Ask John: What’s the Most Successful Military Moé Anime?

Question:
I heard that this show is popular right now, but could Girls und Panzer could be the next K-On! And is this the most popular military moe anime to date?

Answer:
The concept of “moé military girls” may possibly have originated in the 1986 Cream Lemon OVA Nalice Scramble and its trio of cute Nazi girls. Particularly moé soldier gals reappeared in anime including Gall Force, 801 TTS before turning ultra-moé with 2002’s Ground Defense Force Mao-chan television series. The heightened cuteness of military girls reached new heights of oxymoronic irony in 2005 when publisher Hobby Japan introduced the Pixel Mari-tan franchise, a parody of the Moetan parody English language instruction guide books featuring adorable little soldier girls who spoke in crude, obscenity-laden quotes from war movies. Pixel Mari-tan and company, however, never got an anime adaptation. So the anime depiction of moé military girls changed primarily from the cute but relatively realistic style of Gall Force, Hummingbirds, and 801 TTS to the high flying mecha-oriented Sky Girls and Strike Witches franchises before coming back down to earth with Sora no Woto and the recent Girls und Panzer.

Now that the broadcast of Girls und Panzer has concluded, reflecting on its success is rather easy. I imagine that most anime community observers will agree that Girls und Panzer was moderately better than anticipated and, as a result, received a more positive viewer reception than expected. However, possibly in part due to it coming on the heels of the Strike Witches franchise, and in part due to its labored production and release schedule, Girls und Panzer has not become a tremendous breakout smash hit. With a motion picture, a television series, and seven OVA series, Sakura Taisen is inarguably Japan’s most favorite female soldier anime franchise. But Sakura Wars is certainly better defined as military bishoujo anime than military moé anime. With four OVA series totaling a combined 13 OVA episodes, Gall Force may rank just behind Sakura Taisen in genre popularity, but Gall Force likewise seems more accurately described as military bishoujo anime rather than moé anime. Within the contemporary moé anime era, Strike Witches’ OVA, two television series, and motion picture certainly testify to its much greater popularity than any other recent military moé anime franchise.