“Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond.” –Ray Charles
Following the LNAF Band’s arrival in Britannia, they are whisked away to a variety of public relations events that leave them without a moment’s rest. Éléonore is invited to fly over to Gallia and help with the effort needed to raise morale withi the rebuilding effort. While she initially struggles with the decision, worried about what she will find back home, after a conversation with Virginia, Éléonore ends up taking the assignment, along with a feather from Moffy. On her first day, she visits Paris, and ends up making a request to Grace – Éléonore’s been curious to revisit her old home. Grace accepts this request, and the pair end up encountering a flock of black swans. Éléonore gives Moffy’s feather to the swans, who then fly off for Britannia, before running into the kitten she had as a child. Glad to see her doing well (the kitten’s grown up and has a family of her own now), Éléonore flies back to Britannia, where Virginia returns Moffy to the swans. Her Witch powers vanish, and she decides it’s time to return to her family, to the LNAF Band’s great disappointment. Grace reveals that command had intended Virginia to be transferred into a combat unit after she demonstrated the ability to communicate with other Night Witches, but with the loss of Witch powers, Grace approves for Virginia to be discharged. The impact on the LNAF Band is immense – everyone struggles with preparations for the Gallian concert and only find the strength to continue after imagining that Virginia is still with them. On the day Virginia prepares to board a train back to her parents, she overhears some passengers singing LNAF Band songs, and decides that Witch or not, she wants to be with Inori, Lyudmila, Maria, Manaia, Silvie, Joanna, Aira and Éléonore; Virginia manages to catch up to them just before they take off for Gallia. Upon arrival, the LNAF Band immediately begin preparations for their finale concert. Following a speech from Gallian Commander-in-Chief Cyrille de Gaulle, the LNAF Band take the stage and perform. During the concert, Moffy returns to Virginia and contracts with her, restoring her Witch powers. Following a successful performance, the LNAF Band return to Britannia and prepare to continue singing, starting with a one-year anniversary performance in the town near their headquarters. With this, Luminous Witches draws to a close, and with it, this marks the end of the latest Strike Witches spinoff, one which goes in a different direction than its predecessors.
Throughout its run, Luminous Witches hasn’t been subtle with its themes – this series reiterates the fact that all roles are of importance and that, just because someone is not on the frontlines actively contributing to the war effort, does not mean they can’t do what they can in a different capacity. Moreover, Luminous Witches illustrates how when people support one another, they are capable of excellence. Each member of the LNAF Band begin their journey as a misfit unsuited for combat operations, but together, everyone lifts one another upwards. This is demonstrated time and time again in Luminous Witches; Maria and the other Witches initially struggle to even fly, but they get around this by holding hands in the air. Over the course of Luminous Witches, the LNAF Band become more comfortable with one another and their duties, eventually becoming able to carry out the complex choreography that Maria’s envisioned in her mind and flying on their own. However, just because the Witches can fly on their own now doesn’t lead them to separate – instead, their bonds further strengthen. The sort of unity and spirit amongst members of the LNAF Band become critical because, once the Witches figure out how important they are to one another, these feelings become easier to convey in song. When Lyudmila and Inori struggle with the song-writing, advice to write the song to someone dear to them allows the pair to create the beginnings of music that connects hearts and minds together. The experiences the LNAF Band Witches have together come through in their music, and this allows the Music Squadron to reach people in ways they never imagined to be possible, showing how teamwork and putting forth one’s best can create things that far exceed expectations. In this way, Luminous Witches also exceeds expectations; although it’d been a spinoff of Strike Witches, the series has come to show another side to the Strike Witches universe, one that gives further insight into how large of an impact that the Human-Neuroi War is having on the world, but also how resilient humanity has been in this ongoing conflict, and how the resolve to keep fighting can come from the most unlikely of sources.
