‘Youjo Senki’ Season 2 Release Date: ‘Saga Of Tanya The Evil’ Light Novel/Manga Adapted Into SOTTE Anime Movie

If the Youjo Senki: Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2 release date is never announced, that would practically be villainous. Thank Being X, in 2018 director Yutaka Uemura announced that a Youjo Senki movie is slated to be coming out.

In the past, there have been hints that the anime may run longer and fans are eagerly awaiting for studio NuT to officially confirm this leaked information. We will just have to wait and see whether Being X is nice enough to let us see more of Tanya Degurechaff in Youjo Senki Season 2, but in the meantime check out these anime spoilers based on the SOTTE light novel and manga.

Youjo Senki Light Novel: Where Does The Anime End?

Anime almost always rely on good source material from a manga or a series of light novels. In this case, Saga Of Tanya The Evil Episode 12 of the anime corresponds to Chapter 5 of Youjo Senki Volume 3, a light novel called “The Finest Hour.” The good news for anime-only watchers is that author Carlo Zen has been quite busy, creating plenty of source material for the second season of Youjo Senki.

The first Youjo Senki light novel was released back in 2013 but as of this publishing, Youjo Senki Volume 8 was released on June 30, 2017, and Volume 9 came out on January 12, 2018. It could be argued that there’s even enough source material to create Youjo Senki Season 3. The Youjo Senki manga is up to Volume 7, which just released in late 2017, although the Saga Of Tanya The Evil manga is nowhere close to catching up with the anime story.

Unfortunately, the Youjo Senki English translation is also far behind as of this article’s publishing. Yen Press bought the English publishing rights from Japanese publisher Enterbrain and the first volume’s release date was in December of 2017. The second book is scheduled for March 20, 2018. Volume 3 will be coming out on July 17, 2018. However, there are several fan-based translation projects, including for the Youjo Senki manga.

Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2 Release Date Set After Youjo Senki Movie?

As of this publishing, anime production company NuT has not announced anything official about the Youjo Senki Season 2 release date, although this article will be updated as soon as the anime sequel is confirmed. However, there can be reasonable speculation about when, or if, the Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2 air date may occur.

The Youjo Senki anime received a re-run broadcast in Japan and the official Twitter page claimed there will be an “ultra-important announcement” on the early morning of January 9, 2018. Some fans hoped the announcement was related to the second season or perhaps even a live-action movie, but it turned out to be the official announcement of the movie sequel along with a teaser trailer.

A year after the anime first launched, Kadokawa’s NewType magazine interviewed director Yutaka Uemura. He said that the Saga Of Tanya The Evil movie will be a direct sequel to the events of the first anime season from 2017.

“Relationships between Tanya and the upper level are changing and subordinates are also growing,” Uemura reportedly said. “I am excited to draw the interests of such sequels as I like them.”

The director spoke about the new sound for the film, saying he would like to optimize for theaters. Uemura also said his ideas for the upcoming Youjo Senki movie were inspired by watching the Dunkirk movie by Christopher Nolan, which depicted the major evacuation of the British during World War II.

Uemura also admitted that Studio NuT initially had zero plans to make the Saga Of Tanya The Evil movie, but the support of anime fans allowed the project to be greenlit. So, do not be too surprised if Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2 is announced if the movie is also a financial success.

Some fans have compared Youjo Senki: Saga Of Tanya The Evil to Overlord since both stories feature a “villain” as the main protagonist. Overlord received a second season and it’s hoped the same may happen for Youjo Senki. If you follow the money, Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2 does seem a reasonable bet.

According to MyAnimeList, the Youjo Senki Blu-Ray and DVD sales in Japan placed the anime series in the top 10 for both formats. Yuri On Ice and GranBlue Fantasy may be blowing away the competition, but it’s still remarkable that SOTTE made it into the top 4 for Blu-Ray sales. To put things into perspective, other anime series like No Game No Life have received a movie based upon similar sales numbers.

Back in 2017, there was speculation that Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2 was already in the planning stages. According to CrunchyRoll News, the listings of Chinese streaming company iQIYI had the Youjo Senki anime slated for 26 episodes. In the past, this service has successfully hinted that an anime series may be a multi-cour series, so since Episode 12 felt like a prologue to SOTTE Season 2 the “speculation is that if the series does run the unconfirmed 26 episodes, it would be a split between non-consecutive seasons.”

Assuming that a second season is announced after the Japanese premiere of the movie, the Youjo Senki Season 2 release date will probably not be anytime soon. The movie project was just recently announced, so let’s just hope Studio NuT can bring Tanya to the big screen in 2018.

Youjo Senki Season 2 And Movie Spoilers: “Curse you, Being X!”

The ending of the first season of the Youjo Senki anime had the alternative universe sitting on the cusp of a true world war but only Tanya realized the dire situation. The Empire had defeated its surrounding enemies, expanding its territory, but the Free Republic army had moved to the south and suddenly any thought of peace was shattered. The hopelessly outnumbered 203rd Battalion is deployed to North Africa while the remainder of the Empire’s army is being shipped overseas. In response to the Empire war machine continuing its slow march, the Allied Kingdom, the Russy Federation and the Unified States have formed an alliance against this central power.

