Summary: One tank isn’t going to be enough so the girls task themselves with finding and repairing the other four before the club’s new instructor drops in.

Timmy’s Thoughts: Remember that part I mentioned last week about this being far more enjoyable outside of the school? Well, it seems someone was listening as this episode does exactly that. After realizing they only have one of the school’s five tanks, the girls spread out and search for the remaining four. Where they locate some of them and the fact they leave it up to the “vehicle club” to rescue them is a bit silly, but I suppose it moves things along. It is also during this time that Yukari, the the tank otaku, is introduced and becomes the fourth member of the group.

Next up, after the tanks are mysteriously repaired (vehicle club) the girls give them all a good cleaning, a good cleaning in surprisingly, save for one of them, not swimsuits. I was worried ecchiness would start to sneak in after a while but so far Girls und Panzer has been, for the most part, pleasantly staying out of that territory. While it was played for gags in Upotte, it was still a bit of an issue there and I am glad to see it absent here, especially with these moeblob character designs.

After a hard days work they decide to visit a specialty tank store, a place that no one up untill this point except the tank otaku knew existed despite them living on the deck of a freaking boat, and check out the wares until deciding to head home. It is the next day that we are introduced to Mako, the eventual fifth member of the group, when Miho bumps into her on the way to school. We also get to meet the new instructor when she preforms a super flashy low elevation paradrop out of a cargo plane, tank and all,  into the parking lot. If it wasn’t already clear this show is aiming to be over the top it sure as hell is at this point. The giant aircraft carrier with a town built on the deck level was a rather big clue though.

The instructor decided to skip the formalities, non issues such as teaching the girls how to even drive the tanks, and issues a mock battle on the spot. This leads to much humor as the girls scramble to figure out everything and get set up in their designated spot. I say they managed pretty damn well all things considering. The episode ends with Miho and her crew in the heat of battle with shells exploding around them as they make a hasty retreat. I wasn’t expecting a full on tank battle this early on in the show so it is a nice surprise, especially when the CG doesn’t look like total shit.

Looks like the battle will continue into the next episode along with the aforementioned eventual fifth member getting involved so that is definitely something to look forward to. So far the show has been pretty good and it doesn’t look to be changing that anytime soon. I hope.

Girls und Panzer rolls out every week on Crunchyroll.