Welcome to Anime Rants. I’ve decided to cover Saga of Tanya the Evil (Youjo Senki) Season 2 for Summer 2026. I am about a month behind the actual episode releases, but hey, I’m doing the best I can. Before we get started with the episode reviews, I want to quickly express my opinion on this series.
I think it’s potentially very problematic to create a fantasy universe where the perspective character belongs to the evil empire. (Tanya is a Nazi, let’s face it.) Despite recognizing that this is historically insensitive and a good reason for many people to drop the anime, I do not believe this anime is at all trying to paint Tanya or the Empire as good. The narrative seems clear that they are on the wrong side of history. I view this series as a psychological study of a sociopath during war. That’s honestly enough to make me want to see what happens next and analyze it. Doubtlessly, some fans will take this series the wrong way and use it to justify sociopathic behavior and/or glorification of the Nazis. However, I think most humans are better than that.
My opinion may shift over time, but as of August 2026, I am continuing Youjo Senki because I am interested in character psychology and fictional psychopaths. I don’t believe I’m morally wrong for doing so. That being said, if the topic is too fraught for some fans, I understand dropping or ignoring this anime.
Contents
S2 Episode 1: Salamander Combat Team
Episode Rating: 8/10
This episode was high in production value, but I had trouble focusing on it during several parts. That is probably ADHD + my lack of interest in hobbies right now. In general, though, the pilot of the second season was good. Hearing the memorable OST again was delightful and the animation was excellent. (Well, the main characters still look uncanny and unrealistic, but the explosions, tanks, planes, and flying sequences were all detailed, fluid, and impressive.) Speaking of war, a brief recap of the worldwide conflict was provided, which I found helpful. There was no word from Being X in this episode, but the deity is most likely watching Tanya; she keeps seeing the nutcracker out of the corner of her eye. As for the meat of this episode, it was focused on Tanya training a new combat unit.
Tanya was put in charge of a team of new soldiers. They were all inexperienced and did terribly defending the trenches in their first major conflict. They fought off the enemy thanks to Tanya’s intervention, but the losses seemed significant. At the current time, Tanya and her brigade were stationed on the eastern battlefront. One cold winter night, the snow started early and Tanya’s company was suddenly alerted to the presence of two units from the Russy Federation. Thanks to their training with Tanya, the new group did a much better job this time. Their skilled artillery wiped out the enemy even in the dark and snow. It was a victory for Tanya and for the Empire.
That night, Tanya concluded it was important to have a good reputation in the event that the Empire lost the war and Tanya was tried for crimes. Her penalty would largely depend on the testimony of others. So, the next day, Tanya attempted to act like a cute, innocent, smiling little girl who congratulated the captains on their victory the night before. Her over-the-top performance, with that squeaky voice, was eerie and off-putting to everyone. But even more scary than Tanya’s “cute girl mask” was the hateful face Tanya was making when her back was to the soldiers. She was livid and hadn’t truly changed her opinion that this unit was made of useless idiots.
At the end of the episode, we see the soldiers staring in disbelief at an Empire propaganda poster. It featured a glorified and gentle version of Tanya holding flowers that symbolized peace and victory. Below her, these words were displayed: “Peace is the Greatest Good.” It felt like this final moment of the episode was supposed to be a joke. I suppose it’s true that the poster was funny because its depiction of Tanya was so wrong. But propaganda is also a serious topic and it left me very concerned about the future of the world in this anime. We know the Empire is based on Germany during the World Wars, meaning it is doing heinous shit all over the world and using propaganda to tell its citizens otherwise. To be clear, this is evil no matter what country does it. The US government has also traditionally used propaganda the same way to glorify wars. Highlighting the power of propaganda was a grim note on which to end the episode, in my opinion.
S2 Episode 2: A Strange Friendship
Episode Rating: 7/10
This episode was slow and a bit difficult to understand at some points with limited focus and interest. However, I still enjoyed parts of it and find the execution impressive overall. In addition to some highlights like Zettour’s speech, this episode also showed off the new opening and ending songs for the season. The OP is “Why? Red Induction” by Myth and Roid. As a fan of that band, I love the sound of their new song, though I have yet to understand and analyze the lyrics. The ending song is “Weiter! Weiter!” by Aoi Yuki, the Japanese seiyuu who voices Tanya. It’s a beautiful and intense song. The visuals for both opening and ending were mostly enjoyable and decent quality.
We begin with a scene of Zettour and Rudersdorf drinking and smoking at a quiet tavern. If they weren’t both such villains, I would call this scene wholesome. The two men remembered the old days together and listened to music on a record player. Friendship is one of the major themes throughout this episode, and we see a strong friendship between Rudersdorf and Zettour. I have complicated thoughts about Zettour as a character, but don’t feel like flushing them out right now. As for Rudersdorf, I don’t see him as a very memorable character compared to Zettour. Especially in this episode, Zettour was definitely the character in focus.
