Miho Nishizumi

 

Miho is a second year student from Ooarai Girls Academy. She became the overall commander of her school's Sensha-dō team due to the support of other members of the team. She is also the commander of the Anglerfish Team, which operates a German Panzer IV.

She is the youngest daughter of Shiho Nishizumi and younger sister to Maho Nishizumi.

Miho is a medium-sized girl with short, light brown hair and light brown eyes. She bears a striking physical resemblance to her older sister.

Miho typically wears Ooarai Girls Academy uniform. During battle, she wears the school's Sensha-dō uniform. In less formal situations and at home, she has worn assorted casual wear; notably, she wore a yellow dress with white sleeves when she visited her home.

As with most of the members of Ooarai's Sensha-dō team, she has performed the Anko Dance while wearing the costume to go with it.

During her childhood, Miho had difficulties finding friends due to her passion for Shensa-do, a sport that most girls find weird. This changed in elementary school when she met Hitomi Yuzumoto and Chihiro Yusa, who became interested in Sensha-do, making Miho happy to have finally made some friends. At the same time, Miho also met Emi Nakasuga, a half German-half Japanese girl who seems to bear some quarrel against Miho's sister, Maho. Miho, Hitomi and Chihiro started to get along while driving one of the Nishizumi family's personal tanks, a Panzer IV, but during their first day driving it, Hitomi fell from the tank while getting out and sprained her ankle. Luckily for them, at that moment, Emi was passing by with her bicycle. Miho asked her for help driving the tank back with all of them, having guessed she had some previous experience. Albeit with some reluctance, Emi joined the group.

Though Miho thought she had created a bond of friendship with the three girls, things did not immediately work out smoothly. At school, Emi and Hitomi had a falling out that made them quit their meetings. At first, Miho was demoralized by the situation but, after remembering advice that her sister Maho gave her when she was younger, she decided to persist and solve the quarrel between Emi and Hitomi. With that in mind, she went after Emi to talk with her and get to know her better. In their conversations, Miho learnt about Emi's older sister, who came to Japan from Germany to practice Shensha-do. Emi told Miho that she do not like Japan, as everyone played kids' games instead of Sensha-do. Miho told Emi she understood her feelings, as she had had the same experience, and she hoped to befriend Emi, Hitomi, and Chihiro because of their common interest in Sensha-do. In the end, Emi agreed to make peace with Hitomi, who in the meantime had been convinced to do the same by Chihiro. The two girls settled their dispute and the four girls reformed the Sensha-do group.

One day, after school, Miho was met at the exit by her sister Maho, who she hadn't seen for a while. Miho was happy to present Maho to her new friends. Hitomi and Chihiro were friendly, but Emi reacted coldly and walked away, telling Miho that she didn't want to be anywhere near Maho, as Emi's older sister's team had been defeated by Maho's team. The next day at school, Emi made very clear to Miho that she hates Maho. Angry, Miho defended her older sister, impulsively telling Emi she hated her. After school, when Miho returned home feeling sad about the quarrel she had with Emi, she shared her feelings with Kikuyo Idegami, a servant and close friend to the Nishizumi family. On considering Kikuyo's advice, Miho came up with the idea of a tank match, with Miho and her friends against her sister Maho, so that Emi could learn more about Maho even though Emi didn't want to see her. After getting Maho's agreement to help, Miho went to Emi's house to convince her to accept. There she learned that Emi planned to go back to Germany after she graduated. Even so, Miho managed to convince Emi to fight against Maho on the condition that Miho would give her best as a commander to win the match.

The day of the match, Miho and her friends met with Maho on the Nishizumi's Sensha-do practice field. Accompanying Maho were three of her companions from Kuromorimine, as well as Kikuyo, who would act as the referee. Miho's team would drive the Panzer IV, while Maho faced them with a StuG III. Before the start of the match, Maho told Miho she will not go softly just because it was a friendly match, making Miho even more nervous. During the match, Miho became uncertain, both fearing to make a mistake and intimidated by facing a tank ace such as her sister. This attitude infuriated Emi, to the point that she suggested Miho should leave the commander's seat if she continued like that. With encouragement from her friends, Miho collected herself and gave her best to win the match —but even that wasn't enough, and in the end Maho managed to defeat them all the same. Still, the match was a close one and —by Maho's own admission— it would have ended in a draw if a tree hadn't stood between her Stug III and Miho's tank's shell. Miho apologized to Emi for losing the match, but Emi told her it wasn't a big deal, as Miho had kept her promise to do her best in trying to win.

After the match, the two teams thanked each other. However, Emi still had a cold and distant attitude towards Maho until the latter gave Emi first aid for an injury she took during the match, for which Emi thanked her. Miho thought that things were improving between Emi and Maho, but Miho discovered a hard truth about her sister when Emi asked about the match Maho had against Emi's sister. Specifically, she asked why Maho took advantage of a moment when her sister was helping one of Maho's own teammates, in order to win the tournament. Miho was shocked to hear this, and asked her sister if what Emi said was true. Before Maho could answer, the conversation was interrupted by their mother, Shiho, who asked what was happening and congratulated her daughter Maho for her performance during the tournament; shortly after, both Shiho and Maho left the field to return home.

After saluting her friends, Miho went home as well. Back at home, after waiting outside her mother's studio while Shiho and Maho talked about the tournament, Miho asked her mother to speak privately with Maho. After her mother departed, Miho asked her sister again if what Emi said earlier was true. Maho coldly confirmed Emi's words, smashing Miho's high opinion of Maho and Sensha-do, leaving her crying after Maho departed.

The next day at school, Miho told her friends she was thinking about quitting Sensha-do. This made Emi furious, and she took Miho by the arm and dragged her outside. There Emi first apologized for having misjudged Maho, and then insisted that Miho should tell her what was in her mind, as friends should always do so. Hitomi and Chihiro, overhearing the conversation, joined them and agreed with Emi. Miho, moved by her friends' kindness, told them what had happened the previous day. Hitomi then pointed out that Maho had started to act differently only after Shiho showed up. Hitomi suggested that Miho should talk directly to her mother; however, the girls acknowledged that Miho's mother was a scary woman. Chihiro then proposed they should all go together to support Miho. Although reluctant, they all agreed.

Miho and her friends waited for Miho's mother at the guest room of the Nishizumi mansion and, after a long wait, eventually got the chance to speak with her. Miho asked her mother if what Maho had done in the finals of the tournament —shooting the enemy's flag tank while it was helping one of Maho's own team members— was really necessary. Shiho replied that it was a foolish question, that a member of the Nishizumi should feel embarrassed to ask something like that, and that the Nishizumi Sensha-do style only aimed for strength and victory. She then directed Kikuyo to accompany Miho's friends back to their homes. At the exit, Emi commented on Shiho's attitude and noted that Maho, who was also present at the meeting, had not said a word the whole time. Kikuyo then stepped in and politely asked the girls to understand Maho's position, being the heir-apparent of the Nishizumi Style and thus carrying a great responsibility. Later that evening, Maho spoke with Miho and told her that she was surprised to see her questioning their mother, and suggested that she must find her own Sensha-do to be happy.

A week later, Miho was still conflicted between Maho's encouragement to find her own path and her own dedication to what was expected from her as a Nishizumi. She shared her feelings with Emi, again suggesting that she might quit Sensha-do; again this made Emi angry, enough that she decided to go back to Germany with her parents. The day before Emi's departure, Miho asked Kikuyo her thoughts about what her mother said during the meeting with her friends; Kikuyo hesitated, saying that it would be disrespectful towards lady Shiho.

The next morning, not wanting to show her sorrow to the others, Miho didn't go to school, despite it being the last time she would see Emi before she left for Germany. Instead, Miho isolated herself in the Panzer IV for most of the day. Later on, Chihiro and Hitomi showed up, along with Kikuyo, wanting Miho to come with them to say farewell to Emi. The three eventually managed to convince Miho to join them by pointing out to her that Sensha-do isn't just about refining one's technique with tanks, but also about polishing their own persona, becoming who they feel they should be. They also told her that Emi is going back to Germany to find her own Sensha-do, thanks to Miho's encouragements. Moved by these revelations, Miho —in the Panzer IV and accompanied by Chihiro and Hitomi— sped off to reach Emi.

The three girls managed to reach Emi, who was traveling on board a train. Emi, shocked to see her friends driving alongside the train, opened the window. Miho told Emi that she will continue to practice Sensha-do and find her own path and, once both she and Emi have found their own Sensha-do, she promises they will meet again. Miho's words moved Emi deeply and the four girls saluted each other's happily.

Miho, Chihiro, and Hitomi continued to spend time together, even though they didn't ride tanks again. After their graduation the girls took different paths, with Hitomi going into a school with Sensha-do, Chihiro into a sports school, and Miho entering Kuromorimine High School to practice Sensha-do alongside her sister Maho.

