Strike Witches/Characters: Difference between revisions

 

The 501st JFW, also known as the Strike Witches, is a specialist unit composed entirely of witches originally stationed in Britannia and later in Romagna. Although their primary duty is defending the area where they are stationed from neuroi, they are the ones responsible for liberating Gallia from the neuroi. After the liberation of Gallia they were disbanded, however they were reformed in Romagna to help defend the area. During the liberation of Gallia they were one of the squadrons under the command of Trevor Maloney, after they were reformed to defend Romagna they were placed under the command of Adolfine Galland.

* [[Amplifier Artifact]]: Their striker units function as magical amplifiers as well strengthening their spells.

* [[Child Soldiers]]: They range in age form twelve to twenty (meaning the older ones don't count for this trope). Given the generally optimistic tone of the show, the darker side of this trope is never explored.

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These are the maidens who make up the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, better known as the ''[[Strike Witches]]''.

=== Yoshika Miyafuji ===

Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji comes from a family of magical doctors on the island nation of Fuso. Her father was responsible for the creation of the Striker Unit, magically powered engines that amplify magic, to counter the Neuroi. However her father was killed in the war tainting Yoshika's perception of it. She was initially reluctant when Mio [[Call to Adventure|came to recruit her]], but after helping to defend the Fuso fleet from a Neroi attack, she agreed to join the 501st Strike Witches. Yoshika's striker unit is based on the Mitsubishi Zero A6M3a and she carries around a Type 99 13mm machine gun. She's named after the WWII ace Kanayoshi Mutou.

* [[Accidental Pervert]]: She has a habit of staring and grabbing onto the breasts of the well endowed members of the unit, though Lynette's the usual target. She even unconsciously does it in her sleep!

* [[Barrier Warrior]]: Her shield are noted to be far stronger than average and she seems to have a higher magical capacity than most.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: She's very nearly a pacifist. The first time she really seems to want the Neuroi to die ''right the hell now'' is after it almost kills Lynne. She even goes on a short [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to do it. After a [[Dungeon Bypass]] ''straight through its center of motion'', firing her machine gun all the way.

* [[Bi the Way]]: In spite of her close [[Les Yay]] relationship with Lynne-chan, Yoshika is still overjoyed at receiving her very first love letter from a boy; namely an admirer in the Fuso navy. Something ''might'' have come of it if Minna didn't rain on her parade and ended the relationship before it even began by pulling rank.

* [[Healing Hands]]: She tends to channel her healing magic through her hands.

* [[Heroic Resolve]]: Mio has noted that Yoshika's magical abilities seem to increase under stress.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: The last few episodes of the first season are almost a direct cause of her honorable nature trumping observational evidence. [[Spanner in the Works|Then again...]]

* [[Idiots Cannot Catch Colds]]: According to episode 8 of the second season, she's never caught a cold in her life.

* [[Naive Newcomer]]: The newest one into the squadron and due to Japan's relative isolation from the war she has very little idea of what has been going on.

* [[Nice Girl]]: Again, she treats everybody with compassion and doesn't hold grudges. Not even against Perrine who's constantly insulting her.

* [[Petting Zoo People]]: She takes on the features of a Shiba Inu when she uses magic.

* [[Sailor Fuku]]: Her signature outfit is this over a [[School Swimsuit]].

* [[Stone Wall]]: Her shields are very good but she seems to have a far lower kill rate than everybody else in the squadron.

 

=== Lynette Bishop ("Lynne") ===

* [[Apologizes a Lot]]: Apologizing seems to be her first knee-jerk reflex.

* [[Bi the Way]]: In spite of her close [[Les Yay]] relationship with Yoshika-chan, Lynne-chan was overjoyed for the latter when she received her very first love letter from a boy; full of encouragement and support and doing her best to help that potential friendship blossom into a full romance... [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|until Mina stepped in and ruined everything.]]

 

=== Mio Sakamoto ===

Major Mio Sakamoto, the second in command of the Strike Witches, worked with Yoshika's father on the Striker Units and is therefore the oldest witch. As a veteran of the initial fights against the Neuroi, she is far tougher and more disciplined than most of the Strike Witches. Her primary job is to train new recruits and takes a no-nonsense "tough love" approach to her duties. As the second in command of the Strike Witches she supports Minna and maintains discipline when out of battle and locates the weak point of Neuroi with her magic eye in battle. Her striker is based on the Mutsubishi Zero A6M3a in season one and the Kawanishi N1K in season two: in battle she carries a Type 99 13mm machine gun and a katana. Her character is named after WWII aces Saburo Sakai. She is known for her distinctive, hearty laugh.

