Youjo Senki – 04

Good morning, Tanya. And no…I will still not open the pod bay doors.

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. -Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around No time for dancing, or lovey dovey, I ain’t got time for that now – Life During Wartime, Talking Heads

Campus Life

…life during wartime…

So while past episodes have used the bold colors of action and high melodrama to sell us on character and exposition, we have episode four dealing in, perhaps, the subtler shades of storytelling, and dare I say it, manipulation. So first, I love how Tanya just turns off the radio – It feels like it’s supposed to be giving us exposition, but I guess Tanya disagrees? That might just be the first dig of the shovel. In that cold open, mise en scene, we catch a stray word from a woman in a relaxed cafe, her man is coming home from the front for Christmas. Soldiers are touring the capital of Berun, somewhat content in a city happily at work and at cheer. Now in her thoughts, Tanya expresses how she’s felt the past six months, that she still can’t get the smell of the battlefield out of her nose. But Tanya is also happy with her studies, far away from the frontlines. The young lady and the city are one and the same, and she wants to wear it like a velvet glove.

The squeaky salute!

But can we really have that level contentment in a show literally called Little Girl War History? Well, yes we can, just not for long. Things are best when the pot gets stirred up, that is for sure, but it’s the stuff going into the pot that really makes it taste great, plus this is the time when some ingredients have to rest. So with these things in mind, I have to say that I enjoyed watching this episode as it explored some of the big ideas and and pushed the story with some small visuals. The art direction is quite lovely, and going from the desolate front lines to a Berun that seems to be ripe with war’s success, is a good change of pace – it keeps things lively and interesting. The framing of our main character as she navigated some dicey military politics featured a tight focus on her gloriously expressive face when she exhibited control (or thought she did!? those were also scenes of her internal monologues) and medium shots when that control was less in her sphere – with the lead into that discussion with General Zettour underscored by that cute moe sound was a disarming way to foreshadow her getting out of her depth despite her smug expression and attitude. And of course there were the chairs, plenty of chairs just screaming about the larger world she wasn’t fitting into, despite her internal monologue.

Big Chair, Little Chair

You wouldn’t let your daughter me die, would you?

But for my money, the middle scene was worth it’s weight in precious ore. “With your talent, you could have done anything”. That’s the sound of an exasperated man.  Now, I’ve peeked a bit into the source material (something I don’t normally do while a show is ongoing) and found out that child soldiers are not exactly uncommon in this world. So Captain Uger’s reaction is on point when that is concerned; it really is insane to do so, it’s trading away the future. But his reaction is also in line with accepting it as a reality he is powerless to stop. But Tanya does put it firmly in mind that it might be something he can ameliorate, especially with her in mind. Tanya has been using that signal she mentioned, and more than a little lurid proto-fascist theory; semi-fashionable and regrettable! But it’s only the surface she’s exploring and exploiting, and if she can get the Captain to pull strings for her, than strings can be pulled on her. So yeah we got….

High and Mighty?! It’s just like the squeaky salute

So what probably started as an exploratory meeting to suss out Tanya’s core attitude by Zettour ballooned into a full plan he’s willing or maybe even waiting to implement, one that will reorganize an army that is winning battles with him in the lead. I fully expect he might even leave Tanya to be the one holding the bag, if there is a bag to be held. The beginning of the episode introduced us to the concept of culpability and responsibility in the ranks. With Tanya as the leader of this new roving force, it means failure is completely on her head, and Zettour can keep that failure off his record. But if the calculated risk pays off? Well that’s a success in his bank, no matter how much his reorganization shakes things up. Which is going to lead to an odder balloon if our supporting and spoiling character of von Rerugen keeps up his dedicated, if somewhat scattered for now, investigation. But for now Tanya is in deep…

Wonder when she’ll stop digging…

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Keep your eyes open…

All the world’s a stage…

Ya know? I usually thought of T. as a pretty smart individual. Most people able to maneuver their way in the business world are. However, I think that T./Tanya’s intelligence lie in two different fields. One that knows the practicals that is actually very keen, and yet another one that is in the more open, creative thought process,  that is in fact quite dull.  It’s like a person who can see numbers for days, knows every rule by heart, knows every maneuver that you war supposed to do in any particular situation, and yet, when they would never see a very obvious solution right in front of them because it’s not expected nor is it, “by the rules”. What was that line, Spock? Ah yes…methinks her pattern seems to indicate “two-dimensional thinking”. And that is no more obvious than in this episode.

 

Are you sure you don’t want anything else? You seem to be rather full of yourself as it is.

