Girls und Panzer
Girls und Panzer, abbreviated as GuP or Garupan, is a Japanese franchise created by Actas. It depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport.
The series was directed by Tsutomu Mizushima, written by Reiko Yoshida and produced by Kiyoshi Sugiyama. Takaaki Suzuki, who had earlier acted as a military history advisor for Strike Witches and Upotte!!, was involved in the production of the anime series. It aired in Japan between October and December 2012, with two additional episodes that aired in March 2013 and an original video animation released in July 2014. Nine manga series and a light novel adaptation have been published by Media Factory. An animated film was released in Japanese theaters in November 2015. A six-part theatrical anime series premiered in 2017. A four-part anime film adaptation of the spin-off manga Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! was released from December 2025 to April 2026.
Story
Setting
The story takes place in a world where historical World War II tanks are maintained for sport-style warfare competitions and large carrier ships, known as Academy Ships, support mobile sea communities. Of the many activities high school students can participate in, one of the most popular is "sensha-dō, the art of operating tanks, which is considered a traditional martial art for females.Plot
Miho Nishizumi, a girl from a prestigious family of sensha-dō practitioners, transfers to Ōarai Girls High School to get away from sensha-dō due to trauma by a past event, as she presumed the school was no longer practicing the sport. However, shortly after Miho begins her new school life and makes some new friends, the student council announces the revival of sensha-dō at Ōarai and coerces Miho, the only student with prior experience, to join. While reluctant to join at first, having practically been forced, Miho soon warms up to sensha-dō and they enter a national championship, facing off against various other schools, in a competition that becomes a serious matter after Miho and the others learn that their school will be closed should they not win.The spin-off manga Girls und Panzer: Little Army follows Miho in her elementary school days as she participates in sensha-dō, alongside her friends Emi, Hitomi, and Chihiro.
Media
Anime
Girls und Panzer aired its first episode in Japan on Tokyo MX on October 9, 2012, TV Osaka and TV Aichi on October 11, BS11 on October 14, and AT-X on October 17, and concluded on March 25, 2013, with 12 episodes. The anime series was produced by Actas and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima from a series composition written by Reiko Yoshida. Shirō Hamaguchi served as the series composer. Choucho performed the opening theme music for the series titled "Dream Riser", while Mai Fuchigami, Ai Kayano, Mami Ozaki, Ikumi Nakagami, and Yuka Iguchi, voicing the five main characters of the series, sang the ending theme music titled "Enter Enter Mission!" An original song to serve as a leitmotif for Ōarai was also composed for the series, titled "Panzer Vor". It was collected into six Blu-ray and DVD volumes that were released in Japan from December 21, 2012, to June 21, 2013. Each volume contains the anime series' original video animation and an OVA featuring Yukari Akiyama's lecture about tanks that appear in the series titled Yukari Akiyama's Tank Course.An OVA depicting the unseen match between Ōarai Girls' Academy and Anzio Girls' High School in the seventh episode, titled Girls und Panzer: This Is the Real Anzio Battle!, was released simultaneously in 14 theaters and several online distribution services in Japan on July 5, 2014. Its Blu-ray and DVD were released in Japan on July 25, 2014, which include a new episode of Yukari Akiyama's Tank Course featuring Italian tanks that appear in the OVA. The OVA was aired in Japan on AT-X on June 21, 2015, on BS11 on December 30, and on Tokyo MX on January 3, 2016.
An animated film by Mizushima serving as a sequel to the anime series, titled Girls und Panzer der Film, premiered in Tokyo on November 20, 2015, and was theatrically released in Japan on November 21. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on May 27, 2016, which include a new OVA, titled Girls und Panzer der Film#Alice War!, that is set after the events of the film and a new episode of Yukari Akiyama's Tank Course. The film is followed by a six-part animated film series by Mizushima titled Girls und Panzer das Finale, with the first film in the series being released in Japan on December 9, 2017., a total of four films have been released. A compilation film combining the twelve episodes of the series and This Is the Real Anzio Battle! OVA into a two-hour runtime, titled Girls und Panzer: 63rd National High School Senshadō Tournament Compilation, was released in 110 theaters and several 4DX and MX4D screenings in Japan on September 29, 2018. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on February 23, 2019.
A four-part anime film adaptation of the spin-off manga Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! was announced on March 16, 2025. The film series is produced by P.A. Works and Actas and directed by Masami Shimoda, with Takahiko Usui serving as series director, Noboru Kimura handling series composition, and Shirō Hamaguchi returning to compose the music. The first part is set to premiere in Japanese theaters on December 26, 2025, followed by the second part on January 30, 2026, the third part on March 6, 2026, and the fourth part on April 10, 2026.
