Explosions!
I bet you’re thinking this is a Konosuba reference (or you are if you’re into anime), but no…
It’s Bonfire Night in the UK and I’m watching The Saga of Tanya the Evil. Why? Because the sound of the explosions on screen is almost drowning out the sound of the explosions outside. Seriously, I was watching something earlier and I could barely hear the TV for the detonations outside. Good thing it was subtitled.
For those unfamiliar with Tanya (Gekijōban Yōjo Senki in Japanese and commonly rendered as Yojo Senki in English), it’s an isekai with an interesting twist. A rather unpleasant salaryman is murdered by someone he just fired and, for reasons, is reincarnated as a small blonde girl in what amounts to Imperial Germany. The world has magic, Tanya has a high magical potential, and she volunteers for the military at nine before they can draft her. Her country is in an extended war with neighbouring countries and she hopes to get rapidly promoted to a desk job where she can relax and live out her life in relative peace. Well, obviously, not going to happen.
The twist with Tanya is that the protagonist is not a nice person. I wouldn’t actually characterise her as evil, but she is self-centred, manipulative, and willing to sacrifice anyone to get to her ultimate goal, so long as such sacrifice doesn’t reflect badly on her. She won’t tolerate anyone in her command being injured or dying, but that’s because it would hinder her promotion. She recommends one of her soldiers for officer training behind the lines, but she does so because it makes her look like a caring superior.
Tanya is epitomised by a comment from one of the command staff officers who describes her as ‘a complete and utter monster in the form of a little girl.’ He later revises this, describing her as a devil. And by that point, that’s more or less meant as a compliment.
I’d recommend this one to anyone who hasn’t seen it. I own the first series on Blue-Ray, despite the fact that I can stream it on Crunchyroll whenever I want. The fight sequences are amazing and the story has some glorious takes on theology. It’s also funny, in between portraying war as something you wouldn’t want to be involved in. And the music is fantastic.
