Strike Witches/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

** There's a bit of a misreading going on with the whole "witches losing magic" thing. From what I've seen and read, there is an age when magical strength for witches is said to be at its peak which is I think from 12 - 19. There are witches below that and witches above that age to be sure, but what makes those years so special? Shields. That's apparently all there is to it. During those years, a witch is able to produce her strongest shields which as you may have noticed is quite crucial to survival since Neuroi shoot powerful laser beams from all over their bodies, so a witch without a shield or effective means to dodge (as seen in Eila's case) spells disaster. In fact, it's also why the witches are not only paid so much, but also given so much leniency even when punished, because their numbers are very hard to replenish. A witch that loses her shield doesn't necessarily lose all her other powers as even a very old witch was shown flying a broom with ease even while carrying heavy loads, but it's the idea that they can't fully protect themselves that gets them taken further from the front lines or combat duty. Now, with regards to Mio, she herself is a special case with regard to her magic in that, she was pushing herself further than perhaps anyone else shown in the series. Hell, pointing a gun to her head still wasn't enough to convince her to stay out of it. Think of it like pushing your body to its limit (and beyond) almost constantly and it's more surprising she didn't flat out kill herself from the strain. Furthermore, in the 2nd season, it reveals that she had spent a considerable amount of time (months at least) and magic into actually forging her magic sword, and then you add in that the sword further drains its wielder with each use without any real limit, and of course she's going to run out of magic eventually. Something similar happened to Barkhorn with the jet striker draining all her magic without any regulations, except that did it to her body's own stamina as well. Hence, she crashed before any permanent damage occurred. Meanwhile, Mio kept using her sword on a regular (likely daily) basis, so her magic energy wasn't replenishing at all, and then when season 2 finally reaches its end, she can no longer draw on her magic. That isn't to say her magic is gone though, because when the Neuroi captured her, it used her body to acquire the ability to produce not one, but several strong shields. That wouldn't have been possible if there wasn't some tiny trace of magic still present in her body. Lastly, regarding Yoshika and the sword. As I said, the sword feeds on and channels magic from the wielder, so when Yoshika forces her body to exert all the magic her body could possibly bear into a single strike, of course it takes all it could from her. That isn't to say it actually left her without magic, but it would be like draining a person's blood from their body without letting their body replace what they had already used up. Therefore, it actually makes a lot of sense that she eventually regains her magic near the end of the movie (which takes place several months, if not a year or so later). Unlike Mio, Yoshika ACTUALLY LEFT HER MAGIC POWERS ALONE, (even if unintentionally) and that allowed her powers to replenish andthem, so when she finally draws on them again for real, she manages to reawaken them. Maybe not as strong as prior to using the sword, but she has her spark back. {{spoiler|Hell I would even say that Mio potentially could reawaken her magic someday to some degree, but with how much she used, for so long, and so rapidly, it would likely take years, if not decades for hers to replenish.}}