Hitsugi no Chaika

[Ryllharu]

Alternate Title: Chaika the Coffin Princess


http://i.imgur.com/qCpw4p2.jpg

Description: Tooru Acura, a retired soldier lazing his way through life, encounters Chaika Trabant, a sorceress carrying a coffin. After escaping certain death together, he follows her in hopes of finding a purpose for the first time in a long while. The two travel with Tooru's sister, Akari, in search of a mysterious item that Chaika claims she has to find.


AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=9973)| ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=15524)

HorribleSubs - 01 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=541142)
Anime-Koi - 01 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=541569)


---------------

I loved the first episode.

MC heroine speaks broken sentences like she can barely speak the language which is, hopefully more to due with her being a foreigner or rather than something than brain damage or like she's artificial. Her weapon is a huge anti-material magic rifle...and it is exactly as multipurpose as it sounds. There is a scene where she tries to bake with it, and miraculously manages to not outright destroy the kitchen (while still ruining it).

Two siblings are saboteurs/sappers from the army, so their skill set is slightly more unique and they remind me of Randel from Pumpkin Scissors (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=4473) with a little more sanity.

It's a good pairing, because the two siblings are competent at close range combat and the physical skills that Chaika needs, while she is strong enough to actually destroy powerful opponents given enough time to cast her spells. Tooru is also really bored and needs something to do, and Akari needs Tooru to stop being useless before she kills him out of spite.

This gave me a strong Scrapped Princess vibe for some reason, and it turned out to be written by the same guy! He also wrote Outbreak Company recently, another series I loved the hell out of, coming off a lot stronger than it appeared at first glace. Given that history, there is a good chance I'll enjoy this.

Aside from Tooru, the main cast are both newbies, which brings a fresh feel for me since I can generally get distracted by seiyuu for a while if I recognize their voices.

The animation feels a little on the rough side at times, but BONES is apparently doing three series this season. The quality does improve a little toward the end of the episode, so their staff is probably strained to the limit.

[shinta|hikari]

Sold. I'll watch this tonight.

[MasterOfMoogles]

Just watched episode 1. Really liked this show.
I think my favorite part is them carrying the coffin on their stealth mission.

[shinta|hikari]

Satisfied customer. Verified Gotwoot purchase.

[Kraco]

I think my favorite part is them carrying the coffin on their stealth mission.

Yeah, that was ridiculous. I guess the coffin must have some other functionality in addition to the lid carrying the rifle.

Chaika's magic is so slow that she absolutely needs guardians to keep enemies at bay for a while.

I was getting annoyed by the innkeeper lecturing Tooru despite he having worked to earn the meal and it was the sister who wrecked the place. But then I saw his expression during the lecture and I couldn't be angry anymore. The relationship between Tooru and the sister is quite strange anyway. Apparently she respects, or even loves, him a lot but at the same time hates his personality.

[shinta|hikari]

The part where Tooru retracted his statement about his own stupidity and redirected it against his sister, and then his sister accepting it was hilarious.

[Kraco]

Episode 2 - HS (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=543809)






- - - - - - - --





The saboteur siblings are interesting in battle. Not overly powerful, but quite resourceful, versatile, and seem to know their own strengths and weaknesses thoroughly. Very professional by not stopping to lament their lacking brute force but instead doing perfectly what they can. While I oft praise shows with powerful main characters, it's still their willpower and attitude that matters more. These siblings have those handled well, so well in fact that I guessed beforehand what Tooru would answer when the officer started to preach about peace. Although it seems unlikely Chaika would be willingly after war. She might still be a drone constructed by the late emperor for the express purpose of resurrecting him in case something happened. However, the intro didn't really seem to suggest that but something else, though the Great Old One's words were understandably somewhat vague.

[Ryllharu]

I really enjoyed the way the two siblings fight. Their vicious, equal parts reckless and calculated resourcefulness style is refreshing.

From what we know, three organizations have an idea of what to use the remains for. Chaika says she simply wants to bury them. The "heroes" want to keep them separately and use them as magical fuel. The princeling says he has been given the task of retrieving them in order to safeguard them, while ultimately warning they can be used to develop a superweapon.

Now, who do you really think is being lied to? Tooru and Akari, or the Princeling?

I believe the "heroes" are greedy, entitled, power hungry dicks, but they have the correct intentions. They want to safeguard the parts.
Tooru and Akari are working for a villain who claims she has good intentions, knowing that doing so will bring the wrath of the world down on them (which they don't mind at all).
The princeling is working for the government that overthrew the Gaz Empire. They're the "good guys."

