As the chapter begins, Emi drags Miho out of the classroom just as the teacher walks in, claiming that they're going to the infirmary even though the teacher heard their conversation, and Hitomi and Chihiro soon follow.
Emi takes Miho to a secludded spot, and after a bit of awkwardness, as well as an apology of sorts, Emi gets to the point. She notices that Miho is still not telling them something, and explains that she grabbed Miho's arm the same way Miho once did to get her to be honest. Hitomi and Chihiro then arrive, offering Miho their support, much to Emi's surprise.
Miho tells her friends everything. Hitomi immediately points out that such behavior is uncharacteristic of Maho, saying that she's usually kind. Chihiro then suspects that Miho and Maho's mother was the decisive factor, saying that because her own mother is strict, she understands where Maho is coming from. Hitomi asks if Chihiro is blaming Shiho, and Emi finds it plausible, saying that the Nishizumi school is strict even compared to other schools.
This ties back to one point the author of Boys Und Sensha-do brought up- that until Miho met Akio, no one had told her that her family's treatment of her was abnormal or wrong- and refutes it. Here, at a young age, Miho has some inkling of the fact that her family is not like most others. Granted, she can't do anything about it, but at the very least, she wouldn't be so surprised to see supportive and loving families.
Hitomi wonders if this means Maho is not a bad person, but Miho is still not entirely sure. Chihiro suggests asking Miho's mother directly, shocking Miho, and they realize that since Shiho is "a scary mother," it might be difficult for Miho to do it. Hitomi then offers to do it together, and, in spite of some reluctance on Emi's part as she insists that Hitomi not dump responsibilities on others, they go to the house together.
At the house, Emi wonders why they're there and Chihiro says they didn't have a better idea than this. Emi insists that Miho do the talking, and she accepts.
They end up waiting for several hours, with Hitomi resting her head in Chihiro's lap. Kikuyo then informs Miho that Shiho is busy, leading the afternoon practice session along with Maho. Emi is frustrated and Miho apologizes for wasting the others' time, but Chihiro resolves to stay, impressing Kikuyo.
Maho and Shiho walk home, with Shiho criticizing Maho for giving less than precise directions and raising her voice. It seems even Shiho's favored daughter has difficulty completely pleasing her. Kikuyo greets the two and says she was waiting for them, much to Shiho's confusion.
Shiho opens the door to find Miho and her guests. She asks slightly contemptuously who "those girls" are, saying she'd ordered Kikuyo to send them away. Maho seems to understand what is going on, and with slight surprise, says "Miho...". Miho tells Shiho she has a question, and Shiho sits down and commands her to say it. That question, naturally, is whether Maho had to fire on the tank that was saving one of her teammates.
Maho looks to Shiho, who, with a look of utter disdain on her face, calls it "a foolish question," that is "plainly embarrassing" for a Nishizumi to ask. She goes on to say that the Nishizumis value strength above all else, and that Maho's battle was excellent and in keeping with the Nishizumi style. As Miho weakly protests by saying, "Mother...", Maho remains silent, but does not appear to be at all happy about hearing Shiho's praise. Shiho commands Kikuyo to send the guests away, and tells Miho that one day, she will understand.
Miho's summoning the resolve to directly ask Shiho such a bold question was quite impressive, and something she could only do with the support of her friends. But, understandably, she has difficulty making a rebuttal at this point. Perhaps someday, when she has more experience, she'll be able to debate with Shiho on more even footing.
Emi is infuriated by Shiho's attitude and Maho's silence, while Chihiro protests Emi's tone. Kikuyo, uncomfortable with what she is hearing, bows deeply, and begs the girls not to blame Maho, saying that Maho has many burdens as Shiho's heiress. It's an interesting point from the demure Kikuyo, since you can tell that she feels particularly strongly about this subject, but it might have been nice to hear the girls' responses.
Kikuyo then takes the girls into a jeep, and Chihiro promises to talk with Miho the next day.
Miho tries to see them off with a smile, but it slips off their face as they leave her and she is all alone. But then Maho joins her, and asks Miho to come with her.
Hitomi and Chihiro wonder if they helped Miho today, but Emi is certain about one thing. She was wrong about Maho, and knows that she is not a bad person. She orders Kikuyo to stop, and runs out, trying to apologize to Maho.
Maho takes Miho to the Panzer IV where they played as children, and informs Miho that it will be donated to a primary school. Tears come to Miho's eyes despite Maho's attempts to comfort her by reassuring her that it will be happier elsewhere, causing Maho to lament that making Miho cry is all she ever does.
Maho then gets to the point. She was surprised by Miho's uncharacteristic willingness to confront Shiho, brought on by Maho's behavior, and Maho apologizes. She then tells Miho that if she comes to hate tankery, she should quit (which may explain why she said she was surprised to see Miho doing tankery in Episode 5- she didn't think Miho would want to do it after everything that happened), but if she keeps doing it, she should find her own way. This seems to be the best possible answer for Miho, as well as a nice way of suggesting that the Nishizumi style isn't the be-all and end-all.
Miho says yes, and Maho, pleased, decides to head back in time for dinner. Emi stands nearby, having heard the entire conversation.
A few days later, Maho plans to return to school, thanking Kikuyo for her help, and asking her to take care of Miho while she's away (which could imply that she doesn't think much of her mother's ability to look after or be supportive of her younger daughter). As the chapter ends, Maho then utters the words that best define her; "As long as I'm the inheritor of the Nishizumi school, Miho will be free."
This one of the most important episodes to the main series, since it does shed a great deal of light on both of the Nishizumi sisters' actions. For Miho, it was the point at which she truly realized that she could not do things her family's way. If the anime and main series manga had her finding the answer of what style of tankery, Little Army is when she began asking the question, thus making it a nice launching point for Miho's journey through tankery.
For Maho, it reveals a great deal of depth and moral complexity to her character. She's fully aware that Shiho expects her to win at all costs, even if Maho herself does not like the costs she is expected to pay for doing so. But she knows that Miho likes it even less, and that if Shiho has Maho as an heiress, she will have no need for Miho, enabling Miho to live and do tankery her own way. That's why she goes as far as it does, even if it puts distance between herself and Miho at times. It's quite touching to see how far she goes for her sister, and it can also be sad to see how Shiho's disowning Miho could essentially undo most of Maho's efforts.
For this reason, Maho is my favorite Girls und Panzer character, and this chapter is one of my favorite parts of the series as a whole.
Next Installment: Miho begins the process of finding her own way of tankery, but she may have less time to come up with an answer than she thinks.
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