62nd National High School Sensha-Dō Tournament
Kuromorimine managed to reach the finals, where they faced Pravda, and Miho, who by this time was the team's vice-commander, was given the command of the flag tank, a Tiger I. During the match, Miho was leading a column along a road bordering a steep embankment when they were engaged by Pravda's tanks. During the fight, a Panzer III was knocked down the embankment and into the water below, sinking with the crew inside it. Fearing for her companions' lives, Miho abandoned her tank and jumped into the water to rescue them. Miho saved the Panzer III's crew, but the price for her actions was the defeat of her team, as Pravda managed to hit and knock out Miho's flag tank, immobile after Miho left it.

Miho's actions cost Kuromorimine the chance to win the tenth annual tournament in a row. After these events, Shiho Nishizumi scolded Miho for having not followed her family's sensha-do tradition and for showing weakness. Her sister, Maho, was present at the scolding, but did not step in Miho's defense.

The events of the 62nd National Tournament and its aftermath had a major impact on Miho and her view of Sensha-dō. She came to see Sensha-dō only as an oppressing and harsh environment, so much so that she made the decision to leave both Kuromorimine and her family and transfer into the little-known Ooarai Girls Academy. There she hoped to make a new, happy life with new friends and have nothing to do with Sensha-do, having chosen Ooarai specifically because it didn’t have a Sensha-do team.

In the first day of her life in the new school, Miho was excited and happy, looking forward to meeting new schoolmates. However, by the time of lunch break, none of the students had approached her, making Miho sad. Things change for the better when two classmates, Saori Takebe and Hana Isuzu, together approach Miho and invite her to have lunch with them; of course Miho accepts. The three girls hit it off well, and were talking to each other cheerfully until the Student Council (Anzu Kadotani, Yuzu Koyama and Momo Kawashima) approach Miho to convince her, quite forcefully, to choose the Sensha-do elective, which is to be reintroduced that year.

Miho is shocked that she has not escaped Sensha-do, and is left too dazed and distracted even to participate in class. Concerned, Miho's teacher sends her to the infirmary; worried about their new friend, Saori and Hana quickly conspire to be sent to the infirmary as well.

There, coaxed by her new friends, Miho tells Saori and Hana about her family Sensha-do tradition and how she dislikes it, and is relieved by their full support. Just as the three are preparing to end the day, the Student Council calls for the entire school to assemble in the gym. To encourage enrollment in the new Sensha-do elective, the Student Council shows an orientation film about Sensha-do, upsetting Miho even further. To Miho's dismay, after school Saori and Hana express their intention to join the Sensha-do club, cheerfully encouraging her to join it as well. That night, Miho sits awake on her bed, haunted by the memories of what made her quit Sensha-do and leave Kuromorimine.

Reapproaching Sensha-dō
The next day at school, with Saori and Hana, she reveals that she has chosen another elective —Incense Ceremony— and apologizes for not having chosen Sensha-do, knowing her two friends were excited about it. Saori and Hana, understanding her situation, declare their solidarity with Miho by changing their own choices to the same Incense Ceremony elective, claiming that as long as they are together it will be fine.

Later, at lunch, Miho is summoned by the Student Council, who are displeased by her choice to not take Sensha-do. Saori and Hana had accompanied Miho for support, and now stand up for her against the Student Council. Frustrated, the Student Council even threaten Saori and Hana with expulsion if Miho does not comply. In the end, Miho, for the sake of her new friends, awed by their support, agrees to join the Sensha-do club.

The next day Miho, alongside Saori, Hana, and other students who have enrolled in Sensha-do, gather at the school's Sensha-do garage, where they find a derelict Panzer IV is all that remains of Ooarai's once powerful Sensha-do Team. All are dismayed, but Miho, ignoring the others' gloomy comments, has a look at the tank and declares that the armor and the mobile parts seem to be in good shape and that the tank will be fixable.

Having only the one tank, the Student Council tasks the girls to go out and find others, believing there must still be a few hidden somewhere on the ship. During the search, Miho’s group is joined by Yukari Akiyama, a shy girl who seems to both recognize and admire Miho and, when they find a Panzer 38(t) in a forest, is revealed to be a Sensha-do enthusiast and tank buff. Eventually all the girls of the Sensha-do Team together manage to recover four assorted tanks; in the assignment of the tanks the Panzer IV is given to Miho’s group, who then spends the rest of the day cleaning and repairing the tank, just as the other club members do the same for the other tanks.

After school, Yukari asks Miho, Saori, and Hana to accompany her to a shop specializing in Sensha-do. There, Miho is made very uncomfortable when she sees her sister Maho on television. Seeing Miho's unhappiness, Saori proposes they all go to Miho’s place; there they have dinner and spend a fun time together. When they part ways for the evening, Miho declares she is happy to have transferred to Ooarai.

The next morning, Miho wakes late, and ends up in a rush to avoid arriving late at school. However, along the way she encounters a schoolmate, Mako Reizei, half-sleep and barely able to stand on her own, and ends up helping her get to school. They are scolded by Public Morals Committee member Midoriko Sono, also known as “Sodoko”, for being late; Sodoko, making it clear this was not the first time Mako was late, recommends Miho not help Mako next time; Mako apologizes to Miho and promises her she will return the favor.

Forming the Team
Later that day, Miho and the rest of the Sensha-do students meet Ami Chōno, an officer of the armed forces and Sensha-do instructor, who recognizes Miho and reveals her family's history to the rest of the Sensha-do Team. When Ami instructs each team to assign their tank crew's roles, Yukari asks Miho to be the tank commander, but Miho, too anxious, refuses. Saori then proposes to draw lots, resulting in Saori being the commander, Yukari the gunner, Hana the driver, and Miho both the loader and the radio operator, not having a fifth member to fill that role. In that first class, Ami directs the students into a mock battle, in which Miho and her friends are soon targeted by two other tanks. In the confrontation, Saori panics, and sends them into a retreat.

As they flee, Miho spots a girl laying on the ground, taking a nap, directly in the path of their tank. Miho tries to warn the others that they are going to run over the girl, but the latter becomes aware of the danger in time and manages to jump aboard the tank —revealing herself as Mako, the girl Miho helped earlier that morning. Saori recognizes Mako, and Miho realizes the two girls are friends.

The chase continues until the girls arrive at a suspension bridge. Stepping forward to fill the need for leadership, Miho climbs out of the tank and tries to guide Hana across, but Hana, inexperienced as a driver, accidentally puts the tank dangerously close to the edge. At that critical moment, another team fires a shot into the back of their Panzer IV, knocking Hana unconscious. In this dire situation, Miho is about to replace Hana in the driver's seat, but Mako gets there first and, amazing them all with her quick acquisition of the skill, manages to get the tank back into a safe position. Despite being surrounded by the other four teams, Miho is able to lead her team to victory in the training match by knocking out three of the four pursuing tanks, while the fourth, trying to flee in panic, gets stuck and burns out their tank's engine. Miho, to her own surprise, has led them to victory; her teammates are jubilant, and the Student Council are pleased with themselves for enlisting Miho.

After the mock battle, Miho and her friends relax in an onsen, discussing the recent events and reassigning their roles in the tank. Saori, Hana, and Yukari convince Miho to be the commander, being the only one with experience in Sensha-do, while Saori, Hana, and Yukari will be, respectively, the radio operator, gunner, and loader. Although Mako is initially reluctant to join, and it takes Saori to change her mind, she eventually agrees to become their driver.

The next day, at the training grounds, Miho and her friends arrive to discover that the other teams have repainted their tanks with unique and bizarre patterns and colors. Saori is jealous for not having done the same with their tank, and Yukari is horrified at the unorthodox treatment of the tanks, but Miho starts to laugh, saying it was the first time she had seen such a "fun" treatment of tanks, and that she had never imagined Sensha-do could be fun.

Over the following days, Miho and the rest of the Sesha-do club continue to practice, and eventually learn that the Student Council has invited St. Gloriana Girls College to fight a friendly match against them. During a briefing for that match, Momo briefs the other tank commanders on her plan: one of the tanks will lure St. Gloriana's team into an ambush, where the other four will fire upon them. Miho expresses doubts about this strategy, claiming that St. Gloriana is too experienced to fall into an obvious trick like that. Momo yells at Miho for criticizing her “cunning plan”, but Anzu calms her, and then proposes Miho as overall commander of the Ooarai Sensha-do club. Miho is shocked, but the other tank commanders approve. However, Anzu then puts on some pressure: while she will give Miho a three-day supply of dried sweet potato chips as a “reward” if they win, if they lose, they will have to do the infamous, embarrassing Anglerfish Dance. The prospect of having to do the Anglerfish Dance is so dismaying to Saori, Hana, and Yukari that the three girls panic, promising at all costs to win the match in order to avoid it. Then, pulling themselves together, they promise that if they do lose, they will join Miho in the dance so that she does not need to do it alone.

