| Miho Nishizumi | |
|---|---|
 Miho Nishizumi | |
|
Kanji Name |
西住 みほ |
|
Romaji Name |
Nishizumi Miho |
|
Height |
158cm |
|
Blood Type |
A |
|
School |
Ooarai Girls High School |
|
Role |
Overall Commander |
|
Team |
Anglerfish Team |
|
Tank |
Panzer IV |
|
Seiyuu |
Mai Fuchigami |
Miho Nishizumi (西住 みほ, Nishizumi Miho) is the main protagonist of Girls und Panzer.
Profile
Miho is a second year student from Ooarai Girls High School. She's the overall commander of her school's Sensha-dou team. Her height is 158cm and her blood type is type A. She is also the commander of the Anglerfish Team and she operates a German Panzer IV.
Appearance
Miho is a girl with a short light brown hair and a pair of light brown eyes. She bears a striking resemblance to her sister .
Personality
Miho is known for her cheerful and polite demeanor, and her vast talents as a Sensha-Dou commander. During every Sensha-dou match, she becomes serious, calm and decisive. Her hobby is collecting bandaged teddy bears.
At the start of the series, Miho was trying to distance herself from Sensha-dou due to her still recent negative experience in it, but chose to take it up to do it with her friends. She gradually starts to enjoy it again, but held tight to her belief that one's comrades are more important than victory, being willing to accept defeat if it is necessary to avoid them coming to harm.
One of her most important traits is without doubt her loyalty to her friends, being ready to do everything for their sake (such as when she saved her teammate's life, or when she accepted to join Ooarai's Sensha-Dou team when her friends were being threatened for supporting her). It can also be directed to her new school, as when she learned that defeat in the tournament means that Ooarai will close, she became determined in doing her best to achieve victory. Also, although she took a different path, she still loves her sister and holds her in high regard.
Background
Miho is a girl who comes from a family that traditionally practices Sensha-dou, or "Way of the Tank"; brought up to live for this, she practised it (in the ranks of Kuromorimine Girls High School) until after the previous year's Sensha-Dou finals. This was partly becayse she was responsible for their defeat (she chose to save a tank's crew from drowning after it fell into a river instead of protecting her own flag tank which was subsequently destroyed by a shot from their arch-rival Pravda Girls High School). This incurred the outrage of several people, including her mother, since she did threw away a victory (an unforgivable act for the Nishizumi-style) and ended Kuromorimine's nine-year victory streak.
At the beginning of the series, Miho transferred to Ooarai Girls High School, which she partly chose because it didn't have any Sensha-Dou activity in its curriculum; there, she started a new life and befriended girls like Saori Takebe and Hana Isuzu. Unfortunately, it was then announced that the school's Sensha-Dou team was being reactivated, and she was approached by the Student Council's members (Anzu Kadotani, Momo Kawashima and Yuzu Koyama) as the only Ooarai student with previous experience. She didn't want to take it up again, but when her friends showed willingness to stand up for her (in response to the Student Council's threats), for their sake she accepted.
Their first task was to find Ooarai's long-lost tanks, among which a Panzer IV; after that, the instructori (Ami Chōno) decided to have a training match right away. Again, Miho showed her reluctance to resume her functions (refusing to be the Panzer IV's commander, instead becoming its loader); however, during the match she regained some of her spirit and assumed de facto control of the team, leading it to victory (and gaining new friends in Yukari Akiyama and Mako Reizei). A training match against St. Gloriana Girls High School saw her assume the overall command of Ooarai's forces, thanks to her previous experience and her natural skills (while becoming commander of Anglerfish Team).
She gradually regained some confidence in herself when the Tournament started, winning against Saunders Girls High School and Anzio Girls High School; however, only when they were pitted against Pravda Girls High School did Miho learn how important her actions were for Ooarai, as the Student Council revealed that only winning the Tournament would save Ooarai from closure. As she had come to see Ooarai as her new home, she became determined to win, and managed to overcome their situation and win against the current champions.
Her ultimate test went during the Finals, when Ooarai fought the same school for which she had previously fought, not to mention her own sister. Overcoming Ooarai's own disadvantage, an accident that reminded her of her actions, and her sister's ability, Miho's actions won a narrow victory for Ooarai, ensuring that her new home would survive. After the match, she and her sister shared some words about her finally finding her own way in Sensha-Dou.
Little Army
The prequel manga "Little Army" deals with Miho forming a tank crew with some of her first friends in elementary school, and having a match against her sister's team. This eventually leads her (due to her half-German friend Emi Nakasuka) to see her family's Sensha-Dou in a new light (such as Maho gaining a victory by firing on a tank that was trying to bring help to a teammate), and questioning her own desires, and resolving to find her own way of Sensha-Dou.
This prequel also gives hindsight about her family background, as it depicts her mother's belief that only victory matters, and especially her sister's decision to take on the role of the Nishizumi heir to give Miho a chance to be free and find her own Sensha-Dou style).
Trivia
Miho's favorite tank is the German PzKpfw II Ausf. E/F.
However, the tank which she is most commonly seen using (both in the main series and in the Little Army prequel) is the German Panzer IV.
In the flashback she is seen at Kuromorimine as commander of the Tiger with the number 217.That tank was for a time used in real life by tank ace Otto Carius, who unlike the commander of the Tiger Maho uses, survived the war.
Gallery
