Probably in an effort to attract interest once more to a series that no one knows when its second season will be up, the creators of “Saga of Tanya the Evil” came up with an extra, 17-minute episode on 2021, which it terms of the story, seems to be placed between the first season and the movie.
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Tanya and the 203rd Air Mage Battalion are forced to fight in the southern front, in the desert, where the logistics of the mission prove at least as important as the actual combat. In an effort to provide some food for the harsh conditions, Colonel Rerugen decides to send dried pasta to the battlefield. Although his intentions are good, sending a type of food that needs water to be prepared is not exactly a genius decision, particularly since the group is facing shortage issues. Their solution? To steal it from the enemy while admonishing as much punishment as possible at the same time.
Although battle is once more in the epicenter, with a couple of impressive scenes including one that will remind of the Star Wars race, the focus here actually lies elsewhere. The first point of focus is definitely food, with both its logistics and the various ‘values' of pasta coming to the fore through an excellent visual approach, which can only be described as mouth-watering. The drawing in the episode seems to finds its apogee in these scenes, as much as the scenes of disaster, as we mentioned before. Overall, the desert look looks good on the soldiers and Tanya, whose hair seem to be less blonde than usual, in a rather appealing trait, courtesy of the character design of Yuji Hosogoe.
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The second element is the focus on the importance of logistics in battle and particularly the supply chain. In that fashion, the importance of food, both for the morale and the overall status of the soldiers, is highlighted as of utmost importance, in a rather realistic comment.
The animation by Nut is a tad sharper than that of the series, particularly in the battles, but not on the level of the movie. It definitely works well here though.
Although essentially a filler, with the events not playing particular role in the progress of the story, “Saga of Tanya the Evil: Operation Desert Pasta” works well as a reminder that the franchise still exists, retaining the hope that we will see a second season finally at some point.
