Common Name: Youjo Senki
Alternative Names: The Saga of Tanya the Evil
Score: 8/10, 5/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Action, Military, Magical, Isekai
Summary: Tanya Degurechaff is a renowned magical soldier in the Empire's armed forces. She's determined, decisive, and has the foresight to strategize in the middle of a conflict. Called "The Devil of the Rhine," she has the speed and power necessary to be the Empire's all-around ace. She is also, however, 10 years old. That's not the strangest thing about this little monster though. Before becoming a child soldier, Tanya was a Japanese salaryman who met a sudden and untimely death at the hands of one of his subordinates. Thanks to the interference of a god-like being Tanya calls "Being X" though, said salaryman was reborn as a child blessed with unparalleled magical talents in World War I-Era Germany. Due to her lack of faith though, Being X has added a condition to her rebirth. If she dies in this alt-history Europe without acknowledging that Being X is God, then she will be wholly removed from the cycle of reincarnation.
Review: I find it rather amusing how, just last season, I railed against Shuumatsu no Izetta for its noncommittal stance on everything it had to present and for its failure to meet my expectations of what a magical World War should be. Well, let it be said now that my dream has been realized. I finally got my cathartic war story about a magical demi-god laying waste to armies still stuck with the weaponry of that era. Youjo Senki is everything I wanted it to be. It was action-packed, cathartic fun that stuck to its literal and metaphorical guns while it told a story that provoked thought and laughter alike, and sometimes simultaneously. It is everything that Shuumastsu no Izetta wasn't. However, it also isn't everything that Shuumatsu no Izetta is. No matter how disappointed I am in Izetta, I cannot deny it was an absolutely gorgeous show with solid art and animation that had me hooked on it despite all of its faults. But at least that plot made sense and could survive under scrutiny.
Butchering something I love because I feel like it needs to be done-- is this what being a yandere feels like?
Now, to be fair, Youjo Senki has solid art and animation most of the time. So much so that it could rivals some of Izetta's better moments. However, where Izetta was solid throughout, there were moments when you could tell the art and animation budget was starting to run out. These moments are few and far between though, so they aren't the biggest strike against this show. No, that would be this show's story. While the Sage of Tanya the Evil is fun and engaging, it falls to pieces when put under any amount of scrutiny. Put simply, this show exists as an extension of it's premise that wasn't all that deep or insightful to begin with. Rather, it seems like one of those kinds of stories that began with the idea of "wouldn't it be cool if..." and was then built to elaborate on that initial idea. In this case, the premise of Youjo Senki likely began something along the lines of "wouldn't it be cool if a psychotic magical girl fought in the first World War." So begins our tale of Tanya Degurechaff, ace mage in the army of the great Fatherland otherwise known as The Empire. Something's missing from this story though. It wouldn't be all that interesting if Tanya was able to fight entire armies without anything to get in her way. Thus, it's made clear that there are other mages in this alt-history, both on Tanya's side and that of her enemy's. While not exactly common, mages are considered are viewed as a natural occurrence in this world. Some people are born with magical talents while others are not, and the show goes no deeper into the matter than that. Then there's the issue of addressing why a young girl, magical or otherwise, would be willing to fight in a war. Sure, being a psychopath is a nice excuse but psychopathy is far more self-centered and self-serving than that. A psychopath wouldn't endanger their own existence without good reason. Well, what better incentive is there to put oneself in harm's way than in the pursuit of an enemy, and what better enemy is there for a magical girl than a being who wishes to worshiped like a God. So we get the show's primary and unseen antagonist, the god-like figure Tanya spitefully refers to as "Being X." I say antagonist because that is truly all it does. It antagonizes Tanya through direct conversation or setting things in motion that serve to put Tanya in dire straights that might get her to acknowledge that it is God. More than that though, Being X stands as the source for all of Tanya's woes since it decided, on a whim, to reincarnate Tanya's former self as an orphan in an alt-reality, World War I-Era Germany just so it could get Tanya to forsake her atheistic beliefs.
"Obsessed with" might be the most accurate way to put it, but that just doesn't sound as good.
Now don't get me wrong, I love this show and all that it accomplishes. It feels like a realistic interpretation of what a magically-empowered World War I, especially when you consider the presence of a military officer who actively knows how the war could have gone if not for her interference. In fact, it can be inferred that this show's version of World War I would have gone the exact same way as the actual one without Tanya's direct and informed interference. What's more interesting, though, is how differently things end up because of her tampering and how her ideals conflict with the morals and thought processes of that era and how those things restrict her actions. No matter how powerful she might be, she is still a little girl in an army where age and rank are more valuable than anything else. She might be fully capable of telling the ministers and generals what needs to be done where to ensure an uncontested and resounding victory for the Empire, but none of them would reasonably be inclined listen, let alone agree with her, unless she can make a solid argument for doing so that also goes along with their own mentalities and goals. So, doing just that, she is instead inclined to influence strategies and actions of the Empire's military command by submitting theories that will get them moving in the right direction of their own accord.
The sheer amount of thought put into this show's war and the people that drive it indicates that a lot of research was put into the creation of this story. It analyzes the "what if's" of its scenario to a degree that the show's war and the direction it takes seem not only plausible but fun to follow if you have some basic knowledge of the first World War and the build-up to the second World War.
