Girls & Panzer: Kore ga Hontou no Anzio-sen desu!

This will be a quick one. I'll assume you've already seen Girls und Panzer and are wondering whether the OVA is worth checking out. If you haven't watched the show yet, it's best to watch it first but you could probably still enjoy this title on its own if you really wanted to. Although you will find a lot more to like about it if you're familiar with the original tv series.

The story takes place during the battle against Anzio, a "Japanese-themed Italian school". Be prepared for a lot of deliciously animated pasta.

Just about all the elements you loved about the show are here. The ... characters are up to their usual antics - Mako sleeping on the job, Saori being an air-head, and of course Miho whipping up moments of tactical brilliance when it matters most. Technically the outcome of the battle is already known to begin with, but this doesn't really take away from the watching experience.

Anchovy brings a (highly tongue-in-cheek) Italian flair to the mix, and there is plenty of humor to be found throughout the 40 minutes of screen-time. One of her generals is even called Pepperoni... Feel like a pizza yet?

The lead-up to the battle is plenty of fun and Yukari's recon mission is a highlight. However, the OVA really shines when it's time for the main event.

The battle is shown from multiple perspectives, and there's a plethora of strategy and mind-games going on as usual. This is the real magic of the Girls Und Panzer franchise: It's written in a way that balances comedy and action like almost no other. The viewer gets treated to a comprehensive view of the battle, and the quality of animation is even better than it was during the original series. The time and effort taken into making this OVA look and feel beautiful very noticeable and rewarding, particularly during the more intense moments of the battle. It must be difficult to balance such a vibrant colour palette with gritty tank warfare but somehow it all works.

As usual, tank otakus will probably relish the more intricate details to be found over the course of the OVA. There's also a fairly good balance of screen time for the main girls, so your favourite character will almost certainly get the time and attention that only you know she needs.

In short: This OVA is a treat. Side-effects may include a heightened enthusiasm for Italian cuisine, but it all goes away after you eat a good pizza. Panzer Vor!

I rated the original GuP a 9, and that's actually because the original production hit a snag after episode 10, which the cast joke about during a live show:

"Well, you know, we were going for the split 1-cour release. It could be a thing."
"So what were you girls doing during those weeks where you weren't broadcasting?"
"Influenza."

I suspect that the production staff actually wanted to do the second round match, but because time/budget was tighter than expected, they basically cut the entire thing out except for the final white flag. It worked as a punch line, but if you enjoyed the series and wanted to see ... the completed second round match, here it is with the lead-up and aftermath.

The "old friends" subplot involving Caesar is cute, but a bit meh for my tastes. It's good to see the show putting a little spotlight on someone other than Team Anglerfish for once, but I guess Caesar was selected this time around because Rome/Italy.

As for the Italian-themed team, like the other teams, the jokes are stereotypical: the general ineptness in combat is a callback to the failed invasion of Greece (the Germans then had to clean up their mess), the "we had to save up to buy a P40" is a shout out to Italy's economy (such as it is), etc. The biggest thing that revealed the staff's ignorance of Italian culture is Pepperoni's pasta recipe (Italians, unlike the Japanese, don't mix eggs and tomatoes as a general rule), but that's nothing worth writing home about. Fortunately for those who get wound up over their home nations getting stereotyped like this, they do it to Japan in the movie. Heh heh.

As always, the scenario is ridiculous: why in the world would you put tankettes like the CV-33 into the match? The answer, of course, is so we can see them flip over and over when hit, and we want to see Team Duck and Team Rabbit score some kills for once-- the Type 89's gun is so bad that the CV-33 is probably the only thing it could reliably penetrate, and while the M3 Frankentank wasn't as good as the Sherman, it still held its own historically.

Without spoiling the story, I love how the show explains why Anzio wasn't spectating the final match. Delightfully in-character and unabashedly pulling on Italians' chains.

The main additions to the already excellent soundtrack are Le Fiamme Nere, Funiculi Funicula, and a new BGM for Yukari's covert ops scene featuring "drunken clarinets" as I like to call them.

In conclusion, hilarious episode, but this one's mainly for fans of the show.

When it comes to OVA Girls und Panzer is pretty unique because the OVA is not pointless - it actually has something to do with the plot of the main show.

The show follows the Senshado tournament which consists of four matches but it only shows the first round, the semi-final and the final - It notes that the quarter-final was against a school called Anzio but the actual match is missing. I don't know whether that was intentional or maybe they just couldn't squeeze everything into 12 episodes and had to leave something out. Anyway this OVA completes the missing piece and shows the entire ... thing, starting from the preparation and of course the actual match.

The episode is just as enjoyable as the rest. If you want to see everything in canon order you may want to watch this between episodes 7 and 8 of the main show.

I'm actually fuming. I forgot to watch this before watching the movie.. Oh well. Whatever.

Well I don't really have much to say for this. It's pretty much character introductions for the new lads which will later on be in the Girls & Panzer Movie.

Other than that, it's back to some more lolis in tanks blasting each other!

Girls & Panzer is just so fun to watch. I actually nearly cried several times because of how fun it was. Tears of joy, 0 depression.

I do have plans to see the 6 movies but as only 2 are out by now I don't think it's ... appropriate to start seeing it now. I might as well wait for all 6 of them to come out then binge the whole thing.

The Anzio OVA for GuP does everything a "side story" should accomplish for a show. It has the same fun energy, action and antics as the main series episodes; it adds to the story by showing us exciting events that were passed over; lastly, it fleshes out some of our characters.

