Tackling one of the Biggest Misconceptions About Girls Und Panzer
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- čas přidán 15. 05. 2024
- A common thing I've seen in many reviews of Girls Und Panzer is the fact that, while people seem to almost always enjoy the show, they feel a need to find something to criticize, like that allows them to enjoy the show. This usually winds up being a comment about the plot and/or the characters being dumb, shallow, or bland. However, this is simply incorrect.
Not just because Girls Und Panzer does actually have a perfect plot and characters for what it wants to do, but because many people have bought into the erroneous idea that a "complex" or "deep" plot and characters are inherently better.
That's very much not the case, and it bears talking about.
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I've always described GuP's story as "An incredible sports story, nothing groundbreaking, but it does what it sets out to do perfectly".
There are so many nuances that are easy to catch, but some people choose to ignore them and depict the show as some sort of "dumb fun", there is nothing wrong with a show being just fun, but saying that it is only fun and nothing more only diminishes the great writing put in it.
The idea of "simple = bad" is probably due to the fact that we've been conditioned to find deeper meanings in literally everything. Every major story, movie, or show needs to talk about a thousand different "deep" topics. Simple ideas like sportsmanship are seen as too plebian by "professional critics," which then has a proxy effect of making all critics unable to appreciate more simple stories/messages. Everyone becomes an armchair critic, all because a show doesn't have George Orwell levels of deepness.
Being complex is not always necessary. Being entertaining and consistent is more important and it's easy to achieve when you have a simple formula, and GuP is excellent at this.
I was going to write a comment about the criticism of GuP being unfair to the show, because the writing is by no means bad like they claim, but you already put it much better than I would have.
The worldbuilding is amazing, the rules of this world are established and maintained throughout the whole story, the justifications for the sport's existence match the setting, and the characters evolve as the series goes on, including background characters, rivals and antagonists! The 1st years ran away from their first match, but during their match in das Finale 4, they were the leading group, coming up with plans and keeping the team alive during the escape and managing to take out the sniper with their risky ideas, putting themselves in danger to protect the flag tank!
Those are not the marks of bad stories, they're mark of good ones! Sure, GuP is simple and pretty straightforward in its story telling, but that's not a bad thing!
Why do we pretend being simple is bad? It's the same criticism I hear of Kimetsu no Yaiba, that it's mid and it's only Ufotable's animation that make it worth to watch, but they would not have picked it up if it weren't for the quality of the manga and it finding success on its own in the market!
When I 1st found your videos about a year ago, I was so happy to have found someone who really gets GUP and loves it as much as I do, unapologetically and without qualification. The consistent quality of story telling, animation attention to detail, not to mention humor is all top notch. It is one of my most watched anime and I own all the BlueRays and way more Kuromorimine and Orai swag (figures and clothes) than any adult probably should. Lulz! Just wanted to say thanks for all you do and sharing your fandom and observations. (I really need to become a member)
I first discovered this anime around 10 years ago, and I never really thought it was bad. The story was unique for such a silly premise. The story is not anything grand or bombastic, just simple and fun. A silly idea made very enjoyable thanks to the incredible writing and story, unique and interesting characters, and amazing action. It's an anime that knows what it is and what it wants, like you said, and never deviates from that point. And I really enjoy all the characters and how each and every one of them all stand out and are unique, regardless of screentime or even names, like how we all view Helmet-chan of Saunders.
Simple isn't bad, it can be good when done right. And GuP does it right and keeps doing it right even after 12 years since the anime came out. GuP knows what it is and does it well. And that's a huge reason why the anime is so great and enjoyable to watch.
I mean lets take Rosehip, our ever loveable speed freak, as an example of how the characters grow and change but its not in your face.
Yes when we first see her in Der Film shes a speedster whose funny trying to out run roadrunner and is a bit goofy, but thats all she was meant to be as a background character, we aren't meant to know the ins and out of her family life and other stuff etc. she was meant to be a funny character to get a laugh and show a different side of ST Gloriana and she did that perfectly and its why shes such a loved character.
And in the times since then we have seen her grow a bit as a character but the story isn't about Rosehip so we don't need it to be in depth just enough to see she has changed and grown and in Das Finale 2, 3 and 4 we do see that in small bites, from her actually learning to retreat against Anzio and her actions in Das Finale 4 which show she's still learning but is improving even admonishing people who act to aggresively and she came up with a good trick to try and knock out some Panther tanks and she is showing some more skills as a commander which given shes the next generation is needed but its not a complex series of events to show us that or how we got there.
We need more videos like this one
I used a clip to show my 3D modeling students and then told them to make their own tank.
Well said!
I 100% concur.
