Girls und Panzer is a show that knows exactly what it is & accomplishes the goals it sets out. This is one of those animes that is well received by many non-anime "fans" or "viewers". Sure, lots of anime watchers like Garupan, but its ability to attract folks outside of this group is respectable on its own. Garupan's audience generally consists of three major groups: history buffs, tank guys (especially World of Tanks players), & curious anime watchers. I myself would be considered a mild history buff & a curious anime watcher so of course, there can be overlap or exceptions in these groups.
I will be using the term "tankery" instead of "Sensha-do" or "Panzerfahren" to keep things simple & clear.
Animation:
Now under most circumstances I would condemn such heavy uses of CG in anime, but Garupan is not most anime. It has tanks! Large & intricately detailed tanks, with many edges, grooves, & moving parts. Drawing the tanks moving in 2D would extremely difficult to accomplish. I hereby say that the use of CG in the tanks is necessary. That being said the CG is done well. The tanks are well animated, contain all the details they need. In fact, I think the 3D models used for the tanks are actually decently accurate to their real-life counterparts. Or at least that's the general consensus I hear from the tank guys, I trust that they know their stuff.
The rest of the animation is drawn in 2D & it's drawn well.
Moreover, the animators have more or less succeeded in animating the tank battles, where we have 2D anime girls supposed to be operating these 3D tanks. It's not perfect, but it works in illustrating these truly awesome tank battles in a way that flows. At no point did I think the animation subtracted from the marvelous tank battles nor did it take away from the characters' hilarious interactions. The not so serious tone of the show helps alleviate the 2D & 3D being used together.
Style:
The general style of this anime is hard to describe briefly. There is an overarching military style in this anime. To that of, each high school is on a giant ship, the British team's (St. Gloriana) tankery uniform is based on the Queen's Guard uniform, the German team (Kuromorimine) have their own military styled uniform etc.
Also, in some sense there is a sort of "nationalistic" aesthetic throughout the show. This is based on the opposing teams school identity. There is a Russian school (Pravda), a British school (St. Gloriana's), an American school (Saunder's), an Italian school (Anzio), & a German school (Kuromorimine) featured. Their aesthetics are based on their respective identity & stereotype.
While, the main characters' team Ooarai isn't really a stereotype other than being sort of moe, it does compensate with the different clubs from the school joining their team and using their unique club related skills in tankery.
Garupan's tank battles are extremely well choreographed & thought out. Much of the strategies used are based on real historical strategies for each respective team (some more than others), with the exception of our main cast. I don't want to give spoilers, but it was really fresh to see that kind of attention to detail. Even if you perhaps can't recognize a Blitzkrieg when you see one these battles are still super entertaining. Garupan isn't just tanks shooting at one another, there are real strategies at play, maneuvering, & individual tank features (i.e. some tanks like the KV-2 are going to deal much more damage, some tanks have thicker armour & are going to need more firepower to destroy etc.).
The main cast uses their own novel strategies. That being said, there are some inaccuracies or stretches made, like the tanks move faster than their real life counterparts, but the inaccuracies are not too burdensome & they do make the battles more entertaining.
All of this together makes for some really thrilling & engaging battles.
Characters:
The characters of the other schools are all based on their identities' stereotypes. To that of, the British team are usually seen sipping tea, are very "proper", & their commander, Darjeeling, regularly says quotes to sound profound, the American team is jovial & wealthy, the Russian team is cold, stoic, & "look down" on their opponents etc. When these characters are on screen it's hilarious, but due to the large cast it becomes hard to give each character adequate screen time.
The main cast is sufficient. Miho is very reluctant, but clever, Mako is lazy, but very competent, Saori is lively & joined tankery to become more ladylike, Hana is unsatisfied with being a master florist & prefers tankery instead, and Yukari loves tanks. Yukari represents the tank guys & the history club represents the history buffs.
It must be stated that the tanks themselves have in some sense their own character. The Panzer IV is very reliable, the Churchill tank has thick armour, the KV-2 is big & clunky, but has great firepower, the Tiger II tanks have decent firepower & armour, but are a bit slower etc. Keep in mind I am not a tank guy, I learned this from watching the show.
Narrative:
The narrative is very simple. Our main cast must form a new tankery team & win the tournament. At the same time our main character, Miho Nishizumi, must win the tournament to prove to her family that her kindness towards others isn't a weakness. The creators of this anime are well aware of what it is & I appreciate that. You can tell the beginning of the anime is speeding through all of the character origins & setup to get to the tanks. This is a good thing, they know what we want, that is, tanks.
Sound:
The OP is fine. The ED is pretty good. The OST during the tank battles sound great & almost perfectly suits the subject matter. The use of marching band style music really gets you in the mood for these tank battles, it's very remarkable. The enemy team will have or sing a song relating to their school identity/stereotype upon starting the battle.
Overall:
There is no anime quite like Girls und Panzer. Sure there have been anime with cute girls and tanks, but Garupan is so much more than that. I unironically learned a decent amount about tanks from this anime. The nods to history are pleasantly surprising & refreshing. The stereotypes are funny. The world of Garupan is comedic. The strategies are clever. The girls are cute & the tanks are super cool. If any of these sound interesting to you, I think you will like Girls und Panzer. Panzer Vor!
Don't skip out on the Anzio OVA, it's hilarious. You don't want to miss out on seeing Anchovy Duce, it showcases their whole battle with Ooarai.
I don't know why it has the "Yuri" tag on AniList, there is literally zero romance in this anime.
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