Luminous Witches

Work In Progress This article is still under construction. It may contain factual errors. See Talk:Luminous Witches for current discussions. Content is subject to change.

Luminous Witches (2022)

Five long years after the Neuroi invaded Europe, with setback after setback and loss after loss, humanity's morale is at an all-time low. Determined to continue doing what she can, retired witch Grace Steward has been attempting to get more funding and resources for the Aviation Magic Band, but is making little progress with the disinterested League of Nations Air Force brass. Not willing to give up on her desire to bring some measure of happiness to the war-weary public, Grace sets out to recruit more members for the Band, which will ultimately number nine in addition to herself; the 72nd Joint Fighter Squadron soon earns the name Luminous Witches, and sets out on a world tour.

With a roster of witches who, for a variety of reasons are unable to serve on the frontlines, Luminous Witches is not as combat-focused as other elements of the World Witches universe. Instead, the 72nd JFS is effectively a combination of air demonstration squadron (akin to the more modern Red Arrows, Blue Angels, or Snowbirds) and USO Tour, entertaining civilian and military audiences alike with aerobatics and music. The story begins in March, 1944 as Virginia "Ginny" Robertson makes her way to London from her home in rural Scotland, having until then lived a simple farming life without real appreciation for her talents as a witch. The Luminous Witches visit many locations not before seen in the Witches universe, and encounter many new and established characters during their mission to spread happiness through the power of music. For a world map featuring the Luminous Witches' world tour route, see the Talk Page.

Luminous Witches begins the same month as Strike Witches and takes place alongside as well as after that season, then continues parallel the first half of Brave Witches.

For more in-depth explanations of the lore and setting of the World Witches universe, see the first season's page.

Warning: Some descriptions and images are spoilers for the series, read at your own risk.

The following weapons were used in the anime series Luminous Witches:

Pistols

Tokarev TT-33

An Orussian officer at the LNAF meeting is seen with a holster for a Tokarev TT-33; the other officers, all of various nations, presumably have their own service pistols as well. The continued existence of the League of Nations is an excellent example of how much of the turmoil and political unrest of the real world 1920s/30s never came to pass in this universe.

Tokarev TT-33 - 7.62x25mm Tokarev

Grace Steward gives a passionate speech to the brass, which almost entirely falls on deaf ears. The flags on the far wall are those of (top) Liberion, Britannia, Fuso, Romagna, Orussia, Suomus, Gallia, Karlsland, New Zeeland, Dacia, (bottom) Venezia, Belgica, Ostmark, and Hispania. (Ep.1)

Rifles

Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III*

The Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III* makes two small appearances, more notably in the hands of a Britannian sentry at RAF Heston, as well as what is most likely also an SMLE slung over the shoulder of a Free Gallian soldier in his recently liberated homeland.

Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III* - .303 British

A Gallian soldier stands guard in front of a house, the starry sky no longer obscured by a Neuroi hive. (Ep.10)

The sentry with his Lee-Enfield No. 1. The distinctive nosecap and rear sight of the No. 1 can be made out, confirming it's not the later No. 4. (Ep.11)

Machine Guns

Browning M1918A2

In a flashback to Operation Dynamo in 1941, Captain Grace Steward and her two wingmen do what they can to cover the Dunkirk beachhead, armed with BARs. As with all witches, Grace is inspired by a real world military aviator; fitting her role in the story, she's based on actor and B-24 Liberator pilot James "Jimmy" Stewart, who would eventually retire as a brigadier general.

Browning M1918A2 - .30-06 Springfield

M1918A2 design artwork

Grace surveys the beach at Dunkirk, her M1918A2's flip-up rear sight visible. (Ep.1)

As Neuroi beams cut through the sky, Grace evades in her P-40B Warhawk striker. (Ep.1)

Grace fires back at the geometric invaders, her BAR raining shell casings all around. (Ep.1)

Captain Steward's blue-eyed wingman fires her own M1918, giving an excellent look at its receiver. (Ep.1)

Her purple-eyed wingman returns fire as well. Grace's two wingmen are unfortunately not named, rather unusual for a series with as many characters as World Witches. (Ep.1)

Several Neuroi explode into fragments as the trio attempts to thin their numbers. (Ep.1)

Another look at the M1918A2's receiver and rear sight, as Grace orders them to turn for home. (Ep.1)

Her wingmen dejected, Grace promises they'll return to cover the evacuation as many times as possible, until every last soldier is safely out of Gallia. (Ep.1)

