The Saga of Tanya the Evil

The Saga of Tanya the Evil, known in Japan as Yōjo Senki (幼女戦記, lit. "The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl"), is a Japanese light novel series written by Carlo Zen and illustrated by Shinobu Shinotsuki. It began serialization online in 2010, on the user-generated novel publishing website Arcadia. Enterbrain acquired the series in October 2013 and has published twelve volumes by February 2020. A manga adaptation with art by Chika Tōjō began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine from April 2016.

The series focuses on a salaryman whose reincarnation as the titular character living in an alternate version of World War I leaves her to be trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation. Willing to avoid being killed whilst dying of natural causes, Tanya must take it upon herself to don a bloodthirsty, sadist ego in hopes of joining the ranks of the Empire’s Mage Corps as part of her plan to become a seemingly indestructible foe.

An anime television series adaptation by NUT was broadcast on Japanese television from January to March 2017, and was licensed by Funimation, Crunchyroll and Medialink. Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie, a theatrical film taking place after the events of the anime series, was released in Japan in February 2019. A second season has been announced.

Synopsis
Tanya Degurechaff is a soldier who has the appearance of an innocent young girl. But behind her cute facade lies the soul of a ruthless salaryman who challenged "Being X"—the self-proclaimed God who reincarnated the man into an industrial world of magic. By doing this, Being X hopes to prove that, if the situation were dire enough, even a non-believer like this man would pray for God's help.

Opposing Being X's desires to make her suffer, Tanya enlists in the military with the hope of living a peaceful life. She manages to impress the higher-ups with her aptitude for war, swiftly rising through the ranks. However, her country soon participates in the ongoing world war, quickly crushing her dream. In an attempt to return to her calm she starts using any merciless means to obliterate her opponents. Thus begins the saga of Tanya the Evil and the Empire as they seek world domination.

Light Novels
The novel series is written by Carlo Zen and was initially serialized on the web novel hosting website Arcadia, before Enterbrain's acquisition. It was subsequently published as light novels with illustrations by Shinobu Shinotsuki. The first volume was released on October 31, 2013, and as of February 20, 2020, twelve volumes have been released. A drama CD was released with the third volume. It was licensed by Yen Press.

Audiobooks
On the 16th of November 2021, YenPress released an audiobook of the first light novel, read by the English voice actress for Tanya, Monica Rial.

Manga
A manga adaptation with art by Chika Tōjō began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine from April 26, 2016, and twenty seven volumes have been released.

Related books

 * "Youjo Senki Anime Complete Setting Material Collection" First edition issued on May 31, 2017 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-734640-6

Character
"If there is a God who rules this world, it is a stern, solemn, and definitely a good being. A being that is far too great. God keeps forcing us to confront these cruel fates. As those were the rules of this world! Oh, God... I'll slice you into tiny pieces and feed you to the pigs! Our battlefield is no place for that piece of shit, God! I think it's time we took over God's work. We, soldiers, will take God's place. Put the arrogant ass, God, out of a job!"

- Tanya's Speech to her Battalion

The main character of this work is an Aerial Mage Officer in the Imperial Army. Tanya was a battalion commander of the 203rd Aviation Magic Battalion (from volume 4 onwards, she is the commander of the Salamander Combat Team). Her rank was Major at the time of the establishment of the 203rd Magic Battalion (Lt. Colonel at the time of Volume 7 and Brigadier General in the final version of the web version).

A blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl with white, translucent skin She is 9 years old when the story begins. Originally a Japanese office worker in his 30s (voice: Kosuke Toriumi), he had a strong desire to rise and had a personality that disregarded others, but as a result, he was suddenly killed due to resentment and was reincarnated as a woman in a different world by Existence X as "I don't know the reason" and "I have no faith". Due to her magical aptitude, she entered the military academy at a young age to escape her poor life in an orphanage and became an officer at the age of nine. In her previous life and after reincarnation, she was a thorough rationalist and realist, and although Tanya herself hoped for a peaceful life after prospering in the military, most of her moves backfired due to her speculation, and her intentions were reversed. Due to her activities during in her time as a cadet, she earned the nickname "Mithril", but she is recognized by enemy countries as the Ace of Ace (named "The Devil of the Rhine") due to her performance on the Rhine Front.

