Episode 4. After all the buildup, finally the awesome arrived, and Miho shows her chops:
First, she scouts forward, and baits the St. Gloriana girls into an ambush (which they were expecting). Then, once the ambush fails, she successfully leads the survivors into breaking contact and entering the town to force St. Gloriana into urban combat.
Team C in the StuG one hit kill a Matilda II from a point blank range side shot. Not to be outdone, the Matilda's partner tracks them, judges where they will be as they egress, and fires through a wall and kills them.
The Volleyball Club performed an awesome ambush on another British tank, hiding in an underground parking lot, and then slowly rising up from behind to deliver a point blank shot. Unfortunately, the Matilda's rear armor was sufficiently proof against the weak gun of the Type 89.
With her allies down, Miho pretty much turns into the moe reincarnation of Zvika Greengold, as she singlehandedly takes downevery single surviving British Matilda despite being outnumbered 4-to-1... sadly, her tank gun didn't do squat to the Churchill.
Actual footage of Spanish Civil War tanks exists that proves it can be done over paved surfaces. Which makes Mako's driving even more awesome, since it makes her just that good instead of the maneuver being chalked up to Anime Physics.
Hana taking out Alice's moving tank with superb accuracy. Because...
Hana: "One shell is enough."
Naomi, the gunner of Saunders' Sherman Firefly, who singlehandedly kills three of Ōarai's tanks, two of them firing on the move, and landed the killing blow on Miho milliseconds after Hana nailed the Saunders flag tank.
Nonna, Pravda's vice-commander, does the same (kills three tanks firing on the move, and her last shot would have cost Ōarai the match if done half a second sooner in episode 9).
Episode 9. Anzu takes over gunnery on the 38(t) and launches a devastating attack against 4 enemy tanks (including the IS-2), taking out two, immobilizing one and damaging the treads of the last.
Bonus points, as the damaged one is the IS-2 that winds up firing at Ōarai's Flag Tank later on. If that tank had reached the running battle even one second earlier, Duck team, and with them the future of the whole school, would have been gone.
Also in that episode, while Miho is pursuing Pravda's flag tank, the History Club hides their StuG inside a snow bank and ambush the flag tank at point blank range. They manage to hide in less than half a minute, drifting the tank 180 degrees to pile snow over them.
Episode 10. In what is indeed an Awesome Momentof Heartwarming, they offhandedly mention that many other clubs have forked over additional money to support the team. They use that money to buy a Hetzer conversion kit. Let's say again: the other school clubs pool enough money to buy a tank upgrade kit, complete with high-speed 75mm gun and heavy cast armour. Sometimes, what's awesome is not the ass-kicking but the silent support... And anyone familiar with the usual dynamics between school clubs (most oftentimes NOT so sharing and friendly) will get a warm, fuzzy feeling out of that apparently unimportant line.
A non-Tankery example happens when Mako gives a snarkyShut Up, Hannibal! to Erika that manages to leave her unable to respond with anything except a glare (by contrast, Erika simply told Yukari to mind her own business when she defended Miho).
Erika: There's an unspoken rule that everyone knows: schools that will just embarrass Tankery stay out of the tournament.
Mako: It'd sure be pretty embarrassing if one of those teams beat the veterans that all sat around in their ivory towers coming up with that rule.
Episode 10, very subtle one that doubles as Heartwarming Moment for the nameless former Miho's teammate's simple request to Miho: Do not quit. Anyone with even a passing experience in any sort of competitive sport or martial art will underdstand what makes it awesome. Also for Miho's simple answer: She won't.
The Automobile Club is a series-long Offscreen Moment of Awesome, from restoring six rusty tanks to functional condition overnight in Episode 2, to being able to manufacture and install armor upgrade kits (notice plural) from scratch for the Panzer IV, also overnight - twice. But they finally get their on-screenMoment of Awesome , as Leopon Team, in episode 11, when they are seen doing repairs on their Porsche Tiger mid-battle. On the run.
