First up was the first six episodes of Strike Witches. How to describe this perplexing show? Well, how shall I put it . . . . On the plus side, it is an alternative history of World War II. Rather than fighting the Nazis, Mussolini's Italy and the Empire of Japan, the evil enemies are alien in origin and anything but human. And instead of fighting only with the historically accurate array of B-17 Flying Fortresses, Class A Destroyers, and Sherman tanks, you can add magical girls to the arsenal. Yes, magical girls. Having only watched six episodes, I'm not sure if there is an origin story to explain magic in this alternate universe, or if it is simply a changed detail that we are to accept without explanation (which I can deal with, being a fan of fantasy novels). These girls, who look (mostly) like normal girls, undergo a transformation when they don their fighting gear.
"What fighting gear?" you might ask. Well, the gear is affixed to the girls' legs and allow them to fly - looking like a cross between a missile and the nose of a plane, tipped with propellers, as they tote various weapons (machine guns, rocket launchers, and one with what looks like a samurai sword). They can shield themselves and as they fly or take off, you can see what look like alchemical circles drawn in their general vicinity. Oh, and when they put on the fighting gear, each girl mysteriously sprouts cat ears and a tail (each girl has a different type of ear and tail).
You might be thinking, "Well, this show doesn't sound all that perplexing. What gives?"
Ah, I guess I should get to the point. There is one major detail that has been left wanting. In fact, it is something that leads to only one logical question:
Honestly, people - don't these girls deserve some trousers?
Other than distracting the enemy, it certainly doesn't help in the fight
and would make any reasonable alien take their fighting prowess much less seriously.
That said, the show is well-animated, has some very good voice acting, and is an interesting retelling of certain aspects of WWII (quite interesting when one considers the show originates in a country that was among the aggressors in that terrible conflict). Definitely worth watching if you can learn to ignore the fact that these girls, unlike almost every other person in the history of the earth, do not put on their pants one leg at a time (because they appear to never put on pants at all).
I also spent some time watching episodes 7-12 of Shin Chan (or Crayon Shin-Chan). Unlike Strike Witches, I can unequivocally say that this is not well-animated. Of course, that is part of the signature of the show. The characters are rough-hewn and very out-of-proportion. The style looks sloppy and amateurish. Which I'm sure took quite a lot of work to achieve.
See what I mean?
That said, like the first show I discussed, this show includes some very good voice acting. In this instance, the Shin Chan cast does some incredibly funny comedic acting, made possible by an often disgusting, almost always hilarious script re-write in the vein of Ghost Stories. The rewrite incorporates many cultural shout outs to contemporary US pop culture. Jokes about Paris Hilton, young Republicans, crack whores, unexpected pregnancies, dining and dashing, and boob jobs are only the tip of the iceberg.The main characters are mostly Shin, a five-year old with a vocabulary that could make sailors blush and an obsession with toilet humor, and his classmates. Add in: his precocious baby sister and his sarcastic and very put-upon parents, a potpourri of neighbors, school teachers, and
Did I mention that Shin likes to bare his ass in inappropriate and disgusting ways? Threatening people with farts?
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