The Saga of Tanya the Evil

The Saga of Tanya the Evil, known in Japan as , is a Japanese light novel series written by Carlo Zen and illustrated by Shinobu Shinotsuki. It began serialization online in 2010, on the user-generated novel publishing website Arcadia. Enterbrain acquired the series in October 2013 and has published twelve volumes by February 2020. A manga adaptation with art by Chika Tōjō began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's "Comp Ace" magazine from April 2016.
The series focuses on a salaryman whose reincarnation as the titular character living in an alternate version of World War I leaves her to be trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation. Willing to avoid being killed whilst dying of natural causes, Tanya must take it upon herself to don a bloodthirsty, sadist ego in hopes of joining the ranks of the Empire’s Mage Corps as part of her plan to become a seemingly indestructible foe.
An anime television series adaptation by NUT was broadcast on Japanese television from January to March 2017, and was licensed by Funimation and Crunchyroll) and Medialink. "", a theatrical film taking place after the events of the anime series, was released in Japan in February 2019. A second season has been announced.
Plot.
In 2013 of modern-era Tokyo, an unnamed atheist Japanese salaryman, in the moment of being murdered by a disgruntled subordinate whom he had fired due to poor performance at work, is confronted by an entity that declares itself to be God who condemns the salaryman for not having 'faith'. The salaryman disbelieves in its existence, criticises its various statements from his perspective as an atheist and mockingly terms it as 'Being X'. The entity decides to reincarnate the salaryman into a world where he would face sufficiently difficult circumstances to turn to Being X for help.
The salaryman is reborn as Tanya Degurechaff, an orphaned girl in an alternate universe's equivalent of Imperial Germany, known as the Empire, in which World War I has been delayed until the 1920s and where magic has been incorporated into the military. According to Being X, if Tanya either does not die a natural death or refuses to have faith in it, her soul will leave the cycle of reincarnation and will be sent to hell for the countless sins that Tanya has committed in her previous life. In search for an escape, Tanya decides to join the Empire's Mage Corps and fight in the war, hoping to reach a high enough rank as fast as possible to remain far from the battlefield, and in this way avoid the risk of being killed. Even if she's now forced to speak with a young girl's lips, Tanya soon turns into a ruthless soldier who prioritizes efficiency and her own career over anything else, even the lives of those beneath her, especially those that get on her bad side.
Media.
Light novels.
The novel series is written by Carlo Zen and was initially serialized on the web novel hosting website Arcadia, before Enterbrain's acquisition. It was subsequently published as light novels with illustrations by Shinobu Shinotsuki. The first volume was released on October 31, 2013, and as of February 20, 2020, twelve volumes have been released. A drama CD was released with the third volume. It was licensed by Yen Press.
Audiobooks.
On the 16th of November 2021, YenPress released an audiobook of the first light novel, read by the English voice actress for Tanya, Monica Rial.
Manga.
A manga adaptation with art by Chika Tōjō began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's "Comp Ace" magazine from April 26, 2016, and twenty six volumes have been released.
Anime.
An anime television series adaptation by NUT aired from January 6, 2017 to March 31, 2017. Crunchyroll and Funimation has licensed the series in North America. The opening theme is "Jingo Jungle" by Myth &amp; Roid and the ending theme is "Los! Los! Los!" by Aoi Yūki as Tanya Degurechaff. A chibi parody short OVA produced by Studio Puyukai entitled "Youjo Shenki" premiered in January 2017. On June 19, 2021, a second season was announced. The main cast and staff are returning to reprise their roles.
A comedy crossover anime, "Isekai Quartet" featured characters from "The Saga of Tanya the Evil" in a Chibi style, much like the OVA. It also featured characters from the light novel series "KonoSuba", "Overlord" and "", all published by Kadokawa Corporation. The anime series began airing on April 9, 2019.
Film.
An anime film based on the franchise was announced in January 2018. The film saw a number of the staff and cast of the television series reprise their roles, and was a direct sequel to the series. The film premiered on February 8, 2019. The film received a limited U.S. theater release on May 16, 2019, by Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll and Anime Limited screened the film at MCM London Comic Con on May 26, 2019. Crunchyroll also screened the film at Supanova Expo in Sydney and Perth in Australia on June 23 and June 30, 2019, respectively.
Reception.
As of April 2018, the light novels and manga had a combined 3 million copies in print.
Writing for the "Anime News Network", Nick Creamer says "Saga of Tanya the Evil" is differentiated from the majority of isekai anime that have heroic otaku or everyday young men as their protagonists by having Tanya be evil. Creamer explicitly says "Tanya's crimes are our crimes", indicting the capitalist system that produced her past self as a ruthless salaryman, and the consequences thereof for her new self.