* [[Badass]]

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]: Known for her rolling, jolly laugh of approval for innocence and/or righteous behavior.

* [[Bar Sinister]]: Oddly enough this appears on her eye-patch as well as her as well as her emblem.

* [[Cool Big Sis]]: Serves as this role to ease newcomers into their new military life.

* [[Cool Sword]]: [[Named Weapons|Reppumaru]], a katana she forges herself using magic and it can block lasers.

* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: [[All in The Manual|According to supplemental material]], new recruits in the Fusou Navy call her "Sakamoto the Demon" behind her back.

* [[Enemy Scan]]: When she looks at a Neuroi with her magic eye she can see its weak point.

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]: She wears a patch that hides her Neuroi core-detecting right eye.

* {{spoiler|[[Heroic BSOD]]: Not only does she have no shield anymore, but Reppumaru ate up almost all of her magic to the point that she can't even fire off [[Sword Beam|Reppuzan]] anymore.}}

* [[Hot-Blooded]]: A bit more tempered than most, but is not one to back down from a fight.

* [[Lady of War]]: Again, modeled after a stereotypical samurai.

* [[The Other Darrin]]: [[Saeko Chiba]] in the first season got replaced by Saori Seto in the second season.

* [[Petting Zoo People]]: She takes on Doberman traits when she uses magic.

* [[Spell My Name with an "S"]]: Is her rank squadron commander or major?

** Or properly, she should be a [[Just Bugs Me|Lieutenant Commander]] and Yoshika a [[Artistic License Ships|Petty Officer]] of some sort.

 

=== Minna Dietlinde Wilcke ===

Wing Commander, or Oberstleutnant, Minna Dietlinde Wilcke is the leader of the 501st joint fighter wing and the commander of the Karlsland Air Force. After the Neuroi appeared and her lover was killed, she gave up her dream of becoming a singer to join the Karlsland Air Force. Because of her traumatic past, the safety of her subordinates is her top priority. Despite her kind and gentle demeanor she will go to any lengths to protect her subordinates. She is even willing to issue orders specifically to prevent them from being hurt and she was the one behind the order forbidding male workers in the base from socializing with the witches. Her striker unit is based on the Messerschmitt BF109G2 and her weapon is the MG42 machine gun. Her character is named after the WWII ace [[wikipedia:Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke|Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke]].

* [[A Father to His Men|A Mother To Her Girls]]: She cares deeply for her subordinates and they return the favor.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Engage in self destructive or suicidal behavior around her, I dare you.

* [[The Captain]]: Despite her demeanor, she's clearly the one running things although she doesn't hold the rank.

** She does hold rank: Oberstleutnant is the equivalent to a Lieutenant Colonel and Wing Commander is a commission rank held by a Colonel in charge of a flying wing. Strike Witches gets it right.

* [[Yandere]]: Her behavior toward the end of the first season-- {{spoiler|specifically, pulling a gun on Mio to keep her from fighting when she's losing her power}}--can be considered this. She gets over it, though.

* [[X-Ray Vision]]: Minna's ability essentially lets her see ''everything'' in her proximity out to a respectable yet unspecified distance. In battle it makes her a mobile CIC: out of battle it allows her to keep tabs on her subordinates.

 

=== Perrine Henriette Clostermann ===

Flying Officer Perrine H. Clostermann is a rich Gallian noble that saw her home destroyed when the Neuroi invaded Gallia. She joined the Strike Witches in their liberation of Gallia to help free her homeland from the Neuroi. She admires Mio and quickly develops a dislike of Yoshika due to their closeness. Her dislike eventually turns to full blown jealousy as she challenges Yoshika to a duel. Eventually she does come to view Yoshika as a comrade, but still makes constant attempts to win Mio's attention and to make Yoshika look bad. Her striker unit is based on the Arsenal [[VG 39]] and her weapon is the Bren Light Machine Gun Mk1. She is also seen carrying a rapier in some official art, which doesn't show up until midway through season 2. Her character is named after the WWII Ace [[wikipedia:Pierre Clostermann|Pierre Clostermann]].

* [[Alpha Bitch]]: Snobby, Rich, and Insufferable.

* [[Black Bra and Panties]]: She provides an excellent example of why this trope is averted in real life. White panties under black tights sans skirt just does not work.

