Ōarai: Ōarai Girls' Academy (Anglerfish Team, Duck Team and Hippo Team, Rabbit Team and Turtle Team)
Rival Schools: Rival Schools (St. Gloriana Girls Academy, Saunders University High School, Anzio High School, Pravda High School, Kuromorimine Girls High School)
Others: Der Film Characters | Das Finale Characters | Other Characters
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Kuromorimine Girls High School
, Panzer IV, Panther, Tiger I, Tiger II and Maus, as well as the Jagdpanzer IV, Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger, and Elefant tank destroyers.Heavily associated with the famed Nishizumi family, they are renowned for winning the National Tournament 9 times in a row and came close to a 10-win streak when an act of charity by Miho, then commanding their flag tank, towards the crew of a sinking friendly tank costed them the championship to Pravda.
In the movie They show up to aid Ōarai in the match against the University team, fielding Maho's Tiger I, Erika's Tiger II and two Panthers.
In Das Finale, they participate in the Winter Cup tournament with Erika as their Commander.
Tropes for Kuromorimine as a whole
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Kuromorimine's strategy is a quick and direct offense to break enemy lines backed by the superiority of their tanks. This is on par with the Nishizumi style of "Always Advance," and for 9 years it has been the sole reason of the school's success in Sensha-Do. Their initial strategy against Ooarai during the final match was to set up an ambush by going through a forest, causing Ooarai to be caught off guard.
- Cool Airship: Kuromorimine has a zeppelin, which they use to transport their tanks.
- Character Development: The Ribbon Warrior manga shows them using lighter tanks and a more flexible command structure with Erika and Koume. It's implied that them joining tankathlon was specifically done to encourage this.
- Crippling Overspecialization: They have the worst reaction of all the teams to Oarai's Confusion Fu tactics. It's clear that they've trained extensively to fight in formation while relying on the superiority of German heavy armor and cannons but fall apart when unable to do so. Kay even points this out, mentioning that they're so reliant on their formation ability and gunnery that they don't know what to do when they can't make use of them.
- Happens again in the prequel, Phase Erika where Keizoku uses similar tactics to break up their formation. Only quick thinking by Miho and Erika save them.
- Ribbon Warrior shows that Maho is aware of this, which is why she ends up having Erika, her heir apparent, and Koume take up tankathlon.
- David Versus Goliath: The most prominent example as far as all of Ooarai's enemies go. Kuromorimine has the advantage of having more and superior tanks, a more organized and experienced squad, and is led by the Nishizumi style heiress.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: Kuromorimine had reigned at the top of Japan's high school Sensha-Do circuit for 9 years until their loss to Pravda the year before the storyline.
- The Dreaded: The school is highly renowned for being associated with the Nishizumi Style of Sensha-do, and prior to their loss the year before the storyline, won 9 straight national championships. No school underestimates Kuromorimine.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: The main rivals of the series, although Maho fights for an ultimately selfless purpose, and they have considerable difficulty lightening up, as shown in Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu.
- Evil Is Bigger: The most sinister team in the show mostly uses heavy tanks, super-heavy tanks, and tank destroyers adapted from the above. It's particularly telling that their standard, stereotypical tank isn't a medium like everyone else's (the Sherman for Saunders, the T-34 for Pravda, et cetera), but the hulking Tiger heavy tank.
- Germanic Depressives: Most of the members that have been seen are quite serious most of the time.
- Germanic Efficiency: They incorporate this in their tank battles, and are good at going in formation.
- Gratuitous German: Interestingly enough, unlike the other schools, most of this comes up in translations, rather than actual dialogue. The name of the school is typically either translated as "Black Forest Peak", "Kuromorimine" or "Schwarzwaldspitze".
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: Their penchant for always going on the offensive? Miho masterfully uses that against them to lead them to various situations that would thin their numbers, before eventually leading their flag tank into a trap that would force them into a one-on-one duel. To add further, they are defeated by a crew lead by the estranged member of the Nishizumi family.
- Leitmotif: "Erika". Coincidentally apt due to one of the team's tank commanders. Also "Panzerlied" during their march towards the urban area during episode 11 and the introduction of the Maus. (Also depends on the DVD version.)
- Lightning Bruiser: They have massive, excellently-maintained tanks with excellently-trained drivers. It's not uncommon for their heavies to keep pace with other schools' mediums.
- Oktoberfest: This is how they celebrate, naturally.
- Worf Had the Flu: Kuromorimine didn't expect Alice to show up as St. Gloriana's New Transfer Student, losing their rematch in Das Finale as a result.
Maho Nishizumi
Maho Nishizumi
Position: Squadron Commander/Tank Commander, Tiger I
Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Kim Prause (English)
Miho's older sister, heir to the Nishizumi school of Sensha-do, and leader of Kuromorimine's teams. She commands from a Tiger I.
Graduates from Kuromorimine by the time of Das Finale, leaving Erika in command.
Tropes for Maho
- The Ace: She's spent her entire life being groomed as the Nishizumi heir, and boy does it show. Both the main show and Little Army feature her being voted MVP at some tournament or other.
- Always Someone Better: To Miho. As early as Little Army Maho never fell for her sister's unconventional tactics. When someone brings up the Nishizumi around Miho, it's to compare her to her elder sister.