First Sensha-dō battle: Ooarai vs Saint Gloriana
Ooarai’s team meets St. Gloriana’s on rocky terrain outside of Ooarai city. There, Miho and her friends follow Momo’s plan, getting close to St. Gloriana’s tanks and firing at them in order to provoke a chase and lure them into a defile where the rest of Ooarai’s team waits in ambush. The plan starts to fall apart when Momo springs the ambush too soon, nearly hitting Miho’s Panzer IV. Moreover, just as Miho had predicted, St. Gloriana wasn’t caught off-guard by this tactic, and they soon manage to envelop Ooarai's team in a pincer attack. The situation deteriorates when the freshmen students in the M3 Lee panic and abandon their tank, thus eliminating themselves from the match, while the Student Council’s Panzer 38(t) throws a track and gets stuck. With two tanks out of combat and Momo incapacitated by her own excitement, Miho takes charge of the team and orders the remaining Stug III and Type 89 to follow her in a retreat into the city, using their speed and knowledge of the area to break contact and reorganize.

Despite their best efforts, the team eventually loses both the Stug III and Type 89, managing to knock out only one Matilda in exchange. The rest of St. Gloriana chases after and eventually corners Miho’s tank. Miho, however, manages to escape the situation when the Student Council’s tank unexpectedly arrives and, despite missing their own shot and getting knocked out, gives Miho time to destroy one Matilda and flee through an alley. Using superior speed and the element of surprise, Miho and her friends manage to knock out the other two Matildas, leaving only Darjeeling’s Churchill. Against the heavily armored Churchill, Miho tries a feint: pretending to charge, she then sets her Panzer into a drift to swing around for a shot into the Churchill's flank. The maneuver does not work, however, and Darjeeling manages to knock out the Panzer IV. St. Gloriana is declared the winner of the match.

Shortly after the battle, Darjeeling approaches Miho and, upon asking her name, is surprised to find that Miho is a member of the Nishizumi family. Before leaving, she observes aloud that Miho is very different from her sister Maho.

Having lost the match, Miho must do the embarrassing Anglerfish Dance in public, but she is joined by her friends, and, in the spirit of fairness, the Student Council (who had decided on the plan for the match) dances as well.

After the dance, during their visit of the town, Miho and her friends meet Shinzaburo, a retainer of Hana's mother, and Hana's mother, Yuri Isuzu. Hana's mother is shocked to discover that her daughter has joined the Sensha-do team and faints on the spot. Later, at the Isuzu house, along with the other girls, Miho eavesdrops on a quarrel between Hana and her mother, who doesn’t approve of her daughter’s decision to abandon the family tradition of ikebana for Sensha-do, and eventually banishes Hana from the house. The similarity to her own situation is not lost on Miho, and Hana and Miho promise each other they will do their best in their new endeavor of Sensha-do.

Returning to their campus ship, they are met by the freshmen students, who apologize to Miho for leaving the battlefield and promise to do better next time. The Student Council is also there and inform Miho that from now on they will leave strategy to her. They also present her with a gift from St. Gloriana: a tea set, and a note written by Darjeeling declaring that she had more fun in the match against Miho than in the ones against her older sister Maho. An amazed Yukari tells Miho that St. Gloriana only sends such gifts to those opponents they feel are truly worthy.

However, Anzu then recommends the girls not lose another match: they will next be participating in the Sensha-do High School Tournament. Later, at the opening ceremony of that tournament, a nervous Miho draws her team's placement number, resulting in a match against the Saunders University High School: one of the top teams, and favored to win the tournament.

National Tournament
After the Tournament draw, Miho and her friends retire to a tank-themed local café. There, each are voicing concerns about going up against such a strong adversary when they encounter Miho's sister, Maho, and the new vice-commander of Kuromorimine, Erika, for the first time since Miho left that school. Erika mocks Miho, and makes disparaging remarks against Ooarai to Miho's friends, eroding Miho's confidence.

Later, on their way back to the campus ship, Anzu turns up the pressure on Miho by emphasizing they need to win, and reminding Miho the team is counting on her. Yukari steadies Miho, assuring her that it will all be fine, but Miho is still worried about the upcoming match and wonders aloud what their adversary's plans and order of battle will be.

The next day, Yukari does not come to school, and Miho and her friends, worried, pay a visit to Yukari's home. There they are welcomed by Yukari’s parents —effusively by her father, Jungorou, who is surprised and delighted to find that his daughter at last has friends, and thanks the girls profusely for taking care of her. Yukari's mother, Yoshiko, brings the girls into Yukari’s room and makes them comfortable, taking the moment to explain how difficult it has been for Yukari to find friends because of her obsession with tanks. Miho is struck by how completely Yukari's life has been defined by tanks, but where Miho's was defined by Sensha-do out of family duty, Yukari's is by her own choice, out of love for tanks. Shortly after, Yukari furtively enters the room through the window, and is surprised to find the girls there waiting. Having skipped school to go on a reconnaissance mission for Miho, she now shows them a self-made film from her infiltration of the Saunders school ship, revealing critical intelligence about what they will be facing in their first match. Miho's confidence improves as Yukari's reconnaissance gives them a fighting chance.

First round: Saunders
The day of the match, Miho, along with her friends and the Student Council, is invited by Alisa and Naomi to Saunders' camp where she meets their commander, Kay. During the battle, Miho sends Rabbit Team and Duck Team on a reconnaissance mission, while her Anglerfish Team and Hippo Team defend Turtle Team, their flag tank. When Rabbit Team is engaged by six of Saunders' Shermans and are forced to fall back, Miho and Duck Team go to their, but all three together find themselves surrounded by a total of nine Shermans: the entire Saunders force except for their flag tank. Despite the desperate situation, Miho rallies her team and leads all three Ooarai tanks through a safe retreat.

Surprised by how well Saunders coordinated their attack, a suspicious Miho looks to the sky and spots a balloon used to intercept their radio communications. Irked by the deception, Miho turns it to their advantage and transmits false information over the radio while Saori uses her cell phone to transmit the real orders to the other commanders. Her tactic proves effective, and they manage to lure Saunders into an ambush where Hippo Team knocks out one of their tanks: first blood, in this match, and a huge boost to the morale of both Miho and her entire team.

After Duck Team finds and flushes out the Saunders flag tank, Miho again sets up an ambush —but this ambush does not go so smoothly, and the flag tank makes its escape with the entire Ooarai team in pursuit. For a little while, Miho and the rest of her team are optimistic as they pursue the Saunders flag tank, but the situation grows tense when Saunders reinforcements arrive and give chase to the Ooarai team with four Shermans, including a Sherman Firefly that soon takes out Duck and Rabbit Team.

Things look desperate, and some of the girls begin to lose hope, but despite her own fears, Miho rallies them, telling them to focus on Saunders' flag tank. Leaving Turtle and Hippo Teams to continue pursuit and draw off most of the Saunders force, Miho breaks off and takes Anglerfish Team up a hill so that Hana can make a sniping shot from above against the enemy’s flag tank. Naomi, gunner in the Firefly, follows Anglerfish Team, but is too late: an instant before Naomi's shot knocks out Miho's Panzer IV, Hana is able to fire the decisive shot that knocks out Alisa’s flag tank. Ooarai is declared winner of the match, to everyone’s surprise.

After the battle, Kay again meets Miho face to face, shocking her with an exuberant embrace to congratulate her for the exciting match. When Miho asks Kay why she held back several tanks, having more at disposal, Kay replies that Sensha-do is sport and not war, and thus one must act fairly. Kay also apologizes for the radio interceptions, at the end, leaving Miho with a comradely handshake.

After the match, Mako receives a phone call that her grandmother had fallen and been brought to the hospital. Seeing Mako's desperation, Miho’s older sister, Maho, who had been watching the match, provides Mako (and Saori) with a ride, using their helicopter. Though Miho thanks her sister, Maho only walks away, seeming to ignore her.

Between one round and the other
When Miho, Hana and Yukari return to Ooarai, they join Mako and Saori at the hospital where Mako’s grandmother is recovering. There, Mako's grandmother, a feisty woman somewhat at odds with Mako, asks Miho to take care of Mako as her friend. On their way back to the school ship, Miho and the others learn from Saori, who has been Mako’s friend for a long time, that Mako lost both her parents in a car accident when she was in primary school, leaving her grandmother as her only family member still alive. Saori later tells Miho that the last time Mako and her mother talked, they argued, and that Mako deeply regrets never having the chance to apologize to her mother. This invokes Miho’s memory of her own mother's reproach for Miho's failure at the last National Tournament.

The next day, the school is celebrating the Sensha-do Team's First Round victory after the Student Council promoted the news all over campus. Miho spends lunch break at the tank garage, having lunch with her friends atop their Panzer IV. Over the course of their conversation, Miho shares how she was raised in an environment where, in Sensha-do, all that mattered was victory, but that now, her new friends in Ooarai have shown that having fun is what really matters instead. Yukari also reveals to Miho that she watched the finals of the previous tournament on television, and saw how Miho abandoned the flag tank to help her comrades. She assures Miho that she did well on that occasion, pointing out that those girls she helped are surely grateful. Yukari's adamant approval moves Miho profoundly.

Seeing the need to increase their team size, Miho and the other members of the club search the school ship for more tanks. Miho, accompanied by Mako and Duck Team, search the previous quarters of the Sensha-do club, nowadays in a state of neglect, but only find a larger gun with which to upgrade the Panzer IV. At the same time, Hippo Team and Yukari find a Char B1 bis sunk in a lake. A third party, made up by Saori and Rabbit Team, gets lost searching the interior of the ship, and when Miho goes to their rescue, along with Yukari, Mako and Hana, they discover another tank forgotten there in shadows. Later on, with the entire Shensa-do club relaxing at an onsen, the Student Council nudge Miho out of her shyness enough for her to give a brief and encouraging speech for their next match against Anzio.