Luminous Witches also acts as an innovator in the Strike Witches franchise, marking the first time that Familiars are introduced into the series. Previously, the emphasis on the weekly battles against the Neuroi has meant that Witches are rushed into battle, and every available moment is shown of the Witches living and training together before taking into the skies to repel the Neuroi. The slower pacing in Luminous Witches has allowed for the series to finally depict the Familiars, spirit beings that are contractually bound to the Witches and provide their power. While the Familiars initially appeared to be an awkward addition that contradicted existing knowledge of how Witches operate, after Luminous Witches, it becomes clear that Familiars are an integral part of the series, being animal spirits that provide support and encouragement to Witches. However, despite their presence, Familiars never interfere with the LNAF Band’s ability to deliver hope; they are seamlessly woven into the story and are shown to have agency, accompanying worthy Witches on their experiences. Seeing Familiars in Luminous Witches leads to the question of whether or not they might become a more common aspect of future Strike Witches series: Luminous Witches has demonstrated how it is possible to introduce an element later into a series without breaking consistency established by previous works, and having now seen the Familiars, an additional side of the Strike Witches universe is finally shown to viewers. The strength of the bonds between a Witch and her Familiar is shown in Luminous Witches: although Virginia had thought she was doing the right thing by returning Moffy to her kin, it turns out Moffy’s come to enjoy her time with Virginia and sees her as a worthy Witch. Seeing this bond accounts for why Yoshika and Hikari never worry about their Familiars: they’ve likely already earned their Familiars’ trust and can therefore focus on doing what they can for those around them, too. At the end of Luminous Witches, it is firmly established that once Familiars see their Witch as worthy, they will stick around for the long haul, and this suggests that Virginia and Moffy will definitely be able to bring joy to the world alongside the other members of the LNAF Band.
Screenshots and Commentary
- The LNAF Band’s world tour drew to a close right after Yoshika and the 501st toppled the Gallia Hive; immediately after returning to Britannia, the LNAF Band is sent out on a public relations campaign to promote the Witches and their achievements. Although it’s exciting, the daily photography sessions and speeches leave the Witches exhausted. With the 501st’s victory, this marks the first time the events immediately following Strike Witches are animated, and from what Luminous Witches shows, the LNAF Band are even busier than their combat counterparts in the aftermath.
- In between speeches, the Witches have a chance to unwind briefly: they enjoy a meal here, and Lyudmila wonders why Éléonore’s been in the spotlight the whole time even though Aira technically leads the LNAF Band. Unsurprisingly, since Éléonore is from Gallia, she’s got a bit more pressure on her, since her homeland has now been liberated. On the wall in this room, a world map can be seen. The oldest iterations of Strike Witches show China as being completely annihilated and replaced by an ocean, but later maps show China, with the in-world lore suggesting that the region is under complete Neuroi control and is depopulated.
- This is a bit of a convenient way of avoiding the portrayal of Chinese Witches, which are noticeably absent in the whole of Strike Witches: it’s always struck me as odd that Fumikane Shimada declined to include Chinese Witches in Strike Witches, especially when considering how rich and storied Chinese culture is, but that’s a discussion for another time. Back in Luminous Witches, for Éléonore, the biggest conflict she experiences here is that while she yearns to return to Gallia, she also worries about seeing how damaged the country is following years of Neuroi occupation.
- Seeing the scope of the destruction must’ve been sobering to Éléonore: she spends her first day touring Paris, which has been levelled. The Eiffel Tower lies in ruins, and while she’s asked to pose for photographers, her mind returns to a time when she’d been a child and had met a stray cat. Having taken this cat in shortly before the Neuroi arrived, Éléonore was dismayed to separate with this cat during the evacuation. That evening, Éléonore reflects on how she became a Witch, and asks Grace for a small request. Éléonore’s story also shines a bit more light on how Witches work here: it turns out that young women can become Witches after meeting a Familiar.
