How High School Fleet is different from Girls und Panzer (SPOILER ALERT)

In the aftermath of Battlefield V's botched release, I was left with an empty feeling that compelled me to experience almost anything World War II related. In the process, I discovered a little known show called Girls und Panzer. Despite being an anime and not groundbreaking or deep, it helped bring back my passion for World War II and history in general. In retrospect, its tempting to speculate that DICE's obsession with adding female soldiers in Battlefield V was rationalized by Girls und Panzer's "Introduction to Tankery":

Tankery. A part of our culture with a long history. Enjoyed by girls from many nations all throughout the world. A strong but delicate art that aims to make girls and women alike more polite, graceful, modest, and gallant... both on and off the Battlefield™. To learn tankery is to armor the heart of a maiden, the soul that embraces and burns with femininity. Intense and strong like a tank's iron. Cute and lively like the clattering of its track. And finally, passionate and precise like its main cannon. If you train in tankery, you will become a better wife, a better mother, a better student, and a better worker. You will become healthier, kinder, stronger, and men from all over the world will fall at your feet. This is your chance! Train your body, train your mind. Embrace tankery and blossom as a woman on the field of battle.

Once I was done watching all episodes for Girls und Panzer, I became curious to know if there was anything else similar to it. And it turns out, there is this one show that, upon first glance, looks like Girls und Panzer's naval counterpart - High School Fleet.

I took a leap of faith and watched it as well, becoming the second anime I've seen in its entirety. After seeing the whole show, I realized that the notion of High School Fleet is "Girls und Panzer on the high seas" is a misnomer... which is the main topic of this post. Despite both shows featuring high school girls in military like situations, there are prominent differences.

The Credits

One notable difference with the two shows are their opening songs. For Girls und Panzer, its opening utilizes a Japanese song sprinkled with English phrases and words. High School Fleet meanwhile uses a song entirely in Japanese.

The first 50 seconds for Girls und Panzer's opening gives this impression that it's little more than yet another generic high school show. High School Fleet's opening, however, removes any notion that it is anything else but a high seas adventure. Another noteworthy difference occurred during the final episode: the elaborate opening sequence is cut and the show's title appears in front of a black background.

Then we have the end credits. As if to remind us it ain't a serious drama, Girls und Panzer's end credits showcase a cute version of a tank and its respective crew. In High School Fleet, we get to see a montage of the major characters.

The Setting

Besides the obvious "one show is land based while the other is out in the water", there are other striking differences. 

High School Fleet takes place in an alternate timeline where mining somehow caused a disaster that submerged most of Japan. After this event, people built "massive ocean-borne settlements along coastal areas. These cities are safeguarded by the Blue Mermaids, an elite, all-female organisation whose members have dedicated their lives towards the defense of ocean routes and civilian populations living along the coast." The Blue Mermaids is the organization that characters in the show aspire to join. Unlike Girls und Panzer, High School Fleet immediately establishes in first episode's opening minutes that we aren't going to be dealing with a normal school in a normal setting, with our protagonist riding a jet ski through what appears to be Waterworld. On top of that, the series appears to be set in the near future, as there are advanced looking floating cities being shown.

For Girls und Panzer, there is no mention of a major disaster taking place prior to the events of the show that changed the topography of the land or that prompted people to start building the massive school ships. Tankery is merely a sport and isn't viewed as national service or a means to force girls into the military. There is no talk among the characters of enlisting for an armored division once they graduate collage... yet.

The Music

This aspect is where, in my opinion, there is a clear answer to the question of "is one is better than the other?"

As mentioned in my previous post, Girls und Panzer utilizes real world marches such as The Battle Hymn of the Republic, The British Grenadiers, and Panzerlied. On top of that, the show's original soundtrack composed by Shiro Hamaguchi is surprisingly good. So good that I dare say it is superior to a great deal of soundtracks used for TV shows and most films nowadays. The fact that this anime has far more memorable and better music than all the Marvel movies combined is a stunning achievement.

But what about High School Fleet? Sadly, this is one aspect where the show flounders. Besides the opening and closing songs, I'm still struggling to find anything at least as memorable as Girls und Panzer's main theme, the Panzerfahren March. Whereas in Girls und Panzer, you have one music track devoted to each one of the five major characters (track numbers 7, 9, 10, 12 and 25 on the show's official soundtrack), High School Fleet seems to lack any character specific themes. This problem is compounded by the lack of any real world naval marches in the show.

The Protagonists

Lets have a quick overview for the protagonists of each show. Before anything else, time to get some of the notable similarities out of the way, which include:

• brown hair
• they are both below a height of 5'3"
• they are usually seen wearing their respective school's uniforms
• they have low self-esteem
• both seem to like cats

• they have 4 lettered names that start with the letter "M"
• they "Almost never get angry or has anything bad to say about others"
• both are haunted by a past traumatic event
• both manage to make snap decisions effectively whilst under pressure
• when danger seems too great, they hesitate to put any of their subordinates in harm's way

This is not to indicate, however, that High School Fleet stole the protagonist from Girls und Panzer and merely changed her appearance. Far from it. I won't go into detail with the protagonist for Girls und Panzer, Miho Nishizumi, as I'm saving that for a future post. Instead, I'll talk about what sets High School Fleet's protagonist - a girl called Akeno Misaki, who henceforth in this post will be called by her nickname: Mike - apart in a few key points:

• Unlike Miho, Mike joined her new school alongside her childhood best friend Moka (which gave me some odd Max and Chloe vibes... except what if Chloe was a better student and more mature than Max).
• Although both suffered a traumatic experience in the past, the circumstances are vastly different. Miho had to save some of her fellow students from drowning, causing her team to loose. Whereas Mike had to endure much worse: she lost both of her parents during the sinking of a cruise ship they were on.
• It was because of loosing her parents, Mike dreamed of joining the Blue Mermaids. For Miho on the other hand, saving her teammates caused her to have a falling out with her mom and sister, eventually forcing her to change schools.
• Mike came from a family with no direct ties with the navy or the Blue Mermaids, whereas Miho "hails from the most respected (and feared) family of Tank Warriors in Japan."
• Despite admitting that her grades aren't that good, Mike becomes captain of her own ship in the first episode! Miho became a tank commander only after her schoolmates found out she had experience in tankery and demonstrated her skills... and that promotion happens in the third episode.
• Mike "has been blessed by an ungodly degree of luck." She made it to captain in the first episode for starters....
• Despite going to a new school on her own, Miho was fortunate to quickly make new friends on her first day. Mike had to go through a slow burn before she became good friends with any of her crewmates (they saw her first as their captain instead of a friend).
• Mike loves going on away missions right in the middle of battle. For Miho, it took until the eleventh episode for her to do something similar.

