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EP. REVIEW: Saga of Tanya the Evil


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OwlBiceps



Joined: 19 Jul 2016
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:16 am Reply with quote
danpmss wrote:
OwlBiceps wrote:
Also it's scary how similar the appeal of this and Umineko are.


I beg to differ, as the appeal of Umineko is waaay too meta for this series. Umineko also has too much diversity in its writing and themes to have said similarities as "THE appeal" of the story, there's just too much stuff on it tbh


I'll rephrase that. The things that appeal to me in Umineko (I'm talking about the manga btw) are many of the things in Youjou Senki.
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:34 am Reply with quote
I think something no one has mentioned is how this series toy with the concept of "going by the book", which for japanese adults is very important, so much that I have heard of programmers doing things wrong because the manuals says even if it is clear once you test it. So here we have someone going by the manual but thinks literally blow in Tanya's face time and time again.

The things is, unlike Re:Zero, where I felt drained after watching many of the episodes, I feel kind of refreshed after watching this Saga. Whether being x is god or the devil or something in between, getting in an argument does not seem the less collision course and it shows, Tanya reminds me of Willie E. Coyote and I expect next episode to again blow in her face. It is not that things go wrong when they can go wrong, it that you don't spit towards a fan and don't expect the fluid to return right back towards your face. Being x might well represent such basics laws of nature.
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danpmss



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 762
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:03 am Reply with quote
OwlBiceps wrote:
danpmss wrote:
OwlBiceps wrote:
Also it's scary how similar the appeal of this and Umineko are.


I beg to differ, as the appeal of Umineko is waaay too meta for this series. Umineko also has too much diversity in its writing and themes to have said similarities as "THE appeal" of the story, there's just too much stuff on it tbh


I'll rephrase that. The things that appeal to me in Umineko (I'm talking about the manga btw) are many of the things in Youjou Senki.


For real? I did read the manga as well, but besides the narrative omission (most of it at least) in both adaptations, I didn't find any major aspects to be compared to Youjo Senki lol

Are you talking about... spoiler[ Both having Ax-Crazy psychos in the cast]?
Because I would argue this is the selling point for Higurashi's anime and manga adaptations, and Umineko's anime one. The manga and the visual novel for Umineko has their focus completely elsewhere (spoiler[being the mystery genre per se, the meta writting exploration, the very Jungian psychological symbolism in general, etc...]).

But yeah, again, it would be about the things that appeal to you, so, it only depends of what floats your boat the most, so... Different people with different opinions, I guess.
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Big Kahuna



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 4:41 am Reply with quote
Can anyone who's read the LN or other sources give light whether "Being X" (Sonzai X) is a pun on "Sosai X" from Gatchaman, either by the author or on the part of Tanya herself, since she was Japanese of the right age to be familiar with Gatchaman?
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Sakagami Tomoyo



Joined: 06 Dec 2008
Posts: 940
Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 5:04 am Reply with quote
I'm not quite sure what I think about the show. It's definitely an interesting idea, a different enough take on the isekai genre to be worth a look at. Bonus points for it being a middle-aged salaryman rather than your typical young otaku NEET. Further bonus points for having to grow up from scratch rather than appearing fully-formed.

Overall, taken as a very dark comedy, it's entertaining enough. Some details I'm not too fond of, such as the character designs. But I do have to say, Aoi Yuki's performance does manage to nail "crazy/sociopathic man arguing with God reborn as a little girl".

mangamuscle wrote:
Whether being x is god or the devil or something in between


He seems to me to be classic Old Testament God; "good" in the sense that any kind of death and suffering is fine if it's all somehow for the greater good, ie people having faith in God.
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OwlBiceps



Joined: 19 Jul 2016
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:03 pm Reply with quote
danpmss wrote:

But yeah, again, it would be about the things that appeal to you, so, it only depends of what floats your boat the most, so... Different people with different opinions, I guess.

Umineko is so blatantly a Ryukishi07 it would by impossible to not have a cast that doesn't have bouts of insanity. Also (where I am so far in the manga) the story is all about one character in a struggle to reject another higher power.

These are the things that draw me to both series.

Also the artists that they get on to draw the manga are really good.
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ParaChomp



Joined: 10 Dec 2010
Posts: 1018
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:11 pm Reply with quote
The first episode was bland. I had a feeling I knew what I would be getting myself into but I'm glad I was wrong. The second and third episode do a great job at building up the series and are quite strong. Tanya is an enjoyable protagonist but not likeable and such is refreshing.

As for Studio Nut, their animation seems to be good so far. Any moments of the animation that stood out for you guys?
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ultimatehaki



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 1090
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:33 pm Reply with quote
ParaChomp wrote:
As for Studio Nut, their animation seems to be good so far. Any moments of the animation that stood out for you guys?


The entire aerial combat in episode 2
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danpmss



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 762
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 2:51 am Reply with quote
OwlBiceps wrote:
danpmss wrote:

But yeah, again, it would be about the things that appeal to you, so, it only depends of what floats your boat the most, so... Different people with different opinions, I guess.

