Written by Kennedy Kan, 2020 Cohort
Nowadays, there are oceans of Japanese animation glutting in people’s lives. But speaking of my top choice, I am sure none of them can achieve that position except for my beloved Girls Und Panzer. Unlike the mainstream, GUP is not as popular as those trendy ones, such as Death Note, Demon Slayer, and Gundam with a huge fan base globally. However, its creation contains magic which is rarely seen in most pieces on the market.
Based on the original manga from Japan, GUP is an animation series of 12 episodes and a motion film since 2012. Achieving satisfying popularity, the franchise is also offering an ongoing movie series of 6 episodes in total. Despite historical references and the plot is difficult to render, the production team did a great job in terms of visual effects, which gives the viewers an immersive tank driving experience. As a project with renovation purpose, the creation helps Oarai, Ibaraki, which is a small town located on the very east side of Japan. It is meant to enhance its impact on tourism successfully. Until now, there are a variety of advertising boards, goods, and fans of GUP all over the town.
The story of GUP is about a high school named Oarai Girls Academy, which focuses on Sensha-do (a sport of tank matches). It is facing a challenging time of being shut down by the government to avoid the huge maintenance expenses. To solve the problem, the school council decided to revive Sensha-do by winning the national championship as a solution to avoid the closure. Sensha-do competitions have a few basic rules, which accept tanks or vehicles produced before 1945 with sanctioned ammunition only, also prohibiting drivers from firing at a human directly. The protagonist, Nishizumi, who is the leader of the Oarai Sensha-do team, leads her teammates to become the national champion by surpassing the elites from other high schools.
The GUP project took the street view of Oarai as the real-life reference for their battle scenes. After the release, the place started getting a lot of attention and became full of enthusiasts which helped the business there immensely.
As a visitor who travels to this town once every few years, I know exactly how strong the impact has been throughout these years. For instance, an on-sen hotel, which was destroyed during a fight scene, was fully booked for the entire year. Rather than just “real-life anime location visiting”, the pure atmosphere there is also a delightful element that I enjoy a lot. Compared to the city area, the people who are living in Oarai feel much friendlier when you talk to them.
Thanks to GUP, I can have such a valuable chance of visiting this beautiful place while getting to know some fascinating people there. Located beside the Pacific Ocean, the scenario where sunrise or sunset combines with the Oarai Isosaki Shrine is just super enticing. After all, the morning I spent in a hot spring with my girlfriend Sam during a vacation there was unforgettable.