 

=== Francesca Lucchini ===

Pilot Officer Francesca Lucchini is a talented and cheerful witch from the Duchy of Romagna. Unlike most other members of the 501st her past isn't marred by tragedy, she joined the Strike Witches out of a sense of duty to ensure that no harm would ever come to her beloved Romagna. However for all her lofty ideals she's still twelve years old and often acts childish or self indulgent like a typical twelve year old. Her energetic personality masks the fact that she's quite lazy. She'll often spend time napping around the base only waking up to change where she naps. However in the air, she displays a passion and talent for flying that nobody in the 501st can match. Her striker unit is based on the FIAT G-55 Centauro and her weapon is the Breda-SAFAT Machine Gun 12.7 mm. She is named after the WWII ace [[wikipedia:Franco Lucchini|Franco Lucchini]].

* [[Barrier Warrior]]: Takes this a step farther and literally fights people with her barriers. Her stacked barriers are almost unbreakable as well.

* [[Big Eater]]: Eats slightly more than the other witches and for her food is always a top priority.

* [[Ramming Always Works]]: Her signature move is to stack several shields together and ram the target.

* [[Small Girl, Big Gun]]: She's the smallest witch and she wields a gun meant for airplanes. Although its not that much bigger than the other girls' guns, the size difference is more pronounced.

 

=== Charlotte E. Yeager ("Shirley") ===

* [[Danger Deadpan]]: She is modeled after Chuck Yeager, after all. She even breaks the sound barrier in episode 5 of season 1.

* [[Drives Like Crazy]]: While not as destructive as most in the one scene she's shown driving, she drifts on mountainside dirt roads and leaps across chasms in a military supply truck. Francesca loves it, but Yoshika gets sick.

* [[Fearless Fool]]: Which is probably why she's paired with Lucchini so often.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]: She's strong, passionate, and outgoing, but she's only outspoken when dealing with certain people.

 

=== Erica Hartmann ===

Flying Officer Erica Hartmann is one of the "Double Aces" from Karlsland, having the second highest kill score in the world at just over 200. However her skill in the air and on duty is in sharp contrast with her disorganized and careless nature when off duty. She is a close acquaintance of Gertrude and Minna having served with them long before the creation of the 501st although, unlike Minna and Gertrude, she spends most of her time sleeping and eating, only getting up to investigate oddities and fight neuroi. Her striker unit is based on the Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 and her weapon is the MG42. She is named after WWII ace [[wikipedia:Erich Hartmann|Erich Hartmann]], the highest scoring ace in history.

* [[Blow You Away]]: Her power lets her create a vortex of air when she does a barrel roll. She calls this ability and it's powerful enough to blow holes through neuroi.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Even more so than the rest of the 501st.

 

=== Gertrude Barkhorn ("Trude") ===

Flight Lieutenant Gertrude Barkhorn is also one of the "Double Aces" of Karlsland. She holds the highest kill score over 250. She is disciplined and efficient: a very stereotypical German military personality. However to her friends Minna and Erica, whom she has known for a long time, she's slightly more open and friendly although she often yells at Erica for lacking discipline. She cares deeply about her little sister Chris, who was injured before the first season in a Neuroi attack. Her striker unit is based on the Focke-Wulf Fw190D-9 and her weapons are two MG42 machine guns with dual drum magazines. She is named after WWII ace [[wikipedia:Gerhard Barkhorn|Gerhard Barkhorn]], the second highest scoring ace in history.

* [[Action Girl]]: Although every witch is technically one, her love of fighting coupled with her skill in the air means she takes the prize.

* [[Blood Knight]]: Not only is she one of the best witches, she deeply enjoys her job.

 

=== Alexandra Vladimirovna Litvyak ("Sanya") ===

Flying Officer Alaxandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, or Sanya as she prefers to be called, is a shy Orussian witch in the 501st that often handles night patrol duties alone. Described as "nocturnal" she doesn't have a lot of contact with the other members of the 501st, but is essential for the unit's safety. Because of her lack of contact with the rest of the squad, she is only close to Eila and Erica although her compassionate and submissive personality means she's kind and accepting of everybody in the 501st. Sanya's father was an accomplished musician and taught Sanya how to play the piano and sing. He even wrote a song for her entitled 'Sanya's Song'. When the neuroi invaded Orussia, Sanya was separated from her father but maintains hope that he's still alive in Orussia and someday they'll be reunited. To remind herself, she often hums the song her father composed for her. Unlike the other girls, most of whom wield machine guns, she uses a rocket launcher called the FliegerHummer which is based on the Fliegerfaust, a contemporary German anti-aircraft rocket launcher. In season one her striker unit is based on the MiG60 a fictional fighter combining features of the MiG-1, MiG-3, and Yak-1: in season 2 her striker unit is based on the Yak-9. She is named after WWII ace [[wikipedia:Lydia Litvyak|Lydia Litvyak]], one of just two female aces in real life.