While we know Germans are always good for a sequel, the personal war will be between Tanya Degurechaff and Mary Sioux, who lost her family in the war largely due to Tanya’s efforts. While Tanya is an atheist and denies God by using the name Being X, Mary is a full believer in the Creator.

God’s goal is to make Tanya acknowledge and praise his name as the Creator by forcing her into situations where faith is needed. By the end of the anime, Tanya is challenging God directly with the ranting speech she gives to her troops.

“If there is a God who rules this world, it is a stern, solemn, and definitely a good being. A being that is far too great. God keeps forcing us to confront these cruel fates. As those were the rules of this world! Oh, God… I’ll slice you to tiny pieces and feed you to the pigs! Our battlefield is no place for that piece of shit, God! I think it’s time we took over God’s work. We, soldiers will take God’s place. Put the arrogant ass, God, out of a job! All right troops… It’s time for war!”

Warning: Since the Saga Of Tanya The Evil movie is a direct sequel to the anime, the following description should be considered movie spoilers. This article will be updated after the movie releases to provide spoilers specific to the second season.

The interesting thing about the Youjo Senki light novel is that it gives readers more of a peek into heaven. The angels hold conferences where they discuss the war on this alternative earth, with the ultimate goal being to have Tanya and Mary be apostles for faith to fight the spread of atheism despite being on opposing sides of the war. If anything, heaven seems more interested in stoking the fires of war rather than seeking peace in the world.

Mary is the tool that God uses after her father, Anson Sioux, fails to kill the Devil Of The Rhine even after being imbued with Being X’s powers. In the anime, Mary’s eyes glowed when she prayed to God while volunteering for the Unified States military and she finds herself powered with extraordinary abilities capable of blowing away a whole battalion with one artillery spell.

youjo senki pic.twitter.com/zWLqKPsw9S

—???? RATO DIÁRIO???? (@muttgodts) May 23, 2017

The anime did change some events from the light novel (the biggest notable difference is that Anson Sioux survived his initial confrontation with Tanya only to die later) but the first season also did not finish book three of the series. In the final chapter of “The Finest Hour,” which should be Youjo Senki Season 2 Episode 1, Tanya finds herself working under Romeel, the commander of the expeditionary army. The Free Republic forces manage to surround them but Tanya uses military tactics gleaned from her memories of Japanese history in the real world.

The next light novel has the war escalating after the alternate universe Russian nation invades the Empire’s borders in a surprise attack. The reason? Heaven’s angels told “Uncle Joe,” or the alternate Joseph Stalin, that apostles of God were coming to destroy them, so Uncle Joe strikes first. During these battles, a Russy man named Loliya (real world Lavrentiy Beria, perhaps?) falls in “love” at first sight and vows to capture Tanya as his prize and break her. Anime fans can pretty much guess his personality since his name is a combination of “Loli” and “Ya” ( which stands for Yandere, a psychotic, violent character who has affection for the main character).

This new main character is featured many times throughout the light novels so his obsession with Tanya should be a reoccurring, semi-comical theme in the anime. Another major theme of the second season of Youjo Senki should be the interplay of politics. Tanya recognizes that nationalistic feelings will cause the war to drag on longer, and tries to use nationalist organizations to her advantage, while Loliya encourages the spread of communism throughout the Union forces.

Of course, things will get really interesting in the anime when Mary and Tanya first engage each other during an aerial battle against the Allied Kingdom and U.S. volunteer forces. Mary is enraged when she realizes Tanya is using the gun she gave as a gift to her father and this rage only increases her powers. Without spoiling too much, the two will clash multiple times without killing each other and eventually Mary and Loliya meet and become friends.

The majority of the events within the Youjo Senki light novels are based on individual battles and personal developments that influence the course of the war. On one side, you have Tanya trying in vain to find a way to end the world war before the supposedly neutral U.S. can join the fight. Loliya is on the other side trying to keep the war going because it’ll give him more chances to capture Tanya. Volume 7 actually ends with Tanya having real hope of ending the war, but then the civilian leadership intervenes. No one except for author Carlo Zen knows for certain where the story takes Tanya next, but based on Volume 8’s cover photo it appears the plot will be a major turning point since it’s the first time she’s seen as being in pain instead of madly triumphant.

In the end, the fictional world war is just a backdrop to the confrontation between Tanya and God; will she escape hell by having faith or survive the war to die a natural death? Anime fans will have to watch Youjo Senki Season 2, 3, and hopefully beyond to find out!

[Update March 26, 2018] Added new key visual for Saga Of Tanya The Evil: The Movie.

[Update January 8, 2018] Youjo Senki movie confirmed to be a direct sequel, not a recap as previously reported. Added key visual for movie and teaser trailer.

[Update January 5, 2018] Updated article with current information. Added news related to the sequel movie and the potential announcement of Saga Of Tanya The Evil Season 2.