- Aloof Big Sister: She sometimes appears to treat Miho coldly, because she's the heiress to Nishizumi-style Sensha-do and so she can't go against her mother's edicts, no matter how much she secretly encourages Miho's path.
- Anti-Villain: The "Villain in Name Only" variant, because deep down she genuinely cares for Miho and her chosen path in life, even if she has to overtly break her heart.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: A fundamental aspect of the Nishizumi-ryu sensha do is its adherence to offense, and Maho takes this into an art form. Her tactics are always staying ahead of the opposition using calculated attacks meant to pressure the opponent into making a mistake or disrupt their formation so they can be taken piece by piece. In fact, the entire finals match is about Ooarai evading Kuromorimine's onslaught to force a one-on-one duel with her and her final duel with Miho mostly consisted with team Anglerfish simply trying to survive Maho's relentless assault until they were forced to execute a final gamble in order to win.
- Miho actually uses this against her in the final match, baiting Kuromorimine into several actions that would thin out their numbers, before finally isolating her in a one-on-one duel.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: She's hinted to have watched every single one of Miho's matches, including the practice match with St. Gloriana, and coupled with their shared upbringing, has a complete understanding of Miho's tactics and abilities. A good testament to this is the simple fact that she expected Ooarai to race to the hill top and claim the high ground in an effort to reduce Kuromorimine's numbers, only noting that "it was quicker than expected." Also, she places a Maus in the urban area in the final match, knowing full well that Miho will eventually try to force the battle there. Played for laughs in Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu when she looks at the contents of a box full of chocolates, shoves her hand inside, and picks the one Miho sent her for Valentine's Day.
- Badass Boast: To Miho in Little Army:The Nishizumi-school's Panzerkraft is "Always Advance". And it never loses.
- Badass Creed"Nishizumi-ryuu Panzerkraft means always finding a way to move forward."
"There is no running away in the Nishizumi-style." (said just before her duel with Miho begins in the finals) - Beneath the Mask: Her poker face is prominently shown throughout the anime — mainly when her family is involved. Little Army shows us that she loves Miho dearly.
- Benevolent Boss: In Chapter 8 of "Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu", it's shown that while she's not as close to her troops as Miho, when they fear being held accountable for their mistakes, she reassures them that they followed her orders well, and that if anyone, she is responsible for their loss.
- Bigger Stick: Her game plan in defeating Oarai was this. Eight low-tier tanks against TWENTY high-tier tank destroyers, with one superheavy and almost indestructible tank, can be considered a Hopeless Boss Fight. When she was ordered to defeat Oarai, SHE WASN'T PLAYING AROUND.
- Broken Ace: A rare case of being intentionally broken. Maho is, without a doubt, a talented sensha-do practitioner and commander. She also presents herself as the paragon of the Nishizumi style of sensha-do with her unwavering devotion to the strict edicts and practices of their traditional family style, thus earning the favor of their mother over Miho and the title of Nishizumi school heiress. It is also because of this that her relationship with Miho is somewhat strained as she acts aloof, emotionless, and sometimes dismissive of her younger sister. However, her dismissive and aloof attitude towards Miho is all just an act she puts up whenever their mother is around, and she really does care for Miho a lot. Also, she's taken it upon herself to become the paragon of the Nishizumi style because she wants Miho to find her own style of Sensha-do and not be constrained by the pressures of adhering to their family's "win-at-all-costs" belief. By the end of the anime, her sacrifice pays off, and despite her loss, feels happy nonetheless.
- Busman's Holiday: Played with in Little Army. She spent her entire summer break at the tournament, but gets some time out of school to compensate for that. She ends up getting in a tank match to help Emi reconcile with Miho and learn more about her, and is once shown coming home from helping out with Shiho.
- Byronic Heroine: Midway through Episode 10, she even does the iconic "back to the viewer, lost in her thoughts" pose as straight as it can be played in front of an army of tanks instead of a turbulent sea of fog. That is: a lot.
- Combat Pragmatist: Maho is never one to hold back in a sensha do fight, evidenced by the fact that she takes the maximum number of allowable units (20 tanks) against Ooarai's sensha do team (8 tanks) in the final round, includes heavy tank destroyers in the tank lineup, and tried to end the finals match as quickly as possible by ambushing the opposing team. Her duel with Miho has her using every available advantage she can find on the area they were isolated in, like blasting a building in order to cut off Miho's route and would've successfully trapped team Anglerfish if not for the fact that Miho knows how Maho fights due to experience. The final battle in Der Film also had Maho use an abandoned amusement park ride as a trap in order to take out one of the University team's remaining tanks.
- The Comically Serious: In “Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu.”Erika: So you really mean today is a Christmas party, after all?Maho: Haven't I said that since the beginning?
- Cool Big Sis: Little Army and the flashback in the movie reveal that she Used to Be a Sweet Kid, especially to Miho, and even in the present, she's still quite supportive in her own way. Miho, on her part, looks up to Maho and took up sensha-do to follow her footsteps.
- Death Glare:
- In Saga of Pravda, she spots someone from other school trying to spy on her team from distance and send a vicious glare to warn the spy that they are not welcomed. This is enough to send Katyusha into a temporary Villainous Breakdown.
- She also gives one to Katyusha in the movie when she suggested that she be the commander of the High School teams and not Miho.
