English Dub Season Review: Saga of Tanya the Evil Season One

Find out if we want more of Saga of Tanya the Evil.

Saga of Tanya the Evil emerged as one of my favorite new Funimation series. The show follows Tanya Degurechaff (Monica Rial) as a young girl that’s the leader of a mage battalion in a world war. As an anime series, Saga of Tanya the Evil feels refreshingly unique. It’s largely the setting, characters, and artwork that make Saga of Tanya the Evil a masterpiece.

Based on a light novel, Saga of Tanya the Evil features an odd dynamic. While Tanya is a child, beneath her diminutive stature is a cold, calculating military tactician. She’s an atheist and features a strong resentment toward an entity known as Being X. But Tanya wasn’t always the decorated military child she is now. Rather, she’s reincarnated from a Japanese businessman who was also cold-hearted and a firm atheist.

I like the juxtaposition between Tanya’s outward appearance as a child and her ruthless military tactics. She’s brutally tough not only on her enemies but also on her own troops. Failure is not acceptable. Yet while Tanya remains a brilliant, if unforgiving, tactician, she’s still a likable character. Throughout the series, we as the audience are privy to her internal dialogue. While it’s sometimes confident, bordering on cocky, Tanya experiences self-doubt and a range of emotions. This posits her as a realistic character, and one that’s increasingly relatable.

The setting is phenomenal. I appreciate the alternate history that’s sort of World War II with a steampunk vibe. The combination of horseback soldiers, WWII-era canons, and flying mage units with sci-fi weaponry presents a retrofuturistic hodgepodge. Yet it’s a mixture that gels and works well.

Saga of Tanya the Evil remains surprisingly dark. It’s not quite as violent and unrelenting as Berserk, or as intense as Akira, but there’s a bit of violence and carnage. A few characters meet their demise, one of which disappointingly soon (no spoilers!). As I gravitate toward the darker material, I’m a bit biased, but this element worked. Further, Tanya exists as both a likable character and one that’s an antihero. Credit the writers, as well as Rial, for this feat.

While I enjoyed the majority of the series, a few episodes in the middle felt slightly repetitive. Initially, watching Tanya’s mage battalion annihilate enemies was joyous. Yet it felt a bit formulaic watching a continuous onslaught. Later, several episodes presented her battalion struggling which was a neat twist. Ultimately, Saga of Tanya the Evil overcame this brief slump.

The artwork and voice acting shine, as does the soundtrack. Shūji Katayama handles the score which features lots of percussions. The colors of the artwork are dark which matches the bleakness of a world war. But throughout it’s peppered with vibrant colors. Saga of Tanya the Evil is as pretty to watch as it is engaging. Overall it’s an anime series that looks and feels unique.