Second round: Anzio
In Momo's briefing of all the tank commanders for the next match against Anzio, she delivers the news that Anzio has recently acquired a new tank that Anzio’s girls call “secret weapon.” Fortunately, Yukari has completed an infiltration mission on Anzio’s school ship, and shows her video to Miho and the others, revealing the secret tank is a P40/26.

Since Miho has never encountered that tank before, and knows very little about it, she pays a visit to Erwin and Caesar’s home, hoping they might have some information on the P40, being history buffs. The visit goes well, as Hippo Team has a few books and manuals focusing on the Italian armed forces.

Thanks to the new information, Miho realizes that the only Ooarai tank able to knock out the P40 at long range is the Stug III, so during training sessions she personally trains Hippo Team on how to do it, using her own Panzer IV as a target since it most closely resembles the size and shape of the P40.

The day of the match, Anzio’s team leader, Anchovy, comes to wish Miho good luck, both as a gesture of courtesy and to meet face to face the famous Nishizumi girl she has heard about. Miho is surprised, but pleased.

At the start of the match, Miho orders Duck Team to scout the area north of the crossroad at the center of the battlefield; they report that two Semovente and three CVs were already waiting there, their engines turned off. Miho then orders Rabbit Team to scout south of the crossroad; Rabbit Team reports two Semovente and four CVs also waiting with their engines off.

The situation was immediately suspicious: Hana and Yukari point out that they had spotted eleven of Anzio’s tanks, not counting the as-yet unseen P40, when the rules state that no more than ten tanks per team were allowed in that match. The two girls suspect that Anzio might be cheating —however, Miho had another theory in mind, and orders Rabbit and Duck Teams to open fire, and retreat if they respond. The two Ooarai tanks do so and are shocked to find out that those are not tanks, but wooden dummies. Having uncovered the subterfuge, Miho guesses that Anzio is trying to stall Ooarai team at the crossroad while Anzio’s fastest tanks maneuver for an encirclement. To counter this, Miho orders Duck and Rabbit teams to find Anzio’s tanks and keep them at bay while Anglerfish, Hippo, and Turtle Team – the latter also the flag tank – search for the P40, Anzio's flag tank.

Shortly after that, Ooarai encounters Anzio's flag force, including the P40 commanded by Anchovy, and a running fight ensues. Eventually the Ooarai team manages to destroy all of Anzio’s ordinary tanks and Miho devises a strategy to lead the P40 into an open space using Turtle Team as a bait. There, Anglerfish Team knocks out Anzio’s flag tank from atop a cliff, winning the match.

After the battle, Anchovy again goes to Miho to congratulate Ooarai on their victory, wishing them all the best of luck at reaching the finals and promising Anzio will be there to cheer for them. In celebration of the match and in camaraderie, Anzio’s girls set up a buffet where both teams together feast and make merry.

Semi-finals: Pravda
At the semi-finals, Ooarai must face Pravda, the current champions of the tournament. By now, Anglerfish’s Panzer IV has been upgraded to an F2 model, armed with the 7.5 cm long-barrel anti-tank gun found at the old Sensha-do club's quarters. The team has also recruited the Public Morals Committee, formed of Sodoko, Moyoko Gotou, and Nozomi Konparu, to crew the newly refurbished Char B1 bis. With all the girls gathered before the daily training, Momo tells them all they must win at all costs. When Rabbit Team cheerfully replies that losing against the champions would not be a big deal and they will always have another chance the next year, Momo vehemently silences them. Momo’s attitude leaves everyone —including Miho— astonished and confused. A moment later, Miho is asked by Anzu to join her and the rest of the Student Council after the practice, saying they have something important to tell her.

At the meeting, Miho joins the three girls of the Student Council at the kotatsu for dinner. But the Student Council says nothing that explains why Miho was invited, only showing Miho photos of their past years at Ooarai and reminiscing over the fun times they've had. After dinner, a baffled Miho leaves them, still wondering what they wanted to tell her that was so important.

The day of the match, the commander of Pravda's team, Katyusha, accompanied by her vice-commander, Nonna, goes to see Ooarai's team before the start of the battle. There, Katyusha mocks the girls and their tanks, including Miho, whom she sarcastically "thanks" for helping Pravda win last year's tournament.

Once Katyusha departs, Miho outlines a cautious plan for her team —but the other girls, excited from their previous successes and eager to refute Katyusha's arrogance, insist on an aggressive approach. Seeing the team's enthusiasm, Miho agrees.

In the first contact with the adversary, Ooarai manages to easily knock out three tanks, and even puts pressure on Pravda's flag tank, forcing them to fall back. Miho is immediately suspicious that things are going "too well," but galvanized by this initial success, the rest of the Ooarai team ignores Miho's commands and recklessly pursues Pravda's flag tank. Miho is forced to follow after her team, and they together end up in an abandoned town. Miho's suspicions prove to be right, as Pravda had used their flag tank as bait to lure Ooarai into a trap, and now surround Ooarai and open fire. With all the escape routes blocked, Miho orders the team to take shelter inside a church, big enough to contain all of their tanks.

After a short bombardment, Pravda ceases fire and sends in a delegation under a white flag, offering Ooarai the chance to surrender and kneel before Katyusha, giving them three hours to decide. Most of the girls want to continue the fight, but Miho leans toward surrender, fearing for the girls' safety. Her friends support her, and the decision is about to be made, but Momo furiously insists on continuing the fight no matter what. Miho is astonished, and confronts her about why she wants to win at all costs, pointing out how Sensha-do has become fun, that she has come to love Ooarai Girls Academy, that she looks forward to doing Sensha-do with them all next year, and that ending now on a note of fun and friendship would be best.

In reply, Momo and Anzu are forced to confess to all the girls that if they do not win the tournament, their school will be shut down.

The sudden news shocks and demoralizes the Ooarai team, but now that she understands what is at stake, Miho rallies, and encourages them all to not give up and to carry on with the fight. Pulling her team together, she sets the girls to work effecting repairs on damaged tanks, sends out reconnaissance teams, and together with the Student Council devises an escape from the siege. As the siege stretches out and the girls' morale fades, Momo encourages Miho to do something, as commander, to lift their spirits. Putting aside her shyness, Miho starts dancing the dreaded, embarrassing Anglerfish dance. The effort pays off well, with all the girls joining Miho and reinvigorating their morale, and when they are interrupted by the arrival of a Pravda student who has come to ask Ooarai if they will surrender, Miho replies that they won't: they will not give up, they will fight until the end.

Miho leads her team in a rush out of the church, charging Pravda's encirclement. At first, they head for a gap in Pravda's lines, left on purpose by Katyusha as a bait so that her tanks can annihilate Ooarai. However, Miho has spotted the trap this time, and takes Pravda by surprise by suddenly changing course and driving toward Pravda's strongest point. The lines breached, Turtle Team separates from the main group to attack Prada's reserve force at point-blank range, knocking out two enemy tanks before themselves being knocked out, and giving the rest of Ooarai the opportunity to break the encirclement.

With one tank out of the match and being chased by Pravda, Miho decides to go after the enemy flag tank, which she knew must be hiding somewhere without protection. Together with Hippo Team, Miho separates from the rest of the team and, unseen by Pravda, searches for their flag tank. Sent out to scout, Yukari soon discovers Pravda's flag tank and reports its position to Miho. The chase begins, and at first results in a brief fight with a KV-2 that is quickly knocked out. The situation grows desperate as both Rabbit and Mallard Teams are taken out by Nonna and her powerful IS-2, leaving Ooarai's flag tank, Duck Team, on their own. Miho, however, notices Pravda's flag tank is just circling around the same position, buying time for Pravda to win. Miho directs Hippo Team to set an ambush, digging their Stug III into the snow with the gun pointing down the road; Anglerfish Team continues their pursuit, and manages to herd the flag tank directly into the Stug III's line of fire. The plan works, and not a moment too soon, with Hippo Team hitting Pravda's flag tank at the same instant as Nonna hits Duck Team. Fortunately for Ooarai, Duck Team does not receive a knock-out hit while Pravda's flag tank does, and Ooarai are declared the winners of the match.

After the battle, Katyusha offers her respect to Miho for not falling into her trap, but instead going after the toughest part of Pravda's line. She would not have expected Miho to succeed in such a bold move. Miho agrees, and admits that if Katyusha had attacked right away, Ooarai would have lost. Katyusha disagrees with Miho, grudgingly admitting that Miho's team did well, and before departing declares that she will attend the finals in support of Ooarai.

