It’s hard to believe that the Strike Witches franchise has been going strong for the last fifteen years and that even over a decade after it first appeared, it is still getting spinoff anime series!
One of those spinoffs, Luminous Witches, is scheduled for release at some point in 2021. The spinoff now has a brand new key visual, which was released on Tuesday, July 21st.
This is in addition to the hilariously charming promotional video which was released back in April 2020.
Studio SHAFT will produce Luminous Witches with Shouji Saeki doing both the directing and writing for the idol series. A tribute to wartime entertainers, all the characters in this series will be named after famous performers from the 1940s.
The original Strike Witches first appeared as a manga in 2005 before getting a preview OVA and light novel series. The first television anime for the franchise aired in 2008 and was directed by Kazuhiro Takamura and animated by studio Gonzo. It grew even larger with a sequel series in 2010 which was animated by AIC Spirits. Over the last decade, the franchise has continued to grow, with multiple manga series, light novels, and video games being released.
The North American license is held by Funimation, who describes the story as:
In 1944, the world lives in fear of unidentified flying objects that even the military can’t thwart! Humanity turns its desperate eyes to the girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, better known as the Strike Witches. These dolls blast aliens to bits in the bat of an eyelash, and with a little magic and a whole lot of leg, the girls of the 501st are winning the war on pants — and aliens!
While it does admittedly go heavy on the fan service, the Strike Witches franchise is poised to make a big comeback in 2021 with multiple spinoffs, including the previously mentioned Luminous Witches. I, for one, am pretty excited about seeing what comes next for this title and will be waiting eagerly for the new year! The question is, am I alone in this?
Source: Comic Natalie