Chaika's good intentions are probably going to be abused (if she even is the real daughter, and the "hero" implied he killed her), but I'm certain that the princeling's "justice" is the wrong side, and he is being used to create the very superweapon he wants to prevent.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 03 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=546647)

---------------------------









MC heroine speaks broken sentences like she can barely speak the language which is, hopefully more to due with her being a foreigner or rather than something than brain damage or like she's artificial.

I put it as her not having had proper education at first, but it looks more and more like it's going down the artificial route. Everything seems pretty fun so far, so I'll keep watching as well.

I'm liking that this Hero looks to be proper and not some scumbag.

[Kraco]

I'm liking that this Hero looks to be proper and not some scumbag.

It probably won't feel too good for them to defeat somebody who just saved Tooru's life in order to claim the relic. It would be emotionally easier if they were all scumbags. But I guess technically it could be easier if they could backstab.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 04 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=549295)

------------------------------









But why loli?! I suppose she couldn't walk around all day looking like Dominica, but she's so much better looking! :(

If Chaika's been reanimated, then the purpose of bringing the king's body parts back together may well be for his revival.

[shinta|hikari]

But why loli?!

This is probably the most senseless inquiry I have ever read in my entire life.

[Kraco]

This fight was disappointingly easy. I suppose it might have made sense with the dragoon bored out of her mind living alone without her master, possibly losing her will to live and only looking for a good death. Not to mention she had no particularly reason to defend the remains in the first place. I agree with Bill on her shape, though. Dominica's looks were so much better. But yeah, walking around looking like one of the heroes might have brought far too much attention upon them. Considering her straightforward personality I don't really understand the need for the cliched I'll accompany you so that I may kill you later reason for sticking around. She should have just admitted she had nothing better to do and the group's clear and dangerous mission is highly attractive for a fighting machine like her. Tooru himself said as much earlier.

[shinta|hikari]

You really cannot avoid such tropes in anime. I am starting to think that the quality of an anime show is inversely proportional to the amount of tropes it has. This show felt like it plummeted in quality with just this episode due to the instant loli trope.

[neflight86]

Fake-out incest? Check. Loli get? Check. All that's missing is for the cat to talk while being a cat to complete the cycle of intellectual surrender.

I hope this show does not complete that; its been fun and approachable so far.

[Ryllharu]

It was only disappointing because the "twist" was telegraphed so badly. Almost instantly from the creepy everywhere statues, unused kitchen, and appearance of the cat observing them.

You could largely expect the result of the episode from the first four minutes.

Does it count as an incest pairing if they're not actually blood related and Akari would be equally happy if he died so long there was enough left intact so she could have him taxidermied?

At least the combat was decent. Akari and Tooru combined can probably kill damn near everything. He and his traps, she and her poisons and bombs. Chaika is really only there to perform the killing blow or break magical barriers.

[shinta|hikari]

I really like the Akari and Tooru scenes. The deadpan brocon comments and his exasperated parries are funny and cute.

[Buffalobiian]

Akari ftw! I gave the series 3-4 episodes, but I don't think they're going to explain what their chant does since they haven't by now. It seems to get them "battle-ready", but what I really want to know is whether it gives them any performance boost besides their mental-steeling.

[Archangel]

Episode 5 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=551903)

---

Ok so obviously the army of Chaikas is some fail safe the Emperor had in place in the occurrence of his untimely demise. What's funny and i hope gets mentioned is how the red one has a bigger bust than the white one, poor girl can't catch a break.

The animation quality is awful though, very inconsistent.

[Kraco]

Ok so obviously the army of Chaikas is some fail safe the Emperor had in place in the occurrence of his untimely demise.

Yeah. Though I still would like to know what was the Great Old One present when Chaika was "schooled" in the intro. Was that perhaps some deity/demon that had empowered the Emperor himself as well?

Having multiple Chaikas made the story a bit more interesting and unique. Although we already knew there had been more before, but not that they were present at the same time. Quite efficient, of course, to collect the remains that way.

Where did the dragon go? She ran away after scratching Tooru, but I thought that was only temporary. But it looks like she's not with them at all anymore. There's no way she would have skipped the fight if she was present. It would be quite lousy if she simply reappears once this conflict is over, with some stupid excuse. It would be an ultimate artificial plot device.

[Xelbair]

I bet that each Chaika has different emotional theme - this one wants to just give rest to father, red one has revenge, other colours = other emotions/reasons to gather remains.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 5 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=551903)

---

Ok so obviously the army of Chaikas is some fail safe the Emperor had in place in the occurrence of his untimely demise. What's funny and i hope gets mentioned is how the red one has a bigger bust than the white one, poor girl can't catch a break.