Umineko is so blatantly a Ryukishi07 it would by impossible to not have a cast that doesn't have bouts of insanity. Also (where I am so far in the manga) the story is all about one character in a struggle to reject another higher power.

These are the things that draw me to both series.

Also the artists that they get on to draw the manga are really good.


I see, so you didn't finished Umineko just yet. Well, I may have said too much then. Just keep going reading it, it's something you can't really judge without seeing the whole material at least 2 times around.

I would HIGHLY reccomend the Visual Novel however, as the narrative structure plays a enormous role in the whole mystery, creating some plot holes in the manga adaptation (and a pletora in the anime)... though the final parts of the manga did explain some stuff explicitly, thus being far more simple then just having to re-read the whole VN in order to understand it, so, you could always do like most of the fans did and treat it like some kind of answer book for the things you couldn't get, therefore reading it after the VN.

And +1, the art in some of the manga episodes is absolutely GORGEOUS.

Well, we derailed a bit of the topic, so this will be my last reply into this subject.

Youjo Senki ftw, from here on!

I'm guessing they are aiming for 2-3 novels per cour in this adaptation (a weirdly high ammount, considering just how big each book is).
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Spike Terra
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Joined: 21 Mar 2016
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Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 12:31 pm Reply with quote
Three episodes into the anime and I have mixed feelings about this adaptation of Youjo Senki. I loved the manga (even though I have only read the first nine chapters) and there are aspects of the anime that I really like (the casting is excellent, the animation is great and the music is top notch). However, I feel like they ditched a lot of the comedic aspects in order to make this series more serious.

They ditched the war lectures with dog people as example soldiers and they also got rid of almost all of the historical jokes. So far the anime makes Tanya a tiny bit more sympathetic (like when they omitted the scene spoiler[in which she joyously skips with the knowledge that she will human shields... I mean subordinates on her next mission ]). While making God/Being X more antagonistic and personal in all of his scenes. The anime's introduction scene for God is one of the coolest things I have ever seen but I still prefer the manga's version.

spoiler[ Where the manga opens with our salary man protagonist in heaven arguing against the existence of God in front of the deity himself, whose just trying to convince him to follow the ten commandments in order to get enter Nirvana. This scene feels very casual and while it ends the same way it does in the anime, in the manga God doesn't tell him this reincarnation will be his last (if he doesn't change his ways).] The anime's stance on religion seems to be this mix of Judaism and Buddhism, while manga is seems to be Omnism (in which all religions are right). spoiler[In the manga, his crystal is turned into a relic by a Hindu deity in order to inspire more people to turn to religion with the added bonus of making an atheist pray ].

In short I prefer the humor of the manga over the in-tenseness of it's animated brethren. That being said, I still really enjoy this show and I'm glad that it still has comedic bits to it including a few new jokes.
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OwlBiceps



Joined: 19 Jul 2016
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:40 pm Reply with quote
Spike Terra wrote:

In short I prefer the humor of the manga over the in-tenseness of it's animated brethren. That being said, I still really enjoy this show and I'm glad that it still has comedic bits to it including a few new jokes.


Do you like the joke at the end of episode two? That joke sticks out like a sore thumb and makes it harder to justify this show as not being lolibait.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18135
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:41 am Reply with quote
OwlBiceps wrote:
Do you like the joke at the end of episode two? That joke sticks out like a sore thumb and makes it harder to justify this show as not being lolibait.

They put her in a dress as a joke. (The unflattering make-up job makes that even clearer, I think.) I saw nothing there that was "lolibait," nor have I seen anything else in the series so far even remotely portraying Tanya in a sexual fashion. So let's not go there unless there is some real evidence pointing in that direction.
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#844391



Joined: 09 Sep 2015
Posts: 517
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 1:23 am Reply with quote
yea, a reincarnated middle aged man who is hell bent on defying god and willing to kill anyone in his/her way in order to survive, or simply advance up the ranks is hardly a turn on for the loli crowd, I don't see this series as sexualizing any of its characters so far. Even their flight suits are designed after the historical ones somewhat, big and bulky to keep the pilots warm. If they were going for fanservice they might have picked miniskirts or something.
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ultimatehaki



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 1090
PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2017 4:37 pm Reply with quote
I can't really call Tanya evil at this point. Egoist, arrogant or prideful sure but the closest thing she's done to being evil is manipulating Captain Ugar in the cafe.
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AksaraKishou



Joined: 16 May 2015
Posts: 1410
Location: End of the World
PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2017 5:15 pm Reply with quote
ultimatehaki wrote:
I can't really call Tanya evil at this point. Egoist, arrogant or prideful sure but the closest thing she's done to being evil is manipulating Captain Ugar in the cafe.


And kinda sending her subordinated to their deaths... and [expletive] up an employees life with gusto...
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