The Other Characters

Both shows feature a huge supporting cast. So large, that we barely get to know most of them... or at least the first time around. To help aid audiences, both shows tried making characters distinctive enough (either visually and/or by their traits). One method Girls und Panzer utilized was by naming certain characters after food or drinks! High School Fleet meanwhile has a conventional Japanese naming scheme.

For High School Fleet, there are at least 34+ supporting characters. However, unlike Girls und Panzer, nearly all of them are not on other ships, but are Mike's subordinates on the same vessel. Instead of being on distinct warships, they are instead relegated to a specific department of the ship such as engineering or navigation. Unfortunately, this didn't help with making High School Fleet's secondary characters stand out. Part of the reason is the lack of distinctive outfits for crew members. Whereas in Girls und Panzer you have, for example, a tank team wearing volleyball outfits or auto mechanic attire, High School Fleet has most of the secondary characters wearing the exact same outfit, with a slight add-on such as a jacket or hat. While Girls und Panzer also has some characters wearing the same type of outfit at times, they compensated by at least two ways:

1. Have similar characters grouped together. So the gamers in the school are all in one team, all the grease monkeys are on the same tank, the freshmen stay together, and so on.
2. Ensure that each group (or at least one person on the team) does something distinctive or memorable in at least one episode, if not contribute something of consequence. Being on different tanks helps tremendously. If they can't do something cool, they try to at least say something memorable. (ie: Who knew saying one liners such as "Butterfly" and "Ferris Wheel" helped a long way for one specific character?)

High School Fleet failed to fully adapt the second point. Due to reasons such as the lack of screen time as well as the show's structure, most of the secondary characters failed to leave a lasting mark and sadly blend in if you don't look them up online. Outside of the bridge crew, the only memorable characters on Mike's ship are arguably Maron (the chief engineer) and Minami (the ship's doctor). But even those two characters wear at least something visually distinctive that helps them stand out. Plus the fact those two have adequate screen time compared to the rest of the crew is the second key factor. And of course, they contribute something substantial to the plot of at least one episode. Its kinda sad that you'll probably remember certain characters for mundane things such as "cooking curry on Fridays", or that one girl who seems to have a crush on her fellow crewmate, or that girl who looks French because of her beret, or the girl who doubts Mike and favors the ship's second in command instead (things that barely impact the overall plot when compared to even that one liner about a "Ferris Wheel" from Girls und Panzer der Film). To be fair, High School Fleet has two characters who are proficient in close quarters combat (therefore bad asses), but the show barely gives them enough scenes to do them justice. TV Tropes had this to sum up the quandary of High School Fleet's secondary cast:

...most [High School Fleet] characters have at most a few tropes that apply to them alone, while the characters of the show from which the production staff took inspiration (Girls und Panzer) are all of them so Troperiffic that their page broke the folder system. Twice.

The show's creators seemed to have realized this after finishing all twelve episodes, and decided somewhat compensate for this by taking the spotlight away from Mike in the OVAs.

History... or lack thereof

For folks like me who aren't fans of anime, Girls und Panzer had two main attractions: the tanks and the history. And that show used them to its full advantage, helping non-anime fans to ultimately enjoy the story.

With High School Fleet being likened to Girls und Panzer, one can assume that the former is as jam packed with real world and historical facts as the latter, right? Alas, this is not the case.

First off, history fans and naval enthusiasts don't have anyone among the cast who shares their real world passions. Or does it? Remember Coco, the Yeoman Rand of the show? Can you guess what's her favorite subject? I bet you would have said "acting", "drama" or "performing arts" based on how she's portrayed in the show. Sorry, but you are wrong. Because according to the official High School Fleet website, her favorite subject is (allegedly) world history! When I first learned of this fact after watching the show, I was stunned. Throughout the show, you'll see Coco looking up ship facts from her PADD. And unlike Yukari Akiyama or the History Club from Girls und Panzer, she never gets the chance on screen to show off her knowledge (let alone passion) of history. Also another missed opportunity, in my opinion, was Wilhelmina, who henceforth in this post is going to be referred to as "Will". The show's official site claims that her favorite subject is German history. Once again, this ain't portrayed on screen, despite the fact that she and Coco become good friends! They could have shared notes at least. The show thought it was more compelling to focus on Will and Coco's interest in gangster movies, as opposed to them talking about all sorts of history films from Pearl Harbor to Downfall. If this was Girls und Panzer, it would be as if Yukari and Erwin never discussed history at all when they bonded together. After a strong introduction in the third episode, Will is mostly ignored by the crew "and jokes are made about her being a German." A part of me suspects that Will was made German in the first place to pander to Kuromorimine fans and/or to Wehraboos.

After seeing the variety of tanks used in Girls und Panzer, its really disappointing that we get to see merely five types of surface warships in High School Fleet. Out of those five ship classes, only two aren't Japanese. The scarcity of ships featured in the show, in my opinion, gave less incentive for audiences to find out more about all those real world ship classes. Less ships also meant less varied encounters, causing a shortage of "clever zany tactics like in Girls und Panzer." Did the studio ran out of budget to render more ship variants?

As to why the show's creators thought it was a good idea to have far less history and naval "techno babble", I presume it had to do with this notion that your typical anime fan would be alienated by all the history references and the real world naval trivia.

