The OVA begins at night, with Oarai's ship in port. Somewhat fittingly, it's a celebration of Oarai's victory.
Momo addresses Oarai's tankery team, all of whom are wearing purple yukatas, with a somewhat meandering speech that essentially says that they triumphed against long odds and saved their school, until Yuzu tells her that she's going on for too long. Momo then turns it over to Anzu, who says that "Isn't it great that the school won't be abolished?(a bit of an odd word choice) Well, then, cheers!", much to Momo's disbelief. The other teams respond with cheers of their own, each with their own variation.
Once that's done, it's revealed that Oarai's Chamber of Industry and Neighborhood Association sent flowers, and everyone applauds. Momo wheels over a cart full of congratulatory letters. The first is one from Kay in Gratuitous English congratulating them, with Rabbit Team wondering if she could have done it in Japanese, English and German. Another one is by Orange Pekoe on Darjeeling's behalf, congratulating them in Keigo and giving a proverb about couples not just looking into each other's eyes but at the same star, which Hana and Mako assume is for a wedding, but which Yukari and Saori likes, with the latter wanting it for her wedding. Katyusha has also responded by saying Moscow does not believe in tears, the reality is that she lost, and she'll get stronger for next time, with Hippo Team debating how best to put that sentiment, before deciding on Erwin.
There's also congratulatory letters from Nishi of Chihatan (who might appear in the upcoming movie), and Mika of Continuance, among others, but they're leaving them out due to time. I have to wonder if Oarai did end up getting a congratulatory letter from Black Forest, but they didn't use it due to not having a signature style, or not saying anything apart from what Maho and Erika said to Miho at the end of the match. Anzio sent anchovies for everyone, which Karina notices are on sale, and Aya wonders if they really don't have any money, after all.
After another round of applause, they move on to the main event, a "hidden talent" contest. Each team is forbidden from using their forte, which is obvious for most of them- vehicles for Leopon team, online games for Anteater team, historical content for Hippo Team, volleyball for Duck Team, and the Anglerfish Dance for Anglerfish Team. The teams show varying degrees of distress at this rule, with Nekota protesting that she'll have nothing left if gaming is taken away, and Nakajima, Caesar and Noriko concurring for vehicles, history and volleyball, respectively. Saori reflexively pops up for the Anglerfish Dance, but says they'd be fine without it, much to Miho and Hana's amusement and Mako points out that, "In fact, I do want it banned." That really goes to show how different Anglerfish Team's members are from each other. Interestingly enough, Rabbit Team is never told what they cannot do.
The student council announces the prizes. Third place is lottery tickets for the Oarai Summer Sale, second place is 500 yen of cafeteria coupons (about $5), and first place is 100,000 yen worth of of an undisclosed prize ($1,000), which will be announced later.
Naturally, the teams get fired up over the first prize. Saori wonders if it's cash, although the others are doubtful. Yukari wonders if they could buy a ride on a Tiger with that. Miho wants to buy another Boko doll (those bandaged stuffed bears in her room), and Saori approves, even if she doesn't quite "get" what's so interesting about them. Hana wants to go to a hot spring and Saori wants credits.
Meanwhile, Tsuchiya suggests that it's merchandise, rather than cash, and Hoshino suggests a coupon store. Anteater Team wants to put the cash toward their gaming purchases. Mallard Team, on the other hand, has no particular desire for the prize, but is concerned about what the other teams will do with it, so they want to win to keep it out of their hands. Rabbit Team isn't quite sure how much that amount is worth, but they think it's a lot, so they want to win it. With everyone excited, Anzu begins the contest.
Mallard Team is first, and after being introduced as being incredibly strict and determined, they begin with a brief song about how everyone whispers about them and how they are not to be called by their nicknames. They then perform some illusions, such as the replicating technique (Gomoyo and Pazomi step out from behind Sodoko), Teleportation (Gomoyo crouches under a table, and Pazomi emerges from near Yukari), the Out of Body experience (Pazomi, laying on top of Gomoyo, sits up), before, on Momo's suggestion, they end it.
Leopon Team is next, and they do some standard magic tricks. They then move on to the grand act, in which they show everyone the Type 89 (making some wonder when and how they transported it), raise a screen, and after a delay, with Suzuki asking for a minute in the middle of it, they reveal the Porsche Tiger, amazing Anglerfish Team and enraging Duck Team (who replies "Don't fuck with us!" in the fansub version). The latter demands their tank back, although Yuuki from Rabbit Team points out that it's better than the tank they have (it's strong in spite of its many mechanical defects). Tsuchiya tells them to calm down, and removes the two panels that hid the Type 89 (look closely and you can see the Type 89's turret behind it), and everyone is disappointed, much to Duck Team's chagrin. It was quite amusing to see this, although the way it went out probably killed their chances of winning.
Anteater Team is third, and they begin singing out of harmony. Rabbit Team is almost speechless, and Miho, possibly wanting to spare them the humiliation, asks them to stop. After a few others concur, the student council shuts it down.
Rabbit Team is fourth, and they're described as a group of people who get discouraged easily, but can be forgiven because they're young. In their gym uniforms, they do a variety of poses that reminds Miho of a sports festival, and Yukari asks for a tank, causing Miho to call Yukari by her last name again, and the others to look at her oddly, with them wondering if she's drunk on juice. They do a pyramid instead, with Saori jumping up and down and cheering more than the Japanese find appropriate, although the Morals Committee, sitting across from her, doesn't say anything, despite seeming the most likely to complain about it. Rabbit Team is glad they could do it without much practice. Momo is bored, while Yuzu finds it "cute".
