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Digital Downloads
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Written by maehara
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Wednesday, 20 August 2008 16:00 |
 The world looks different to those who live at night, as Yoshika's about to discover when she joins the 501st's night shift. She's also about to find out that the Neuroi can be sneaky when they need to be - and it's difficult to defeat an enemy that you can't see...
Yoshika and her comrades are attacked by the Neurois on their way back from a mission in London, but get help from Sanya who happened to be on the night patrol at the time. Following the attack, Yoshika is given orders to serve the night shift - the attacking Neuroi went to great lengths to keep itself hidden and not fight back, which makes Mio suspect it'll be back. Being paired with Sanya means that Yoshika must spend her off-duty time with her too, though, and that makes fellow night-shifter Eila jealous. But when the mysterious Neuroi attacks, mimicking Sanya's magical song, it's time for the girls to work together...
Spot the pattern. Another episode, another focus on another pairing of girls from the 501st, and more jealousy on display as Yoshika unwittingly steps on someone's toes. You get the distinct impression that the Strike Witches' HQ must be a real hotbed of shoujo-ai once the lights go out at night.
Sanya's ability is the most unusual of the girls so far - a extra-sensory perception of sorts that allows her to detect the Neuroi at great distances. That comes in particularly useful at night, which is why she's landed the night shift and why she's invariably half-asleep when you see her during the day. Her other half is Eila, whose jealousy is thankfully a lot less apparent and annoying than Perrine's usually is - and who gets sadly short-changed in the character development stakes here, as Sanya gets the bulk of the attention.
There's also a little hint that the series may eventually make more of the Neuroi - the enemy in this episode acts in an unusual enough way that the unit's superiors take an interest, and while it's not pursued further here, there's a decent chance now that it'll be picked up on again later, now that I believe all the girls have been given their introductions.
Strike Witches is still mindless fun, although this episode has less focus on the fanservice and more on the emotions than previous ones. The series can't really be described as anything special, but as long as the fanservice doesn't rub you the wrong way it has a certain feel-good factor about it that makes it enjoyable to watch, and this episode is no exception.
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