Panzer, Vor!

PANZER, VOR!

Miho Nishizumi, commander of Ooarai Girls’ High School’s Anglerfish Team, ready to go!

I am a huge fan of the anime Girls Und Panzer. I joke about how it was made just for me, as a series that I would love the most above all things. My little sister has dragged me along with her for a few WWII reenactments; our impressions are German Red Cross (DRK) nurses. My favourite thing about the reenactments are the vehicles. I love tanks. I think tanks are amazing. Having opportunities to be up close to tanks is really amazing! (We’ve gotten tank rides. TANK RIDES.) I also like anime about girls’ schools. Girls Und Panzer is a show about a world where schoolgirls participate in tank battles as a competitive sport. The animation for the tanks and tank battles is so well done! If it had been “eh” I never would have become such a devotee.

So far there hasn’t been a whole lot of Girls Und Panzer merchandise that I’ve been interested in. I don’t want a body pillow with one of the girls printed on it, or a tank model. I’d really love dolls of at least the Anglerfish Team girls, if not all of the teams, but I think it’s unlikely those will be produced. (I also want a Ooarai School mug, but they sell out so quickly!)

In mid-January, when I was still agonizing over the wait for the last few episodes to be released, Good Smile Company (GSC) put a Miho Nishizumi Nendoroid up for preorder.  Nendoroids are super deformed-style figures with interchangeable parts and limited pose-ability. Usually their limbs can be rotated, but not bent. I’d seen all kinds of really adorable pictures of these cute little figures; some of my friends who are devoted anime fans own several. I’m not a figure collector by any standard, so although I thought these little things were cute, there weren’t any released in characters I felt strongly attached to. (If there were Sailor Moon or CLAMP characters, then I’d change my tune…) Continue reading »