The Saga of Tanya the Evil is based on the light novel series. The season is comprised of 12 episodes. It is set in an alternate reality with the Empire controlling a large portion of the continent. Taking place in a similar time frame as World War I in reality, the Empire is surrounded by other countries that want to invade and take over. They have a strategy in place where they permanently deploy military at the borders to stall the other armies until a dedicated mobile force can come in to eradicate the other army.
Magic exists in this alternate reality. While the characters still wear recognizable military garments and wield familiar guns, they can fly at high speed. They also summon magical shields to protect themselves from projectiles, use magic to set off powerful attacks and explosions. These powers comes from stones which can be unstable akin to portable nuclear reactors. The protagonist, being the titular Tanya, is a second lieutenant of the 3rd Platoon. She is shown to be extremely powerful and pretty much a one-person-army. However, she has personality issues in that she’s pretty much the “devil”. She’s cruel and extremely military minded.
The anime has an isekai element although it is more for background purposes rather than being a major plot-line. The isekai element goes a long way in explaining the reason for Tanya’s personality and how she managed to become such a high ranking officer at a young age. A major theme is how Tanya does not believe in god, and this plays a big part in the predicament that she is in. She doesn’t want to fight on the front-lines, she just wants an easy life and not be in constant danger. Yet, fate plays around with her. Sent to the rear? This is to test out dangerous experimental technology. Become a instructor? Gets sent on an emergency to fend off an attacking ground.
Even with everything thrown at her, Tanya takes it all on the chin. She is devious yet plays strictly within the rules. She bends those rules to her advantage and this is where it gets interesting with her unexpected methods at times. She doesn’t seem to care much for her soldiers and yet this is what inspires them and gains their loyalty. While the earlier episodes were slow due to the setup required, from around the fourth episode onward, the pacing is relentless. The strategies that Tanya employs, and how she is completely overpowered compared to her enemies, is addicting. In addition to the advantage provided by her experimental technology, she gets a leg up from her battalion and enemies thanks to the additional power provided by “god”. Ironically, she has to pray to the “god” she doesn’t believe in in order to activate those powers.
Despite cheering for Tanya and her victories, the anime plays the other side too. It shows how the enemy soldiers have their loved ones and families back home being their motivation. Thus the loss of life feels like such a waste, no matter which side it happens to. The horrors of war are shown with full force. Tanya follows her superiors’ orders and when her soldiers question her, she presents the view that if they don’t kill them now, then they’ll just return and kill them, which is very true. The anime has impressive animation. It knows how to drum up the excitement in each scene. Since all the battles take place in the air, it is fast paced with a lot of visual spectacles. The expressions on Tanya are vivid and it succeeds in making you feel uneasy.
The anime finishes off with a great ending where it ends the war, yet it doesn’t really. It perfectly highlights Tanya’s plight. She wants to end the war and she has a clever and strategic mind, but her superiors underestimate their enemy and don’t come to the same conclusions. The conflicting views heighten the already tense atmosphere. The final scene was perfect in summarizing and portraying Tanya’s personality in one key moment.
Overall, don’t let the child looking protagonist fool you, The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a great anime. It deals with themes that are darker than you’d expect and you can’t help but love the main character despite how frustrating and terrifying it would be in real life. The animation is fantastic, the battle scenes are exhilarating and the strategies used are interesting. The way that Tanya pushes on forward despite all the obstacles in the way is inspiring and is pretty much icing on the cake.
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