That would not explain the "reattachment scar" around their necks, nor the memory blank. A more consistent explanation would be that the real daughter was beheaded during the war, and these "clones" are a result of trying to bring her back. That process took X amount of years and succeeded 1 year ago. Each one was brought back with only a "part" of her emotions/soul. That may also be why their speech is incomplete like that.

I'm not sure if they're going to become whole again by the end of the series, but to me the probability is high.

There may well have been some plans that were put in place before the Emperor died, but these clones seem too "incomplete" to be part of a well thought-out plan.


Where did the dragon go? She ran away after scratching Tooru, but I thought that was only temporary. But it looks like she's not with them at all anymore. There's no way she would have skipped the fight if she was present. It would be quite lousy if she simply reappears once this conflict is over, with some stupid excuse. It would be an ultimate artificial plot device.

I think Fredrica will come in right at the end to end the fight. Those enchanted birds looked pretty powerful in the preview and the Saboteurs don't seem to have much anti-air capabilities.

PS: Red Chaika... :3.
PPS: Still, can't beat the reaction at 8:13. Equally amusing was how "mean" our protagonists were in comparison with the 'bandits'.

[shinta|hikari]

The siblings have never been the most moral and upright characters from the start, and that is great.

I like how they both stripped the Chaikas.

[Kraco]

The torture was so exceedingly cruel. Only the most immoral and downright characters would be capable of such inhuman treatment of a prisoner.

[shinta|hikari]

Without being sarcastic, it really was cruel. It ripped apart her pride because her stomach rumbled involuntarily at the sight of temptation.

[Ryllharu]

While I am certain the two are not above traditional torture, they weren't going to do it to someone who looks exactly like their employer. Both are decent judges of character and can figure out the better way to deal with her. Tooru isn't the kind of person who shies away from stabbing someone in the arm and leaving them to bleed out (giving him more time accomplish his goal), but they use what they needed to.

Akari's idea of a joke is to make lethal attacks at Tooru.

They both knew it would only take that much to get her to talk.

...and no, that wasn't remotely cruel or even cold of them. The two of them would not hesitate to poison or eviscerate someone if that's what it took.

[Ryllharu]

Hitsugi no Chaika - 06 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=554340)


Sequel confirmed (https://twitter.com/ChaikaTrabant/status/466594015639773186) for the Fall if you can read Japanese!
(Note: I can't, but that's what translators are for.)
---------------



I appreciate that the two Chiaka teams are largely opposites. White Chaika is their primary mage while Tooru and Akari are the both the physical attacking and utility members. With Red Chaika, she's clearly the primary attacker while her team provides utility/defense and magic capacity. It's nice that not all the Chaikas out there are as needy and naïve as white Chaika. She can't even attack without someone to defend her while she charges up (that said, it seems she's always the finisher on their powerful foes).

It's also good that Tooru and Akari are so untrusting of everyone they encounter. As he said, white Chaika is clearly weak in that area, so the two of them are needed to make up for her differences. The siblings truly are experts at espionage and undermining ones enemies, appearing to let their guards down while Akari snuck around for the kill. It's nice that they've already found a way to incorporate Fredrika without having to rely on her overpowering strength or blowing their cover within city limits.

Fredrika is still rather unreliable and capricious, so I don't think they'll have too much an issue with her in terms of her otherwise being too much of an advantage. She's just as likely to watch from the sidelines as she is to help. Quite the shift from her introduction and fierce loyalty, but not a bad one.

On the downside, BONES is clearly overworked. Chaika and Soul Eater Not look like crap with loads of bad animation and goofy faces. Captain Earth looks fine (and is obviously where all the money was put), but three series in a season was clearly too much for them. It's been getting worse by the episode.

Random thoughts:
- Red Chiaka is sweet on Tooru, tries to lure him away by any means necessary.
- It's a wonder that the other nations were able to kill off the emperor in the first place. Suppressing farmers is more important to them than a flock of Chiakas running around, collecting his bits for superweapons.
- Whenever Chaika uses "The Flasher!" I always think it is going to explode clothing like the typical series nowadays. This notion is reinforced by her cooking skills.
- How is Tooru sharpening his knife with a wooden stick?! (10:49)

[shinta|hikari]

He wasn't sharpening his knife. He was carving a large piece of wood into the shape of a small wooden stick.

[Buffalobiian]

He wasn't sharpening his knife. He was carving a large piece of wood into the shape of a small wooden stick.

Using the flat of his blade? I would be seriously troubled if I was in Touru's shoes. Red Chaika has a lot going for her.

[Kraco]

I thought he was scraping off cockatrice remains from his blades. Sharpening with a wooden stick isn't really appropriate, after all.

