[Beatrice]

Strike Witches - 10

「信じてほしい」 (Shinjite Hoshii)
“Trust and Friendship” (lit. I Want You to Believe Me)
Episode at a Glance:
Pending…

Next Episode:
「空へ…」 (Sora he…)
“To the Sky…”


Impressions:
Ah, how silly the Japanese can be at times. SPEM spread? I mean come on. That’s only one letter away from being something a lot more disgusting. Also, given how English tends to be read (i.e. the letters in the middle of words mostly skimmed over), it could easily misread as the other thing right away. I eat SPAM on occasions and while I can’t really tell you exactly what I’m eating other than “ground up pig parts”, at least I can say it doesn’t have anything like SPEM in it!
Unlike SEKIREI episode nine, thick steamy clouds were in abundance here, but it was still amusing watching Sanya check how she’s growing, Francesca resting on what is questionably the best pillow ever, and Gertrud getting felt up nicely by a frisky Erica. While Getrud claims her breasts aren’t needed in battle, I’m sure male audiences will beg to differ.
Joking aside, it seems like General Maloney’s scheme is the discovery of an intact Neuroi core, which looked like the discovery of the One Ring to me sitting in that molten crater. I would say it’s relatively clear now that he’s using the core to power this new transforming jet to fight the Neuroi, seeing how it has a shield like them, plus red lasers that can toast Witches if they’re not careful. Since the Strike Witches are supposedly being decommissioned, I can’t help but see the similarities between this jet and the Vic Viper in Sky Girls. As such, I’m already considering it the Vic Viper of Strike Witches, which is also known as “a jet that steals jobs from flying mecha girls”.
So as expected, Mio survived, but for a moment I thought she lost her “Glam Sight” (…for those familar with Rental Magica) or “Geass” (…for the rest of you). Seeing as she has her eyepatch on again later (plus in the preview), I gather that she hasn’t lost her ability though. Speaking of that scene, it was pretty funny to hear Perrine ask if it’s in well, and Mio tell her to put it in a bit deeper, before they were both caught “in the act” with Perinne crouched over Mio’s lap. Judging from an earlier scene, it seems like Perrine wants to be Mio’s “pet” and is simply content with being praised by her. Even then, there should be a fine line between what you do and don’t do with your pets…
Animation-wise, this episode looked good as always, but I particularly liked the detail in all the Witches’ hair during and after the battle. As for overall plot, since they (sort of) revealed that Maloney is secretly developing these new weapons powered by Neuroi cores, I guess it rules out the possibility that there’s some deeper conspiracy between humans and the Neuroi, unless the war started because the Neuroi were simply trying to retrieve one of their cores. I’m still on the fence about whether or not the Neuroi is simply trying to trick Yoshika though, because if it were, I don’t see why it would reveal the origins of this new weapon to her and not actively try to capture her after she entered their nest.
Ending theme this week was sung by Yoshika and Minna. Quite appropriate given how they were at ends with one another all episode. Also, I apologize in advance if my jokes come off kind of lewd, but I couldn’t help myself.

Cast:
- Miyafuji Yoshika (宮藤 芳佳) / Fukuen Misato (福圓 美里)
- Sakamoto Mio (坂本 美緒) / Chiba Saeko (千葉 紗子)
- Minna-Dietlinde Wilke (ミーナ・ディートリンデ・ヴィルケ) / Tanaka Rie (田中 理恵)
- Perrine-H. Clostermann (ぺリーヌ・クロステルマン) / Sawashiro Miyuki (沢城 みゆき)
- Lynette Bishop (リネット・ビショップ) / Nadzuka Kaori (名塚 佳織)
- Erica Hartmann (エーリカ・ハルトマン) / Nogawa Sakura (野川 さくら)
- Gertrud Barkhorn (ゲルトルート・バルクホルン) / Sonozaki Mie (園崎 未恵)
- Francesca Lucchini (フランチェスカ・ルッキーニ) / Saitou Chiwa (斎藤 千和)
- Charlotte E Yeager (シャーロット・E・イェーガー) / Koshimizu Ami (小清水 亜美)
- Sanya V. Litvyak (サーニャ・V・リトヴャク) / Kadowaki Mai (門脇 舞以)
- Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen (エイラ・イルマタル・ユーティライネン) / Nakai Erika (仲井 絵里香)
- General Maloney (マロニー大将) / Akimoto Yousuke (秋元 羊介)
- Doctor (医者) / Matsuo Daisuke (松尾 大亮)