The chapter begins with a very short author's note, with Shark Team training under Anglerfish, which might have been nice to show in more depth for more insight on the characters.
The narration mentions that Anglerfish Team works with their counterparts on Shark Team.
- Hana trains Masaru in his gunning position, checking his work from the loader's position.
- Mako teaches Hayate the tricks of the trade for tank drivers, with the narration particularly mentioning drifting the tank.
- Saori and Kenji don't get that much done, but the narration suggests that they don't need to, as thre's more modern radios in the tanks, and no one uses the machine guns much.
- Yukari teaches Heishi how to load, and even Akio's impressed at how well she does it.
- Last, there's Miho training Akio- the narration calls her "Nishizumi-dono," Yukari's signature mode of address for her. As jarring as the Gratuitous Japanese can be at times, it seems oddly fitting, as the narration is in awe of the breadth and depth of her knowledge, like Yukari's, only more broadly useful.
Unfortunately, neither Miho nor anyone else can help Alligator Team much with their Russian tank, leaving them to try to improve through trial and error, although their misaligned scope makes things more difficult.
Miho realizes that Anteater Team is still struggling with the difference between video games and reality, including not taking into account how the gunners in-game adjust for real life physics and starts up their video game to set them straight, doing quite well in the process. Anteater Team gets the hint and improves significantly.
Not to be a self-promoter, but I wrote a fanfic, Virtual Reality Ensues
, that reached the opposite conclusion regarding Miho; Miho's real tank experience does not translate well into a game.
Akio talks with Miho afterward, talking about other things, noting that even in front of the team, she seems "quiet and rather nervous," something of an exaggeration of Miho's lack of confidence, which gradually gets remedied over time. Of course, Akio notes that not being "high and mighty," makes her a good leader, and Akio notes that the others trust her and respects her competence, albeit because they paid the price for ignoring her.
Miho interrupts Akio's thoughts to thank him, saying that she isn't used to boys much. She says the men aren't valued much in the family, because they need girls to carry on the family name, and that her father is subservient to Shiho. I've noticed that most "boys in tankery" fics tend to at least be implicitly critical of the girls-dominated aspect, whether by showing males who outdo the females, or arguing that boys shouldn't be included. Here, it seems to deconstruct having females be the only heirs to families in the same way that men could often be the only inheritors of similar titles. That's a valid approach, but it can go into Unfortunate Implications if taken too far or in the wrong way.
Akio is unsurprised, and said that his own family had similar prestige in Sentoki-do- or at least, they once did, which could indicate that he has at least some understanding for tankery families like the Nishizumis, even if he despises Shiho and doesn't think much of Maho. While Sentoki-do shouldn't take over the plot, it shouldn't fall by the wayside, either.
Miho continues and says that she's grateful to Akio for being her friend, as tankery made her a bit unpopular growing up. In light of the Little Army prequel manga, this is only partly true. Miho says that she didn't have many friends who shared her interest in tankery, but she also ended up making a few friends in large part because of tankery. Akio wonders if Miho could call him a friend after so little time, wondering how low the bar is set for being Miho's friend (which is somewhat insulting to Saori and Hana, who, after a little more than a day of knowing Miho, stand up for her in front of the student council), since they're neighbors and teammates. He says that if Miho wantd to be his friend, she only needed to ask, which is a somewhat heartwarming moment.
The scene shifts to a meeting between the Sensha-do Federation (I'll start abbreviating all these- it will be "SF") and the Sentoki-do Aces Authority Board ("SAAB"). Kuromorimine (of which Shiho is apparently the headmistress in this fic) has been officially accepted into the Sentoki-do Authority League ("SAL"), and the SF's membership has increased.
Shiho, through her formal speech and pleasantries, is not very happy about more schools getting involved in tankery, and when pressed by Lady Grey, headmistress of St. Gloriana, claims that tradition is being "trampled upon." Grandpa Sakai (he's called "Sakai" here, but so was Akio at a few points in the narration) then lays into Shiho, accusing her of being like his superiors in World War II and leading Japan to its own destruction through her blind adherence to tradition. This stokes Shiho's ire, but Grandpa Sakai continues his assault, saying that Shiho's school doesn't deserve to be the champions, and she's out of her mind if she even considers disowning Miho for winning.