- When Éléonore’s familiar ends up spotting some black swans, she pulls out the feather she’d brought with her. The swans appear to recognise it and fly off, seemingly in search of their companion. They leave behind a single black feather that Éléonore hangs on to. Throughout Luminous Witches, Virginia’s determination to bring Moffy back to her family has never wavered, no matter how many tours she’d gone on with the LNAF Band, and this side of Virginia shows that while she’s still young and starry-eyed, there’s a side of her that’s not dissimilar to Strike Witches‘ Yoshika, and Brave Witches‘ Hikari.
- Although Éléonore’s family safely evacuated, the cat she’d left behind would continue to weigh on her conscience. However, this uncertainty is resolved when Éléonore finds the exact same cat, who’s now started a family of her own. To her, seeing this signifies how people can find ways to endure and survive even during the toughest of times; if her cat could make it, then there is hope that some day, human resilience and resolve means that life will return to Gallia.
- Éléonore thanks Virginia for having encouraged her to participate in the tour of Gallia and gives her the feather she’d picked up from the swans. Earlier, Virginia spoke to how mysterious her meeting with Moffy was, citing it unusual that Moffy chose to remain with her after all this time. Virginia felt that Moffy has longed to soar and believes that as thanks for having been with her until now, it’s her duty to help Moffy find her kin. This pep talk motivated Éléonore to summon the courage needed to fly over to Gallia. Virginia might not have any combat experienced and is comparatively young, but her naïveté allows her to be very forward about how she feels, similarly to Yoshika.
- Moffy responds to the feather, and moments later, the black swans arrive to take her home. It is here that Moffy and Virginia part ways: Virginia is sad to see Moffy go but appears to have no regrets, having finally achieved what she’d set out to do. Shortly after, her powers as a Witch vanish, and this left me to wonder how Luminous Witches‘ mechanics fit in with what previous instalments had established: Familiars were completely absent in Strike Witches‘ three seasons and Brave Witches, with magic being treated as one’s ability to draw power from another dimension.
- However, here in Luminous Witches, it appears that being a Witch is directly related to one’s Familiar, and accessing magic is done by forming a contract with a Familiar. If a Witch releases a Familiar from their contract, they subsequently lose their power. Admittedly, this was a bit surprising to see, since it does go against what earlier works had suggested. Inconsistency is something that can arise in long-running works, no matter how much attention is paid to details. Even Girls und Panzer makes gaffes from time to time: in the third OVA, Miho and her friends visit a desert on the Ooarai School Ship even though previous footage of the ship shows no such terrain.
- As the evening sets in, Virginia’s fellow LNAF members look on in silence as she contemplates what’s happened. On one hand, Virginia is happy that Moffy has reunited with her kin, but without any magic, she’s no longer a Witch. The lighting in this scene is vivid: it marks the end of one milestone in Luminous Witches, and there’s a bit of tension as the other Witches wonder what will happen next. Although no dialogue is present after Virginia gives up her Witch powers, the lighting speaks volumes to how uncertain everyone is feeling about things. This left the anticipation for the penultimate episode quite high.
- In retrospect, Virginia giving up her Witch powers is not the unexpected twist that it had been in the moment: prior to the climax of Strike Witches, the protagonist would always be put in a position where they would leave, only for circumstance and fate to push them back towards their companions. Strike Witches is a series defined by its propensity to stick with a known approach, and while this leaves both the main series and spin-offs predictable, the variations in how similar circumstances come about show how all of the Witches share a common mindset, whether they’re fighting to take a hive down or sing together for a nation’s morale.
- Virginia’s circumstances shift wildly: command had been eyeing her for a combat role now that they know she’s capable of transmitting (during the Orussian leg of their tour, Virginia managed to send the Neuroi’s location to nearby Witches), but with her Witch powers gone, she decides to transfer out of the armed forces and return home now that she can no longer use her magic to be useful to her fellow LNAF Band members. Virginia was therefore set to leave the Music Squadron one way or another, although since losing her magic precludes her transfer into a combat unit, this outcome actually becomes a little more favourable for the LNAF Band.
