English Dub Review: Saga of Tanya the Evil “My First Battalion”

First, but maybe not the last.

Spoilers Below

Saga of Tanya the Evil “My First Battalion” continues chronicling Tanya Degurechaff ‘s (Monica Rial) rise to power. The young girl is given command of a battalion. In true Tanya fashion, she decides she must test them first. There’s a veritable sea of applications to slog through. Thankfully, Tanya isn’t alone. The Imperial army sent Viktoriya Serebryakov (Jeannie Tirado).

Second Lt. Serebryakov is assigned to Degurechaff as her personal assistant. “Gee, the brass is being awful considerate…” Tanya quips unenthusiastically. It’s a comedic moment. Compounding the hilarity, Tanya thinks to herself “Having a capable assistant is going to be a real problem. I should have left her (Serebryakov) to die in the trenches back at the Rhine front.” It’s moments like this, backed by a plodding, cheery piano riff that fosters genuine chuckles.

Not surprisingly, Degurechaff puts her potential troops through rigorous testing. The first test is a bit misleading. And clearly challenging as almost every soldier fails. Ironically, Degurechaff dubs the test “painfully easy.” To expedite the process, Tanya puts her recruits through intense real-world tests. Tanya is told by her superiors to do whatever she must, even using a bit of force.

Degurechaff takes these orders to heart. Tests include shelling her own troops with empty shells, but finds out some are live. Rather than concern. Tanya is amused. Later she sends them on a quest to reach their next location, but there’s a catch: the battalion of mages is forbidden from using magic.

The recruits fight through cold and sneak past enemies. This sequence includes striking images of the soldiers smeared with dirt and grime, shivering in blankets and robes, and trudging waist-deep through snow. The juxtaposition between WWII-era uniforms and vehicles and flying battalions is a great dynamic.

Contrary to what she expects, the recruits eagerly swear their allegiance to Tanya. But it’s mostly out of fear. Amidst their fright, her troops seem to look upon Degurechaff with respect.

Once her selection is complete, Tanya is sent to intercept the Dakian army. The Dakians crossed the border into the Empire. Whereas the Empire boasts strong units of mages and air support in flying troops, the Dakians only have ground troops. Their soldiers are even on horseback. It’s an absolute bloodbath. Once Tanya and her battalion defeat the Dakian troops, they make their way to the Dakian capital to dominate there as well.

The voice acting is excellent. Tirado exhibits a lot of range as Serebryakov. She’s innocent, driven, and reveres but fears Tanya. Rial as Tanya is ruthless and cold one minute, dry and witty another, and later warning civilians in a sing-songy voice. This latter moment is particularly funny but chilling as Tanya tricks civilians into staying behind before her battalion fires upon them.

When the Dakians attempt to invade the Empire and Tanya and company retaliate, there’s the true sense of world war. It’s neat discovering the alternate history world as it exists. Additionally, there’s a sense that the war is poised to dramatically shift. While the Empire, and specifically Degurechaff’s battalion annihilates everyone in their path, it feels as if this won’t last long. On the contrary, there’s a notion that the Empire is coasting before facing a more balanced and equal adversary.