Girls und Panzer der Film[a] is a 2015 Japanese animated film and a sequel to the 2012 anime series Girls und Panzer. Produced by Actas and distributed by Showgate, the film is directed by Tsutomu Mizushima from a script written by Reiko Yoshida and features an ensemble cast that includes Mai Fuchigami, Ai Kayano, Mami Ozaki, Ikumi Nakagami, and Yuka Iguchi. The film follows the students of Ōarai Girls' Academy learning about the closure of their school after their recent victory against Kuromorimine Girls' High School was denounced.
A Japanese newspaper first reported that a sequel to the anime television series was "being tentatively planned" in December 2012, but it was later denied by staff. A sequel was announced as a film in 2013, with Mizushima returning to direct it in April. The film was set to premiere in 2014 but got delayed the following year instead. New cast members to join the returning cast of Girls und Panzer were announced in June and October 2015.
Girls und Panzer der Film premiered in Tokyo on November 20, 2015, and was released in Japan on November 21. The film grossed over $22million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics for its action and character interaction. The film received awards and nominations, including the awards at Japanese Movie Critics Awards and Seiun Awards. Its sequel, Girls und Panzer das Finale, began to release one of its six films in the series in Japan on December 9, 2017.
Plot
In a friendly exhibition match, Ōarai Girls' Academy join forces with a reckless Chihatan Gakuen against the combined forces of St. Gloriana Girls' College and Pravda Girls' High School. The match ends in favor of St. Gloriana and Pravda, and the participating students spend time in a bath afterward. Upon their return to the school, Ōarai students are informed by student council president Anzu Kadotani about the school's closure after the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology denounced their verbal agreement of keeping it open despite their win against Kuromorimine Girls' High School.[b] A plane from Saunders University High School arrives to retrieve Ōarai's tanks for safekeeping as the students prepare to vacate the aircraft carrier that houses the school.
Anzu visits the Japan Senshadō Federation along with Ōarai's instructor Ami Chōno to protest the closure. With the help of Miho and Maho's mother Shiho Nishizumi, who wants a rematch for Kuromorimine, they convince the Ministry to sign an agreement to reopen Ōarai's school once they win the annihilation match against Hand-picked University Team commanded by Alice Shimada. On the day of the match, Kuromorimine, Saunders, Pravda, St. Gloriana, Anzio Girls' High School, Keizoku High School, and Chihatan join Ōarai to increase their numbers against the opponent's thirty tanks.
Kuromorimine and Pravda capture a hill to provide support to their allies atop but are bombarded by Karl-Gerät's shells. Ōarai's Turtle and Duck teams, Anzio, and Keizoku join forces to destroy Karl. The remaining tanks of Ōarai and its allies arrive at an abandoned amusement park and use its attractions to eliminate the majority of Hand-picked University tanks, turning the tide in their favor. However, Alice eventually joins the fight and disables most of her opponent's tanks. With a total of three tanks remaining in the match, the Nishizumi sisters work together to confront Alice in a heated battle that ends with Ōarai's victory. Following the match, all the girls are traveling back to their respective schools, with Ōarai students sailing back to their aircraft carrier.
Jōyō Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper based in Ibaraki Prefecture, reported a sequel to Girls und Panzer (2012) was "being tentatively planned" in December 2012, citing the franchise's popularity.[6] Following the report, publicity representative Yūji Hirooka at Bandai Visual revealed that there were no plans for a sequel but stated that the "possibility is not zero".[7] At the Heartful Tank Carnival event in April 2013, Tsutomu Mizushima was announced to be returning to direct a film for the franchise after the project was greenlit.[8] In the same month, producer Kiyoshi Sugiyama confirmed that the film would serve as a sequel to the anime television series.[9] Mizushima announced the film's runtime was 120 minutes instead of the planned 90 minutes in March 2015.[1]
Belarusian video game company Wargaming was deeply involved in the production of the film. The company provided illustrations of nine tanks that were featured in the film: BT-42, Centurion Mk 1, Churchill I–VII, Crusader, Karl-Gerät, T28, M26 Pershing, VK 4501 (P), and T95. Producer Sugiyama received black-and-white illustrations rather than photographs since they would be more useful in providing details for tanks during animation.[13]
