Strike Witches: One winged witches!
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Entry posted by Dergonu
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Hello hello! It's time to do something a little different and so I thought I would make kind of a review / overview of the Strike Witches manga, specifically my favorite in the series: One winged witches.
So One winged witches is just one of the several arcs which you can find in the strike witches manga, but what is so nice about the Strike Witches manga is that they don't rely heavily on each other, meaning you can read it in any order you want. (Though basic knowledge of the characters in the series will be fairly important.
Introduction:
What is Strike Witches?
Strike witches is a fairly popular shoujo ai anime and manga that features many pretty young witches as they fight against the alien race "the neuroi". The series is set in an alternate timeline where world war II is not fought against ourselves, but against a common enemy; the aliens, neuroi that has invaded earth. It's actually quite interesting and I could go on about the hidden meanings behind many of the characters, events etc. and how they link to WW2 and human nature for days, but I'll skip that and save it for a different time. Today is all about One winged witches!
If you have absolutely no knowledge about Strike Witches at all, this is pretty much spoiler free, but it might be a little bit hard to understand if you have not watched any of the anime / read any of the manga.
The One winged witches!
The one winged witches starts us off with the very well known, and yet nearly never used character, Wilma Bishop. Interesting trivia for those who didn't know, Wilma was actually the first witch ever drawn. She is the older sister of Lynette Bishop, one of the elites in the 501st joint fighter wing, the main cast of Strike Witches.
The one winged witches are witches who doesn't have the same amazing abilities found in the main branches of the witch forces like the strike witches(501st), storm witches(31st), brave witches(502nd) etc. Some of them are wounded and cannot keep up with the elites, some are actually very skilled but are way to egotistic and cannot function in a big, joint fighting force and some are too old. (For those of you who don't know, when you reach a certain age in Strike Witches, your witch powers starts to dvindle and falter. This is different for most witches, but after the age of 20 it usually starts to set in.)
Wilma has joined the silly little group for reasons currently unkown and she joins the completely un-organized witches in their fight against the neuroi.
The One winged witches' job is very simple: They are located at a base fairly close to the 501st and so the one winged witches only have to deal with the stray neuroi that is not destroyed by the elites.
The story
After Wilma joins the group she is met with many different impressions. Some of the members hate her and some quickly take a liking to her. The story itself is very simple and slice of life like, even more so than previous Strike Witches titles. There is of course still a fair share of drama in between, in fights and among the members, but the general feel of the story is slice of life through and through.
This is one of the Strike Witches arcs that honestly makes me cry every time. Now, I am a sissy; this is an established fact. Anyways, the story is quite simply Wilma trying to make the one winged witches come together and fight as a team. She is one of the most experienced witches and she is very charismatic and full of energy, which makes her a good peacekeeper in the group. (Taking over the role of the actual commanding officer in a way.)
The characters:
Amelie Planchard - A fairly timid witch who absolutely adores Perrine from the 501st joint fighter wing. Wilma wants to help her improve so that she can once again fly next to Perrine.
Francie Gerard - A fairly shy witch. She doesn't believe in her own abilities, something that Wilma wants to do something about during the story. She is a big fan of Charlotte from the 501st, and because of this there is some rivarly between her and Amelie. (As in, my crush is better than yours!!!)
Misa Kadomaru - She is the captain of the one winged witches. As you might have guessed by now, Wilma will try help her in making the members of the team collaborate and function better together.
Laura Toth - An elite from the 501st join fighter wing, who was thrown out due to her inability to function well with others in a team. She is very confident in her own abilities, but Wilma wants to try to teach her the beauty of friendship and cooperation.
Wilma Bishop - Basically the protagonist of the books. She is the new recruit but quickly becomes the most important member in the group.
Conclusion: Simple but effective
So this has been fairly short, but seeing as this series is simply 2 manga volumes its hard to go into very detailed information without spoiling literally everything about it.
One winged witches is a beautiful story about the so called "detatchement group" coming together and going through a lot in order to strengthen their bonds and prove that even though they are considered "the broken witches" they still work just as hard as everyone else. The characters are all interesting and taking into consideration that its only 2 manga volumes, they have a lot of character developement and backstory which is interesting and touching. Each one of them has an idol they want to live up to and a dream they want to achieve. Wilma is by far my favorite character in the entire Strike Witches universe, and that was honestly brought on soley by this short little series.
Overall one winged witches is a wonderful little story that will leave you craving for more, (and there is a lot more, with 2 anime seasons, 1 movie, another season coming soon and plenty of other works like more manga etc.) What makes this story so good is the interaction between the little group and the way you get to watch them grow together. The ending is satisfying and touching and ... And ... BEWBZ!!! 
Sorry. Had to throw that in there. The ecchi is indeed strong with this one at times. If you want panty shots and bare breasts when the occation calls for it then you have come to the right place.
So that is it for now guys, thanks for reading! 
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