The chapter begins in color pages, and goes forward to the present, with Miho spending time with her friends in her apartment. As Mako sleeps at her desk, Saori tells Miho that dinner's ready, taking her by surprise. Hana and Yukari ask if she's looking at Anglerfish Team's group photo. Miho says yes, adding that she wishes she'd taken a picture of herself with her old group of friends.
Back in the past, Miho says a week has passed since Maho went back to school, and the issue regarding her and Emi was resolved, but she still has doubts of her own.
Miho and her friends train with the Nishizumi students. In the StuG, Maho's gunner teaches Chihiro how to shoot, and Maho's driver teaches Hitomi how to drive. Considering that driving was Hitomi's worst skill, it's interesting to see her working on her weaknesses and doing things that are difficult for her.
Meanwhile, in the Panzer IV, Miho practices with the loader, who thanks her. Miho insists that they not be so formal with her, but the loader insists on it, saying that she's the instructor's daughter. This is an interesting indication of how Miho relates to other Nishizumi students; perhaps they get along with her, but they can't completely be friends because of Miho's relationshipto Shiho.
Emi, who's also in the Panzer IV, doesn't seem entirely at ease, but she doesn't say anything immediately.
Hitomi and Chihiro go home, saying that they have a school holiday tomorrow. Emi, however, remains behind, insisting on hearing Miho out even though she has some idea of what's on her mind. Miho says that having heard of what ruthless things those who practice the Nishizumi style are expected to do, especially how her sister's decision was sanctioned by the Nishizumi style, is no longer certain whether tankery is fun, or whether she can continue in it.
Emi is furious, and insists that Miho find her own way of tankery as Maho told her to do so, but Miho says she's part of the Nishizumi family. Emi then announces that she's going back to Germany, and that if Miho doesn't want to do tankery, there's no reason for them to associate.
The next day of school, Miho finds it hard to believe that Emi would leave, but then the teacher, with Emi at her side, announces that Emi will be returning to Germany the day after tomorrow.
Miho and her friends ask Emi questions, but Emi says that she's merely going along with her family's plans. She then leaves to get started on her preparations, telling them to ask Miho any questions they have.
Hitomi proposes that Miho say that she won't quit tankery so that Emi won't leave, but Chihiro realizes that it's not that simple. Chihiro then goes to talk to Emi, with Hitomi tagging along.
As Chihiro and Hitomi meet with Emi, Chihiro's guess turns out to be right. Emi says Miho was the deciding point, but not in the way she expects. She says that she's been doing tankery in the Nishizumi style (I'm not sure about the translation, but if it's right, this is an interesting Not So Different moment for Emi). She wanted to return home to Germany, but not before getting Miho to remember that she had friends in tankery, and that you can't do tankery without comrades, realizing that the Nishizumi family is crushing her love of tankery.
This is a nice touch, one that would have been good for the main series to acknowledge. Essentially, the main point of Little Army is that Miho has never hated tankery, only the Nishizumi style. Perhaps it would have been good to see more about how Miho felt about other people's ways of tankery; even Manga!Anchovy doesn't have the same single-minded devotion to victory for victory's sake that the Nishizumi style dictates.
Emi, however, insists that the others not tell Miho, complaining that she's "an idiot" who can't understand her sister's advice, but also that there's no meaning for her doing this if she does not do it herself.
Miho, sitting on the porch and thinking, is joined by Kikuyo. Miho asks Kikuyo's opinion on the Nishizumi style, specifically what Shiho said about it, but Kikuyo sadly refuses to answer, saying that she's in Shiho's debt. Miho remembers, and apologizes for imposing on Kikuyo.
This is an interesting moment for Miho and Kikuyo's relationship. Kikuyo is like a mother to Miho, perhaps more like one than her actual mother, but the fact remains that Miho and Kikuyo are mistress and servant, and can't fully overcome that inequality in their relationship.
Miho has difficulty sleeping, and realizes that the day of Emi's departure is near. She thinks that she's been persisting as long as she can, but knows that's part of the Nishizumi style, implying that she had been falling back on her family's style. She then thinks "At this rate..." but doesn't elaborate on it.
