The Saga of Tanya the Evil

Tanya Degurechaff (later Tanya von Degurechaff) (ターニャ・フォン・デグレチャフ, Tānya Degurechafu (Tānya fon Degurechafu))

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Tanya),[5] Kōsuke Toriumi (salaryman) (Japanese); Monica Rial (Tanya),[6] Josh Grelle (salaryman) (English)

Tanya is a young blonde, blue-eyed girl who is the reincarnation of a cold-hearted, atheistic, and social-darwinistic Japanese salaryman (briefly voiced by Kōsuke Toriumi in Japanese, and Josh Grelle in English). She is a mage with magical powers that enable her to fly and fire explosive bullets from guns. Compared to others, Tanya has a high latent magical ability and is the only one capable of using an experimental Type-95 operation orb due to Being X's interference. She controls a battalion of elite mages whose main purpose is to overwhelm enemy forces while also remaining highly mobile and relatively small. Tanya is quite ruthless and intolerant of failings in others, much the same as in her previous life, and employs several extreme punishments and training methods. After she graduated from War College as one of the Twelve Knights, she was granted the title of von. By the end of TV series her rank is major. At the end of the movie, she finally gets her dream job working with an office job in the rear for 2 months with a promotion to lieutenant colonel, much to her joy and triumphs against her hated enemy, Being X. But that joy was short-lived when she received a phone call from General Zettour, who informed her that he had put her proposal, titled "Unit Usage and Operational Maneuvers in the Current War" to use and organized a Kampfgruppe codenamed "Salamander", which consisted of infantry, armor, and artillery, gave her command of the special army and wanted to see her research in action by having her and the 203rd mage battalion return to the front lines once more, much to her shock and horror.

Viktoriya Ivanovna "Visha" Serebryakov (Виктория Ивановна "Вища" Серебряков) (ヴィクトーリヤ・イヴァーノヴナ・セレブリャコーフ (ヴィーシャ), Vīkutōriya Ivuānovuna "Vīsha" Sereburyakōfu)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami[7] (Japanese); Jeannie Tirado[6] (English)

Viktoriya is a Second Lieutenant in the Imperial Army and serves under Tanya Degurechaff, and later becomes her adjutant. Different from other characters from the Empire, Viktoriya is a refugee from the Revolution of the Rus' Union and her family was originally a member of the Rus aristocracy. Having served under Tanya during the Battle of the Rhine, Viktoriya is more familiar with Tanya's true personality, to which she shows fear, but also respect. As a result of knowing Tanya, Viktoriya is more able to keep up with Tanya compared to her other soldiers. However, despite knowing Tanya's side character, Viktoriya seems to believe that Tanya actually cares for her subordinates and her harsh treatment of them, is to ultimately ensure their survival. In the manga, Viktoriya's "particular" point of view of Tanya's character, seems to have started when Viktoriya, during her first true battle, is saved by Tanya at the last second, who (to hide her enjoyment in killing the enemy soldiers) quoted General Robert E. Lee, saying to Viktoriya "It is well that war is so horrible, otherwise men would grow fond of it", starting the misunderstanding. Tanya is also shown to perceive Viktoriya as identical in appearance to their former secretary in 2013 Japan; whether or not Viktoriya is the reincarnation of Tanya's secretary has not been confirmed.

Erich Rerugen (later von Rerugen) (エーリッヒ・フォン・レルゲン, Ērihhi Rerugen (Ērihhi fon Rerugen) / Erich von Lehrgen

Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki[7] (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum[6] (English)

Erich is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Imperial Army and has known Tanya since she joined the military. He has seen Tanya's true nature during her time in training, and views her as a monster in a little girl's form.

His last name is spelled "Lergen" in English light novel translation.

Kurt von Rudersdorf (クルト・フォン・ルーデルドルフ, Kuruto fon Rūderudorufu)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (Japanese); Greg Dulcie[6] (English)

He is the Deputy Chief of Operations in the Imperial General Staff Office.

