The Student Council finally comes clean about why it is
so imperative they win the National Tankery Tournament: if they lose, Ooarai
Girls High School will be shut down.
With a new, far more important goal, the Tankery team heads into their
final match with additional firepower and theyre going to need it. Their final opponent is Kuromorimine Girls
High School, home to one of the strongest Tankery teams in the world. And their Commander…is Maho Nishizumi, Miho’s
older sister. It’s all come down to
this. With her team behind her, Miho is
determined to show her family that there’s more to Tankery than just victory.
There was a point when I was watching the final match of
Girls und Panzer and I suddenly realized: while I really wanted Miho and the
girls to come out victorious, if they didn’t win…that was ok too.
The Ooarai Girls have overcome some very
tough opponents from across the world and have grown into much stronger and fun
loving girls through their time with Tankery.
That means more than any award ever could.
Buuuut there was the matter of their school
under the threat of being shut down looming over their heads so they did need
to win no matter what.
Never before has
“whatever it takes” been so fun to watch.
I’m really gonna miss this show but before I start crying over a feel
good finale to a feel good show, let’s break down the final battles.
Stuck in the snow against Pravda, we finally got to learn
why the Student Council was so desperate to win the Tankery Tournament (Momo
more than any of them, jeez that girl needs to chill out).
It’s basic enough incentive, the need to keep
the school doors open.
But while not the
most original of premises, it’s Miho full taking on this new burden with a
smile and chipper attitude that made it all work.
Boxed in and outgunned, it was Miho’s clever
planning that brought victory against Katyusha and the Pravda Girls.
Speaking of, Katyusha continued her adorable
streak by literally napping in a sled while waiting to hear if the Ooarai girls
would surrender and her constant shouting and complaining when things went
wrong was hilarious.
Good on her though,
the tiny terror isn’t without heart as she could’ve just crushed Ooarai with
Pravda’s superior force but still offered a peaceful surrender.
And when she did lose, Katyusha left her
taller second in commands shoulders to shake Miho’s hand herself.
It’s people with good sportsmanship attitudes like
Katyusha, Kay and Darjeeling that make Tankery look like so much fun and that
was the main argument going into the final battle.
Between Miho’s determination to win while
making it fun and Maho’s Nishizumi style of victory at any cost, which one
matters more when it comes to Tankery?
We’ve seen how cruel and committed Miho and Maho’s Mother is to Tankery,
so much she was even willing to expel Miho from the family because she
prioritized the lives of her team over winning her schools final match.
Tankery…is…a…SPORT!!!! It isn’t real war even
if it uses real Tanks and has questionable safety practices.
All of the aforementioned Commanders take
Tankery just as serious as the next person but still show good sportsmanship
and respect for their opponents, even changing the rules to better suit their
battles.
Maho is committed to her
family’s style of Tankery but has never been cruel or mean to Miho and she
showed up the utmost respect in their final battle, even telling Miho that she
won the match her way and that made her proud.
No other moment in the finale showed this more perfectly than when the
Freshman Tank was in danger of being washed away during a river crossing and
Miho didn’t hesitate to go to their aid, delaying Ooarai’s escape from Kuromorimine
to make sure her teammates would be ok…and everyone supported her, from her
tank team to the audience.
The only
person who complained was Maho’s bitchy second in command and Miho’s
disapproving mother.
In short: I don’t
care if Miho’s Mom applauded her in the end, she’d rather kids die in a school
sport than lose a game…get wrecked lady, your daughters are far better human
beings than you’ve ever probably been.
Miho didn’t win the day by using the Nishizumi Style of Tankery, she did
it her way.
It spoke a lot that every principle character made an appearance
in the final battle between Ooarai and Kuromorimine.
You had the three big rival commanders and
everyones main family members in attendance.
Hana’s Mom came to realize just how much better Hana’s flowering skills
had become through Tankery.
Maybe the
best scene though was the night before the match where we got to see all of the
Ooarai Tank Squads sharing a meal together with their squadmates.
Powerful friendships had been formed during
this Tankery season and its beautiful scenes without dialogue and just music
that show you just how much fun these girls can be to hang out around.
That translated nicely into the final battle
itself with a lot of sacrifice plays and some very outside the box thinking on
Miho’s part.
Some of the maneuvers these
Tanks pulled off were crazy and some might not even be possible in real life
but I didn’t care.
Watching multiple
Tanks pile on top of a Monster Tank to stall it was pretty clever.
Basically, whatever these girls needed from
each other, they were giving it all and more and having a blast doing so even
when things seemed most dire.
Kind of
wish we saw more POV shots from the front of the Tank, they made the action
feel more interactive.
If I had to gripe about anything in the finale, besides
this show being criminally short, it’s the last minute additions to Ooarai’s
forces.
We’ve gotten to know the five
main tank squads pretty well and while they have gotten supplemental support in
previous matches, Sudoko and the Hall Monitors, we get two more squads added
and they never get a chance to do much to stand out.
There’s the Automotive Club, which has been
spoken of but seldom seen repairing the Tanks the girls have found; and there’s
the Online Tank Girls, a trio of students who played Tank Games online together
but have never met in real life.
Had
Girls und Panzer been a couple of episodes longer, there’d be plenty of time to
see these girls do something substantial or show us how quirky they are
compared to the hilarious History Club or the Student Council.
As it stands, they feel like extra cannon
fodder to bolster Ooarai’s numbers against a numerically superior force.
Other than that, and the constantly
complaining from Momo, Maho’s Second in Command and Miho’s Mom just being a
bitch, not much else is wrong with this finale.
Time for Final Thoughts: I LOVED Girls und Panzer.
A concept that is as weird as it comes in
Anime proved to be one of the most awesome and feel good Sports ever
conceived.
Miho and her friends are
instantly likeable and only get more likeable as time goes on.
The character drama never got too dark and
the clashes between Family and Tankery never felt too overdramatic.
The supporting cast was great but the rival
Commanders each stole the show in their own way from Darjeeling’s proverbs to
Kay’s kick ass attitude to Katyusha overlord attitude.
The Tanks all looked really good for 3D
models.
Save for the 2D characters
poking their heads out during wide shots and looking hella awkward, the Tank
combat was exciting and super intense for a sport with a lot of safety
protocols in place.
Girls und Panzer,
like K-ON, is a slice of life Anime with Tanks that one can put on after a
rough day and feel good about life again.
Whod’ve thought cute girls riding around in World War II era war
machines would be such a winner of an idea?
It’ll make you wish Tankery was somehow real and that you could make the
life lasting friendships Miho, Saori, Hana, Yukari and Mako have all made
through it.
Panzer Vor!!!
9/10
But we’re not quite done with Miho and Company just
yet.
Come back in a few days for Tankery
on the big screen…I mean if you were watching it on the big screen that
is.
It’s
Girls und Panzer der Film
this Friday over at the Gundam Anime Corner.
See ya then.
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