- While I’ve been around Strike Witches long enough to know that things will always unfold in a way to build up tension before the big finale, the series’ sequels and spinoffs have always found a way to create emotional investment; here in Luminous Witches, Virginia’s departure has a nontrivial impact on the group. Viewers have seen for themselves the sort of encouragement and energy Virgina bought to the table, and her sudden decision to leave the band surprises everyone. I would imagine that Virginia chose this route because she didn’t want to drag out any goodbyes.
- After Virginia leaves her post, the other Witches begin preparations for their concert in Paris. However, without Virginia, everyone’s feeling a little off. Of everyone, Inori seems to be hit hardest: Luminous Witches has her in the role of “protagonist’s best friend”, and while it’s plain the pair are quite close, it suddenly hits me that Virginia doesn’t have quite as much on-screen time spent with Inori as Yoshika and Lynette did. Luminous Witches was written to be a 1-cour anime, and its story is sufficiently simple such that it would fit into this timeframe, but a part of me feels that, had this series been given a more unconventional fifteen episodes, it would’ve offered the space to flesh out characters and show off the concerts further.
- While Inori and Lyudmilla talk about Virginia’s influence on their music, Maria and Manaia struggle with adapting their choreography to a team of eight, and Joanna and Silvie decide to make a ninth costume for Virginia anyways, even though she’s gone. While perhaps unremarkable compared to the other LNAF Band members, all of whom have their own unique quirks, Virginia’s biggest asset is that she comes from an everyman’s background. The tabula rasa archetype is a common one in anime and acts as a stand-in for viewers, who would similarly have no a priori knowledge of a world. A character’s growth from interacting with the fictional world, then, is a parallel for the viewer’s own increasing immersion into the world.
- This is why military moé anime tend to feature similar protagonists: viewers share the same perspective as the protagonist and feel like they’re learning about the world alongside the lead character. Back in Luminous Witches, the LNAF Band go ahead with their latest speech prior to their departure for Gallia. In the end, everyone’s decided to prepare as though Virginia were still among their number. Although they continue to do what they can, Virginia’s absence is noticeable, and Inori breaks down in tears in between events.
- Virginia boards a train and prepares to make her way back home: she hears the LNAF Band performing on the radio and wishes she were still a part of them. However, having resigned herself to her old life, Virginia boards the train. Here, I remark that Luminous Witches, befitting of a music-themed Strike Witches, has an excellent soundtrack, but at the time of writing, I’ve not heard anything about the series’ incidental music being available for purchase anywhere. Some of the songs that were performed during Luminous Witches will be released as a part of the character albums, but I would’ve liked to have seen the incidental music be released, too: Strike Witches‘ soundtracks, while perhaps not the most remarkable or innovative, do successfully capture the emotional tenour in this universe.
- On board the train, after Virginia hears some of the other passengers singing a LNAF Band song, she thanks everyone for their support, and some of the children immediately recognise her. After spotting this, Virginia realises that Witch or not, she’s become an integral member of the LNAF Band. The children encourage her to return to her friends, and on the spur of the moment, Virginia asks her uncle to take her back to the airfield. The others are preparing for takeoff, but after Inori spots Virginia returning, she and the Witches implore Grace to cancel takeoff.
- One supposes that the Lancaster has not hit V1 yet (the speed at which takeoff should not be aborted): takeoff is halted, giving Virginia a chance to catch up with her fellow LNAF Band members and join them on their finale tour in Gallia. Inori, Lyudmilla, Manaia, Maria, Silvie, Joanna, Éléonore and Aira rush out to greet her, tearfully welcoming Virginia back. For Virginia, the realisation she’s had here is that magical powers or not, her experience with everyone meant that at the very least, she should follow her heart and do what she can for those around her.
