How would a modern day salaryman from Japan, an especially ruthless and career-focused one too, manage to survive as a little orphan girl in a war ridden world where magic exists and a being that calls himself God tries his best to make things harder for said girl?
The synopsis might sound a little messy. And honestly, Youjo Senki is an anime that I didn't plan to watch but tempted by the pretty amazing opening song, I decided to give it a try when it started airing. And I'm very glad I did.
The aforementioned salaryman was in his original life a cold person that only ... focused on his job. He didn't feel any sympathy towards those he had to fire. His goal was to climb the steps of his career and to live an easy and peaceful life. And it was all going according to his plan, until the day a man he had fired took revenge on him and pushed him in front of a train. In the moment of his death, he is faced by a being that claims to be God. Believing that modern people don't need God, the protagonist denies his existence until the very end. And as a result of their conversation, he is reborn in a world of dire straits, where he needs to live on as a little orphan girl in the harsh reality of war. And in spite of the bad situation around, our protagonist - now known as Tanya Degurechaff - doesn't plan on giving up on living a proper life.
The overall concept is pretty unusual. I was skeptical at first, but in the end it works fine. The show tells not only a story of a very young girl progressing with her military career, but also a fight between her and said Being X who tries to make Tanya recognize him as God. The story is very interesting and engaging, mostly thanks to the protagonist.
Tanya is a character that is very nice to follow. She's dead set against Being X and manages to live on and be successful in spite of all the hardships he puts her in. It's fun to watch her accomplish new things and it's fun to watch her struggle. She's a strong character and, since her personality remains the same as in her previous life, she is still focused on pursuing an easy life and avoiding unnecessary mess. But if everything goes wrong, she puts her mind to it to overcome the obstacles.
Her experiences in the previous life weren't fruitless either. Not only does she have some knowledge of the war which in her original life had already happened, but her cold and career minded personality is perfectly suited for a soldier. But there's more - she's also progressing as a character in her new life. In the end, we can see she is a little different - she has gotten to know more about the human nature and its unpredictability. And she uses this knowledge. I loved Tanya and now she is one of my favorite characters in general. She fuels the story and is perfect fit for a main character, if you're not looking for perfectly moral warriors of justice. It's not that she's complete villain either. In spite of her being called evil, she's not essentially a bad person. She avoids unnecessary conflict and likes to have things peaceful. But at the same time, she doesn't hesitate to do everything to wipe out her enemies and she shows no mercy for the disobedient comrades either. And to top it off, she's genuinely enjoyng the battlefield.
Sadly, it's only Tanya that shines so brightly in this show. There aren't many memorable characters. There are many bland personalities and her soldiers don't have much to them either. There was only a little more focus on a small group of them, especially on Viktoriya. But unfortunately, the story hasn't progressed enough to put her or any other side character in the spotlight yet. Also, the main villain of the story only appears in the last episode.
As for the art, it's decent. The not so pretty CGI is used here and there but it's something I'm able to forgive - it didn't hurt my eyes that badly. No major animation problems spotted either. The character design may be disappointing for some, since it was changed quite a lot in comparison with the LN/manga designs. But honestly, I didn't mind. It's not a show where I'd like to see a cutie that ran away from some shoujo show and put a military uniform on. Which is yet another good point of the show! Tanya is not your average cute loli, and she's even less cute if you remember who she originally is. The characters in Youjo Senki aren't supposed to be some eyecandy, and I got used to the way they look quickly.
The music was very good. The background music was remarkable, but at the same time a little repetitive. It wasn't that big a problem though. It sounded good. The opening song - Jingo Jungle by Myth & Roid - is a pretty amazing song and actually the thing that made me give the show a try. The song fits the show very well. And the same thing can be said about the ending song - Los! Los! Los! sung by Tanya (Yuuki Aoi). Her VA did an EXCELLENT job not only with said song but with her voice as Tanya in general. The voice acting was generally good in this show, but it's Yuuki Aoi that shines very, very brightly this time. Her monologues are really something else. There's also another ending song (episode 8) which is Sensen no Realism by Niina Mako. The song is just about perfect, I'd say.
Another thing that is worth mentioning is the fact that this show is very detailed. More than you could think at first. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not very good at history. But there were some pretty neat details here and there. There are other details that aren't related to history, but also nice to see. Like Tanya's change of voice throughout the series, her problems with carrying the rifle (explained in the Youjo Shenki mini anime), the way conversation and fight scenes are choreographed (where camera movements tell us who is on the advantage at the moment).
All in all, in spite of its flaws (like there being no other particularly important character aside from Tanya or the last episode ending on a cliffhanger), Youjo Senki is an extremely enjoyable show that is far from being generic. And it's mostly this enjoyment, my love for Tanya and the excitement I felt waiting for each episode that make me give it a 9. It's not perfect but it's definitely solid (putting away the very personal feelings, I'd say it deserves a 7 or so) and it depends on the viewers tastes how much they are going to enjoy this anime because like I said - it's mostly Tanya that fuels the show and not everyone likes her and the overall idea of this anime. I enjoyed it A LOT and I hope with all my heart that it wasn't just an ad for the LN and that there wil be another season. Which would make sense, considering it's NUT's first anime and a pretty successful one.
Alternative Titles Synonyms: The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl Japanese: 幼女戦記 Information Type: TV Episodes: 12 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Jan 6, 2017 to Mar 31, 2017 Premiered: Winter 2017 Broadcast: Fridays at 22:00 (JST) Studios: Nut Source: Light novel Duration: 23 min. per ep. Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity) Statistics Score: 7.961 (scored by 503,049 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #7062 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #183 Members: 921,522 Favorites: 12,422 Available AtResources |
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