The calm before the storm
During preparations for the finals against Kuromorimine, Miho discusses with the Student Council what they will likely face, opining that her former school will probably field Tigers, Panthers and Jagdpanthers. Each team will be allowed up to twenty tanks, and the odds are heavily against Ooarai. Making the odds somewhat more favorable, the team grows when the Automobile Club finishes repairs on the Porsche Tiger that was found some time earlier; the four girls of the Automobile Club will crew the new tank and join the Sensha-do Club as Leopon Team. Miho is also approached by Nekota, a shy girl who expresses her desire to join the Sensha-do club; later joined by Piyotan and Momoga, two schoolmates whom Nekota plays online games, they form Anteater Team, driving a Type 3 Chi-Nu they discover in a parking lot.

After practice, Hana asks Miho to have the rest of the day free to participate in an Ikebana show, where she will present a composition of her own. Miho and her friends then go to see Hana's beautiful creation: a vibrant flower arrangement in a tank-shaped vase, “strong and delicate at the same time.” Hana's estranged mother approaches the group, and describes her daughter's work not only as “strong and delicate at the same time,” but as something uniquely of Hana's own style. Hana's mother acknowledges that Hana has diverged from her, but she admires that independence and the growth it has brought, and as Miho looks on, the two are reconciled.

The day before the finals, Miho has her friends to dinner at her apartment. After much cheerful banter, Miho comes to share her feelings about the friendships she has made, telling the other girls that she loves all of them. Yukari, being a star-struck fan, is excited at the prospect of having such a close friendship with Miho, while Saori jokingly reminds her that girls shouldn't be thinking such things. Miho is clearly embarrassed by this, and the rest of the girls enjoy a good-natured laugh at her expense.

Finals: Kuromorimine
The day of the final match, all the commanders of the teams who have fought Ooarai come to Miho to wish her good luck and declare their expectations of a great performance from her. Darjeeling, the first commander to approach Miho, observes with both amusement and respect that Miho has an unusual talent for befriending her former adversaries.

At the pre-match meeting with Kuromorimine, Miho is snubbed by her sister and sub-commander Itsumi, lowering her spirits. However, after the commanders part ways, she is approached by one of the girls she saved in the finals of the last year’s tournament, tank commander Koume Akaboshi. Kuome thanks Miho for saving her, and expresses her happiness that Miho did not abandon Sensha-do and her admiration for Miho's skill. Their conversation lifts Miho's spirits once more.

During the final briefing of the Ooarai Team, Miho tells them not to worry about a Kuromorimine attack in the first phase of the match, since their starting positions are far from each other. This proves to be an error of judgment, as the Kuromorimine force takes a short-cut through a forest and engages Ooarai’s team far sooner than anticipated.

Shooting from among the trees, Kuromorimine eliminates Anteater Team almost immediately. Down by one tank and pressed by Kuromorimine, Miho orders the team to deploy a smoke screen so that they can distance themselves from their adversaries and reach a defensive position on the top of a hill, and sends Turtle Team out to slow Kuromorimine with hit-and-run tactics.

From the top of the hill, Miho and her teammates open fire on Kuromorimine, who slowly advance against Ooarai. The defensive position on high ground gives an initial advantage to Ooarai, and they are able to knock out a Panther and a Jagdpanzer IV, but Kuromorimine counters the disadvantage by sending in their Jagdtiger, whose frontal armor proves impervious to Ooarai’s firepower. Satisfied with the results so far, Miho decides that it is time to leave that position and disengage for the moment. To do that, Miho directs Turtle Team to drive into the middle of Kuromorimine’s formation from the rear, creating enough confusion among their ranks to open a path for the rest of Ooarai team. In the chaos, the Jagdtiger exposes its vulnerable flank and is knocked out, and Ooarai breaks through Kuromorimine’s lines, eliminating another Jagdpanzer IV in the process.

After a brief chase, Miho and the girls manage to put some distance between themselves and their adversaries. They are slowed by misfortune during a river crossing, when Rabbit Team's M3 Lee stalls out in the middle of the crossing; the tank then begins to tilt downstream, putting Rabbit Team in peril. Miho has a flashback of the incident a year ago, when she sacrificed her team’s victory to save her teammates in very similar danger. Now, she becomes paralyzed by the choice between saving her friends and risking her school's future, or escaping Kuromorimine at the cost of her friends' safety and leaving them behind to be destroyed. Understanding what is happening, Saori gently encourages Miho to save them. Touched by her friends' understanding, Miho leaps into action, carrying a tow-wire to Rabbit Team and rigging it to the other tanks as the rest of the team provides covering fire for her. As Yuzu observes, "Having everyone win together is Miho's form of the Nishizumi Style!" Together, the Ooarai tanks tow the stalled M3 Lee clear of the river and out of danger.

Arriving in an uninhabited town, Ooarai pursues a lone Kuromorimine Panzer III deeper among the buildings, and discovers too late that it was bait to lead them to Kuromorimine’s crown jewel: the huge Maus. The massive tank quickly destroys both Mallard and Hippo Teams and forces the rest of Ooarai to fall back. As her friends in Anglerfish Team despair over the toughness of the Maus, Miho is at a loss what to do until Saori declares that its size “gives them a mountain to climb!” (English dub: "It's like someone put a tank on top of another tank!") Saori’s words inspire Miho to a bold plan for how to face the Maus.

Miho maneuvers Ooarai to face down the super-heavy tank on a large road running alongside an embankment. Rushing in to close range, teamwork by the Turtle, Rabbit, Leopon, and Duck Teams immobilizes the Maus and exposes its vulnerable top surface. Miho then takes Anglerfish Team up the embankment on the side of the road to fire down into the engine vents, knocking it out of the match. The plan works brilliantly, but the Turtle Team’s Hetzer takes serious damage from the weight of the Maus and is knocked out as well. The Student Council must be left behind, but before leaving them, Miho promises to win the match.

Despite having disabled the Maus, Ooarai is still in a precarious situation, having only four tanks remaining to face fourteen of Kuromorimine’s. However, Miho recognizes that each team only has one flag tank, and sets up a plan to split Kuromorimine’s forces so that she can engage their flag tank in a one-on-one duel; the rest of her team will do whatever they can to disperse the adversary’s tanks. Miho's strategy works, and they manage to lure Kuromorimine’s flag tank, a Tiger I commanded by Maho Nishizumi, into a building complex alone with Miho’s tank. To make sure the rest of the Kuromorimine team will not interfere, Leopon Team blocks the only entrance to the complex with their Porsche Tiger.

Alone in the closed building complex, there is nowhere for Miho to retreat —as she has planned. In a brief lull before the final battle, Maho chastises her sister for disregarding the Nishizumi Style and fleeing from the enemy. Knowing that this is their only chance to take out the Tiger I, Miho agrees to settle the match here, and throws her tank into combat. The final high-speed battle in the complex is fierce, as both tanks jockey for firing position. Both tanks land shots on their opponent, but they are only grazing hits that tear away armor or leave scars. Neither sister is able to land a knock-out blow.

Upon learning that Leopon Team has been knocked out and that Kuromorimine reinforcements are about to arrive, Miho commits Anglerfish Team to an all-or-nothing maneuver in order to decide the match. Dodging a shot from the Tiger, Miho has Mako use the reload lull to close to point-blank range with a high-speed drift. The maneuver causes the Panzer IV's tracks to snap, but allows it to circle around to the vulnerable rear plate of the Tiger. The Tiger, however, manages to rotate its turret fast enough to take aim as well, and both tanks fire simultaneously. When the smoke clears, it is revealed that the Tiger’s shell only grazed the Panzer IV, while Miho's shot went into the Tiger's engine compartment, knocking it out. Ooarai is declared the victor of the match and winners of the National Tournament.

Anglerfish Team's badly damaged Panzer IV is towed back to rejoin the rest of the team, and Miho is exuberantly greeted by the other Ooarai girls. Still shaken by the ferocity of the final duel, Miho is at first unsteady on her legs, but is first steadied by her friends and then celebrated by her entire team. The Student Council in particular thank Miho for saving the school, with Anzu embracing Miho as Momo and Yuzu are overwhelmed by their relief. Before leaving with her team, Miho goes to Maho, who, after a moment, congratulates her little sister for the victory and acknowledges her own defeat, praising Miho, "You fought like you, Miho; completely different from the Nishizumi Style." The sisters shake hands in reconciliation, and as they part ways, Miho joyfully tells her sister she has finally found her Sensha-do.

Later that day, in front of a huge crowd, Miho takes the podium, along with all her teammates and receives the victor's crimson and gold tournament banner.

After their victory, Miho and the others return to Ooarai where they parade their tanks through the town's streets and back to their beloved school ship, the Ooarai citizens lining the streets and cheering the girls for their achievement.

Friendly match in Ooarai
After their victory in the National Tournament, Miho and her team takes part in an exhibition match, hosted by Ooarai town, where they team up with Chi-Ha Tan Academy against St. Gloriana and Pravda. During the match Miho’s force manages to isolate and encircle Darjeeling’s Churchill —the flag tank— together with three Matildas. Having some time before the rest of their adversary’s team will arrive, Miho, the overall commander of the combined Ooarai–Chi-Ha Tan team, orders all tanks to cautiously advance on St. Gloriana’s tanks so that they can fire better aimed shots. Miho’s combined force manages to take down two Matildas, but things start to go wrong when Chi-Ha Tan, galvanized by their first score against St. Gloriana in a long time, abandon their safe firing positions and charge the remaining St. Gloriana tanks. Ignoring Miho's orders to return, all but two of the Chi-Ha Tan tanks are taken out by the St. Gloriana force, and Ooarai–Chi-Ha Tan loose the advantage. Soon after, Pravda's team and a platoon of St. Gloriana's Crusaders arrive to reinforce Darjeeling, and Miho is compelled to order all the remaining tanks to retreat into the urban area of Ooarai.

