StealthMomo's Review from Otaku: Girls und Panzer

I Luv Loli's With Guns...

I dunno what it is about little girls with huge military equipment, but hey... whatever works, right? Upotte!, Strike Witches... hell even Sora no Woto (I know I'm leaving out a ton). I guess it is the height of otaku-ness to enjoy watching moe little ladies handle man-sized weaponry.

This particular bit of pseudo-militaristic action has an interesting hook and is at least slightly more believable than Upotte's anthropomorphic guns schtick.

Going to school in a city that seems to exist on the back of an ancient aircraft carrier, our main cast of loli lovelies gets pulled into the school's revival of a program called Senshado (or, as translator Hiryuu calls it 'Tankwondo').

Our main girl is Nishizumi Miho, who suffers greatly from 'Saki Syndrome'. She's super-talented at something she actively dislikes and has a hard-ass, just-as-talented, older sister she can't seem to connect with or measure up to (ah... i'm getting ahead of myself).

She's just arrived at her new school and is having a small problem adjusting until she meets her soon-to-be closest friends Isuzu Hana and Takebe Saori. She jumps at the chance to 'fit in' and do 'normal' things that girls do.

Her hopes of a new life are dashed when the Student Council President herself makes an appearance in Miho's classroom and tells her in a threatening manner "When you are choosing your elective, make sure you pick Senshado. Got it?" When Miho protests, saying she chose the school because they didn't have a Senshado course, the president merely brushes it off. "Just do it!"

In a touching nurse's office scene we find out why the Seitokai Chiho wants Miho's participation so badly. Miho reveals to Hana and Saori about her family's long history of famous tank-handlers as well as alludes to some dark 'tank-related incident' in her past. Ohhhhhh.

Anyway stuff happens (you should watch) that cements their friendship and in the end Miho decides to go with the elective along with her friends.

21 girls in total end up joining the program and as they meet for the first time they realize the first order of business... they need tanks.

This leads us to Episode 2 which features introduction of the fourth member of the crew, Akiyama Yukari, as well as highlight the Junior High Tank Wash - which I have re-created for you below:

You're welcome.

So at any rate, I will be following this. It'll be one of my 'Guilty Pleasure' picks for autumn. Here's a batch of screencaps for you.