* [[Distaff Counterpart]]: Averted, she is the only one not based on a male ace.

* [[Friendly Sniper]]: In essence. Her rocket launcher weapon means that she tends to attack from long range, which leads to:

* [[Vapor Wear]]: Averted. She is indeed wearing something underneath those black tights, as can be seen when she undresses to go to bed.

 

Flying Officer Eila Ilmater Juutilainen is the top ace of the Suomus witch corps where she held the rank of captain (the rank indicated by the three roses on her collar). She is an expert at reading people, allowing her to predict her companions' actions and outwit her enemies. Her ability to read people combined with her ability to see the future means that in the air she is nearly untouchable. She is so used to her mastery of evasion that she relies exclusively on dodging and has difficulty raising a shield. Her striker unit is based on the Messerschmitt Bf109G-2 and her weapon of choice is the Suomi KP/31 Sub-Machine Gun. She is named after the Finnish WWII ace [[wikipedia:Ilmari Juutilainen|Eino Ilmari Juutilainen]] the highest scoring non-German ace in history.

* [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]]: She's less extreme but relationships are definitely not her specialty. She just can't resist throwing insults into everything she says to anyone (except Sanya).

** Finns are stereotypically perceived as aloof and casually rude people by their neighbours, and Eila seems to follow those tropes pretty closely.

* [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]]

* [[Wing Man]]: In combat she takes this role more often than not.

 

== Non-501st JFW Witches ==

=== Junko Takei ===

[[File:93416_5694.jpg|frame]]

Flight Lieutenant Junko Takei is originally from Fuso Imperial Navy and now is the commander of 504th JFW. She is an old friend of Sakamoto and fought alongside when they were stationed in Libau together. Takei, Sakamoto, and Yoshiko Nishizawa were called "Three crows of Libau" for their outstanding performance in Libau. Her special ability allows her to raise her comrades' morale. She also is the protagonist of Nintendo DS game and one of the main characters in Maidens of the Heavens. In anime, she appears as the commander of 504th JFW in episode 1, 3, and 12 of season 2.

 

=== Hanna-Justina Marseille ===

[[File:HJM_5779.jpg|frame]]

Flight Lieutenant Marseille, also known as "Star of Africa", is yet another super ace from Karlsland. Originally from Karlsland Afrika Corps, she now belongs to the "Afrika" Joint Fighter Wing, which was practically organized just for her. She has incredible combat skill which is said to be one of the best in Allied Forces, matching that of Erika. Though her score is only up to 200 kills, Neurois in Africa are much larger than the Europe, making this score worth three times as much. Marseille is originally from semi-official Doujinshi series "Afrika" which, as the name suggests, focuses on North African Campaign of the Strike Witches Universe. She also makes an appearance in season 2 episode 10 of the anime.

* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Comparing how she is in the anime with how she is in the Doujinshi, there's some notable differences. For starters, the anime makes her even MORE competitive, while the doujinshis have her as more of a wild-card. The anime has her seeming to obsess with competing with Erika, but the doujinshi never mentions their rivalry.

* [[Back-to-Back Badasses]]: She and Hartmann do this in the anime. {{spoiler|They were actually doing it more because they were competing rather than actually trying to cover each other.}}

=== The Neuroi ===

A mysterious alien force that arrived from space one day and started wrecking havoc. Their goals are unknown.

* [[Alien Invaders]]

* [[Attack Its Weak Point]] Every single Neuroi has a core. If the core is destroyed so is the main body and all drones created by the neuroi.

 

== Other Characters ==

=== Ursula Hartmann ===

Erica Hartmann's identical twin sister. A brillant engineer who designes and build strike units, including a powerful jet striker prototype used by Gertrud Barkhorn. She is introduced at the end of season 2 episode 4, where she offers the 501st a sack of potatoes as an apology for the super jet striker unit being unstable. Formerly a member of the 507JFW, AKA the Suomus Misfits Squadron.

* [[Distaff Counterpart]]: Averted, as she is based on the wife of Erich Hartmann.

* [[Meganekko]]: One of her features that distinguishes her from her sister.

=== The Bears ===

A bear cub and its mom, they appear in the first episode of season 1 and 2. They're bears. Also they're the only reoccurring non-witch non-antagonist characters.

* [[Everything's Worse with Bears]]: In season 1.

** [[Beary Funny]]: In Season 2.