![]()
I never had an intention of writing a review for any show, but for whatever reason i feel compelled to do so here, if only to clear my mind. I likewise have no interest in drawing it out or indulging in the typical hyperbole that reviews on this site tend toward, so to get to the point: Youjo Senki (the show) is a poor story. It is a poor story because, in essence, there is no tension or development throughout the show. Now, there are many ways to write a good story, and i'm not here to cast aspersions on any particular method or subversion of method. But generally speaking, it is difficult to make something compelling if the characters never face any real strife or challenge. Tanya faces neither, internally or externally. If the show is supposed to be plot-driven, it fails because there is no wonder or mystery as to how events will be resolved: Tanya will always succeed in her aims without facing much of a problem, the Empire's plans always obtain without so much as a setback; if the show is supposed to be character-driven, then it fails because Tanya's character doesn't change throughout the runtime of the show: she is the same person in the first episode as she was in the last, and there are no other characters to speak of for her to interact with. Perhaps one problem feeds into the other, as for there to be any development in a character they must face some trial which tests their preconceived notions. And so with no trials there can be no development. One could continue the analysis of Youjo Senki as a theme-driven or setting-driven story, or as a visual or auditory experience, but it would just be belabouring a point. It excels at none of those either.
Though i would like to say so, it would be too far to say that Youjo Senki isn't actually a story, that nothing really happens in the show. Things do happen, it's just that they are predictable and unexciting. It is remarkable that, even in show where the main antagonist is God himself, the main character faces no adversity. Once the novelty of a duck-lipped loli psychopath in military dress wears off, it is difficult to see what remains to keep the viewer interested.
