One of the anime I picked up for the 2019 spring season is the short-form series Isekai Quartet, which is a chibi-style crossover of Re:Zero, KonoSuba, Overlord, and Saga of Tanya the Evil. Among those four isekai titles, Saga of Tanya the Evil was the only one
I hadn’t watched prior to watching Isekai
Quartet.
In watching Isekai Quartet, I found that a basic knowledge of Saga of Tanya the Evil – very easily
acquired through a quick Wikipedia read – was what’s merely needed in order to
make sense of its place on the show.
Meaning, watching the entirety of Saga
of Tanya the Evil is not integral to enjoying Isekai Quartet.
Nevertheless, completionist compulsion dictated that I still should go
watch it. Plus, there was the
possibility that a very clever gag might come down the line which required the
viewing of the source material to be understood completely. And so, I binged all available episodes – which
are only 12 so far, all from the debut season that ran in 2017.
Saga of Tanya the Evil is set in an alternate world in which a
World War I-style conflict – with some shades of World War II – is brewing in
Europe. Moreover, in this world, magic
exists, and people who have aptitude in magic are drafted and trained to become
mages – soldiers who are capable of flight and shooting powerful energy attacks
with their rifles.
The story centers on Tanya von
Degurechaff, an orphaned girl born in the Empire (the Germany of this world). When a routine test determines that she has
magical capabilities, she quickly enlists in the Imperial Army despite her extremely
young age. Because of her tremendous
intellect, magical power, and ruthlessness – qualities uncharacteristic to a preadolescent
girl – she quickly rises up the ranks of the military (her rank at the start of
the first season was lieutenant, but by its end, it was major), and becomes the
commander of an elite, quick-response battalion – the ace of the Imperial Army
– which she herself trained.
Actually, prior to being born as
Tanya, she was a he in our world – an atheist Japanese salaryman. On his way home from work, a disgruntled
subordinate whom he fired earlier in the day pushed him to his death from the
train platform. At that moment, a
self-absorbed deity named “Being X” suddenly revealed himself to the
salaryman. When the latter offended the
former, the former condemned the latter to be reincarnated as Tanya in that
war-ridden world, and was put under the stipulation that she would be sent to
hell when she dies. Thus, Tanya sets the
goal of putting herself in the best possible situation where she can keep
herself alive and be comfortable in this new world. However, whenever she’s at the point of
succeeding, Being X – keen of breaking her stubbornness and make her acknowledge
that he is her god – would throw a wrench into the works.
Years ago, I was very much into
alt-history novels, especially when they had elements of science fiction and fantasy. And Saga of Tanya the
Evil reminds me of the best of them.
I extremely enjoy the compelling mix of fictional components and background
details that have real-life references.
For example, although magical soldiers exist in this world, the predominant
military doctrines, weaponries, technology, fashion, and even applied scenarios
featured are still very much similar to those employed during our World Wars.
In relation to this, an aspect
that appealed to me immensely is the prominence of strategy and data analysis. There are three or four supporting characters
capable of these, but it’s most exciting when the one performing them is Tanya,
being the MC and all. It’s so fun watching
Tanya work her brilliant mind, as she’s both a Jack Ryan-like intelligence analyst
and a Lelouch Lamperouge-like tactician.
She’s so sharp and perceptive that, when given the proper information,
she can quickly deduce what her more experienced superiors are planning or
arrive at the same conclusion as theirs.
Her intellect makes her a
character worth rooting for. On the
other hand, she’s not truly a hero. After
all, the title of the anime is “Tanya the
Evil.” She’ll do whatever it takes to
accomplish her goals. She’s mostly selfish with her motivations; cruel, Machiavellian, and even nihilistic with her
methods. Thus, though you would
generally root for her to triumph, you will nonetheless not be totally
comfortable about it.
In summary, the two most notable things
about Saga of Tanya the Evil are: a.)
the different but not-so-different composite version of the World Wars
unfolding at the forefront of the narrative; and b.) the intriguing but uniquely
anti-heroic – villainous, even – military prodigy, who is bitterly feuding with
a self-important god, serving as the main character. Add some solid direction, fabulous animation,
and dynamic action on top of them, and the result is one of the better, more distinctive
isekai ever produced.
No comments:
Post a Comment