Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Five, Unlucky Draw Review: Misunderstandings Before the Battle.

I have been enjoying the Second Season for Saga of Tanya the Evil.
That being said, the last few episodes have been focusing more on the logistics of war, rather than the actual combat, so I have not found much to talk about (which was why I skipped talking about Episode Four).
Well, Episode Five, Unlucky Draw, brought back the promise of action, along with the funniest scene of the series up to this point.
Picking up in the aftermath of Rudersdorf caving to the high leadership’s demands to continue the war, Zettour has been transferred to the front lines, while Rudersdorf remains.
I am surprised the two still seem to be on good terms, given how angered Zettour was by Rudesdorf’s decision at the end of the previous episode, but Zettour could just be pretending and now playing the long game.
No matter his plans, he is not the only one dealt an unlucky draw this episode, because it is upon his arrival that Tanya first learns that the war will not be ending soon, and then unintentionally talks Zettour into using her as bait for their next operation.
This is the scene I said was the funniest of the show yet.
Tanya’s constant exaggerated expressions and absurd obliviousness to the obvious never failed to get a laugh out of me.
“I don’t know who he’s referring to, but I feel sorry for them.”
Seriously, Tanya, how do you not know after all that has happened that you are Zettour’s trump card?
It gets even worse for Tanya because what she and Zettour do not know is that there is a spy in the Empire, passing on information about the Andromeda mission.
My money is currently on the not-Italian officer who has been observing Tanya.
And it would not be a Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two episode if we did not get one scene reminding us of Loria’s disgusting lust for our protaganist, right?
He orders Tanya captured alive and we once again get a gross close-up of him licking his lips.
I have to wonder why they decided, of all shots, they chose that one to be animated so well?
I certainly would have rather seen that animation effort put into the charging soldiers, rather than the use of CGI, although its current state is far from bad.
Once the battle begins, Tanya sends Weiss to deal with the artillery, resulting in an explosion which hilariously sends Tanya flying.
It is not all laughs though because, right before the credits roll, Weiss is struck and severely injured (potentially even killed) by Mikel.
Looks like we will be getting the fight between him and Tanya teased in the trailer and OP next episode.
Speaking of, the promo for that episode promises a lot of action, with even Zettour getting involved, so I am quite hyped for that.
Back to Unlucky Draw itself, the episode ends after the credits with a brief gag of Uger telling Rerugen a dirty joke (which we do not hear) only to be coldly rebuffed.
It is a nice bit of humor which will probably be our last for a few episodes, given the action promised for the next one.
Unlucky Draw is another solid episode which delivers on laughs and a gripping cliffhanger.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Three, Well-Intentioned Mediator Review: Logic vs Emotion.

Episode Three of Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two begins with narration from our titular anti-hero.
Tanya begins the episode, titled “Well-Intentioned Mediator,” by describing a minor skirmish in the war.
The way this incident was just brushed over so quickly makes me wonder if it was a storyline from the Light Novel that was skipped over.
If it is, though, I am not too bothered by it, considering I still understood the story.
The “Well-Intentioned Mediator” of the episode is the kingdom of Ildoa (alternate universe Italy), which attempts to bring a peaceful end to the war, for their own benefit of course, since ending the war will net them a lot of praise.
We get some foreshadowing to how this plan will fail with the following meeting of the Empire’s General Staff.
Zetour is open to Ildoa, although cautious, while Rudesdorf is hostile, sending Rerugen to observe their supposed ally.
Ildoan Virginio Calandro extends his country’s offer as negotiator, to which Rerugen repays by sending him to observe Tanya.
Ah, yes, the perfect way to make a man regret his life decisions.
Rerugen has his own concerns, however, because he is now taking credit for Tanya’s military success.
He need not worry though because now Tanya has someone who can take the fall for her actions while still owing her.
As for Calandro, Tanya makes a good first impression on him, joking about her small size making her harder to hit.
This impression expectedly does not last, however, because it is soon Calandro’s turn to witness Tanya master the art of technically-not-a-war-crime strategy.
Tanya’s cutesy acting turns terrifying when she has a residential area, including a church, bombed with artillery.
The haunting music playing over the scene adds to this impression.
Typical Tanya misunderstandings follow, as she attempts to assure Calandro that she will accept the generals ending the war, only for Calandro to interpret this as her and the rest of the soldiers prioritizing national interests.
Hearing Tanya’s following inner monologue got a big chuckle out of me.
“I got the war observer to understand that we Imperial soldiers are normal people,” she says, right after we got a scene of said observer giving a terrified report to his commanding officer.
The constant misunderstanding field Tanya emits will never stop being funny.
As per usual, Tanya thinking the war is about to end practically jinxes her, as proven by the arrival of Ugar.
It is here that we see the return of the logic vs emotion theme.
Back in Season One, we saw emotion win over logic, with the Empire logically viewing their enemies beaten, never suspecting they would give in to the emotional motive of revenge.
Now, faced with the logic of ending the war before more are sacrificed, Ugar, Weiss and other soldiers are struck by the emotional drive to keep fighting in the face of a peace they view as no better than surrender.
Even Rudesdorf feels this way, going against Zettour and continuing the war, starting Operation Iron Hammer.
I expect we will learn what this operation is next episode.
Overall, “Well-Intentioned Mediator” was another solid episode.
The highlights for me were expectedly the Tanya scenes, which had plenty of humor, while also showing why she is to be feared.
Season Two’s quality is still good and hopefully that will continue with Episode Four.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Two, A Strange Friendship Review: Communists vs Nationalists.