- Luminous Witches proved to be an unexpectedly moving series: it’s a ways more tearful than its combat-oriented counterparts, but I was surprised that the series was able to focus on the emotional aspects of music so effectively. Strike Witches has long been known for its fanservice, so seeing the series dialling this back in favour of character growth and world-building has been especially enjoyable. With Virginia on board, it’s now onto Gallia for one final performance: having Virginia back lifts the LNAF Band’s spirits considerably, allowing Luminous Witches to enter its final episode on a high note.
- In this way, Virginia returns to join her companions for one final performance at Gallia: the new LNAF Band uniforms look amazing, befitting of a celebration of humanity’s first major triumph over the Neuroi. While Virginia might lack any magic, her singing and dancing remain in good shape: shortly after arrival, the group practises for the show. On the day of the event, Éléonore and Aira watch as Gallian Commander-in-Chief Cyrille de Gaulle gives a speech. de Gaulle is modelled Charles de Gaulle, who led the Free France movement against Nazi Germany and ran the provisional government after France’s liberation.
- de Gaulle would later become the President of France and retain his post until he resigned in 1969. Although there were some controversies in his time, de Gaulle is widely regarded as having a positive impact on France. During Luminous Witches‘ finale, several other Allied commanders can be seen, including General Patton and General Bradley. I had been hoping that the 501st would make an appearance during Luminous Witches‘ grand performance, but in retrospect, their absence is a consequence of the 501st being disbanded immediately after they destroyed the Gallian hive.
- Virginia watches with joy as her friends soar into the skies for the first song of their performance. The Witches are performing on the Arc de Triomphe, an iconic Paris landmark that was finished in 1836 to honour those who fought for France in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. In Strike Witches, the presence of the Arc de Triomphe suggests that there was equivalent events in Gallian history, and from the top of the monument, the Witches notice that Paris had been rendered quite dark following the Neuroi occupation. When their performance begins, however, the LNAF Band’s music and spirits light up the night skies.
- As Virginia continues to sing her part on the ground, her feather begins glowing. Inori had added the feather to her uniform so she could perform with a part of Moffy, and while Virginia cannot see the feather, the gesture is appreciated all the same. An elegant black shape appears in the night skies mid-performance, and it’s Moffy, who’s returned to Virginia. One can imagine that after meeting her kin, Moffy decided that her future also lay with Virginia, and this time, it appears that Moffy’s agreed to contract with Virginia. In a heartwarming moment, Virginia and Moffy reunite.
- The resulting union creates a burst of magical signals that spreads across the world. From this moment, I gathered that it is probable that in her juvenile form, Moffy’s own abilities had not fully manifested yet, which would be why Virginia could only receive and not transmit. However, by maturing, Moffy gains the ability to transmit, as well. Mirroring this, Virginia’s magic antennae change shape and assumes the form of a parabolic dish. The LNAF Band’s music is transmitted across the world to all Night Witches, who are able to hear the LNAF Band’s performance.
- Two familiar Witches, Heidemarie and Sanya, are given a cameo appearance as some of the Witches who receive the LNAF Band’s music. I’ve not seen Heidemarie since the events of Strike Witches: The Movie some six years ago, as well as the manga, The Sky That Connects Us. It is a little surprising as to how long Strike Witches has been around for: I found the series back in 2011 purely by chance, and while the Strike Witches back then had been a monster-of-the-week deal, the series has matured considerably over the years to the point where it plainly stands on the merits of its character growth and world building.
- Gratuitous pantsu and crotch shots are totally absent in Luminous Witches, a first for Strike Witches and its spinoffs, but this never detracts from the show itself. Having said this, I feel that it was through the original fanservice that gave Strike Witches its recognition, and this is what created enough interest to allow the series to continue exploring the world that was introduced. Back in Luminous Witches, with her magic now back in full, Maria and Manaia immediately hand Virginia her Striker Unit. Having not flown for a while, Virginia’s flight is unsteady, but Inori and Lyudmilla help her into the skies.
