[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/war_of_the_human_tanks_cover.png]]
''War of the Human Tanks'' is the first game in the Japan-based series ''Human Tanks, Charge!'' developed by Yakiniku Banzai in December 2008. It was localized by Fruitbat Factory for western release on the 14th of September 2012 on Steam. The sequel ''War of the Human Tanks – [=ALTeR=]'' - being released on the 13th of February 2015 on the same platform, and the third game, ''War of the Human Tanks – Limited Operations'' came out on
14th of June 2016. The fourth game in the series was announced at Comiket 82 in August 2012.

The consists of story-driven single-player [[RealTimeWithPause hybrid turn-based/real-time strategy games]] where the player controls a force of the titular Human Tanks against an AI opponent. Combat is fast-moving and lethal, with most units going down in one hit, and is heavily affected by the FogOfWar. In between levels, the player can [[TechTree develop and build]] new, better Human Tanks and modules to grow stronger. Story-wise, the games' themes generally revolve around the Human Tanks, the [[UndyingLoyalty unshakably loyal]] [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman almost-but-not-quite-human]] mass-produced soldiers whom the Empire of Japon and Kingdom of Japon field in their war for control of the land.

''War of the Human Tanks'' places the player in the role of the recently unfrozen Lieutenant Shoutaro Daihon'ei, commanding officer of the 4th Armored Corps. You are tasked with assembling and leading an army of appropriately named Human Tanks against the Kingdom of Japon to turn around the war in favour of your own faction, the Empire of Japon, while avoiding deadly pitfalls and plots along the way.

The sequel, ''War of the Human Tanks - [=ALTeR=]'' is told from the point of view of the Kingdom's Lieutenant Alter Matsuyukishiro. Tasked by her cousin the Queen with removing a traitor in their ranks and staving off a mounting Imperial offensive, Alter must also work out her connection to Elle, a Human Tank whom she befriended as a child and has now mysteriously returned. A SidequestSidestory further explores the origin and philosophy of the Human Tanks.

The third game, ''Limited Operations'', takes place 50 years after the Human Tanks were first developed. The [[MinovskyPhysics radiotoxic particles]] on which the Human Tanks depend are being depleted, rendering many of them useless and leading to a winding down of hostilities between the Empire and Kingdom. Not everyone is pleased with this outcome, and the Imperial Major Yatarou Shirahase and the 4th Armored Corps are soon caught up in their plots. Gameplay-wise, it breaks from the previous two games in having a fixed set of units available for each battle instead of the player building up their resources and technology over the course of a playthrough.

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!!This game provides examples of:
* AlwaysAccurateAttack: Anything with the snipe ability, sniper and fighting tanks in particular, are guaranteed to hit even tanks with the evade ability. In fact, they're the only ones that can hit enemies with the perfect evade skill.
* AttackOfThe50ftWhatever: Some types of Human Tanks qualify as this, most notably the [[spoiler:Gekkou and giant Imperial Shock Tank deployed in Nagoya.]] In [=ALTeR=], [[spoiler:Albatross]] and [[spoiler:Halberstadt]] are most definitely this.
* ActionBomb: Imperial Pochi units and Kingdom Piko Piko units.
* AmbitionIsEvil: The three Lt. Generals.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: Radiotoxic particles.
* ArtStyleDissonance: For a game largely based around Super Deformed Androids killing each other, the games are surprisingly dark.
* BeleagueredAssistant: Liselotte in the first game, Megumin in [=ALTeR=], Hana in ''Limited Operations''.
* BerserkButton:
** [[spoiler:Detritus]] does not take [[spoiler:Alter killing Shiro]] well.
** The Ghost in the Great Cavern of Fuji has never been hit once in ten years and 3,500 fights with Pokari. It does ''not'' like this pattern being broken.
* BoxingBattler: Used by fighting tanks, who specialise in quick and precise attacks.
* BreatherEpisode: Episodes 5, 8 and 11.
