6 replies to this topic

[kwendy]

Manga and anime has quite different design choices and I don't know how descriptive is the sorce material, but still technologies of this world in analogy of the IRL ones are worth discussing.

There is something that is bothering me. Anime featured tanks that closely resemble T3's with 50mm cannon (correct me if I am wrong), not really known for it's HE destructive power and thus not only skipped at least three decades of evolution, but completely unfit for any doctrine represented in Youjo Senki. Or I am missing something?

[PerfectDeath]

Generally we see the Empire using 'Panzerkampfwagen III's which were designed between 1935-37.  This is a decade ahead of the time period Youjo Senki takes place in.  We also see aircraft that appear to be Junkers Ju 87's in the manga which were used in 1936 (in the anime they at least use biplanes, in the manga we see WW1 bombers in heavy use).

 

Then of course, you have the service rifle the flight mages use which look like either the Gewehr 41 or Gewehr 43's (most likely the 43 based on appearance and mounted scopes).  Which, as the number indicates are 1941 - 1943 semi-auto rifles...

 

The flight mages also use MG34s as their "beam cannons". (1934 LMG) =P

 

Yes, the equipment is completely off of the doctrine they try to depict, why they would have trench warfare problems when they have tanks and dive bombers is beyond me.  Its like someone power teched their small arms and tanks without updating their doctrine tech in a strategy game (the writer has played games like victoria and hearts of iron).

 

Anyway, technical details were clearly not though of and instead they probably just used reference material of whatever they figured looked cool from mostly WW2 stuff.

 

EDIT: Here's a close up of the rifle and LMG they use.

http://vatoto.com/reader#e8e34cf518c6f248_69

Edited by PerfectDeath, 05 May 2017 - 05:06 AM.

[Miralisque]

Carlo Zen provided little detail of the weaponry, and left pretty much everything to the artists. The LN illustrator probably doesn't know much military things and basically copied the Third Reich. The manga artist worked on a Code Geass spin-off, so she's likely more informed on military matters than Neichiru, so there are bits of non-WWII like the Renault tanks and Panzer I, and original shoulder board/epaulette designs for field-grade officers, but it's still very much Third Reich-based. The anime designer seems to be a gun nut or WWI buff, so pretty much everything is authentic WWI weaponry, even the comparatively obscure semi-automatic rifles and submachine guns were authentic (except the literally why M1 Garand).

[PerfectDeath]

Episode 10 of the anime shows Panzer III tanks, we also see the Renault tank facing a Panzer III in Ch 3-4 (http://vatoto.com/reader#e8e34cf518c6f248_39), the Panzer I is shown in ch 1 http://vatoto.com/reader#d3e3a744b56adfa4_5

Edited by PerfectDeath, 07 May 2017 - 05:08 AM.

[kwendy]

So am I right to say Panzer III was designed as mainly anti-tank vehicle rather then infantry support wich would make sense in reality of Youjo Senki?

[PerfectDeath]

So am I right to say Panzer III was designed as mainly anti-tank vehicle rather then infantry support wich would make sense in reality of Youjo Senki?

What?  Why would they make an anti-tank tank when their military doctrine has not developed enough to really use infantry support tanks? =P

It just feels like whoever this emperor is of "The Empire" has been either using tech cheats for research points or he is focusing a lot into power teching to be 10-20 years ahead of everyone else! xD

[NoNickNeeded]

I don't think it's too bad that the Empire are ahead one or two decades in certain technologies than the real world.

In that world history as a whole was different due to the existence of magic and magicians. Just imagine how much different the middle ages might have gone (it's much harder to burn an actual magic-using witch than a normal Human who just happened to have red hair or know about healing plants I'd imagine).

And more importantly World War I was an economic desaster for all of Europe. Germany was settled with horrenduous reparation payments and Austria lost the majority of it's territory. There were also ethnic and political cleansing even before the WW2 started, which might also have potentially slowed the technological progress a bit.

 

It's not too hard to imagine that even in the real world technology might have been a decade or two faster if WW1 hadn't happened.

 

Then there's also the possibility that applying magic in scientific experiments might have lead to faster progress than was possible in the real world.

 

 

As for the Panzer III... just because the chassis looks similar to the real-world tank doesn't mean it has the same kind of gun and/or ammunition. What I was wondering most in that scene with the tanks was why they used the main gun against infantry instead of the built-in MG. You can even see the MG on those tanks in the anime itself... they are there but aren't used.