The Story

And so we get to the core of each show: the story. For Girls und Panzer, it's safe to say that the show's structure can easily be divided by using the opposing team the main characters are facing (or lack thereof) as the point of reference:

• Training (Episodes 1-3)
• The British (End of Episode 3 to Episode 4)
• The Americans (Episodes 5-6)
• The Italians (Episode 7; although you need to watch the Anzio OVA for the actual battle)
• The Soviets (Episodes 8-9)
• The Germans (Episodes 10-12)

(It's probably a coincidence, but with the reveal of Battlefield V's roadmap for 2019, I couldn't help but surmise that DICE was following the chronological order Girls und Panzer had established with its episode structure to introduce new factions in the game. The game started out with only the Germans and the British. The roadmap hinted that by fall of 2019, the game will finally have the Americans! So what's after that, the Italians or the Soviets?)

High School Fleet has a very different structure, which doesn't help the idea that "it's the naval version of Girls und Panzer." If you are expecting nothing less than a similar structure of our heroes facing off navies from different nations, you will be disappointed. The show's structure goes like this:

• The Hunt for the Red October (Episodes 1-3)
• The Last Ship (Episodes 4-9)
• R&R (Episode 10)
• Star Trek 2009 (Episodes 11-12)

Notice that there is no training episode for the show. What was supposed to be training episode got cut short when another vessel decided to fire upon Mike's ship, the Harekaze. While one can argue that the show needed as much time as possible to focus on its main plot, the lack of any episodes devoted to training was somewhat detrimental in the end. Why? Because virtually everyone outside the bridge is already proficient in their respective task! The engineers are competent to run the ship, the gunners can adequately aim and reload, the navigators know where to go on the map, and so on. This deprived audiences of showing the characters grow into their roles, and didn't help make the secondary characters more memorable than they are now. Virtually the only "growth" the other departments get is better teamwork with the rest of the ship. Because of this, most characters remained static. Among the relationships in the show, it was the dynamic between Mike and Shiro, the Harekaze's second in command (and yes, I got a Kirk and Spock vibe), that was the most fleshed out... perhaps to the detriment of other characters.

High School Fleet sets itself apart from Girls und Panzer by adding what I feel are unwarranted embellishments. What do I mean by this? The show had to be more dramatic, funnier, and sexier than Girls und Panzer. On being more dramatic than Girls und Panzer:

• In the first episode alone, we have the Harekaze suddenly being fired upon by their instructor's vessel... with live ammo. On top of that, the Harekaze is declared to have mutinied by the end of the first episode! From that point on until the third episode, our heroes are on the run.
• Then in the fourth episode, it's revealed that there is a virus that causes its victims "to behave extremely aggressive toward non infected people and ships." Somehow, the rats that are spreading the virus also have the ability to affect electronics on a ship. Okay...
• As if all of that wasn't enough, it turns out that nearly everyone on board the flagship of the training fleet - the Musashi (yes, the same battleship that is one of the two largest ever made) - were also infected by the virus. And the Musashi is on a course to Tokyo Bay, becoming a doomsday weapon threatening (potentially) million of lives! To make the effort more dramatic and increase the stakes, the vaunted Blue Mermaids (who lack plot armor) fail to stop the Musashi on their own! It would take a combined fleet of students and Blue Mermaids supporting the Harekaze to save the day.
• Even after stopping the Musashi, the show couldn't let audiences enjoy a happy and satisfying ending. The writers thought it was a good idea to sink the Harekaze right after Mike and her crew return home for the show to end on a (slightly) bittersweet note.

Compared to Girls und Panzer, there is also a lot more slapstick comedy for High School Fleet, starting with that banana peel joke in the first episode. Since Girls und Panzer had two scenes involving a public bathhouse with virtually no one in swimwear (that was saved for the show's first two OVAs), High School Fleet had to amp up the sexiness by showing off more skin and more screen time for girls in bathing suits. The show creators also thought it was a good idea to prominently display food in the series, and allow pets to have actual roles compared to Girls und Panzer.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with making a show funnier and more dramatic, I felt that doubling down on those facets in High School Fleet didn't add anything of substance when all is said and done. Perhaps the show creators placed all of that in the hopes of getting a bigger audience than Girls und Panzer. The three high stakes subplots of "going on the run", curing a deadly virus and stopping a doomsday weapon felt unnecessary and should have been saved for a future season. The show could have simply been about the Harekaze partaking in a military exercise like RIMPAC, facing off against navies from all over the world. I'm just saying that we could have been more emotionally invested with higher stakes drama had there been an earlier season where we see the crew of the Harekaze mature into their roles.

Popularity and Final Thoughts

When all is said and done, High School Fleet is "Girls und Panzer but with ships" only a superficial sense. Critical differences between the two shows keep them distinct enough from each other. In my opinion, the two shows could have swapped names. Girls und Panzer could be known as High School Tanks as it felt like it had more "high school" in it compared to High School Fleet. That being said, High School Fleet would have been titled Girls und Kriegsmarine with its emphasis on naval action and the absence of virtually anything "high school" related.

What if Miho joined the Blue Mermaids?

For High School Fleet, sadly, some of those differences prevent it from being on par with Girls und Panzer. Any efforts made to draw a larger crowd than its tank based counterpart seemed to have been unsuccessful, as High School Fleet doesn't enjoy the cult status Girls und Panzer has. While not a definitive measure of success, the website My Anime List ranks High School Fleet (as of this post's writing) as the 1384th most popular show on the site, whereas Girls und Panzer is the site's 575th most popular show. Then we have this graph from Google Trends:

Again, while this ain't definitive, it gives a good idea of the popularity between the two shows. As of March 2019, the online interest for Girls und Panzer peaked after Der Film was released. Interest for High School Fleet was at its highest when the show premiered in April 2016. From 2012 to March 2019, Google Trends rated the interest for Girls und Panzer at an average of 28, whereas High School Fleet rates poorly at an average of a mere 3!

While this is speculation on my part, perhaps the fact that Girls und Panzer is a show "made by history fans for history fans" helped it tremendously in securing a loyal niche audience, while High School Fleet's attempts to appeal to casual anime fans with higher stakes drama and funnier jokes whilst reducing the amount of history and naval facts didn't do the show any long term favors for its popularity. (The lack of an English dub didn't probably help too.)

