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Boys und Sensha-dō! is a Girls und Panzer fanfic by Stellar Magic about boys getting involved in sensha-do.

After Oarai wins the tankery tournament under Miho's leadership, it is able to stay open, but as it requires more students, it becomes coed. Among them is Akio Sakai, a teenage boy who comes from a family that does Sentoki-do (essentially, tankery with fighter planes), but has not been willing to take part in Sentoki-do since his father's death in an accident. He, and several of the other male arrivals choose to take part in tankery, as one of the few electives suited to them. But even as boys start getting involved in tankery and more schools join tankery, some more traditional individuals, including Miho's mother oppose those changes.

The fic can be found here. A liveblog by Valiona can be found here


This work contains examples of:

  • Action Prologue: Much like Girls Und Panzer, the fic begins in the middle of the first tankery match against another school.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: Several facets of Miho's personality are changed. She's said to be "more tactically astute" than in the anime, even if she isn't much good at raising morale or inspiring others. As a leader, she's also a bit more decisive and resolute than in the anime, and doesn't hesitate to relieve Momo of her position as second-in-command after the near-loss to Dalian. She's also a bit more distant from her friends, since none of them invite her out after the match with Saunders, and she's scared of letting them down. She also once wanted her mother's approval, although she's apparently grown out of that by the time she saved the tanks in the finals.
  • Arch-Enemy: The Sakais and Shiho cannot stand each other.
  • Author Appeal: It's evident that the author holds Gajin Entertainment's War Thunder Ground Forces and Air Combat components in higher regard than Wargaming's similar efforts.
  • Berserk Button
    • For Akio, it's anyone treating members of their family poorly, especially casting them out of the family, which hits hard for him because he lost his father. He also dislikes Maho because he believes she is not there for Miho enough, but while Miho's defending her sister doesn't convince him, he doesn't press the issue.
    • For Shiho, it's having her personal honor questioned, as seen when she loses her temper when Saburo and Akio each give a "The Reason You Suck" Speech against her.
  • Beta Couple: Hoshino and Tsubasa. They officially become a couple in Chapter 12, at the same point at which Akio is denying his relationship with Miho.
  • Big Bad: Shiho is the main antagonist, as per Word of God.
  • Calling The Old Woman Out: Maho does this to Shiho after she disowns Miho
    Maho: Mother, when you considered this, did you even think about Miho's feelings?
    Shiho: Sentimentality is a grave extravagance for a soldier, Maho. Miho has blossomed outside our family... could you see her taking a post in the Self Defense forces? Becoming an officer? By disinheriting her, I have done the best for her...She will no doubt find her own way forward.
    Maho: But what about her happiness, mother? She loves you and you cast her out... don't you see how much that has hurt her. She wants to make you proud... why do you think she persisted in sensha-do as a freshman? You have hurt her mother.
  • Catapult Nightmare: Akio, after having a nightmare about his father's death.
  • Cherry Tapping: The Porsche Tiger can take out the Type 89 with a machine gun, something that is often used for goading tanks into moving somewhere. The author's notes and dialogue point out that the Type 89's armor is that weak.
  • Chickification: Miho's more timid and emotionally vulnerable than she was in canon, and the author believes that she needs Akio to build up her self-esteem and realize that her mother's treatment of her is wrong.
  • Cool Old Guy: Saburo Sakai, Akio’s grandfather, who's quite supportive of his grandson, and enthusiastically supports Oarai.
  • Crash-Into Hello: Miho and Akio officially meet by running into each other near Miho's apartment.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Oarai defeats all 20 of Saunders' tanks while only losing three out of ten of their own.
  • Curse Cut Short:
    Akio: I'm upset that bi- um... bat did that to you.
  • Deus Exit Machina: Miho is taken out of action for some time as a result of her injury, leaving Momo to command in her stead. Naturally, given how Hot-Blooded Momo is, most people are quite worried.
  • Disappeared Dad: Akio’s father died in a flying accident, which is why Akio is unwilling to do Sentoki-do.
  • Disappointed in You: Miho expresses this sentiment to Mako after Mako almost runs her over after she gets shot.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Anchovy doesn't think much of Miho and is desperate to win against her to prove that her school's "not a joke", but she's still horrified when Miho accidentally gets shot.
  • Evil Matriarch: Shiho although she has declared that she's no longer Miho's mother.
  • External Retcon: The author said that sensha-do uses simunition, since he believes it's unsafe enough even without live rounds.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Saburo wears an eyepatch over the eye he lost in World War II.
  • Face Palm: Maho does this as well-placed shots by St. Gloriana's tanks remove the Maus' treads.
