The first season of Girls und Panzer is a welcome twist for anime, in that it's all-girl cast doesn't have to stoop to cheap tricks like constant fanservice of yuri storylines to keep the viewer interested. The interpersonal relationships do mirror those in real life, from the personalities of the freshmen girls (Ask any rookie sports player and they will admit they get nerves) to the fascinating quirks of the team (History club comes to mind) and how their opponents define the girls of Ōarai in their quest for the championship. The OV As similarly do a good job of painting a more lighthearted picture, and since there's no real plotline to worry about, the fanservice does increase, but not to the point of ludicrousness (OVA 1's swimsuits as covered wall to wall in brilliant references combined with the personal tastes of each girl), which can be okay given the lack of a real plotline. What really hooks you are the bonuses you get from rewatching, as each girl's personalities and the sport itself benefit from multiple rewatches and realizations on what you might have missed the first time.
What is worrying is how the creative team can keep this up for the next season and movie. Personally, there is a fear that the show might make some major missteps for the next tournament arc, and might even fail the Bechdel test it so beautifully passed in the first season. While character growth from season to season is expected, going too far out of character could turn Gu P into a self-parody too early.
Some might deride the supplementary moments in the show as ludicrous, but after series about vampires fighting for England, alchemy in war, and vampire high schools, the idea that high school girls in tanks riding around on massive city ships is sharply put into perspective.
Girls und Panzer definitely has a good hook and keeps the viewer interested, but if they want to keep their streak, they need to stay loyal to what makes the show unique, and avoid the pitfalls that other "Schoolgirl war stories" fall into.
Cautiously Optimistic
The first season of Girls und Panzer is a welcome twist for anime, in that it's all-girl cast doesn't have to stoop to cheap tricks like constant fanservice of yuri storylines to keep the viewer interested. The interpersonal relationships do mirror those in real life, from the personalities of the freshmen girls (Ask any rookie sports player and they will admit they get nerves) to the fascinating quirks of the team (History club comes to mind) and how their opponents define the girls of Ōarai in their quest for the championship. The OV As similarly do a good job of painting a more lighthearted picture, and since there's no real plotline to worry about, the fanservice does increase, but not to the point of ludicrousness (OVA 1's swimsuits as covered wall to wall in brilliant references combined with the personal tastes of each girl), which can be okay given the lack of a real plotline. What really hooks you are the bonuses you get from rewatching, as each girl's personalities and the sport itself benefit from multiple rewatches and realizations on what you might have missed the first time.
What is worrying is how the creative team can keep this up for the next season and movie. Personally, there is a fear that the show might make some major missteps for the next tournament arc, and might even fail the Bechdel test it so beautifully passed in the first season. While character growth from season to season is expected, going too far out of character could turn Gu P into a self-parody too early.
Some might deride the supplementary moments in the show as ludicrous, but after series about vampires fighting for England, alchemy in war, and vampire high schools, the idea that high school girls in tanks riding around on massive city ships is sharply put into perspective.
Girls und Panzer definitely has a good hook and keeps the viewer interested, but if they want to keep their streak, they need to stay loyal to what makes the show unique, and avoid the pitfalls that other "Schoolgirl war stories" fall into.