To wrap things up, despite the seemingly negative overall tone this post may give off, I'm still recommending High School Fleet to any history and/or naval enthusiasts out there.... just lower your expectations a bit if you've seen Girls und Panzer beforehand. If I were to endorse a show that has a female protagonist with a guy's name, High School Fleet has my approval over real crap like Star Trek: Discovery, a show better called by its acronym of STD. (For starters, Mike is a better and an infinitely more likable protagonist than purportedly more mature "Michael" Burnham.) 

Here's hoping that the planned High School Fleet: The Motion Picture won't disappoint, and that we would get to see it earlier than Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part 6.

That time when Battlefield V got me to watch an anime

On May 23, 2018, the reveal trailer for Battlefield V was finally posted online... and its reception was a far cry from Battlefield 1's reveal trailer. Fans didn't like what was shown, in particular the inclusion of (presumably) a Scottish lady with warpaint on her face and had a prosthetic arm. This was a major red flag for most fans like myself who were hoping to get a worthy World War II Battlefield game in this day and age. Instead of reassuring fans, Electronic Arts (EA) thought it was a good idea to market this game in a very mediocre fashion, with mostly lackluster trailers that didn't live up to the fantastic ads that Battlefield 1 enjoyed. When the game released on November 20, 2018, sales were below expectations... selling only 7.3 million copies as of February 5, 2019. With such low numbers, the game failed to get onto the top 10 bestselling games of the year list, a first for the Battlefield series (it was only the "14th" bestselling game of 2018). This was all thanks in no small part due to the contempt EA and DICE displayed towards loyal fans of the Battlefield franchise, with comments from EA CCO Patrick Soderlund, who infamously said:

I have a 13-year-old daughter that when the trailer came out and she saw all the flak, she asked me, 'Dad, why's this happening?' She plays Fortnite, and says, 'I can be a girl in Fortnite. Why are people so upset about this?' She looked at me and she couldn't understand it. And I'm like, ok, as a parent, how the hell am I gonna respond to this, and I just said, 'You know what? You're right. This is not okay.' These are people who are uneducated—they don't understand that this is a plausible scenario, and listen: this is a game. And today gaming is gender-diverse, like it hasn't been before. There are a lot of female people who want to play, and male players who want to play as a badass [woman]. And we don't take any flak. We stand up for the cause, because I think those people who don't understand it, well, you have two choices: either accept it or don't buy the game. I'm fine with either or. It's just not ok.

As if this wasn't enough, one of the game's design directors wrote on Reddit:

I knew this was going to be a fight when i pushed for female soldiers in Battlefield. I have a daughter, and I don’t want to ever have to answer her question of “why can’t I make a character that looks like me” with “because you’re a girl.” I fundamentally feel to my core this is the right way and I will find myself on the right side of history. And I think many people will play the game despite their reservations. And maybe learn something about either history or themselves. That is part of the making games art.

And let's not forget this gem that was revealed when DICE celebrated the game's release:

With an obnoxious push to seemingly pander to SJWs, Battlefield V's lack of historical authenticity left a bad taste in my mouth. For all DICE's talk of being inclusive for women, there is virtually no mention in the game of real women who fought during the war, such as the Night Witches bomber group or the female Soviet sniper credited with 309 kills. And you can't run around as Wonder Woman or wear a Japanese school girl uniform. In a final twist of fate, appealing to SJWs didn't help the game in compensating for turning away hardcore Battlefield fans, as its sales numbers can attest.

#EVERYONESBATTLEFIELD done better

The whole controversy of having women soldiers in Battlefield V accidentally led me to one of the most pleasant surprises in 2018. It all started when "The Last Tiger" single player campaign was being promoted. To help get into the mood, I searched up the German military march called Panzerlied on Youtube. Now one of the top 10 most viewed videos for Panzerlied caught my attention. It had vocals from the Battle of the Bulge version of the song, but the background playing was that of authentic looking World War II tanks... in animated form... manned by girl tank crews no less....

My first reaction to the video was "what on earth is this?!" It felt so unbelievable to see what appeared to be pro SJW feminist propaganda actually existing. With that in mind, I decided to look a bit into the comments section. Unlike Battlefield V's reveal trailer however, what struck me was that most of the video's top rated comments were... positive? I was expecting people talking about "no women were in the war", but most of them were folks who seemed to have an appreciation for World War II and/or tanks. I knew something was off upon seeing this. Turns out the footage came from a 2012 anime called Girls und Panzer. 

What finally sold me were two videos called "The History in Girls und Panzer". It was then I decided to bite the bullet by watching the whole show. That was no easy decision as I'm no fan of anime (its simply not my cup of tea). But sheer curiosity and a partial desire to prove myself wrong that this was trash ultimately prevailed.

The show takes place in an alternate reality where girls can partake in a martial art or sport known by various names: tankery, sensha-do, or (my favorite) Panzerfahren - literally meaning "the Way of the Tank". Although it seems dangerous at first glance, the tanks in the show use "live rounds but with an emphasis on safety" and have "special carbon coating lining tank interiors, protecting the tank crews by minimizing the force transfer of hits that would otherwise be lethal in the real world." All tanks also move at a much faster speed and have better maneuverability than their real world counterparts. The show features various schools, with each school modeled after the major combatants in World War II. So you have British, American, Italian, Russian and German inspired schools. Each of the participating schools use real-world marches as their "theme song" or leitmotif. Thus, you have Panzerlied for the German school, The British Grenadiers for the British school, and The Battle Hymn of the Republic for the American school. Oh, did I tell you that each school is actually located on giant aircraft carriers that can accommodate tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people?

With all that in mind, don't expect a show that faithfully recreates the experience of being a tank crew member in World War II. Or one that explores profound material such as the "horrors of war."

Twelve episodes later, I... ended up being a fan. Something I never thought I would admit, but for the first time ever in my life, I actually got to watch and enjoy an entire anime series. Upon reflecting now, I have to go back and modify the quote that DICE developer wrote on Reddit:

And I think many people will [watch the show] despite their reservations. And maybe learn something about either history or themselves. That is part of the making [TV shows] art.