  • Flanderization: Shiho initially becomes even more of a Jerkass and an awful mother here. Later chapters, however, suggest that she at least claims to have Miho's well-being in mind.
  • Flat Character: Some of the original members of the cast come off as this. For example, the model club are defined by their love of historical models, while Hideyoshi is little more than a clone of Shiho.
  • Foil: The Nishizumis and the Sakais are often contrasted, especially in Akio's more Americanized mother, and how the Sakais were willing to accept Akio's refusal to get into Sentoki-do because of his fear of flying.
  • Freudian Excuse: Akio's fear of flying is the result of his father's fiery death in a plane crash.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Shark Team isn't especially close with each other, with only Akio and Masaru being close to each other, as well as Gunjin and Keiibin, but all of them find Heishi annoying. Since they need him to load their tank, he's a case of Necessity, though.
  • The Friends Who Never Hang: Anglerfish Team, in contrast to canon. Miho doesn't spend all that much time with them out of tankery matches, and when they're in port after the match with Saunders, none of them invite her to come with them.
  • General Failure: Momo is just as ineffective of a leader as in canon, which leads to severe problems when she's forced to step in for Miho while she's injured. It gets bad enough that Erwin has to relieve Momo of command mid-battle, and Miho makes it official afterward.
  • Get Out!: Akio tells this to Shiho after she disowns Miho.
  • Good Parents: Rebecca Sakai, Akio's mother. She's supportive of her son even though she's half the world away, and stands in stark contrast to Shiho on that regad.
  • Graceful Loser: Kay, as per canon, as well as Dalian's commander, Akane Zainichi.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: A fair amount comes up in this fic. Kay, of all people even yells “NANI!?” in the middle of a match.
  • Henpecked Husband: Miho’s father is implied to be this, as Miho says that "(her) mother runs the family and really dominates over (her) father." He did, however, object to her disowning Miho.
  • Hufflepuff House: The model team gets barely any presence in the story, despite also being a new arrival.
  • Hypocrisy Nod: After Miho gets hit in the chest by a shell, and implies that this happened to her before, Akio tells her that sticking her head out of the tank to look around is dangerous. She tells him that he does it, too, and he concedes it, but says he's following her lead.
  • Ice Queen: Shiho and her protege, Katsuko Hideyoshi, who's said to be even more like Shiho than Maho is. Both are cold, ruthlessly devoted to the Nishizumi style, and determined to repair the damage they believe including boys has done to tankery
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Shiho views disowning Miho in this light, believing that it's for Miho's own good as much as the family's.
  • Idiot Ball: Mako, typically Oarai's best driver, suffers a drastic loss of competence around the time she almost runs over Miho.
  • Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: According to Word of God, Akio not only doesn't understand Maho's complicated family situation and desire to support Miho as best as she can given the circumstances, but he doesn't know that he doesn't understand.
  • Ignored Epiphany: In light of Shiho's once again planning on disowning Miho, her clapping for Miho's victory in the tournament can be seen as this, although it later turns out that Shiho wants Miho to find her own way of tankery, and disowns her in order to set her free.
  • I Have No Son!: Shiho is still planning on disowning Miho in this fic, despite her winning against Maho's team. She carries out the threat in Chapter 7, while Miho is hospitalized, no less
  • Implausible Deniability: An injured Miho claims she can manage with everyday tasks by herself. It merely takes Akio lightly poking her in the ribs to show that she can't.
  • In-Series Nickname: The History Team calls Momo "Paulus" when she can't hear them, especially when things are going badly while she's leading them against Dalian.
  • Invisible Parents: Miho's father has been occasionally mentioned, but never seen. He doesn't even come to visit her when she's hospitalized.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Akio can be fairly harsh sometimes, whether with those who don't deserve it (such as Maho) or those who do (such as Shiho), but he ultimately means well.
  • Jerkass to One: Akio is a decent person, but he's unusually hostile to Maho, as well as Shiho (although considering no one likes her, that's hardly surprising).
  • Kick the Dog:
    • The only reason Shiho decided to visit Miho in the hospital was to announce that she’s being disowned.
    • Hideyoshi chidingly tells Miho that six bruised ribs shouldn't be enough to stop one of Shiho's children from commanding a tanknote , and that as Miho and her team turned sensha-do into a mockery of what it was, she enjoys coaching one of their opponents.
  • Love Triangle: One seems to be developing among Yoshi and the girls of Rabbit Team, with negative consequences for Ayumi and Yoshi's performance.
  • Luminescent Blush: Miho after Rebecca asks if she's her son Akio's girlfriend.