Sentai Filmworks announced the acquisition of Girls und Panzer in September 2012, and released the 12 episodes of the series on Blu-ray and DVD in North America on December 3, 2013, and the six episodes of its OVA on the same formats on February 25, 2014. Crunchyroll streamed the series in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and South Africa from October 10, 2012, to March 31, 2022. A scene in the Japanese broadcast of the eighth episode, where the characters Katyusha and Nonna sing the Soviet folk song "Katyusha", was removed by Crunchyroll, with Jeff Chuang of Japanator stating that "copyright reason is the most likely why the segment was cut". Sentai Filmworks restored the missing scene in their home media release of the series, but the song was replaced with a different one, later revealed as the instrumental version of "Korobeiniki". In October 2012, Anime Network licensed the series for a November release. MVM Entertainment announced the acquisition of the series in October 2013. They released the series on Blu-ray and DVD in the United Kingdom in April 2014 and its OVA on the same formats in June. Hanabee Entertainment licensed Girls und Panzer for an Australian release in November 2013, and released the series and its OVA on Blu-ray and DVD on March 5, 2014. Hidive began streaming the series after the acquisition of the assets from Anime Network in June 2017.
Manga
A manga adaptation of Girls und Panzer, illustrated by Ryohichi Saitaniya, was serialized by Media Factory in their magazine Monthly Comic Flapper from June 5, 2012, to March 5, 2014. The first volume of the manga was published in Japan on September 21, 2012, and the fourth and final volume on April 23, 2014. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga for English publication in North America in July 2013, with its first volume being released on June 3, 2014, and final volume on June 9, 2015.Gakken began serializing a 4-panel manga for the series in Megami Magazine on July 30, 2012. Illustrated by Yuuma, the manga later revealed its title as Girls und Panzer: 4-koma Panzer Vor! and continued publishing on Cho! Animedia website from February 10, 2015, to July 26, 2022, ended due to "production reasons"., the manga has been published in a single volume in Japan. A gekiga manga for the series, titled Girls und Panzer: Gekiga, was illustrated by Motofumi Kobayashi and serialized by Shogakukan in their magazine Corocoro Aniki from December 15, 2017, to March 15, 2021. It was published in a single volume in Japan on March 26, 2021.
Spin-offs
A spin-off of the series depicting Miho Nishizumi in her childhood, titled Girls und Panzer: Little Army, was illustrated by Tsuchii and serialized by Media Factory in their magazine Monthly Comic Alive from June 27, 2012, to January 26, 2013. The first volume of the manga was published in Japan on October 23, 2012, and the second and final volume on February 23, 2013. Seven Seas Entertainment acquired the English license of the manga in July 2013, and released in North America its first volume on December 16, 2014, and final volume on March 10, 2015. Its sequel, Girls und Panzer: Little Army II, was serialized in Monthly Comic Alive magazine from April 27, 2015, to March 26, 2016. Three volumes of the manga were published in Japan.The second spin-off of the series by Maruko Nii, titled Girls und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu!, began serialization by Media Factory in Monthly Comic Alive magazine on May 27, 2013. The first volume was published in Japan on October 23, 2015., a total of 20 volumes have been published.
A spin-off of the series by Takeshi Nogami and Takaaki Suzuki, titled Girls und Panzer: Ribbon Warrior, features a new heroine and was serialized by Media Factory in Monthly Comic Flapper magazine from September 5, 2014, to March 5, 2021. A total of 16 volumes were published in Japan from February 23, 2015, to April 23, 2021. A spin-off of the series by Saitaniya taking place after the practice match of Ōarai Girls' Academy with St. Gloriana Girls' College, titled Girls und Panzer: Fierce Fight! It's the Maginot Battle!!, was serialized by Kadokawa on their webcomic service ComicWalker from November 19, 2014, to August 19, 2015. A total of two volumes were published in Japan from March 23 to September 23, 2015.
A comedy spin-off illustrated by Midori Hagi, titled Girls und Panzer: Tankery Recommendation, serves as an explanation for the history, development, and technical details of tanks and other vehicles that appear in the series. Media Factory serialized the manga in Monthly Comic Flapper magazine from August 5, 2016, to June 5, 2019. A total of five volumes were published in Japan from February 23, 2017, to June 22, 2019.
A spin-off of the series featuring Erika Itsumi of Kuromorimine Girls' High School, titled Girls und Panzer: Phase Erika, was illustrated by Saitaniya and serialized by Kadokawa on ComicWalker website from September 19, 2016, to March 19, 2018. A total of three volumes were published in Japan from February 23, 2017, to April 23, 2018. A spin-off of the series featuring Katyusha and Nonna of Pravda Girls' High School, titled Girls und Panzer: Saga of Pravda, was illustrated by Hajime Yoshida and serialized by Kadokawa on ComicWalker website from July 19, 2018, to December 19, 2021. A total of five volumes were published in Japan from January 23, 2019, to December 22, 2021. A spin-off of the series featuring Noemi Kohiyama of Count High School, titled Girls und Panzer: The Fir Tree and the Iron-winged Witch, began serialization by Kadokawa on ComicWalker website on November 16, 2018., the manga has been published in two volumes in Japan.
A "gag" spin-off of the series featuring Anzio Girls' High School after the events of Girls und Panzer der Film, titled Girls und Panzer: Avanti! Anzio Girls' High School, was serialized by Kadokawa on the official Twitter account of Dengeki Twitter Magazine from February 1, 2019, to June 21, 2021. A total of three volumes were published in Japan from September 27, 2019, to June 25, 2021. A short comedy manga by Yoshida, titled Girls Pandemonium, began serialization by Monthly Comic Alive magazine's web label Comic Alive+ on the websites ComicWalker and Niconico Seiga on October 7, 2022, and ended in November 2023.