The St. Gloriana-Pravda team pursues, and a series of skirmishes take place inside the town, resulting in losses on both sides. Miho uses all her sensha-do skill to break up the enemy's force and whittle it down, all the while evading her enemies. Ultimately, the tide again turns in favor of Ooarai–Chi-Ha Tan, and Miho is able to organize the remainder of the team in a pursuit of their opponent's flag tank along the beaches of Ooarai. The battle grows more intense as the remnants of the Pravda team arrive to defend Dajeeling's flag tank, and after a running battle, a sacrificial maneuver by Katyusha protects their flag tank from Miho's shot and allows Darjeeling to knock out Miho before Anglerfish Team has time to reload. The St. Gloriana–Pravda team is pronounced the winner of the exhibition match.

The school is to be closed
After the friendly match, all four teams are enjoying a relaxing time at the onsen in Ooarai, anticipating the imminent start of the school term, when Student Council President Anzu is unexpectedly called back to the school. Sometime later, at sunset, Miho and her friends are on their way back to their school ship when they notice many cargo trucks packed up and parked along the waterfront, and wonder aloud what is going on. Their answer comes when they arrive at the school's entrance, together with the rest of the sensha-do club, and find the gates closed and sealed. Renta Tsuji, a functionary of the MEXT (Japan Ministry of Education), soon arrives and declares the ministry has decided to close the school after all, despite his promise otherwise. Miho and the other students are outraged, and protest strenuously, but Anzu explains how they must accept the situation, otherwise there will be retaliations against the people working on the ship. Miho asks what will become of their tanks; Anzu, herself furious, explains that the MEXT will take them.

That night, Miho packs up her apartment and, after finishing, goes to the sensha-do compound. There she finds all the other members of the Ooarai Team have already gathered, and joins them in their farewell to their tanks. The sad gathering is transformed, however, when Miho spots Saunders' massive C5-M Super Galaxy aircraft approaching. Upon the aircraft's arrival, the Student Council tells the girls they asked Saunders to help them by taking Ooarai's tanks into safe keeping for some time, and have even prepared papers stating the tanks are "lost". With relief that their tanks will be safe, Miho and the other girls help Kay, Naomi, and Alisa load the tanks on the aircraft and watch them depart.

The next morning, the Ooarai Team gathers at the town's docks with their baggage, giving a final, sad salute to their school ship as it sails away.

New accommodations
After the departure of the school ship, the Ooarai students are bussed to various temporary accommodations, with Miho and the other members of the sensha-do team ending up in an old complex in Ooarai's hills. The girls begin to settle in at the new place, unhappy about the recent events. Miho and her friends set up a tent camp outside, and as evening falls discuss how they miss being on a ship, with the sound of the sea and the smell of salt water. All are feeling gloomy when Saunders' Super Galaxy returns, making a low pass before delivering their tanks by LAPES. When Miho thanks them over the radio, the only price they ask is that Ooarai will continue to practice sensha-do so that Saunders can have a rematch against them.

One day, while driving their Panzer IV to a minimarket, Miho sees a billboard alongside the road for the Boko Museum. Tremendously excited, she convinces her friends to visit it. The Boko Museum is in a clear state of neglect, but Miho is thrilled by the visit. The girls visit various attractions inside the complex, including rides and a stage show. There are no other visitors aside from Miho and her friends until they encounter a young girl at the stage show. Later on, in the souvenir shop, they again encounter the girl when she and Miho simultaneously reach for a last remaining Boko soft toy. Seeing the girl's shyness, Miho kindly offers the toy to the girl, telling her she will get another one next time. Painfully shy, the girl flees without saying a word.

Eventually, the need to have school transfer paperwork signed by her mother demands Miho returns to her family's mansion. There Miho first meets Maho who, since the tournament's finals, has become more approachable for her sister. Their mother, on the other hand, is unaware of Miho's return, and when she hears Maho and someone else from her study, Maho tells her it is just a schoolmate. To further help Miho avoid their mother, Maho then forges Shino's signature on Miho's paperwork, before driving her back to the station in the family's Panzer II. The ride to the station brings back memories of happier times for Miho, and of the friendship she shared them with her sister, driving about in the family tank, fishing together, and enjoying their childhood.

A new hope
Soon after Miho rejoins her classmates, the Student Council calls all the Sensha-do Team members to a meeting. There Anzu, who has been away trying to find a way to take back their school, reveals that she has managed to convince the MEXT and the Sensha-do Federation to organize another match against the University Team: if Ooarai is victorious, Ooarai Girls Academy will remain open and get its campus ship back. And this time Anzu got the guarantee in writing! Miho immediately understands this will be an enormous challenge, but summons her courage.

During a meeting of all the Ooarai tank commanders, the girls come to realize the extent of the challenge: the University Team is very powerful, and has recently smashed the Corporate Team. Miho also discovers that Alice Shimada, their commander, was the girl she met at the Boko Museum. Nevertheless, when the other girls' spirits falter, Miho rallies them with her own courage, stating "no path is impossible for a tank!".

When it seems things can't get worse than they are already, upon arriving at the location where the match will be held, they learn from a smug Renta Tsuji that it will be a 30 vs. 30 Elimination Match: to win, all the opponent's tanks must be knocked out. Miho protests, pointing out that they have only eight tanks, but director of the Sensha-do Federation Shichiro Kodama regretfully informs them the terms were established long ago and there are no other options.

The night before the match, Miho is out analyzing the battlefield when she is joined by Anzu. Anzu apologizes to Miho for putting a lot of pressure on her, and suggests they could forfeit, but Miho flatly refuses the option. She agrees that it will be an intense battle, but points out, "our battles have always been intense." As they are joined by the other girls of Anglerfish Team, she acknowledges that as long as they have their friends, they have a chance.

The day of the match, as Miho approaches Alice and the referees for the match's salutations, she is nervous, thinking furiously over her options and tactics, fearful that this time they might not win. At the last instant, the salutations are interrupted by the appearance of Maho, arriving at the battlefield with her Tiger I, accompanied by Erika in her King Tiger and two Panthers, all from Kuromorimine. When Maho and Erika emerge from their tanks, they are both wearing Ooarai school uniforms, and produce the paperwork certifying they and the other tank crews have all transferred to Ooarai. Miho is stunned and grateful —and the situation continues to improve, as a moment later, more tanks from other schools arrive in the same way, their crews all wearing Ooarai's uniform as transfer students. Saunders arrives with three Shermans commanded by Kay, Naomi, and Alisa. St. Gloriana with Darjeeling's Churchill, Rosehip's Crusader, and a Matilda. Pravda's forces are led by Katyusha in her T 34-85, and include Nonna's IS-2, Klara with another T 34-85, and a KV-2. From Anzio come Anchovy, Carpaccio and Pepperoni, all in a single CV-33. Jatkosota High School arrives with Mika, Aki and Mikko with their BT-42. Finally, Chi-Ha Tan appears with twenty-two tanks led by Nishi —who stands down all but six after Darjeeling points out that they are only supposed to be thirty overall. The friendship and respect Miho has won from her adversaries has now brought them all to Ooarai's aid. As Nishi points out, "Yesterday's enemy is today's sworn friend!" Despite Renta Tsuji's outrage at adding tanks just before the start of the match, the head-judge, Ami Chōno, points out that only the commander of the opposing team can advance a complaint, and Alice firmly declines to protest the new additions to Ooarai's team.

In their command tent, Miho, the overall commander of the new Ooarai Compound Team, holds a strategy meeting with the other schools' commanders, organizing the tanks into three companies of ten tanks each. Team Sunflower, commanded by Maho, will hold the center of the formation; Team Dandelion, commanded by Miho herself, will take the right flank; and Team Morning Glory, commanded by Kay, will hold the left flank. Miho's plan is fairly simple, with each team advancing to meet the enemy while supporting each other's flanks. It is a potentially fractious group of old adversaries, but all are united under Miho's leadership.

The match begins
At the start of the match, the three teams advance in formation, as planned, until the Sunflowers arrive at the bottom of a hill. Pursuing a strategy of cautious advance, Miho sends them up the hill to provide flanking support for the other two teams, warning them that it might be a trap, while the two other elements advance warily to either side of the hill. Shortly after, both Ooarai’s flank elements are separately engaged by enemy Pershings and Chaffees. The Morning Glories line is quickly broken, and the Petunias are pinned down in a wetlands, while the Sunflowers, having reached the summit of the hill, suddenly find themselves under overwhelmingly powerful indirect fire from some unknown source: it is, indeed, a trap, just as Miho feared.

