Saga of Tanya the Evil

Episode 7

Episode 7 got delayed for a week with a recap episode in its place, presumably due to production issues. Signs of that linger in this episode, as there are a couple of places that use the kinds of animation shortcuts you just didn't see in earlier episodes. Hopefully that won't become a trend, and the rest of the episode still looks good enough to be reassuring.

This episode is different from the rest of the series so far in a number of ways. For one thing, the episode only partly features Tanya; her inner voice almost doesn't make an appearance at all. Focus time is split with Norden mage Anson Sioux, who was the commander of the unit that Tanya decimated during her training mission back in episode 2. In that episode, Anson observed that Tanya seemed the same age as his own daughter, and in a neat callback, we get to meet that daughter in the opening scenes of this episode, as is sends his family to safety in the Unified States. But while he definitely remembers Tanya when they meet again on the battlefield, she has only a vague impression of having met him. (That's to be expected, since he was never the focal point of her attacks and doesn't have much of a distinctive appearance, whereas no one else in the war looks even remotely like Tanya.) Placing attention on him allows the series to show the impact of the war on the other side, especially the poignant epilogue scene where Anson's wife and daughter learn of his likely demise, which only interested Tanya for a useful trophy.

As a result, this episode has a “day in the life” feel to it instead of feeling like part of the greater plot movement. There's a mission to be fulfilled, but no real plot consequences for Tanya beyond showing off her insights into military strategy. (This tends to suggest that the man who would become Tanya was something of a military buff, though her comments about supplies being a limiting factor could just as well have come from her background in business.) It's also impressive how she remains unintimidated by the top brass while recognizing the limits to her back-talk without crossing dangerous lines. The battle scenes are a comparatively humdrum affair that are more interesting for the tactics in play and military interactions than any excitement factor. They don't drag the series down, but they aren't going to be highlights either.

The only other potential point of interest here for military enthusiasts is the historical perspective. No event in the World War I time frame resembles this campaign, but some distinct parallels can be drawn to the German assault on Oslofjord during World War II. Orsefjord could easily be a stand-in for Oslofjord; the general location on the map is the same, it's a surprise attack by the Germans in both cases, the geography looks at least somewhat similar, and the actions of the 203rd could easily be a stand-in for the bombing of the fjord's defending fortress. The major difference is that the historical naval approach was turned back after the flagship was sunk, which raises the possibility that this is an elaborate “what if” scenario about how things might have played out differently had the aerial assault gone in first. (The historical objective behind this strategy involved capturing the Norwegian government and gold reserve before they could escape – which was not the objective here.)

Overall, this is merely a solid episode in a series that has been stellar to this point.

Rating: B+

Saga of Tanya the Evil is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.