In a bit of fridge brilliance, why do you suppose the Type 89 and the Porsche Tiger can go faster than specified? Look who is doing the maintenance on the tanks! A quartet of Wrench Wenches who's goal is to get their tank to DRIFT! Of course they are going to tune up the tanks they work on to go faster than specs.
The series penchant for scenes being both a Heartwarming Moment and an Awesome Moment is not surprising, given that its very point seems to be to drive home the notion that you CAN be a Badass without being a Jerkass. This is actually Discussedand taken Up to Eleven in one such moment in episode 11: When the Rabbit Team's tank gets stuck in the middle of a river crossing and begins to tip over, they unanimously ask Miho to go on without them even though they are in real danger of eventually being dragged down the river by the current (because they need to win or else the school will be disbanded and the whole team will all be separated). Miho, however, openly refuses to leave them. Even in the face of the risk of the school being closed. Much to Ōarai's credit, there's no talk in the team of doing otherwise: All of her teammates see it instead as proof of why they follow her. Then Miho Takes A Third Option and jumps across the other tanks to bring a towline to the Rabbit Team's tank, much to the amazement of all of her teammates and Rabbit Team, enabling all the tanks to escape the river before Kuromorimine. It's not only an impressive feat, but it's an instance in which Miho to successfully practices her way of Tankery, saving her teammates without jeopardizing the match.
Mako: (smiling) So she picks helping her friends over moving the panzer forward.
Hana: That's so like her!
Yukari: That's why we all follow her, and why we've made it this far!
Saori: Exactly.
Hana: I really want to win this match. I want to win to prove there's nothing wrong with Miho-san's approach to Tankery!
The fan material depicting Maho secretly videotaping the whole incident should count... oh, wait. We are in the Sugar Wiki. It. Does. Count.
And to top it again, the whole team starts up a barrage of fire to cover Miho's handiwork, on their own accord, without need for orders. Given how most other Tankery teams seem to fall into utter disarray when lacking direct command, this tells us which team is really better trained when all is said and done.
And just prior before that, the Student Council shows how awesome they are, with two words. Hetzer trolling.*
Bonus points for doing that after Anzu and Miho invoking almost verbatim the meme Hetzers gonna Hetz
To elaborate, Miho leads Ōarai's tanks to break contact from Kuromorimine's ambush. They proceed up a hill, releasing smoke, and towing the heavy Porsche Tiger with them. Kuromorimine chases after them... and then the Student Council's Hetzer ambushes them from the side, tracking a Jagdpanther and Panther.
Later, as Ōarai are dug in on top of the volcano, and the Kuromorimine tanks are in a firing line, the Student Council show up, track a Jagdpanther (the same one they ambushed earlier), drive right up to the Kuromorimine tanks, and park right in the middle of their formation. Cue the Kuromorimine crews panicking and breaking formation to try and kill the Hetzer, which nimbly dances through their fire. And then, while Kuromorimine are preoccupied with the Hetzer, Ōarai takes the opportunity to knock out a few more tanks, as they exposed their weaker side armor.
The Student Council make a third attempt at Hetzer Trolling, but this time Maho's ready for them and has a tank fire as soon as they show up... but Yuzu manages to evade the shot and run to fight again.
All of these moments need elaboration, because they're just that goddamn awesome. And before we enter into detail, let's mention that this all is not an Indy Ploy, but an elaborated plan stated on-screen, then flawlessly executed, in a very rare aversion of the Unspoken Plan Guarantee. Ōarai team just rolls this way.
Firstly, the five teams bring the Maus to the road outside the town after some further combat, line up, and charge it. Turtle's Hetzer barrels right towards the Maus, rams it, and lifts the heaviest tank in history clean off the groundnote Bonus awesome points for the Hetzer having been the basis of a heavy tank recovery vehicle, showing that the above is not an Ass Pull but the little Czech tank being thatBad Ass, preventing it from moving. Rabbit and Leopon provide distracting fire so the Maus turns its turret towards them, and Duck ramps the Type 89 up the Hetzer's back, grinding its tracks on the Maus' rear and preventing its turret from rotating back to the front, exposing the weaker top (as explained in the main Shown Their Work entry). And as Turtle and Duck struggle to keep the Maus in place, Miho angles the Panzer IV on a hill, and has Hana fell the Maus with just one shot to said identified weak point. And the Hetzer, placed under the full weight of the behemoth, walks away... at least for a few hundred meters.
