Girls und Panzer is an anime about high school girls who practice the martial art known as Sensha-do, and it features a variety of schools with unique characteristics from different countries. Each high school is unique and makes you want to attend, but this time we'll be introducing Sanders University High School (Saunders High School), which has an American feel.
Sanders High School is Big
The school's official name is Sanders University High School. Its home port is Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, and it's an open, American-style school. The school ship is about 2.5 times the size of Oarai, smaller than Kuromorimine, but still large by national standards. Its shape is modeled after the US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It is a mammoth high school with a large student body and offers departments such as Information Science, Home Economics, and mechanical engineering, as well as departments related to engineering, maintenance, mechanical engineering, and tank engineering. It is also well-funded, and all of the on-campus facilities are huge. The school ship has a side elevator, and the school also has a private pool that spans three levels of the deck. There is even a lazy river and a pool for testing the waterproofing of tanks. The toilets are large enough for 1,000 people to use at once, but around half of them are broken and are so large that maintenance cannot keep up.
American-Style Sanders High School
Source: Girls und Panzer ©Bandai Visual, Lantis, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Shogate, Movic, Q-Tech
Everything at Sanders High School is big, but the school spirit is also American-style. The students are cheerful, friendly, and have a strong sense of fair play. The school cafeteria serves American-sized meals, and hamburgers, barbecue, and steak are its specialties. When Akiyama Yukari infiltrates the team on a reconnaissance mission, she warmly greets Yukari, who is disguised as a Sanders student, and gives a thumbs up in response to Yukari's encouragement to "do your best in the first round," demonstrating her extremely friendly and open style. Even when watching a tank battle, she eats a bucket of popcorn in handfuls while drinking a Coke. Truly American.
Saunders High School Tankery
As a large and affluent school, the Tankery program is also typically American in scale. It boasts the largest tank fleet in the country, with over 500 members. The M4 Sherman and its series and derivatives are the primary tanks. The M4 Sherman with a 75mm gun, the M4A1 with a 76mm gun, the Sherman Firefly, and the M4A6 are seen in this film. Their fleet is large enough to split into first, second, and third corps. In addition to tanks, they also possess transport aircraft such as the C-5M (Super Galaxy) and Osprey. It has also been revealed that they have previously applied for use of the Carl self-propelled mortar, which plagued Oarai in the film, suggesting that they also possess this. Other rare tanks, such as the M4 Sherman with a 105mm gun, a flamethrower-type M3 medium tank, and a prototype T26E1 Pershing, are stored in the junkyard within the school building. Furthermore, food trucks, hair salons, and shower trucks are brought to the stadium during matches to keep the team members in top condition. These vehicles are apparently open to both their own team and the opposing team for pre-match interaction. Cheerleaders even show up to support the team during matches, and the entire school places a great deal of emphasis on tankery.
What is the strength of Sanders High School?
In tank warfare, the team excels at overwhelming numbers, taking advantage of their superiority as the nation's largest tank fleet. In their battle against Oarai, they boldly deployed six M4 Shermans against Oarai's single M3 Lee. However, it's said that the Sanders really shines in the second half of the national tournament. Up to 15 vehicles can participate in the semi-finals and 20 in the finals, which suits Sanders' tactics of pushing with sheer numbers. Another advantage is that even if they've been destroyed in a previous match, they have a large number of vehicles and can quickly prepare replacements, so they can always enter the match in top condition. For this reason, despite being a strong team, they often suffer defeats in the first half of the tournament before they can show their true potential. However, in the drama CD, they play a large-scale 50 vs. 50 practice match against Pravda, which only a few schools in the country are able to do, and end up in a draw, leaving no doubt that their skills are well-established.
The Greatest Appeal of Sanders High School... Its Spirit of Fair Play
Source: Girls und Panzer © Bandai Visual, Lantis, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Shogate, Movic, Q-Tech
So far, we've introduced the American-style, American-sized Sanders High School, but the greatest appeal of Sanders High School is its overflowing spirit of fair play. Despite its abundant and luxurious facilities, the school is not ostentatious and even lends them out to opponents. At the national tournament, Vice Captain Arisa was scolded by Captain Kei for using a wiretap without her permission. After the match, Kei praised Oarai for their victory despite being at a disadvantage, calling it "exciting." Kei's attitude, which isn't obsessed with winning, is rooted in her belief that "That's Sensha-do, this isn't war," and her determination to never resort to dirty tricks or stray from the path. She also believes that "if we're in a privileged position, we should be worthy of it," and has a side to her that acts on behalf of her rivals, such as temporarily taking custody of Oarai's vehicles when the school was in danger of closing for the second time. This upstanding and honorable attitude is perhaps Saunders High School's greatest charm.
