Strike Witches: Road to Berlin

Alternate Title

ストライクウィッチーズ ROAD to BERLIN

Synopsis

With the sudden appearance of an alien enemy that threatens humanity called Neuroi, governments around the world have formed an alliance to combat the threat. Since regular weapons have no effect on Neuroi, the world relies on young girls called Witches who are gifted with magical abilities and use special machines known as Striker Units to fight against the Neuroi invasion. The 501st Joint Fighter Wing is a ragtag group of girls that was previously disbanded. However, with the battle to recapture Berlin underway, the girls will join up once again along with new recruit Shizuka to take on the deadly Neuroi threat and liberate Berlin!

Background

Strike Witches is a multimedia franchise created by Fumikane Shimada that includes manga (including Strike Witches: Maidens of the Blue Skies, Strike Witches: Maidens in the Sky, Strike Witches: The Sky that Connects Us, *Strike Witches Zero: 1937 Fuso Sea Incident *, Strike Witches: One-Winged Witches, Strike Witches: The Witches of Africa, and more), light novels (Strike Witches: Suomus Misfits Squadron, Strike Witches: Maidens' Volume, and Noble Witches), OVA films (including Strike Witches: 501st Joint Fighter Wing Take Off!), video games (including Strike Witches: Blitz in the Blue Sky - New Commander Struggles!, Strike Witches: What I Can Do Along With You - A Little Peaceful Days, Strike Witches: Silver Wing, and Strike Witches 2: Heal, Cure and Squish), and anime.

Strike Witches: Road to Berlin is the third season of the anime adaptation. It is being produced by David Production and staff includes Hideya Takahashi as series director and Kazuhiro Takamura as director, Striker Unit as the series composer, Tatsuhiko Urahata as the chief writer, Kazuhiro Takamura as the character designer, and Seiko Nagaoka who is composing the music. The anime premiered in Japan on Oct. 7, 2020 on Tokyo MX and other channels. It is available to stream overseas through Funimation and Crunchyroll.

Characters

Yoshika Miyafuji (Japanese: Misato Fukuen | English: Cherami Leigh)
Originally from Fuso, Yoshika is the daughter of Ichiro Miyafuji, the famed researcher who invented the Striker Units. Energetic and innocent, she has a strong desire to help people and has inherent healing abilities. Her character is based on the Japanese flying ace Kaneyoshi Muto. Her familiar is a mameshiba.

Mio Sakamoto (Japanese: Saori Seto | English: Kira Vincent-Davis)
Cheerful and confident, Mio has excellent leadership qualities and is looked up to by many of the other Witches for her personality and combat abilities. Her magic ability Magic Eye allows her right eye to have super-vision and see in spectrums not normally possible for humans, proving invaluable for spotting Neuroi at a distance and locating their cores. The ability is always active so she wears an eyepatch to cover her right eye when not in use. Her familiar is a doberman.

Lynette Bishop (Japanese: Kaori Nazuka | English: Kate Bristol)
Nicknamed Lynne by her squadmates, Lynette hails from Britannia. Shy and obedient, she becomes good friends with Yoshika. She is the squad’s sharpshooter, and her magical abilities are Ballistic Stabilization, which allows her to control the flight of projectiles to a degree, and Grant Magic Power, which allows her to imbue her bullets with magical energy to increase their effectiveness. Her familiar is a Scottish Fold.

Perrine H. Clostermann (Japanese: Miyuki Sawashiro | English: Jad Saxton)
Originally hailing from Gallia, Perrine is refined and elegant, having come from a wealthy family. She greatly admires Mio. Her magical ability is Tonnerre, a lightning-based attack that expands outward from her location hitting any targets within range. Her familiar is a Chartreux.

Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke (Japanese: Rie Tanaka | English: Anastasia Muñoz)
Graceful and gentle, Minna excels in operations and planning, having a keen understanding of her squad and their abilities. Musically inclined, she is a talented singer and comes from a long line of musicians rumored to be connected to Bach. Her magical ability allows her to discern all targets within range in every direction. Her leadership in combat also instills trust from her squadmates. Her familiar is a gray wolf.

Gertrud Barkhorn (Japanese: Mie Sonozaki | English: Stephanie Sheh)
Nicknamed Trude by her squadmates, Gertrud hails from Karlsland and is their second best ace behind Hartmann. Though she may be calm and collected by nature, she can also be hot-blooded. She is very strict when it comes to rules and regulations. Her magical ability is Superhuman Strength, giving her the ability to perform for long periods of time in combat utilizing heavy armaments. Her familiar is a German Shorthair Pointer.

