The anime is set in the future (some few decades from now) where tanks are obsolete and are at girls’ disposal for honing their skills in Sensha-do (Way of the Tank). We have our protagonist Miho Nishizumi, driven from her past traumatic incident, transferring to Oarai High School. Coming from a family renowned for its Sensha-do, Miho is immediately beguiled by the student council into joining Sensha-do. With an example of Bushido (Way of the Samurai) Sensha-do is introduced here, which is depicted by this show quite fairly.
Coming back to the story, Miho who has joined Sensha-do is teamed up with the four deuteragonists. With the forming of rest of the teams the student council aims for the championship title, which will be held pretty soon. Oarai High School or moreover the student council has taken the initiative of starting Sensha-do again after a 20 year gap due to certain circumstances. From here on the story continues on showing the hardships met by these girls and how they make their way through each victory.
As far as the story is concerned, Girls und Panzer is as passable as any other mediocre anime. Now that being said, there is a ludicrous element in the anime which needs to be brought into light. To my knowledge, one needs to invest an ample amount of time in honing his/her skills to operate a tank, which is attained here by the girls quite effortlessly. Yeah, practice sessions are held here from dawn to dusk. Nonetheless, this is no feat one can achieve by practicing a month or two. Another surreal situation I came across whilst watching the show – they were allowed to continue their fights in a residential area and the girls were left unscarred even after getting a direct hit. I was completely dumbstruck after watching this and I don’t think there is a need for an argument here.
As much as ‘Girls und Panzer’ lacks in the story, it offers a pretty commendable work in the art section. The animation is the most appealing aspect of this anime. Bright and colorful surroundings along with well sorted out landscapes adds up in making it livelier. There might be some dubious stunts performed, however that will be overlooked by intense and fluid action sequels. Praiseworthy here is the detailed and intricate design given to each tank. You will be able to easily distinguish each tank from a far distance. One might even say that maximum amount of time was invested on tanks, as they are one few things this anime has to offer. Character designs are well done. Each character is clearly defined with a different hairstyle and color helping us in easily identifying them.
The main characters are the only ones you can look forward to. Each of them is given a background, but not to the mark of your satisfaction. The problem of having so many main characters is that they need to have a story to fill in their past. Then again providing a story would mean extra episodes, which is not an option here. All the side characters are present just to fulfill their purpose in the story. However there is a certain degree of calmness or you can call it “moe-ness” that will make you feel relaxed. The amalgamation of cute characters and good VA make them adorable to look at.
It takes a lot of effort in making the sound quality as good as the animation. Many anime fail to deliver that satisfactory mark and this one partly does the job. Each shot from a tank is clearly audible and the engine sound of each tank is distinct enough to be told apart. A good sound in coherence with interesting action scenes makes it a deserving watch.
The seiyuu did a pretty good job, albeit having very little to adapt from their roles. The OP and the ending themes are good as well, and do contribute to the ambiance of the anime.
‘Girls und Panzer’ is an anime you should consider as a light watch. Expectations from the story will leave you disappointed and when you, on the other hand, have nothing to expect from it, you will be astonished by its detailed art and good action scenes. If you are willing to cast aside your affection for a good story, then you might end up having a fun time.
Hope you liked the review. Please don’t refrain from pointing out any mistakes (either grammar or argument).
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Story: 5/10
Art/Animation: 7.5/10
Character: 5.5/10
Sound: 7/10
Enjoyment: 6.5/10
Overall: 6.5/10