I bet Akari is also happier with white Chaika, who is far more innocent and wouldn't purposefully create dangerous situations with Tooru. Red Chaika would probably use her more developed body to a good effect to deepen her bond with Tooru.

[shinta|hikari]

But Tooru would not fall for someone like that. White Chaika is far more dangerous in that respect, because she has most of what Akari lacks.

[Kraco]

But Tooru would not fall for someone like that. White Chaika is far more dangerous in that respect, because she has most of what Akari lacks.

Hmm... That's an excellent point. I never thought about that. I guess I still have a long way to go...

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 07 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=556838), 08 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=559238), 09 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=561412)

------------------------------------------------











I rather miss red-Chaika. She spices this show up a bit, especially when nothing much happens in the meanwhile.

[shinta|hikari]

Filler for this show is still good. I just love all the characters now. I usually dislike the innocent types, but Chaika is adorable, especially with those eyebrows (which I usually dislike).

Some background and foreshadowing about their "older brother" was welcome. It was also refreshing that instead of focusing on sad memories, the flashback of two born and trained assassins had a lot of fun in them as well.

[Kraco]

Tooru was different as a kid, but Akari is exactly the same. I wonder if the Tooru+big brother situation will turn out something like Sasuke+Itachi. It surely looked very reminiscent.

Otherwise this was a lackluster episode.

[Kraco]

Episode 10 - HS (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=563697)





- - - - - - -



I was thinking during this episode that Tooru and Akari have got really, really soft. If you compare their present state to how they were in the beginning of the show, there's quite a constrast. That's why I feel they pretty much deserved everything that happened in this episode. What comes to Fredrika, well, she's probably just rusty. Chaika can't be helped since she's so stupid. It ought to be Tooru's job to keep her on a short enough leash.

[Archangel]

Cool, blue Chaika.

I just can't get over how unpractical that coffin is, Gundos in general need to be more portable because right now that shit's just annoying.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I don't know what to think about this veiled Chaika. She can talk correctly...

[Buffalobiian]

"Chaika Layla" doesn't have as good a ring to it as the other two either. I suppose Akari's so used to attacking her brother that "seeing him get killed by her" won't be a wake-up trigger like it usually is for anime.

[shinta|hikari]

So Akari is fine with a stuffed Tooru. Fantastic. She is definitely my favorite character in this show, the least being Frederica.

However, I do want Frederica to devour that blonde brat after crushing him to death slowly using her dragon teeth, but only after Tooru gives him a schooling in dual wielding daggers. No one messes with Akari's breasts and gets away with it.

Tooru was indeed stupid for not trying to even look at Layla's face. It is pretty abnormal to trust someone under a mask.

Major props to Tooru if he can defeat Akari and all those random knights, but it is more likely that Frederica will wipe the fodder out so that Tooru can deal with Akari.

[Ryllharu]

I'd be more concerned about the enormity of Vivi's Death Flag. They've been foreshadowing her impending death so heavily, that they're bound to use it as some "twist" or another. Maybe she'll turn out to be another Chaika who somehow forgot about it! Her eyebrows are thicker in some shots...
Whatever it might be, they've been leading the audience along just a bit too obviously for me to fully trust it.

Fredericka definitely got taken out because she was too wound up about her impending fight with Tooru. Others may disagree, but I am fond of the idea that though they have this nearly immortal dragon-beast who can transform and all manner of other advantages...is fickle and is more than likely to go off and do her own thing instead of helping them. It gives the author an out instead of power creeping the protagonist team too early. She also desperately wants a fight to the death, making her allegiance to them dubious at best.


@shinta:
Akari has been talking about having Tooru stuffed since the beginning.

[shinta|hikari]

She was? I must have missed that. Or forgot about it due to alcohol.

I want Fredericka to do something though. She has been pretty inconsequential in battle despite being a battle crazed maniac, which makes it odd. Let her rampage once or twice to make her lack of screen time less forced.

[Ryllharu]

[HorribleSubs] Hitsugi no Chaika - 11 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=565847)


Wherein shit goes down.

A pity we'll have to wait until the Fall for episode 13.

---------------------



Here's to hoping Whore Chaika gets a taste of Chaika Trabant's The Ripper from the first episode.

I was legitimately almost as surprised that Whore Chaika's dress had a back to it as I was to what happened a minute later.

[Kraco]

Is Fredrika's second name Kenny or something? This is getting ridiculous, as if she was a joke on purpose. Although at least her "death" served the purpose of making those... things far more creepy.

