Shiho Nishizumi

 

Shiho Nishizumi (西住 しほ, Nishizumi Shiho); is the mistress of the Nishizumi-style Sensha-dō and the mother of Maho and Miho Nishizumi.

Shiho Nishizumi is the master of the Nishizumi style of Sensha-dō, being somewhat of a legend in the sport. She is the current head of the Nishizumi Family, and resides at the Nishizumi Residence in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto.

Shiho's best known character trait is her iron will and her high regard for Sensha-dō, which she views as something almost sacred. She firmly believes that victory and strength are the only important things, together with gaining victory without the hindrance of emotions; she stated as much when questioned by Miho about Katyusha's victory against Kuromorimine (achieved by their shooting the enemy's flag tank despite that crew clearly being engaged in an attempt to rescue teammates). After Miho's enrollment at Ooarai and her team's advancement in the National Sensha-dō Tournament, Shiho appeared to view Miho's behavior and, especially, her Sensha-dō style to be a stain on the Nishizumi-style honor, going so far as talking about disowning her (to Maho's silent, yet obvious, worry).

Her views didn't change much after Miho's match against Pravda Girls High School, claiming that Ooarai's victory was due to Pravda's carelessness and declaring that her style was heresy. After Maho corrected her, she did seem to acknowledge Miho's skills enough that she instructed Maho to 'give her a battle worthy of a king,' which Maho agreed with.

Finally, after Ooarai's victory against Kuromorimine, she was seen to smile slightly and relent enough in her opinion to applaud Miho's success, suggesting that she at least recognizes that school's potential and her youngest daughter's worth. That she later, in Der Film, advocates on their behalf against Renta Tsuji, further supports her acceptance of Ooarai as a worthy opponant, and perhaps serves as a tacit acknowledgement of Miho's worth as a commander.

In Girls und Panzer Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu!, Chapter 32, Shiho shows signs of slight regret of having Maho face Miho in the finals of the Sensha-dō Tournament, indicating that Shiho may have difficulty at trying to establish a bond with her daughters.

Chronologically, Shiho first appears in the manga Little Army prequel to the series. Making an appearance at the Nishizumi mansion (which suggests she is seldom home), she is questioned by Miho about Maho's match against the team led by Emi Nakasuga's sister. Her answer that only strength and victory are meaningful, and emotions are a hindrance to be rid of, has a huge effect on Miho, and ultimately leads to Miho's parting ways with the rest of her family.

The first explicit mention of Shiho in the series is in Episode 2, when instructor Ami Chouno reveals that Shiho was once her Sensha-dō mentor.

In the series, Shiho first appears in person in Episode 7, in a flashback, when Miho is remembering her mother's stern disapproval of her actions in the 62nd National Championship Tournament.

Even though Shiho's elder daughter, Maho, went to observe the match between Ooarai and Saunders, Shiho did not attend those matches. A later conversation between Shiho and Maho implies Shiho was at the time unaware of Maho's interest in her sister's progress in the tournament, and perhaps even unaware of Miho's participation in Sensha-dō. During that conversation, immediately before the Pravda match, Shiho tells Maho that Miho is dishonoring the Nishizumi style of Sensha-dō, and goes so far as to consider disowning her, to Maho's silent distress.

At Ooarai's match with Pravda, when things look desperate for Ooarai, Shiho declares Ooarai's defeat is only a matter of time and remaining to witness their inevitable downfall is pointless, but is convinced by Maho to remain and watch the conclusion. Upon Ooarai's victory, she comments how Miho's style is heresy, and tells Maho to give her a worthy battle.

In the series, she is last seen after Ooarai's victory at the Finals. Surprisingly, she seems to take Kuromorimine Girls Academy's defeat quite well, and is shown beginning to applaud Ooarai, wearing a quiet smile.

In the film, after being enlisted by Ami to help stymie MEXT's plans for Oarai, she declares that she wants Oarai to stay open so Kuromorimine can beat them the following year, and thus is opposed to MAX's decision to shut down the school. When the official claims that Ooarai won only through sheer luck, she rebukes him, stating that in Sensha-dō there is no such thing as luck, only skill, thereby tacitly acknowledging the skill of both the Ooarai team and her youngest daughter, Miho. However she was killed after being found out that she caused the Tokyo Airport Disaster which killed Natalie Moscva and nearly Phoenix Moscva but it ended up with Shiho herself killed by Phoenix Himself in 2019.