Shiro Hamaguchi -- Girls und Panzer Original Soundtrack（ガールズ&パンツァー）

 

Well, it's been thirteen years since I first saw the anime "Girls und Panzer" at my anime buddy's house, and perhaps only a few days following the beginning of "Kayo Kyoku Plus". When I saw that first scene of high school girls cheerfully get into a tank as if they were getting picked by Mom in a Corolla, I just went "Ohhhhkay...yep, this is an anime, isn't it?". 

However, that first series involving Ōarai Girls High School and their plucky sensha-do club with that "little train that could" attitude started to charm me with its cast that probably involved every major female seiyuu on active duty in 2012, the love and meticulousness paid toward every tank, and the music which seemed to pay homage to every 1960s Hollywood movie about World War II and military marches around the world. Several years later, I even did a short pilgrimage to the very real city of Ōarai to check out any "Girls und Panzer" paraphernalia.

Over the years, a couple of us have paid our own tribute to the music from the anime. Marcos V. was the first one with his article on "Katyusha" which was given its due during that first series thanks to Sumire Uesaka（上坂すみれ）and Hisako Kanemoto（金元寿子）. I think a lot of us were caught off-guard when the ladies sang this proud Russian folk song in the original language, and the way it all went down, I believe some of us may have wanted to show off our Russian selves in the same way that Ensign Chekov from "Star Trek" loved to have his mother nation take ownership of every invention ever conceived.

Well then...since we've got the ball rolling, let's get into more of the soundtrack for that first series. I covered "Senshado Koshinkyoku! Panzer Vor!"（戦車道行進曲!パンツァーフォー!）, the proud march that fans of the anime will remember perhaps more than the original opening and closing themes. Shiro Hamaguchi（浜口史郎）was behind that one and the overall soundtrack, and as I stated above, he does love his military marches which include "The British Grenadiers", the traditional song for British military units which has been around since the 17th century. However, in "Girls und Panzer", I often seem to hear it whenever one of the characters wanted to go into exposition on something, such as one of the tanks.

Speaking of marches, another familiar one is the "U.S. Field Artillery March" which hails all the way back to 1917 when John Philip Sousa (who already has one entry on KKP) wrote it. Strangely enough, I first heard "U.S. Field Artillery March" on another animated classic when Fred and his family sang it on "The Flintstones" back in the 1960s.

From what I've read, all of the American marches belonged naturally enough to anything to do with the rival tank team from Saunders University High School based in Nagasaki. And in a soundtrack filled with military marches and variations on "Senshado Koshinkyoku! Panzer Vor!", this track did stand out. "M4 Sherman Chuusensha A GO! GO!"（M4シャーマン中戦車 A GO！GO！...M4 Sherman Medium Tank A Go Go!）is a good ol' rock n' roll blast straight from "Happy Days" with twangy guitar. It's short at only a little over a minute in length but it's left quite the impression with me.

I've had my own copy of the two-disc soundtrack for years now which I listen to now and then for some relaxation and energizing at the same time. All of the high-octane tracks and military marches are great, but my memories have often been filled with the last three tracks on Disc 1 which are softer but no less proud takes on "Senshado Koshinkyoku! Panzer Vor!". "Kinou no Teki wa Kyou no Tomo desu!"（昨日の敵は今日の友です！...Yesterday's Enemy is Today's Friend!） is the third-last track and though I can't remember when it was played in the anime, it's always struck me as rather heartwarming and elegiac as if the girls were remembering all those they lost in battle (although we know that no one has yet to die or even get seriously injured).

The last track is "Senshado Anthem desu!"（戦車道アンセムです！...This is The Senshado Anthem!）which once again takes off on the overall theme for the Ōarai girls' team and has that satisfying "Well, we pulled it off everyone!" feeling with lots of hearty backslapping, hugs and handshaking. I also couldn't help but notice how similar in tone it is to the final orchestral piece in the "Backdraft" soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. But unlike "Kinou no Teki wa Kyou no Tomo desu!", I know exactly when "Senshado Anthem desu!" was used and it was used for one of the most adorable scenes in the entire franchise.

I heard from my buddy that the franchise has yet to wrap up. At this rate, the fans' grandkids will be rooting for "Girls und Panzer" by the time it finally ends.