I don't know why Tooru doesn't start to sabotage the fortress. He's a saboteur, so doing that would be the least to expect from him. There's no better way to turn the tables than to make the enemy panic and frantic. It ought to be especially easy in a flying fortress. I doubt it would instantly drop (which would be undesirable for everybody) but losing some altitude/mechanisms/pieces would divert the enemy's attention elsewhere.

Chaika is getting annoying. She's so stupid, helpless, and naive that I'm almost hoping the psycho brat actually will have time to cut her into nice, harmless pieces.

[Ryllharu]

I think that is normally what he and Akari would do, but given that she's brainwashed, and the two girls assured him it isn't all that hard to accomplish with drugs, he's reluctant to start wrecking the place until he finds Chaika and gets Akari back to her senses.

Isn't that what makes Chaika Trabant an aberration? They all have specific programmed goals, but hers is either damaged in the process or an accident. Red Chaika wants the remains to rebuild the empire. Whore Chiaka was (perhaps predictably) whoring herself to get the remains. Chaika Trabant just wants them...

Whore Chaika can claim white Chaika was programmed to evoke sympathy, but she actually is just randomly good natured. Even if Whore Chaika is correct, white Chiaka is the leftovers after all the ambitious parts of were divided off. She earnestly believes that their "father" should simply be buried. She's been fairly helpful along the way, even insisting on rescuing the bandits when she had little reason to do so. She got a little backstory out of it, nothing else. Red and Whore Chaika's would have left her to be executed.

It is also interesting to note that Chaika Trabant is, thus far, the strongest individually and has the most utility.

Red Chaika is a better fighter, Whore Chaika is more articulated, but POV Chaika is the only one who can actually obtain a number of the remains without direct assistance. Red Chaika can't break magic barriers, can't dispel magical illusions. She needs someone else to do it. Whore Chaika can only drug people to give them to her...but only if they are willing to get that close to her. I doubt Red Chaika could obliterate Fredericka, even with friends in tow. Whore Chaika would have no chance at all. Of the ones we've seen so far, white Chaika is the only one who had even a remote chance of success. Her magic, while slower casting, also seems like an order of magnitude stronger than any other gundo-mage we've seen...and she has a LOT of spells.

[Kraco]

Her magic, while slower casting, also seems like an order of magnitude stronger than any other gundo-mage we've seen...and she has a LOT of spells.

Then why is she beating the door with her fists instead of her rifle? In fact she should have dug out her rifle by now and waited for the next time somebody came through the door. And used The Ripper. Instead she's waiting like a perfect guest and chatting with the enemy while her friends are fighting for their lives.

[shinta|hikari]

It's cause she is stupid.

But she is awfully cute so that is OK.

Cute is justice.

Even Chaika wanting to help others might be her programming, so that people like Tooru who are susceptible to innocent and righteous types will come to her aid. However, what does it matter? Programmed or not, one's personality is what you feel and how you act. DNA and upbringing is practically the same. Not being the "real" Chaika might be cause for a shock, but having an "artificial" personality should not. She has managed all this time without finding it odd after all.

[KrayZ33]

holy crap, that beta scared the sh*t out of me

ah man, this show is clearly my favorite this season, the music has something going for it too

[Buffalobiian]

Even Chaika wanting to help others might be her programming, so that people like Tooru who are susceptible to innocent and righteous types will come to her aid. However, what does it matter? Programmed or not, one's personality is what you feel and how you act. DNA and upbringing is practically the same. Not being the "real" Chaika might be cause for a shock, but having an "artificial" personality should not. She has managed all this time without finding it odd after all.

That's pretty much how I think about being adopted and not being a "real" child of your parent - it really doesn't matter.

It still seems like Layla was of perfect speech right from the start. There's been no mention that she's a "later" model. I'll guess that's just the way things have to be, or else she would have given her identity away under that veil. She's also a prime example of too much makeup. Chaika Bohudan is still the hottest.

Chaika Trabant may have the highest potential, but she'd get conned before she even started her mission. The other two perform way better than her just for being more street-wise. If we're talking about unaided ability, Bohudan takes the cake.

[Kraco]

Yeah. By probability Trabant should be robbed and conned penniless, or likely worse, with the world in such disarray and criminals and jobless vagabonds running around left and right. She had exceptional luck to run into Tooru and Akari. Without those two, she wouldn't get anything done. While she has battle potential, it's more or less pure support. She might get one or two shots in from a sniping position, but that's as far as she would go since her job isn't assassination. She's so stupid otherwise that she couldn't achieve anything beyond that. Instead she needs saving from situations her naivety gets her into.

I like Bogdan the best of the Chaikas so far. Even design/cuteness wise (although it's more like hotness talking about her).

[shinta|hikari]

Without Tooru, Chaika would have died from starvation in the forest...

