Saga of Tanya the Evil

Episode 11

Studio NuT may be having trouble keeping to schedule this season, cutting corners by introducing two whole minutes of recap from the end of last episode, but that isn't keeping them from turning out quality entertainment. This may have been its best-looking episode yet.

Once the recap is out of the way, we're treated to the series' grandest and most intense battle to date. As much as some of the early battles dazzled, there wasn't quite the sense of tension that this all-out clash between the 203rd's forces and the Republican Army forces accompanied by Anton Sioux provides. This wasn't another scenario where Tanya lords her superiority over everyone; this was an all-out dogfight, a desperate holding action against superior numbers until reinforcements could arrive. Tanya can practically taste the end of the war – and thus her security – coming, which makes the conflict sharper alongside Anton's suitably nasty antagonism. Lots of colorful explosions, complex aerial maneuvering, and bloodletting ensue, but the nose-to-nose showdown between Tanya and Anton at the end, with the fight coming down to a knife duel, was the biggest highlight.

It's also one of the rare moments that demonstrates Tanya's biggest disadvantage in a serious manner: her lack of size compared to a full-grown soldier leaves her practically helpless when manhandled. Viktoriya being the one to save the day was a welcome contribution, though my one quibble with the episode is that she's not shown doing much of anything else in the battle. I wonder if the irony of almost being taken out by someone else going suicidal on her occurred to Tanya, given that she was on the opposite end of this situation in episode 2. I also wonder if Anton appreciated the irony that the gun his daughter gave him was instead being used to kill him.

The battle scene alone would have been enough for me to rate this episode highly, but the last few minutes truly seal the deal in making this one of the winter season's best episodes. The man who became Tanya apparently knows enough history to realize that the Republican troops withdrawing from the capital without a fight and shipping off across the waters is a potentially disastrous mistake that will come back to haunt the Empire; just look at the Miracle of Dunkirk in World War II, where Hitler's failure to order attacks on the beaches of Dunkirk – contributing greatly to over 300,000 trained soldiers successfully escaping an encirclement – was considered by one of his field marshals to be his first fatal mistake of the war. Tanya knows that ultimate victory isn't secure if those soldiers escape, but her attempts to convince others who lack this knowledge understandably come off as zealotry. The Empire is keen to enjoy its victory and take relief from warfare, so Tanya's proposal not only flies in the face of this "peace" but also threatens diplomatic agreements. She's going to be proven right, but that's irrelevant. The situation is all too realistic; shortsightedness about the consequences of actions from the resolution of World War I were a major contributing factor to World War II happening, and it looks like the situation may be reversed this time.

One thing that this series has not indulged much before is genuine drama. Tanya's dismay, frustration, and anger at the opportunity she can see slipping away is palpable, and the scene where Viktoriya indirectly but firmly reminds her that she can no longer act on her own is beautifully handled. This is potent stuff from a direction that I hadn't expected.

Unlike other episodes, this one ends without a screenshot hinting at the next episode, although a finale is scheduled to air. As strong as the last scenes are, they don't feel like season-ending material, so we'll have to wait and see what happens next.

Rating: A

Saga of Tanya the Evil is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.