Impression
That battle…was more epic than I thought it would have been xD Clearly, the start of the match was the scene we were given a snippet of back in Episode 1, where Mako’s zig-zag driving technique proved to be a wonder dodging those shots. Clearly, the opponent St. Gloriana got them good in the first confrontation – it was a painfully obvious measure to have every single tank waiting to ambush the enemy in the same place – as well as station the tanks on top of a hill where they can be cornered from both sides as well. Those tanks are surprisingly versatile (I think they’re better quality ones than the types our girls use) and seem to be able to dodge or at least withstand hits easily. On the other hand we have large, old formerly-rusty tanks that have just been patched up all clustered in one area, making them easy sitting ducks. There was always the chance that Miho’s Panzer IV would get hit too, which makes that tactic easy to figure out but harder to implement, especially with tanks.
I wasn’t expecting the other teams apart from Commander Nishizumi’s to be any good, what with all the bright tank colouring that pretty much screams “shoot me!” to anyone nearby who isn’t colour blind. So I wasn’t shocked at all when it was just Miho’s group versus four other remaining high-quality tanks, and I did hope that Miho would pull off some expert strategy and overwhelm the odds. It was going pretty well for her, with a town having many different ambush places and diversions that you can make use of. Also, apparently if there’s any property damage insurance can be claimed, like with the old man and the new shop he’s going to get. o.O Weird, but I guess it goes under potential damages with firing cannon shots out of a tank. Anyway, I would really have liked to see Miho and friends win, but alas – the St. Gloriana tanks are surprisingly sturdy. I think that head tank has been hit before yet even from point-blank it wasn’t immobilized while the thin cased Panzer IV instantly surrendered after a similar shot. The things you can buy with money…anyway, it was nice to know that the St. Gloriana girls ended up being okay people instead of absolute bitches, with their commander even having known and fought Nishizumi Maho in the past.
It seems like not everyone advocates Panzerfahren though, and you can guess that it’s not overly new from the ideas Hana’s mother wants her to take. I see nothing wrong with flower arrangement, however to the traditionals that’s probably the only endorsed thing they’re allowed to do, let alone play with Tanks and drive them. Still, she still took it far too harsh – did something related to Panzerfahren happen to Hana’s mother in the past that made her that disagreeable to it? I mean…really, disowning your daughter because of her club choice? It’s nice to see Hana not back down and agree to quit or feel any uncertainties – she’s clearly displaying her opinion without it being influenced by anyone else.
Weirdly enough, we won’t be following the set pattern of a match followed by training, but instead multiple matches in a row in an official tournament, where poor Miho is standing on stage holding her team’s half of a pairing. I really want to see Oourai Academy win, but in a really cool and redeeming way – maybe that’s what we’ll get next week.