This is a nice change- someone actually standing up to Shiho and pointing out what's wrong with her, although Shiho seems too quick-tempered in response, particularly snarling "HOW DARE YOU!". To commemorate this occasion, I'll start the first in a series of "Reason You Suck Speech Evaluations", in which I grade various characters on their speeches.
RYSS Evaluation 1
- Grandpa Sakai vs. Shiho Nishizumi, Boys Und Sensha-do Chapter 3
- Grade: B+
- Instructor Comments: Student’s comparing Shiho to the leadership of World War II-era Japan is arguably only one step above calling her a Nazi (Incidentally, in another GuP fanfic that takes place in Nazi Germany, Shiho’s counterpart, Sarah Nitzschmann, is a Nazi). However, said effect is offset by student speaking from his own experience.
Back to the story, Shiho's colleagues are shocked that she would even consider such a thing, but she defends her decision by saying that it's her right to discipline her daughter over failing to adhere to tankery and Nishizumi school traditions by, among other things, having boys on her team. Shiho has always been one for following tradition even when impractical, but this seems a little rigid, even for her. Grandpa Sakai gets the final word with a rebuttal that his grandson is on Miho's team, and the scene ends abruptly.
Tsubasa and his group complain about what happened with the KV-1 and talk about the work that's been done on it. While Girls und Panzer is popular among military otakus, it tended to leave most of the technical details to a relative minimum for the rest of us; most of the tank finding sequences have them say "We found this tank", and leave the technical specifics to the "Introductions" episodes. Granted, the Model club is rather focused on the technical and historical aspects of tanks, but apart from how, in-story, they focus on those to the detriment of their actual performance, that leaves relatively little for the readers who are not nearly as enthusiastic, such as myself. Tsubasa momentarily asks where Nakajima is, and she's said to be at a strategy meting.
The scene shifts again to Miho and Akio, meeting with the other commanders, Momo and Yukari in Miho's apartment (which, being for one person, seems a bit small for 12 people; they should already have a good venue in the meeting room or other places around the school). Miho decides that the team has become too large to command by herself, but she doesn't want to go with the Nishizumi school's methods, and divides the team into three Zugs (Yukari [[Viewers Are Morons explains that it means "platoon" in German before anyone even asks).
After Yukari shares some information on Saunders' lineup, gleaned from when she snuck into Saunders, [[Call-Back all the way back in Episode 5. The topic then shifts to how they plan to defeat their enemies, particularly with most of their guns less effective than the enemy's at long range.
To make a long, wordy and overly technical scene short, knowing that most of Saunders' tanks are better, Miho decides to divide their forces and make use of the tanks in Oarai's arsenal that can defeat their foes at long range. Again, excessive technical detail not only makes the story less accessible, but also bogs down the pacing.
Saunders and Oarai meet up at the day of the match. Miho, after getting Mako to wake her up, and telling the rest of the team that they won against Saunders last time, but the rules are different this time, so they should do their best.
Kay sets up another showing of Saunders' "fiscal" strength with food trucks and the like, and greets Yukari as "Sergeant Oddball". Miho's group notices that the Saunders team has not only brought out 20 tanks, but among them is a T34 Calliope, which nearly induces a Panzer High in Yukari before Miho discourages it. They ask if the Calliope is even legal, but Kay says that since Oarai has upgraded, she should respond in kind. Kay notes that Miho still has the Type 89, which Miho says is because they're "a poorer school."
The match is apparently televised live, contradicting the canon dialogue in Episode 5 in which Saori is told that only the finals will be televised live; if she wants to get a boyfriend through getting on live TV, she has to get at least that far.
Maho sits with Shiho, who can't stand being in the general vicinity as Grandpa Sakai. Erika complains that Oarai never fights directly, but Maho points out that it takes more skill to defeat a strong enemy with a weak force than the other way around. Shiho clearly disagrees, but Maho comments that while it may be less than honorable, it is the only way Miho has to win. This comment comes off as a bit strange when you consider Maho's actual ulterior motive for following the Nishizumi style.
We get back to the prologue, and Miho destroys the first platoon of Saunders. This is already going very differently from Oarai vs. St. Gloriana.
Reactions to this development vary. Oarai is pleased. Maho and Erika are surprised. Kay is shocked to the point at which she yells "NANI?" Yes, you read that right. Yes, this is a direct quote.