- Declaration of Protection: "As long as I'm the inheritor of the Nishizumi school, Miho will be free."
- Determinator: As mentioned above, this is a fundamental principle of the Nishizumi school of Sensha-do. It also applies to her personally. She took up the mantle of school heiress so Miho would be free to find her own path.
- Deus Exit Machina: In the last chapter of Little Army, when Miho secludes herself inside a tank while burdened with her doubts about continuing with Sensha-do and Emi's impending departure, Sakuyo points out that Maho was usually the one to coax Miho out, but Maho has since returned to school.
- The Dreaded: One of, if not the most intimidating character in the series, thanks to her ruthlessness.
- Duel Boss: Careful (and with high toll) maneuvering on Miho's part sets the fight into this instead of Hopeless Boss Fight.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After sacrificing her own freedom to secure Miho's own, only to fail when Miho followed her anyway, a last-minute loss to Pravda, and being forced to fight against what she wanted for Miho, she finally succeeds in helping Miho find happiness in her own path. Her own character song, "Mein Weg und Dein Weg" (My Way and Your Way) basically translates to "My work is finally done".
- Establishing Character Moment: A subtler example than most, but her decision to Pet the Dog by loaning Mako her team's helicopter despite Erika's protests, and subsequent justification of it as also being part of Sensha-do, not only shows her kinder side, but also a belief that kind acts are not exclusive from adhering to the Nishizumi approach to Sensha-do.
- Expy: To Teru Miyanaga. But unlike her, Maho never disavows Miho's existence and even secretly encourages her path in life.
- Famed In-Story: She's won MVP titles at every tournament she's in, she's the face of the Nishizumi style of Sensha-do, and only complete novices like Miho's crew do not know who she is. In Motto Love Love Sakusen, it is shown that she gets chocolate from both within Kuromorimine and from outside the school during Valentines Day.
- Fastball Special: The game winning strategy she executes with Miho in the movie is having her Tiger I shoot the Panzer IV from behind to give it a speed boost in order to take out Alice's Centurion.
- Final Boss: Not only the head of the final opposing team, but she also commands the flag tank, and her and Miho's tanks wind up facing each other one-on-one.
- Friendly Enemy: To Miho during the practice match, which was the result of a challenge Miho made in order to reconcile with Emi and help her learn more about Maho.
- Funny Background Event: During Erika's Tankathalon match against BC Freedom she can be seen downing multiple tankards of "non alcoholic beer" while spectating. Becomes a Brick Joke shortly afterwards and Maho can be seen running to the bathroom at the climax of the match.
- Graceful Loser: She doesn't mind losing to Miho in the finals. After all, she won on a personal level — to allow Miho to succeed in her own Sensha-do style.
- Heir to the Dojo: Raised in the Nizhizumi-Ryu and raised the school values (best described as Combat Pragmatist meets Second Place Is for Losers) to an art form, and in doing so was assigned as the official heir to the dojo.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Is seen walking an Akita breed in the movie, to further emphasize her Anti-Villain qualities.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Metaphorical example; by becoming the perfect Nishizumi-style practitioner, she sacrifices her own sense of morality so Miho would be free to follow her heart.
- Hidden Depths: Little Army shows that she is a kinder individual than she first seems, especially toward Miho for whose sake she strives to live up to being the Nishizumi heir. Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu shows that she's somewhat socially awkward (but better at hiding it than Miho is because she's more confident) and has difficulty lightening up.
- Honor Before Reason: Downplayed, but she could have simply waited for Erika to force the rest of Kuromorimine's tanks past Ooarai's wrecked Tiger(P) and avoided Team Anglerfish's Panzer IV until then, all but guaranteeing her victory. Instead, she engages Miho one on one rather than run away. Again, there is not such a thing as a strategic retreat in the Nishizumi-style! On a more subtle level, dueling Miho one on one also gives her sister the chance to show how good a tank commander she is and how effective her style is.
- Ice Queen: She seems very cold and distant, but Little Army confirms that this is just an act to complete her image as the Nishizumi family heir.
- I Did What I Had to Do: In Little Army, when Miho asks her if she ordered her tank to fire on Emi's older sister's team's flag tank when it went to rescue another tank from Maho's team. There is some indication that she may be pretending this is the case, as she seems pained when it it is first brought up."...Miho. What I did was in tune with the Nishizumi-style. I gave the order to shoot."
- The Lancer: To Miho in the movie by supporting her and following her lead despite their differences in personality and style. It even comes down to the two of them against Alice.
- The Leader: Of Kuromorimine. Like her sister, she overlaps in the types: planning ( hide a Maus in the town in case Miho tried to force Urban Warfare), levelheaded (The Stoic), and charismatic (the perfect Nishizumi style practioner).
- Lightning Bruiser: In real life, the Tiger I heavy tank was actually a bit faster than the Panzer IV despite being over twice as heavy, and Maho's Tiger is sufficiently well-crewed and well-maintained to dance through the battlefield like a medium, putting its thick armour and powerful gun exactly where the enemy don't want them.
- Meaningful Name: Most likely the Nishizumi clan is related to Nishizumi Kojiro, a famous tank hero during the Sino-Japanese War.