That quote is more applicable for Girls und Panzer than Battlefield V, as the show reinvigorated my passion for World War II. The English speaking fans of the show sealed the deal. As I mentioned, this wasn't a pro-SJW group of weirdos, but folks who are tank and World War II enthusiasts. Some are not only World of Tanks or War Thunder gamers, but some are Battlefield veterans or even play (to my surprise) strategy games such as Hearts of Iron! And some are excellent artists, as the below selection will show:

Other creative fans meanwhile love to mashup things:

After watching all twelve episodes, I was impressed that an anime with an outlandish setup had more historical references crammed into it than Battlefield V. I couldn't help but get this odd feeling that DICE saw Girls und Panzer, and came to the conclusion that because the show had girls partaking armored warfare was the main reason why it was a surprise hit. They obviously had it wrong.

As one fan commented:

This waifu anime has more attention to detail and passion for history than some allegedly serious war movies.

The creator of "The History of Girls und Panzer" best summed it up when he said:

Although the plot is predictable, the characters are kind of dumb at times and I'm not an anime fan, I'm extremely impressed with the historical detail put into this show. Not just the tanks (which are displayed to the smallest detail)... but in all other aspects of the show.... there is so much packed into the show itself. This show was clearly made by history fans for history fans. And its honestly pretty awesome.... But seriously, even if you dislike anime like I do, I would implore you to watch the series. Even the movie.

So if you want women on the Battlefield done in a way that DICE was aiming for in a non historically accurate manner without hitting you on the head with any pro-SJW tripe, Girls und Panzer is it.

Life is Strange: Dust review (MAJOR SPOILERS)

On March 29, 2018, it was announced that Titan Comics would be publishing a four part Life is Strange comic series that takes place after the destruction of Arcadia Bay. After months of waiting, the fourth issue of the Life is Strange comic series was finally released on February 27, 2019. Originally I planned to review each issue immediately after their respective release date, but due to a major problem with the series as a whole that I'll discuss later, I decided to wait until the final chapter of this particular story arc was published. So, let's get down to business....

Issue 1:

The comic starts off with what appears to be a flash forward scene with Max on the edge of a cliff. In this scene, it's implied that her powers didn't cause the storm in the game. Before we can know more however...

We are suddenly thrown into a coffee shop in Seattle. Here we are introduced to the new characters in the comic series -  a band called "The High Seas" (or as my brother disparagingly calls them, "Tammy and friends"). And oh my, this is where the problems start. First off, it felt like as if these characters were drawn to pander to social justice warriors. You have a dark skinned Muslim girl, a black chick with an Afro, a pink haired white guy, and a black dude with blonde hair. In the original game, none of Max and Chloe's friends looked as weird as the band. Now I could have been a bit more forgiving if it wasn't for another problem. One of the criticisms the original game had was that the dialogue was cringy at times. Instead of mitigating that problem, the writer thought it was good idea to make the new characters talk in a very cringy, stereotypical manner. And they talk in this way virtually throughout the whole scene! Overall, it gave me a very bad first (and lasting) impression on the band.

Personally, if we really had to start the comic in a scene with Max hanging out with other people besides Chloe, at least show that she was in company that was at least on par with the Arcadia Bay cast. One way I would have re-written this scene involves the return of two characters from Before the Storm -  Steph and Mikey. Remember those two? And have them in a game of Dungeons and Dragons with Max at the coffee shop. That way you can accomplish at least three things. One: fanservice in the form of two likable and established characters making a return. Two: readers are treated to Max warming up to fellow geeks while showing off her pop culture and tabletop gaming prowess. And three: cringy dialogue is mitigated.

Bring these two back... or any of Max and Chloe's friends from Arcadia Bay for that matter.

Now according to a tweet from the writer, supposedly Chloe only met the band because of Max, who is the "one way they’d even know each other." If this is indeed the case, boy oh boy did Max's skills in choosing good company became very rusty after sacrificing Arcadia Bay. Later on in the issue, Max would remind Chloe that the band has "been friends with them for most of a year." Really?! Then by that standard, Kate and Warren's friendship with Max was well into its fourth year when the game starts. So... yeah. A group of cringy random SJWs versus the likes of Kate, Warren, Steph, Mikey, Dana, Alyssa and even Victoria. I'm starting to miss the old cast.

Before things go further downhill for this issue, Chloe finally comes in and saves Max and the reader from SJW cringe-ville. She talks with Max in a bathroom about an invite to a memorial service remembering those who died in the storm. And its in this scene that Max utters what I consider the worst line she ever said in an officially licensed Life is Strange story. She says:

They're all gone now. However they went, they're gone. None of that matters anymore.

After reading this line, I was shocked. I'm probably reading too much into this, but hear me out. People love to make fun of the line in the game where Max claims Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is "one of the best sci-fi films ever made." But that quote was at least in line with Max's character as a geek. This one on the other hand, was Max essentially telling Chloe to "let the past die. Kill it, if you have to", or that Chloe's "still holding on! [So] Let go!" There are two possible explanations I can guess why the writer would force Max to utter such nonsense. One is that Max isn't good at saying the right things. And two, it's to provide a contrast to Chloe in this scene. But these two factors shouldn't have been an excuse for Max to act out of character. Imagine after failing to save Kate, Max told Warren that since their friend is dead, Kate and her suicide no longer matters. Or after finding Rachel's corpse in the junkyard, Chloe was told essentially the same thing! Or even when David is told that Chloe was murdered in the junkyard by Mr. Jefferson and Max said something like "She hated you anyway. She's dead, so it doesn't matter." For me, it's a major red flag signifying that her character arc had taken a major step backward. It accidentally portrays Max as a selfish, uncaring brat... one who deep down didn't give a damn about Joyce, Kate, Warren and all the rest. Max is way too altruistic in my opinion to say something like that. It would have been better if Max stayed silent with a look of shock and or grief in her face. If she had to say something, one suggestion I have that is way more in line with her character would be:

I didn't know what to do at the time, Chloe. I would have saved everyone if I could. But I'm glad I was able to at least save you in spite of all that.

If I ever got the chance to do an adaptation of this first issue, that line is really going to be the very first thing I'm rewriting. A few panels later Max would say to Chloe "I know nothing can replace what you lost..." and "Just emotional after that news piece... I don't know how I'm supposed to feel", as if to backtrack what she said earlier.