Post-production
Sentai Filmworks announced the English dub cast for the film in November 2016.[14] In an interview with the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo in July 2017, Mizushima explained the names Mika, Aki, and Mikko were associated with Finnish male names that can be sounded Japanese, revealing his familiarity with them from watching Estonian Autosport Union president Ari Vatanen's career in motorsports.[15] He also revealed the Keizoku High School in the film was based on Finland's Continuation War during World War II.[16]
Music
ChouCho was announced to be performing the ending theme music of Girls Und Panzer der Film titled "Piece of Youth" in March 2015, after previously doing so for Girls und Panzer (2012).[1][17]Bandai Namco Arts released the film's original soundtrack composed by Shirō Hamaguchi under their Lantislabel in Japan on November 18, 2015.[18] Japanese kantele player Hiroko Ara played the Finnish folk tune included in the soundtrack titled "Säkkijärven polkka".[16]
A teaser trailer for Girls und Panzer der Film was released in July 2014,[20] followed by its first visual in November.[21] In March 2015, a promotional video from Bandai Visual summarizing the franchise's story and the second visual for the film were released.[22][1] The second teaser trailer for the film was released in June 2015.[10] In October 2015, the third visual and a full trailer and new commercial video for the film were released.[23][24] A novel written by screenwriter Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Fumikane Shimada and Isao Sugimoto was released on October 10, 2015, which would fill in the gap between the anime television series and the film.[23]
Girls und Panzer der Film held its world premiere at the Shinjuku Wald 9 theater in Tokyo on November 20, 2015,[24] and was released in Japan on November 21.[1] The film was released in 27 4DX theaters on February 20, 2016.[31] Cinema Sunshine Heiwajima held an "extreme" 4DX screening of the film, which involved more aggressive chair movements, on March 5, 2016, after gaining positive feedback with their screening of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).[32] Additional three 4DX screenings of the film were held on March 20, 2016.[31]Girls und Panzer der Film was previously scheduled to be released in 2014,[8] before it was shifted between June and August 2015,[21] and then to the November premiere.[1] As part of the 10th anniversary of the release of Girls und Panzer, the film was screened in 127 theaters on October 9, 2022.[33]
The film was released at the Scotland Loves Anime film festival in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2016,[34] in the United States on November 18, with its American premiere taking place at New People Cinema in San Francisco,[35] and in Canada on January 26, 2017.[36]
Home media
Girls und Panzer der Film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on May 27, 2016. They include a new original video animation and an episode of Yukari Akiyama's Tank Course.[37] Four days later, Oricon reported the film's limited special edition Blu-ray had sold 162,361 copies in its first week since its release, ranking first in their May 23–29 Blu-ray disc chart.[38] It became the fourth overall highest-selling Japanese animation Blu-ray disc during a first-week sale, placing behind the 2015 anime film Love Live! The School Idol Movie (194,000 copies).[39] As part of the 10th-anniversary celebration, the film was aired on Animax on October 16, 2022,[40] and on January 1, 2023.[41]
Girls und Panzer der Film was released on Blu-ray and DVD combo set in the United States and Canada by Sentai Filmworks on May 16, 2017,[42] and began streaming on Hidive on August 24.[43]MVM Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in the United Kingdom and Ireland on November 20, 2017.[44]Netflix streamed the film from October 15, 2019,[45] to November 22, 2021.[46] Sentai Filmworks released the film on Blu-ray on October 11, 2022.[47]
Girls und Panzer der Film earned $1.05million in its opening weekend,[49] ranking second at the Japanese box office behind World of Delight (2015).[50] The film remained second at the box office after earning $527,133 in its second weekend,[51] but it dropped to seventh in its third weekend.[52] The film grossed ¥500million in 22 days since its release, topping the previous weekend's earnings by 27% with its fourth-weekend earnings,[53] and ¥1billion in 71 days.[54] The film grossed over ¥2billion in May 2016[55] and earned additional ¥4million at the end of its one-year theatrical run.[56] Certain theaters in Japan, such as Cinema City and Cinema Chupki Tabata [ja], continued to screen the film, bringing its total box office to ¥2.5billion.[57][2]