She possesses rational judgment and a high analytical ability based on the knowledge of her previous life, as well as fighting prowess and commanding ability that are isolated by the Elenium Type 95 formula. Except for the fact that her ability as a mage is precocious, Tanya is not exceptionally superior compared to other first-class mage. Acts that are normally considered dangerous are actually rather safe if you think about them rationally and with appropriate knowledge, and even though Tanya did it to the last for self-protection, she is recognized as "brave" and "battle maniac", which is why she is feared by allies and enemies. In addition, her words and deeds indicate that she doesn't mind executing incompetent personnel and subordinates who do not listen to the orders of her superiors under the authority of her superiors, which are also factors that make him mistaken for a genuine war fanatic or an enthusiastic patriot. Regarding the war itself, from a rationalist point of view, she concludes that it is a waste of resources (especially human resources) and has a negative idea out of self-protection that builds a career in a safe rear office. The reason why they follow the laws of war, such as not killing or wounding civilians or prisoners of war, is because they don't want to be held accountable for war crimes later, and if necessary, they seek loopholes in the law. Because of the rationality of judging and using others from the perspective of whether or not it is for their own benefit and of considering people as resources as a result, and because of the self-protection that takes into consideration the evaluation of superiors, the loss of subordinates is extremely disliked, and contrary to the impression of those around them, the attrition rate of the command unit is extremely low. In addition, since she sometimes takes the initiative to open up a crisis, Tanya has gained the trust of her direct subordinates.A character created from the author's thought experiment, If the 'Chicago School' is applied to humans, she is a follower of calculations and numbers that do not base on morals and morals that differ from person to person.

Abilities
"It's all... Being X's fault. Until I pound free-market principles into that piece of shit, I won't die, no matter what! I'm going to live... to live and... I'm going to end this!"

- Tanya's to herself

A masterpiece that combines rational and flexible thinking, decisiveness that sometimes ignores risks (note: excluding his own life and career advancement), and a panoramic view at the strategic level. According to her subordinates, she is "a devotee of thorough firefighting, an indisputable and irresistible personification of mobile warfare, and finally a mage." It has been suggested that she was a military otaku even before her reincarnation, and she attaches great importance to logistics in terms of both tactical strategy in war. However, in her monologue, she mocks herself, saying, "I can't compare to geniuses, and I'm inferior to geniuses with effort," suggesting that his self-esteem isn't high considering his attitude.

In addition, Tanya has a tolerant attitude based on the recognition that "humans grow through education" and "limited human resources must be used effectively." However, she hates incompetence that doesn't learn from its experience like a serpent (except because she can use the enemy). Her particularly dislikes acts of resistance that disrupt the organization and treats those who cannot comply with orders as the most incompetent. She actually almost killed that fellow and even murdered the young fellow who confronted her.

Her own combat ability is also high, and furthermore, thanks to the grace of Existence X, she is able to use the Elenium type 95 formula, which is a level that distorts the laws of physics and was not originally usable by humans (a medium for exercising magic). However, when she runs at full power, serious mental pollution occurs that makes her want to praise God. Tanya herself, who loves her own freedom, hates this side effect and usually uses other gems, but on the other hand, she recognizes its overwhelming high performance, and when she finds herself in an unavoidable predicament, she often uses it. For better or worse, she doesn't judge people by anything other than their abilities, and because of her extremely high combat ability, she is extremely popular with soldiers on the front lines. In addition, Tanya is ignorant of how her actions will be interpreted by those around her, and she intends to act in a manner that will be appreciated by his superiors, but as a workaholic in the abnormal environment of a battlefield, she is seen by those around him as nothing more than a soldier suffering from severe front-line syndrome, and even if Tanya says she wants to work in the rear, it can only be taken as a joke, but she alone does not notice it. And although she claims to be have free will, she ultimately is only a slave whose fate has control over (the author). It can be inferred that her sensitivities have much changed from her past existence from the fact that she doesn't hesitate to shoot her foes even in the first combat.

