Youjo Senki Movie

With its armies sweeping across the continent, the Empire seems unstoppable. After securing victory over the remnants of the Republic's army, the Empire's ultimate victory is finally within reach. However, dark clouds are gathering in the East. The communist-led Russy Federation is mustering troops on its western border, preparing to enter the war. Supported by a detachment of Allied volunteer magicians—among whom is Mary Sioux, the daughter of a soldier killed by Tanya Degurechaff—the Federation is determined to spread the communist creed and bring the Empire to its knees.

Meanwhile, Tanya and her battalion return to the imperial capital from the southern front. Upon their arrival, they are tasked with investigating troop movements on the border with the Federation. Any escalation of violence at this point may lead to new conflicts, plunging the world into a devastating global war.

Will the Empire eventually emerge victorious from its struggle, or will it crumble in the face of superior enemies and radically different ideologies?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

von Degurechaff, Tanya Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Serebryakova, Viktoriya Ivanovna Main

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

von Schugel, Adelheid Supporting

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Koenig, Wilibald Supporting

Kasama, Jun Japanese

Grantz, Warren Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuusuke Japanese

Kikushima, Kazufumi Producer

Isogai, Noritomo Producer

Tsunoki, Takuya Producer

Uemura, Yutaka Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Jan 5, 2026

Thereisnoonehere

Recommended

Door opened

I hated the antagonist, it felt forced, bad and that it honestly made no sense for me. the rest of the story is fine but Sioux, Mary was honestly the worst thing that happened to the story, I know the god is giving her more powers but it feels like she just got that powerful with full control over her powers instantly and that the author wanted to have an antagonist for the sake of having one, there is nothing wrong with her in of itself but also how she is blinded by rage also makes her very one sided. I am hoping to ... see her growth in the next season alongside with maybe some other characters development that we have been lacking (About all of them.) .Honestly the movie was closer to a 9 otherwise but this ruined it for me giving me my rating of 8.

That aside, the animation is very good and the start was very satisfying but it annoys me how little we learned about the magic system in this movie again, I wish that next season gives us a bit more of that. The end of the movie was pretty good in isolation, it really showed us the consequence of the war. That aside, I am hopeful for the next season as the war will, once again, escalate.

Final rating : 8 Silver door (See profile for more information on my ratings)

Door closed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Thereisnoonehere (12)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Sep 23, 2025

Jaibrile

Recommended

Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie – (Rewatching/Reglazing)
Some spoilers, but I tiptoe around them and keep it broad.

Strengths
Visuals – The visuals are great. The 3D is used acceptably, as it covers things that would’ve been hell for 2D animators to do (e.g., animating an army, showing a city while moving the camera to follow high-speed maneuvers, or wide desert shots). Additionally, the 2D art is strong too, with even a bit of symbolism in some shots. In summary, the 3D elements complement the 2D elements, and the overall product has a consistent art style with some slight imperfections due to the constant changing of ... backgrounds, which is acceptable given the nature of the battles.

Show, don’t tell approach – Even though this is technically an isekai, it never feels like one. We don’t get endless monologues from the MC about the progression of the war. Instead, it’s subtle. For example, there’s a scene where one character has a bird’s-eye view of the attacking force and is taken aback by the sheer scale of war. Even the little things tell a lot — scenes with no dialogue just showing trenches, people marching, or tanks rolling in.

Banter and characters – Tanya’s battalion is a joy to watch. Their banter is snappy and comes off as natural. Each character is given a moment to shine in battle.

Sound design – Really good sound design. The explosions have heft but are not overpowering. The music supports the atmosphere, but sometimes the movie lets sound and voice acting take the lead. The main strength of the sound design is its effective use of mixing: voices always pop even while gunshots, artillery fire, and music play. I never felt like the voices were drowned out, which is unrealistic but makes for a good spectacle (though it cracks immersion a little). Sounds generally have good reverb, so you can tell if something is further away, but sometimes the background feels too silent for a warzone.

