Clostermann (voice)
Saeko Chiba
Mio Sakamoto (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Every witch is based on a real WWII ace pilot—Sakamoto's dog is even named after a famous Japanese Zero pilot's pet.
The franchise sparked endless debate about 'mecha musume' genre origins; some credit this series with codifying the 'cute girls + military hardware' formula that dominated 2010s anime.
JP
