This is the in-universe definition of “sensha-dō” (tankery) repeated throughout the series — not just worldbuilding flavor text, but the line that sets the show’s distinct tone as equal parts sports-club drama and coming-of-age story about tank warfare treated as a traditional Japanese art.

The show’s setting, Oarai, Ibaraki, is a real town used by name in the story itself, and it has become one of Japan’s landmark case studies in anime-driven regional tourism, with a large, long-running official collaboration between the town and the franchise. Oarai Station, Oarai Marine Tower, and the Kamiso torii gate at Oarai Isosaki Shrine are all real, walkable locations today.