* BrotherSisterTeam: Choko and Shoutaro.
* BrilliantButLazy: All the protagonists. One almost suspects it's a requirement for command.
* BrutalBonusLevel
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The 4th Armored Corps. Shoutaro spends his days watching Anime and playing Video Games, and does little actual planning and army organisation. And yet, the 4th Armoured Corps have a very high success rate in Combat.[[spoiler: Shoutaro is so effective that before freezing, he earned the feared moniker of "The General from Hell". Not that Liselotte believes him when this is explained to her.]]
* ButtMonkey:
** [[IronButtMonkey He]][[RidiculouslyHumanRobot shi]][[TheDitz ko]] and Ruru, in spades.
** [[LazyBum Shoutaro]] to a minor extent.
** [[NoRespectGuy Kurara Iikura]]
* CasualDangerDialog: Shoutaro almost always.
* ConsummateProfessional: Liselotte.
* CoolSword: Imperial samurai and Kingdom knight tanks. [[spoiler: Miou's triples as a {{BFS}} and LaserBlade]].
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Many of the attack animations involve damage and explosions far beyond what they actually do ingame or even what the engine is capable of depicting. The more extreme examples involve whole cities or even ''the planet'' being wrecked.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: Given that [[spoiler: the Daihon'ei corps fights for the kingdom]] in ''[=ALTeR=]'', the "The Will To Fight" ending is canon, although [[spoiler:Miou is also back with the Corps]], which doesn't happen in that ending.
* {{Cyborg}}: Elle is half human, which shows in her eyes only being half as swirly as other human tanks'. [[spoiler:Shoutaro might also qualify with his human tank implants]].
* DarkIsNotEvil: The dark tanks, while initially antagonistic, aren't any more malevolent than normal tanks. You can later build them yourself. Even [[spoiler:Halberstadt, [[EldritchAbomination a massive tank that looks like it was dreamt up by a dead god]], only fights you to protect Shiro]].
* DeadlyEuphemism: "Fell silent."
** You can "dismiss" Human Tanks (and modules), which appears to mean [[HumanResources "dismantle for parts"]]. [[FridgeHorror It is not specified whether the Human Tanks are conscious at the start of the process.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Shoutaro especially, being both listless and sarcastic. Everyone does get a few shots in though.
* {{Deconstruction}}: Of {{Moe}} surprisingly enough. The Human Tanks will do anything their superiors order them to do, simply to make them happy. ''Anything''. [[spoiler: This reaches a head in [=ALTeR=], with the Albatross Multicore Human Tank - a giant Human Tank stitched together from hundreds of Human Tanks - who were all willing volunteers who wanted to be useful to their superiors.]]
* DecapitatedArmy: If either side loses all of their Command Units, they instantly lose.
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: Every Human Tank in death believes that they were of service to their superiors and die in rapture.
* DistaffCounterpart: Alter to Shoutaro.
* EmbarrassingNickname: ''Mix-up Megumin''.
* TheEmpire: The Empire of Japon.
* EnemyMine:
** In [[spoiler: both Kurara route]] endings, Shoutaro [[spoiler: ends up going against Imperial forces alongside the remaining Kingdom forces.]]
** And in the [[spoiler: "Daihon'ei Rebel Unit"]] epilogue, [[spoiler: it turns out General B and Toyonoshima both opted to elect Shoutaro sole General of the Imperial forces (and effectively Emperor) rather than let Sasagusa (General A) seize power all for himself.]]
* TheEngineer: Choko, Elle.
* EvilOldFolks: [[spoiler: General B. Also FinalBoss of the "Daihon'ei Rebel Unit" ending.]]
* ExoticEyeDesigns: Most human tanks can be identified by their swirly [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]]. The exceptions are [[{{Cyborg}} Elle]], whose otherwise normal eyes are swirly around where her pupils would be, but solid otherwise, and [[spoiler:Yuki, who is a hologram projected by the human tank Shiro]].