- Nerves of Steel: Never panics or loses her composure. It's rare for her to even raise her voice. Best exemplified in the movie, when she calmly analyses their situation (noting enemy positions as well as taking into account a mysterious bombardment hitting her platoon), even while under fire from surrounding enemies, being bombarded, and Momo-chan panicking through the radio.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Implied. For all her efforts in keeping Miho from the pressures associated to being a Nishizumi, this is all came to naught when Miho follows her into Kuromorimine anyway.
- Nice to the Waiter: She's friendly and courteous to the Nishizumi family maids, in contrast to her mother.
- Not So Above It All: While she is seen as a stern, yet calm leader of Kuromorimine's Sensha-do team, chapter 8 of Motto Love Love Sakusen portrays her as this (See below entry.)
- In the movie, she sternly reminds everyone that their favorite foods are not even remotely related (and thus not a very fitting name) for the operation they have to commence against the University All Star team. When asked what name would she suggest, she suggests the name of her (presumably) favorite opera.
- She also has some moments of this in Ribbon Warrior, one of such example can be seen in Funny Background Event entry above.
- Only Sane Man: In der Film, she acts as this in the pre-battle meeting, reminding the others that Miho's in charge, and complaining about how their operation names are essentially arguing about their favorite food.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Around the time her mother is considering disowning Miho, Maho starts more openly expressing her opinion on matters when such opinions go against Shiho, when this would be almost unthinkable for her before.
- Played for laughs in the second spin-off manga. She acts friendly toward her teammates in the holiday party, which takes place after their defeat in the finals. Unfortunately, they notice that she's not acting like herself and (mistakenly) fear that she’s planning to hold a review meeting to take them to task for their mistakes.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: As "Nishizumi Mask" note during Ribbon Warrior's Cauldron tournament. Just about every competitor knows who she is, though the spectators ( save for Shiho and Chiyo) don't seen to realise who she is.
- Pet the Dog
- Allows her team chopper to carry Mako quickly to the hospital to see her bedridden grandmother.
- When Shiho seems ready to conclude that Pravda will beat Ooarai, Maho asks her to stay, convinced Miho has a chance to turn it around, which indicates that she thinks more of her and Ooarai's potential than she lets on, as does her statement that the win was a result of her own skill, rather than her opponent's carelessness.
- In Little Army, she gives Emi some ointment after she hits her head on the inside of the tank. Emi, who had previously hated her, takes note of the action, and begins to warm up to Maho.
- The Stoic: She rarely shows emotion, as befits the heir of the Nishizumi school. The one time she lets her facade slip when she's trying not to is when she sees that Miho has brought her friends over in order to ask her mother whether it was necessary for her to fire on the flag tank that was rescuing her teammates. Her expression turns surprised as she says "Miho...". Then there's her idea of a Christmas party invitation (See entry below). Cue terrified members of Kuromorimine's Sensha-do Team.
- Terse Talker: In her e-mails, as shown in Motto Love Love Sakusen. ("Those without anything for Christmas, come.")
- Tragic Heroine: It's revealed at the end of Little Army that the reason she acts like a bitch is to free Miho from the constrictive Nishizumi-style Sensha-do, so she can find her own way, only for it to be voided when Miho takes up the style anyways between prequel and anime and then quitting Sensha-do altogether. Then she is forced to confront her sister while in her bitch-mode she switches on to protect her. Thankfully, in the end, Miho succeeds and declares that she has found her own way of Sensha-do
- Tsurime Eyes: Has a pair to contrast Miho's Tareme Eyes.
- Ungrateful Bitch: What Emi thought of her orders to shoot down the enemy flag tank en route to rescuing one of her own teammates. Dowplayed, in that she seems genuinely remorseful over that.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Little Army and the movie reveal this, both in her interactions with Miho until their mother returns home (in the manga), and flashbacks showing the two as young children. As she gets older, she adopts a more aloof facade, but still cares for Miho as much as ever.
- Villain Respect: When Shiho attributes Ooarai's success against Pravda to blind luck and the enemy's carelessness, she openly disagrees and explicitly attributes it to Miho's intellect and Ooarai's motivation and teamwork spirit. In the practice match against Miho in Little Army, she seems pleased when Miho manages to avoid a few of her shots.
- Walking Spoiler: A fair number of her tropes are spoilers, particularly how she truly feels about Miho.
- "Well done, Daughter" Gal: Maho appears to be striving solely for her mother's approval, but it turns out that she has an ulterior motive for doing so- so that Miho can live her own way.
- Wham Line: Admitting to shooting the flag tank during its rescue mission in Little Army.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Quite possibly her reaction to her mother telling her that shooting the German flag tank was the right thing to do, since she doesn't seem at all happy about it.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: With Miho now having found her own style of tankery, her main goal now seems to be this towards Erika, who still has doubts about her own ability to lead Kuromorimine once Maho graduates.
Erika Itsumi
Erika Itsumi
"I find you participating in Sensha-do 'rude'. You're just some no-name school. There's an unspoken rule that everyone knows: schools that will just embarrass Sensha-do should stay out of the tournament."
Position: Tank Commander, Tiger II/Pilot, Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Helicopter/Tank Commander, Panzer III
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese), Elizabeth Bannor (English), Katelyn Barr (English, das Finale)
Maho's vice-captain. Commands a Tiger II during Kuromorimine vs Ōarai. She also pilots Kuromorimine's Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 helicopter.