The movie separates the imagery of ground war and aerial fights. Ground battles are given more care in terms of sound and music, partly because there’s no dialogue. I kind of wish the aerial battles had the same attention. In some late fights, the aerial combat feels oddly missing details — like when a guy slices a plane with no metal sounds, or when planes are shot down with little heft to the hit or explosion. In summary: the sound design is detailed and well-mixed, but voices and music sometimes dominate too much for the sound effects to really stand out.

Structure and pacing – Easy to follow and never boring. The structure goes like this: scout USSR movements → fight USSR → blow up their HQ → back to war → mage fight → Tanya proposes and invents Blitzkrieg. One big enemy, one escalation, one movie. It also gives screen time and light development to the volunteer army, so they don’t feel like they came out of nowhere.

Ending theme – The Myth & Roid ending theme is fitting. Even though the battle was won, the analogy one general makes — bloodied and bruised — lingers. It reminds you the movie is over, but the war isn’t (just like Tanya’s reframing of that analogy).

Make-or-Break Elements
Beginning exposition – It draws on history. If you know Soviet history, you’ll catch digs at Stalin, communist inefficiency, and political purges. But even without that context, the comedy can still land (e.g., blowing up the capital while “Josef not-Stalin” watches).

Child soldier aspect – We’re a season, some specials, and now a movie deep, but it has to be said: the MC is a literal child. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s there for a reason. It makes Tanya stand out as a prodigy and a kind of myth in the army. Outsiders initially see her as a child, then realize she’s a soldier by conduct. The story continually uses Tanya’s age as a narrative and comedic tool (e.g., standing on a box to read a map).

Loria (bald guy) – A joke character based on Beria Lavrentiy, with creepy “jokes” about women. Historically accurate reference, but it adds nothing but hit-or-miss comedy. Could’ve been cut.

The mechanics of the magic system — The magic system is never truly expounded on even in the anime. Having recently rewatched it, I know that if you have a relationship with God, he can give you miracles, but typically magic is a resource to be used for things like shields or spells. But the characters never feel like they need to work around the limitations of their magic, so the magic system in the whole show isn't really the main focus, but I found it sometimes quite clunky and unimportant.

The war aspect – e.g., the explanation of the strategies of each player, general plan (showing where the enemy is) is quite weaker than it was in the first season of the anime. I imagine this is noticeable for 2 reasons: one being the time constraints, and two being the ruining of the pacing if they added too much strategizing/padding.

Exposition of the enemy is quite weak – Unlike the first season, the enemies of the empire had strong development and an arc that affected the characters in both camps. In this movie, the enemy's leadership (USSR counterpart) is treated as a joke instead of a force to be feared. The strategies and the care that season 1 took to give some heft to the situation of the enemy were lost due to its focus on the comedic aspects. Moreover, the effects of the failure of their strategy are never shown when they eventually lose. We only get to see Loria in despair in the same room with Josef. It is never clarified what the effects of the losses are, if there are any, making the fighting of the war feel inconclusive to me.

Exposition of the enemy is quite weak – Same critique but with the U.S counterpart now. The U.S multinational army was merely a vehicle for Mary Sue to be in and grouped with. The fact that it is multinational is not apparent; they all speak the same language, and they all look quite the same. There is no nuance taken for it being a multiracial army. Additionally, the only exposition we get on them is that they are inexperienced; this never really comes to the forefront, and we never really see their inexperience, as we don't ever get to see them in action. The only time we do is when they get blown up. And the only time they are on screen is for Mary Sue to take the spotlight.

Weaknesses
“Mary Sue” → She’s not a character, she’s a plot device in many ways, and that kinda strips her down as a wall rather than an actual character you can't even root for or hate, you just don’t care. (She’s a mirror to Tanya (in how she brings emotions to combat her hate for God = her hate for Tanya), she’s also the opposite of Tanya (she is low ranking, naive, doesn’t follow the rule book, emotionally driven). But they are both being played with by God, but somehow I find it wrong to care for her because of how annoying and one-dimensional she is.

The breakneck pace and equally breakneck camera angles can be disorienting, depending on your tolerance. You'll find yourself looking away briefly, trying to catch up with the action.

