Chaika –The Coffin Princess-

After one episode of Chaika, you might say,"oh, so that's one of those stories." Ok, you might have seen these kinds of stories before, maybe in a western novel, maybe in an anime made in the 90's, but no, you have not seen any anime like it THIS DECADE, the reason being during recent years, classic sword and sorcery anime pretty much went extinct. Seeing just how few traditional sword and sorcery adventure anime are made nowadays, Chaika has the potential to become the rare gem us fantasy lovers have all been craving for.

With the obvious big shot of its season being No Game No Life a lot of otherwise also decent and sometimes even better shows got pushed in the background while I think some of those deserved a bit more attention. One of these titles would be Hitsugi no Chaika (Chaika, the Coffin Princess) by Bones. Just like many other titles every season Hitsugi no Chaika falls under the category of light novel adaptations and it has many things which indicates this such as the medieval setting with a magic system. But at some points this anime was a bit different from usual light novel adaptations. For example, we have no teenagers as protagonists, but fully grown adults. Well, except for Chaika Trabant that is. But Toru and his half-sister Akari are both adults and saboteurs who were used in war. But since the war is over for a while now Toru and his sister have nothing to do and are easily bored and hungry because they have no jobs. This especially affected the character of Toru as he is constantly looking for the meaning in his life in the beginning of the show as he still sees himself as a soldier. But a soldier in a land without war and in peace is useless. Thus on an errand to gather some food for his sister and himself Toru then proceeds to accidentally cross the path of the awkwardly speaking, coffin carrying and confused looking moe blob Chaika Trabant in a nearby forest. After an encounter with a unicorn which gets defeated by the two, Chaika - who turns out to be a sorceress who is a bad ass with her magic rifle- asks Toru and his sister if they could accompany her on her journey. They agree and thus their story begins. I won’t go into further detail because light spoiler territory. The story itself is rather mediocre and not that worth mentioning to be honest. The setting on the other hand is a nice mix of a medieval post-war world, mixed with some steampunk elements which can be noticed especially at the clothing of some characters as well as some machines like various vehicles and guns. What really hurt the immersion of the experience for me was the severe lack of world-building and background information to the characters themselves. After the 12 episodes of the series’ first cour we don't really know that much about Toru's or Akari's past, which I personally found a bit disappointing. About the world itself besides looking pretty it doesn't offer any lore or explanations to really get invested in like say Attack on Titan or for a better example the Toaru Majutsu series does. Magic and how it works doesn't even get hinted in the slightest, and we just have to take it how it is. While this saves some annoying info dumps and boring expositions it also spoiled my enjoyment a little as I always would have loved to know what was going on when a spell was casted, Toru activated his blood-iron transformation, you name it, thus making the story part easily the weakest point of the show for me. But thankfully, though we have a really lovely cast of characters to help the show along the way. Let’s start off with our main trio which consists of Toru, Akari and Chaika. Later on we get one additional side character that is rather a plot device than a real character on her own in my opinion. Like she’s just there to clear an obstacle or help a few times in battle but doesn’t do too much besides that. The main three on the other hand serve the plot very well; none of them were annoying or hurt the experience for me. And when some battles take place - which is not a rarity - the whole group got involved into the battles. No one really stood at the side lines and watched, no. They were all active which made the well animated action scenes all the more powerful. Also great to look at were some of the saboteur tactics and gears used by Toru and Akari during said fights. While we not always get explained how they are used they are always there in the right time and are used practically to make the battles appear a bit more strategic and thought out. This was an aspect of the show I really liked in the beginning, but when we advanced after the first half of the show things started to slow down a bit. The action was still there but not in the dimensions like in the beginning. But thankfully the last two episodes speeded up again and gave me more of the exciting action I was hoping for The character development of the main characters wasn’t anything outstanding but noticeable, so it was there. On the other side of the spectrum we have Gillette-sama and his companions, trying to stop Toru, his sister and Chaika from completing their goal of spoilers. Gillette is a soldier and nobleman trying to fight for the sake of good because they and the high class people think Chaika and her new found friends are a threat to the peace of the land. Toru and his group actually appear like the bad guys for a change as they are confronted by Gillette as they are supposedly the trigger for another war. Unlike every other light novel main character would try to fight for there to not be war Toru doesn't really care. Why? Because he's a soldier, a weapon and a weapon without a use is useless in his eyes. These made for an interesting change in perspective in the early parts of the show and made this show stand out from the usual clichés and tropes a bit. Unfortunately they didn't really do anything extraordinary or worth mentioning with this premise later on... Overall the characters were all likeable in my opinion, especially Toru and Chaika really grew unto me and I even understood the "villains" as they got a surprisingly huge amount of screen time during the course of the 12 episodes. Story wise it came to a satisfying conclusion with a cliffhanger plus an announcement for a second season in October. Count me in. In terms of visual and audio the show didn't really do much to me to be honest. Even though the colors were bright and the character designs rich it somewhat looked cartoony and lacked detail at some points. Thankfully during the fight scenes when it wants to look good it does. The soundtrack was sadly barely noticeable and the Opening as well as the Ending song weren't that outstanding either, but fairly alright for my tastes. Otherwise the soundtrack ranged from average to slightly above average. So, we finally get to the verdict. Should you watch Hitsugi no Chaika? Well, that depends. On its own it's by no means a special anime in any particular way so it may be just another time sink for about 5 hours for you. But if you're trying to catch up with the less bad stuff of spring 2014 I'd definitely recommend you to check this one out. It may not blow your mind but I do think the hours with this were well spent and even if you’re just looking for a small action snack this one should do you well. -RATING- STORY: 5/10 (fresh setting but generic light novel story, nice twists at the end) CHARACTERS: 6/10 (fun to watch and likeable but barely fleshed out or intriguing) ANIMATION: 7/10 (bright colors, steampunk influenced world, good action scenes) SOUND: 6/10 (really forgettable and barely noticeable for the most part but good during the action scenes) ENJOYMENT: 7/10 (the characters and the fine action ensured an entertaining watch) VERDICT: 6/10 (3 STARS)

