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2centsoframblings · 2 years ago

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Two cents of ramblings on: “Yōjo Senki - The Saga of Tanya the Evil” (‘The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl - The Saga of Tanya the Evil’) (Anime) - Season 1...

...and why I STRONGLY recommend it.

GENERAL DATA

Title: Yōjo Senki - The Saga of Tanya the Evil (幼女戦記 The Saga of Tanya the Evil “The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl - The Saga of Tanya the Evil”)

Media: Anime television series

Adaptation of: Yōjo Senki (幼女戦記 “The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl”) Seinen light novel series written by Carlo Zen and illustrated by Shinobu Shinotsuki

Genre: Fantasy, Isekai, Military

Directed by: Uemura Yutaka

Written by: Ihara Kenta

Studio: NUT

Original run: January 6, 2017 – March 31, 2017

Episodes: 12

WARNINGS: Well, it’s a story about a war so of course there’s war and death and also politic and realpolitik. Also there’s a child fighting and killing, as Tanya is pretty young (she takes part to her first battle at 9 and the story moves up to when she’s 11/12). And of course, there are references to religion as Tanya is an atheist in battle with a being defining himself as God.

The plot in short: In a parallel universe, a little girl, Tanya Degurechaff, is a mage fighting in a war for what looks like a parallel WW1 German Empire. But the truth is she’s nothing else but the reincarnation of an atheist salary man, who, one moment before dying, was confronted by an entity which claims to be God and rejected him, labeling him ‘Being X’ and that reincarnation is nothing else but God/Being X’s attempt to force Tanya to finally have faith in him as the salary man said people would have faith only if they were weak and in dire straits. Still Tanya refuses to believe and declares a personal war to ‘Being X’, doing all she can to survive as, if she were to die this time, there would be no reincarnation.

HOW DID I STUMBLE INTO IT

I saw a rather good AMV “Night Witches” made with “Yōjo senki” footage, and was impressed by how good the animation was so I decided to watch it.

THINGS YOU MIGHT WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE TACKLING THIS

The anime series covers only the first 2 volumes and a half of the light novel series. Things are cut or simplified so to fit them into the new media.

MY TWO CENTS ON IT

THE SHORT VERSION… or what I can tell you about this while trying to keep spoilers at the very bare minimum.

Opening & ending: The anime uses as opening “JINGO JUNGLE” by Myth & Roid and as ending “Los! Los! Los!” by Yūki Aoi, the voice of Tanya Degurechaff. Episode 8 is the only episode who uses as ending “Sensen no Realism” (戦線のリアリズム ‘Realism of the Front’) by Niina Mako. I’ve mixed feelings for “JINGO JUNGLE” and “Los! Los! Los!”, as they’re not quite my type of music but kind of grew on me. Overall I find them fitting for the anime. The visual is the opening is interesting. With colours that reminds me of an old movie, a recurring theme of gears, which remind us of the operation orb but also the machinations of the war and how the men involved in it are nothing but little gears in a mechanism that’s bigger than them. We see scenes of war, soldiers fighting, mourning, the characters wearing their uniforms or with their flags behind, maps of the countries. In short it really delivers well this is a story that involves a lot of war. But I also like how it shows Tanya as a little girl, and then she starts walking and she’s a soldier in uniform, and in front of her there is the Nutcracker that being X posses to talk with Tanya. She shoots it but she doesn’t hit it by some sort of glass and then we’re shown the salary man she was in her previous life and there’s blood covering his image. It’s as if the glass she has broken is kind of a window to the past, showing us that Tanya’s rage against Being X is due to how she died in her past life. The opening also does an interesting thing as, when we’re shown the images of Kurt von Rudersdorf, Hans von Zettour and Erich von Rerugen, their names also appear, which doesn’t happen for any other character, in an interesting remarking of how those three are basically the ones that seem to be in command. Overall, I think it really works well as opening. The ending instead shows a series of images from the visual novel depicting Tanya. It’s nothing special but, as the anime was probably meant to be promotional for the visual novel, it makes sense they would want to show the visual of the novel (especially since the anime uses a different character design for Tanya…). “Sensen no Realism” is rather pretty as a music and the visual is interesting as it clearly represents explosions as pretty firework.

The plot: It’s complicate, intricate and intriguing. I love the history reference and how it talks about politics and military and psychology. Oh, I really enjoyed it!

The characters: Well, most of the focus is on Tanya but the other characters are interesting too and different enough among them. I can’t say I loved them but they’re well constructed and realistic enough.

The visual: The characterization is very interesting. I can’t say the characters are pretty in the usual way (actually I never saw someone with eyes or lips as Tanya) but they’re all very different and well recognizable in a way that’s pretty awesome. The visual for the background sceneries is GODDAMN AWESOME. The skies are beautiful with moving clouds and coloring, the visual from up there is also so great.

There’s this great cure for details that shows in how they can grow grass between bits of concrete… The fights are awesomely drawn and the scenes in which ‘Being X’ appear are also drawn in an interesting manner.