My personal favorite choice of response to this particular misconception regarding GuP is to actually quote The Chieftain (who, starting with Der Film, has been credited in every installment as a consultant via Wargaming) regarding it, when someone asked him in one of his Q&As. He basically said that as long as you didn't take it too seriously, or think it accurately depicted armored warfare, it was an absolute hoot and well worth watching.
Yes, he said this *after* he started appearing in the credits. However, given that we've seen him using an Ooarai mug or having a Darjeeling Nendoroid on his desk in videos that predated him having any connection to the show, I think it's safe to say it's a pretty genuine opinion.
My Respect
You made whole video describing fairy niche show, just because You felt it will be worth wathing
I tried G&P as one of the first shows (abt. 10y ago?!) - time to try again.
Thanks
Also, I strongly reccomend: Princess Principal (one of the best character creation - at least in moe sphere)
Can you make a video about your favourite other videos about GuP on CZcams. I can only recommend the GuP Video essay by The Antarctic Partisan
I was about to mention him!
Mika was right, most people don't realize the life lessons within Sensha-do
I just really enjoyed GundP since the first I saw it. Just simple joy. 😁 I also really appreciate your videos going more in-depth. 👍 Makes re-watching more enjoyable.
There's character development, Rabbit team went from a joke to Ooari's new leaders quietly.
"On target!"
Without the story
It would just become some tank battles which would probably get a lil boring by the end of the first season
The characters keep me engaged
It's because the details and subplots are not in your face.
GUP is a reflection of where you are at, if you have little or limited knowledge on history, armour and cultures you won't pick up the subtle nuances. The more you are on the inside the more you appricate the complexities of the setting...on the face of it it is dumb fun but if you have insight into tanks and history its very rich. It is great I love it.
Love the gup concept n story...tank match as bb gun sport.😂😂😂
I'm happy to watch someone who thinks like me!
Watching the show, then watching the reviews for them always felt like the reviewer was missing something.
Yet at the same time it was hard to describe it, but all I did know was that I really disagreed with them on GuP.
GuP has greatly impacted my life and even inspired me to write a college essay on it! (It was shit though lol)
So now I'm reworking that essay, hoping to make a video on it as a counter argument to the majority of views on GuP.
Couldn't agree more with everything you said
Well said !!
I really want to point out what you said about anime being able to pull off concepts that wouldn't work in some other form of media. This is something I've thought for a while, and is the reason I like anime. I don't think GuP would work with western animation, because people either expect something extremely unrealistic, or something more realistic, while a live action GuP would also not work because live action things tend to also be pretty realistic. I think it's funny that I've thought for about 4 years that GuP would only work as an anime, and then you point it out today in this video.
THIS. This is the biggest misconception about Girls und Panzer since the very beginning. That the show is all dumb fun or a show where you can't just "turn off your brain" and enjoy. History, tanks, and sportsmanship is not something you just turn your brain off to. It's something you need to be consciously thinking about, especially, when watching Girls und Panzer because it is a show where you aren't always told what is happening. You need to connect the dots between previous events so you can make a conclusion. I recall the very first episode had a very strange "school bell" that made no sense since every other anime out there has a pretty distinctive school bell. That already gave a hint about the surprise reveal at the end of Episode 1 that they were not at a usual Japanese school.
Mizushima Tsutomu, the director of GuP, was doing an AMA around Episode 2-3 of the original TV series and when fans asked why the History Club said, "Apologize to the Finnish!" when their tank didn't even participate in the Winter War, the director said he wanted to convey to the audience that sometimes the History Club aren't always right with their historical references. He wanted audiences to be aware while watching the show that not everything is just laid out to you. There are a lot of things that won't be explained, so it is our job as an audience to catch every nuance in the show.
I am unsure if you have done this video yet or plan to, but one thing I see discussed in the fandom a lot is the "plot armor" that Oarai has and how that ruins or lowers the value of the series as it becomes too predictable. I'm interested to see your thoughts on plot armor and where it would be if it existed in GuP.
That "school bell," if you mean the one sounded before the summons of Miho to the Student Council's office, is actually a US Navy General Alarm (best known for being sounded to call the crew to General Quarters, i.e., battle stations)... which didn't just hint at Ooarai being different from most Japanese high schools, it also hinted at what it actually *was*.
@@rdfox76 Exactly! It was a nice hint of what was to come. Episode 1 is often overshadowed by later episodes, but there is a tremendous amount of worldbuilding and character foreshadowing in that episode alone.
Miho's past and love for Boko, the personalities and traits of several future characters, the possible amount of tanks still in Oarai, the future of Oarai and its school (and thus the school ship), and so much more. The first episode does a good balance of telling and showing you what is to come, without being too overly obvious or out of nowhere. It was always there, we just needed to figure out the pieces.