Girls und Panzer

, abbreviated as GuP or Garupan , is a Japanese franchise created by Actas which depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu Mizushima, written by Reiko Yoshida and produced by Kiyoshi Sugiyama. Takaaki Suzuki, who had earlier acted as a military history advisor for Strike Witches and Upotte!!, was involved in the production of the anime. The TV series initially aired in Japan between October and December 2012, with two additional episodes that aired in March 2013 and an original video animation released in July 2014. Nine manga series and a light novel adaptation have been published by Media Factory. An animated film was released in Japanese theaters on November 21, 2015. A six-part theatrical anime series premiered in 2017. Story Setting The story takes place in a world where historical World War II–era tanks are maintained for sport-style warfare competitions and large carrier ships, known as Academy Ships, support mobile sea communities. Of the many activities high school students can participate in, one of the most popular is , the art of operating tanks, which is considered a traditional martial art for females.