Meanwhile, the Allied Kingdom sent out the volunteer army out to help the Russy Federation in their fight against the Empire. An important leader of the Federation, Loria was the disgusting old man who had been thirsting after Tanya. He calls her “That fairy” or “my fairy” and seeks her out on the battlefield. (Vomits.) Moving on, the volunteer force was led by Commander Drake and its mage forces included Mary Sue. That brings us to the scene where Mary met the blond woman, Liliya. She was a soldier from Russy who was sent to support the volunteer force. Mary and Liliya became fast friends, bonding over their passionate belief that fallen soldiers should be buried in their homelands.
Then we finally turn to Tanya and her role in this episode. Tanya’s supply units were being attacked by small guerilla forces made up of people living in local Federation territories. They were currently convinced that the Communist State of Russy would be better for them than the Empire. After one of the attackers was caught and interrogated by Viktoriya, Tanya realized that the guerilla forces were not loyal to Communism, but were actually ethno-nationalists. This drastically changed the way they needed to interact. So, Tanya went to Zettour and proposed her plan. She argued that the Empire should try to befriend the small territories who agreed to join them and go against the Federation.
Zettour accepted Tanya’s plan and gave a grand speech to the representatives from the small territories. He convinced them the Empire was the good side and had no intention of absorbing the small territories. Zettour’s speech was powerful and passionate but of course not remotely sincere. It’s very clear from the narrative that the Empire is evil and they would most likely betray the small territories once their power was secure. Tanya remarked that there was probably a special place in Hell for Zettour, but being Tanya, she said it with something like appreciation rather than disdain. Since Zettour is an evil conman of an evil Empire, he is a master at lying and acting. His speech, of course, made me uncomfortable. But I also think the scene was well-executed, serving to show the eerie reality of politicians telling lies and preying on people.
(Side Note: I loved the the symbolic imagery of Zettour as a red-cloaked bringer of death and destruction riding on a demon horse in a desolate battlefield.)
Toward the end of the episode, Viktoriya brought Tanya the news that they would soon be recieving coffee from the supply lines. Tanya was delighted. Caffeine was a rare treat for the army at that time. As Viktoriya left the room, fantasizing about coffee, Tanya realized that they had known each other a long time and were even more bonded than friends. I liked this moment of appreciation for Viktoriya. Note: Viktoriya is the actual given name of the character, but for some reason, many people online call her Visha. Anyway, that’s all my notes for the second episode.
S2 Episode 3: Well-Intentioned Mediator
Episode Rating: 7/10
This episode was focused primarily on the Empire’s dealings with the Kingdom of Ildoa, which is loosely based on Italy during the World Wars. When Ildoa started a sudden military mobilization exercise, the Empire sent Rerugen to observe the neutral but potentially dangerous country. Colonel Calandro from Ildoa wasted no time in telling Rerugen that Ildoa wanted to be a mediator and help end the war. They would act as negotiators between the Empire and its foes. The Empire seriously considered this. In the meantime, Colonel Calandro came to the Empire’s front lines as a war observer. Rerugen asked Tanya to take him in temporarily.
(Side Note: When Rerugen spoke with Tanya in this episode, he informed her that he would be receiving the credit on paper for commanding the battle unit. Presumably, because he’s older and a man, he gets to take credit for the female child soldier’s efforts. I tend to think that anyone who would do this is a scumbag, but at least I guess Rerugen apologized and felt bad about it. He was only following orders, after all. I think, if it were up to him, Rerugen wouldn’t take the credit. As for Tanya’s reaction, she saw this as a good thing because she didn’t have to take responsibility if things went wrong, and because the other personnel would feel like they now owe her one. What a calculated little devil.)
During Colonel Calandro’s time observing, he witnessed a terrible act: Tanya destroyed an entire civilian town. When Tanya gave the order to fire heavy artillery at the town, Calandro protested and said it was a war crime, to which Tanya replied that the Federation was not a signatory of the wartime rules. Desperate to give the civilians a chance, Calandro pointed out there was a church and that firing on religious personnel was still illegal. Tanya answered that the church in question lacked the official markings of a church, which in her mind gave her license to destroy it. She proceeded to do so. Obviously, Tanya is still an irredeemable psychopath, despite not technically committing a war crime this time.
Tanya learned that Ildoa wanted to help end the war. She couldn’t agree to their proposal, though, without reporting it back to the leaders in the Empire. Said leaders – such as Rudersdorf – considered the proposal of Ildoa. Zettour argued in favor of ending the war. Tanya also wanted the war to end – though for her own self-interest, of course, and not out of concern for the world or morality. But in the end, the Empire rejected Ildoa’s idea because they were an evil empire that sought to take over the world. The message given to Ildoa (relayed by Rerugen) was literally, “Eat shit.” I know the war needs to continue for the story of Tanya to go on – but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t still aggravating to see the Empire choose evil yet again.
Not only did the Empire opt to continue waging war, but they also announced that they would begin “Operation Iron Hammer.” I am not a history buff, but a quick Google search is enough to tell me that this is a reference to “Operation Eisenhammer,” a series of planned attacks by the Nazis on the Soviet Union. In reality, the plans were abandoned. What will happen in this alternative universe remains to be seen. That’s all my notes for now.
~Thanks for Reading!~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
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