If you were watching the anime when it first aired, you may recall that the first recap episode, "Introductions," aired between the last episode and this one, as a result of Girls und Panzer's Troubled Production. It really only recaps the story, tells a little about the characters, and discusses the tanks they use, so I won't comment on it.
The episode starts where the last left off, with Miho's crew pleased that they took first blood (a term that reminds me a little of Unreal Tournament, although, in that case, it signifies little, except for the person having a likely very fleeting lead over the competition). Saori notes that the flag tank must be taken out, and Mako asks what their next move is.
Alisa is annoyed but not completely deterred by this development, and overhears Miho planning to go to Point #128 to attack the Firefly, which she believes they must defeat if they intend to win. Alisa decides to send all their tanks there. Kay is doubtful and slightly suspicious, but Alisa manages to convince her.
Oarai's tanks proceed ahead, with Miho wishing they could send out a decoy. Meanwhile, Saunders' tanks reach the location, and find that no one is there. Elsewhere, Duck Team, by pure chance, stumbles upon Alisa, and, after a lengthy Stunned Silence, Duck Team begins to retreat.
An occasionally missed point is how, as they discuss in the second Introductions episode, Duck Team, in The Type 89, had little to no chance of piercing the armor of an M4 Sherman. If they'd stopped to shoot at Alisa, they would only have gotten themselves taken out.
Noriko reports that they found the flag tank, but were discovered in the process. Miho makes another deceptive report, while sending the real orders out via text. Noriko, putting her volleyball training to good use, throws a flare to hinder Alisa's targeting, although Alisa fires anyway. Akebi tells Noriko that the Saunders flag tank has "a tough spike," and is to do a "reverse libero" on them to prevent that. The translators and even Akebi herself don't understand what a reverse libero is.
Alisa is getting impatient with the loader's inability to reach for the shells, which I've heard is because of the radio interception equipment, and orders them to use the machine gun instead.
Miho goes off to help Duck Team defeat the flag tank, while leaving Turtle Team to be protected by Rabbit Team and Duck Team. Alisa emerges from the smoke screen, into three tanks pointing their guns at her, and gasps in horror, stopping just in time to avoid a shell. She tells Kay that all of Oarai's tanks are headed for her, and Kay, finally catching on, notices that this doesn't match what Alisa told her earlier, and Alisa admits to using radio interception. Kay is furious with Alisa, telling her that she always said to fight fair, ordering her to retreat. She believes it'd be unfair to fight them with all her tanks, so she instead decides to take three tanks, Naomi included, along with her.
Orange Pekoe is surprised at this turn of events, while Darjeeling and Ami are amused.
Alisa goes off on a rant about how good the Shermans are, which one of her crew reminds her is not very reassuring in their present situation. The crowd gets excited, and Erika admits to being slightly surprised. Alisa orders her crew to fire, and declares that her school is on a completely different level from Oarai. When that short misses, Alisa grows even more frustrated as she demands them to correct their shot, refusing to believe that Oarai is so persistent when their school is about to get shut down soon, and she wishes that it would be shut down immediately. One of those observations turns out to be correct, but one has to wonder when and how she learned that.
Alisa opens the top hatch and screams at Anglerfish Team, but Hana can't hear anything. Saunders' reinforcements then arrive, with Saunders' fans quite happy at this development. Saori conveys an order to fire at will, while Mako takes a slope to close in on the target. Momo orders Yuzu to keep up with the others.
Alisa laments how Takashi, the guy she likes, has feelings for another girl, but is interrupted by a Firefly's 17 pounder. Miho notices the noise, and is surprised that only four Saunders tanks are arriving as reinforcements, albeit outside the Firefly's effective range. Alisa recovers from her Villainous Breakdown and orders her crew to counterattack. As Oarai's tanks continue pursuing Alisa's flag tank, Saunders' tanks begin pursuing Oarai.
Saori, calling Miho "Miporin", and Miho tells Duck and Rabbit to take the rear guard. Rabbit Team declares that they're not running this time. Erwin and Oryou debate whether this is like the Battle of Arras or the Battle of Kotsu-Katsunuma, before concluding that it's like Tennouji. This may be a somewhat controversial opinion, but I always found the History Team a bit one-note.
