(L) Girls & Panzer: The Final Chapter Movie

[Ithekro]

Preparing for Finnish aerobatics and sniper action.

[Infinite Zenith]

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Infinite Zenith]

We're now a month away from Das Finale's third part's home release, and I've been looking at the direction this continuation intends to go in; while it lacks the schedule of a traditional TV series, its structure remains consistent with that of a TV series, and that means, at the end of things, there's going to be a payoff in the story, something to work towards. Girls und Panzer had done a fantastic job of covering many topics, from teamwork and sportsmanship, to creative thinking and overcoming adversity.

One motif that has endured in Girls und Panzer is the idea of family, and how though Panzerfahren, different characters have found strengthened bonds with those around them. Yukari makes friends through Panzerfahren, Mako's grandmother begins to understand her better after she takes up Panzerfahren, Hana's mother accepts her decision to take up this sport since it's improved her flower arrangement, and here in Das Finale, Momo's family is shown, indicating she's perhaps working hard for her family's sake, too.

Similarly, in all of the matches that Ooarai participates in, they end up befriending those they encounter. From the cultured students of St. Gloriana, to the boisterous team at Saunders, the aloof Pravda folks, disciplined Black Forest crew, fun-loving team from Anzio and BC Freedom's divided, but friendly students, Miho has managed to do something few Panzerfahren commanders do: while Ooarai may have an incredible win streak, what's more impressive is that she's winning hearts and minds with her own unique approach to Panzerfahren. Opponents are not terrifying foes or outright evil, they're human, as well, and Miho brings out the best in everyone when they encounter one another.

All of this means that our protagonist, Miho, inevitably is set to confront her own hurdles; after Miho had cost her school the championship, she'd become distant from Shiho. Shiho views Miho as a disappointment, and Girls und Panzer had made it clear that mother and daughter were not on particularly good terms. This portrayal led many of our number, among them Random Wanderer, Ithekro and Anh_Minh, to count Shiho as being bloodthirsty and ruthless. This assertion led Sumeragi and Wills to overreact in a dramatic fashion, which resulted in an infamous discussion surrounding whether or not Miho was justified in saving her teammates at the cost of the match (incidentally, she was).

However, amidst that argument, the original crux of the issue was quickly forgotten, and looking back, while Sumeragi's actions and attitude did not merit praise (why Willx, EndlessSoul, SaintlessHeart, and Ridwan continued backing him remains a mystery to me), the sentiments that Random Wanderer, Ithekro and Anh_Minh posed were not valid, either. Girls und Panzer is a series about overcoming challenges, and that self-discovery, coupled with teamwork, is what lets one achieve this. These challenges can include those issues surrounding family or friends. We also know that the foes faced in Girls und Panzer are not heartless or evil. They can be reasoned with and understood, empathised with.

Therefore, I reached a different conclusion: Shiho is a good parent, although she's terrible with expressing herself. Miho is shy and finds it hard to be forward with her feelings. Materials indicate that Shiho wants a better relationship with her daughter, and that Miho wants to reconcile, too. The reasoning I provide for this exceeds the maximum character count for a forum post here, so I've opted to link to a blog post I wrote on the matter a ways back. This feels like an appropriate direction for Das Finale, and I'm hoping this to be the case – for one, it would prove Sumeragi and Willx wrong, as well as show Random Wanderer, Ithekro and Anh_Minh that Shiho is actually a respectable character and give Girls und Panzer more depth.

Looking back, I wish that this was the discussion we ended up guessing. However, because Sumeragi and Willx became too emotional, things quickly escalated and derailed. There was no effort to even understand Shiho and Maho – the resulting argument had been all consuming and indicated little more than the fact that no one at the time understood what Girls und Panzer had been attempting to convey. I am therefore curious to hear from these individuals about my thoughts on Shiho and where Das Finale is headed, especially since I presented myself rather more insightfully and clearly than Sumeragi or Willx ever did. Assuming that the sentiment is that no, I've not been more insightful and clear than these two, I would be open to hearing what these two have done that make them meritorious of agreement over myself.

[Jamibu]

If you are unaware, a digital raw release of Das Finale Part 3 had surfaced online, if you know where to look. But a fansubbed version won't be out until the BD comes out next month and around New Year.

[Infinite Zenith]

Das Finale's third act is finally available, and unsurprisingly, Ooarai takes the W over Chi-Ha Tan. Continuation actually does have a few surprises up their sleeves:

Spoiler for Outcomes:

Jouko, their sniper and counterpart to Simo Häyhä, takes Miho and Anko out of the fight, leaving Ooarai to fend for themselves.

This instalment shows how important adaptability is, and as Ooarai takes on Continuation with their current circumstances, all eyes will be on the next act to see what they pull off.

[EroKing]

[Infinite Zenith]

Raise.

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Marina2]

I am now looking forward to see

Spoiler for Das Finale 4:

Azusa take the commander position. (Sorry Momo)

YouTube

https://youtu.be/_8MZZKeOO2o

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Infinite Zenith]

Something to look forwards to much later this year, or perhaps 2023. In the meantime, we can enjoy the Old West antics in the latest OVA that accompanies the third chapter

[ramlaen]

I'm not going to complain about 45 minutes of senshado but the story in Das Finale 3 was paper thin.

