Review by John Delia
An exciting action fantasy film, Saga of Tanya the Evil Movie, the sequel to the popular Japanese television show, comes to 500 theaters on May 16th. An exciting film about war between the Empire and the Federation, the movie continues where the TV show ended.
Most manga (anime) film fans know the technique that was created by Japanese animators with the most notable being Hayao Miyazaki and his Oscar nominated Howl’s Movie Castle. But, manga has expanded and taken the forefront for more exciting and diverse stories that are targeted for teens to twenties who are strong supporters of the adventurous plots. With the assistance of Fathom Events, tickets can be purchased in advance for a showing in selection of cities around the nation. See direct link below in the additional information and check out the following link. www.FathomEvents.com.
There are two protagonists in the movie depending on which side you take, but the writers tend to indicate Major Tanya von Degurechaff of the Empire, a teenager who has magical powers, as the favorite who fights for the Imperial Army. Mary, who fights for the Federation (a conglomerate of many countries who oppose the Empire including Communist Russia), has similar strengths and fierceness, but her powers are limited. Depending on whether you choose to agree with either side, will probably determine your fate in the end.
Even though there is a neutrality treaty, the war has escalated and Tanya gets to make the decisions on where and how the attacks will take place against the Federation. With the use of special flight rocket vehicles called Mages, Tanya and her battalion of fighters are poised in the sky above a train that has been equipped with a super cannon. It can destroy the Imperial outposts from afar with its highly explosive war heads. Making quick destructive work on the war train, Tanya returns to the Imperial headquarters where her superiors find they are on the verge of war.
So begins a story of fighter verses fighter as director Yutaka Uemura and screenwriter Kenta Ihara work together to bring the action packed adventure to the screen. Introducing Tanya who has come off of hellish past, we find her guiding her battalion into battle against a foe that is relentless. She’s a powerful leader and although just a teen, she isn’t afraid to go face to face with a new found mortal enemy.
I like the colorful and expressive animation that make the film exciting to watch and Uemura’s penchant for detail. Whether it be a blast from a laser gun or a scene of hand to hand combat, there’s many an evil sneer, scowl, glare, grimace, determined look and many victorious grins. The battles show the damage to the fighters and the destruction to the enemy cities with a lot of detail.
To see the film on May 16th you can get a ticket to a location near you by doing the following: go to Fathom Events www.FathomEvents.com. There you will find a link to tickets for the one day event at a theater near you. Or just click on the following website https://www.fathomevents.com/events/saga-of-tanya-the-evil-the-movie?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzunmBRDsARIsAGrt4ms2FMxUwqYXWYeWv4L1ACh-Pc9zYyP1JDZthocu130JEVl3LMlcu5MaAkzFEALw_wcB
Saga of Tanya the Evil Movie has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains crude language throughout and war violence. The animated film spools out in Japanese with English subtitles like most all manga animation movies.
FINAL ANALYSIS: An exciting action film for Manga Film Fans and adventure lovers. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Voice Cast: Tessho Genda, Daiki Hamano, Takaya Hashi
Directed by: Yutaka Uemura
Screenplay written by: Kenta Ihara from a novel by Carlo Zen
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, War
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains language, violence,
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min.
Opening Date: May 16, 2019
Distributed by: Crunchyroll
Released in: Japanese with English Subtitles