The musical background: This one is an epic one! Katayama Shūji did a really great work. The music well fit the scenes and give them grandiosity and action and an epic feeling. It’s something you can enjoy hearing even if you don’t watch the anime.

Overall: Oh, it’s good, good, good. I love the visual, the history behind this alternate universe, the battles, the strategic plans, the music, everything. It’s a must see, really.

THE LONG VERSION… or what I loved and hated about this with, of course, TONS OF SPOILERS.

Now, visually, this series is beautiful. I love the realism of the war fighting scenes and how they then put it into sharp contrast with how the mages fight with… well, magic, but I also love how the mages in a way depend from technical things, they use rifles with magic shells, they use Operation Orbs or, if you prefer, Computation Jewels that facilitates mages to compose spells, and they’ve tools to fly which vary according to from which country they are.

I love how the colouring has an odd tinge, as if it were an old war movie.

I love how well they animated the action scenes, so dynamic and fluid, I love the detailed and beautifully drawn scenery, how the skies are filled with beautifully drawn clouds, how they can be a beautiful blue but also other colours according to the time and the weather.

No, really, this is visually great.

Sure, it took me a while to get used to the chara design of the characters. It’s not like it’s ugly but it’s… unusual to say the least, with Tanya having some rather creepy expressions.

Still the characters come out as expressive and one gets used to the oddity of it soon enough.

Now… the story.

I enjoyed this alternate version of the world which is similar yet different to ours.

I love the ‘fight’ between God/Being X and Tanya, how she stubbornly refuses to believe and how he stubbornly tries to force her to believe to the point he forces her to pray if she wants her Computation Jewel to work.

I like the idea of having her consider the army as an organization and war as a work, which makes for a very harsh comparison with how Tanya previously worked for a company as a salaryman.

The idea that, in her past life Tanya’s beliefs were that following the rules one could smoothly rise in ranks but then, by the end of the series, she realized being too rational means missing to see that many men are, in fact, irrational and being lead by their emotions.

Erich Rerugen: What reason is there to continue the war? A modern state uses its military to impose its will via violence. Sacrificing the nation itself to continue the fight is madness. Tanya Degurechaff: You are completely correct. Erich Rerugen: Then why do you say that the war will continue? Tanya Degurechaff: If I may be permitted to give my opinion… General Zettour and General Rudersdorf are logical pragmatists, highly skilled in political and military matters. They are great soldiers. As are you, Lieutenant Colonel. Our Strategic HQ is a powerful fortress of logic and knowledge. And therefore, due to logical reasoning, everyone believes the war is at its end. But it must be said that this rationale is incomplete. Erich Rerugen: Incomplete… rationale? Tanya Degurechaff: The members of Strategic HQ are far too rational. And thus, they have completely missed the point. Rationalism isn't the only thing that drives human action. We are foolish creatures… Erich Rerugen: Are you saying that humans are still beasts, lacking in reason?! Tanya Degurechaff: If I may be permitted to speak freely, then that is completely correct. Erich Rerugen: And what evidence do you have for this statement? Tanya Degurechaff: History. Though I mean my own history. My personal experience. Erich Rerugen: Tell me. Tanya Degurechaff: I have seen the eyes of men, burning with hatred. I have seen the moment when my talented men gave in to anger and lost their reason. I have seen a chain of revenge, driven only by hate. And so, I realized… No, perhaps it's more accurate to say that I remembered. I have personally experienced an insane reaction against rationalism. No matter how much we modernize, no matter how social norms affect us, humans are foolish creatures, who sometimes prize feelings over reason. A human being who's overcome with hatred will keep struggling, without regard for self-interest or reason, regardless of what they may lose or gain. That is why I cannot help but speak up. We should not become intoxicated by a temporary victory! All flames of hatred must be extinguished. [Ep 12]

Tanya’s way to deal with this, would be, of course, aggressive. For her, the enemy you let go, will then be the enemy who will take up the gun against you.

Tanya Degurechaff: Second Lieutenant Grantz, the enemy you let go will take up his gun again. To shoot us. If we let them go, some will become new soldiers who hate the Empire. Vooren Grantz: So… You want us to kill them just for that reason?! Tanya Degurechaff: This is the order from our superiors. We shoot the enemy, or they’ll shoot us. If nothing else, we must shoot until we’re told not to anymore. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. But I’ll said once more. This is the order from our superiors. Take up your gun. [Ep 8]

In this bit from episode 8 Tanya paints it as them having to do it more because it’s an order than because she wants to, but, by the end of the series, it’s clear she has embraced the idea you’ve to kill your enemies without mercy or they’ll come back to kill you.

I also found interesting this bit from her.