Duck Team is next, and their act of impersonating others has a twist; anyone who knows the answer is encouraged to say it. Hana, naturally, is quite excited, since she enjoys being on the mark. When Taeko and Shinobu sip tea, with the former offering a proverb that the latter doesn't get, Hana guesses that they're impersonating Darjeeling and Orange Pekoe, but the others point out that it was fairly obvious. Akebi puts on a monocle, and Hana, convinced of her answer, tries to guess before the act begins. As Akebi threatens to punish those who "look pathetic," Momo's colleagues on the student council know that she's the subject, as she seethes in embarrassment. Akebi then impersonates Yuzu and Momo in rapid succession.
Noriko, in a faint and squeaky voice, begs everyone to stop fighting each other and focus on the enemy; Hana correctly guesses that it's Miho, much to Miho's surprise. In seconds, Noriko arranges her hairdo to look like Yukari's, and says that "It's just as Nishizumi-dono says," with Hana guessing that it's Yukari. Noriko then falls asleep, and Hana immediately guesses that she's Mako. Noriko wakes up and, in a good imitation of Saori's voice, starts giving out love advice, with Hana guessing correctly yet again.
Hana is giddy about getting all of them correct, while Saori is less impressed. But when Noriko makes a reference to Hana's "one shot, one kill" line, Hana is unable to tell who it is supposed to be, while her teammates all look at her, confused. It ends, with Hana disappointed about how short it was. All in all, this was quite amusing, and showed some nice acting on the part of Duck Team.
Hippo Team is next, putting on a production of Little Women, with Caesar as Jo, Saemonza as Amy, Erwin as Beth and Oryou as Meg. The production begins with a Jo and Amy arguing about whether Amy can make her nose longer. Before long, Beth collapses, and the scene shifts to her on her deathbed. Jo begs Beth to save herself, Amy promises to be a good girl, and Meg laments that their father is not around.
Beth takes the moment to point out how her father has been fighting in the Civil War, and makes the unnecessary expository comment that it's been going on since 1861, and Amy quickly adds that "Fort Samster" (I'm not sure why the fansubbers got the name wrong) being bombarded was the trigger. Momo then reminds them that they were not to include any historical content, but Caesar says that they know.
Getting back to the play, Meg repeats her last line, Beth says her father fought gallantly, and Amy wishes the war would end. Meg says that the war was extended by the Confederacy's resistance in the Battle of Durham, Jo says that Lee is one of the best American generals, and Momo begins cracking herknuckles, with Caesar repeating the same response.
Beth cries out in pain, and Meg begs her not to die, while Amy promises to be a good girl. But then Jo, having somehow acquired the ability to predict the future from Caesar's historical knowledge, declares that Lincoln's re-election will end the war, with Meg expressing her belief that her father will return as well. But then Jo, Beth and Meg start predicting the details of Lincoln's assassination. Amy starts going on about what happened in Japan that year, when Momo, having had enough, puts an end to the act, and perhaps the funniest part of the entire OVA.
Anglerfish Team, the "victorious team," is the second to last to go, and they put on a Sentai production (somewhat fitting, since they're the only team with five members). Yukari's Olive Drab, Mako's Navy Blue, Hana's German Grey, Saori's Desert Pink, and Miho's Oxide Red. The five, known as the Panzer Five, face off against the Student Council, with Momo as a swordfish (the costume seems to be attached around her waist) and Yuzu as a clam of some sort. After typical pre-fight dialogue between the forces of good and evil, the fight takes place while Rabbit Team, with the exception of Saki, is cheering.
The fight ends with Momo stuck in the floor, and Yuzu unable to get up. Anzu, in an anglerfish costume, makes her arrival, and starts an evil speech about how they'll have to defeat her, but Miho cuts her off in mid-sentence, and the rest of the team cheers. Anzu, declaring that this isn't over, gets up and knocks down the entire team with one attack, with the team complaining that she's deviating from the script. The curtain then falls.
Turtle Team is the last to go. It's somewhat amusing how Yuzu, in spite of her politeness, got a jab against Momo, describing her as the "not-so-cunning" and herself as the hard worker. They end up performing Swan Lake, and Noriko, while identifying it, asks for Akebi's commentary as though she were a newscaster, because Akebi apparently once did ballet in the past. Akebi says that Yuzu is Odette, Anzu (whom Yuzu claims is known for being fast) is the Prince, and Momo is the swan's rival. The latter performs a 32-revolution pirouette to cheering from the entire audience, and the curtain falls.
The results are announced. Third place goes to Rabbit Team, who are quite excited. Second place goes to Anglerfish Team, who are also quite pleased in spite of the paltry prize (essentially, the five of them get a dollar each). The winners are Turtle Team, with everyone else surprised. Momo asks Yuzu what the prize is a year's supply of dried potatoes. As Anzu cheers, Anglerfish Team is speechless.
That does it for the six OVAs packaged with the DVD collections. It might have been nice to some more of them focused on Character Developent (for example, a bit like some of the Picture Dramas for Saki, which reveal a few characters' backstories and adapt some of the extra chapters) or expanding on the setting. Still, they were often enjoyable in their own way, and I liked 6 the most, followed by 3.
That said, the next OVA does perhaps go even further than the others, showing an entire battle not shown in the anime.
Next Installment: Oarai's second battle in the tournament is finally animated.
