Girls und Panzer der Film is based upon the anime series of the same time and takes place after the season and the OVAs. Set in a world where tank warfare is a popular sport, it follows Miho and her schoolmates of Ooarai High School as they once again have to participate in a match where the stakes are high. While the plot retreads what the anime series did, the main focus here is the tanks firing at each other and the strategies that goes with it. The animators seems to have understood that this was what made the original so enjoyable and so the film starts off with an exciting thirty minute match that whets your appetite. It manages to also re-familiarize the viewer with pretty all the characters that had appeared before the film. Then the next thirty minutes is spent just setting up the plot and tries to push in emotional scenes to help the viewer sympathize with the characters. The last hour is then spent at another match where Miho has to face an overwhelming opponent but brings together a great scene where all the characters team up and band together. The animation is definitely one of the highlights with plenty of over the top tank action. You give up trying to rationalize how this can be safe or possible and just run along with it because it is that much fun. The rousing music and the fast paced action, including multiple scenes where the camera is in the tank's point-of-view, makes for some fantastic set pieces. Overall, Girls und Panzer der Film is a great film, focusing upon what made the original anime enjoyable and amping it up.