Tanya Degurechaff: In a cursed world, engulfed by flames of war, there was a nation known as the Empire. With its vast military power, talented strategists, and high mobility, it overwhelmed the Dukedom of Dakia, the Entente Alliance, and the Republic. Treats to its safety were removed, one after the next, and everyone was overjoyed. But that is why they could not imagine how much the surrounding countries feared the creation of a massive power in the continent’s center. The Empire went to such lengths to display the sharpness of its sword, it was incapable of imagining the terror that its sword inspired. Of course, everyone wants peace. So, to protect peace, they take up their guns and thrust themselves into battle, hoping to achieve it. So that this cruel war would end, everyone except the Empire wished for the evil enemy called the Empire to be eliminated from the world. Could there be any greater paradox? Ironically, their desire for peace caused the war’s intensification, rather than its end. [Ep 12]

The part that it’s easy to forget watching the story, due to the similarities between the Empire and the German Empire is that, in this universe, it was the Entente Alliance, the Dukedom of Dakia and the Republic who invaded the Empire first. They all crossed borders first, to which the Empire answered by attacking their forces and declaring war. The Empire defended itself and won and, as a result, gained the land of its opponents… and in doing so gained the hate of the opponents it defeated and scared its neighboring countries, pushing them to join forces against it… in some sort of vicious circle in which people paint as ‘evil’ the enemy and themselves as righteous, regardless of the enemy being really ‘evil’ the way we intend it.

At the end we see how Mary considers the Empire evil because it killed her father, but it was her father who was among the soldiers who invaded the Empire and caused the war and who, with his men, attempted to kill Tanya, who was 9 back then and merely in an observer mission when they attacked, he who chased after Tanya when she was retreating once she accomplished her mission only managing on getting stabbed by her and he’s also the one who decided to continue going after her, claiming God told him to bring her down so that he ultimately gets killed by her.

He’s not a poor victim, but a soldier who got obsessed with killing Tanya and ended up killed in return.

And all this makes for interesting food for thoughts about who’s really evil. The Japanese title of the series is just “Yōjo Senki” (幼女戦記 ‘The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl’), but the English one is “The Saga of Tanya the Evil”. Tanya however is not ‘evil’ in the sense she enjoys hurting others. In fact this is her motive for joining the army:

Tanya Degurechaff: In a time when war seemed unavoidable, I’d thought it would be impossible for a poor, powerless girl to survive. But in that world, the power of magic did exist. And during the orphanage’s physical, my magical aptitude was noted. The army always conscripted those with aptitude as mages. And if I were going to be conscripted someday, it made more sense to volunteer, receive officer training, and attempt to get onto a career path. Of course, war is an unproductive and therefore wicked act. And I hated the idea of killing or being killed. But if I could just get on the military’s rails, my future would be assured. [Ep 2]

Tanya is moved by her self-interest, pragmatism and lack of empathy, but doesn’t have the wish to hurt others.

Her enemies often define her ‘evil’ merely because she’s a dangerous enemy and nothing else, same as they define the Empire ‘evil’ because it is the enemy. Tanya is clearly not good, she’s a pragmatist who totally lacks of empathy and cares only about doing her work efficiently and therefore has no mercy for people who gets in the way of it, which feels even more sticking considering she’s in the body of a young girl, to the point Erich Rerugen views her as a monster.

Erich Rerugen: If I may speak freely… She is a monster in the form of a little girl! [Ep 12]

There’s to say though that the other characters, who tries to paint themselves up as more moral, are merely making excuses for themselves to do the same as Tanya does.

They claim they’re fighting evil but they’re merely pursuing their country’s interests or, even worse, revenge. They genuinely pray God (differently from Tanya who’s merely forced to do it) but they pray God in hope he’ll help them kill their enemies, or believe God tells them to kill them.

Anyway, long story short, this one is definitely an anime worth watching so I recommend it.

And now let's end this with an AMV about this series I recommend watching: Night Witches

youtube

#Youjo Senki #Saga of Tanya the Evil #NUT #Fantasy #Isekai #Military #Anime Television Series #Strongly recommended #Seinen #2017

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okay-victoria · 4 years ago

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What do people think of Tanya? AKA: Actually, a lot of people agree with Lehrgen

Summary: WHOOOOO BOY. You know it’s going to be fun when my subsections have to have their own subsections. Briefly, there is the Good [people who like Tanya both personally and professionally], the Bad [people who like/love Tanya professionally but not personally], and the Ugly [people who ideally, Tanya will never speak to, look at, send mail to, or be in the general vicinity of ever again].

I would say most people fall into the “Bad” category - they recognize her value as an officer, sometimes to a worshipful degree, but on a personal level range anywhere from thinking she’s a creepy child to actively disliking her. Unfortunately for Tanya, the people that fall into the Ugly category are as a rule higher-ranking than the ones in the Good category, and most people in the Bad category seem to like her specifically in her military role, and it is questionable they’d want her as even a coworker outside of that, let alone as a friend.

The Good

People who’re in here: People who have only ever heard of Tanya in the context of the Silver Wings award, people she interacts with in the Imperial Navy; rando soldiers; someone kinda high up in the later-war Eastern Army command; Ugar

People who only know her from Silver Wings:

V1/C1

Describes the nice aura people would see in someone who wins the Silver Wings.

