Girls und Panzer der Film

Though they have won their High School Tankery Tournament, the Tankery Team of Ooarai Girls High School are devastated to learn that their beloved school is to be closed for good.  As Miho and the others begin to imagine lives apart from one another, a last ditch deal is struck.  If the Ooarai High girls can defeat a college level Tankery Team in a Team Deathmatch style showdown, Ooarai High will remain open.  Their opponents: The University Strengthened Team, led by a prodigy as skilled as Miho, Alice Shimada.  Against overwhelming odds and with the fate of their school on the line, Miho, Saori, Hana, Yukari and Mako will have to call in every favor they have and prepare for the ultimate battle.

Girls und Panzer is a strange series but dammit it works and it works so well.  The idea of cute High School Girls operating vintage World War II tanks in an actual school sport proved to be a hidden gem for me (does it count as a Sports Anime, cause I do find I have soft spots for those).  Having just finished up the TV Series, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Girls und Panzer movie, more of the same just meant to be seen on a bigger screen I guess.  Well there’s a lot of retreading and underutilization when it comes to the story and the characters, old and new.  When it comes to the action, well you know half of you are here for the tank mayhem (1/4^th are also here for the girls and another 1/4^th are here for both in equal measure) and damn if you thought that you got plenty of the good stuff in the TV Series, Tankery has never looked or sounded better than it does here.
 
As a life long Anime fan, I’m used to Movies based on TV Series to rehash and even recycle familiar plots over and over again, look no further than Shonen Films for that (looking directly at you Dragon Ball Z).  I never expected Girls und Panzer to take the same approach and so soon.  We just finished a series long arc where Miho and her Tankery Club had to win their High School Tankery Tournament to keep the doors of their school open.  And yet right after the impressive opening skirmish, we’re right back to that same plot once more, only this time Ooarai is actually closed and we get to see the girls relocated from their home.  It feels both lazy on the part of the writers and unfair to the cast of likable girls who basically threw in all of that hard work for nothing.  There’s plenty of moments to see Miho and the others come together once more to make the most of their new situation and relish in the time they’ve had as comrades in arms.  But seriously, why make this the setup when you know Ooarai will be open again by the time the credits roll? 
 
The other downside to the film is the Tankery Teams’ main opponent, Alice Shimada and the University Strenghthed Team.  While we never got to know all of the Ooarai teams indepth, there was enough quirkiness and distinction between them where they all stood out in their own way.  Alice’s crew is just another bunch of holier than thou Tank Girls who are so overconfident its annoying.  Alice herself isn’t given any character development or motivations beyond taking on Miho, who happens to be a fan of the same Punchy Bear that Miho has a plushy of during the series.  One off antagonists can be tough to pull off but I don’t think any effort was made for Alice beyond making her look as cute as the rest of the cast.  She and Miho only have one very brief interaction before the big match and that’s all.  She definitely lacks the personal connection Miho had with her sister, Maho, during the course of the TV Show and they get a nice little team up arc in this movie. 
 
There’s one more part of The Movie that doesn’t work for me but to get to it, we’ve gotta talk about the good stuff: the Tankery.  Girls und Panzer der Film was made for a big screen experience and steps up its game big time from the TV Show.  That characters poking out from the tanks look much improved from how they did before and the sound design has been cranked up.  When those tanks fire shells, the sound system rumbles and it is awesome.  The Movie even brings in much more first person perspective sequences to the party.  The added line of sight puts viewers up close and personal with the action, making a wild ride even wilder.  There’s a scene where one tank finds itself on a roller coaster track and once the camera sets itself at the front of the tank, you can feel that drop when it happens.  The big battle between Ooarai and it’s allies and the University Strengthened Team goes on for a good chunk of the movie, almost half of the two hour runtime…and besides the slight negatives I have about some things, I never once got tired of the tank battling goodness.
 
No, my problem comes with…well, the handling of the cast.  Many of Ooarai’s opponents turned friends from the TV Series return to back up Miho and the gang and rebuff their numbers.  And it’s great to see fan favorites like Saunders Team Leader Kay and my personal favorite, Tiny Stalin Katyusha, back in action, we spend a lot of time with these tank teams, maybe too much.  A brand new Japanese team that has a habit of charging in without a plan is also introduced and they get a fair amount of screentime too.  At one point I asked myself, “Whens the last time we’ve seen Miho, Saori, Hana, Yukari and Mako?”  Ok we see Miho a bit cause she’s giving orders but I feel like we barely spent anytime with our core quintet during the final battle.  It’s as if the supporting cast, amazing as they are, were given more time to shine than the actual stars of Girls und Panzer.  It’s a common problem for most TV Anime with a huge cast (Bleach is a prime example).  We do get to spend time with Miho’s crew when everyones sad about moving away but I missed the banter and the tone deaf sass of Mako.  Again, the supporting allies are all great and they all deserve spinoffs of their own…but I like my main team and thought their screentime should’ve been more prominent.
 
Still, it’s hard to not come out of Girls und Panzer der Film feeling any less than energized.  The action, animation and the return of the crazy and colorful supporting cast provides a very fun experience.  The story feels recycled but without a proper antagonist for Miho and I feel like her Tankery team got relegated to the background during the biggest fight they’ve ever been in.  Can’t say I didn’t dislike the movie either.  I was invested in the rehashed plot, or at least the outcome of the characters, and the FPS scenes left me in awe and feeling like I was on an actual roller coaster ride.  In short, this is another example of: if you loved the series, you’ll like the movie.  Don’t expect anything fresh from the plot, just come for the insane action and the loveable cast riding those massive behemoths into battle.
 
7/10