On top of that, Tanya's character is equally amusing in her own right. The idea of a ten-year-old child dominating the battlefield and men three times her age is amusing enough, to be sure, but there's more to her than that. While it might seem like a strange thing to appreciate, Tanya brings a uniquely discordant brand of humor to the show. There's something inherently humorous about a small child with a dry sense of humor talking about wartime strategies like a seasoned veteran. At the same time though, it is amusing to listen to a 30-something-year-old businessman acting appropriately for his new physical age. There are also quite of few unique gags that can only be accomplished with this kind of character, but the show doesn't go out of its way to make sure you catch them. For example, there are multiple instances when Tanya's height becomes an issue. Unlike other shows that would be inclined to turn that problem into a personal complex for the sake of humor, Tanya just tries to do the best she can in spite of being vertically challenged. So, we're given moments of the usually stoic and grim Tanya unceremoniously jumping to reach something in an otherwise professional setting. There are also a few unique jokes she gets to pull for being Japanese person in a country full of people that just wouldn't get Japan's in-jokes.
It takes a special kind of humor to cheer for the burning of a town the same way you would for fireworks at a festival.
Apart from her, shall we say, colorful brand of humor it's also amusing to watch Tanya exist. To speak nothing of other characters within her show, Tanya is one of the most expressive characters I've ever seen in anime. From the top of her head (and the ahoge attached to it) to the tips of her toes, Tanya is a character that is almost constantly in motion. Perhaps it's a means of making up for her size or it's just naturally who she is, but it often feels like she's putting on some kind of performance as she makes grand gestures and emotes on a level that can only be captured in this medium. In either case, she presents herself in such a way that her mere existence demands the attention of everyone around her. That fact is, however, one of her greatest problems. Since Being X challenged her to survive in this new and hostile life, Tanya frequently tries to find ways to be removed from the battlefield and live an easy, safe life in the military's upper echelon. Due to her grand nature and "gifts" from the supposed divine though, that just isn't possible for her. She's frankly too valuable an asset to let gather dust along with the military's leaders. She is, after all,...
To do so would be akin to letting a salvo of tactical nukes go unused during wartime
just because said nukes look pretty.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I love the idea of a little girl going on a crusade against an intangible God that goes out of its way to mock her, this show has a lot of logical inconsistencies that drag it down to something less than perfect. First and foremost is the reason why Being X inflicts so much misery on Tanya. As I mentioned before, Being X decides to reincarnate Tanya's former self on a whim simply because it can't stand that a human would deny the godhood of a being that has the power to not only stop time but cause people to reincarnate into a separate reality that just so happens to meet its desires. While Being X initially explains that is isn't happy with humanity's lack of faith, that doesn't explain it's specific interest in Tanya's former self. Sure, he's a prime example of one of those faithless Atheists Being X despises so much, but Tanya is merely a product of her society. On top of that, converting Tanya would by no means fix the problem it had with that original world. Even when you work under the assumption that Tanya is meant to be some kind of test case for Being X, its particular resentment toward Tanya makes little sense. Honestly, the best explanation I can come up with is on conspiracy theory level of nonsense, even by my standards, based on the observation that Being X seemed far more powerful in that original, faithless world. At the same time though, its strength or, rather, influence in this world seems to steadily grow in this magical world whenever Tanya prays to unlock her literally miraculous powers. That would mean, however, that Being X's actual goal isn't to specifically make Tanya suffer. Instead, that would mean that it just wants to be worshiped enough to gain the power or influence necessary to accomplish its true goal, which would basically equate Being X to one of Lovecraft's eldritch horrors. Interesting though that may sound, there's no actual reason to believe that's the case outside of my 3 AM, lack of sleep-fueled speculation.
Then again, that would explain its bizarre penchant for possessing things just to mock Tanya.
Secondly, there's the issue of Tanya being something of a Mary Sue (a character so perfect that they become unbelievable or uninteresting), particularly when it comes to military knowledge. While it's understandable and believable for Tanya's former self to have some kind of base knowledge of the military since a person of ambition would likely be inspired by other such persons, i.e. renowned military figures, it doesn't explain her knowledge and manipulation of wartime treaties and regulations. Like I mentioned before, Tanya goes out of her way to manipulate the thoughts of military's strategists by writing papers on theory and analysis of wartime practices so that the war might turn in her favor. How she acquired this depth of knowledge is never stated, however, and it most certainly exceeds the base knowledge that could be assumed of a Japanese salaryman. The best excuse we get is the acknowledgement that Tanya is, and likely always has been, rather erudite. There are, in fact, several instances of her reading several military texts in the alt-reality, but there's little to indicate that those texts would be the true source of her knowledge. Sure, knowledge may be a source of power that can do many things when wielded by someone as cunning as Tanya, but there are limits to what is believable. To be fair though, that criticism spreads to almost every aspect of Tanya. Her performances wouldn't be nearly as cathartic if she wasn't a bit of a Mary Sue.
That is, after all, what gets me to cheer for a character who regularly crushes people
who would be protagonists in any other series?
Despite all these flaws and inconsistencies I've levied against it though, I still have to conclude that Youjo Senki is a high-quality show. There's a a level of thought and humor to the work that makes it both fun and memorable. Not only that, but I was able to find a measure of respect for what it accomplished. Rather than shying away from the facts of its historical source material like Izetta, Youjo Senki decides to laugh as it openly acknowledges that Tanya serves a nation that would have one day become Nazi Germany. One need look no further for that humor than the show's opening theme, titled "Jingo Jungle," which refers to the aggressive nationalism known as Jingoism. On top of that though, the show even goes out of it's way to draw some parallels between Tanya and Hitler through her egotism, nationalist fervor, and several depictions of her wearing the Iron Cross. Despite that dangerous association, however, Tanya remains something of a lovable antihero who guides her version of Germany toward a future where they might just win World War I. It is worth noting, though, that doing so also effectively removes the chance for the Nazi movement to take hold in Germany once the war is done. Of course, that level of thoughtfulness is only improved upon through a solid cast, fantastic musical direction, and a fast-paced plot that left me wanting more. It might not be perfect, or maybe I'm just overcompensating for my personal bias, but I'm perfectly fine with loving it in spite of those flaws anyway.