* FastballSpecial: [[spoiler:[[SuperPrototype 08]]]] attacks by throwing things, most prominently other human tanks.
* FriendlySniper: The deployable sniper units. The royal ones just look so damn ''happy'', and the imperial models (sans [[Franchise/Golgo13 Tougo]]) have a perpetually relaxed expression.
* GeneticMemory: If you rebuild Masamune, you see a cutscene where everyone treats her as the same person and she appears to remember the crew, despite having been effectively dead for months (assuming you rebuild her late in the game, which is likely given the amount of research required) and being in a completely new body. You can then build multiple copies of her.
* GloryHound: General C A.K.A. [[spoiler: Lt. General Toyonoshima, FinalBoss of "The Will to Fight" ending.]]
* GuideDangIt: [=ALTeR=]'s last level. Killed 150 or more units before reaching the final episode, or worse, 300 or more? Congratulations, you just made things ''much'' harder for yourself!
* ImprobableAccessoryEffect: Red Mufflers. Heshiko's account explicitly states that they allow her to ''recover from exploding'' somehow.
* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler:Katana Iikura]] betrays the Kingdom out of anger at [[spoiler:Kurara taking the throne with popular support (although she was only a branch family member, she was also the only one from the royal family who didn't run when the Empire closed in)]].
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Sasagusa and General B, the two main causes of the Daihon'ei siblings' suffering, are both killed in some empty field far from battle in "Daihon'ei Rebel Unit".]]
* KillerRabbit: Why are we fighting Mr. Cat? ''Why is he kicking our collective asses?''
** In [=ALTeR=], the Kingdom of Japon becomes the protagonists.
* LostFoodGrievance: Kurara in [=ALTeR=] demotes Megumi ''three'' whole ranks to Second Lieutenant for eating her custom order Mont Blanc cake. Megumi gets re-promoted at the end of the game, only to be busted down again (this time for eating Kurara's specialty ramen).
* MeaningfulName: ''Daihon'ei'' was the General Headquarters for the Japanese Imperial forces pre-1945.
* MildlyMilitary: The 4th Armored Corps as introduced definitely do not appear professional at all. Lisolette actually physically assaults Shoutaro, a senior officer.[[labelnote:*]]She hangs him from the ceiling for using the army's Human Tanks for personal purposes (shopping).[[/labelnote]]
* MinovskyPhysics: Radiotoxic particles mess up ordinary electronics and telecommunications (and are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin toxic to humans]]), but are required for the Human Tanks to function.
* MultipleEndings: A grand total of four possible endings in the original game. [=ALTeR=] has just one "proper" ending, albeit with three variations depending on how many enemy tanks you've destroyed; completing the Great Cavern constitutes a second ending. ''Limited Operations'' has two.
* MundaneUtility:
** Human Tanks doing laundry.
** Human Tanks playing baseball, having snowball fights and going on treasure hunts.
** Human Tanks cooking.
** Human tanks being used to go shopping. Liselotte is ''not'' amused.
* NoodleIncident: A few show up in dialogue, though they are usually elaborated on in either main routes.
* NukeEm: Shoutaro's iconic tactic, though with Pochi tanks instead of nuclear arms.
** Radiotoxic Bomb modules
** The [[spoiler: massive Imperial Shock unit deployed in Nagoya]].
* [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome Offscreen Moment]] [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning of Crowning]]: [[spoiler: In the "The Will to Fight" epilogue, Shoutaro is crowned Emperor of the Empire of Japon and Kurara is crowned Queen of the Kingdom of Japon.]]
* TheReveal:
** Miou [[spoiler: was originally part of Daihon'ei's unit.]]
** Shoutaro [[spoiler:was betrayed and mortally wounded by his then-equals and only survived by becoming 20% Human Tank.]]
** [[spoiler: The [[ArcWords Arc Speech]] "enemy" the Human Tanks are directed against are humans themselves by the grossly malformed Human Tank in the "Charge! Human Tanks" ending.]]