  • Named by the Adaptation: The Jagdpanther commander commonly known as "Jagdpanther-chan" in the fandom is called Pansako here.
  • No, You: Akio's response to Miho being called a disgrace is to say to Shiho, "The only one here that’s a disgrace here is you, Nishizumi."
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: Anzio in the author's opinion, as he expresses that they have to use more unconventional tactics against Miho. Anchovy even mentions wanting to invoke this after her defeat, saying that she wanted to win to prove her school's not a joke.
  • Not So Stoic: Maho after Miho gets injured; she even cries when she sees Miho in the hospital.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Shiho's husband, typically assumed in and out of universe to be a Henpecked Husband, calls her out over disowning Miho.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • The reaction of most Oarai students after hearing that Saunders will field 20 tanks against them this time, rather than the 10 they faced in canon.
    • On a more serious note, after Miho is disowned and realizes that the rent is coming due on her apartment, which is more than she can pay by herself.
  • Original Character: Many of them are introduced, but Akio is the most prominent of them.
  • Out-of-Character Moment:
    • No one in Anglerfish Team invites Miho to go with them while they're in port in Chapter 4- not even Yukari, who's practically obsessed with Miho.
    • Momo never takes umbrage at being called "Momo-chan." This includes Miho, even though Momo is within her rights to expect Miho to call her by her Student Council title or "Kawashima-senpai."
  • Out of Focus: Many of the characters besides Akio and Miho fade into the background, particularly the rest of Anglerfish Team.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    • Saburo gives one to Shiho in Chapter 3 during a meeting in which Shiho expresses displeasure about boys getting involved in sensha-do.
      Lady Grey: Nishizumi-sama, the defeat of your school has led to an expansion of the sport. Surely this is a good thing?
      Shiho: Grey-sama, the participation of such schools as Ion Dumitru, Népe Boarding School, and Mt. Zion in this Federation may be beneficial, but that does not take away from the fact that tradition is being trampled upon—
      Saburo: Nishizumi-sama, I suggest you reconsider your words. I have been searching for years as to whom you remind me of, Nishizumi... and I believe, at last, that I have figured it out. You, Nishizumi, are much like my superiors in the war. Clinging to tradition and seniority, believing themselves to be the ideal of our world, and all the while leading our nation to its own destruction.
      Shiho: HOW DARE YOU!
      Saburo How dare I? I dare speak the truth. What right does your school have to being the champions? What woman in their right mind plans to disown their own daughter for winning?
      Woman: You, you plan on disowning Miho, Nishizumi-san?
      Lady Grey: Whom is more honorable, the daughter or the mother?
    • Akio gives a brief one to Maho in Chapter 7, unaware that all of Maho's efforts have been to allow Miho to live freely.
      Akio: If I had a sister, I’d be there for her all the time. Not just when she’s in the hospital.
    • Soon afterward, Akio gives a longer one to Shiho, after hearing about Miho being disowned.
      Akio: The only one here that's a disgrace here is you, Nishizumi. Victory or nothing? If that was true, wouldn't Maho's defeat have been enough for you to give her a chance? Miho is twice the tank commander you ever were Shiho.
      Shiho: I will not be spoken to in such a fashion!
      Akio: It's the only fashion you deserve to be spoken to. Sensha-do isn't just about victory. It's about camaraderie and friendship. Miho faced your team outnumbered more than two to one and she won. With her leadership a team made up of inferior tanks bested yours with their King Tigers, Maus, and Panthers. She beat Maho herself in a singular duel with a Panzer IV. Why are you punishing her for doing well?
      Shiho: That is not what Sensha-do is about, little boy!
      Akio: Get Out!! If you're not claiming her as your daughter you have no right to be here.
  • Rouge Angles of Satin: It's fairly common in this fic, especially using "then" instead of "than," and a few other cases, such as saying that Mako has a "board" expression.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Akio breaks safety rules to save Miho from accidentally being run over after she gets shot, leaping out of his tank in the middle of a match.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend: Akio regarding Miho, although Word of God says otherwise.
    • When speaking with his mother for the first time.
      Akio: MOM! Miho-chan's not my girlfriend... she's my sensha-do team's captain.
    • A subtler example happens after Akio ends up taking care of Miho while she's recovering from her injury in the match with Anzio, Senmonka comes to see him, and asks him what he and Miho did together. Akio says that he and Miho "spent some time working on some organizational stuff for the team," which is only part of what they did. Senmonka then decides to ask if they did anything else, making Akio want to hit him, but Akio inwardly concedes that the entire arrangement isn't so bad.
