Ooarai Girls High School used to be home to one of the
worlds most prestigious sporting events: Tankery. Miho Nishizumi is a Tankery superstar from a
family of Tankery Superstars but has come to Ooarai to get away from that
life. However, once the Student Council
learns Miho has graced their halls, they successfully resurrect the dormant
school sport, using Miho’s status to build up a new team and seek challenges
from rival school across the globe.
Though Miho is uncertain, the unexpected and genuine bond she forms with
her Tankery Team will reignite her love of the sport and spur Miho to head into
battle once again.
In all the years I’ve been watching Anime, very little
should surprise me when it comes to the medium.
This is Anime we’re talking about and in Anime, literally anything is
possible if you have an imagination.
And
yes, this also goes for whoever decides to do a pseudo sports/slice of life
Anime with vintage Tanks and school girls.
The question is: Does that combo work for Girls und Panzer?
At the end of four episodes, I can say…well
it isn’t something you see everyday but I’m certainly here for it.
Probably the one element of the show most with a brain
will find bewildering is the fact that Tanks are being used for sport in a non
lethal fashion.
Not a lot of detail is
given but basically, Tankery might look vicious but it’s carried out with the
highest regard for the safety of the students involved.
I have to assume that some soft form of tank
shells are used.
And yet an entire town
becomes a battlefield during the first big match up of the series and people
are excited to see their shops and homes get blown up in the chaos.
These are moments where you just have to
suspend disbelief and just roll with action as it unfolds, pure logic be
damned.
And yes, the Tanks are all
moving much faster than they normally would in real life.
But then you see a sleepy schoolgirl make a
Tank drift like she’s watched every Fast and the Furious movie possible and you
can just say…ok, that was freaking awesome.
Point is: Tankery looks cool even if it is nonsensical.
Just sit back and enjoy the action.
Anyway, so I guess you could call Girls und Panzer a
Sport Anime if you wanted to since Tankery is practiced around the world exclusively
by girls.
A large chunk of the first few
episodes is still dedicated to getting to know our core cast of girls aboard a
freaking aircraft carrier (only in Anime).
I wont lie, I got some very chill K-ON vibes from our main quintet.
You have Miho: the Tankery ace who finds
herself thrust back into the sport she thought she’d left behind; Saori: a boy
crazy ball of energy who hopes Tankery will increase her chances of finding a
boyfriend; Hana: the most gentle of the bunch with a knack for flower arrangement
and a hidden enjoyment of firing the main cannon of a tank; Yukari: A Tank
Otaku who is basically a walking Wiki on the subject; and Mako: a chronic
sleeper who happens to be the best Tank driver just by looking at the manual
(Gundam much?), she’s also hands down my favorite for her dry delivery of all
her lines…plus I can relate to her “Is it possible to wake up at 6am”
questioning.
Separately they’re
entertaining but together, these girls are a lot of fun and some of the opening
sets best moments are when they come together as a team for the first time in
the heat of battle.
There’s a bunch of other supporting characters as well
and I’m sure as we see more schools involved in this National Tankery
Tournament.
Miho’s Tankery Corps is
comprised of four other sub teams, each with their own Tank: the Student
Council (with the lovechild of Umaru Chan and Haruhi Suzumiya controlling just
about everything); the History Club (who love spouting historical factoids and
one liners); the Volleyball Club (who treat Tankery like the sport they love);
and the Freshman…who are just kind of around and kind of bail on Miho and the
others in their first match out of fear, but they wanna make it up to her.
And that’s just the Ooarai girls.
We also get to meet the Tankery team of St.
Gloriana’s Academy, led by the elegant and tea loving Captain Darjeeling.
Girls und Panzer really plays to the
worldwide stereotypes of the Brits, from their chivalrous attitudes to
Darjeeling sipping tea even when a match is on.
However, this never feels like an insult or a poking parody.
Culture is a key part of this series and the
history of the world involved in combat is seen in both Ooarai’s many opponents
and the Tanks they ride.
Speaking of the Tanks, damn these are some fine looking
machines.
Normally I’d be a bit hesitant
about CG Mecha or vehicles…and some of those concerns are valid here but not
because of the Tanks.
The Tanks all look
like replicas of their era and their part of the world.
A lot of time was put into studying their
design, their capabilities, even the interiors look like they were drawn after
studying images for several days.
These
aren’t some super meched out controller interiors.
Vintage is the word of Girls und Panzer, even
if the Tanks have some souped up speed for added action flair.
Yukari is clearly the voice of the creators
of this Anime as she can divuldge the specs of each Tank alongside Miho, who is
truly better at tactics than anyone in the group.
My point is, none of the Tank related chatter
or combat feels disingenuous or half assed.
This is all from the minds and hearts of fans of history and military
combat.
My problem…is the characters
poking their heads out during the wide shots of the Tanks moving.
It looks so silly and the 2D and 3D CG blend
doesn’t really work, it stands out in the most distracting way.
All in all, Girls und Panzer is off to a surprising good
start.
The characters aren’t annoying,
the Tanks all look fantastic, the action is fast and exciting, and its got a
feel good atmosphere to it that just makes me smile watching it.
Even if Miho and crew didn’t win their first
match, it was still great to watch them come together and earn the respect of
their first opponents.
I wonder if their
future rivals will be any different.
Eh,
Miho seems the type to have girls fall into her orbit and like her in some
way.
Plus we get to see the American
Saudners University High team take on Ooarai next week.
If the show did a good job representing
Britains’ chivalrous attitude, I wonder how gung ho the US of A will be
handled.
You wont have to wait too
long.
Girls und Panzer rides back into
battle once again on Friday over at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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