On the day of her departure, Emi, escorted by her mother, leaves school for the last time. Emi is disappointed that Miho didn't go to school yesterday. Chihiro and Hitomi come, saying that Miho didn't go to school today, either, and they go off to get her.
Chihiro and Hitomi reach Miho's house, and ask Kikuyo where Miho went. Kikuyo says Miho must have gone to school, but after hearing about Miho's concerns about Emi's departure, realizes where Miho must be. Kikuyo knows that whenever Miho's troubled, she hides inside a tank. Unfortunately, the one best suited to coaxing her out, Maho, is no longer there, so Kikuyo does what she can in her stead.
Kikuyo calls out to Miho, who doesn't seem to acknowledge her at first, and begins by trying to answer Miho's question. Kikuyo says that she studied the Nishizumi style, that it changed her in a great way, and that she's in her mistress' debt. This is an interesting point, in that it raises the possibility that the Nishizumi style can be a positive influence. Kikuyo then echoes Maho's speech about how tankery improves a person, getting a reaction out of Miho. This was a nice way of Kikuyo saying something to lift Miho's spirits in this situation, reconciling her caring for Miho and her debt to Shiho.
Hitomi and Chihiro then step up, saying that they came to like tankery. They then say that Emi has been influenced by Miho in her own way, and that she's going back to find her own way of tankery because of what she learned when she met Miho.
Miho then finds her answer in an internal monologue. She's not doing tankery because her family expects her to do so, or because her sister is, but because she's having fun with her friends, and she considers this her way of tankery.
Miho emerges from the tank and, once again, apologizes to her friends for making them worry. Kikuyo's glad that she came out, and believes that it's partly because of Maho. Unfortunately, while this situation has been solved, they now have another problem; Emi's train is leaving, and they can't make it in time if they go by foot. But then Kikuyo points out a solution; the tank Miho was hiding in.
The train begins to leave, and Emi ruefully notes that her friends didn't show up. Her mother tells her to close the window, and it's implied that Emi kept it open while waiting for them to do a Train-Station Goodbye. Emi looks at the throat mic with Hitomi's symbol, and regrets parting with them the way she did.
At this moment, the Panzer IV drives up alongside the train, crewed by the Nishizumi school students and with Miho and the others on top. Miho declares that she may not be confident in her own way of tankery yet, but she'll soon encounter others, and she hopes to meet Emi again once they find their own way of tankery. Emi, calling Miho by her first name for the first time, declares that it's a promise as the train drives away and the others go back, worried about getting in trouble.
I warmed up to Emi significantly in the last chapter, seeing her desire for Miho to find her own way of tankery, and her having forgiven Maho. I personally hope to see her and Miho's reunion at some point, as it's a nice Sequel Hook.
A brief epilogue follows, revealing that the three remaining members of Miho's group of friends hung out together but didn't do tankery. Their graduation took them down separate ways, with Hitomi going to a tankery school, Chihiro going to a sports school, and Miho joining her sister at her school, still doing tankery in spite of her doubts, before the finals last year, which leads us to the present. It might have been nice to see some of Miho's middle school days, and her time at Black Forest. It would also be interesting to see where Miho's friends ended up.
In a touching contrast to the original present day segment, Miho walks to school alone, but is greeted by her four friends from Anglerfish Team, who call out to her, and Miho declares that, with her new friends, she's continuing in tankery.
So that's Little Army in a nutshell. It showed the beginning of how Miho came to see tankery as something she could enjoy on her own, not because her family told her to do it.
All in all, despite having hardly any actual tank action, it's better than the main series in some regards. Most of the cast seemed more developed and better fleshed out, partly because of how there's only five main characters (Miho, Chihiro, Hitomi, Emi and Maho), only a handful of other characters (Kikuyo, Shiho and Frau Nakasuga), and even very few extras (the teacher and Maho's crew). In total, that's about a dozen characters, making it easier to give focus and development to the significant ones.
It also nicely focused on some of Miho's thought processes, in a way that didn't happen much in the anime except for Episode 1, and went a long way in showing why Miho does what she does, and why she values her friends so highly.
In general, I greatly enjoyed Little Army, and recommend it to anyone who saw and liked the anime.
So that's it for Little Army. Next up are the OV As.
Next Installment: Oarai plans on a typical Beach Episode, but some of their members need to buy swimsuits first.
