Girls und Panzer

This is such an amazing series, it's really unfortunate how underrated it is. I rarely see anyone talking about it and most people I know don't know it. People definitely need to watch this as it's much more better than I thought it would be.

We all know that soldiers operate tanks. Most of them happen to be men. But GUP is about the best tank operators. Of course, we are talking about the most fearsome warriors on the planet today: Teenage Girls. Teen girls populate the Tankery Clubs at HS. Nishizumi actually picked her new school because they /didn't/ have a tank club. She's trying to escape her family's legacy. As soon as she gets there, though, the drive to start a Tankery Club coincidentally begins. One thing leads to another and she practically gets forced into Tankery. Thankfully, she's really, really, /really/ good at it.

Here's what they say at the orientation for the school's mandatory electives: "Tankery: A part of our culture with a long history enjoyed by girls from many nations all throughout the world. A strong but delicate art that aims to make girls and women alike more polite, graceful, modest and gallant both on and off the battlefield. To learn tankery arms the heart of a woman with the soul that embraces and burns with femininity: intense and strong like a tank's iron, cute and lively like the clattering of its track, and finally passionate and precise like its name. If you train in tankery, you will become a better wife, a better mother, a better student, and a better worker. You will become healthier, kinder, stronger, and men from all over the world will fall at your feet. This is your chance. Train your body, train your mind, Embrace tankery and blossom as a woman on the field of battle." (All of this to WWII marching band music).

Without knowing the backstop of how this manga was conceived, it seems obvious that being high (a little at least) probably played a part in providing inspiration. Some of the best stories happen that way. The animation is excellent. The girls look more like Precious Moments characters than warriors. They have round faces with big round, innocent eyes. They talk in sweet little voices. And they know their munitions. The mid 20th century military vibe is lively, upbeat, and really fun,

The action is not only exciting, but it's also enchantingly endearing. It's downright cute. Slapping pink bunny suits on these tanks couldn't make the show any cuter - it's maxed out.

Nishizumi Miho is assisted by Akiyama,Yukari, Reizei Mako, Isuzu Hana, Takebe Saori, and many more. We follow them on several competitions where, as a new club, they perform marvelously. Each of the characters and each school, for that matter, have their distinct personalities. There's even a cucumber-sandwich-and-tea tank club. The character development and the action, along with the overall writing in general, are what make this show special. It's a blast.

If being rolled over by cuteness & excitement doesn't appeal to you, then don't tread here!

QUOTE📢

If you think of it as embarrassing, it will just feel more embarrassing.

〰🖍 IMHO

🎬85 📝85 🎭 83 🌞84 🎨80⚡87 🎵/🔊83 😅63 😭15 😱20 😯30 😖20 🤔40 💤0 🔚93

Age + Rated TV-14 but this is appropriate for tweens and above (Note: I counted damn ×1 & He!! × 1 while in combat. They sound like generals now and then).

It's warm and reinforces the values of compassion- liyalty- bravery- perseverance and hard work.

Re-📺? I will gladly watch it again with friends or fam.

S1 consists of 14 25-minute English dubbed episodes and is currently on Hidive via Prime. But wait! There's more! There's a compilation recap movie on Hidive and several other offshoot productions were made. Here's the comprehensive list in watch order though it isn't all available for streaming currently:

Girls und Panzer 1; OVA episodes one to seven; Girls und Panzer der Film- No Dub; OVA episode eight, "Alice War!"; Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 1. Hidive. Dubbed; Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 2 Hidive; OVA episode nine, "Taiyaki War!"; Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 3 - Hidive; OVA episode 10, "Daikon War!"

And if you're wanting to watch everything chronologically, you'll have to break things down episode-by- episode.

GuP episodes one to four, OVA episodes one and two, GuP episodes five and six, OVA episodes 3 and 4, GuP episode seven, "Anzio is the Next Up!", OVA episode seven, "This is the Real Anzio Battle!", GuP episode eight, "We're Fighting Pravda!", OVA episode 5, "Snow War!", GuP episodes nine to 12, OVA episode six, "Banquet War!", Girls und Panzer der Film, OVA episode eight, "Alice War!", OVA episode nine, Taiyaki War!", Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 1 Hidive, OVA episode 10, "Daikon War!", Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 2 Hidive, Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 3 Hidive.