What Max said vs. what should have been her reaction.

Once the whole bathroom sequence is over, we find Max and Chloe dressed up in pirate costumes outside a place called "The Bean Bar" at night to see the band perform. And this is where things got interesting, in my opinion. Chloe expresses more regret about the lives lost in the storm with some of the best lines in the whole issue. Then suddenly she wants to leave. Oddly though, we see Chloe wearing a different kind of pirate costume. Chloe gets ahead of Max. Seconds later, Chloe ends up behind Max and is wearing the same outfit she wore at the start of the scene. They try to figure out what just happened when they are invited into the bar.

Just before the band starts playing, Max and Chloe toast what appears to be two full pints of beer.

Wait... what?!

This seems inconsequential, but I was honestly troubled by that one panel. In the original game, there's a section where Max has to gather bottles in the junkyard. Prior to that, there's a cutscene establishing what Chloe intends to do with the bottles. In that scene, Chloe slurps from a bottle of beer and offers Max a drink. Don't remember? Here's a screenshot:

After Chloe offers booze, Max just stares at the bottle and says without hesitation a simple "Yuck." Max's immediate reaction tells me that she is no fan of alcohol beverages. She didn't even want to touch the bottle. That simple reaction adds to Max's endearing innocence. Right after Max flat out refuses to even taste the beer, Chloe says "You are so cute-you haven't changed a bit." Despite this, its apparent that the comic's writers and artists forgot this one simple scene and decided it was a good idea that Max finally loosened up and touch a full pint of booze. While the next panels don't overtly show Max drinking the pint of beer, there's a particular panel where a beer glass that was a quarter empty was right behind her while she's holding her camera with both hands.

One fan singled out the fact Max toasted a full pint of beer on the Life is Strange wiki, and the replies to that post tried to rationalize that if Max really did drink booze its most likely a way to cope with the trauma she endured or that the drink was in fact non-alcoholic. If it was indeed beer she was holding, I'd like to think that Max just toasted the glass as a courtesy and put it away immediately without sipping a single drop. I don't need anymore out of character nonsense further tainting this first issue.

Anyway, moving on.... During the band's performance, Chloe suddenly vanishes. Max frantically searches around, only for Chloe to reappear moments later. At this point, Chloe decides that the best course of action is to return to Arcadia Bay. On that note, the first issue ends here.

Issue 2:

The second issue of the comic starts out with Max and Chloe on their way to Arcadia Bay. Of course, they use Chloe's pickup truck to get there. And thankfully, its just them without the band tagging along. In one panel, Chloe suggests that Max try out smoking. Interestingly enough, Max responds by saying "No Way. Experience has told me that smoking is definitely bad for my health and sanity. And it's gross."

Thank you for not smoking, Max.

Reading that line for the first time made me smile because it's as if the writer wanted to dismiss the notion that Max is now into the habit of smoking (and possibly drinking). That the writer wanted to assure readers that Max in the comic series is still the same old endearingly innocent girl fans came to love from the game.

There's a scene where Chloe's truck breaks down, complete with smoke coming out of the engine. This prompts Max to ask "So, is it okay?" I feel that the writer wrote this line just so Max can sound cute to the reader. We get it. She's the very definition of adorkable. But that doesn't make her dumb. It would have been better if Max simply asked "How bad is it?" or the comic could have fast forwarded to that panel where she asks "Can I, uhh, do anything?"

Eventually, our dynamic duo make it to Arcadia Bay. Unlike what is shown in Life is Strange 2, we see reconstruction efforts underway as Max and Chloe wander around the town. Things pick up when they arrive at Two Whales Diner. The building still showed signs of damage from the storm. Moments later, Max sees the diner fully restored with a dreamlike glow surrounding the place. She goes inside and somehow meets Dana with a baby in a stroller. Chloe couldn't see the restored diner or Dana until she holds Max's hand. As abruptly as it appeared, the vision dissipated.

Trying to make sense of what just happened and bring some closure, our partners in time decide to drop by the ruins of the old Price residence. Here, Max has a vision of Joyce, who claims that there was no storm in the first place. Max uses this as an opportunity to say to Joyce a heartfelt apology from Chloe before the vision vanishes. Max suddenly collapses to the ground, ending the issue.

The second issue helped solve four of my biggest grips with the first issue. One: it maintains focus on Max and Chloe. Two: Max talks and acts more in character. Three: with the band out of the picture, cringy dialogue is substantially reduced. And four: two well established characters from the game make a return. I honestly was happy to see Dana and Joyce make an appearance. With all those positives in mind, I awaited intently for the third issue.

Issue 3:

Just when I was anticipating the third issue would continue all the best aspects of the second issue, my hopes were instantly dashed once the story started for this issue. The writer thought it was a good idea to bring back the band! Ugh. [Insert facepalm] As if to remind readers that they are still relevant to the story. And what do they contribute to this issue? A picture message they send to Chloe saying they miss her and Max. Do you know the amount of pages wasted just for the band to send the picture message? FOUR! What the hell?! The story came to a screeching halt in four pages for a filler subplot that could have been done in one freaking panel on one page! Once again, its up to Chloe to save the reader from nuisance-ville.

Max wakes up in Chloe's old room. The pair have an earnest conversation before heading to the ruins of Blackwell Academy. Here the comic gets back into high gear. First, Warren finally makes an appearance! When Max sees him again, she's appears to be in a state of astonishment. She even touches his left cheek to prove if she was just seeing a vision. Max asks Chloe if Warren's name was on a memorial plaque of those who died in the storm. Chloe responds, "You know it was." It was at this point in the issue where one of my worst fears seemed to have been confirmed: everybody else they knew in the first game died in the storm. But before I could pullout the bagpipe version of Amazing Grace to play in the background, Chloe decides that she wants to talk to Warren along with Max. Chloe holds onto Max's hand, and gets a major headache. On the other hand, Max is in a state of shock, and says to Warren she's sorry that he died and claims its her fault. When I first read that, I was partly relieved as it somewhat mitigated the damning line in the first issue claiming "None of that matters anymore." 