Grace's BAR spits fire, its rifling visible in this close-up. (Ep.1)

Shards of one more Neuroi falling past, Grace's BAR clicks empty, and the witches head for Britannia. (Ep.1)

Degtyaryov DP-27

Future Luminous Witches member Lyudmila Andreyevna "Milasha" Ruslanova and other Orussian witches are armed with DP-27s in a flashback. It's also standard issue for Free Gallian witches serving on the Eastern Front, such as Rosalie de La Poype of the 503rd Joint Fighter Wing. This marks the animated debut of the Typhoon Witches, which leaves the 505th Joint Fighter Wing as the last of the eight JFWs to not have an anime appearance thus far; the Mirage Witches feature prominently in the Contrail of Witches manga.

Degtyaryov DP-27 - 7.62x54mmR

The barrel of Lyudmila Ruslanova's DP-27 smoking after she manages to hit everything except the target at the firing range. Milasha's bemused, unimpressed, and/or surprised squadmates all have DP-27s as well. (Ep.1)

Rosalie fires her Degtyaryov at a "singing" Neuroi, giving a close look at its rear sight. (Ep.7)

Ottilie Kittel, Alexandra Şerbănescu, Fumiyo Kawaguchi, and Rosalie de La Poype above the clouds at sunrise, shortly after destroying the Neuroi. Ottilie flies a Fw 190 D-9 striker. (Ep.7)

Rosalie with her DP-27 and VG.39bis striker in the foreground, as the Typhoon Witches wonder if the mysterious voice that pointed them in the direction of the Neuroi was a night witch. (Ep.7)

MG 42

The witch-version MG 42, redesigned to use Patronentrommel 34 drum magazines, is held by future Luminous Witches member Aira Paivikki Linnamaa in another flashback. This flashback was originally captioned as taking place in 1941, which would make the MG 42 anachronistic, however the BD release corrected this to 1942. This correction is further reinforced by official artwork that depicts Aira using a KP/-31 before this, standard among Suomus witches prior to the MG 42.

MG 42s are also used by Alexandra Şerbănescu and Ottilie Kittel of the Typhoon Witches, while another is seen in the hands of Yoshika Miyafuji in a scene that parallels the sixth episode of Strike Witches.

MG 42 - 7.92x57mm Mauser

MG 42 design artwork; the text at top-left describes the operation of the magazine release, comparing it to pulling the tab on an aluminum drink can

Recovering from a traumatic injury in 1942, Aira Linnamaa attempts to lift an unloaded MG 42. (Ep.3)

A close-up of the MG 42's pistol grip, as well as Aira's bandaged hands. (Ep.3)

Still not capable of even this much physical exertion, the gun slips from a dejected Aira's grasp. (Ep.3)

Fumiyo Kawaguchi and Alexandra Şerbănescu intercept an unexpected visitor, the Lancaster that serves as the Luminous Witches' transport aircraft. (Ep.7)

MG 42 tucked under her arm, Alexandra introduces herself to Grace, who is operating the Lancaster's wireless. This also gives a good look at her Bf 109 striker and its Dacian roundels. (Ep.7)

Lyudmila and Virginia greet the pair from the Lancaster's astrodome; Ginny's night witch antenna takes the form of a pair of headphones. Fumiyo's Ho-103 is erroneously drawn as an MG 42 in this shot. (Ep.7)

Alexandra with her MG 42, as the 503rd attempts to locate the "singing" Neuroi hiding in the clouds. (Ep.7)

Vectored in by Virginia, Alexandra opens fire on the dark nightingale. (Ep.7)

Yoshika Miyafuji holds Eila Juutilainen's MG 42, as the latter carries Aleksandra Litvyak; Sanya lost one half of her striker unit in a battle which took place just minutes earlier, as seen in Strike Witches. (Ep.7)

Shot down and injured, Aira holds the KP/-31 she used before the introduction of the MG 42. This is the smaller-resolution version of this piece, as posted on Humikane Shimada's Fantia page. (Art)

Ho-103

The Ho-103 appears in the hands of Imperial Fuso Army witches Fumiyo Kawaguchi and Tomomi Nishisugi. Although the Ho-103 has been used by Army witches in various manga, such as Amaki Suwa (who appeared in Strike Witches and Strike Witches 2, unarmed), this is the gun's first appearance in a Witches anime.

The witch version of the Ho-103 features an added pistol grip, off-hand grip, and ammo box, but is otherwise unmodified.

