Anime Hajime Review: Youjo Senki

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Yojo Senki. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

The world has started losing its faith. Humanity no longer looks to the divine to solve its problems. They instead rely on logic. For one nameless Japanese salaryman, this couldn’t be better.

Through remorseless judgment, the career driven professional fails to realize something. Not everyone shares his view point. This lapse in judgment leads to the man’s death. And that would’ve been the end of it. Yet instead of turning to a higher power, the man condemns people’s lack of reason.

In the man’s final moments, an entity known as Being X forces a deal. The man will be reborn and he will come to learn how powerless he his.

Waking up in an alternate history, the man is reincarnated as a blonde haired girl of the Empire. Orphaned, the girl takes the name Tanya Degurechaff (voiced by Aoi Yuki). Though her body is small, she retains the cold-hearted rationalism of her former life.

Tanya’s brilliant mind allows her to rise within the Empire’s military despite her age. Possessing the imagine a defenseless child, to say she is one could prove deadly. She soon earns a reputation as one of the country’s best soldiers. As well as a true and terrifying monster.

Series Positives

There were two words I knew about this series going in. Military and magic.

Now, I’ve seen plenty of series set in war-torn fantasy worlds. Whether prominent or secondary, this is not a strange combination. Except I didn’t say war. I said military. If you’re wondering what’s the difference, I don’t blame you. The two aren’t exclusive, but they are separate.

Other anime that carry such a distinction are series like Girls und Panzers and Sora no Woto. In both, the actual military angle of the story is the centerpiece. I’m talking chain of command, tactics, soldier life, aspects that are inherent in war tales. Wherein the military genre, the reverse is true. The war, the fight, those are only the setting. And to an extent, the setting can change. Take away those other things mentioned and you’ve lost a show’s core identity.

With that as our working definition, we’re back to the start. Military and magic. Even still, not an outlandish pairing. The two go together well. Yet in every scenario I can come up with, magic takes precedent. How could it not? It’s otherworldly. It can turn into whatever it needs to be. It’s not something that’s easy to downplay, even if you’re trying.

Then you have something like Youjo Senki come along which demonstrates the alternative. The military side is the main focus. Magic is critical, but not special. It was a weird idea and I loved it.

Youjo Senki was a solid series. This was a ton of fun.

To me, it was like exploring uncharted waters. A pure mystery to the end. I’m not referring to plot twists or revelations either. I genuinely had no idea how this show was going to go. It wasn’t as if there were one or two strong possibilities. Almost every possibility was on the table. I guess the best word to describe it all would be “enthralling”.

I can say I was never bored. I was super into this one and there were three reasons why.

The first was the animation and art style. This was actually a beautiful series. It had the dark gritty appeal of a World War story. Little sunlight, often cloudy, everything was bleak. Despite that, color found a home here. Juxtaposed to the gloomy atmosphere, vibrant splashes of reds, golds, blues popped. It was stunning.

The artwork also gave a ton of authority to its characters. These were veteran soldiers that have been fighting alongside each other for years.

Of course, there was the comradery among squad mates. But the most fascinating were the connections between the leadership. Whenever shown in full military regalia, the top brass exuded a tangible air of confidence. Particularly within the Empire, the higher ups knew what they were doing.

Nowhere was this more evident than with Tanya. Sure, she proved herself time and time again on the battlefield. Yet when she was in her dress uniform, her true power came off. She wore her official outfit well. Combine that with her bright blond hair and vivid eyes, she would be menacing face to face. Her whole design was great.

The second reason this series was so fun had to do with the strategizing. I don’t know what it is, but logistics always has my attention. The planning and prepping that goes into an action should never be an assumption. It does take time. Then when you add the scale of a full-blown war, it forces thought and reasoning.

This was something the leadership, again, did great in. During battle, I can only imagine emotions are high. If I saw one of my friends shot down, I would react. And I doubt that reaction would involve logic. Because of that, I wouldn't last long. That’s why before you ever get in that situation, it’s nice to determine what’s possible.

There were plenty of times during the show when someone would boast and brag. They had a lot of faith in their spirit and determination. They claimed they could last a hundred years and never give up. Even though their supplies said allowed for a week at most.

It was good to have characters counteract this. It also helped that these characters were a much higher rank. The leadership knew too many small costly victories would lead to their defeat. Like before, this was something best portrayed through Tanya.

She had incredible foresight. Her mind operated through pure logic. She could deduce top secret plans because the generals also had similar mindsets. Except Tanya took it one step further. For she had an intimate understanding of something her supiriors failed to realize. Most people aren't logical. Along with that, she had the greatest ace in the hole. Hindsight.

Tanya came from our modern world. Our society has already experienced two devastating global wars. As well as the fallout from them. This other world was on the door step of their first. Nobody could comprehend what was about to happen. Nobody except Tanya. Her already calculating mind had an unprecedented advantage.

So those were two of my three reasons. Try and guess what the third one might be. Here’s a hint. I’ve already talked about her twice.

Tanya

What a phenomenal character.

Tanya was the embodiment of something I’ve wanted to see for a long time. She wasn’t the hero. She wasn’t the villain. She was the protagonist. She was the person we followed.

Her actions had no bearing on what was right or wrong. To some, she was a godsend. To others, a messenger of death. Both are neither wrong nor right.