When I first saw this on Netflix I almost chose not to watch it. It just looked too absurd. But after the first episode I was greatly interested-- mainly due to the humor of the one liners and setup of characters. By the 2nd & 3rd episode I was hooked.

This show starts with a ridiculous concept-- that girls in tank battles is the ultimate of high school femininity-- and jumps the shark from there, repeatedly and intentionally. Typical line: "It's just that tankery is the very essence of femininity. I don't think I've ever seen guys driving tanks."

The concept is not without precedence. Cute girls and hot cars have sold hotrod magazines for decades. So why not cute girls and tanks? Especially if they throw in a good sense of humor-- which is the case.

Creds have to be given to the research staff. Obviously the creator and staff are *really in to tanks*. I'm no expert so all I can speak from is audience impact-- but it seems they have the tank models, weights, armor, maneuverability and power down pat. I think just about every tank ever made is featured in this 12-episode series and the follow-up 2 hour movie.

Ridiculous? Yes. Strategic? In some parts very much so, in other parts ludicrously so. If you're in the mood for anime girls, heavy weapons and ridiculous humor all in one series, this might be just the ticket.

On the downside: I have to say some of the rules of the tank competitions are a bit lop sided. In the drama of the show it's intended as an underdog sympathy trick... but pitting 5 tanks against 10 just doesn't seem cricket. One would think balanced sides would be a requirement. But then, one doesn't go into a high school girl tank battle expecting fair play and realism, eh? ;D

Fun watch that exceeded expectations.

There is only one reason why you should watch this anime: To watch girls blow the living crap out of each other in tanks!

On the outside it looks adorable, but on the inside, past the surface, they are metal A. F.! (Word-play intended!)

Pros: *This is a must-watch if you are infatuated with tanks or World War II.

*Minimal (if any) fanservice at all.

*The characters' designs are aesthetically pleasing.

*If you are looking for something to watch while exercising on the treadmill, then this would be an appropriate pick. It does not require much cerebral thought or mental involvement, yet it has just enough action in it to get you pumped!

Cons: *There isn't that much of a narrative. They do not really explore anything other than "what would happen if we put high school girls in a tank and have them fight other tanks?" *There is some back story, but not necessarily quite as much as one might hope. The main back story comes in the form of flashbacks.

*The realism goes in and out in places. This anime has particularly become notorious as a meme across the internet community for following "anime logic" with respects to its tank battles. This might be a pro or a con, depending on whichever perspective you view it from.

The other reviewers have already explained a lot in back story so I won't bother add more details to it, cuz as to whether you can be convinced by the whole story is pure personal preference. Like there's carbon coating applied on inner side of the tanks so the girls won't get injured by real tank ammunition. I'm totally fine with it given that other isekai shows have much more logics and backgrounds. It's only a matter of taking it or leaving it.

The title might give you an impression of a cliche drama from a bunch of moe high school girls but don't let it deceive you. From 1 to 10 you can rate "moe level" at around 3~4. The girls are cute indeed thanks to designing artists but the director doesn't offer much fan service in the script. On the contrary the most exciting parts in the show are tank battles. It has one of the maturest CGI performance I've ever seen. It's impressive to the point that you won't feel it appropriate at all when the 3D tanks move and shoot in 2D backgrounds.

From the historical perspective those tanks in this anime are made as authentic as possible to match real WW2 tanks. Though velocity are not quite historical accurate, they can do some cool manuevers. Combined with the presentation of tank battles those inaccurate parts can be easily forgiven.

Dialogues, dressing and even the names of the girls are deliberately designed. With a bit of Googling you can find that almost every girl in the protagonist's team refer to someone real back in history. I really appreciate the staff members to do that. Those research must have taken a long time.

GuP is so intriguing that I've watched it like more than 10 times and every time I can find some details that I previously overlooked, maybe a team leader making gestures to order other students to shoot in tank battles, or how those tanks run in different scenarios because of different size and weight. It's a shame that with so many 3D animation works in it the production cycle is longer than you'd expect from a conventional JP anime. Now the staff team release an OVA every 18 months or so. Other than that I'm totally satisfied with GuP.