Could’ve gone stronger on the anti-war elements. Tanya says it herself that she thinks that war is a waste of human resources and basically the worst part of history. Apart from showing the effects of the start of a world war — bodies piled up, lines, injured people, explosions, executions — it could’ve maybe gone deeper to form a more coherent overall message in an essay-style bit at the end with the perspective of a non-mage in the trenches. But its not all lost, with its pacing, it even gave some time to let us sit with the effects after the battle but its really quick and lacking.

Thoughts: In my books, it’s a 9 because it juggles a lot of elements, pushes the story forward, gives a good fight, and ends up in a place where you’re curious where it leads to. All in 1 hour and 30 minutes, without it feeling unstructured, the content it covers is really well executed. But some of the elements are lacking, which is to be expected with the time constraints.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Jaibrile (8)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 28, 2023

veganismo

Mixed Feelings

I have to say that I was very excited for the premiere of the second season, having enjoyed the first one very much. However, while this second installment has some interesting things, it didn't manage to keep me as hooked as the first one did.

I really liked the magic system presented in the series, and the way it's used to give more depth and complexity to the plot. Additionally, Anya is presented as an impeccable protagonist, and her presence in the series is definitely one of the strongest points.

However, compared to the first season, I felt that the story in the second installment was a ... bit confusing and didn't have the same clear direction. Additionally, while the humor in the series was very good, at times it felt a bit forced.

Despite this, if you enjoyed the first season and like the isekai genre, I would definitely recommend giving this second installment a chance. The magic system is interesting, and there are some action and development moments that are worth it. Overall, I would give it a 6/10.


Debo decir que estaba muy emocionado por el estreno de la segunda temporada, después de haber disfrutado mucho de la primera. Sin embargo, aunque esta segunda entrega tiene algunas cosas interesantes, no logró mantenerme tan enganchado como lo hizo la primera.

Me gustó mucho el sistema de magia que se presenta en la serie, y la manera en que se utiliza para darle más profundidad y complejidad a la trama. Además, Anya se presenta como una protagonista impecable, y su presencia en la serie es definitivamente uno de los puntos más fuertes.

Sin embargo, en comparación con la primera temporada, sentí que la historia de la segunda entrega era un poco confusa y no tenía la misma dirección clara. Además, aunque el humor en la serie me pareció muy bueno, en algunos momentos llegaba a ser un poco forzado.

A pesar de esto, si disfrutaste de la primera temporada y te gusta el género isekai, definitivamente recomendaría darle una oportunidad a esta segunda entrega. El sistema de magia es interesante y hay algunos momentos de acción y desarrollo que valen la pena. En general, le daría un 6/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by veganismo (20)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Overpowered MC's and Isekai

by JuneLu

21 Entries · 7 Restacks

Greatest Movies I've Seen So Far

by deadlyspawn

31 Entries · 13 Restacks

good isekai animes that are actually worth it

by hrzncastaway

15 Entries · 5 Restacks

Second Season of 'Youjo Senki' Announced

The Seikan Kinen Zadan-kai: Gekitou wo Furikaette (Survivor Memorial Roundtable: Reliving the Fierce Battle) special program for Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil)...read more

Jun 19, 2021 6:05 AM by Vindstot | Discuss (100 comments)

'Youjo Senki' Anime Film Announces New Cast Members

The official website of Youjo Senki (The Saga of Tanya the Evil) revealed new cast members and the first trailer for the sequel anime film on Tuesday. Produced by a...read more

Dec 25, 2018 5:34 PM by Vindstot | Discuss (9 comments)

	Poll: Youjo Senki Movie Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Cypress- - May 16, 2019	168 replies	by JKam57 »» Oct 22, 2025 10:38 AM
	Minor but fun fact minfremi - Feb 15, 2025	4 replies	by minfremi »» Apr 5, 2025 3:46 PM
	Will there be a sequel? -(also will this get a dub?) awesomeblackman - Jul 5, 2019	20 replies	by Yui_Suzumiya69 »» Mar 14, 2025 10:21 PM
	Is this filler? Golden_Cheese - Sep 1, 2023	13 replies	by esuardi »» Nov 9, 2024 2:47 AM
	Does anyone actually like Mary Sue? Pirate8994 - Jan 1, 2022	33 replies	by EmmyMoomin »» Sep 25, 2024 11:18 AM