Anzio Girl's High is a great comedic addition to the GuP cast, probably only second to the Chihatans introduced in der Film. Their school emblem says it all, being a stylised pizza with asparagus on it. Anzio exudes charming, impulsive energy reflected in their vehicles, using the comically useless but zippy CV33 Tankettes and ... the Semovente M41 Assault Gun. They really do channel that energy of the Italian Bersaglieri Regiments who run everywhere instead of marching. You have to see videos of the Bersaglieri Military Bands to see how well their essence is captured; their running while playing instruments is simultaneously ridiculous yet impressive, precisely the impression you get when watching Anzio fight. It is hilarious to watch them attempt to implement Anchovy's competent plan only to botch it for the dumbest reasons, devolving the battle into sheer chaos. For the most part, GuP's action scenes are much stronger in an urban setting. The Anzio battle taking place in a hilly forest breaks that trend with the tanks' high-speed, ensuring that the scenery never feels stale.

A nice addition to the OVA is using it to give some characterisation to Hippo team. Despite having the most distinctive appearance in the Ooarai supporting casts, they probably get the least amount of time for more in-depth characterisation relative to the number of episodes they are in. Character has never been the strong suit of GuP, as I've stated in my review of the series, yet Hippo team felt particularly weak at times despite their memorable quirkiness as history nerds. The story of Ceaser and Carpaccio being childhood friends is a nice addition and plays with the quirk of Hippo Team's personality being built around their hobby. It gives us that little bit of extra characterisation that pushes Hippo Team beyond being just caricatures. It does not remotely compare to any actual character-driven show, but it is more than enough to be good for a fun and zany show like GuP.

The weakest point of the OVA was the music, with the theme for Anzio feeling underwhelming compared to everyone else's. This is not the creative team's fault since there are pretty slim pickings for Italian military marches that can match famous compositions like Panzerlied and Katyusha. Funiculi Funicula was the best available choice, though it is a Neopolitan song instead of a march. On the other hand, they still demonstrated their passion for the series with their attention to detail. They added in the OVA may little scenes in Ooarai that help tie together the series better like showing us Nekota's failed attempt to talk to Miho about joining the Sensha-do Team. Even things as small as giving each member of Hippo Team a unique cup, matching their personality, during Miho's visit are not left out. Further, Ooarai's training scene also gives us a glimpse into what happens in the various training montages during the series. At the same time, it also has some great comical moments that reinforce character quirks.

Overall the Anzio OVA is a fantastic addition to the GuP series, being one of those rare pieces of extra material that really adds to the series. It is a must-watch for anyone who loved the original anime, yet it can also stand on its own.

TL;DR - This OVA should have been the second half or continuation of episode 7 of the main season of the show, and thus fits perfectly between it and episode 8. It's more of what you love about the show, and an easy recommendation. If you do decide to watch it between 7 and 8, DO NOT WATCH THE AFTER CREDITS SCENE UNTIL AFTER YOU'VE COMPLETED THE MAIN SEASON! It features heavy spoilers for the finale.

The battle against Anzio in the original series run literally wasn't shown; only the outcome was, which, after watching the whole season, felt off since every other battle was played ... out in full. While I'm not sure if there was ever an official word on why this match was skipped in the anime, there is a likely scenario. During the season's broadcast, the show was falling quite behind schedule, so it seems plausible that, rather than devote significantly more resources towards creating unique content, they opted to quickly put together the two recap episodes that aired for the show so more focus could be put on the series in an attempt to catch back up.

Whatever the case may be, this OVA is what we missed in the season; Anzio's background, the prep before the battle, and the battle itself. There's actually some good character building here, as well as a battle that is just as solid as those we saw in the season (albeit shorter due to having to fit into a 38 minute OVA). Simply put, this OVA is more of what you loved from the season and doesn't disappoint.

If I had to put a place in the season to watch this, it would obviously be around episode 7, the episode literally titled "Up Next is Anzio!", despite Anzio only making the equivalent of a cameo appearance at the end of the episode. Watching it after the episode, sort of as an episode 7.5 would be fine enough, but my honest suggestion is to watch episode 7 to the point where Miho finishes addressing the girls in the bath, pause it there, then watch this before resuming. One word of warning though; there is an after credits scene to this OVA, but since it came out after the conclusion of the season, this extra scene contains heavy spoilers. SO DO NOT WATCH THIS AFTER CREDITS SCENE UNTIL AFTER WATCHING THE ENTIRETY OF THE SEASON! Even if you forget to come back to it, you're not missing much, just a cute little bit of comedy that has no impact on the show whatsoever.

Unlike other anime series that have pointless OVAs or Specials, this one connects to the main series and shows the match between Ooarai Academy and Anzio that was skipped over in the main series after Ooarai's victory with Saunders.

Yukari is at it again with her spy work and introduces us to Italian tanks that the opponents are going to use in the upcoming match, the match itself is great, the humor of Girls und Panzer is present and funny. It is a bit longer than a typical episode but is definitely worth the watch if you watched and liked the main series anime.

If you want ... to watch the entire series in chronological order, then you should watch this episode between episodes 7 and 8 of the main series.

It’s pizza time! So Let’s roll!
Story wise 8/10 the Ova looks like an episode from the main series that got lost and went on air late. It introduced us to a new school jumps to the fun and that’s about it!
Art is an 8 the date of review is 2021 and hence art has come a long way since. But by 2014 standard and by eye the series did well, Smooth tanks flipping scenes included!
Sound wise very okay same cast same VAs great job as usual.
Character wise it just introduced us to a whole new school and some character development was shown. We can see ... the personalities of each characters from just this 30 mins glams!
Did I enjoyed it? Yes! It like a stray episode from the main series that will help on understanding Anzio before going to der film or das finale. A must watch for a fan of the series!