English Dub Review: Strike Witches: 501st JOINT FIGHTER WING Take Off! “501st, Get Ready for Setsubun?”

Oh, so we’re just eating mold now.

Overview

Shirley and Hartmann giddily throw soybeans at everyone they see on deck, while Barkhorn struggles to understand why. Yoshika explains that it happens to be “Setsubun time” — an old tradition from Fuso where throwing soybeans at people helps drive away from the oni (devils.) Shirley and Hartmann throw too many at Barkhorn for her to peacefully ignore, so she beats them. When Yoshika explains that her disciplinary methods are just “tough love,” Shirley and Hartmann start realizing Yoshika may have Stockholm Syndrome.

While Yoshika continues to explain Fuso traditions, she’s alerted that she’s gotten a letter/package from her family. When she starts missing home, Barkhorn swaddles her inattention, leading Shirley and Hartmann to suspect Barkhorn of having Lima Syndrome. After Shirley and Hartmann are thoroughly beaten, they open the package Yoshika was sent — only to reveal that the mochi inside is two months old and moldy. They scrape it off and eat it anyway.

Yoshika then writes a letter back home, reporting on all her friends and their lives. After having the letter be vetted by Shirley, Hartmann, and Eila (who omit all the gossip, leaving the page mostly blacked out) Yoshika gets another letter from her family weeks later, asking if she’s safe.

Sanya gives Shirley a present for her birthday (leading to jealous antics with Eila) and the gang decides to have their picture taken to commemorate it. However, Lynne only takes pictures of their chests.

Our Take

Here we are again: another episode that seems to have no real direction.

It’s obvious that the show was meant for fans of Strike Witches and no one else. It’s supposed to be the cute, slice-of-lifey adventures of the cast while they’re in service. However, there’s not a lot of cohesion between scenes. First, the episode was about Setsubun. Then, it was about moldy mochi and letters from home. Lastly, it was about Shirley’s birthday — which seemed to be glazed over until the last minute. All of these could have been their own episodes. Yoshika could have taught the girls all about Fuso culture. The gang could have spent an episode reflecting on letters/packages from family. Shirley’s birthday could have been its own premise! It’s like this show is only meant to show samples of these girls’ lives without ever really extrapolating on any of these scenes.

Some of the hyperactive interactions are funny, but the show becomes 100% less funny when the fact that most of these characters are minors comes into play. The entire scene where Lynne takes pictures of the girls’ chests does nothing but emphasize the “womanhood” of these characters — who, again, are mostly children. Then again, it’s hard not to expect objectification from an anime that combines nekos with skirt-clad pilots.

One thing’s for sure: the studio must be raking in quite a bit of money from how limited and garbage the animation is. There’s barely any movement in the show. Even scenes where it’s just Eila and Sanya walking are like one frame-per-second.

This show may be getting its cash and recognition from its name — but it’s a bad name.