[Ryllharu]

Whore Chaika has correct speech because it is part of her "Chiaka Profile" for lack of a better term. She's meant to cajole, seduce, and persuade. It makes sense for her not to have the "chaika accent."

Trabant being the "helpless" type is the least eloquent one so far, playing into her own type as well. Support she may be, but helpless she is not. Until we see another color that can kill magical beasts on her own that even fighters assume engagement is suicide, I still say white Chaika is the strongest overall. She only needs someone to hold off her foes until she's done casting, and once she has, she generally one-shots.

[Archangel]

The thing about Trabant however is that she's a support type Chaika, the only one we've seen so far. Her set of skills and personality is only really useful if someone else is running the show.

[KrayZ33]

Ep 12

Nice ending, everyone got what he or she deserved, except for Akari... hitting that mage with that sledge of hers must suffice for the time being

[Buffalobiian]

I honestly thought Frederica was going to die again just as another gag. Guess she lives up to her name when she's actually in the form of a Dragoon.

[Kraco]

except for Akari... hitting that mage with that sledge of hers must suffice for the time being

That was the best scene of the episode. It was funny in a morbid way how there was no fight or anything. She just walked in and bashed his head. Tooru must have been nearly exhausted not being able to deal with the kid without getting himself hurt in the process. It's quite obvious the kid did have some training, but otherwise his experience was probably from cutting helpless people. In some ways he was similar to Fate Zero's Ryuunosuke, so I guess it's fitting his death scene was the same.

With white hair Vivi looks like another Chaika.

[shinta|hikari]

It was weird how Tooru still carried Chaika's coffin with all the injuries he has sustained. He spoils that girl so much. Akari deserves at least some of that attention. She should stop her kuuyan act and just go plain dere if she wants a chance.

[Munsu]

Just finished the first season, really enjoyed it... though a bit unbalanced. But it's fine.

My only real pet-peeve at the moment is that when the Saboteurs do their iron blood magic, the change/improvement of their skills is not noticeable at all. They seem to perform pretty much the same with or without it. So the gimmick is fairly pointless at the moment for me.

Anyways, season 2 is coming out soon.

[shinta|hikari]

There was one point where it was obvious. Tooru needed the spell to fight the other Chaika and her minion 2 vs 1. He managed to beat red Chaika 1 vs 1 but no easily. A 2 vs 1 scenario would have been impossible without a power up.

[Munsu]

There was one point where it was obvious. Tooru needed the spell to fight the other Chaika and her minion 2 vs 1. He managed to beat red Chaika 1 vs 1 but no easily. A 2 vs 1 scenario would have been impossible without a power up.

I don't think it was that obvious as there's no telling if he would've fared the same with or without it. Of course, for storytelling purposes he "needed" it, but from a skill/performance (at least observable) context, there's little to no change.

I guess the change is quite subtle for something that seems to be able to enhance his performance more.

[Buffalobiian]

I could never quite work out whether it increased his physical strength or sharpened his perception or mental fortitude. It also doesn't seem to drain him after use that would make it a limited powerup.

[Munsu]

I could never quite work out whether it increased his physical strength or sharpened his perception or mental fortitude. It also doesn't seem to drain him after use that would make it a limited powerup.

It seemed to drain him in the first episode if not mistaken when he fought the unicorn, but don't recall him getting tired again during the season until the last episode, and then he had been fighting for quite a bit and running a shit ton of stairs an what not.

[shinta|hikari]

The fact that they do not use it wantonly implies that it drains them somehow.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I think he just says it to be cool like Archer.

[Kraco]

Maybe it's like one of those potions in RPGs: +15% to all stats. So, it wouldn't really be so noticeable to the audience.

[Ryllharu]

My impression was that it doesn't appear to do anything until it wears off. It keeps their abilities constant for the duration of the fight. It's a berserker type spell. They won't get tired so long as it is active, but once they turn it off, they feel the effects. The decrease in abilities from the pain of injuries or fatigue all seem to rush back at once. Tooru recovers from some pretty bad hits very quickly when it is on.

It's definitely less noticeable in Akari because she already has much higher endurance.

The unicorn was one of the hardest fights, so it was shown the most obvious there.

edit:
It's like Randel's blue lantern from Pumpkin Scissors.

[Munsu]

Maybe it's like one of those potions in RPGs: +15% to all stats. So, it wouldn't really be so noticeable to the audience.

Hence my pet-peeve, if it's not noticeable to me, then it's a useless entertainment skill... doesn't add anything to my enjoyment other than a cooler character design.