Is promoted to commander of the Kuromorimine Sensha-dō team following Maho's graduation.
Tropes for Erika
- The Ace: A chapter in the Comic Anthology manga, Erika's Pride, that acts as a prequel to Phase: Erika showed her as the best Sensha-Do practitioner of her elementary school.
- Adaptational Jerkass:
- She's not exactly sweetness and light in the anime, but she's far more hostile and openly cruel to Miho in Chapter 15 of the manga, a scene that only happens in that adaptation.
- This also comes into play in the light novel. Her attitude and actions regarding Miho come off as even worse when you consider that she was among those saved as a result of Miho's decision, making her come off as terribly ungrateful.
- Always Someone Better: Her opinion when comparing herself to the Nishizumi sisters as shown in Phase: Erika, but in different ways:
- She idolizes Maho and practically worships the ground she walks on because Maho displayed supreme confidence in her skills and recognized Erika's skills. She knows she will never reach Maho's level, but strives to, at least, be worthy enough to walk alongside her.
- She recognizes Miho's skill in both combat and leadership as genuinely above hers, but sees her as a hurdle she must overcome because Maho favors Miho more than her. The point is made when for all of her tenure together with Miho in KMM, she was never able to go beyond being Miho's lieutenant. In part, her anger towards Miho comes from her uncertainty on whether she became Kuromorimine's vice commander and later commander on her own merit, or simply because Miho left.
- Animal Motifs: Alligators. What previously was a typo in the preview for Phase Erika became an Ascended Meme in Chapter 4 where she's spotted with an Alligator keychain.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: She's pretty smug about both being in Kuromorimine and a follower of the Nishizumi Style of Sensha-do, to the point of calling Miho's approach "heretical and insulting to the Nishizumi style." She outright tells Miho to not get too confident because she thinks all of Miho's victories were a fluke and that Kuromorimine will "crush her heresy."
- Ascended Meme: A typo with the word "wani" which more or less changed "I'm finally here!" into "I'm finally alligator!" in the preview for the first chapter of Phase Erika spawned a flurry of alligator jokes. Four chapters later, Erika was drawn having an alligator plushie schoolbag decoration.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: What makes her such a prime example of the Nishizumi style is that she is all offense and will not stop until the opposition is crushed beneath her tank. However, this makes her very predictable and prone to being tactically outmaneuvered by more skilled practitioners.
- In Das Finalé she averts this, instead using a sneak flanking maneuver with medium tanks, combined with a feint to get past Katyusha and take out Pravda's flag tank.
- Badass Creed: The traditional Nishizumi-style sensha-do creed (see Shiho's Nishizumi's entry in Other Characters).
- Break the Haughty: Her chapter of the Manga Anthology is entirely devoted to this. It shows her as a prideful child-prodigy before joining KMM's youth program and being taken several notches down by Maho, followed by her losing the respect of her former admirers, who now badmouth her behind her back - until Maho puts a stop to it in a way that marks the begining of Erika idolising Maho. The chapter is properly named Erika's Pride.
- Breakout Character: The only named character introduced in the anime, outside the Ōarai team members, to have her own spin-off manga in Girls und Panzer: Phase Erika.
- Broken Pedestal: In the manga adaptations, she acts this way towards Miho. While she recognized Miho as a superb, if unconventional, tank commander, Erika's vitriol stems largely from Miho leaving Kuromorimine and quitting Tankery only to suddenly return as the captain of Ooarai's tankery team. She often made comments, even in the lighthearted Motto Love Love Sakusen spin-off, indicating that Miho's "defection" had a huge impact on Kuromorimine's morale and that Erika was personally resentful that Miho seems to have turned her back on those who had "lived and breathed panzerkraft" alongside her during her time in Kuromorimine in favour of Oorai.
- Butt-Monkey: Seems to be going this way in Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu, from getting an Anglerfish Dance suit in Chapter 9 to getting lost with Miho as a result of losing her cell phone and falling asleep on the bus in Chapter 12.
- Byronic Heroine: Arrogant, cruel, determined, cold, unforgiving, merciless and competent. Would do anything for her goals .
- Character Development: For most of the anime, she's a spiky ball of hatred, but her graceful acceptance of defeat suggests at some decency, and her appearance in chapter 12 of Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu suggests she's matured quite a bit since then. Finally, in the film she shows up together with Maho (dressed in Oorai's uniform!!) to give Miho much needed help in her match with the University Team and after Oorai's victory is shown smiling and letting a rejoicing Katyusha ride on her shoulders. She has really matured quite a bit.
- In Das Finale episode 3 she abandons Kuromorimine's usual tactics and goes for a sneak attack with medium tanks that would make Ooarai proud. This extends to episode 4 when she forgoes the chase against Gloriana's flag tank to save her own team's flag tank, and in general, it's shown in how her command tank is a lowly Pzkpfw III rather than what one might expect (a Tiger I or II).
- In Ribbon Warrior, she abandons her strategy mid-match to rescue a number of civilians caught up in the battle after Shizuka burns down their village, much like she criticized Miho for doing that led to her leaving Kuromorimine.
- Death Glare: She's very good at these. She gives one to Koumei Akeboshi in the anime when she thanks Miho for rescuing her in the previous finals.