    • Similarly, Tsubasa points out that Miho must be keeping Akio busy, but Akio points out that because of Miho's aforementioned injury, she has needed a lot of help. He then gets Tsubasa back by pointing out his relationship with Kazuko, which Tsubasa can't deny.
  • Shipping Torpedo: After meeting Akio and realizing that he's the grandson of Saburo Sakai, Shiho's political adversary, Maho wonders if her mother will force her to drive a wedge between them, but refuses to do so. It's unclear how accurate Maho's prediction is or whether it's still possible now that Shiho has disowned Miho.
  • Shower of Angst: Ayumi goes to take one after the match with Dalian, upset over her unrequited love for Yoshi and her team doing poorly.
  • Skewed Priorities: The model club/Alligator Team complains about the modifications made to their KV taking away from historical accuracy, of all things.
  • Sliding Scale of Parent-Shaming in Fiction: Shiho is a Type III. She claims to also have Miho's interests in mind when she disowns her for not removing Mako from the team after almost running her over, but no one agrees with her.
  • So Proud of You: Shiho says this to Maho after she reveals that she has known that Maho was doing everything for Miho's sake.
  • Spoiler Title:
    • While it's not a terribly obvious example, the title of Chapter 6, "Accident Against Anzio", makes it clear that the battle against Anzio will be no ordinary match.
    • Likewise, Chapter 7 is titled, "Miho's Heartache," which indicates that something worse than being injured will happen to Miho.
  • Sudden Name Change: Yakuin Takuma's nickname is "Yakuma" in Chapter 2, but it's "Yakota" in Chapter 7.
  • The One Guy: Most of the male OCs join pre-existing teams as the sole male member.
  • Those Two Guys: Gunjin Hayate and Keibiin Kenji, the other two Original Character members of Akio's crew.
  • Underestimating Badassery
    • Some of Akio's male teammates wonder how someone as quiet as Miho could have won the tournament.
    • Anzu, upon hearing that Saunders will field twice as many tanks to fight Oarai, declares that they weren't all that tough, despite Oarai barely having won against them in canon.
    • One member of Rabbit Team underestimates Continuance after the fairly rough match against Dalian, although Maho points out that even for Kuromorimine, victory is not guaranteed when facing Continuance on their home territory.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: While he's not the primary beneficiary of the help, Akio's response to Maho helping Miho by paying her rent after Miho gets disowned is to express disbelief and complain that she should have done more.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Two pop up in Chapter 6, with repercussions in Chapter 7. The gunner of the Semovente shoots Miho by accident. In the ensuing chaos, Mako almost makes the mistake of running over Miho. Miho, while disappointed in Mako, refuses to punish her, which results in her mother disowning her.
  • Voodoo Shark: In an example of trying to cover up a perceived inconsistency from canon, the author suggests that as Sensha-do is dangerous enough as it is, they are using simunition rounds and have mechanisms in place to simulate explosions and other effects of rounds hitting. This is not consistent with the effects some rounds have when striking targets besides tanks.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Maho says Miho has always wanted to make her mother proud, which is why she stuck with tankery until the finals of the tournament in her freshman year.
  • Wham Episode
    • In Chapter 6, Miho is struck in the chest with a tank round and is hospitalized.
    • In Chapter 7, Shiho shows up in Miho's hospital room and tells her that she has been disowned.
  • Wham Line
    • Chapter 6: As Anzio's Semovente fires, the narration describes what the "simunition" rounds do before describing what was hit.
      "In this case, it struck an eighty kilo girl straight in the chest."
    • Chapter 7: Shiho delivers a surprising announcement.
      Shiho: Miho Nishizumi, you are no daughter of mine.
  • What the Hell, Hero?
    • Akio calls out Maho for not being there for Miho, although Miho gives a rebuttal that Maho has done as much as she could.
    • Akio, Maho and Mr. Nishizumi make it clear that they're not happy with Shiho for disowning Miho.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Akio is afraid of flying.
  • Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Miho after seeing the gun barrel of a Semovente that accidentally shoots her
  • Worf Had the Flu: Several factors pop up to hinder Oarai against Dalian, despite Dalian being a relative newcomer.
    • A Love Triangle within Rabbit Team reduces Ayumi and Yoshi's performance.
    • Duck Team struggles to adjust to the tank they've been loaned, which is in many ways different from the Type 89.
    • The team's overall performance is reduced as a result of Miho being injured and replaced with the decidedly less competent Momo.
  • Writers Cannot Do Math: Miho is described as weighing 80 kg(176 pounds), a weight that is far too heavy for Miho, who's 5'2" and seems to be of average weight for a Japanese girl.


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