Momo is determined that they can't lose, but no more able to hit their targets. She then sticks her head out of the split frame to yell at Yuzu when reminded of her poor accuracy. Oarai's fans, Orange Pekoe among them, seem concerned, but Darjeeling is convinced that being under pressure will bring out what Oarai is made of.
Duck Team, after making one last attack, gets taken out, colliding with a rock and getting set on fire. Soon afterward, Naomi fires and takes out Rabbit Team. Miho becomes disheartened, and Erika's convinced that Oarai's defeat is inevitable. Alisa gloats, suggesting that they're done for and will soon be crushed like ants. Hippo Team laments their impending defeat, with Oryou doing a "parting haiku".
As their pursuers close in, Miho is disheartened, but regains her resolve, and insists that they not give up. Saori insists that Hana shoot as much as she can, but Hana says that one shot is enough. She plans to attack from the ridge, which she knows is risky, but she plans to make full use of the opportunity. Meanwhile, Kay tells Naomi to take Anglerfish out.
Naomi fires and just barely misses. Hana, getting into position, uses the concentration she uses in flower arranging to aim, and fires, while Naomi does the same. Hana's shot sails through the air and strikes Alisa's flag tank, just as Naomi's shot disables Anglerfish Team.
Some have questioned whether Naomi's shot, if it had hit a moment sooner, would have decided the match in their favor. The second Introductions episode points out that the Panzer IV wasn't the flag tank, so it could take a chance. As long as it fired its shot before Naomi's shot hit them, and succeeded in striking the Saunders flag tank, Oarai would have won.
As the announcer says that Oarai wins the match, there's a variety of reactions, from relief to shock to joy. Miho's crew congratulates her, and Hana thanks her for believing in her. The teams that got taken out- Duck and Rabbit Teams- return, rejoicing their victory.
The commanders of both sides exchange bows. Kay walks over to Miho, asking if she's Oarai's commander (it seems a bit odd that Miho didn't present herself for the pre-game ceremonies), and when Miho says yes, Kay hugs her while saying "Exciting!" and saying that she enjoyed the match. There's a variety of reactions to Kay's hug, but Miho, once her shock fades, asks why Kay didn't bring in all her tanks. Kay says that this is a sport, not war, and that it was all in the name of good sportsmanship. She also apologizes for the radio interception without making excuses about how a subordinate did it without her knowledge or approval, and offers her hand for a handshake, which Miho takes with both hands, profusely thanking Kay.
Elsewhere, Orange Pekoe Squees in response, while Erika contemptuously walks off, while Maho does not turn away. Kay waves goodbye, and then demands a word with Alisa, who is horrified.
As the sun is setting and the Saunders tanks are taken away, the group plans on getting dessert to celebrate, but is interrupted by Mako's phone ringing. Mako doesn't recognize the caller, but it evidently unsettles her; as she claims that nothing is wrong, she drops her cell phone. Saori notices that it's not a matter of nothing being wrong, but Mako says that her grandmother fell, and is in the hospital.
The rest of the group is horrified, and wants to get to the hospital quickly, but there's one problem. The hospital is in the town of Oarai, and the ship would have to get to port. Mako, unwilling to wait for them to get back, starts stripping down to swim, and her friends restrain her.
Help arrives from an unexpected source- Maho- and the scene shows that as aloof as she may seem, she's a good person at heart. Erika, however, protests, saying that they can't just lend their helicopter to Oarai. Some people have speculated that Erika has a good or halfway decent reason for objecting, but if she does, she never shares it. Miho is quite touched by her sister's gesture.
As they board the helicopter, which Erika is piloting, Mako bows in gratitude, Saori joins Mako in the helicopter, and Miho thanks Maho as she walks off.
By now, four of the eight matches in the tournament (1 vs 2, Oarai's 7 vs 8, 9 vs 10 and 15 vs 16). Momo says Pravda and Black Forest will go next, prompting Anzu to remark that they will have no problem winning. Anzu is right, as the matches happen offscreen, and the enemies did not put up much of a fight.
This episode was a nice moment, showing Oarai triumphing against a superior opponent through cunning, while indicating that they will face harder opponents later on.
Next Installment: Oarai does what it can to prepare for its next opponent.
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