Shelf Life

Girls und Anime

Initially, when Girls und Panzer was simulcasting, I ditched it fairly quickly because I was just girls 'n' guns'd out. The idea of sitting through a show whose premise involved girls driving tanks and shooting at each other just wore me out, mostly because I couldn't get over how improbable it was. And yet, when I forced myself to sit down and marathon the series, something curious happened. I realized that I didn't want to stop watching. Not because the show was spectacularly written—it has a mountain of pacing and plot development issues—and not because the characters are particularly fascinating—outside a couple of the main characters, we don't really learn anything about any of the giant cast of girls—but because the tanks themselves were fun to watch. They took on lives of their own, almost personifying their technical specifications on the battlefield. It was like watching a real-time strategy game, with players whose stats were directly affected by how much armor they were carrying, or their size. In essence, the tanks were better developed and more carefully written than their drivers, who oftentimes just embodied generic descriptors like "automobile club member" or "volleyball girl." Sure, the girls are plenty cute, and sure, the whole story is about Friendship(!) and Believing in Yourself(!), but it's the tanks that make the show.

Outside of the tanks, which are lovingly animated and meticulously researched, the show is on the sloppy side. The story moves forward in jerks and bounds; had the series been two seasons long, it could have spent a lot more time laying foundation. For instance, once the girls assemble their cadre of tanks, the show can pretty much be divided into two chunks: a scrimmage, then Nationals.

First of all, no one jumps straight to Nationals with just one practice match under their belt in any sport, be it baseball, basketball, or tankery. Gone are the episodes where the girls learn how to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their tanks, gone are the episodes of the girls tirelessly working on their aim, and gone are the critical scenes where main character Miho finds and embraces her style of sensha-do. Instead, these are replaced with short montages and throwaway dialogue, or in the latter case, the assumption that Miho is basically just some kind of strategy and risk-taking wunderkind. It not only makes the series a little jarring to watch, as it just hops from battle to battle, but it robs viewers of crucial bonding moments with the characters.

It also goes without saying that watching a show like Girls und Panzer requires a heavy suspension of disbelief. It is, after all, a show about an afterschool club where students get to blast each other with live tank rounds. I certainly have questions. For instance, if the girls had to rappel down a cliff in order to find a lost tank wedged in a hole in the side of a mountain, how did it get there? When they blow a hole into the side of a building during a match, who has to pay for repairs, the school or the government? Does the government even have that kind of money for a sporting event that seemingly only has a dozen or so observers in the stands for each match? What happens when one of the girls hits seriously hurt during a match, like when their tank falls through a bridge and plummets down a canyon, or someone gets impaled by a shell? I know it's just an anime, and I liked the series despite these red (white?) flags, but at times, they took me out of the moment.

One thing that I really enjoyed about the show, though, is the way it playfully uses country stereotypes to color the different tank teams. Although the various teams come from other Japanese high schools, they're all "themed" after different countries. The "American" high school plays loose and dirty and uses "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as its theme. The "British" high school has characters named after tea, and who are always sipping tea. The "Russian" school is not only named after the Pravda newspaper, but also has a shield that mimicks the Soviet Union hammer and sickle. It reminds a little of Hetalia in its irreverency, though without the history lessons. I certainly got a kick out of watching the characters interact, though they, too, were hardly any more developed beyond their gimmicks.

At the end of the day, though, only one question needs to be answered, which is, "is this entertaining?" And the answer, despite my issues with the series, is still a resounding "yes." Girls und Panzer is deeply entertaining, sucking in viewers with its fast-paced action scenes and easy to digest episodes. It leaves much to be desired in terms of characterization, and takes a ton of narrative shortcuts, but once the battles start, it's difficult to stop watching. And really, sometimes that's all you need in a show.[TOP]

Eureka 7: AO (ayoooo!) takes place over a decade after the end of the original Eureka 7 timeline, introducing us to a teenager named Ao Fukai. He doesn't know it yet, but we've already met his parents—Eureka and Renton, although the full weight of that revelation, and the circumstances that led to Ao's current whereabouts aren't revealed until nearly the end of the series. "Who are Eureka and Renton?" some might ask right now.

Well, that's where viewers of the original series have the upper hand. While Eureka 7: AO can be watched on its own—there are plenty of things to lure in new viewers, like an impressive array of mech battles, superbly executed dogfights, and neon bright colors that will sock you in the retina—the full emotional impact of the series can't really be experienced unless you know who Eureka is. After all, her fate at the end of the first series, and her relationship to Ao is one of the crowning achievements of this sequel. Mind you, nothing is really accomplished until the last several episodes, but it's a satisfying payoff for what can be at times a frustrating viewing experience.

Regardless of if you're already familiar with Eureka 7, the first handful of episodes are a messy soup of plot threads. Even the basic building blocks are a little shaky, considering there are two types of bad guys (Scubs and Secrets), one of which has two different names (Secrets and G-Monsters). Luckily, there's only one group of good guys to contend with (Generation Bleu)… until you start dealing with all the geopolitical shenaniganery that's going on between various nations, some of whom we are led to believe are good (until they're bad) or bad (until they're good). It's not that the story can't be followed, it's just that it's presented in such a jumbled way that it's a little tedious to sort through it all, with nary a payoff until the end of the series.

Until then, there is plenty of eye candy to be had. Animated by the champions at BONES, Eureka 7: AO is a visual stunner, awash in bright, spectacular colors and highlighted by mech fights graceful enough to count as acrobatics. When you're not ogling the robots and aliens, there's plenty to gawk at on Earth, with stunning, detailed backdrops that give your eyes plenty of reason to play. It's wonderfully riveting and exciting to watch, which is merciful considering that the vast majority of the series seems to subscribe to the Bad Guy of the Week club.

Although Eureka 7: AO does have enough to keep newbie viewers entertained, it's not really tailored towards their best interests. Outside of the flash robot battles, the best thing the series has to offer are the insights into Eureka and Renton, none of which really manifest until the last act. Even then, if you have no prior investment in their lives, the resolution doesn't quite have the same effect. If you're a newcomer to the series, you're better off waiting until you've seen the original.[TOP]