The Navy

V3/C2

A naval officer does assess Tanya as having a predatory look, but doesn’t seem to think particularly badly of it, he just notes it, and then says “Degurechaff was a fellow soldier he could be proud of, which was why he extended his hand in utmost seriousness to wish her well.”

Rando Soldiers

There’s no real good single quote on this, but over time Tanya comes in to reinforce various units and leaves behind various impressions, ranging through Good, Bad, and Ugly, but anyway, there almost have to be low & middle ranking officers and soldiers who are presumably nothing but grateful to Tanya for rescuing them, even though we never get much of anything from their perspective.

Others

A superior officer of Tanya’s in Eastern Army command, in V5/C1, gets a transfer request for Tanya’s unit and reflects he is sad to be losing her.

Ugar - I don’t have down any specific pieces, but IMO it comes across in the LNs that Ugar is generally well-disposed to Tanya and doesn’t have the positive professional/negative personal thoughts that most other people close to her do.

The Bad

People who’re in here: Tanya’s academy/war college instructors, the 203rd battalion & later Kampfgruppe, Zettour, Rudersdorf, Generic Superior Officers, Romel, Lehrgen’s professional opinion

Tanya’s Academy & War College Instructors:

V1/C1

Tanya’s zeal during academy scares her instructors.

V1/C4

The instructors scrawled “abnormal” across the top of Tanya’s file.

“In the academy, we were told over and over – and, for some reason, over again – to love our troops. Weirdly, now that I think about it, I feel like they emphasized this the most when talking to me.” <= Tanya...you’re...you’re so close.

V1/C5

Mentioned that some teachers in the academy are on Lehrgen’s side of the What The Fuck Do We Do With Tanya debate.

V3/C5

Romel’s summation of her personnel assessment notes that at least on paper, the academy and the war college gave good overall evaluations of her.

203rd Battalion:

V1/C3

[Visha] “The moment she turned her icy cold eyes on us like we were objects to be appraised, I shrank from her in spite of myself. People might laugh at me for being afraid of such a little kid, but those eyes reminded me of the way a cat looks when it’s playing with a mouse, which creeped me out”

[Visha] “I was different from Lieutenant Degurechaff, who could calmly nail fleeing soldiers in the back with optical sniping or explosion formulas. I was relieved because I wouldn’t have to shoot.”

V1/C5

[Visha] “Was she an agent of the devil or of God? It had to be one or the other. Ahh, I can’t believe I have an ally more horrible than the enemy. She’s not human. I would bet my life on it. Me and a few others saw it once. During training, one of our teammates dropped like he was dead. The captain gave him a good kick, and before we knew it, she was back on his feet. I had been staring into the abyss of death myself…the captain heaped abuse on me. But I know, I saw it: she charged into the avalanche to save me. Even after my friends told me that she tossed my busted body aside like a used rag, I believe. She is definitely a good commander, even if I’m not sure about her as a human being. Of course, we all laugh and bad-mouth her…if the captain is an apostle of God, then only the devil can possibly exist.” <= in good news, Tanya, you are currently winning on your quest against Being X and mostly making people believe that he’s the Devil for allowing you to exist!

V2/C1

[Weiss] also refers to Tanya as a vampire

[Weiss] thinks Tanya is arrogant

[Visha] “her thought is That’s so low, Major.” <= this is in response to Tanya pulling out her child voice to announce they were going to bomb Dacia’s factory.

[Weiss] “Weiss has only known her for a short time, but even he can pick up the displeasure his superior doesn’t bother hiding. Her mood is as dangerous as nitroglycerin. When Weiss quietly takes a step back, everyone discreetly follows suit. Nobody wants to be so close to Major von Degurechaff when she’s irritated.”

V2/C5

[Grantz] “If the devil exists, it has to be our instructor, the commander of the 203rd Aerial Mage Assault Battalion, the legendary Major von Degurechaff. The way she smiled. The way she looked at us like we were maggots. The way she seemed thirsty for blood. I’d believe she had tried to kill a rebellious underclassman or crack his skull open. If I screw up on the battlefield, she’ll definitely kill me. That’s how threatened I felt by the instructor who just had to also be my advisor…I wanna cry.”

[Grantz] “This was the major who had once said during a speech at the academy that deadweight should be killed…This is crazy. No one said it aloud, but it was the look on everyone’s faces. This was a nighttime mission to abduct enemy soldiers…Magic Second Lieutenant Warren Grantz realized he was shaking. My survival instinct was screaming. I wanted to avoid the war, the combat, the killing. I was hesitating. But one glance from Major von Degurechaff was enough to subjugate that instinct. She was far more terrifying…I was so terrified I hardly felt like myself anymore…How could the major just calmly sing a hymn?”

[203rd banter] Visha asks if anyone wants to trade places with her so she doesn’t have to be with Tanya all the time, and Weiss and Grantz are not itching to take her up on the offer.

