| All-Stars University Team |
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- "A match has been organised - against the University Strengthened Team"
- ―Anzu Kadotani
All-Stars University Team is a team made up by the best university students in Girls und Panzer that appears in Girls und Panzer der Film. It is run by the Shimada Family. The team mainly operates late-war tanks and super heavy weaponry. It is notable for being the institution that selects and trains senshado players in preparation for their graduation into the National Sensha-Dō League.
Overview
The team's members are recruited from universities across Japan, usually from elite public and private schools such as "T-dai" (Tokyo University), "K-dai" (Keio University) or "O-dai" (Osaka University). While on the team they undergo rigorous training, preparing them to be integrated into various professional teams once they graduate. Their current commander is Alice Shimada, the heir to the house of the Shimada style, which is a rival to the Nishizumi house.
They have a unique range of vehicles at their disposal ranging from Shermans and Panthers to large siege guns and superheavy tank destroyers. During the annihilation match, however, the majority of their tanks were tanks that would later see action in service of the United Nations during the Korean War.
The team attend their meetings and Sensha-dō trainings at one location somewhere in Tokyo.
As an official member of the Sensha-dō Federation, the team has access to high funding, sophisticated equipment and high priority with respect to Sensha-dō training and provision. They frequently display the logo of the Sensha-dō Federation alongside their team insignia.
The team is known to engage in exhibition matches with other institutions, such as the adult professional teams or, in one particular known case, a local high school.
Uniform
The uniform of the All-Stars University Team is comprised of a white collared shirt and black tie word under a long-sleeved jacket. The jacket, shorts and boots follow the olive green theme, as does the beret, which also features the logo of the National Sensha-dō Federation. A dark green vest is worn over the jacket.
Despite being a centre for higher education representative of the Sensha-dō Federation, the dress code is not as strictly policed as in some high schools.
Tactics
The All-Stars University Team fights according to the Shimada Style, a rival practice to the Nishizumi Style, which favours fluidity of tactics and places emphasis on being unpredictable. The university operates primarily through the use of separate units that complete independent objectives as part of an integrated, cohesive overall strategy. These individual companies are assigned to frontline sub-commanders who direct their units on a tactical level, while the upper levels of command coordinate the various operational objectives towards accomplishing strategic goals.
A large part of the university's doctrine hinges upon interpretation of the enemy's strategy and adapting to counter it, hence the Sensha-dō force prefers not to fully engage until thorough reconnaissance of the opposition's deployment and movements has been conducted, and then to attack in a single, swift, coordinated strike. Similarly, the university also takes the extra effort to conceal its own strategies by hiding them behind feints or misleading behaviour.
Thanks to its commander, the university has adopted the Shimada Style, a "ninja" style that is designed around being unpredictable and entails the flexibility to rapidly alter entire strategies at a moment's notice. The All-Stars University Team will usually attempt to out-position its opponents in a single decisive battle, such as a major breakthrough or encirclement.
Background
- Main article: Girls und Panzer der Film
In order to cancel the closure of Ooarai Girls Academy, Anzu Kadotani signed a written agreement with Renta Tsuji, detailing that the school carrier would be reopened if Ooarai could defeat the All-Stars University Team in a pro-league style match. In accordance with the default rules of professional level Sensha-dō, the match was to be an annihilation match with up to thirty tanks allowed on either team. Although Ooarai had only eight tanks in their arsenal at the start of the official match preparation time, a series of last minute transfers from other schools left them fielding a makeshift team of thirty tanks from various different high schools. The All-Stars University Team fielded a Centurion Mk.I (A41), twenty-four M26 Pershing heavy tanks, three M24 Chaffee combat scouts, a Karl-Gerät 040 super-heavy self-propelled mortar and a T28 Super Heavy Tank.
At the beginning of the match, the All-Stars University Team allowed their opponents to occupy the advantageous position of a central hill at the outset, instead engaging hard along the flanks. A breakthrough on the right flank let them perform a half encirclement to strike at the enemy rear, coordinated with a frontal attack from the central company, which was supported by artillery fire that prevented the Ooarai from fully exploiting the hilltop firing position. The university students routed the enemy tanks on the hill, inflicting heavy damage as they did so.
However, the university students then fell for a feint towards their command tank that caused them to leave their Karl-Gerät 040 exposed. A strike team of enemy light tanks destroyed the Karl and its escorts and escaped without taking further losses. The opposition subsequently disengaged and relocated to a theme park.