That said, Tanya was cold. She was manipulative. She may not have killed people out of spite. But she did increase the chances of an accident happening. Yet if a subordinate disobeyed her, that person best have someone in the room capable of stopping her. Otherwise, Tanya would pull the trigger.

However, this was due to her strict adherence to the military code of the Empire. Insubordination could send someone to the firing squad. She cut out the middle man.

Still, Tanya wasn’t immovable. Someone could reason with her. You couldn’t appeal to her compassion, for she had none. Sob stories meant nothing to her. She only respected logic. She would go along with you as long as you kept making sense. That, or you were a higher rank. Yet even the latter of had its limits.

That’s all secondary though. What made Tanya such an interesting character was the fact that I never flat out disagreed with her. Don’t get me wrong, many of her methods I disapprove of. If she were real and I had her respect, I would advise a lot more flexibility. If I didn’t, I wouldn't say anything because I wouldn’t want to piss her off.

Tanya was intimidating. Throughout the show, you’ll forget that in the minds of everyone, she was just a twelve-year-old child. She got to the point within this story’s universe where everyone couldn’t see her as such. And it was one hundred percent believable.

One last point and it was something that made me laugh when I realized it. For a while, I could not place where I had heard Tanya’s voice before. Adding to that, I knew I had seen Aoi Yuki, Tanya’s voice actress' name before. My curiosity was overwhelming. I had to know what other roles Yuki had done before portraying this black hearted demon.

It turns out I was right. I had heard Yuki’s voice before. She was none other than the sweet and innocent Madoka Kaname from Madoka Magica.

Needless to say, Aoi Yuki did an amazing job with Tanya. She deserves so much praise for her performance.

Series Negatives

By the way, there were other characters in this show. Except they weren’t Tanya. Therefore, they left little impact. They weren’t bad. They just weren’t as good as the lead. This is something which needs bringing up. Though, I wouldn’t call it an issue.

There were two aspects to this series I want to talk about. What they did was add identity and perspective to Youjo Senki. But I can’t say their execution was the best. Or to be more specific, they weren’t as developed when compared to the rest of the show.

The first was magic. It was a neat idea. It was never distracting nor did it feel out of place. It made all the battles intense. Magic was also not overpowered. It was the next step in warfare and many of the superpowers of the world were implementing it. There was an outstanding moment when Tanya’s battalion had an overwhelming advantage. It did so much to place where this universe was in terms of battle tactics.

Yet this grounding of magic worked too well. It didn’t feel important. It was more of an afterthought. Take it away and little changes. Tanya went to long without a true magical challenge. Too bad magic was pivotal in her fight with Being X.

The second aspect had to do with Tanya’s previous life. I’m actually okay with this being a thing. It gave her a reason to be as logical as she was. If she was a true twelve-year-old, it would’ve made her character less believable. In addition, her reincarnation took away an otherwise awkward outlook on the show.

What Youjo Senki did was combine the two World Wars. The political mindset of the world was as it was in 1910. As I said before, no one knew what global war meant. Many leaders still stuck to the old ways of fighting. There were many who didn’t take into account the devastation of new weaponry.

The awkwardness comes from the map. No matter how you look at it, this was World War II. The Republic was France. The Empire was Germany. Since this was a World War II map, Germany meant Nazis. Had Tanya not come to this alternate history that would’ve been a hard label to overlook.

So where is the issue I have? Tanya kept the personality and memories she had from her form life. Her logic and ruthlessness fit within the military structure. But she came from a salaryman background. I’m sorry, that’s a bit of a leap. I’m not saying the two can’t translate. Except I don’t see how they translated so smooth here.

What kind of negative impact did these two aspects have on the show? Almost none. They were at their most prominent in the early stages of the series. By the end, though, you don’t care

There was, however, one thing Youjo Senki did seem to contradict itself on.

Tanya the "Evil"

This series spent a lot of effort in framing Tanya to be the embodiment of evil. They were many characters who considered her to be a monster. Not only that, the opening and ending themes’ visuals wanted to get this across too. Tanya was bad to her core.

I'm to sure about that.

Tanya did use manipulation and intimidation to get her way. She was someone you didn’t want to upset. She wasn’t a paragon of goodness. But evil? 

There were times when Tanya appeared to relish in the misfortune of others. She even seemed to get a kick out of the brutality of war. Yet she never went further than what was necessary to get the job done. She did adhere to international laws. Granted, Tanya interpreted said laws to make her actions legally justifiable. As opposed to morally.

I'll give the show this. Could Tanya start to enjoy killing? Could she become the true monster people already see her as? Yes. At the moment, she’s not quite there. Tanya’s reputation is a little preemptive. But I do see where it's coming.

The only reason I mention any of this is if you go into this series expecting a sadistic beast. You’re not going to get it. Or at least we’re not going to get it yet.

Final Thoughts

The finale sequel baits so hard. Tanya has time to become something terrifying. The biggest crime this series can make is if a second season never comes.

As for the series, as it is, it’s good. Wrapped in beautiful animation and strategy, there’s plenty to suck you in. If nothing else, Tanya herself is a sight to behold.

Even the problems of this show did something to make everything else better. Youjo Senki was a blast from beginning to end. And it is one worth checking out.

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