***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Youjo Senki Movie. Reader discretion is advised.***
As a reminder: THIS IS NOT A REVIEW. Films and other posts under the Out and About: Eigakan label are watched in Japanese with NO English subtitles. Therefore, misinterpretations and misunderstandings are possible. With that said:
I just got out of Youjo Senki Movie.
Youjo Senki Movie
To me, the Youjo Senki series was one of the highlights of 2017. It was an exciting blend of fantasy, military drama, and action. The show had beautiful animation, a gripping story, and an outstanding lead character in Tanya Degurechaff (voiced phenomenally by Ms. Aoi Yuki).
If you haven’t checked it out, I highly encourage you to do so, particularly if you want to watch Youjo Senki Movie. This was very much a continuation.
Before I say any more, I need to come clean. There was a lot of Youjo Senki Movie’s story I did not catch. This was easily my most challenging theatre trip so far. Much of this film was filled with military jargon, strategy speak, and many long, hard-to-pronounce European names written in katakana (the Japanese writing style often used for non-Japanese words).
For example, this is Tanya von Degurechaff written in Japanese:
ターニャ・フォン・デグレチャフ.
I can read that – eventually. But for the five seconds it appeared on screen, yeah, that wasn’t happening. And that was with a character I remember in full. There was Visha, who was Tanya’s right hand, and this is what her full name looks like:
ヴィクトーリヤ・イヴァーノヴナ・セレブリャコーフ (Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov)
Well, f@#$ me, I guess.
It dawned on me pretty damn quickly I would have to rely on my gut instincts with most of this film. As such, to the best of my abilities, here is a brief synopsis of Youjo Senki Movie.
Following the events of the anime, Major Tanya von Degurechaff continues to lead her squadron of airborne mages (not a joke) during the Empire’s multi-front war effort. However, a ghost from Tanya’s previous battles seeks revenge on the small, brutal officer. Still aiming for a high enough rank to leave the battlefield for good, Tanya must fight off those who want her dead, as well as contend with the vengeful meddling of the mysterious Being X.
That’s all I have, and most of that was just what I was able to recall from the anime’s conclusion. Nevertheless, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this film.
The entire entertainment value I got out of this viewing came from the battle sequences. There wasn’t much talking during those moments, and you don’t need to be a linguist to know what a person is saying when they are already shooting a gun at you. Despite not quite knowing what was going on ever, this was a stellar action flick.
Also, the sound effects in this movie were simply amazing. It sounded like Star Wars had landed in the Wizarding World of Saving Private Ryan when there was a battle. I don’t know about you, but I was instantly on board.
That notwithstanding, I wish I understood more of the story to, at least, talk about something. Despite that, I never got the sense Youjo Senki Movie was telling a bad narrative. In fact, I’m willing to bet I will actually end up liking this picture immensely. Therefore, I can’t wait for the chance to review this film officially.
Be that as it may, two things concerned me while I was watching.
First, there was this creepy Russian guy (I say “Russian” only because they were in this universe’s version of Moscow) who appeared to get a super boner (figuratively) the moment he laid eyes on Tanya. I can’t imagine I’m going to like him.
Second, Youjo Senki Movie did not feel like a movie. Instead, it felt like season 1.5. While that is not an unwanted prospect, I don’t see why I needed to spend 11 dollars (add another ten for parking, thank you for that BS) for the chance to see this on the big screen. The animation wasn’t any better, there was no big wow factor, and I saw far better speed-sequences in Attack on Titan Season 3. And that last one was on TV.
I was more blown away by the Youjo Senki series than I was with the movie. I’m not saying this film was bad; it probably wasn’t. Still, if I had the choice, I would have just preferred a proper season two.
Final Thoughts
But you know what? I could be wrong. We will have to wait and see.
Thank you all so much for reading. Please comment down below if you have anything to say – positively or negatively – about this post. Also, if you have seen the film, I would love to hear your thoughts.
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For Anime Hajime, I’m Odyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
Post Editor: Onions
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