Strike Witches (Japanese: ストライクウィッチーズ Hepburn: Sutoraiku Witchīzu) is a mixed-media project originally created by Humikane Shimada via a series of magazine illustration columns. The franchise has since been adapted into several light novel, manga, and anime series and various video games. The series revolves around teenage girls who use machines attached to their legs to do aerial combat. The OVA preview episode was released on January 1, 2007. The televised anime series later aired between on July and September 2008. A second season aired between July and September 2010. A film adaptation was released on March 17, 2012 and a three part OVA series was released between September 2014 and May 2015. A spin-off anime series, Brave Witches, began airing in Japan from October 2016.