The Morning Glories regroup and withdraw, and the Sunflowers, flanked by University Pershings and Chaffees and under attack from the mysterious bombardment, retreat with heavy losses. Miho and Anglerfish Team struggle to guess what might be engaging Sunflower Team. Needing more information, she sends out four tanks —Acorn Squad— on deep reconnaissance, who soon discover the bombardment is from a Karl-Gerät 040. It is a shock to discover the super-heavy tank, and it is implied Renja Tsuji has bent the rules to allow its use in this match. Using unorthodox tactics, Acorn Squad is able to destroy the Karl-Gerät and its escort, albeit with losses, and rejoins the main force. There, Miho has regrouped all the elements of the Ooarai Team, and having taken heavy losses, they withdraw from open ground.

Miho is downhearted, especially by how the odds have been stacked against them, and apologizes to her team. Her sister at first chides her that she “plays too much by the book,” and reminds her that “that isn’t like you.” She then encourages Miho, “you should fight your way, Miho.” United and confident in her, the team awaits her orders, and she gathers her resolve, finally determining to take the battle to an enclosed area and focus on teamwork to use everyone’s unique talents to advantage. Though Erika expresses doubt about Miho’s strategy, disparaging how thrown-together the team is, Maho supports her sister and points out how the strategy will allow them to compensate for each other’s weaknesses. As they head for an abandoned theme park, Miho has them re-form their teams and prepare themselves.

The theme park
With the score now 22 against 24, in favor of the University Team, Miho directs the entire Ooarai Compound Team into the huge abandoned theme park, hoping to defeat their adversary in close-quarters combat. She divides the Team in four, with three groups each guarding the three entrance to the park and the fourth in reserve. The University Team sends in feints to tie up Ooarai’s forces, and Miho is forced to divide her forces to meet all the potential points of their assault. Thanks to skillful reconnaissance by Anchovy, however, the University’s main attack is finally recognized and Miho directs her forces to meet it —only for the Ooarai Team to be forced back in disarray as the University Team sends in a T28 super-heavy tank.

Pushed ever deeper into the theme park, eventually the University Team is able to herd most of the Ooarai Team into an encirclement, surrounding them in an amphitheater. Miho herself goes to attempt a rescue, along with Maho, Erika, and Katyusha, who were guarding the south gate and were not caught into the encirclement, but with no success. Miho is at a loss what to do when Rabbit Team, who had been left behind, breaks the encirclement by shooting out the support pillars of a giant Ferris wheel, sending it rolling straight towards the University Team's tanks. The University Team falls into disarray as they attempt to avoid the ferris wheel, and their confusion creates enough of an opening for the encircled tanks of Ooarai to escape.

With the enemy in disarray, Miho seizes the initiative and divides the Ooarai Team into smaller independant units, having them split up the University Team and destroy them with guerrilla tactics. Miho herself teams up Anglerfish Team with Turtle Team and lures several of the University Team tanks into a hedge maze, using Anchovy's advantageous viewpoint atop a rollercoaster to direct their movements and destroy several tanks. The rest of the Ooarai Team enjoys similar success, destroying many tanks with few losses of their own, and it appears the match is starting to turn into their favor. However, the tide again turns against Ooarai when Alice, who until that point had been giving orders from a distance, intervenes in person with her Centurion. Along with her vice-commanders, Azumi, Megumi, and Rumi, they defeat nearly all the Ooarai tanks until only Miho and Maho are left to face Alice, Azumi, and Megumi.

Final showdown
The last five tanks of the match clashed within the central plaza of the theme park: Miho and Maho against Alice and her two vice-commanders, Azumi and Megumi. Working together, Miho and Maho take out Azumi and Megumi, respectively, while avoiding and trading fire with Alice. Miho once again attempts to drift her tank into position for a killing shot into the weaker armor of Alice’s Centurion, but is foiled, and ends up being in the perfect position for Alice to take the shot. Alice is in turn foiled when an accidentally-activated park ride of Wojtek the Bear, bearing a strong resemblance to the Boko character both Alice and Miho are fans of, happens to stray into her line of fire. Seeing the resemblance, Alice hesitates, giving Miho the instant needed to avoid the shot.

Regrouping with Maho atop a mock-up mountain, Miho drives straight down the staircase towards Alice, with Maho close behind her. During the charge, Maho watches her sister with a worried expression, but Miho, determined, looks back at her sister and signals her with a nod. With her gun muzzle directly against Miho’s tank, Maho fires a blank shell directly into the Panzer, abruptly accelerating it toward Alice’s Centurion. Alice is caught off-guard by the unorthodox move, and though she fires, only manages to knock off the Panzer IV’s track. With the force of Maho’s shot overcoming the damage to its track, Miho’s Panzer IV rams into Alice's Centurion and fires a shot at point-blank range. Both tanks are simultaneously knocked out —but the final survey of the battlefield shows Maho’s tank as the only one still functional, and Ooarai wins the match.

Maho tows Miho's Panzer to rejoin the rest of the team, and the moment Miho gets down from the tank she is embraced by an exuberant Anzu. The entire Combined Team, Ooarai girls and “transfer students” alike, congratulate Miho on the victory; Miho, in turn, leads the Ooarai girls in thanking their friends for coming to Ooarai’s aid. Soon after, Alice arrives riding the Wojtek-themed park ride and approaches Miho. Despite her shyness, Alice offers to Miho the Boko soft toy she received from Miho back at the Boko Museum, telling Miho it was a medal for her victory. Miho thanks Alice, and promises she will always treasure it.

The match won, Miho and Maho spend a few moments together, holding hands as sisters, before Miho departs for Ooarai alongside her friends and the rest of the team aboard the Ooarai ferry. The following morning, Miho and all the Ooarai girls are assembled on the upper deck of the ferry as they approach the town of Ooarai when they spot in the distance their beloved school carrier: thanks to their victory, their ship has returned home, and Miho smiles in relief and joy.

Alice visits Ooarai
Some time after the match against the University team, Miho is informed by the Student Council that Alice has contacted them expressing interest in possibly enrolling at Ooarai. Being a child prodigy who has skipped grades up to university, Alice never had the chance to attend a high school, and the recent events with Miho and the other Ooarai girls has made her want to experience the life of a high school student. All the Student Council members are delighted by the news, and Momo enlists Miho to help them convince Alice to join their school by showing off its strong points.

The entire Sensha-do club is thrilled by the news, including Miho, of course, who in particular expresses her desire to spend time with Alice enjoying their common interest in Boko. Later on, Momo gathers the entire club to hear their ideas of how to influence Alice's decision to join Ooarai, but their suggestions are not especially worthwhile: each group is too focussed on its own special interests. Momo then asks Miho her opinion, who replies that they should act normally, showing Alice their daily lives at school.

Miho and the Student Council meet the arrival of Alice, but Alice arrives at the campus ship on a stretcher, suffering from seasickness. Anzu cures her with the "Ooarai method," by putting a slice of potato on her forehead, making Alice feel so weird that she forgets about her sickness.

Once Alice has changed into Ooarai's school uniform, Miho continues to accompany Alice throughout her visit, showing her the various school's activities and introducing her to all the individual Sensha-do teams, who get along well with her. After school, Miho and her friends in Anglerfish Team spend the rest of the afternoon with Alice, eating ice-cream, buying ingredients, and making and sharing dinner at Miho's apartment, having fun together for the entire time.

After dinner, Miho's friends depart, leaving Miho and Alice together for the night. Miho gives Alice Boko-themed pajamas, commenting on how cute she looks. Before going to bed, they spend the last of the evening together watching one of Miho's DVDs of the adventures of Boko. Before falling asleep, Alice asks Miho what is the happiest part of her life as a high school student, to which Miho replies it is spending a lot of time with her friends, seeing them every day.

The next day, Miho is present when Alice officially decides to officially transfer to Ooarai. Both the Student Council and Miho are delighted. However, events take a sudden turn when Miho expresses to Alice how happy she is that they will be teammates in Sensha-do, and Alice realizes that if they are to fight together, that means they will no longer be adversaries. Later, Miho and the Student Council watch from their school carrier as Alice departs. Momo is deeply dismayed that Alice has decided to go to another high school, even suggesting that perhaps Miho should transfer to a different school so that Alice would come to Ooarai, but Anzu understands that Alice just wants to be Miho's eternal rival.

Momo is in trouble!?
Towards the end of the year, Miho is going on with her daily school life when she, along with the rest of the school, read in the school journal the news that Momo might need to repeat the year. With the school in uproar, the Sensha-do club gathers at the Student Council offices, worried about Momo. With the help of her friends, Miho calms the girls and asks them to leave the office, promising answers soon. Once calm is restored, Momo explains that the news that she failed all the university exams is false —but it is true that she has neglected her studies and is in danger of repeating the year. She instead spent her time searching for new tanks for the Sensha-do club, in hopes that a strong Sensha-do Team cornerstone will guarantee the school remains open after her graduation and departure at the end of the school year.

