Youjo Senki

Tanya Degurechaff is a young soldier infamous for predatorial-like ruthlessness and an uncanny, tactical aptitude, earning her the nickname of the "Devil of the Rhine." Underneath her innocuous appearance, however, lies the soul of a man who challenged Being X, the self-proclaimed God, to a battle of wits—which resulted in him being reincarnated as a little girl into a world of magical warfare. Hellbent on defiance, Tanya resolves to ascend the ranks of her country's military as it slowly plunges into world war, with only Being X proving to be the strongest obstacle in recreating the peaceful life she once knew. But her perceptive actions and combat initiative have an unintended side effect: propelling the mighty Empire into becoming one of the most powerful nations in mankind's history.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Degurechaff, Tanya Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Serebryakova, Viktoriya Ivanovna Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

von Zettour, Hans Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu Japanese

von Lergen, Erich Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Sioux, Mary Supporting

Tomatsu, Haruka Japanese

von Rudersdorf, Kurt Supporting

Genda, Tesshou Japanese

Weiss, Matheus Johann Supporting

Hamano, Daiki Japanese

Existence X Supporting

Tezuka, Hideaki Japanese

von Schugel, Adelheid Supporting

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Sioux, Anson Supporting

Horiuchi, Kenyuu Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Tanaka, Shou Producer

Kikushima, Kazufumi Producer

Isogai, Noritomo Producer

Reviews

Jul 13, 2025

toxicgreen777

Recommended

The "Saga of Tanya the Evil" is a story that is basically about what happens when you take your ruthless, atheist boss who cares more about corporate rules than humanity and reincarnate him as a magical girl in a world in constant war. It's easy to tell that this show's setting is heavily inspired by WWI and theism. The map that they consistently show clearly appears to be the continent of Europe. A lot of the weapons and vehicles shown are literally just WW1 weapons and vehicles. The military power and technology are very similar per region in real life as ... well. The show's god is also the overarching antagonist for Tanya the Evil, which can be kind of humorous at times.

To be upfront, there really isn't much character development in this show. The jokes online about Tanya loli Hitler are fairly accurate (especially since both are in active opposition to their respective world's God). War is hell and this show doesn't stray away from the harsh rules that every soldier needs to follow to carry out their duties. The battle scenes and the insanity of Tanya as a character is really the main draws of the show.

If you are a huge WW1 military fanboy and also an isekai fanboy, this show has a lot to offer. If you are not interested watching wartime battles and stratagems or only like atheist media, this show is definitely not for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 27, 2025

Leafdude

Mixed Feelings

Tanya is a cool show if it appeals to your specific demographic. However, if you don't wank to alternate ww1 history, or bathe in kekkaku wank, it is a show with a multitude of problems. Its still enjoyable but any recommendation would have to be heavily cached on this.

The animation is pretty low budget and the art style makes her look like a lame duck, it's a really poor look. A lot of cool scenes lose their luster because of theses limitations.

The plot is very edgy and reads more like a stakes free myth of gods punishing flawed mortals than what it should have just ... been, a ww1 show with magic. A lot of what happens seems to be the direct result of the God meddling over anything organic or interesting and it really sours the tension of it because they both know this is a punishment reincarnation. Then the actual gnitty gritty is a guy is born as a little girl? But rises up through the magic core because he was a ruthless salaryman? It's not well written and the show doesn't change. There are plenty of very cool ww1 magic action that is the reason you keep watching but boy does it fall flat elsewhere.

Like the characters, god is seemingly the antagonist but not really. Tanya is an irredeemably edgy little shit that is weirdly a female child, even if this was for lolicons why was he written as a guy originally? It's gross either way and having a literal child soldier in non fire situations or pure lolicons wank is very egregious. The other characters are equally one dimensional with the one plot point is that they learn to trust the Mc, very boring.