V2/C6

[Grantz] Is really, really bothered by how chill Tanya seems to be about Arene.

V2/C7

[Weiss] Reflects on all the horrible things Tanya has put him through, but ends his reflection on the note that he understands why it was necessary to prepare them for war.

V3/C5

“Apparently, the troops serving directly under her thought she was a great field officer” <= Romel re: Tanya’s personnel file

V4/C5

“‘Please have the 203rd be part of your Kampfgruppe. All of us in the battalion wish to continue serving under you.’”

Tanya doesn’t get what she wants, is then pissed, and it gives off weird abusive-parent vibes where all her children try to flee and not be present, and for the ones who have to be (Weiss & Visha), they take it by flinching, cowering, praying to God for Tanya not to explode, etc.

V5/C4

[Visha] “Reality is far too unreal. She’s crazy. There’s something strange about her...The colonel cackled – no, she giggled, smiling like a child. It was positively surreal to see her eyeing the enemy with her tender gaze and licking her lips. She snickered, but what was so funny? She was terrifying...Dripping red liquid. Pink things that used to be humans, flying everywhere. And opposite that scene was a beaming little girl. It was so surreal, it made more sense for me to suppose I had gone insane. No, maybe I really did go insane. The sight of my superior officer nodding with satisfaction and beginning a confession of her faith was horrific. I didn’t get even a glimmer of madness from her beautiful, innocent eyes. They were the eyes of a stubborn servant of logic, full of pure reason. But that’s what was horrific: those eyes stuck on that doll-like face.”

V5/C5

Tanya has some good banter with her Kampfgruppe soldiers and it seems like everyone’s getting along.

V8/C4

T: ‘Are you saying you throw yourself into the slaughter purely, justly – sane and sober? Don’t make me laugh. That’s a broken man talking. Going to war after downing some liquid courage with a grimace is much more human.’ He frowns for a moment, perhaps thinking to argue back, and then whines, ‘So are you drunk, then, Colonel?’ <= yes, a random officer from Tanya’s Kampfgruppe just asked if she was drunk and that’s why she’s always throwing herself into battle so excitedly.

V8/C5

T: ‘Glad you’re safe, Lieutenant.’ V: ‘Thank you, ma’am. That said, I would have rather you spared me from getting caught up in that attack.’ T: ‘What choice did I have?’ V: ‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Serebryakov puffs her cheeks out in a pout, which is surely a sign that she’s feeling better. <= Tanya, Visha wanted you to apologize, not excuse yourself, damn!

Zettour

V1/C5

“He doesn’t know whether they should praise her original ideas or call her insane.”

“Apparently, she hasn’t forgotten that she once said she wanted a battalion. She, a first lieutenant, to a brigadier general…something liable to provoke antipathy? She’s already done that.”

“The smirk on Tanya’s face reminds Zettour of some unpleasant rumors he’s heard about her.”

V2/C5

Zettour both remains horrified that Tanya was able to speak so frankly about a world war, yet he is sympathetic to the fact that she could do it because she understood what would happen.

V4/C3

Tells Rudersdorf that he “unwaveringly trusts” her military decisions.

V4/C5

Tanya comes to Zettour to request better units than he’s given her. He finds the request beyond arrogant, seeing as how pressed they are for men, especially for the fact that this is shortly after the Moscow situation and her battalion has “gone too far and been a handful”.

“Somehow, he didn’t think there could be that many damaged kids in the Empire like this young teen back from the battlefield. And actually, regardless of how he felt about it as a soldier, personally, the idea of interacting with them was terrifying.”

“But Degurechaff was unfazed and inquired about their experience with killing people. She saw people as products, and she was asking if they had been tested – that was the nuance. Could such a completely utilitarian view of people even be taught? Certainly, the army is an organization that pays attention to individual functions. Substitutability and cost consciousness are two factors hounding everyone. But can you really judge a human being by those criteria alone?...That innocent face and her straight back made her look something like a surreal doll. Doesn’t…Doesn’t anyone think this is strange?”

Zettour is mentioned to have originally had the same doubts about Tanya as Lehrgen, but after her performance he claims he is ready to “swallow any pill, no matter how bitter” (I think working with Tanya being the bitter pill) to win the war.

Zettour gives Tanya a little discretion to commandeer some equipment, she takes a lot of discretion. Zettour sort of laughs at off saying “this was Degurechaff” but does also mention that Tanya’s actions “amounted to a borderline interference in Supreme Command.”

V8/C4

Zettour is impressed with how Tanya has trained Grantz and thinks that if she wasn’t so good in the field, he’d put her in education.

“Sure, Degurechaff may have been broken, but not as an officer.”

Rudersdorf

V2/C1

Rudersdorf says that Tanya has a “distinct” [read: probably means difficult] personality, but if he just divided people into useful and not useful, she was useful.

V4/C3

Zettour and Rudersdorf debate Tanya, and he mentions that he only thinks she is talented in the military realm.

