'Girls und Panzer' Is Delightfully Absurd

“High school lolis in World War II tanks engaging in tank warfare.”

That is a crude description of the premise of Girls und Panzer.  But whatever little information can be derived from that statement is more than enough to compel me to watch it.

Girls und Panzer first aired in 2012 as a TV series of 12 episodes (plus two recap episodes), and then a feature-length movie called Girls und Panzer der Film got released in 2015 to serve as a sequel.  There are also a couple of OVAs featuring stories set in between episodes and after the movie, but they are inconsequential, with the exception of the seventh one (Kore ga Hontō no Antsio-sen desu!, or in English, “This Is the Real Anzio Battle!”), which shows the actual events of a match cut off from episode 7.   Then in 2017, the first installment of Girls und Panzer das Finale – a six-part film series that is intended to wrap the Girls und Panzer saga up – was released.  I just finished watching all of them, and this review is meant for the totality of the franchise at this point (with the exception of the manga and games, which it also has), not just the original 2012 series.

Anyway, Girls und Panzer is set in the world where a curious sport called sensha-dō (“the way of the tank”), also referred to as “tankwondo”, is an esteemed art form or cultural activity for girls (similar to what “Japanese tea ceremony” is in real life).  A typical sensha-dō match involves two tank battalions – made up of female teams operating WWII-era tanks – going head to head against each other, and the winner is whichever first eliminates all the tanks or the designated “flag tank” – depending on the type of battle – of the opposing battalion.  Real shells and machine gun bullets are apparently used, but ludicrously, sensha-dō doesn’t appear to be lethal.  Participants are only mildly beaten up when their tanks are seriously hit, and at the very worst, the physical damage they can receive is just comparable to that from combat sports like taekwondo and wrestling.  Moreover, matches are sometimes conducted in towns and neighborhoods, but residents and business owners are actually thrilled when their establishments get destroyed.  Another outlandish but awesome detail of this world is that (this is kind of a SPOILER since the pilot episode sets this up in a way that is seemingly intended to be a surprise) academic institutions are situated in aircraft carriers that serve as mobile sea towns!

Yep, Girls und Panzer is absurd, but suspension of disbelief is well-sustained because of its consistency to its logic and its inherent attractiveness.

The plot centers mostly on Miho Nishizumi, a member of a family renowned and respected for its excellence in sensha-dō.  However, an upsetting experience made her want to avoid the sport, so she transferred to Ooarai Girls High School, a school that has long stopped engaging in sensha-dō.  To her dismay, her dream of a sensha-dō-less high school life is shattered when the student council suddenly announced that the school is reviving its sensha-dō program.  Because of her background, she is forced by the student council to join the newly established sensha-dō club, and is soon installed as commander.  Though lukewarm to it at first, being surrounded by enthusiastic, supportive friends eventually stirs her to care for the sport again, and become genuinely fervent of leading her underdog school to victory.

This anime is crowded with characters.  Ooarai’s sensha-dō club alone has nearly 40 members (as of das Finale).  Thus, many characters are underexplored.  For example, the Ooarai coach is only shown doing a few things after her introduction, and for the rest of the way, she’s dismissed to cameo-level screen time.  Other than Miho, the only characters that are somewhat fleshed out and given individual arcs are her inner circle of friends – radio operator Saori Takebe, gunner Hanna Isuzu, loader Yukari Akiyama, and driver Mako Reizei.  This quintet is collectively known as the “Anglerfish Team”, serving as Ooarai’s premier tank team with their German Panzer IV Ausf. D.

Initially, Ooarai’s tank battalion is made up of just five teams – the aforementioned “Anglerfish Team”; the “Turtle Team”, which is the student council in a Czech Panzer 38(t); the “Duck Team”, which is the volleyball club in a Japanese Type 89B; the “Hippo Team”, a foursome of history buffs in a German Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G; and the “Rabbit Team”, a group of freshmen in an American M3 Lee.  Later, they are joined by the “Mallard Team”, which is the public morals committee in a French Renault Char B1 Bis; the “Anteater Team”, a trio of nerdy online gamers in a Japanese Type 3 Chi-Nu; the “Leopon Team”, which is the automotive club in a German Tiger (P); and the “Shark Team”, the delinquents from the naval studies department in a British Mark IV – bringing Ooarai’s tanks up to nine so far.

The main storyline of the TV series involves Ooarai participating in the national tankery tournament, as they compete with other academies that are superior in experience, numbers, and equipment to them.  While Ooarai doesn’t have an exclusive national motif, the schools they go up against, albeit Japanese, are themed on different countries.  Kuromorimine is German, St. Gloriana is British, Saunders is American, Pravda is Soviet, Anzio is Italian, Chi-Ha-Tan is Imperial Japanese, and Keizoku is Finnish.  This means that each of those schools adopts the personalities, practices, strategies, costumes, and – most importantly – tanks of the country it’s emulating.  This results to a ton of hilarious portrayals of stereotypes.  In addition, each school also has a theme music based on its country style – the best of which is easily Pravda’s.

In der Film, Ooarai gets to team up with all those other schools as they face a college sensha-dō team that is seemingly patterned to the United Nations.  And, yes, it ends up being as gratifyingly epic as it sounds.

Frankly, the narrative overall is not that remarkable.  There’s some compelling drama involved, sure, but there’s not much notable substance in it.  If not for the effortless, unwavering charm of the whole “lolis in battle tanks” concept, this show might have turned bland fast.

Plus, the main entertainment value of this show is hinged on the action anyway, not the plot.  Indeed, tank battles are inherently badass, and this show has an ample amount of them.  Once it gets going with its sensha-dō matches, it becomes utterly riveting.  Great direction, animation, sound design, and camera work – especially in the movies – work together to produce stretches of spectacular, visceral tankery goodness this side of Fury.

In relation to this, strategy also plays a huge part in the tank battles, so things can also get satisfyingly cerebral.  Most of the tactical highlights are from Miho, being the main character and all, as she has to draw up unconventional battle plans – often, on the fly – in order for her weak team to contend with stronger opponents.  I really appreciate this aspect since Miho Nishizumi is the first female tactician in fiction I encountered in quite some time – probably, since Code Geass: Akito the Exiled’s Leila Malcal.

In summary, Girls und Panzer is a lot fun. The production quality is superb, the pacing is mostly desirable, the characters – even the underdeveloped ones – are quickly endearing, the humor is desirable, and the action is exhilarating.  It’s well-committed to its goofy premise, and accordingly, it flourishes and delights consistently.

The next installment of its still ongoing story – Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 2 (of 6) – is slated for June next year.