Firstly, we come to Tanya and her rifle. At first I thought it was like the unfortunate captain who met her thought, that Tanya was scarred by the front lines and therefore cannot be without it. However, getting her inner thoughts, it seems that she has it with her, in the occasion that she’s…going to get a chance…to use it…on “Being X”? Really? Tanya, I know your mind is completely consumed with the physical and often scoffs at anything beyond that, but come on! Do you really think that a being with obviously no corporeal form that you have at least seen yet, who you know can control time and space, has powers over the soul, and may or may not have power over life and death—can be hurt and/or killed, by a not-WWI era rifle?! 0_o

Whatever, helps ya sleep at night, doll…

Let’s set the stage.

But then again, Tanya’s naivety doesn’t really end there. Tanya, honey, when a top tier general comes to you and begins to ask you your opinions, ask you for your thoughts on a particular situation and how your would address said situation, and what kind of a plan you yourself would recommend and then asks you to put it in writing–he’s interviewing you! I know that Japan business practice and interviews are a bit different from that of the West, but you’ve been living here for years! And this was so obvious that even a blind person could see it! You wanted to get ahead? Well, you’ll get to do it in ways you never dreamed of. But…you might have had nightmares, though. Of course this was what was going to happen after showing off the way she did. Leaders only do two things with a person who shows such promise as she did. Either they become jealous of them and try to sabotage them, or they utilize them!

….and your mouth closed!

Anything you can do…

Tanya may think of herself as a master manipulator, but I think she just got schooled. Zettour is an interesting figure. The “kitsune-eyes” is a very common tool that anime has used to imply a crafty, wily, very intelligent individual. And I can assure you, that our general in charge of strategy is all of those things. Because, well, strategy is just manipulation after all…

It’s also interesting seeing T.’s Japanese mindset coming out here and there as he operates in this land that is obviously not-Germany. Tanya’s first answer to Zettour about what to do about the possibility of a world war is one that is all about protection and defense–things that define the modern Japanese military ideal. However, not-Germany (especially one of this time period) don’t quite have those same values. A much more aggressive mindset is in place here, and Tanya realizes quickly that she screwed up, and backpedals violently, pushing forward a plan where the glorious Empire can actually win rather than simply self-defend. Her plan is actually a good one, though, interestingly enough, it’s really one that Zettour has already thought of months ago as we saw last episode, and Tanya thankfully supplied the details.

…I can do better.

I find it hilarious how Tanya completely and unknowingly plays right into Zettour’s hands without even realizing it. Especially when we get a later scene of Tanya manipulating a well-meaning captain only a few scenes later. T. was good at what he did, but as they always say–there is always someone better. And Zettour is definitely better, and it’s so effortless that I really don’t even think he even knew he was doing it!

You sure you don’t want anything else? 

What was that about the “mentally defenseless”? Chickadee, those just don’t include the nice guys who are trying to help,Tanya. It includes those who are too full of themselves too. In an effort to put her best foot forward, and full of her own pride at her own intelligence, our little loli failed to see what was, actually really obvious to all of us in the audience. If someone begins to ask you to present a plan and what you would do in said situation, you better realize that they are in serious consideration territory here. In an interview, a person can usually tell the turning point in which it goes from passing interest to serious consideration. When he asked you what your plan was, you should have begun to suspect. When he asked how many soldiers you would need, you should have went to yellow alert. By the time he got to you writing a formal proposal? In the words of Captain Kirk, “Go to Red Alert!”

I think that might be a spot of indigestion you’re feeling right about now.

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Smug Witches (Pantsu Warning)

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Oh goodness this is going to set the stage for some lovely chaos! Tanya is never going to be content with an ordinary shovel, and she’s chasing the gold one just to spite herself, it seems. At some point she’s going to have to give in, and be real. The answers she thinks people want to hear aren’t doing her plan any bit of good, and they have the capacity to come back and haunt her sooner rather than later. But for now, the humanizing element of Viktoryia is coming back into the picture…

Tanya has nobody to blame but herself this time. “Being X” might have brought her to Zettour’s attention, but putting her own foot in her mouth? She did that on her own. So now that she is stuck in one of the most dangerous jobs there is, being the most senior officer on her team. Some of those same things that she rattled off in class, might just come back to haunt her. Who will we see on this team? Will we get a chance to know them, or will they be just fodder? We know Viktorya will be a part of it, so it will be interesting from that point of view.

Also, looking at how many applications she got, perhaps mages aren’t as rare and elite as Tanya was led to believe? I wouldn’t be surprised. Also, it’s interesting that they would all be interested in such a low paying dangerous job. Could it be that mages here would face a similar stigma that they would have in our own world? Sure they are useful to the military, but that doesn’t mean they are fully accepted. Wartime has a habit of quieting certain prejudices, while exemplifying others. Perhaps mages can’t find work as easily as Tanya, a decorated soldier through unusual circumstances, thinks….

But we’ll have to see, I’m just speculating here. We’ll have to wait to see more of the story unfold.

Another (sorta) squeaky salute…