The chapter begins with Maho arriving on scene. As Maho does, Miho enthusiastically greets her, Chihiro and Hitomi are surprised, and Emi knows who she is.
Miho asks Maho when she got back, and she says that she just recently got back, having been given two weeks off because of the tournament (which seems a little strange, since extracurricular activities are presumably done on one's own time). Miho is overjoyed, since this might be her only chance this year to see her sister. She's so happy, she temporarily forgets about her other friends, who ask who Maho is.
Miho introduces Maho, and Hitomi enthusiastically describes herself as a fan of hers, leaving Maho slightly sheepish when Hitomi says she "likes" Maho, and causing Chihiro to remark about how Hitomi was just crying recently. Maho asks who the girls are, and Miho says they're her friends. Maho's quite pleased, as is Miho, but asks whether they can do it. Miho introduces Emi, and says that Emi did it in Germany. Maho is somewhat impressed, but Emi is not pleased at all, and storms off. Miho tries to stop Emi by grabbing her wrist, but Emi tells her to let go, unable to stand even being in Maho's presence. Miho has some idea why, but still doesn't understand, as Emi walks off.
At home, Kikuyo greets Maho, who responds in kind. Maho's disappointed to hear that her mother is on a retreat until next week. Kikuyo points out that Miho doesn't seem well, and Maho adds that she noticed some trouble between Miho and a friend. Kikuyo asks if they're the friends Miho was doing tankery with. Miho confirms this, and insists that the problem will fix itself, but Kikuyo is not convinced. Miho, going to chat with her sister, decides to stay cheerful for the moment and apologize to Emi.
Miho delivers her apology to Emi in class the next day, only to have Emi passive-aggressively say that she expected Miho to be happy to see her sister come home. Chihiro tells Emi not to take out her feelings on Miho, and Hitomi tries to apologize, but Emi angrily asks to be left alone, saying that she doesn't want to do tankery as long as Miho's sister is around, see Maho's face or share her air, because she hates her.
Miho, gets quite upset that Emi would hate her sister without meeting her, and says she hates Emi. A moment of stunned silence follows, followed by Emi telling Miho to leave.
I heard that a lot of people don't like Emi for what she did in this chapter, and it's not hard to see why, as she rebuffs Miho's honest attempt at an apology, and doesn't even let her know why she despises her sister.
Elsewhere, Miho regrets saying such a thing to Emi, and while Chihiro tells her that Emi's at fault for being stubborn, Miho says she doesn't know how to deal with fighting with a friend before. Hitomi and Chihiro offer their help, even if Miho can't solve this problem today.
As Miho gets home before dinner, Kikuyo sees her as quite pale, and as she prepares to examine her, Miho breaks down in tears.
After Miho calms down and explains the situation, Kikuyo says that explains why Miho was so troubled, even if her getting that angry was unusual. Miho again reiterates that she doesn't like the idea of Emi hating a person she doesn't know, especially when it's her sister. Kikuyo proposes having them get to know each other, but Miho says that's impossible if Emi won't meet with Maho. Kikuyo suggests that there are other ways to reach an understanding other than meeting and speaking, and segues into talking about how tank battles can devolve into shootouts.
Miho's bewildered by Kikuyo's describing it in such terms, and Kikuyo, going off to greet Maho, leaves her to think about it. Miho wonders how she could make Emi and Maho meet when Emi might become violent, and wonders what Kikuyo means by a "shoot-out," before realizing that she likely means tankery. As Maho arrives, Miho asks her to have a tankery match with her, and Maho's expression is priceless.
The next day, Miho informs Hitomi and Chihiro of her plans, saying that Sunday works for Maho. The two of them say they're no match for Maho, but Miho insists that it's the only way to help Emi understand, and they comply. Miho concludes that Emi is the only person left, but unluckily for Miho, Emi is absent. The teacher says that it's related to her family, but she says she doesn't know anything more than that. I have to wonder how much teachers know about what sorts of family situations their students have when they're informed about family-related absences.
Miho, worried about Emi for reasons unrelated to the present situation, goes to the Nakasuga house and rings the door bell. A woman with long red hair- Emi's German mother- answers the door, asking if Miho's friends with Emi, Miho politely says yes. Frau Nakasuga notes that Emi has never had friends over before (if Chihiro is correct, Emi has never had any friends, not unlike Yukari, albeit for different reasons) and invites Miho in.
Emi walks up to the front door, asking why Miho's here. Miho apologizes and says there's something she has to tell Emi, but Emi doesn't want to hear it. Frau Nakasuga scolds Emi, saying that it's no way to greet a friend. I've heard of the tendency for Japanese Politeness, but it seems Emi's rudeness seems to try the patience of many westerners. Exasperated, Emi's mother tells her that she should make up with Miho while she can, since she won't be in the country for long. When Miho asks why, Frau Nakasuga says, "We're moving back to Germany next month."
The first volume ends on a nice plot twist that provides a time limit on Miho's attempts to reconcile with Emi, and comes up again later on.
A two-page segment by the mangaka says that it's his first tankoubon, and he hopes we enjoyed it.
He says that because he had to fill the tank with four people, and the fact that it takes place in her elementary school days created three original characters to do it. This is understandable, as in any work of fiction that takes place in the past, everyone except a character's family or long-time friends has to be created from scratch (for example, if the manga focused on a young Mako, the only holdovers from the anime would be her grandmother and Saori).
The author points out that he didn't want to overlap with existing Girls und Panzer characters' names, a task made difficult by how many characters the anime has, but he was able to fill the roster. In order to advance the plot, he had Emi be "a problem child" (while her attitude is quite abrasive, she does make things somewhat more interesting), and that it was by accident that she became a Tsundere.
The author points out how Miho is more vivacious than in the anime, and dressed more casually, which is an interesting touch, considering that Miho likely changed over th eyears. The author says that the second volume will show how she came to dislike tankery.
Next Installment: If Miho's team wants to face Maho's team, much less stand a chance against them, Miho and Emi must work out their differences.
