Girls & Panzer Specials

Edit Notice: Apparently I listed the incorrect episode one. I've updated my review to reflect what the episode was actually about.

The specials are definitely a great watch for anyone who enjoyed Girls und Panzer.

There's side stories, sequel episodes, and episode additions. Overall the mood of the specials felt a little different from the feel of the show but they were just as enjoyable.

EP 1: The girls spend their time picking out swimsuits before they go to the beach. What really stands out here is the originality of the swimsuits that are showcased. I got a good laugh at the ending.

EP 2: A standard camping episode ... with a bonus of everyone deciding to be in swimsuits.

EP 3: The most interesting episode by far. They go into detail on answering questions you may have about the series and school ships.

EP 4: A full presentation of the Anglerfish Dance that had to be performed after losing the school's first match.

EP 5: An addition to the match against Pravda High that follows Yukari and Riko on their scouting expedition. This one was a lot of fun.

EP 6: And to wrap it all off, a sequal episode where the student council hosts a celebration for winning the championship.

Even though this is marked an OVA, each episode is supposed to be watched alongside the main series, the watch order of which can be found on Reddit.

An episode may expand on the content in the main series, or perhaps show content that may seem filler if watched in the main series but is nonetheless funny.

Perhaps the author of Girls und Panzer would ideally have wanted the main series, OVA, and the background exposition in the recaps to be shown altogether. We never know, but it has to be cut because they won't all fit the 20+ minutes of each episode. Understandably, they have to ... be cut, so now I beseech all of you to watch this along with the main series. You won't regret it.

ETA: A score of 6 out of 10 means an anime is good. It's a decent score because it means above average.

I usually don't write reviews on specials but why not. I loved G&P itself but as usual the specials are nowhere as near as good as the main show (note: there's also an OVA, which unlike the specials is definitely worth watching).

The 6 episodes are very different from each other and I gave it an overall of 6 but here's the breakdown -

Episode 1 - The girls plan to go to the beach and shop for swim suits. A standard and completely unremarkable fan service episode. I really have no clue why they insist on making one for virtually every anime that exists. Unless you're ... a fan of these it's not worth watching.

Episode 2 - The girls go camping. Again this is mostly fan service (and again more swim suits). The only thing that's noteworthy is that at some point they quote a famous Monty Python sketch (maybe it was aimed for foreign viewers because my Japanese friends like probably most people in Japan have never heard of Monty Python). Other than that the episode is not really worthwhile.

Episode 3 - By far the most interesting episode of the six. The girls take a tour of the school ship and explain how it operates and visit all the hidden areas where students don't normally go.

Episode 4 - The stupid Anko dance that the girls were forced to do after they lost the first practice match. You can see the entire routine here. The episode is only 3 minutes long so what the heck.

Episode 5 - This one's actually noteworthy. It takes place during the match against Pravda and follows Yukari and Erwin as they go on their recon mission. It shows where and how they got the information that the girls later used to break out of the siege. Pretty interesting.

Episode 6 - The girls celebrate their ultimate victory. The episode tries to be funny but I think it miserably fails at that. Pointless and boring.