Generic Superior Officers

V2/C5

Tanya has a misunderstanding with her CO on the Rhine front. He wants her to train some new recruits normally, she mistakes it as saying “well, kill as few of them as possible, but do what you gotta do,” she gets kind of reprimanded over it.

V3/Intro

“Performance Evaluation: Major Tanya von Degurechaff:

Counselor’s Notes on character and conduct [this is printed normally]: Abundant loyalty and excellent fighting spirit. Follow regulations to the letter. Devoutly religious.

[this part is handwritten] Has a bad tendency to take matters into her own hands. Competent but as difficult to handle as a mad dog.”

V3/C1

“Some of the officers even added another thought in the back of their minds: Major von Degurechaff might actually be able to wring out even better results.”

V3/C3

Tanya goes wild on her base commander when he won’t let her sortie to Brest to prevent the French army from evacuating. <= Oddly, IIRC, no one ever like, apologizes to Tanya for not believing her, which is kinda rude, so mostly the incident reflects negatively on her instead of being a balanced: ok she did violate some rules, but...maybe if we’d listened to her we’d have avoided the rest of the fucking war, so seems like it might have been called for?

V3/C5

“The most important evaluations during a war are the ones from the battlefield, and those were all over the place.” <= Romel, re: Tanya’s personnel file

“The second was that although the evaluations were contradictory, she had achieved enough that she was considered an outstanding soldier. Awkwardly, regardless of how she was as an officer, as an individual mage, she was thought very highly of. Her number of kills was among the highest on the Rhine front.”

“In any case, strictly as a mage, she was unrivaled. As an officer, too, she was by no means incompetent. So they must have been giving her to him as reinforcements and as an excuse to get her out of their hair. Honestly, he felt like they were foisting off their problem on him. ‘They’re telling me to take a mad dog out on a walk with no leash?’ He let slip a complaint. Maybe it was just prejudice, but that wasn’t what it felt like to General von Romel. After all, he was basically being asked to bet on a bad hand.”

V4/C2

Everyone on the General Staff realizes the huge amount of fallout from Tanya attacking Moscow. The backstory of this is that when Tanya asked for permission, the General Staff thought she was just going to do a fly-by and freak them out, not attack the city. It pretty much kills any opportunity they had to negotiate a quick settlement with Russia in the cradle.

Romel

V3/C5

Romel’s first meeting with Tanya pretty much goes: “so arrogant it’s invigorating...unbelievably insolent...in addition to her self-important attitude, it exuded heavy sarcasm...not only was she arrogant, she was clearly horribly warped.”

“Any commissioned officer would understand just from hearing her make that one comment why the Northern and Western Groups couldn’t control her. Having a mage battalion drop out of the command structure was almost like losing a whole division” <= ie, Tanya’s previous superiors must have really disliked her to give her up.

“She simply decided she would be a patriot if it was good for the nation. In short, she’s a capable lunatic, but the bad part is she doesn’t realize she’s twisted…She’s crazy. And competent. And more sincere than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“Without a doubt, she’s going to end up being the most horrible person I know. And she’ll probably also be one of my most reliable friends on the battlefield.”

V3/C6

Romel reflects that she is a mad dog, and that she is an ego-crushing entity for the average officer. <= while Romel never brings this up, this has a *ton* of important real-world implications for Tanya, especially assuming men still have more than a little trouble listening to women outside the military. Even if you believe the best rumors about Tanya, you still might not want to hire her because she’s going to be better than you, and most people hate that feeling.

V4/C1

Tanya goes to the Eastern Front, and Romel reflects that he is sad to lose her and that once you got used to her, he found her easy to work with.

The Ugly

People who’re in here: Lehrgen’s personal opinion, Some wartime randos, OG Eastern Army Command, OG Northern Army Command, Imperial Government, people who mostly know Tanya from her Arene reputation, Western Army Command; Implied Future View of Tanya

Wartime Randos

V1/C5

“Some of those who had been on the front lines had a strange reaction to the name [the 11th Goddess] we picked. They claimed it was the worst joke they’d ever heard.” <= ie, Tanya was the Devil, not a goddess

V2/C1

Tanya is happy that Dacia has zero airpower. She displays her happiness by smiling maniacally and skipping around her tent. Everyone thinks Tanya is happy that they just got invaded again and the war is growing and she can go kill people.

V2/C5

A kinda random infantry guy is still having nightmares about Tanya in like, 1960, and reflects back on how he felt when he heard Tanya casually call for friendly fire to go right through where her men are flying. He questions why anyone listens to her.

