GIRLS und PANZER - Episode 3

It's tough for a schoolgirl to get some shut-eye when there are tanks roaming around the place, and so it goes that Mako's precious afternoon nap is disturbed by a close encounter with Miko and company's vehicle.

Luckily, it seems that Mako is rather quick on her feet when push comes to shove, and after managing to avoid being crushed while boarding the tank in the process, she goes on to prove herself to be a rather proficient tank driver after briefly perusing the manual - a good job too, with the group seemingly surrounding and threatening to be stuck on a rickety bridge.  A few well-placed shots later, we have our victor in the Tankery club's first practice match.

With many lessons learned and this first encounter with tanks out of the way, it's time for some much needed upgrades to these vehicles.... not in terms of tread, armour or weaponry, but rather with the addition of custom paint jobs, cushions and slippers to stop the inside getting dirty, which I'm sure is an entirely historically accurate series of concerns for tank operators.  These cushions will soon come in handy too, with the announcement of an official match between our new Tankery heroines and the much-vaunted St. Gloriana Women's Academy.  With a full complement of members and Miho voited to take charge of the whole endeavour, we're all set for a big match-up in episode four.

As per last week's episode, Girls und Panzer is best summed up as "dumb but fun" - it's premise makes entirely no sense, but who cares when so much fun can be derived just for watching a bunch of (beautifully rendered and animated) tanks tearing around fields and taking pot shots at one another?  Given how enjoyable a pastime this is, I can somewhat forgive the clichéd and broadly rather dull characters at this point; although I'm sure nobody will be believe me I really am watching this show for the tanks and not the girls.  Honest.  Stop looking at me like that, I really mean it.  Mostly.