WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1 and 2 of Strike Witches: Road to Berlin, "The Magical Girl of the Alps" and "The Strike Witches Come Together" now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Within its first two episodes, Strike Witches: Road to Berlin is already gearing up to be the most action-packed Strike Witches season yet, with its opening installments pulling Yoshika into an explosive battle.
Two months have passed since the events of Strike Witches: The Movie. During this time, Yoshika has begun her medical studies in Helvetia as the rest of the 501st split off to other bases across the continent. The time period is now October 1945, and as this story mirrors World War II, this means the show is at the end stages of the war where the Allies capture Berlin. In Strike Witches, this is the location of the main Neuroi Hive and also the homeland of Karlsland natives Barkhorn, Mina and Erica.
Like past seasons, Road to Berlin first episode begins with a fight scene of the 501st wing shooting down a Neuroi before cutting to the backstory lore and then transitioning to Major Sakamoto recruiting Yoshika. Unlike past seasons, Yoshika isn't at her home country of Fuso, but rather Helvetia to study medicine. Also unlike past seasons, Major Sakamoto is... wearing pants?! Since Sakamoto lost her magical powers, she can't utilize the Striker Units, so she has no reason to only be wearing panties now. She also informs Yoshika that she is no longer a part of the 501st wing. It's sad to see Sakamoto go, but she'll probably show up sometime later in a plane to assist in battle.
As Sakamoto and Yoshika catch-up, they come across a circus with an out-of-control polar bear. Yoshika has experience with bears, as noted from previous season premieres, and is able to calm this one down, but in the process reveals to her friend Altia she is a Witch. Altia asks Yoshika and Sakamoto if it's possible they can contact her father's Venezia warship, as he's stopped responding to her letters. They manage to radio him in, but soon hear screams over the waves about an iceberg heading towards them. Exhibiting her classic heroism, Yoshika demands Sakamoto grants her the ability to protect the ship.
Unfortunately, the only Striker Unit available was a dinged up half-broken one, but Yoshika's magical ability is so great, she manages to fly out even with this terrible equipment. As she flies onto the scene, she discovers the iceberg heading towards the ship was actually a Neuroi in disguise.
In Episode 2, it's shocking just how well and how long Yoshika is able to hold her own against this giant Neuroi. This octopus laser-armed Neuroi is designated as a Bomb-type Neuroi, meaning that parts of its body can come apart and explode. Luckily, Yoshika isn't alone in this fight. The Navy powers have grown stronger too, as the ship the Doge contains anti-Neuroi armor to protect itself longer along with a range of cannon weapons. The entire crew is cheering her on. When one of Yoshika's propellers breaks mid-battle, she dives down to the ship where the crew breaks her fall and quickly proceeds to repair her Striker Unit.
Strike Witches always had exciting aerial battles, but this battle is especially exhilarating. As Yoshika skirts around to dodge explosives and shoot Neuroi arms down, she uses techniques reminiscent of her allies, such as layering her shields to create an ultra-offensive take-down attack, a skill Lucchini was known to utilize. Yoshika uses this to drill straight into the iceberg so she could shoot the core but suddenly, her propellers start malfunctioning again and she gets thrown out of the core area. It appears she may have to do another crash landing, but Yoshika's magical abilities are so insane she manages to fix up the propellers again to keep her level.
Still, it seems Yoshika is running out of options until, just in the nick of time, the lovely Karlsland trio appears. Group by group the 501st start flying in. This "Avengers assemble" moment, buoyed by Seikou Nagaoka's uplifting score, is the ultimate mixture of pure hype, action and nostalgia. The 501st are displaying some of their best teamwork yet, with them even creating a formation to protect Yoshika from headwinds. They manage to separate the UFO-like Neuroi body from the iceberg and chase after it, with Erica striking the final blow. Yoshika's propellers break again, but luckily Shizuka Hattori swoops in to pick her up, continuing the Strike Witches tradition of Fuso Witches carrying each other in battle.
The Witches forgot the iceberg was still moving, and towards Antwerpen's port, but thanks to physics the block of ice doesn't do too much damage. Back on the ground, Altia reunites with her father as Yoshika joins up with the rest of the 501st. Mina explains their next mission -- retake Karlsland -- and thus the 501st are reformed yet again, with new member Shizuka Hattori joining to replace Sakamoto. Shizuka may not be as skilled as a fighter as her predecessor but she certainly adds a new dynamic to the team.