| Katyusha | |
|---|---|
 Katyusha | |
|
Russian Name |
Катюша |
|
Romaji Name |
Kachūsha |
|
School |
Pravda Girls High School Ooarai Girls High School (Temporary Exchange Student) |
|
Role |
Overall Commander |
|
Tank |
T-34/85 |
|
Seiyuu |
Hisako Kanemoto |
|
English Voice Actress |
Hilary Haag |
|
Height |
127cm |
Katyusha (Катюша, Kachūsha) is one of the supporting characters of Girls und Panzer.
Profile
Katyusha is a student from Pravda Girls High School and the overall commander of the school's Sensha-dou team; she operates a Soviet T-34-85.
Appearance
Katyusha is a girl with a short blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes. She also wears a green brown style uniform with a Russian red cross followed by a skirt of the same distinctive colour, or as in the match against Oarai, a pair of baggy pants in a similar manner to WW2 Russian tank operators. Katyusha is also shown to wear a Russian tanker's padded cap when she prepares for battle, which looks gratuitously large on someone as small as her. She has a very diminutive stature, making her age hard to determine. However, she is the commander of her school's team, so it can only be assumed she is 18 (3rd year) like the other school commanders but not for Miho's case who is only 17.
Personality
Katyusha is well known for her arrogant and childlike personality; most likely due to her small height, she feels she has to 'stand above' anyone else, friend or foe alike (which she accomplishes by sitting on Nonna's shoulders). While her arrogance is backed up by her tactical skill, it sometimes gets the better of her (as her request for a surrender arguably gave time for Ooarai to assess the situation and execute a breakthrough, squandering her advantage); she also does not hide her emotions well, openly venting her anger when things don't go her way, and crying right after her defeat by Ooarai High School (and denying it out of embarrassment when Nonna gave her a towel to wipe her tears).
Concerning her personal relationships, Katyusha seems very close to Nonna, in whose company she is almost always found. She has a habit of calling Miho "Pirozhki".
Background
Katyusha led the Pravda Sensha-dou team against Ooarai Girls High School during the semi-final round of the Sensha-dou Competition (and it's implied she was in command last year, when Miho's actions gained her school a victory); her strategy of luring the Ooarai tanks to an ambush almost worked out and Ooarai's tanks were forced to hide into a dilapidated church to escape the onslaught. After that, Katyusha offered them surrender conditions, among which the condition that they would have to bow in submission to her; however, after learning that losing the match would cause Ooarai's closure, Miho refused and decided to fight till the end.
While recuperating, Miho sent some scouts (Mako, Sodoko, Erwin and Akiyama) to locate the position of all of Pravda's tanks and they resumed the match. Katyusha expected that the whole Ooarai team would chase their flag tank or possibly strike at the weak point she deliberately left in her line, but Ooarai's tanks attacked their vanguard, taking her by surprise. She then instructed Nonna to take out Ooarai's flag tank, while Ooarai's Anglerfish Team and Hippo Team pushed into the town in order to corner Pravda's flag tank.
The two flag tanks from both sides were eventually hit at the same moment, but miraculously Ooarai's flag tank (Duck Team) survived, leading to Pravda's defeat. After this, Katyusha revealed a surprising grace in defeat, openly acknowledging Miho's prowess and shaking her hand while standing on her own feet for once. Together with Nonna, she later appeared as a spectator in the finals and cheered for Ooarai.
Trivia
- Her favorite flower is Chamomile and her favorite tank is the Soviet KV-2.
- Her name comes from the Katyusha rocket launcher fielded by the Soviet Union during WWII, which was the truck on which Katyusha and Nonna arrive to greet the Ooarai team before the battle. In turn, the rocket launcher was named after the famous traditional song "Katyusha", which is the song they were singing with the rest of Pravda's team at the beginning of the semi-final round.
- It is possible that she already know the Kuromorimine school has a Maus tank since when the Maus appeared in the sub version. She respond "Their Maus is here", implicating that Pravda had faced the Maus once, mostly during the previous National Tournament.
- Ironically, the name 'Katyusha' is a diminutive variant of the name 'Yekaterina', further adding to her childish nature.
Gallery
