Tag: Tanya Degurechaff

The Saga of Tanya the Evil – The Movie Review: Tanya vs the Literal Mary Sue.

I loved the first season of The Saga of Tanya the Evil so immediately after finishing it, I naturally moved on to watching the movie, which was released two years after the show.
Directed once again by Yutaku Uemura, and based off the light novels by Carol Zen, The movie sees Tanya (Aoi Yuki) and her battalion of mages sent to infiltrate and spy on the Russy Federation, this world’s version of the Soviet Union. 
However, once inside, the plan instantly goes awry, causing a chain of events that creates a film which is a worthy sequel to the anime.

“They’re Commies. Blow the s#$t out of them.” With these words, Tanya and her batallion begin their mission.

I was not let down by this movie, even though I felt like some things could have been improved upon.
The first of these things is Tanya’s relationship with Being X.
Her rivalry with the self proclaimed deity was a highlight for me when watching the show, so I was disappointed to see Being X not drop in personally to gloat to Tanya in the movie.
Another disappointing thing was that there is a flash forward, which clearly spoils the outcome of the entire war.
This should have been cut entirely.
I have heard it is like this in the light novels but, come on, knowing what’s going to happen to the Empire does remove the tension, somewhat.  
The last criticism I have is of Tanya’s actual rival in this film.
You see, certain circumstances inside the Russy Federation lead to Tanya being confronted by the daughter of a solider who she killed in combat.
This girl’s name is Mary Sue (Haruka Tomatsu).
No, I am not kidding, there is literally a character called Mary Sue and, as her name suggests, she is ridiculously overpowered, most likely because of Being X’s involvement.
Now, I know Mary Sue being overpowered is clearly the point.
She is a character that is supposed to play off the stereotypical tropes of the Mary Sue archetype, possibly serving as a parody.
However, Mary does not feel like a parody but rather just a general usage of the Mary Sue trope, without anything new or interesting done, which makes her pretty annoying.

Mary is more like an actual Mary Sue rather than a commentary on the trope.

I know I have been criticising this movie a bunch when I said I enjoyed it and I did.
I just wanted to get a few of my grievances out of the way first before I got into the praise.
First of all, Tanya is once again a fun character to follow.
Not only is it still exciting and somewhat funny to see a salaryman in the body of a child plan and then carry out military operations, but the animators also clearly go all out animating her expressions, especially when she indulges in her sometimes crazy outbursts.
Just like in the show, the action is also great, with the sound design once again being stellar.
Then there’s the comedy, which had me burst out laughing a few times.

This reaction is pretty funny. Watch the movie and you’ll know why.

I will also say that this film contains a scene which is probably my favourite of the entire anime so far.
Watching this movie after the anime left me wanting more, so I was overjoyed to hear that a season two is currently being made.
Hopefully it will live up to the standard set by its predecessors.
Until then, there’s also a comedic OVA “Operation Desert Pasta,” which is pretty good as well.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie is a worthy follow up to the anime and I cannot wait to see more from the monster in the form of a little girl.    

The Saga of Tanya The Evil Review: The Monster in the Form of a Little Girl.

Before I begin the review, I will say that this contains spoilers for a reveal that happens early on, which will work a lot better if you do not know what it is going in. So, if you have not yet watched The Saga of Tanya the Evil, then it’s probably best to avoid this review until you have.

When it comes to picking an anime to watch, there are two features which, if present, will usually make me avoid the show I hear they are in.
These two things are the genre of isekais and character trope of lolis.
I don’t have anything against isekais, it’s just that I have found that they usually do not appeal to me.
Then there are lolis, which I don’t think I even need to explain why I find them to be an automatic avoid requirement for an anime.
However, despite The Saga of Tanya the Evil both being an isekai and having a loli as the main character, I heard great things about it, so I decided to give it a chance and was surprised to find that I loved it.
The isekai aspects of the show only make its premise way more interesting and the loli Tanya (Aoi Yuki) is not sexualised in any way (thank god).

Tanya being a child is wisely used as an often comedic or unnerving juxtaposition with her status as a military leader.

Directed by Yutaku Uemura, and based off the light novels by Carlo Zen, The Saga of Tanya the Evil tells the story of a salaryman in Japan, whose job it is to fire unproductive people at the company he works.
However, he is particularly ruthless and uncaring in his treatment of others, and this leads to a man he fired murderering him by pushing him in front of a train.
Just as he is about to die, the salaryman is confronted by a being who claims to be God, who is dissatisfied with the lack of faith in him.
It is at this time that the salaryman makes the unfortunate decision to declare that he is an atheist and does not believe he is talking to God, dubbing him Being X (Hideaki Tezuka) instead.
This leads to the first of many funny cases of miscommunication where the salaryman’s mocking comments cause Being X to believe that if the salaryman is reincarnated in a harsh situation then he will find faith in God.

And so the salaryman’s isekai journey begins.

Thus, the salaryman is reincarnated as the girl Tanya Degurechaff in an alternate version of Germany, known as the Empire, during a World War One where magic exists.   
Wanting to secure a good life for herself, Tanya enters the military at nine-years-old with the hope of using her experiences from her past life to earn a comfy position safe away from the battlefield.
Only problem is that her constant miscommunication with people, and Being X’s interference keeps pushing her to the front lines.
And it is here the good usage of the isekai genre and loli elements come in, with the isekai storyline creating Tanya’s rivalry with Being X during the conflict, and the loli stature of Tanya creating the amusing display of a little girl as a military leader.
Or, as Erich Rerugen (Shinichiro Miki) would call her, “a monster in the form of a little girl!” 

Tanya’s creepy faces get a lot of animation. Looking at this it’s not hard to understand why Rerugen is so unnerved by her.

It is this “monster” who is by far the most interesting character in the show.
The other characters are good but it’s Tanya who carries the whole thing, with her military genius, often crazy personality, and struggle for her own human autonomy against what is essentially God.
Speaking of that crazy personality though, it does lead to a few technically-not-a-war-crime-because-of-loophole scenarios and, oh, boy, are those dark.
A lot of the military strategy surrounding these events are also quite interesting to sit through, and when it comes to the actual combat of the series, it does not disappoint.
However, the thing I want to praise most about the action is not the animation but the sound design.
Seriously, the sound of the explosions and gunfire is top notch and makes the world of this horrible war feel tangible. 

I found myself often replaying the action scenes just to listen to the glorious sound design.

It is not all action though because the comedy is also well done.
I have already mentioned that Tanya gets into a lot of difficult situations due to miscommunication with her superiors, and it gets funnier every time. 
So, with an intriguing story which is lead by an interesting, morally grey character, featuring great action with terrific sound design, some comedic moments and engaging instances of military strategy, it is easy to recommend The Saga of Tanya the Evil.
It has certainly made me more likely to check out other Isekais in the future… not other animes with lolis though because I’m pretty sure most of those are going to be just as creepy as they appear on the surface.