The All-Stars University Team feinted towards the south gate, leaving a blocking force to occupy the enemy, then pushed through the east gate with the aid of the T-28 Super Heavy Tank. Heavy street-to-street fighting ensued, but with the aid of a secondary force inserted through the western gate, the university students encircled most of the enemy forces in a kill zone. Unfortunately, an unexpected distracted disrupted the final attack, and allowed the encircled force to escape and scatter.
The battle lines thus dissolved into a multitude of small-scale running battles that chipped away at the university's numbers until Alice Shimada personally took to the field in her Centurion command tank. Although many vehicles, including the T28, were immobilised in the fighting, Alice and her sub-commanders in the Bermuda Trio were able to turn the tide and destroy all but two of the enemy tanks. In a final clash in the plaza at the centre of the park, the remaining university students fought and were eventually defeated by Ooarai's Miho and Maho Nishizumi in a very close showdown.
Notable Members
The All-Stars University Team has four members of note:
Alice Shimada
- Main article: Alice Shimada
The overall commander of the All-Stars University's Sensha-dō team. She is a young prodigy who has skipped many grades in order to attend the university at a young age. She is the daughter of Chiyo Shimada and the heir to the Shimada Style. Outside of Sensha-dō, she is a fan of Boko. She commands a Centurion Mk.I (A41).
The Bermuda Trio
Azumi
- Main article: Azumi
Azumi is one of Alice's three lieutenants and part of the Bermuda Trio. Before attending University she was a member of BC Freedom High School. She commands an M26 Pershing, identifiable by a yellow diamond on the mudflap.
Megumi
- Main article: Megumi
Megumi is one of Alice's three lieutenants and part of the Bermuda Trio. Before attending University she was a member of Saunders University High School. She commands an M26 Pershing, identifiable by a red square on the mudflap.
Rumi
- Main article: Rumi
Rumi is one of Alice's three lieutenants and part of the Bermuda Trio. Before attending University she was a member of Jatkosota High School. She commands an M26 Pershing, identifiable by a blue triangle on the mudflap.
Vehicles Operated
Tanks
- M26 Pershing
- M24 Chaffee
- T28 Super Heavy Tank
- Centurion Mk.I (A41)
- Karl-Gerät 040
- M4 Sherman (Training Tank)
- PzKfw. V "Panther" (Training Tank)
- (Sd.Kfz. 173) Jagdpanzer V "Jagdpanther" (Training Tank)
Non-fighting vehicles
Theme Music
- Kō Tekishu Desu!
- When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Trivia
- The All-Stars University Team are stated to have beaten a professional team (Kurogane Industry) prior to the match against Ooarai Girls Academy.
- The All-Stars University Team tanks are shown to use more advanced equipment than other schools, including smokescreens, camouflage netting, touchscreen strategic interfaces, digital visual displays and additional radio equipment.
- The All-Stars University Team are the only team known to use open-topped, self-propelled indirect-fire artillery. The use of this type of vehicle in Sensha-dō was approved just prior to the match against Ooarai Girls Academy.
- The All-Stars University Team practices in an entirely different set of tanks to those they use in-match.
- Their theme song, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, is an instrumental version of a popular song from the American Civil War.
- In the spin-off manga Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! it is revealed that the university's students carry tracking devices in case of emergencies.
- The name of the team varies depending on the translation (University Strengthened Team, University Selection Team, Selection University) All-Stars University Team, being the official one.
Gallery
- Main article: Selection University/Gallery
| Schools in Girls und Panzer ☰ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Schools in The Anime Series | Anzio High School ♦ Kuromorimine Girls Academy ♦ Ooarai Girls Academy ♦ Pravda Girls High School ♦ Saunders University High School ♦ St. Gloriana Girls College | |
| Schools in Der Film | Chi-Ha-Tan Academy ♦ Jatkosota High School ♦ All-Stars University Team | |
| Schools in Das Finale | BC Freedom Academy | |
| Schools in The Mangas | Bellwall Academy ♦ Bonple High School ♦ Gilbert High School ♦ Maginot Girls' College ♦ Tategoto High School ♦ Tatenashi High School ♦ West Kureoji Grona High School | |
| Schools in Supplemental Material | Blue Division High School ♦ Count High School ♦ Gregor High School ♦ Koala Forest Academy ♦ Maple High School ♦ Viggen High School ♦ Viking Fisheries High School ♦ Waffle Academy ♦ Yogurt Academy | |