Ho-103 - 12.7x81mmSR

Alexandra and Fumiyo approach the Lancaster under a moonlit sky. (Ep.7)

A closer shot of the pair, Fumiyo armed with her rather large machine gun. They then escort the bomber to Chelyabinsk, the Luminous Witches' destination and the Typhoon Witches' home base. (Ep.7)

As the Neuroi is spotted Fumiyo pulls her Ho-103 on target, giving a good look at the underside of the gun, including its added grips for use by witches. (Ep.7)

Fumiyo prepares to open fire with her Ho-103. This miko-style uniform is worn by many IFA witches. (Ep.7)

Night witch Tomomi Nishisugi patrols the peaceful Fuso skies with her Ho-103 and Ki-43 striker; Fumiyo also flies a Ki-43. (Ep.12)

Tomomi uses her night witch antenna to amplify and rebroadcast the Luminous Witches' performance. The night witches' ability to communicate with each other over extreme distances serves them well, as their solitary patrols would otherwise be a rather lonely affair. (Ep.12)

MG 131

Waltraud Nowotny of the 503rd JFW is briefly seen flying alongside her squadron members, presumably armed with the MG 131 that she's known to use. Waltraud and the remaining 503rd members not seen in combat (Bronislava Safonov, Huberta von Bonin, and Galina Kostylev) all receive a proper cameo in the final episode.

MG 131 - 13x64mmB

Alexandra, Fumiyo, Rosalie, Waltraud, and Ottilie search for the Neuroi, the shot deliberately blurred as a representation of Ginny detecting them over a great distance. Waltraud uses a Fw 190 D-9 striker, though in the not too distant future she will become an early adopter of the Me 262 jet striker. (Ep.7)

Official artwork revealing the Typhoon Witches' character designs, for reference. Fumiyo is armed with a pistol sword built from a Nambu Type 14, a very real design tested by the Japanese in the '20s. This fictional variant appears to have gone through further design iterations, notably featuring a straight pistol grip. (Art)

Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai

The iconic witch variant of the Type 99 makes the smallest of cameos, slung behind Yoshika's back. This scene takes place shortly after the climactic fight in the sixth episode of the first season of Strike Witches, which aired fourteen years previous.

For the rather lengthy technical explanation of the witches' Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai variant, see its first season entry.

Type 99 Mark 1, flexible configuration - 20x72mmRB

Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai (13.2x96mm Hotchkiss) design artwork; the text at lower-centre indicates the location of the charging button

Yoshika, Eila, and Sanya under the full moon late on August 18, the shared birthday of Sanya and Yoshika (and Shizuka Hattori). The Type 99's long barrel is visible poking over Yoshika's shoulder. (Ep.7)

Yoshika with her Type 99 and Eila's MG 42, not long after a mysterious yet familiar piano tune resounded through the night sky. (Ep.7)

Autocannons

MG 151/20

Karlsland night witches Heinrike Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and Heidemarie Schnaufer make an appearance in the finale, armed as usual with MG 151/20 cannons.

MG 151/20 - 20x82mm

Heinrike with her MG 151 while on night patrol over northern Gallia. Prinzessin's night witch antenna fittingly takes the shape of a tiara. (Ep.12)

Elsewhere over Gallia or Belgica, Heidemarie's own antenna detects and retransmits the sound of music across the night witches' radio network. (Ep.12)

Launchers

Fliegerhammer

Aleksandra Litvyak makes a second cameo in the finale alongside the other night witches, armed with a Fliegerhammer. Based on the Fliegerfaust and designed by Ursula Hartmann, the Fliegerhammer is a fictional nine-barrel rocket launcher, its heavy firepower a good companion for a night witch. The finale performance taking place on December 26, 1944 puts her in the skies over Petersburg, as she and Eila were visiting the Brave Witches at this time, covered in the Brave Witches OVA (Episode 7.5). Also of note, Tomomi's appearance in this sequence, seen in in the Ho-103 section above, is set a fair bit after sunrise, respecting the time zone difference between Europe and Fuso.

For additional details, see its first season entry.

Fliegerfaust (replica) with 9-rocket clip - 20mm

Fliegerhammer design artwork; the text at top-left describes the launch order in volley fire (white tubes first)

Sanya on patrol over Petersburg with her Fliegerhammer. Consistent with Brave Witches, she's still flying a MiG-60 striker. (Ep.12)

Surprised to hear music on her solitary night flight, Sanya joins her fellow night witches in broadcasting the concert around the world. (Ep.12)