- By this point in time, the LNAF Band have become sufficiently comfortable with flying such that they no longer hold hands when taking to the skies, allowing Maria and Manaia to choreograph increasingly sophisticated routines for their performances. I’ve always felt the hand-holding was an excellent visual metaphor for reflecting on how these non-combat Witches supported one another, and over the course of the series, it appears that by supporting one another, everyone’s also lifted themselves up.
- After performing their flight, the LNAF Band return to the Arc de Triomphe, which is now surrounded by thousands of spectators. Seeing such a number of people here speaks volumes to how much of an impact the group has had on morale around the world. In the finale, it did feel a little jarring to see SHAFT simplify the crowd animation: in most idol anime, audiences are rendered using a sea of glowsticks, but glowsticks are a post World War Two invention – Michael M. Rauhut invented the precusor to modern glowsticks in 1971. In the absence of the usual audience, crowds in Luminous Witches‘ finale do seem a little unusual.
- Miracles are a common part of Strike Witches, allowing characters to overcome their internal struggles and achieve the impossible at the last possible hour. Luminous Witches joins its predecessors in suggesting that such miracles are not deus ex machina, but rather, the culmination of bonds of trust and respect cultivated over many trials and tribulations. While following the same approach, Strike Witches and its spin-offs remain worth watching because of how different the bonds among the characters are.
- After the whole of Luminous Witches, Grace has become my favourite of the characters. Although she’s not a performer herself, Grace is talented and motivated, working from behind the scenes to ensure that the LNAF Band can be successful. Grace is voiced by Mikako Komatsu, and a quick search of this blog’s archives finds that Komatsu is Pride of Orange‘s Yōko, the Dream Monkey’s coach. Unlike Yōko, however, Grace is realistic about what she does, and a part of the joy of watching Luminous Witches is seeing her efforts come to fruition.
- Because Grace had been responsible for the LNAF Band’s successes to the same extent that each of Virginia, Inori, Lyudmila, Maria, Manaia, Silvie, Joanna, Éléonore and Aira had, Aira and Éléonore decide it’s time to give Grace some shine time while everyone else prepares for the next act. While she’s at a loss for words, professionalism kicks in, and Grace begins with a speech thanking everyone. However, the size of the crowd soon fills her with a desire to sing.
- Grace thus performs Amazing Grace for the thousands gathered – it is probably the most iconic of English hymns, and from a secular standpoint, symbolises the delivery of hope. Seeing Grace perform was quite unexpected: she had spent the whole of Luminous Witches putting the LNAF Band together and encouraging everyone to do their best, as well as arranging for their tours, accommodations and other supporting elements. However, when the chips are down, Grace has a wonderful singing voice too: unlike the other managers in idol series, Grace is also a capable singer in her own right and never missteps.
- With the concert drawing to a close, the LNAF Band prepare for their last song, and thanks to Virginia’s awakened Witch powers, the entire concert is broadcast around the world, speaking to the strength of everyone’s feelings. As a bit of a parallel, the fact that the world has rallied around the LNAF Band and their music also speaks to humanity’s determination to live on. It is going to be a little sad to see Luminous Witches go: having accompanied me for the past three months, I looked forwards to watching episodes every week. While Luminous Witches‘ Sunday release meant I often missed episodes on Sunday itself, since I was out and about capitalising on the summer weather.
- With autumn now here, the trees have finally begun to turn yellow, and I capitalised on the weather to go for a walk around Weaselhead Flats, a park in another part of town I rarely visit. If memory serves, the last time I visited Weaselhead Flats, I was finishing up primary school. It was a balmy 22ºC today, and as such, the walk was especially enjoyable. Yesterday, I walked the inner city and hit a viewpoint offering a stunning view of the city centre. I understand that this past weekend, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II open beta was running, but when the weather’s this nice, the games can wait.
- Thanks to Virginia’s magic, the Gallian performance reaches a worldwide audience, filling the skies with a display far surpassing even today’s 8K screens. While technology has advanced considerably since the Second World War, to the point where we’re able to stream UHD in real time to people around the world, the constraints of an older era meant that reaching so many people would definitely have a romantic appeal to it. In this way, people around the world are able to celebrate the destruction of the Gallian hive and have hope that there is a chance of winning the Human-Neuroi War.
