The Saga of Tanya the Evil
The Saga of Tanya the Evil, known in Japan as Yōjo Senki, 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 fourteen volumes by September 2023. 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. Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie, a theatrical film taking place after the events of the anime series, was released in Japan in February 2019. A second season is set to premiere in 2026.
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.
Characters
Empire
;Erich Rerugen / Erich von Lehrgen;Kurt von Rudersdorf
;Hans von Zettour
;Matheus Johann Weiss/Matheus Johann Weiß
;Vooren Grantz
Legadonia
;Anson Sue/SiouxAllied Kingdom
;DrakeUnified States
;Mary Sue/SiouxDivine Realm
;Being X/Existence XMedia
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 September 29, 2023, fourteen volumes have been released. A drama CD was released with the third volume. It was licensed by Yen Press.Audiobooks
On November 16, 2021, Yen Press released an audiobook of the first light novel, read by the English voice actress for Tanya, Monica Rial. Volumes 2–6 were voiced by audiobook narrator Shiromi Arserio. Volumes 7–14 were done by Erin Rieman.Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Chika Tōjō began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine on April 26, 2016. Kadokawa released the first volume on December 10, 2016. As of December 26, 2025, 33 volumes have been released.Anime
An anime television series adaptation by NUT aired from January 6 to March 31, 2017. Crunchyroll and Funimation has licensed the series in North America. The opening theme is "Jingo Jungle" by Myth & 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, with Takayuki Yamamoto replacing Uemura as director. It is set to premiere in 2026.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 Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, 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, serving as a direct sequel to the first season. 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
By April 2018, the light novels and manga had a combined 3 million copies in print. By May 2020, the overall print series had over 6.5 million copies in circulation.Writing for 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.