“But when I replay the memories in my mind, I can’t help but shout, You monster! A hero, a star, and outstanding magic officer. You, ma’am, were a great officer. To all of us imperial soldiers serving on the Rhine lines, you were a god...Yeah, she’s a god – an immensely powerful one who presides over life and death. Her words, brimming with a spine-chilling anger, swept over the area as if she was planning to attract all the enemy hostility like moths to a flame. Major von Degurechaff had bared her fangs. It invited a violent reaction. The Republic wanted to hunt the devil. In other words, they devoted all humanity’s wisdom to killing the god of death. Gods don’t die, but those of us next to them? …They were right to call her a god of death. She killed the enemy, and the enemy killed our men. Then the noble major, with a glance at all the dead in the mud, took her leave. Fucking hell.” <= and you thought Lehrgen hated her. But, again, real-world implications of this could very well be that post-war, Tanya is a total persona-non-grata as someone that had a high degree of influence on how rabidly everyone fought against the Empire, and how the Empire was treated in the aftermath. I don’t make it out quite that bad, but it could be really rough if someone wanted to make it that way.

V4/C5

“The Guard Division had been on many assignments dealing with formal events, so we had experience…But what is that? That absurd, expressionless, doll-like creature was giving orders to people who appeared to be bloodthirsty mages just back from the war zone.”

“Could it really…could it really be possible for a child to wear such a smile?...Her hands were soft and would have looked more natural holding a doll, but instead, this odd, human-shaped creature spread her arms as she delivered a welcoming address. No one. None of the high-ranking officers present could raise an objection to this thing. The veteran mages all obeyed this inhuman being in the form of a person.”

OG Eastern Army Command

V1/C5

“The members of the eastern army had been openly angered by her annoyed look until days before, but now their faces were pale. She said exactly what she thought: ‘Incompetent, pitiful, lazy, arrogant, unprepared, mentally disabled, inattentive, no powers of observation’ and her conclusion was that ‘all mages of the Eastern Army group require reeducation’”

“The ranking officers from the regional field armies who had come to protest ended up bearing the brunt of the General Staff members’ critical glares.”

OG Northern Army Command

V2/C3

“With no idea when Colonel General von Wragell might explode in his seat at the head of the table, Lieutenant General and Chief of Staff von Schreise was inwardly annoyed, but at the same time, the atmosphere was so tense he wanted to bury his head in his hands.”

“Schreise couldn’t be the only one thinking that he would have thrown her out immediately if she weren’t a representative of the Central Army’s view.”

“��You’re very humble, aren’t you?’ one of the staff officers murmured, curling the corners of his mouth into a smile that was more of a sneer.”

“Schreise had never seen a major with such a big head without making light of him…without hesitating even a little, she – a mere battalion commander – matter-of-factly gave her opinion to the staff and even had the audacity to disagree with them. Even with the sacred, inviolable General Staff’s power behind her, she was nearing an inexcusable challenge to authority. A head could be allowed to swell only so far. There’s a limit to what can be tolerated, even for recipients of the Silver Wings Assault Badge!...the major, though still rather new, was readily crossing a line of which all graduates from the war college should have been aware.”

V3/C5

“There was a pile of especially severe criticism from the Northern Army Group. They said she was transferred after voicing a clear objection to those in authority.”

Imperial Government

V2/C5

Tanya sinks a Commonwealth vessel, she is court-martialed, the military says she did nothing wrong [which I agree with], but the diplomats want to punish her to appease the Commonwealth. After the not-guilty verdict, Tanya’s smug-ass smile makes everyone go: umm...should we really have let her get away with this??

V4/C2

She then further makes the diplomats hate her over her Moscow raid.

V4/C3

Rudersdorf warns Zettour that Tanya going overboard is earning Zettour criticism from the government.

V4/C4

During her second court-martial, Tanya doing the most in Moscow manages to fracture the relationship between the government/supreme army command & the guys more in charge of the day-to-day war, like Zettour & Rudersdorf.

International Post-Hoc View on Arene

V2/C6

“They gunned people down like they were so many targets in a firing exercise. They got ‘points’ for shooting people. People had blocked themselves in, so they used heavy-explosion formulas to bombard whole districts. Those are all painful memories of the tragedy being shared today. Even counting only the confirmed deaths, the city of Arene lost half its population that day. In order to avoid the heavy responsibility for each soldier that would result if they went into the city and had to visually confirm their targets, they aimed to cause widespread fires via artillery bombardment from positions surrounding the city. A portion of the documents shows that they had chosen targets that were likely to spread the flames as proof-of-concept for firestorm.” <= the reporter doesn’t know this, but Tanya is the person that comes up with that proof-of-concept for creating a firestorm, as well as the person that creates the case to make it legal to repress a civilian revolt with a military. To me it seems like Arene is presented as the Tanyaverse Bombing of Dresden, except how it would be viewed if Germany had won WWII.

Tanya thinks about how if the Empire loses, her reputation is in the toilet if it becomes known that she did this.

Western Army Command

V2/C6

[The Lt. General or above that is in command of the Western Front] “A terrifying report or a proposal from hell. The one who thought of this was either a lawyer so cunning the devil would invite them to join forces or a criminal. This way of thinking is practically inhuman. Only a devil who forgot their reason and conscience in their mother’s womb could come up with such a tactic. That someone would equate having the technical capabilities for an operation with actually doing it…Are they deranged?”