The setting is awesome but it's pretty lazy that it is just ww1 but with magic even though magic would completely warp history. Given that it's weird that they have pseudonyms instead of just admitting that this is German wank. One thing the show does well is show how an OP isekai reincarnation does next to nothing vs the strength of arms of a nation or the vast fields of battle. Sure they can win battle after battle but this isnt Alexander vs the Persians, there are simply too many fronts with talented commanders with proper loyalty and command to have the byzantine general problem. Too many horrible shows have the Mc devestate entire armies or warp from front to front with no fatigue or wear.

The plot doesn't do much beyond that dsspite Tanya being put in the meat grinder and coming out on top and being promoted to a captain. It's a bunch of small victories that are losing the war just a tad slower. The show sets it up to be magic all quiet on the western front but quickly drops that for tanyas 100% success rate. Pretty boring stuff.

The climax is a large operation that is more the same and there is no real resolution as it's clearly hinging on s1. Not great but whatever.


Overall just glaring flaw after flaw being completely held up by the unique setting and sadistic Mc. I don't care for how Tanya is written but she's got a lot of fans. Give this a try of you can stomach garbage for a cool setting.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Jun 17, 2025

Tezcatlipolka

Not Recommended

***Premise spoilers***

The concept of a series in which a psycho German loli can possibly turn the tides of a “Pseudo-Great-War” is an interesting one, to say the least. Granted, no eight-year-old girl is thought of as having the mentality necessary to fulfill the role of a military strategist. That said, she is no ordinary “whatever” year old because her juvenile appearance hides a sinister secret. In fact, the concept of rising from the ranks shouldn’t pose much of a challenge to her. Moreover, the amount of experience she has as a leader, arguably skilled or not, could help leverage her to the position she values ... ever so. Given her small stature, the fact that she easily finds herself as a recruit all while rarely being questioned about it is almost as absurd as the setting itself. It may seem ridiculous that she was able to accomplish so much in so little time given how little time it would take. However, her sinister secret is found in her past life as an unnamed, ruthless boss apathetic towards the needs of anyone but himself.

The series hands the viewer all of the answers when it sets itself up as a critique of postmodernism. As the title suggests, the series tells the rather unheroic tale of Tanya. In the beginning, her not-so-tragic end was a bit of a spiteful one, in which his entire being pissed off the series’ g0d. While acting as the lead role for his company, he was able to secure himself a life of comfort, which led him to gluttonously indulge in his easy life while neglecting the spiritual realm. In turn, his social standing soured his character as he continued to stray further from the ideas of what the g0ds constitute as a Good Samaritan. Like many others, he is a citizen in a civilized society that is able to address the physical needs of their citizens (food, water, shelter, etc.), allowing them to pursue other activities besides fighting for survival. For the most part, modern societies give their citizens a false sense of power in which citizens are able to dedicate their life’s purpose towards their own goal or meaning. However, the easy fulfillment of their needs can easily lead to one becoming bored, which in turn leads them to seek “easy dopamine.” When pertaining to the series, the main character’s goal was to have a career and live the easiest life possible. Unlike a job, whose sole purpose is thought of as generating money for oneself so that they can pursue said leisurely and unevangelical pursuits, a career intertwines with people’s personal lives. Occasionally, jobs are thought of as a definitor for someone’s place in society. For example, the question of “what do you do for a living?” is a common talking point. This could be thought of as a substitute for “survival,” since “wageslaving” is the new meta. Otherwise, people devote themselves to a hobby during their allotted free time, in which turning towards g0d is unnecessary for both survival and/or an arguable sense of fulfillment. The old boss, viewing himself as rational and realistic, denied the existence of said g0d by using logic. The usual expectation of science answering many questions that were once never conceived of as g0d’s mysterious ways of working is out of the picture. Instead, his tale soon begins by questioning him as a malevolent g0d. Now, why would a supposed “all-loving g0d” do this? Simple, spite.