- Also gives one to Miho when she asks if Erika "got left behind without everyone noticing" in Chapter 12 of Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu.
- Defeat Means Friendship: According to a chapter the Comic Anthology manga that acts as a prequel to Phase: Erika she enrolled in Kuromorimine because she wanted to become as strong as Maho, who repeatedly defeated her at the Kuromorimine Sensha-Do youth club.
- Determinator: Admittedly it's largely born out of panic, but when Maho ends up facing Miho's tank alone, Erika somehow manages to force her 70-ton Tiger II over the wreckage of a Jagdpanther, a Panther, and Leopon Team's wrecked Tiger(P) to try and reach her. Or possibly she used the panthers as a ramp. As Oorai did with the Hetzer. The mind boggles.
- The Dragon: She's Maho's Number Two, and because of Kuromorimine's status as the team to beat, she qualifies as the bad guy's champion.
- The Driver: In addition to piloting Kuromorimine's helicopter, she is also briefly seen driving their truck in the finale and the team's Zeppelin in the movie.
- Establishing Character Moment: Immediately greets Miho with a sarcastic reference about being her predecessor as vice-captain. While leaving, she suggests that Ōarai is definitely going to lose, with the only question being how badly, and should not even have entered the tournament.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Mentions in her speech to Miho in the manga that she feels betrayed by Miho's decision to leave Kuromorimine and join Oarai.You're awfully calm for someone who stabbed us in the back like that...During the tournament raffle, when you appeared as Ōarai's representative. What a commotion you caused among our comrades. How do you think I felt in that moment? Our commander was there too.
- Failed a Spot Check: During her match against BC Freedom she did not realize that the two M22 Locusts BC Freedom seemingly left behind in their final Death or Glory Attack were actually stationary decoys. The actual tanks were setting up an ambush that took out half of Erika's forces and provided them with the opening they needed to take out Erika herself.
- Foil: To Yukari. Yukari likes Nishizumi Miho while Erika likes Nishizumi Maho (notice the emphasis). Erika quotes Guderian, while Yukari would like to claim Guderian as a nom de guerre.
- In-universe, she was supposed to be one for Miho during their days in Kuromorimine, as Maho thinks her complete adherence to the Nishizumi style would help make up for Miho's shortcomings, particularly Miho's inability to make sacrifices for the sake of victory.
- The spinoffs as well as Das Finalé add a new dimension to her being Miho's foil. Both are being encouraged by Maho to find their own style of tankery. But while Miho willingly does so, Erika has to be prodded by Maho due to her tendency to adhere to the Nishizumi style. While Erika would eventually embrace her own style of combat, her personality still distinguishes her from Miho (e.g., how they react to victories and losses).
- Graceful Loser: After her Villainous Breakdown during the final match over her tank falling to a tactical trap and shock at seeing Maho's flag tank disabled, she was last seen in a calmer mood and wearing a smile of resignation, vowing to Ōarai that the next time they meet it will be Kuromorimine's time to shine.
- In Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu, she and Miho mend fences over a cake, suggesting she managed to come to terms with it.
- Seemingly averted in Das Finale episode 4 when Kuromorimine loses to an Alice Shimada-reinforced St Gloriana, but Commander War shows she has no hard feelings about the defeat and her character development would indicate it is a natural expression of emotion.
- Humiliation Conga: Episode 11— big on ego, but lacking Maho's discipline, she gets increasingly infuriated as the "nobodies" from Ōarai keep making unpredictable moves, leading her to make more and more amateur mistakes against those she calls "amateurs". She ends up trying to chase Ōarai by herself before her Tiger throws a track and lands ignominiously in a ditch, leaving her unable to do much more than throw a temper tantrum on national TV. And that's before Oarai gets into heroics that prove that the style she considered "heretic" is actually viable.
- Again in her own spinoffs. In chapter 4 of Phase Erika, after a battle against Miho where Erika did bet quitting senshado forever vs Miho's position as KMM's vice-commander, Erika wins, but realizes that she's been "led by the nose" (her words) by Miho all the fight, and that Miho likely allowed her to win; she finds herself forced to admit she's not yet ready for command. Then she realizes that Miho did so because the VC position she desired is less important for Miho than things Erika considers unimportant herself. She didn't take it gracefully. In addition, she learns that Maho ultimately knew Miho would lose the match and tasked Erika of supporting Miho because her approach to sensha-do will help make up for Miho's inability to make sacrifices for the sake of victory. Erika did not take it well.
- In the Erika's Pride prequel to her spinoff, she challenges Maho to a long series of duels, with predictable results in all of them.
- In Ribbon Warrior she falls for a trap taken straight out of Anzio's playbook when she mistakes several decoys for BC Freedom's remaining tanks. This leads to half of her remaining forces getting taken out in an ambush and her own eventual defeat. This sudden reversal of fortune causes her to break down crying in her tank post match.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Behind her haughty facade is someone who still doubts whether she truly deserves to be Kuromorimine's vice-commander and Maho's successor. This, despite Maho's assurances that she is.