After Max says sorry, we see her and Chloe kneeling on the ground, with both of their noses bleeding. As they try to make sense of what just happened, Chloe holds onto Max's right hand. All of a sudden, they find themselves back in their iconic outfits from the game. The color palette of the scene changed as well. Its here that Rachel Amber arrives on the scene. She's not only alive, but she's apparently acquainted with Max. Rachel shows Max and Chloe a newspaper containing a story where a teacher presumed to be Mr. Jefferson being arrested in LA. But our dynamic duo were still in a state of disbelief that Chloe asks if she's seeing Rachel's ghost. Rachel notices Max and Chloe holding hands and teases them about doing "something" threeway ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Before Chloe can say something meaningful to Rachel, the world reverts back to its default state.

Max and Chloe sit down at the fountain, trying to make sense of everything. Max falls asleep. When she wakes up, she finds Warren again by her side. It's at this point where Warren gives enough hints for Max to finally figure out the truth of the visions she's seeing: they aren't actually visions, but alternate realities that somehow are crossing into each other. Warren tells Max that he's not from the same reality as she is, and that it was "his Max" who figured out originally what was happening as he was just her "boy wonder" (Some fans, for whatever reason, came to the conclusion that this Warren was in a romantic relationship with his Max. Despite me being a Grahamfield shipper, it didn't feel absolutely certain that he was dating Max in his reality... unless "boy wonder" is a code for "boyfriend"). Warren compares Max to the protagonist of Quantum Leap (who was played by none other than Capt. Jonathan Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise) leaping from one life to another. Max asks Warren what happens at the end of Quantum Leap, to which he replies that the protagonist returned home. Afterwards, Warren suddenly vanishes in the next panel, leaving Max alone in the Blackwell grounds, ending this issue.

Issue 4:

The final issue starts out... strange. We find Max in a "white void of dazzling brilliance." And for whatever reason, her clothes are missing.... The first thought that came into my mind was that she somehow ended up in the same white void Capt. Jean-Luc Picard found himself in The Next Generation (TNG) episode called Tapestry. If so, then I guess Q from TNG stole her clothes as a prank or something? In the white void, she sees at least 8 alternate realities.

"Welcome to the afterlife, Max. You're dead."

One of the realities she sees Chloe and Rachel together, supposedly in a romantic relationship. Upon seeing this, Max wonders if she asked Chloe "what she really wanted". Two panels later, we find Max waking up in the back of Chloe's truck. She tells Chloe about the alternate realities, saying there are "As many Max and Chloes as there are stars." Then Max asks if Chloe was actually in love with Rachel. With Chloe's reaction in the next panel, it's implied that was indeed the case. Next we get another crossover of two realities (a "flicker") where Max and Chloe see a tombstone from a timeline where Max ended up dying in the same year as Chloe's dad William. Some fans have speculated that this part was included to imply that Max can somehow leap to a reality or timeline where she's dead. Max eventually comes to the conclusion that the other realities keep pulling her from one reality to another and that she doesn't know how to stop it. She also feels that, for reasons left unexplained, that she doesn't belong in the current reality with Chloe, that there's another Max who wants to be in this reality.

A bit later, Max decides that she wants to vandalize the Prescott Memorial at Blackwell before its unveiling the next day. A few interesting lines are dropped when Chloe says that Max is "so corrupted now." Max says - in what I presume in a jestful manner - that she "was never that innocent" (now if you recall in the game, Max does give the player the option to be a bit mischievous when it came to vandalizing certain places such as Victoria's dorm room). Chloe responds that she "blames [the band]" and that "they were both saints until they met them." Max seems to concur. If this last bit is true, then it only adds one more nail in the coffin for the new characters. I strongly believe that Kate and Warren would not have allowed Max to loose her moral compass. Anyway, Chloe has a heartfelt conversation with Max before they finally kiss (yeah the moment a good portion of the fanbase has been waiting for).

The next day, people are showing up at Blackwell to attend the memorial service. And like an annoying kid that no one wants around, the band makes one more appearance! Mercifully, they only get two panels as the story wraps up. We find Max and Chloe siting on a stage. Max tells Chloe that she's going to be using a photo she took when she got accepted into Blackwell to access the white void (Max dubs the place as "The Transect") one more time. As they talk on the stage, Max slowly fades away and disappears, leaving Chloe alone. Chloe soon gets a message that the band has arrived. Meanwhile Max returns to The Transect (and yes, her clothes are still missing for God knows why), saying that she's going to the reality of Chloe's choosing. And the comic artist thought it was a good idea to show Max fully exposed with only purple gas "covering" most of her body. This proved to be really distracting, and pulled me out of the story.

If this was "fanservice", they did a piss poor job at it.

Max finds herself in a bathing suit at the Santa Monica Beach in 2014, where she sees Chloe and Rachel in swimwear too. The comic ends when Chloe approaches Max, with the phrase "This action will have consequences..." at the bottom of the final page. After reading that last page for the first time, my initial thought as to what would come next was this:

A sneak peek for the fifth issue coming in May 2019.

Overall impressions and final thoughts:

When the first issue released in November 2018, folks rated that issue very highly... as if those people were so starved for more Max and Chloe stories they didn't care about the details of whatever was published. Praise for the first issue from various sites include:

• "The writing... is done to perfection throughout"
• "I cannot believe how on point [the writer's] dialogue is"
• "This issue is a must for anyone who experienced the original Life is Strange story"
• "Fans of the game will be absolutely thrilled; more than anything else it captures the beautiful spirit of the game"
• "an excellent job capturing the personality of Chloe and Max.... For those hoping to see more of Chloe and Max, this is a worthy sequel."

After finishing the fourth issue, I can safely say that the comic series ended up being a letdown.

Before anything else, I would like to commend the writer for keeping Chloe's character intact. The best thing about the series is that Chloe's dialogue and actions are virtually all on point.

The whole "realities are colliding" concept is intriguing. And the fact that there's a universe of infinite possibilities means our favorite fanfics are still intact.