At the tank garage, Miho explains the situation to the rest of the Sensha-do Team, and after discussion, they realize Momo could be admitted into Anzu and Yuzu's university through an AO exam (whereby a student especially talented in some field may be admitted). Miho remembers that is, in fact, exactly how her elder sister, Maho, was accepted to study at a university in Germany. The team therefore makes Momo the new commander of the Sensha-do Team for the upcoming Winter Continuous Track Cup, hoping that a victory in that tournament will allow Momo to meet the AO requirements. However, some of the students are uneasy about this, and it is generally agreed Miho will continue to lead the team from the position of vice-commander while allowing Momo to take the credit as commander.

Meeting the Bar Donzoko's gang
Guided by Sodoko, Miho leads the girls of Anglerfish Team to follow up on Momo’s search for the club’s ninth tank, heading deep into the lower decks of the ship. There, in a lawless region known as the “Johannesburg of Ooarai,” Sodoko is abducted by delinquent students; the others give chase, eventually arriving at a bar called “Bar Donzoko.”

Inside the bar, Miho and Anglerfish Team, all feeling very out of their element, encounter a gang of students who have enchained Sodoko, forcing her to do their cleaning. Miho and her friends both demand Sodoko be released and request information about the tank they are looking for, but the gang forces them into a series of challenges to earn their requests. Anglerfish Team wins each challenge, with Yukari beating Flint by untying an Anchor Bend knot, Saori translating Rum's signal flags, and Mako beating Cutlass in a thumb-wrestling match. The fourth gang member, Murakami, having become impatient, decides to settle the matter with a brawl and attacks Miho, but despite her unwillingness to fight Miho first avoids all Murakami's attacks —her friends remark that it is due to her practice at dodging shells— and then inadvertently knocks her out. The fifth and final member of the gang, Ogin, until then silently drinking in a corner, then challenges the girls to a drinking contest with spicy, non-alcoholic pepper-rum, and is defeated by Hana.

The gang, admitting defeat, release Sodoko but refuse to help the girls find the tank. They soon change their minds when Miho tells them it is to help Momo: Momo once saved the gang from explusion, and they now feel obliged to help her. They also realize they have been using the tank as a meat smokehouse in their bar without realizing it was a tank. Ogin then volunteers herself and her gang to drive the tank so that they can repay their debt to Momo.

The Winter Cup begins
At the draw for the Winter Cup's matches, Ooarai is matched in the first round against BC Freedom Academy, a school apparently divided into two antagonistic factions, a division Yukari later seemingly confirms with some undercover reconnaissance. Momo is still worried, and feeling the pressure of now being commander, but Miho and the others urge her to concentrate on her studies while they prepare for the match.

The day of the match, as they wait for BC Freedom to arrive and as Shark Team joins the Ooarai force, Miho makes sure to present Momo as the commander, supporting her in her uncertainty. Once the match is under way, Miho keeps Anglerfish Team close to Momo's Hetzer to advise her on strategy and tactics. Momo follows Miho's advice to send out scouts, and eight tanks of the BC Freedom force are soon spotted in two detached elements, four each of ARL 44s and SOMUA S35s —but no flag tank. Realizing their flag tank must only have a single tank defending it, Miho and Momo agree to go directly after the flag tank.

Even as Duck and Leopon Teams are spotted and pinned down by the BC elements they were shadowing, Ooarai's main group finds the enemy's flag tank, an FT-17, on the other side of the river and escorted by just one ARL 44, as predicted. Seeing only that their defence looks lax, Momo makes the decision to advance across the bridge leading toward the BC flag tank, with Miho cautiously leading the way.

As the Ooarai tanks reach the center of the bridge, BC Freedom springs a trap, with their tanks that had eluded Ooarai's scouts shooting out both ends of the bridge, trapping Ooarai. Under heavy fire, and with Momo struggling to remain calm, Miho takes charge. She first recalls their scouts and orders the team to protect Momo's flag tank, then orders Shark Team forward and off the end of the bridge, so that their Mark IV creates a ramp down to the ground. The Ooarai tanks make it down off the bridge, with Miho and Anglerfish Team fighting a rearguard action before themselves escaping just as the bridge collapses. With their trap failed, and in danger of being caught by the returning Duck and Leopon Teams, BC Freedom beats a retreat, as Miho apologizes to her team for letting her guard down and rallies them for the next round.

Das Finale: Part 2
After regrouping, and after some friction as Shark Team shows its reluctance to take commands from anyone but Momo, Miho and the others discuss their next strategy, observing from afar that the BC team has taken a defensive position in a bocage. Yukari suggests to Miho that, even though their adversaries only pretended to be in discord, there was antagonism until recent times, something that could be exploited to Ooarai's advantage. Saori also points out the resemblance of the turrets of Mallard Team's Char B1 bis and BC's SOMUA S35. Acting on those suggestions from her two friends, Miho deceptively uses their Char B1 to antagonize the two groups of BC into knocking out a few of their own tanks. With the BC forces depleted, Ooarai presses on with their final attack and, despite losing some of their own, manages to eliminate all of BC's tanks and win the match, with Miho and Leopon Team knocking out Marie's flag tank. After the match, Marie hosts Miho and the Ooarai team at a banquet of sweets. Miho and Marie thank each other for the fun match, and Marie promises that next time her school will be "offering a revolution" to Ooarai.

Waiting for the second round
While her friends enjoy their own time in Ooarai town before returning to their school carrier, Miho meets her friend-rival Alice at the Boko Museum, which has been restored. There, the two girls together enjoy a few of the museum's attractions, including a VR ride looking through Boko's eyes as he faces his enemies. At the end of the evening, Miho and Alice enjoy a dinner in the museum's courtyard, talking about how fun the various attractions were and the ones they want to try in the future. Miho then asks Alice if she has already choosen a high school to attend; Alice replies that she hasn't yet, but when she does, she wants a re-match with Miho.

Some time later, Miho is summoned by Anzu to the Student Council's office. There, she is informed that Chi-Ha-Tan Academy will be their next opponent in the second round, as the latter have defeated Koala Forest High School. Momo at first claims victory is already in their pocket, as Chi-Ha-Tan's team is well known for its suicidal charges that always result in a crushing failure. Miho, however, advises caution, and warns them against such overconfidence as they had with BC Freedom. Chastened, Momo agrees with Miho and apologizes.

The next is Chi-Ha-Tan
The day of the second round, Miho meets Chi-Ha-Tan's commander Nishi before the start of the match. The two girls exchange congratulations and thanks for their collaboration against the University Team, and Nishi thanks Miho for the valuable lessons she and her Chi-Ha-Tan team learned from that experience. She also admits to Miho that she doesn't think they will win the upcoming match against Ooarai, but Miho strongly encourages to do her best, pointing out that Ooarai wasn't that strong at the beginning, and even expresses her hopes that Chi-Ha Tan will win.

After the usual formalities, the two teams' delegations return to their tanks and the match begins. Commander Momo suggests they take a defensive position on a high hill, to defend against Chi-Ha-Tan's inevitable charges. Miho agrees, and the team makes their way through the deep jungle that covers nearly the entire battlefield. Travel is soon interrupted, however, when Chi-Ha-Tan arrives to harass Ooarai with guerrilla tactics, attacking quickly at their flanks before pulling back. Ooarai is taken by surprise by this new tactic and, in a reversal of fortunes, neither Miho nor Momo are able to prevent Shark Team from charging in retaliation and being almost immediately knocked out. The Ooarai Team finds itself off balance and nervous as the attacks continue, and Miho even needs to restrain the team from pursuing Chi-Ha Tan. After yet another Chi-Ha Tan ambush, Ooarai are forced to change their initial plan; instead, at Miho's suggestion, in hopes of laying an ambush the team moves to the shore of a lake where Chi-Ha-Tan will be forced to face them on more open ground.

On the way to the lake, as they pass through a muddy trench, Mallard Team gets stuck, and both Leopon and Anglerfish Teams are needed to extricate them. Mako notes that the trench is "like an ant lion trap," and Miho takes note that it could be useful.

Ooarai eventually reaches the lake and takes up defensive positions on the shore. However, Chi-Ha-Tan had foreseen this move, and first ambushes Ooarai from the lake with a pair of amphibious Type 2 Ka-Mi tanks, then attacks from land with their main force, forcing Ooarai to divide their fire on two fronts. Both Mallard Team and Leopon Team are knocked out during the fight, and Ooarai manages to knock out only one of Chi-Ha-Tan's tanks in return. Satisfied with the results, Chi-Ha-Tan again retreats into the jungle, only this time Ooarai pursues them. Chi-Ha-Tan decides to turn back and face Ooarai, but before they can open fire, Miho orders her team to spread out and flee into the jungle.

Chi-Ha Tan, feeling confident, now pursues Ooarai, but this is the ambush Miho had envisioned earlier, and it has all been a strategy by Miho to lure Chi-Ha-Tan into the muddy trench where Mallard Team got stuck earlier. The plan works brilliantly, and when the entire Chi-Ha-Tan team falls into the trench, Ooarai opens fire on them from the edges above. But just as victory seems certain for Ooarai, Chi-Ha-Tan decides for the first time ever to retreat, and is just barely able to escape from the trench before Ooarai completely surrounds them.