Secondly, the Rabbit Team and Duck Team are tasked with drawing away elements of the enemy force, and the former find themselves deep within a town with Kuromorimine heavies pursuing them. Through baiting them, they have the Elefant pursue them around a block, using the M3's superior speed to get behind them. They fire at point blank range into the tank's rear... which fails to knock it out, but it gets stuck as it tries to turn to face them, mirroring Kelly's Heroes. The crew start to panic... until Saki speaks for the first and only time in the series, indicating its weak point to the crew. Not only do they manage that, but after running headlong into a no less than the Jagdtiger, they keep close so as to keep the barrel away from them, and even though they are finally taken out, the Jagdtiger proves incapable of stopping its charge, and plummets off a ledge, lands on its cannon (breaking it) and blowing out its engine. And through most of all of singletankdedly destroying Kuromorimine's second and third most potent units, the freshmen display nothing but guts. Team Killer Rabbit earns their stripes.
Thirdly, Miho is leading Maho further into the city, aiming to face her one on one. Naturally, Maho is followed by virtually every single remaining Kuromorimine tank, save those distracted by Duck. She reaches her target and lures Maho in. Maho's team is on the verge of flooding in after her, when Leopon moves their Tiger(P) across the entrance and opens fire. What follows, albeit mostly off-screen, is the Porsche tanking round after round from several late-war German tanks and tank destroyers and absolutely refusing to budge or move a fraction of an inch from the entrance of the Nishizumis' makeshift arena. When it does go down, it goes down firing, taking a number of enemy tanks with it, and the Automobile Club having nothing to say to their adversaries but lighthearted taunts. note Bonus point for Leopon team for having angled their hull to improve armor deflection and for taking the tanks to their left and right first to use them as cover, both things showing they were notMistaken for Badass Bonus points for Erika as well, who, through sheer zeal and determination, broke through Leopon's blockade all in an attempt to help Maho.
And last and certainly not least, Anglerfish Team pulls off the most awesome drift to get around Maho's tank and deliver a round solidly to their rear, with a tank. A drift so furious that Mako destroys the Panzer IV's suspension while doing it. A much more successful recreation of their tactic against St. Gloriana.
For an extra awesome-overlapping-with-heartwarming touch, notice how the actions of Rabbit Team in the second point allowed the decisive third point. Otherwise, the two heaviest tank destroyers (both of them equipped with guns able to punch right through Leopon's armor, even angled as they were) would have made quick work of their You Shall Not Pass moment, allowing Erika's tanks to overcome Miho with sheer numbers and denying her the duel with her sister. Let's repeat and explain this just in case it wasn't clear enough: Miho's decision of saving Rabbit Team in episode 11 was the single pivotal factor in her team's victory. Check the entries for chapters 10 and 11 for details about why this is her crowning awesomeness in the series.
TL;DR: Nishizumi Miho style FTW.
As timid as Miho often is throughout the series, in Chapter 7 of Little Army, she summons the nerve, with the help of her friends, to confront her mother and ask whether it was necessary for Maho to shoot the German flag tank when it was trying to rescue some of her teammates. Shiho is unfazed by this question, telling Miho that the Nishizumi style expected Maho to do so and that Miho will understand one daynote
The fact that Miho doesn't ultimately accept the Nishizumi Style but instead pursues her own, becomes more awesome in light of this
. Maho notices how surprising and unlike Miho it is for her to do so, and apologizes for driving her to that point with her aloof behavior when the issue had first been brought up. The question might not have gotten much of a response out of Shiho, but it fulfilled Miho's ultimate goal.