My impression was that it doesn't appear to do anything until it wears off. It keeps their abilities constant for the duration of the fight. It's a berserker type spell. They won't get tired so long as it is active, but once they turn it off, they feel the effects. The decrease in abilities from the pain of injuries or fatigue all seem to rush back at once. Tooru recovers from some pretty bad hits very quickly when it is on.

It's definitely less noticeable in Akari because she already has much higher endurance.

The unicorn was one of the hardest fights, so it was shown the most obvious there.

edit:
It's like Randel's blue lantern from Pumpkin Scissors.

It might be like Randel in a way, but the difference with him is that there's an incredible and very noticeable chance in the character.

I guess the main problem, regardless of what the power manages to do or not, is that for the viewer little if anything really changed in any appreciative manner.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - S02 Episode 01 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=606941)

----------------------











Very enjoyable episode to get us back into the groove of things, with progress too besides a simple re-introduction. They made it clear this episode that the chant boosts physical attributes including speed and strength. It did seem rather exaggerated though with Akari smashing rocks and Touru pulling trees from their roots.

Trainer-hero aside, the most interesting fact is that Chaikas are not merely created, but also transformed/activated.

[Kraco]

Trainer-hero aside, the most interesting fact is that Chaikas are not merely created, but also transformed/activated.

Yeah. I hope the Great Old One we saw will be explained as well. But it's good we are getting bits and pieces. I wonder what's going to happen to Vivi. It doesn't look like her personality has changed, at the very least, apart from the change caused by losing her love interest. But she's probably a wreck in any case.

This hero is quite a polite one. It doesn't look like she's even using the relic for anything, unless she's really good at hiding the truth.

Only one ep in and I'm already feeling sorry for Fredrika.

[shinta|hikari]

What would happen again if Tooru became a Dragon Knight? Will he lose his saboteur powers?

[Buffalobiian]

What would happen again if Tooru became a Dragon Knight? Will he lose his saboteur powers?

I don't think so. I don't recall anything about having to specialise into one or the other.

[Ryllharu]

As Frederika explained it in her introduction episode, he would heal faster and be able to borrow/duplicate her powers. I don't think it would make him lose his Acura Clan saboteur powers so much as change his fighting style completely. It's kinda hard to justify that sort of shift when he and Akari are such an effective combo.

Then again, she already bit him, so he should be healing faster anyway. Unless that faded when she had to revert to her smaller body. I don't remember.

[KrayZ33]

This show doesn't lack anything in the action department. The "fight choreography" has always been top-notch

[Ryllharu]

[HorribleSubs] Chaika S2 - 02 (http://nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=609961)

Chaika's aplenty this episode!



----------------

If there was any doubt that Vivi is a Chaika, that should be safely erased with seeing her neck scar flashed briefly on screen. I still wonder what kind of Chaika she is though.

- White Chaika the Funeral one, laying their father peacefully to rest and gathering followers with her friendly disposition, pitiable self-reliance, and caring attitude.
- Red is the Vengeance one, combat ready and acquiring allies with...faith in her abilities I guess. She's not doing a good job at it at all though, especially if she is leaving heroes alive after she takes the remains from them.
- Blue was the Whore Chaika, using her good grasp of language and feminine slutty wiles to find allies and was theoretically supposed to regain the remains using subterfuge.

So what does that make Vivi? She is arguably more broken than any of the others, because she wasn't really complete and lost all of her memories. Even Guy states she is still incomplete. I assume she was meant to be more sociable like Whore Chaika, but I'm not certain what methodology she was meant to perform. Political Infiltrator Chiaka?

...and then in the preview we see...twin Chaikas?


Glad to see Red Chaika again. I do greatly enjoy her "burei!" catchphrase. Chaika's "kansha," might end up being a close second to that. Things are heating up now that she's decided to directly compete with Chaika because she's still a quite miffed about being rebuked by Tooru.

I'm not sure what to make of the "What are the Chaikas really?" mystery. Chaika's flashback of being killed is somewhat telling, as are all their neck scars, but if she was killed by the heroes during the siege, how could they all have been revived on an island somewhere quite distant? The mage who told the heroes about it stated that the other wizard left some time before the assault began.

I also hope Claudia isn't killed accidently or for some dumbass reason. She's too awesome to be killed by red Chaika, Vivi, or whoever these forces shown in the preview are (though we should certainly recognize one of them).

[Kraco]

I'm not sure what to make of the "What are the Chaikas really?" mystery. Chaika's flashback of being killed is somewhat telling, as are all their neck scars, but if she was killed by the heroes during the siege, how could they all have been revived on an island somewhere quite distant? The mage who told the heroes about it stated that the other wizard left some time before the assault began.