Hans von Zettour (ハンス・フォン・ゼートゥーア, Hansu fon Zētūa)

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka[7] (Japanese); Mark Stoddard[6] (English)

He is the Deputy Chief of Logistics in the Imperial General Staff Office.

Matheus Johann Weiss/Matheus Johann Weiß (ヴァイス)

Voiced by: Daiki Hamano[7] (Japanese); Daman Mills (English)

Vooren Grantz (グランツ)

Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi[7] (Japanese); Jeff Johnson (English)

Anson Sue/Sioux (アンソン・スー, Anson Sū)

Voiced by: Kenyuu Horiuchi (Japanese); Jarrod Greene (English)

He is the captain of the 5th Aerial Mage Wing. He has a daughter called Mary Sue. He is later promoted to the grade of Colonel after the death of his superior officer. In the anime, he is believed to have been killed in battle by Tanya, during the Battle of the Orse Fjord. Later it is revealed that he actually survived and had a vision of God ("Being X") who told him to kill the "Devil", granting him additional power. In order to achieve his objective, he accepted to be part of an Allied Kingdom mage special force, managing to corner Tanya and her battalion over the sea. However, though in the end, he almost succeeds in killing Tanya, even willing to blow himself up to kill her, through Viktoriya's intervention, Anson failed to kill her and eventually died in his own explosion.

Mary Sue/Sioux (メアリー・スー, Mearī Sū)

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)

She is the only daughter of Anson Sue. After her father's death at the hands of Tanya, she becomes rather more vengeful and serious in nature. Her hatred grows when she hears the name "Devil of the Rhine," leading her to begin to rage and expose an uncontrollable side. Granted additional power by Being X, she becomes the counterbalance of the main protagonist of the series. In the original Web Novel, following the execution of several of her subordinates on a whim, as she perceived them as refusing to follow her into battle, Mary Sue is ultimately the subject of a mutiny and is executed by her own supporters, realizing the truth of Tanya and Being X in her final moments. Her name is a direct reference to the "Mary Sue" trope.

Being X/Existence X (存在X, Sonzai Ekkusu)

Voiced by: Hideaki Tezuka (Japanese); Bill Jenkins (English)

An entity that claims itself to be the Creator (創造主, Sōzōshu) or God. After a philosophical argument with a Japanese Salaryman, it reincarnates him into Tanya in hopes that he will come to believe in God. The name "Being X" is designated by Tanya who does not believe in the existence of God. It is characterized as being frustrated with the increasing faithlessness in the modern world. Occasionally, it converses with Tanya to taunt her or see if she has come to believe.

The novel series is written by Carlo Zen and was initially serialized on the web novel hosting website Arcadia,[8] 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.[9] It was licensed by Yen Press.[10]

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. Volumes 2-6 were voiced by audiobook narrator Shiromi Arserio. Volumes 7-8 were done by Erin Rieman.

A manga adaptation with art by Chika Tōjō began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine from April 26, 2016, and twenty eight volumes have been released.[11][12]

An anime television series adaptation by NUT aired from January 6, 2017[13][14] to March 31, 2017.[15] Crunchyroll and Funimation has licensed the series in North America.[16] The opening theme is "Jingo Jungle" by Myth & Roid and the ending theme is "Los! Los! Los!" by Aoi Yūki as Tanya Degurechaff.[7] 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.[17]

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.

An anime film based on the franchise was announced in January 2018.[18] The film saw a number of the staff and cast of the television series reprise their roles,[18] and was a direct sequel to the series.[19] The film premiered on February 8, 2019.[20] The film received a limited U.S. theater release on May 16, 2019, by Crunchyroll.[21] Crunchyroll and Anime Limited screened the film at MCM London Comic Con on May 26, 2019.[22] Crunchyroll also screened the film at Supanova Expo in Sydney and Perth in Australia on June 23 and June 30, 2019, respectively.[23]