Critical response
Nick Creamer of Anime News Network graded Girls und Panzer der Film "A−", feeling that the film "wraps up all of its actual plot into a concise twenty minute interlude, mixing that with some goofy comedy courtesy of Miho's friends and a little more character work for the original series' underserved squads". He praised Mizushima's direction, the film's second half that had "one of the most impressive and entertaining battle scenes you could imagine", how a huge ensemble of characters earned their moments, and the CG animation.[58] Writing for Otaku USA, Paul Thomas Chapman felt that the film had "full of masterfully executed action set pieces and comedic beats".[59] Ian Wolf of Anime UK News gave the film 8 out of 10, praising some of its comedic moments and the camerawork. Despite that, he found the film a "'plucky underdog' dog film [that] you can guess how most of the plot is going to turn out" and some of the 3D animation unfitting.[60]
Two days after the premiere of Girls und Panzer der Film, the official Twitter account of the Girls und Panzer franchise reported the people had rowdily trespassed Ōarai Golf Club in Ibaraki Prefecture after its golf course was featured in the film.[65] In April 2016, cosplaying tourists who visited Kamioka Elementary School in the same prefecture, where the members of Ōarai Girls' Academy's Senshadō club reside following their school's closure in the film, were banned from doing cosplay photo sessions after the local residents complained about their mismanagement in the facility.[66] The film influenced young Japanese men to attend kantele lessons and Japanese tourists to visit Parola Tank Museum near Hämeenlinna in Finland to see the real-life BT-42. The Japanese donated approximately ¥3million through the museum's cloud funding to help in building a roof for exposed tanks.[16]
Girls und Panzer der Film: Heartful Tank Anthology
Two volumes of a mangaanthology based on Girls und Panzer der Film, titled Girls und Panzer der Film: Heartful Tank Anthology (ガールズ＆パンツァー 劇場版 ハートフル・タンク・アンソロジー), were published in Japan by Kadokawa under their MF Comics Alive Series label from May 23, 2016,[67] to March 23, 2017.[68] Seiman Dōman, Maruko Nii, Ren Hibasaka, Ryohichi Saitaniya, Yu Tsunamino, Hekiru Hikawa, Hagi Midori, Chomoran, Tsuchii, Yu Yagami, Takashi Ino, Makoto Katayama, and Ikumi Nakagami (who voices Yukari Akiyama) each authored a manga compiled in the first volume of the anthology.[69]
A manga adaptation of Girls und Panzer der Film, titled Girls und Panzer der Film: Variante (ガールズ＆パンツァー 劇場版 Variante), was illustrated by Takashi Ino and was serialized in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Flapper magazine from August 5, 2016,[71] to August 5, 2022.[72] The first tankōbon volume was released in Japan on January 23, 2017,[73] and the eighth and final volume was released on October 21, 2022.[74]
Girls und Panzer der Film was adapted into a light novel written by Takaaki Suzuki and illustrated by Saitaniya. Two volumes were released in Japan by Kadokawa under their MF Bunko Jimprint on August 25, 2018.[82]
No.
Title
Japanese release date
Japanese ISBN
01
Girls und Panzer der Film (Above) (ガールズ&パンツァー 劇場版（上）)
Alice War! (アリス・ウォー！, Arisu Wō!) is the original video animation included in the release of the film's Blu-ray and DVD on May 27, 2016, which is set after the events of the film.[37]
Plot
Alice considers transferring to Ōarai Girls' Academy to enjoy normal high school life. The school's tank teams attempt to think up ideas to make her feel welcome. Alice eventually realizes that if she joins Ōarai then she will not be able to compete against Miho again, so she decides to cancel her transfer.
A sequel project to Girls und Panzer der Film was announced in August 2016.[85] The project was revealed to be a six-part anime film series in November 2016.[86] The first film in the series, Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part 1, was produced by Actas and directed by Mizushima from a script written by Yoshida.[87] The film was released in Japan on December 9, 2017.[88]
Notes
^Japanese: ガールズ＆パンツァー 劇場版, Hepburn: Gāruzu ando Pantsā Gekijōban, lit.'Girls und Panzer: The Movie'
^Hirooka, Yūji (November 9, 2015). 知波単学園 新キャラ「細見」追加！今週末はあんこう祭！ [Chihatan Gakuen Adds New Character "Hosomi"! This weekend is the Anko Festival!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^Satō, Pon; Minamida, Gō (December 30, 2015). WoTの資料提供!? ガルパン劇場版の話題でトークショーは大盛況 [WoT materials provided!? The talk show was a great success with the topic of the Garupan movie version]. ASCII (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