- I Let You Win: During her match against Miho for the vice-commander position in Phase: Erika, Miho repeatedly corners Erika and her team, and succeeds in taking out one of Erika's tanks. However, Erika ultimately wins because of several missed opportunities by Miho's team to take out her tank. While victorious, Erika felt something was off after her victory, and confronted Miho about it in private. It turned out that Miho did purposely lost because she didn't want any tension between her and Erika, and that she didn't want the vice-commander position because she felt she was unworthy. Naturally, Erika doesn't take this well and slaps Miho in the face.
- Important Haircut: Used to have much longer hair. She cuts ot off after Kuromorimine loses to Pravda and Miho leaves as part of her resolve to become stronger.
- Irony: Despite being the one who advocates "Do not shame Tankery"... well... see Villainous Breakdown.
- Jerkass: Insults Miho, insults Ōarai, acts all arrogant and protests one of Maho's pet the dog moments.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Her rant against Miho in the manga is not undeserved. After the lost match against Pravda, Miho ran away and left Maho and Erika to clean up the mess and then returned as the leader of a competing team.
- Kick the Dog:
- In addition to her insults toward Miho, she protests Maho's Pet the Dog moment. From this moment you know she's a jerkass. It's not clear if Kuromorimine's helicopter is Maho's to give, and she was the one who had to fly it.
- In the manga, she flies over to Oarai to give Miho a brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech. It's possible that she had been holding back while Maho was around.
- Lightning Bruiser: The Tiger II was, on paper, a very fast tank for its size, almost matching the considerably lighter Tiger I, but poor design decisions and late-war material quality meant that it could rarely bring that speed to bear without running the risk of breaking something important. Kuromorimine, meanwhile, is a very rich school at the top of its game, and so Erika can and does push her tank for performance that would be suicidal in real life.
- Oh, Crap!: When she saw Miho defeating Maho. Also when her track snaps, denying her the winning shot of the battle again.
- Odd Friendship: Motto Love Love Sakusen shows that, after the events of Der Film, she's become friends with Katyusha and the entire Leopon Team.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- So, it's Christmas, and Maho is having a party. Everyone else from Kuromorimine turns up in their school uniforms. Erika, the prim, serious, abrasive, and haughty vice-captain turns up wearing... a ridiculous novelty reindeer costume.
- When push comes to shove, she's more than capable of abandoning Kuromorimine's style of relying on coordinated movements with heavy tanks for a risky feint with medium tanks straight out of Ooarai's playbook.
- Pet the Dog: In Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu Chapter 12, she compliments Miho and buys her a cake, after the two get lost together and are forced to work together to find their way back to their respective school carriers.Erika: You've come to the point where I can call you quite something... Miss Kommandant!
- In Ribbon Warrior she takes time out to give spectators caught in the middle of her tankathlon match a lift towards safety.
- Pride Before a Fall: Her anthology chapter. It even mentions it in its title. See Break the Haughty above for details.
- Proud Warrior Race: Her attempts to emulate the Nishizumi Style causes her to butt head with Miho's wish to just having fun with tanks, not only out her pride but also because she doesn't think that Miho respects her teammates and opponents enough if she doesn't going all out. When Miho admits on losing on purpose so Erika won't quit Sensha-so, Erika flashbacks on her best friend Leila and Miho's at-that-time-subordinate Koume as they do their best to support their commanders only to be betrayed out of Miho's (perceived) pity for her before Erika slaps her across the face.
- Rank Up: By the time of Das Finale, she's been promoted to commander after Maho graduates.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In Chapter 15 of the manga, she delivers a long and angry speech against Miho, calling her out on her decision to save the tank and accusing her of acting without consideration for her school.
- Serious Business:
- For Erika, victory is the only thing that matters. Graceful Losers are "too laid back". Incidentally, that's the core rule of the Nishizumi Sensha-do school.
(To Miho, right before the finals) "I'll crush your heresy."- The Light Novel adaptation reveals that she will even place victory over her own physical safety (and by extension that of her crew); she was in the tank Miho rescued in the previous final. She would rather risk drowning than risk Kuromorimine losing.
- Shut Up, Kirk!
- In the anime.
Yukari: "If I may say something, I don't think Miho-san's decision was incorrect in the match we had."Erika: "I think someone needs to mind their own business."Yukari: "I'm sorry."- In the manga, she does an angrier variant.
Yukari: And those who like Panzerkraft and those who start to...Erika: OUTSIDERS SHOULD STAY SILENT!! - Skewed Priorities: Light Novel example, when she says victory is the only thing that matters, she means it. Drowning inside your Panzer III? Meh. Losing the national finals and not winning ten in a row because your team-mate comes to rescue you? Unacceptable!
- Smug Snake: Maho appears to be the only person she treats with a modicum of respect.
- Tantrum Throwing: When she was unable to use her main gun against Ōarai, she fires her tank's machine gun at them in frustration over not being able to retaliate while they disappear from the smoke.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When forced to work together with Miho after the two get lost in chapter 12 of Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu. They unclench by the end.
- Tsundere: Cold on the outside but has great feelings of respect, especially for Maho.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Light novel only, where ending of the last light novel reveals that she was in the tank whose crew Miho rescued from drowing at the cost of a victory (this differs from the manga, and possibly animé, where she's already in command of the Tiger II. She shows no gratitude for it until after her Graceful Loser moment but instead acts like a total Jerkass towards her rescuer (see the rest of her tropes for abundant examples).
