The Imperial Army makes a massive gamble on the Eastern Front.
Creative Staff
Story/Interior Illustration: Carlo Zen/Shinobu Shinotsuki
Translation/Adaptation: Emily Balistrieri
What They Say
The eastern front is a place where soldiers never sleep and artillery guns howl without rest. This quagmire is where the Salamander Kampfgruppe has been hurled once again, just another cog in the grand war machine of their fatherland. Still, there’s only so much one unit can do. As the fighting ramps up with renewed enemy attacks and a brand-new weapon that pitches the Federation’s quantity against the Empire’s quality, Tanya faces one of her toughest battles yet, making a certain visitor’s arrival a sight for sore eyes…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Most volumes in the series chronicle events that span over months and across multiple war fronts. In contrast, Volume 7 focuses solely on the happenings of the Eastern Front from April 20, 1927 to May 14, 1927. In other words, a ton of stuff takes place in just a few weeks in the war against the Federation.
If you’ve stuck with Tanya this long, you’re probably used to Zen-sensei habit of shifting POV’s and minimizing setting descriptions to the point where you’re not sure who’s in the room. If you’re able to tolerate those stylistic idiosyncrasies, you’ll find Volume 7 a fairly thrilling narrative of Imperial finesse versus Federation brute force with a lot of politics sprinkled throughout.
The volume opens with the Salamander Kampfgruppe abruptly yanked back to the East because the Federation got the jump on the Empire. Rather than the Imperial Army launching a spring counteroffensive, the Federation Army is shoving them back hard. The resulting disarray is vividly depicted as Tanya narrowly escapes getting blown up by a Federation trap, blocks an Imperial unit on the brink of desertion, encounters enemy mages with a new model orb, and barely averts friendly fire on her Kampfgruppe.
In the midst of this chaos, Colonel Lergen visits Tanya on the front with a request. Up till now, Lergen’s thoughts on Tanya have been a continual refrain of “she’s a monster,” “she’s abnormal.” While the two continue to not quite be on the same page, it’s nice to see him finally feel respect toward the peace-loving individual that’s Tanya. As for his request, it’s rather surprising. Tanya’s to play host to a high level Ildoan military observer.
In addition to creating another annoyance in Tanya’s already burdensome work environment, Colonel Calandro provides a normie’s perspective on the front. Tanya and the Empire have been fighting multiple fronts nonstop for years whereas Calandro and Ildoa are newbies to clashing with enemies who don’t recognize international war conventions.
Calandro’s not the only one faced with unpleasant new realities. General Staff has been progressively forced to do more with less, and the precision fighting machine that was the Imperial Army is now resorting to making all or nothing gambles. The conversations between Rudersdorf and Zettour still trend toward long-winded, but they effectively show how pressure’s building on the higher ups.
Despite all the activity on the Eastern Front, we only get one glimpse of the Federation pedophile Loria, but that one scene is telling enough. As for the joint mage force under Drake and Mikel, we also get a glimpse of how the brawling in the East impacts forces in the North. Unfortunately, most of that glimpse is Mary Sue reacting to her new orders like a spoiled child.
Extras include map and fold-out illustrations in color; appendixes of the history timeline and general commentary; author afterword; and six black-and-white illustrations.
In Summary
Volume 7 packs a lot into a short timeframe. All the action takes place on the Eastern Front, but there’s plenty of chaotic back-and-forth clashing. Between near misses, masses of enemy mages with incredible firepower, and impossible requests from higher ups, there’s never a dull moment for Tanya.
Content Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: June 23rd, 2020
MSRP: $14.00