Anime Review: Saga Of Tanya The Evil (2017) They Got The Evil Part Right!

The thought of a moe dictator definitely piqued my interests, but I was actually fascinated by how serious this whole thing was. It begins with a salary man who denied the existence of God or “Being X” after being fired from his job and halfway to suicide. In order to prove it’s existence, “Being X” decides to send the man into a world very much like World War I era Earth, albeit with magic; and he is reborn in the body of a young girl. You might be asking yourself why “Being X” would resort to this kind of measure, and it seems to be for the simple fact that life expectancy in this war torn era was rather scarce. “Being X” knew that eventually the salary man reborn in the body of Tanya would have to renounce his disbelief if it came right down to it, because “there are no atheists in foxholes.” However, Tanya’s plan was simply to rise up in higher ranks until she got into a position where she wouldn’t have to fight the war at all, thereby leaving her in a position where she would never have to repent and believe in the existence of “Being X” which constantly fucks with her every step of the way. To be brutally honest, the way that “Being X” is portrayed here comes off more malevolent than benevolent, and it makes me think that the writer of this series sees God as a rather hateful, greedy and jealous bastard. Adding insult to injury, Tanya was given a magical object that only activates by saying prayers and adoration to “Being X” in which she doesn’t believe, nor acknowledge – or does she? From my observation, it would seem that Tanya’s communication with “Being X” is more than enough to acknowledge it’s existence.

My only real fault with Saga Of Tanya The Evil is in it’s slower, filler episodes. These mainly focus on politics in fictional countries, which have bored me since Gundam Wing. Even some of the battle strategies aren’t necessary for the plot, because the anime doesn’t quite lay them out in full detail to begin with. Additionally, the series builds up for a great battle that we think we’re going to get a chance to see, until the scene changes and Tanya’s unit is victorious. Where was the fight? A filler episode that recapped the entire series for lazy people wasn’t exactly needed either. The only redeeming point about the end of the series is the fact that “Being X” manages to get the attention of a young girl in Arkansas who gears up for the war effort in order to defend her religious convictions. This will cause a second season (should we get one) to focus heavily on Tanya and this “possessed” religious puritan, which would metaphorically be a fight between a theist and an atheist. Though Saga Of Tanya The Evil can be a bit of a slog to get through while battle strategies are being discussed, it features more than enough high-flying battle scenes and nearly captures the feeling of a World War I documentary, albeit with magic and moe characters.

(13 Episodes)

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