Kay, the stereotypical American fangirl, is using Gratuitous Japanese.
Let that sink in for a moment.
As Kay prepares a counterattack, Miho tells Shark and Leopon- or rather, "Same-san" and "Reopon-san", as they're called here, to switch positions and prepare for artillery fire, while Anglerfish moves as well. Meanwhile, Saunders is quite confused and Alisa loads a white phosphorous shell (I can't help but think of Spec Ops: The Line and a particularly horrific and spoileriffic use of it perpetrated by you, the player).
There's a brief switch to Maho's POV, which doesn't accomplish much. Some of the scenes are too short to portray much, making the scene changes seem unnecessary.
The Oarai response to Saunders' assault is successful, and Saunders ends up taking more losses as a result. Typically, Oarai doesn't inflict this many casualties on a more experienced enemy unless they're throwing away their tanks to protect the flag tank or lure Oarai into a trap.
After a brief engagement in which the author points out how thick the armor is and how large the shells are, Leopon team takes out two Shermans before being taken out themselves. Incidentally, at this point, Hoshino is erroneously referred to as "his."
Kay's tank is soon taken out, perhaps one of the few times outside of the Anzio battle that the commander's tank is taken out before the flag tank (in the finals, both commanders' tanks were the flag tank, enabling the Miho-Maho duel). Alisa takes over in Kay's stead, and is surprisingly calm compared to the level of panic she exhibited when her flag tank was being pursued in Episode 6. Of course, she does panic at times, and for good reason.
Miho's tactics prevail against Kay's, and she is ultimately victorious, losing three tanks to her opponent's 20. Granted, the author points out that the strategy is better suited to schools like Kuromorimine than Oarai, which spreads their forces out, but it seems somewhat implausible that this would result in a roughly 6 to 1 casualty ratio. The end came off as somewhat anticlimactic, partly the result of not allowing Saunders the chance to instantly win against Oarai the way they could if they shot the flag tank. It ends up making Saunders seem somewhat incompetent, which is quite unfortunate, since I like them.
Shiho is quite displeased at Miho's victory for being the result of unconventional tactics, which seems to be a regression from her clapping for Miho in her final scene in the first series. That gesture seemed to indicate that there might be more to her than strict adherence to tradition, and it's a bit disappointing that this does not seem to be elaborated on.
Kay isn't too bothered by losing to the champions, and congratulates Miho with another hug. Miho modestly says that "It would have worked against any other schools," although it's unclear whether it's referring to her plan or Saunders' failed tactics.
The chapter ends with Saori asking if they(I assumed it meant all of Anglerfish team) can go shopping, and Miho says they can after lunch.
The author's note says that Shiho will "end up a major antagonist", and the conflict between her and the Sakais will take center stage. This is a bit unfortunate considering how Shiho's been portrayed thus far. The interesting thing about Girls Und Panzer is that most of the rivals are fairly nuanced. Darjeeling's status as a Proper Lady may be part of the reason why she largely kept her initial dismissiveness of Oarai to herself, but she also respects her opponents. Kay places having fun over victory, and believes in the value of fair play. Anchovy may be somewhat mean to Miho over supposedly throwing victory away, but she believes what she does because she believes leaders must bring victory to their subordinates. In spite of her arrogance, Katyusha knows when she is defeated and doesn't hold it against her foes. And Maho, leader of the until recently undefeated Kuromorimine, not only is willing to help those on other teams with personal problems, but loves her younger sister dearly and does what she does so that she can pursue happiness. But what is Shiho fighting for apart for the Nishizumi style? Does she even have a reason for doing that? If those questions aren't answered, she may end up being one-dimensional.
There's a poll asking which team the audience wants to see next; as of this writing, the result has been decided. This sounds like a bit of a troubling sign, in that 1)the writer does not yet know which team he wants to put next, and 2)is unsure what exactly will be done with those matches.
What I liked
- Shiho getting a good talking-to.
What I didn't like
- Shiho seemingly reverting to the closest thing the series has to a villain without any apparent redeeming qualities.
- The battle against Saunders was far too one-sided.
- Some minor details were incorrect.
- The story is weighed down by technical details.
My Impression of Akio So Far: Not much has changed, but it's good to see that, at least at this point, he's not too dominant in the plot or in tankery battles. That may change as his family comes into conflict with Shiho, though.