The first episode of Saga of Tanya the Evil‘s Second Season set a solid foundation for the rest, with its action, sound design, and funny misunderstandings.
The second episode “A Strange Friendship” follows this up well with more setup for the future, and some especially humorous moments by the end.
Before discussing the events of the episode, I want to talk about the new opening and outro.
The OP is titled Why? RED Induction and is performed by Myth & Royd, the group who did the OP for Season One.
This may just be recency bias, but I think their new OP easily tops the old, starting loud, before going quiet and sinister, and then going full bombastic with the chorus.
The visuals of the OP also give us plenty to look forward to, especially with the teased two vs one of Tanya facing off against Mary Sue again, along with the mage Mikel.
As for the ED Weiter! Weiter! it is performed once again by Aoi Yuki, who continues to show off her vocal talents.
I also prefer this ED because it actually has visuals, rather than a showcase of light novel covers and illustrations.
Back to the episode, it starts off by once again showing us issues the Empire is having with the war effort.
We see this through talks between Tanya and Visha, and Zettour and Rudersdorf.
The combat units are only receiving weapons rather than basic necessities, and the Empire has to halt its progress due to winter.
Worse still are the partisans in occupied territory, along with the fact that, unknown to the Empire, the Russy Federation is now allowing mages back into its ranks.
We see this with the arrival of Political Commissar Liliya and mage Colonel Mikel at Mary Sue’s unit.
Liliya immediately sets about making friends with Mary, which is absolutely a ploy to manipulate her.
We know Liliya was chosen for being, “loyal to the party and idealistic.”
I expect we will see her push Mary to more extreme ends this season.
As for Mikel, he has been described as “charismatic,” and he will certainly lead by example, as seen by his fight with Tanya in the OP and trailer.
However, I do have to wonder how loyal he really is to the Federation, considering the mages were all put in internment camps.
Perhaps he has a similar mindset to the common soldiers, who believe fighting for the Federation will make them listen and improve the country.
Tanya is horrified to hear this viewpoint from a captive, realizing that she is not fighting communists but nationalists.
This makes the enemy a bigger threat, considering they view themselves as fighting for their country rather than an ideology, which she later explains to Zettour.
Zettour, being described as a “conman” by Tanya, is able to find a work around for this problem with Tanya’s advice.
In a speech to various nationalists from occupied territories, he drives a wedge between them and the communists by turning the territories over to civilian rule.
Given the haunting images of Zettour on a skeletal horse, I doubt this is entirely truthful, but his speech gets the job done, halting most partisan attacks and allowing Tanya’s combat unit to get the supplies they need.
In a humorous final scene before the credits, Visha delights in her new socks, and Tanya lights up in cartoonish exaggeration at the offer of coffee.
Tany’s joy ends when she notices a Being X nutcracker in the house, demanding Visha get rid of it.
The final, funny moment after the ED shows Visha offering Tanya a highchair so she can interrogate prisoners without being looked down on, much to her disdain.
After such a logistical episode, it was good to get a few chuckles at the end.
We will have to see how long the laughter lasts though, as the war continues to evolve over the season.
“A Strange Friendship” is a good follow-up episode to Season Two’s pilot, and I am excited to see what is next in store for Tanya the Evil.