Erica Hartmann (Japanese: Sakura Nogawa | English: Luci Christian)
Known as the Black Devil, Erica hails from Karlsland and is their number one ace. While a complete slob in everyday life who goes at her own pace, she is efficient and strategic in combat. She tends to do what she wants, sometimes not paying attention to those around her. Her favorite hobby is sleeping. Her magical ability is Sturm, which lets her control gusts of ether to attack enemies. Her familiar is a Dachshund. Unlike the other witches, she doesn’t grow ears but rather the tips of her hair turn black.

Francesca Lucchini (Japanese: Chiwa Saito | English: Trina Nishimura)
Originally hailing from Romagnia, Francesca can be childish and self-indulgent, slacking on training to laze around. She loves sleeping and can fall asleep anywhere and everywhere around the base. She has trouble following rules and does as she pleases. She is obsessed with boobs and often cuddles up to Shirley and prowls around looking for opportunities to get hands on with her squadmates. Her magical ability gives her the power to concentrate and discharge magical energy. Her familiar is a black panther.

Charlotte E. Yeager (Japanese: Ami Koshimizu | English: Jamie Marchi)
A renowned test pilot known for her need for speed, Charlotte, or Shirley to her friends, hails from Liberion and is known by the name Glamorous Shirley. Daring and confident, Shirley is a thrill-seeker who dreams of breaking the sound barrier. Her magical ability Speed Boost grants her the ability to increase her speed through concentration. Her familiar is a rabbit.

Sanya V. Litvyak (Japanese: Mai Kadowaki | English: Jennifer Forrester)
Full name Aleksandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, Sanya hails from Orussia and is sometimes referred to by her alias, White Lily of Stalingrad, due to her white hair. Introverted, quiet, and extremely reserved, she is a night owl by nature and often takes night patrols. She is extremely close with Eila and goes everywhere with her. Her magical ability is Magic Antenna, which allows her to interact with radio waves, allowing her to detect Neuroi at great distances. She is also able to use her ability to provide guidance to other Witches or rebroadcast transmissions. Her familiar is a black cat.

Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen (Japanese: Ayuru Ohashi | English: Caitlin Glass)
Hailing from Suomus, Eila is relaxed and friendly, but also has a mischievous side and is fond of pranking her squadmates. Her hobby is fortune-telling, though she isn’t very good at it. Since she too sleeps during the day, she is often paired up with Sanya and has become very close to her. Her magic ability is Foresight, allowing her to be able to dodge enemy fire and predict their movements through being able to predict the immediate future. Her familiar is a black fox.

Shizuka Hattori (Japanese: Aya Uchida | English: Cristina Valenzuela)
Shizuka is a witch from Fuso who is a former student of Sakamoto’s at the naval academy. Her rank is Sergeant. She has a diligent, honest, and serious personality and is the newest recruit to join the 501st Joint Fighter Wing.

Music

Opening Theme Song: "Yuuki no Tsubasa" by Yoko Ishida

International Streaming

Funimation
Crunchyroll

• Official Site (Japanese)
• Official Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Humikane Shimada & Projekt Kagonish
• Original Character Designer: Humikane Shimada
• Director: Kazuhiro Takamura
• Series Director: Hideya Takahashi
• Series Composition: Striker Unit
• Chief Writer: Tatsuhiko Urahata
• Scripts: Takashi Aoshima, Toshihiko Tsukiji, Takaaki Suzuki, Shinya Murakami, Hideya Takahashi
• World Setting: Takaaki Suzuki
• Series Literature: Shinya Murakami
• Character Designer: Kazuhiro Takamura
• Sub-character Designers: Masahito Onoda, Michio Sato
• Neuroi Design: Naohiro Washio
• Prop Design: Megumi Itoi, Reeki Taki
• Art Setting: Weiho Narita, Michio Sato
• Chief Animation Directors: Masahito Onoda, Michio Sato
• Chief CG Director: Norihito Ishii
• CG Directors: Mai Nakazono, Issei Shibayama
• Color Design: Mineyo Onishi
• Art Director: Hiromichi Ito
• Director of Photography: Nogo Matsumoto
• Editing: Akinori Mishima
• Music: Seiko Nagaoka
• Music Production: Nippon Columbia
• Sound Director: Tomohiro Yoshida
• Sound Effects: Mutsuhiro Nishimura
• Sound Production: Magic Capsule
• Animation Production: David Production