** In [=ALTeR=], [[spoiler:Albatross is the secret weapon the Imperial Army was working on all game, using stolen Royal technology.]]
** ''Limited Operations'': Alliance leader Endo [[spoiler:is the younger sibling of]] Izumonokami Tachibana, ruler of the Kumano autonomous region. [[spoiler:So is Major Shirahase's XO Hana Kurohara]]. Miss Katsura [[spoiler:is the daughter of Choko Dai'honei]].
* RedBaron: [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The General from Hell]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Human Tanks. Though unlike most instances of the Trope, the eyes of a Human Tank are permanently red.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Kurara leads the Royal Army in battle even in its darkest hours. This is the reason she [[spoiler:becomes Queen]] in [=ALTeR=] despite being [[spoiler:only third in the line of succession]].
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Human Tanks are effectively human enough to be regarded as physically stronger (though somewhat mentally deficient) humans. They are so akin to humans that [[spoiler:Choko was able to save a dying Shoutaro by "fixing" him with parts of Human Tanks.]]
* SidequestSidestory: The Great Cavern of Fuji in [=ALTeR=] features several new characters and has its own subplot that reveals the origin of the Human Tanks. In fact, it's several times longer than the main story.
* SingleTear: Pochis and Piko Pikos have them because... [[ActionBomb well]].
* SuperPrototype: Human tanks were originally developped not as superweapons, but to allow for war to be fought without human combatants. As a result, the researchers had to tone down the original models' SuperToughness. [[spoiler:Two prototype tanks, 08 and Detritus, can be fought in the great cavern of Fuji]].
* SuperReflexes: Imperial Sekigahara units, Kingdom Milua units and [[spoiler: Miou]]. [[BrutalBonusLevel Bonus levels]] take this up to eleven.
* TeamChef: Liselotte.
* ThemeNaming:
** Royal Command Tanks are types or brands of footwear or legwear.
** Imperial Assault Tanks are Japanese trains.
** Royal Assault and Imperial Shock Tanks are dogs.
** Royal Shock Tanks are Japanese onomatopoeias.
** Imperial Recon Tanks are cats.
** Royal Intercept Tanks are desserts.
** Imperial Artillery Tanks are mostly flowers.
** Imperial Sniper Tanks are fictional assassins.
** Fighting Tanks are sports drinks.
** The tanks that appear on the yakiniku maps in [=ALTeR=] are cuts of beef.
* TooPowerfulToLive: [[spoiler: Heroic example as Shoutaro was dangerously close to being crowned Emperor after the war due to his successes so General A (Lt. General Sasagusa) set him up.]]
* TurnBasedTactics: Though turns come in real-time, commands are given in turns.
* UndyingLoyalty: Human Tanks for their superior. It doesn't matter if they don't have [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman human rights]] and are considered [[WeHaveReserves completely disposable]]. All they strive and die for is [[WellDoneSonGuy praise from their superior]].
** Liselotte even discusses this with Shoutaro regarding loyalty to the country. [[spoiler: She ends up gravely wounded in the "Charge! Human Tanks" ending by saving Shoutaro's life despite her standing orders to kill him if he were to go against the Empire.]]
* UnwinnableByDesign: [[spoiler:Killing Shiro]] in the Great Cavern gets the player thrown into an unwinnable battle against [[spoiler:Detritus]]. Fortunately there's an autosave a bit before the critical point.
* VideogameCrueltyPotential: Go ahead, [[spoiler:shoot Shiro]] if you dare.
* WaveMotionGun: Any Human Tank that uses a laser based weapon.
* WeHaveReserves: Losing units at most sets you back a lot of supplies, especially if equipped with modules but they can always be remade. You do have the option of developing modules to ensure their safe return.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: The use of Human Tanks as unswervingly loyal, mass cannon fodder is a major theme of the series.
* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: Sasagusa to General B in the "Daihon'ei Rebel Unit" ending.]]
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