- Villainous Breakdown: When her Tiger II suffers a breakdown in Episode 11 due to no reason other than being a historically breakdown-prone Tiger II, she curses, screams, raises her fists and stomps the ground; on national TV.
- She breaks down sobbing in her tank after she loses to BC Freedom.
- "Well Done, Subordinate" Girl: Since enrolling into Kuromorimine, Erika strove to gain the approval of Maho, and is shown to be genuinely happy whenever Maho pays attention to her.
- When She Smiles: She offers a surprisingly adorable smile upon blitzing Katyusha in Das Finale.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Silver-haired, and one of the nastiest opponents in the series.
- You Are in Command Now: After Maho went to college in Germany during the events of Das Finale.
Emi Kojima
Emi Kojima
- "We just fixed that! (Beat) Hey! Those tracks were heavy!"
The commander of a Jagdpanther in Kuromorimine vs. Ōarai, whose tracks Anzu destroys twice.
Tropes for Emi
- Ascended Meme: In Chapter 8 of Motto Love Love Sakusen , she shows up late to Maho's holiday party.Emi: Fuu~ made it on time.Panzer VIII Maus Commander: "Made it on time"? Like hell you did! Read the mood!
- Butt-Monkey: Her role is comedic abuse (or rather, abuse on behalf of her tank).
- Determinator: She fixes her tracks twice in the same match in time to form alongside Maho.
- Impersonation Gambit: She's in the receiving end of this when Turtle Team then takes Emi's intended position in Kuromorimine's battle line.
- Milking the Giant Cow: Her reaction at the above (also see her first quote).
- Miss Fixit: She (and presumably her crew as well) works very hard to repair her tank's tracks in record time to return to battle.
- My New Gift Is Lame: She's horrified and traumatized to receive the model of the tank that caused her so much trouble in the finals, but noticing that Maho is looking her way, hides those feelings and says she's grateful to Miho.
- No Name Given: Prior to her name being revealed in Das Finale.
Koume Akaboshi
Koume Akaboshi
"I've been worried ever since you left. Since we caused problems for you, and everything... But I'm glad you didn't quit Sensha-do, Miho-san."
Position: Tank Commander, Panther
Voiced by: Eri Sendai (Japanese)
A member of the Kuromorimine Sensha-do team.
Tropes for Koume
- Adaptation Expansion: Gets a bit more focus in the spinoffs.
- Friendly Enemy: Despite being on an opposing side, she’s glad that Miho’s still doing Sensha-do.
- I Owe You My Life: She is grateful to Miho for saving her, as Yukari predicted.
- It's All My Fault: She blamed herself for Miho leaving Kuromorimine.
- The Kirk: Especially in Dream Tank Match, where her gentle determination contrast with Erika's vitriol The McCoy and Maho's distant The Spock.
- Nice Girl: She’s cheerful, friendly and grateful toward Miho.
- Taken to extremes in Ribbon Warrior where, as much as she'd like to try, she can't really act as a "miscreant tactician" and use underhanded tactics in Tankathlon. Sure, the one time she tried she pulled it off when she used a beach volleyball tournament to trick Duck Team into taking a specific route, right into the path of Erika's tank, but she ended up admitting that it wasn't for her afterwards.
- No Name Given: Her name is not revealed anywhere in the series itself, and instead is first revealed in one of the card extras from the Blu-Rays.
- Only Sane Man: The only one of Maho's guests who doesn't obsess about her mistakes during the holiday party, and the only one who immediately recognizes the holiday party for what it is.
- Tears of Joy: You can see them in her eyes when she says she's glad Miho didn't quit Sensha-do.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She seems to see herself as such, given that the fallout from Miho saving her and her crew resulted in Miho leaving.
- Walking Spoiler: Her entire character is based around a fairly significant plot point.
Secret Weapon (SPOILERS)
Panzer VIII Maus
Kuromorimine's secret weapon, which they bring out for the finals of the tournament. This is the only non-Ōarai tank to be treated as a character.
Tropes for the Maus
- Attack Its Weak Point: Taken down for good by Hana firing at the air slits on the back.
- The Dreaded: Even Katyusha is intimidated by seeing it.
- Dynamic Entry: In the Das Finale opening, it crashes through a low bridge into view.
- Fluffy the Terrible: One of its WWII designers had a... sense of humor. This is Lampshaded by one of its victims.Sodoko: "What's so 'mouse' about something that big?!"
- Hero Killer: It has the best record of taking out Ōarai tanks of any single opposing tank. Mallard and Hippo Team are taken down, and Turtle Team is damaged to the point of collapse in the process of defeating it.
- The Juggernaut: Its armor is so strong that Ōarai's tanks can't hurt it. Five of them fire simultaneously but it shrugs off the shots and continues moving. Miho's plan to defeat it includes stopping it as step 1. She had to shove Turtle Team under its tracks and then direct Duck Team over Turtle to block its turret.
- Leitmotif: "Panzerlied".
- Mighty Glacier: It shrugs off everything Ōarai can throw at it and can take any of them out with one hit (even near misses can toss their tanks around), but is very slow.
- Superboss: A non-video game example. It's a tougher-than-the-Final Boss obstacle that could have been avoided.
- Walking Spoiler: The nature of this tank is a big deal for the Final Battle.