After his (now her) reincarnation, she finds herself in a bit of a rut as everything she’d hoped to strive for is now taken away from her. Unlike her previous world, survival doesn’t come so easy as an orphan in a nation torn by war. Despite this, she must take whatever she can to survive to get a hold of a similar position of comfort she once had. As mentioned previously, she joins the military as her magical capabilities were stronger than the other children at the orphanage. Perhaps desperate times call for desperate measures, which is why she was quick to be recruited, regardless of her age. Having said that, Tanya as a character is prioritized solely due to the fact that the entire plot is a petty revenge story rather than a “by-the-book” military setting. Throughout the entire story, the entire series only goes as far as to showcase this psycho’s need to spite the g0d that has now proven himself to be real. Indeed, the intention of her not being created as a likable character probably aligned with Tanya’s characterization as a psycho. However, aside from a few moments, it gets boring rather quickly, as nearly every scene following her character follows the same formula of Tanya effortlessly pushing aside whatever obstacle is in her way. After all, this is Tanya’s revenge story, so she’s the only character that is written for the explicit purpose of not being a background character.

The actual world she finds herself in has its fair share of simplicity. The entire world is a near-direct translation of the two World War eras, with World War I gaining a bit of an edge as the actual start of the war seemed to be delayed by a few years. Notably, the only difference between the two would be the series’ use of magic. However, issues arise when said magic is paired with the pseudo-Great-War, because the existence of said magic often negates the need for the setting to be grounded in a set time period. For example, trenches can be seen stretching across the battlefield, which exists possibly due to the writers’ need to translate nearly everything war related into the series. However, these trenches would be useless because there’s magic that allows people to fly. The reason why large-scale trench warfare wasn’t used in World War II was because more advanced military technology made many WWI defenses obsolete. For instance, Nazi Germany’s blitzkrieg was a tactic practically defined as being a fast-paced surprise attack for the sole purpose of making the lives of the defenders as difficult as possible. Besides, there are few stakes throughout the series, as Tanya’s own “blitzkrieg” by using a crap-ton of magic is used to bypass any seemingly difficult situation to get out of. Essentially, the actual background of the setting has little relevance because any other time period characterized by the need to fight for survival could’ve been used.

The actual plot thereafter is mostly mindless because it’s composed of nothing more than what is to be expected of a war series. Like any other war series, there’s the spillage of blood, there are scenes of men lined up ready to face the possibility of death, and when things turn sour, there are scenes of military officers panicking. Were it not for Tanya’s tactical expertise (which was basically pulled out of her ass, let’s be real), the Empire would’ve been doomed. However, as a quick break from the fighting, there’s a bit of war jargon going on in a few instances, such as when they discuss military tactics. In particular, there was one debrief that is memorable, in which the possible turning point of the war is discussed. While the plot is decent and all, it lacks the emotional moments expected from a war series. To make it worse, the story practically has no ending because a large war at the scale of what the series describes it as couldn’t have fit into all twelve episodes.

The series does have some good art, which made much of the mindlessness more tolerable. Since it’s a story set in a war-torn nation, the art uses many dark and muted colors, which helps give the series a chilling atmosphere. The only break from the gloomy atmosphere can be found with Tanya, whose devilish nature is often overlooked due to her standing as a small girl in the military. After all, Tanya’s character design is what the series is known for. For instance, her cheeky smile whenever she goes psycho is used whenever something eventful is going to happen. At times, it’s quite creepy, because even a toothless smirk can hint at what’s coming. Additionally, her voice is often used to do the exact opposite of intimidate her opponent, which is what she often hopes for (less the wrong person question she's actually ruthless, instead of thinking she’s just a loli).

The Saga of Tanya the Evil is not remembered because it has a “great story” or whatever. Well, of course it’s not; it’s remembered because “it’s that one anime that has the psycho Hitler blonde-haired A-10-eyed loli.” Compared to other isekai, it’s a bit of a step up from its counterparts because the main protagonist wasn’t made to be a self-insert. Youjo Senki essentially does nothing with itself besides aimlessly meander around while it gives the viewer all of the answers for what the series hoped to critique; there’s no “bare minimum.”

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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