TV Anime
An anime television series adaptation by NUT aired from January 6, 2017 to March 31, 2017. Crunchyroll has licensed the series in North America. The opening theme is "Jingo Jungle" by Myth & Roid and the ending theme is "Los! Los! Los!" ("Come On! Come On! Come On!") by Aoi Yūki as Tanya Degurechaff. A chibi parody short OVA produced by Studio Puyukai entitled Youjo Shenki premiered in January 2017. All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll and Funimation. On June 19, 2021, a second season was announced. The main cast and staff are returning to reprise their roles.

A comedy crossover anime, Isekai Quartet featured characters from The Saga of Tanya the Evil in a Chibi style, much like the OVA. It also featured characters from the light novel series KonoSuba, Overlord and Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, all published by Kadokawa Corporation. The anime series began airing on April 9, 2019.

Web Radio
"Youjo Senki Radio no Akuma" was broadcast every Saturday on Onsen from January 7th to July 1st, 2017. The personalities are Aoi Yuki, who plays Tanya Degurechaff, and Shinichiro Miki, who plays Lergen.

Film
An anime film based on the franchise was announced in January 2018. The film saw a number of the staff and cast of the television series reprise their roles, and was a direct sequel to the series. The film premiered on February 8, 2019. The film received a limited U.S. theater release on May 16, 2019, by Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll and Anime Limited screened the film at MCM London Comic Con on May 26, 2019. Crunchyroll also screened the film at Supanova Expo in Sydney and Perth in Australia on June 23 and June 30, 2019, respectively.


 * Staff
 * Original Author - Carlo Zen
 * Character draft - Shinobu Shinozuki
 * Director - Yasushi Uemura
 * Character design/general drawing director - Yuji Hosokoshi
 * Script - Kenta Inohara
 * Deputy Director - Kana Harudo
 * Clothing Design - Hiromi Taniguchi
 * Magic Tool Design - Ryoma Ebata, Bunritsu Tsukita
 * Firearms Design - Biyori Akishino Denforword, Nao Otsu
 * Effects Director - Takashi Hashimoto
 * Art Director - Mizuka Ueda
 * Color design - Chiho Nakamura
 * Cinematographer - Shinji Tonsho
 * 3DCGI Director - Masato Takahashi
 * Editing - Yumi Jinguji
 * Sound Director-Miwa Iwanami
 * Music - Shuji Katayama
 * Animation production - NUT
 * Production - Theatrical version Young Girl Senki Production Committee
 * Distribution - Kadokawa ANIMATION

The film was both a critical and commercial success, earning 100 million yen in its first five days and 400 million yen in total. Overall, the film received generally positive reviews. Dave Trumbore of Collider favourably reviewed the film, giving it an 'A−'. Trumbore wrote, "The war acts as a backdrop for these two incredibly powerful mages who wind up on a destined collision course with each other, and it’s a fight you won’t want to miss." Jordan Ramée of GameSpot rated it 7/10, and praised the introduction of Mary Sioux as a character, writing, "Mary [Sioux] injects a welcome level of tension into the story, and is a compelling villain for Tanya to fight," but also notes that "Other than the final fight, battles lack the intensity of an aerial dogfight".

Reception
As of April 2018, the light novels and manga had a combined 3 million copies in print.

Writing for the Anime News Network, Nick Creamer says Saga of Tanya the Evil is differentiated from the majority of isekai anime that have heroic otaku or everyday young men as their protagonists by having Tanya be evil. Creamer explicitly says "Tanya's crimes are our crimes", indicting the capitalist system that produced her past self as a ruthless salaryman, and the consequences thereof for her new self.

External Link

 * The Saga of Tanya the Evil ー Original web novel (in Japanese)
 * The Saga of Tanya the Evil ー Official Manga Website
 * TV Anime "The Saga of Tanya the Evil Season 1" Official Website
 * TV Anime "The Saga of Tanya the Evil Season 2" Official Website
 * The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Movie Official Website
 * TV Anime "The Saga of Tanya the Evil" Official (@youjosenki) - Twitter
 * The Saga of Tanya the Evil ー ABEMA Video
 * The Saga of Tanya the Evil ーWikipedia  JP 
 * The Saga of Tanya the Evil ーWikipedia  EN 

Trivia
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