[Infinite Zenith]

No it's not. They're in the middle of a tournament right now; you can watch Das Finale's first part to see why they're participating.

[ramlaen]

Originally Posted by Infinite Zenith

No it's not. They're in the middle of a tournament right now; you can watch Das Finale's first part to see why they're participating.

I wouldn't be commenting if I had not been watching this series since it originally aired almost a decade ago. Even in the previous episodes of Das Finale there was substance between matches.

[Infinite Zenith]

Explain yourself, then. One sentence is much too paltry if your aim is to convince me that Das Finale Chapter 3 somehow sucked.

[ramlaen]

Originally Posted by Infinite Zenith

Explain yourself, then. One sentence is much too paltry if your aim is to convince me that Das Finale Chapter 3 somehow sucked.

I never said Das Finale 3 sucked, please do not put words in my mouth.

As I said I am not complaining about ~45 minutes of senshado but there was almost no story in episode 3 outside of progressing the matches. Chihaten's growth happened in episode 2 and a good half of episode 3 was spent wrapping up their match. The only character story that really happened in episode 3 was Erika maturing and being able to win an upset victory because of it.

Episode 3's story was thin but it sets up episode 4 for Oorai to grow.

[Infinite Zenith]

This third act was to show how 1) Chi-Ha Tan is a group of excellent sportsmen who've grown by meeting Ooarai's players, and 2) Ooarai needs to exercise caution going into their match with Continuation. That is not "paper thin", it's just an intermission. If anything, trying to distill out the third chapter's accomplishments into a single phrase and spinning that as a negative could be seen as laziness; Twitter-length comments often create misunderstandings. I have no qualms with perspective differing than my own, but I expect people to put in a proper effort in explaining themselves (i.e. with more than 240 characters).

[Julio C]

I'm still waiting for my copy of part 3 to arrived from Amazon JP. So I'll be back and give my impressions on the third part.

[grecefar]

I thought this development was going to happen against chihatan, were they take anglerfish and then momo starts to shine.

I hope the final is vs st gloriana, ooarai is still 0-2 against them.

[Infinite Zenith]

It almost certainly will be a fight against St. Glorianna, and Ooarai is going to win

Originally Posted by arkhangelsk

It does represent an "unsolved problem" for Oarai as a whole, which is by itself a non-closure. And you have to remember, all other issues in GuP are at least temporarily closed at this time, so Darjeeling is not exactly secondary here. Also remember, I don't even think Miho is OP. In fact, I think relative to her competitors, taking into full consideration the extra years she had, Miho's talents as a company or battalion commander (not leader) is below average.

On the virtue that Girls und Panzer is a sports anime, whether or not Miho will prevail over Darjeeling is irrelevant to the series gaining closure. In reality, there are certain teams one will be weaker towards, much as how there are teams one will be stronger towards. For instance, my home team has consistently fallen to the Tampa Bay Lightning during our games in the past few years, and for the longest time, we weren't able to ever win a single game on Anaheim Ducks turf. However, in the case of the Ducks, we were able to start consistently winning in more recent times. The fact we couldn't win at one instance in time isn't of great consequence: performance throughout the season is much more important.

Miho's ability as a tactician (or the supposition that Darjeeling and Katyusha are superior to Miho) is actually quite unrelated to the discussion. Like a sports match, multiple conditions exist that impact the outcome of a game. Miho is only shown reacting to something in a moment, and sometimes, this creativity works. Other times, an incomplete assessment of a situation caused by the speed of events, or not having all the information available to her, makes Miho fail. This isn't a strike against her character; she is human, after all.

Consequently, the topic of non-closure is not an issue. As a "high school girls doing military activities" series, the series has emphasised notions of family time and time again. Hana found her resolution, as did Mako and Yukari. Saori is an exception since she's always happy-go-lucky, and that leaves Miho. What Miho needs to address is the relationship she has with Shiho. This was the reason why Miho went to Ooarai to begin with, and a bigger issue than the matter of St. Glorianna remaining unbeaten. Results in sensha-do are secondary to Miho solving the problem that led her to go to Ooarai: poor family relationships that, Girls und Panzer has shown time and time again, can be mendable and in fact, are mended amongst other characters.

However, this isn't a matter of "closure" or an "unsolved problem" as was mentioned earlier in this thread, nor is this going to be a matter of making Miho appear too "overpowered": both of these claims completely miss the point of Das Finale. Ooarai will win on merits of the fact that the other teams are also improving, and their previous losses has never been a consequence of poor strategy, but rather, circumstance in the moment. For Miho, "closure" will not achieved by beating St. Glorianna, so there is no narrative reason to have her win. In fact, during the fight against St. Glorianna, another team may very well surprise everyone with an idea even Miho hasn't thought of.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I like that she can't beat her. I hope it stays that way always. It prevents Miho from appearing too OP.

Suggesting that Miho beating St. Glorianna would make her overpowered is a subjective claim and imply that Sensha-do is an individual sport. Sensha-do is a team sport, not an individual sport, and when the individual players improve, together with their existing sense of camaraderie, the team improves. Ooarai beating St. Glorianna would underline their growth overall and not just speak to Miho's ability.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

^ Why are you replying comments from 2016?

[Infinite Zenith]

Because Das Finale's third part answers these questions. Or is that against forum rules now?