- Following the Gallian concert, Moffy reverts to her old form, and the LNAF Band prepare to practise again: a year has passed since Grace gathered everyone and formed the LNAF Band, and everyone’s been allowed to stay together. Demand for morale-lifting music is at an all-time high, and the Music Squadron must keep training to stay at the top of their game. However, despite the hard work involved, everyone’s all smiles now that they’re allowed to stick together.
- When I wrote about the Luminous Witches preview video back in February 2021, I had been hoping that the series would come out soon, but various circumstances led to Luminous Witches‘ being delayed. The series soon fell from my mind, but when it was finally given a release date, I’d been quite excited to watch it. The end result exceeded my expectations – I had already known that I would enjoy anything set in the Strike Witches universe, but how Luminous Witches unfolded proved to be captivating. Despite there being no combat to speak of, and correspondingly, no military hardware to discuss, watching everyone slowly becoming closer over the the course of the season proved very rewarding.
- While Grace acts embarrassed at the thought of performing alongside the others, I imagine that she’s also a little pleased that the others suggest she’s still youthful enough to sing. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Grace with Virginia and the others, and here, I will note that both interest in and discussions surrounding Luminous Witches have been quite limited – my posts on Luminous Witches have been quiet, and other discussions (excluding episodic reactions) on the series are hard to come by. However, I would still like to thank those for sticking this journey out, and I hope that my approach towards Luminous Witches have been helpful to some capacity.
- Overall, Luminous Witches earns an A+ (4.0 of 4.0, or 9.5 of 10) – this series exemplifies how far the Strike Witches franchise has come in presenting a touching series with lovable characters, and, even without the aspects that are central to Strike Witches, can remain faithful to the originals while at the same time, continuing to build out the world further. After twelve episodes, I’m familiar with the Music Squadron the same way I’m familiar with the 501st and 502nd. While the series may not have changed my world views to any significant extent, I exit Luminous Witches fully satisfied and grateful to have followed this series every week.
As SHAFT’s first Strike Witches, Luminous Witches was of a technically excellent quality in its hand-animated scenes, voice acting, music and audio engineering. The main shortcoming in the series is how blocky the dance sequences look – this is traditionally the weakest aspect of any idol anime, where computer animations are used to render multiple characters dancing simultaneously. While Luminous Witches makes an effort in trying to clean these scenes up, their usage remains quite evident. On the other hand, every other aspect of Luminous Witches is of a consistently good quality, allowing Virginia and the LNAF Band’s experiences to remain immersive and convincing. Altogether, while Luminous Witches is not particularly innovative or novel from a storytelling perspective, and the technical aspects aren’t groundbreaking, the series’ sincerity and genuine characters make this a worthy addition to the Strike Witches universe, showing how it’s possible to support people in ways beyond picking up a weapon and eliminating the Neuroi one at a time. By being able to reach the hearts and minds of the civilian populations in a given nation, the LNAF Band give the people a reason to hold onto hope, and to keep backing the Witches as everyone works together to repel the Neuroi and restore peace to a war-ravaged world. Luminous Witches therefore ends up being a touching series, one which both expands on the Strike Witches universe and demonstrates how much of the world still remains to be explored. With this being said, because Luminous Witches is dependent on a priori knowledge of the other Witches and the gravity of the Human-Neuroi War, Luminous Witches cannot be considered to be an ordinary idol anime. One will have the most enjoyment of this series if they’ve seen at least the original 2008 Strike Witches series; while this one’s a little dated, it provides enough insight into the Human-Neuroi War such that the events of Luminous Witches have more context. On the other hand, Luminous Witches is a fantastic series for existing fans of the series, adding a new dimension to a universe that has been steadily maturing and improving since it began its run.
The Infinite Zenith 