^"piece of youth" (in Japanese). Lantis. November 25, 2015. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
^映画『ガールズ＆パンツァー 劇場版』オリジナルサウンドトラック [Girls und Panzer der Film Original Soundtrack] (in Japanese). Lantis. November 18, 2015. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^学園十色です! ["It's the Academy's Ten Colors!"]. Niconico Encyclopedia (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
^ ab劇場版ガルパン、書き下ろし小説付き前売券を10月10日に発売！TVシリーズと劇場版の間を埋めるエピソードに [Garupan the Movie Advance Ticket with Newly Written Novel to Go on Sale on October 10! To fill in the episodes between the TV series and the movie version]. Akiba Souken (in Japanese). October 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^Hirooka, Yūji (October 22, 2015). イオン「キリン ファイア6缶パック」キャンペーン開始です！ [Aeon's "Kirin Fire 6-Can Pack" campaign has begun!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^Hirooka, Yūji (October 26, 2015). 本作品のコラボ「Ｒポイントカード」の発売＆「蒼き鋼のアルペジオ」とのコラボラジオ配信決定！ [The release of the collaboration "R Point Card" for this work and the distribution of the collaboration radio with Arpeggio of Blue Steel are decided!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^Hirooka, Yūji (November 7, 2015). 「ガルパン×アルペジオ」ラジオ配信開始＆大洗マリンタワーにて応援作戦も！ [Radio distribution of Garupan x Arpeggio has started and there will be a cheering campaign at Ōarai Marine Tower!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^Hirooka, Yūji (November 11, 2015). スマホアプリ「戦車道大作戦！」正式リリース！他、タイアップ情報です！ [Mobile Phone App Girls und Panzer: Great Tankery Operation! Official Release! And Other Tie-up Information!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^ abHirooka, Yūji (November 16, 2015). 劇場来場者特典公開＆「タンソン」ミニアルバムに蝶野正洋さんが参加決定！ [Theatrical Visitor Benefits Revealed & Masahiro Chono to Participate in Tanson Mini Album!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^ abHirooka, Yūji (November 18, 2015). 劇場版のサウンドトラックが本日発売＆キャンペーン情報です！ [The theatrical soundtrack is out today, and here's some campaign info!]. Girls und Panzer Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^【公式サイト更新】放送情報、タイアップ・キャンペーン情報、「もっとらぶらぶ作戦です！」WEB出張版 [[Official website update] Broadcast information, tie-up campaign information, It's More Love Love Operation! WEB version edition]. girls-und-panzer-finale.jp (in Japanese). August 26, 2022. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^2022年10月、アニマックスにてTVシリーズ、劇場版、コンサートの放送が決定！ [TV series, der Film, and concert will be broadcast on Animax in October 2022!]. girls-und-panzer-finale.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved November 26, 2022.
^2015年（平成27年）興行収入１０億円以上番組 [2015 (Heisei 27) Movies With Box Office Gross Receipts Exceeding 1 Billion Yen] (PDF) (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. 2015. Archived(PDF) from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
^今週の映画ランキング 11月21日～11月22日 [This Week's Movie Ranking November 21–November 22] (in Japanese). Kogyo Tsushinsha. Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
^「ガルパン」劇場版アンソロ、道満晴明や秋山優花里役の中上育実も参加 [Seiman Dōman and Ikumi Nakagami, who plays Yukari Akiyama, join Garupan film anthology]. Natalie (in Japanese). May 23, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
^「ガルパン」新連載がフラッパーで、劇場版コミカライズと戦車成分多めの2本 [New Garupan serialization in Flapper, with a theater version comicalization and two more tank components]. Natalie (in Japanese). August 5, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
^「ガールズ＆パンツァー 劇場版」伊能高史によるコミカライズが6年の連載に幕 [Girls und Panzer: The Movie manga by Takashi Ino Ends Six-Year Serialization]. Natalie (in Japanese). August 5, 2022. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
^「ガールズ＆パンツァー 劇場版」をコミカライズした「Variante」1巻 [First volume of Variante, a manga adaptation of Girls und Panzer der Film]. Natalie (in Japanese). January 23, 2017. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
^祝・刊行10周年！特別企画も始動の『緋弾のアリア』シリーズ最新巻に、期待の新シリーズ3タイトルに“ガルパン”ノベライズも登場!! MF文庫J 8月新刊は8月25日発売です!! [Celebrating 10 years of publication! The latest volume of the Aria the Scarlet Ammo series, which is also the subject of a special project, as well as three highly anticipated new series and a novelization of Garupan will also appear!! MF Bunko J's new August issue will be released on August 25!!]. PR Times (in Japanese). August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
^ガールズ&パンツァー 劇場版（上） [Girls und Panzer der Film (Above)]. MF Bunko J (in Japanese). August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
^ガールズ&パンツァー 劇場版（下） [Girls und Panzer der Film (Below)]. MF Bunko J (in Japanese). August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
