Strike Witches RtB, Ep 12 [END]: I Still Want to Protect

The Strike Witches fight the Wolf Neuroi in the decisive battle for Berlin.

Episode 12 – “I Still Want to Protect”

Hmm.

Strike Witches used Yoshika to assert that the key to unlock great power is the purest intention of protecting another. Also, you need to yell loudly to let that intention out. Yoshika did both, healed Shizuka, became faster than Shirley, and used her shield power to crush the Neuroi. It was great to see, but it was still a deus ex machina.

Tied to Yoshika’s huge well of magic power, which Strike Witches did a better job of establishing, was how Yoshika ended up using her superbly efficient Striker Units. Shizuka connecting with Mio’s plane and borrowing Yoshika’s equipment started a believable chain of events leading to Yoshika’s big blue power up. Shizuka’s desperate need to make up for Yoshika losing her power was credible motivation for her to disobey Mio’s orders. Good thing too, otherwise Super Saiyan Yoshika wouldn’t have been there to stop the Wolf and let the Karlsland witches have their revenge.

Heh.

Things look bad inside the Zoo Tower. There goes the Landkreuzer. Boom! Strike Witches take the subway. Uh oh. One of Shizuka’s flying boots has damage from when the dome wall came down on her. She’ll need to stay behind. Key plot moment, I’m sure, coming right up! Berlin’s Underground has seen better days. Trude needed her super strength to get inside an access tunnel.

Here we go! Santa Mio brings good girl Shizuka lots of presents. Oh ho. This B-17 still has its anti-Neuroi bombs. Oof. Yoshika needs to worry about a crazy soldier on the roof. Ooh. Those anti-Neuroi bombs work slightly on the thick dome. Minna’s mapping ability is an asset in the Underground’s tunnels. Trude shines for punching through walls. That wall burst apart like a Neuroi! It was a Neuroi wall. The Strike Witches are inside the Dome.

The Neuroi in Strike Witches love looking through Nazi blueprints. That explains a great many things about their vehicles. Wolf made the whole Germania city attached to the Dome. Har. Minna calls Hitler a “former Karlsland Emperor who was forced to step down.” That is a massive amount of Neuroi drones. This is end stage video game stuff right here.

Nice. Yoshika starts to hope. She can see Neuroi going underground and the dome becoming transparent. The Strike Witches are hurting the Wolf.

The eye catches explain the Landkreuzer Ratte an episode too late and Yoshika defiantly looks up at the Neuroi. You’re doing fine, Yoshika!

With all this shooting going on, I always wonder where the Strike Witches keep their ammo. Hahaha! Eila still has time to be possessive of Sanya. Oh ho. Shizuka got Yoshika’s toys for Christmas. Can she handle those Striker Units? She’ll need to, because it’s the only way to set off a bomb directly on the dome. Ah. Shizuka feels Yoshika’s machine draining her magic too quickly. Shizuka got it! We still have time for panty shots in the season finale.

This Wolf Neuroi is tough. There’s a hole in the dome, but it’s already closing. The Strike Witches version of Patton likes swearing. The real one did too. “Got Dam!” Oh no. Shizuka can see Yoshika with Patton. Ack. Yoshika didn’t find a broken pipe, but she picked up a machine gun. Not good enough. Oho. Shizuka got a power-up when she felt the urge to protect. Shizuka made it in time, but she’ll run out of magic. Ouch. A beam shot right through Shizuka. This will be Yoshika’s trigger, of course. Not to beat a Neuroi with a broken pipe, but to heal a friend.

Super Saiyan Yoshika! She healed Shizuka, so that worked out. Please take a moment of silence for the impending beatdown of the Wolf Neuroi. The underground Neuroi went upstairs to deal with the real threat. Uh, yeah. Yoshika is more of a threat than the other Strike Witches. She’s shooting Neuroi, but she’s also making multiple shields to crush the Neuroi between them. Defensive power is now offensive power.

The other Strike Witches find a fully functional Yoshika, who credits Shizuka for making it happen. Shirley asked the right question, “What the heck is going on here?” Just enjoy the Super Saiyan Yoshika, okay? Ugh. The Wolf Neuroi built that Germania city up in the sky like a cloud. Too late for that guy. The 501st Joint Fighter Wing stars in a music video taking down a red city. Don’t even try to count the panty shots.

The Wolf Neuroi had enough. Run away! Who can catch it? Shirley, the fastest of the Strike Witches, says she can’t. The Karlslander witches won’t give up, but they’re not closing the distance. Super Saiyan Yoshika is on it. It’s trapped now. Trude, Erica, and Minna can get their revenge. Minna got the shot! Let there be light.

Yay! Lynne and Yoshika OTP! Happy ending for Erica, Trude, and Minna. Berlin is free. Yoshika says the fight continues against the Neuroi in Southern Karlsland and Ostmark.

Fin.

Final Thoughts.

When the Strike Witches movie came out in 2012, it had already been many years since the second season in 2010 and the first season in 2008. Brave Witches in 2016 was okay, and it had Eila and Sanya in it for a little bit, but what fans wanted was a true third season of Strike Witches. The Road to Berlin acknowledged the progression of time from the second season through the movie, which made it a real continuation of the plot. Fans received the third season they were hoping for.

There were challenges to making this season interesting. The Strike Witches characters’ relationships were all solid, so it would have been difficult to add any more development to them. The Neuroi of the Week plot device reconnected some of the main couples to the audience, but it served as fanservice until the main plot took over the storytelling.

Thankfully, those side stories still contributed the important parts to this season’s main themes of wanting to protect loved ones and contributing even when one’s main talent is gone. Shizuka, who felt extra pressure to perform well since she replaced Mio in the Strike Witches’ roster and later to help Yoshika in whatever way she could, was always a part of these stories, so the main story arc’s plot and character elements of the Strike Witches version of the Battle of Berlin didn’t feel bolted on at the end. Shizuka and Yoshika’s story of lost magic and seeking approval were present throughout the season, especially in Perrine’s star turn episode.

Unfortunately, 2020 is a much different time in terms of social morals than 2008 or 2012, so the other kind of fanservice we’ve appreciated from Strike Witches’ past seasons was sorely lacking. Sure, the panty shots were all there, but they weren’t always the lovingly hand-drawn versions of peach-shaped crotch shots. The Blu-ray bait wasn’t obvious either. I did appreciate the one pure fanservice episode of the zombie oppai invasion, but that could have been an OVA or disc-set special because it contributed nothing to the season and didn’t even have a Neuroi of the Week plot. It was a timely reminder that the greatest boobie monster in the whole World Witches franchise is Yoshika Mayafuji.

Overall, I enjoyed Strike Witches Road to Berlin. It felt like coming home and visiting with the same pants-less magical girls wearing thigh-high boots we’ve loved from years past. We’re not even done watching their slice-of-life antics. In 2019 we saw the short form gag comedy version of the Strike Witches and this coming winter season we’ll have the squad spending screen time with the Brave Witches of the 502nd JFW. There still won’t be the sexy fanservice of years’ past, but the fun jokes and gags based on the lovable characters will be a major draw. The war on pants continues in 2021.

Strike Witches Road to Berlin streams on Crunchyroll and VRV.