Among the four issues, the second one was the best by default. The third issue would have been my favorite had it not been for the show stopping intro with the band or the lack of emotional moments. Issue four is okay (if you aren't distracted by the fact Max's clothes were stolen), until that fateful moment when Max decided she didn't belong in the current timeline. The first issue is easily the worst one overall.

The artwork is serviceable, with my biggest complaint about is how different Max looks. Perhaps I've been spoiled too much by all the accurate looking fan art that has been made for the past 3 years. Heck, The Sims 4 allows me to create a virtually identical copy of Max.

Then again, Max's appearance being a bit off helped me being less emotionally invested... thus making me less peeved whenever things turned south.

The band ended up being inconsequential at best and annoying at worst. For me, they are the Rose Tico of the Life is Strange series. Considering the limited amount of pages in this series per issue, they should have been cut out completely. Very little would have been lost anyway had those characters been left on the cutting room floor. Removing them could have given readers more room for additional heartfelt scenes between Max and Chloe, or more fanservice interactions with other characters from the game like Kate or Victoria.

With how the band is presented in the story, I couldn't buy the idea that these lameos were friends with Max and Chloe for most of the year, as opposed to a random group of weirdos Max just stumbled upon a day prior to the beginning of the story. Max and Chloe deserved better friends than what we ended up with in the comic series.

Another major problem was that despite being 32 pages per issue, the truth was that 10 of those pages per issue were pure filler. The story is only 88 pages long. 40 pages were wasted. Because of the lack of pages, many things weren't properly established. Here are a few:

• Why are Max and Chloe hanging out with the lackluster lameos calling themselves the High Seas? Couldn't they find more interesting friends to hang out with?
• Did Max's parents adopt Chloe?
• Does Max still go to school? If yes, how's she doing thus far? If not, why ain't she in school?
• What happened to Mr. Jefferson in the main timeline for the comics? Was he killed by David? Did he die during the storm too? If neither of the above, did he manage to escape or was he eventually arrested?
• What became of Kate? Did Max failed to save her in this timeline? If not, was she killed in the storm anyway? If she survived, then why didn't Max maintain contact?
• Is Max still writing in her journal?
• Where does the first scene in the comic (the one where Max is on the edge of a cliff and speculates she didn't cause the storm) take place? 

With the lack of pages, the comic fails to bring up social commentary that was so integral to the first game. You know, issues like drugs, gun violence, violence against women, corrupt school officials, bullying, and so on. The comic should have delved deeper into the emotional and psychological wounds that a traumatic event like the destruction of Arcadia Bay, along with the catastrophic loss of life would inflict on Max and Chloe. While we do get some of that, it isn't enough.

The overarching theme of the comic, in my opinion, can be best summed up by lyrics from the song Chevy Knights from the movie White House Down:

We're caught in a hurricane again

We said it all along

We just keep floating with the wind

We'll land where we belong

We say, we say, that it can get rough along the way

Just keep floating with the wind

You'll land where you belong

Sadly, the execution of this theme ended up poorly. As if the comic itself wasn't proof enough, the writer had to use Twitter to tell fans a plot point that's actually in the comic (or so she says). In a tweet posted after the fourth issue's release, the writer claims that there's a second Max involved in the story. This second Max, according to what one fan theorizes, supposedly arrived at (as of now) an unspecified point in the story, absorbed all of Max Prime's memories and didn't realize she wasn't Max Prime until the last issue. According to another fan: "the longer (or more frequently) Max might visit another timeline, the more readily she would slip into familiarity with [her counterpart's] life and memories." On paper, I love this idea that Max is an unreliable narrator, since some of my favorite films are Fight Club and Memento. Unfortunately, it wasn't conveyed properly in the context of the comic alone.

We have to come back to the ending. As of now, I feel there are at least 3 problems with how it ended:

1. So Max thought it was best that she leaves Chloe behind despite the fact they care for each other, if not outright are in love with one another (they kissed after all)? That there's another Max that deserves her?
2. With Max's decision, she chooses neither Bae nor Bay. While that's good, it came at the cost of practically wiping out the events of the entire game. No longer a good chunk, but the whole first game never happens. Max never returns to Arcadia Bay and goes to school at Blackwell Academy. So all the choices you've made in the game don't matter anymore. All the relationships you've built are nullified as well.
3. Max ends up in a timeline where Chloe and Rachel manage to finally leave Arcadia Bay, and (based on the images from the Transect) presumably in love? Not only Max thought it was best to leave Chloe, but she has to end up in a timeline where Amberprice is likely a thing.... There's speculation that Max is going to steal this Chloe from Rachel, which would be a real slap in the face to Amberprice fans. As much a part of me doesn't want to admit this, but a big hook where the series goes from here is the possibility of that threeway Rachel mentioned in the third issue becoming a reality ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

The above problems compound the overall problem with the ending, which is lack of a satisfying closure. From the moment the comic series was announced, two major concerns have been brought up consistently by fans. One is that either Chloe or Max (or worse, both of them) dies. The other fear was that they end up being separated again. As I wrote back months ago: "they better not kill off Max or Chloe by the end. Or have a depressing ending where they never see each other again. Else this comic series will be an exercise in futility." Well, the second fear finally materialized in the fourth issue.  For more than 3 years, a good portion of the Life is Strange fandom wanted at least a story where Max and Chloe share hardships and overcoming them together... Pricefield or no Pricefield. As one game put it: Strong Alone, Stronger Together™. There was no need to separate our dynamic duo just to hold fans hostage in buying the future issues (Will they end up together or not? Find out in the next issue!). I was hoping that this four part series was going to lay the groundwork for a Max and Chloe adventure series. Instead, as of issue four, I'll be getting a story that has to resolve this "We'll land where we belong" contrivance.

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin for me is the fact that this isn't a free fanfic, but a story with an actual price tag. This isn't "a must read for fans of the original game", let alone a "worthy sequel". This applies especially for fans who have read at least one good fanfic such as myself. If you are still curious to read this, please wait until the compilation of all four issues is on sale for more than 50%. At this rate, we are better off with the free stories from AO3 or fanfiction.net. (Heck, I'd rather go back reading the proposed "Super Max" stories my brother has written.)