“Luckily, an army corps commander summoning a mere major is extremely rare. Exceptional though it was, it meant there was a chance he might have to summon this monster again someday…Doing his best not to look directly at the monster straightening her posture in front of him, the army corps commander accepted that it was for work and met her.”

“The principles behind the actions of this major in front of him were impossible to understand using anyone’s logic or emotions. Her inorganic eyes compelled you to conclude that her thoughts, her frameworks, her way of being were all warped.”

This guy keeps going on and on more than I have here, tbh he’s one of Tanya’s main haters. It’s fine Tanya, it’s only the guy in charge of Western Army Command, who listens to him?

“I hope no one noticed that I just flinched, thought the army corps commander, sensing that he was distinctly afraid of her…No worries about what? He deeply wanted to ask what she was planning to do, but he held back. He told himself it was surely better not to know…But there is probably no one more suited to being a soldier than you. Perhaps you feel at home in hell on the Rhine front.”

V3/C5

“The Western Army Group declined to evaluate her, saying her good and bad points neutralized each other, so it was difficult to rate her. Furthermore, she had attempted to resist orders.”

Implied Future View of Tanya/The Parable of the Salamander

V4/C5

“From what I heard, the Salamander is adorable and very clever. If you show it affection, it’ll get attached to you. Like a German shepherd, it can become a trustworthy member of the family. Sometimes it begs or plays tricks, but apparently, everyone ends up overlooking these things. Of course, Mrs. Legen grew angry and screamed that it went too far, but…Well, in the end, everyone doted on the Salamander. Because when it’s even more reliable than a German shepherd, how could you not? At some point, though, the Salamander’s requests and pranks grew to be too much. But what do you think happened when no one was sympathetic to dependable Mrs. Legen, who had continued to angrily scold it the whole time? That’s right. No one was able to stop the Salamander! Of course, the Salamander loved and cherished everyone. But sadly, there was no one to teach it right from wrong. So the Salamander never realized that everyone disliked it. Soon it had exhausted everyone’s patience.” <= for reference, Tanya commands the Salamander Kampfgruppe; this is told as a cautionary tale that Andrew says circulates throughout the future Empire.

Your Author’s Take on Tanya’s Reputation vs Reality

The above should have real-world implications for Tanya’s personal life as far as friends, and for her career both within and beyond the military once the war is over, because, you know, people talk. Anyone who phones up an old pal because said old pal had some quality time with Tanya and they’re curious what she’s like is probably not going to receive a glowing personal recommendation, and the higher up those people are in society, the worse it is likely to be.

Even for people who think she has a genius applicable beyond the military sphere, outside of extreme circumstances people generally don’t want to employ anyone, no matter how smart, who is known for being unpredictable, uncontrollable, arrogant in the extreme, abusive towards coworkers, manipulative, possibly just straight up evil, etc etc. Within the military, after the war I would expect her to be hampered by the fact that a lot of people won’t want to work with her unless there’s a really pressing reason they need her skillset.

I can’t believe I’m bringing this show up from years past, but she’s sort of in the same position as Dr. House from the TV show - famously talented; famously toxic in the workplace; only one place will employ him, and at a much lower salary than his reputation should command, and even so, thinking that he could get away with that in real life is pushing the suspension of disbelief for the show. The same goes with friendships - very few well-adjusted adults are willing to befriend The Cool Asshole in real life.

When it does happen IRL, those relationships usually aren’t healthy & happy, and can easily end up with borderline-emotionally-abusive undertones because the follower is afraid of losing the leader, and molds themselves to fit what the other person wants so as to be an unchallenging, uncritical presence in the life of their idol.

For a story about an adult man reincarnated as a young girl fighting in magical WW1.5, YS manages to put a surprisingly interesting twist on the Main Character is a Cool Asshole Without Consequences model, with Tanya getting away with it in the present due to extreme circumstances, not realizing that the war is the only reason she’s getting away with it, and facing many implied future consequences for it.

While it’s entirely possible and often completely necessary to handwave Tanya overcoming this for storytelling purposes, as you can’t go many places story-wise if Tanya is as screwed as it sounds like she’s going to be, standard reality is that she’s gonna need to do some serious legwork to dig herself out of the hole she’s in, both personally and professionally.

I appreciate that the crux of a good Tanya story is often Tanya thinking normal reality will apply to her but then bypassing normal reality to end up somewhere she never intended on being, much to her chagrin, and readers therefore may feel adhering to realism violates the reality of Tanyaverse.

For the purposes of this story, I have chosen to stick with where the preponderance of evidence leads and apply a good amount of normal reality to Tanya, because that is exactly what allows me to proceed along a different avenue of Tanya misunderstanding things and ending up somewhere she never intended on being, keeping to the spirit of Tanya stories. Plus, Tanya doesn’t seem very intent on growing as a person in the absence of consequences and I need my character growth drivers.

...and I can’t avoid admitting I still end up handwaving some portion of those consequences for Tanya, since, as stated above, it’s...hard to go anywhere with a story if you don’t.

#LN Reference

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