I'm one of those people that start watching anime based on how the art looks. So when I saw the art for Chaika, I knew I had to watch it. Having said that, the art is very polished and fluid. The characters are all drawn in a somewhat cutesy stile, especially the titular character, Chaika (who is simply impossible not to adore). For me, and for people who enjoy cute characters, that aspect is definitely a plus, and made watching the anime that much more enjoyable. Next, the main characters are what makes the show fun. The dynamics between Chaika and the Saboteur siblings are always good for a laugh. Toru and Chaika's relationship, while it is expected that they form a romantic connection, is never the main focus of the story, which is refreshing. I also liked the fact that Toru and Akari were very capable and confident in their abilities, and they didn't display any of the crippling insecurity that is often found in some anime protagonists. All in all, aside from a few issues, this anime is one of the better ones I've watched this year. It has pretty much all one could want in an anime--cute and interesting characters, cool fight scenes, and an intriguing plot. I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for something they can casually watch.

This review is written after watching episode 2. That being said this really is a great anime. I actually held off on watching this show because the lolli pictures and summary on CR just didn't sound like my style. If your looking for a basic watch or not watch = WATCH!! Interested in nonsensical number scores after only 2 episodes = 8/10. Story - So far interesting for any fantasy lover with a mix of traditional fantasy and some modern steampunk thrown in. Reminds me of FF8 if you are familiar with the style. The plot itself has been the typical fare with the main heroine shrouded in mystery and newcomers to her party coming to like her and support her simply out of curiosity/need and an unexplainable trust of her character allows them to side with her despite the opposition. Characters - Pretty well done however the main heroine has a strange and basic way of talking (it's like she uses as little words as possible - I think there's a name for it but not trying to google some sh** right now) that might throw some people off. Doesn't bother me personally. Otherwise quite satisfying characters with little to complain about and all 3 of the mains IMO are quite likeable. Animation - Quality is pretty average if not on the good side and there is nothing that I have to complain about as of yet. Only the main heroine has any sort of lolli design if that is your concern (and even hers is not over the top in any way, quite reserved in style). The rest are standard fare and look old enough to relate with and enjoy (26 years old myself for reference). Action - Nothing over the top which is my preferred style. Some slight inconsistencies on reality that are common in anime (sliding down wires without gloves and not utterly destroying your hands etc.) but other than that very realistic. The main enemy in the 2nd episode is powerful yet not cheesily overpowered by the main cast, requiring teamwork and ingenuity to defeat (a plus in my book). Conclusion - After 2 episodes I believe that to be enough for an initial decision on entry. Overall very enjoyable and right up my alley. Hopefully this is enough information to make a semi-informed decision for entry to the show. I highly recommend watching at least the first episode and I hope this show maintains it's quality throughout the series.