Who knows if the Emperor ever had a daughter. Maybe he only had Chaikas to begin with. They might have been a collection of heads sharing the memories of a single head with a body. Until the experiment was over and the one with a body was slain as the Emperor's daughter. The wizard sent away then equipped them all with bodies, but their memories were ruined. The wizard and the Great Old One we saw in the first ep.

[Buffalobiian]

HS S02E03 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=613308)

-------------------------










Frederica being taken down was the biggest surprise this episode, even more so than the hero being a wimp. There's also the cavalier guy and Shin, but I don't really care about those guys enough to remember them when I initially wrote this post. They just seem to fill the "adversary who have a past with our heroes" role without much build-up.

[Kraco]

Frederica being taken down was the biggest surprise this episode

A surprise? She's the Kenny of this show. Her only role is to be taken down in various manners in every arc.

[shinta|hikari]

A surprise? She's the Kenny of this show. Her only role is to be taken down in various manners in every arc.

Indeed. Poor girl.

Chaika pissed me off. Why did she let Tooru walk off like that? It felt too unnatural considering the romantic feelings she has for him. They even kissed, right?

[Buffalobiian]

She feels that she had no right to call him back after she sent him away. I can understand that. "I didn't mean that" could be followed up with "Then why did you say it?", to which I'd have no answer.

[shinta|hikari]

"Because it was in the heat of the moment," would be my answer.

[Buffalobiian]

"So you meant it in the heat of the moment?"

[shinta|hikari]

Nope. People say random shit when they are emotional. I personally don't, but I've been a victim to such stupidity several times. They aren't even thinking at that point, so attributing intention to whatever was said is pointless.

I really understand your viewpoint, and I similarly lament how people don't make sense like that. But reality is what it is.

[Kraco]

I don't think that was the case here, at least mainly. Like Akari said, Chaika is really bad with words and perhaps emotions and expressions in general. Unfortunately Tooru dealt with her here as if she was a regular person, using the old trick of declaring the deal is finished if she doesn't change her mind. Being as obstinate as he was, he furthermore didn't even seem to consider the fact Chaika might proceed alone after her employees abandoned her. Quite arrogant, really, from Tooru who has often enough said that as long as the deal is in effect, he and Akari will do their utmost to see Chaika's goals met. Now it seemed like Chaika wasn't allowed to set her own goals. In short, this was more like Tooru forgetting who he was and less about heat of the moment. This would have been more normal behavior from a friend or a lover, but Tooru himself keeps saying all the time he and Akari are nothing but professionals Chaika hired for a job.

[Buffalobiian]

Chaika is really bad with words

http://i.imgur.com/d2naprf.jpg


Unfortunately Tooru dealt with her here as if she was a regular person, using the old trick of declaring the deal is finished if she doesn't change her mind.

It wasn't a trick or threat to make her change her mind. Touru takes pride in his role. He won't change masters once he's employed. Likewise, he takes any talk of dismissing him just as seriously.

I do agree that he was way more opinionated here than he otherwise should have been though, considering how he said he'd follow orders and desires. He was still hung up with the original order/desire.

[shinta|hikari]

Tooru only made logical arguments that centered on Chaika's protection, yet she reacted by telling them that she would go by herself if need be. I agree with Buff. That comment must have really hurt Tooru. It was pretty obvious seeing him sulk like a child after he left.

People want to be needed, more so if they pride themselves in loyalty. A saboteur being told by his employer that he isn't necessary is probably quite the insult, or at least disappointment, if he expected his presence to be more important to Chaika.

[Kraco]

People want to be needed, more so if they pride themselves in loyalty. A saboteur being told by his employer that he isn't necessary is probably quite the insult, or at least disappointment, if he expected his presence to be more important to Chaika.

Nah. A saboteur repeatedly told by his employer there's a change of plans only needs to shut up and begin to adapt to the new situation. A friend might argue against the change, even resort to this kind of stunt of seemingly marching away, hoping it will revert the decision. Tooru simply doesn't know if he wants to be an employee, like he keeps telling, or if he wants to be something more. His words and actions are in a disagreement right now.

[Ryllharu]

The only thing that mattered to me was that Akari was in prime form all episode.

It was interesting that the members of the Emperor Killing Squad were quite the varied bunch. Three became recluses (Dominica, the canyon dude and the woods dude), Claudia and Clay Morgan returned to largely normal lives and either ignored or were afraid of the remains, and two (mage guy from beginning and Hartgen) are out to exploit the remains for there own power.

Hartgen seems to be the big asshole though. He violently murdered the "original" Chaika, fervently went after the Emperor, and now seems to be hiring the Acura clan and gathering all the remains in his giant palace of clear evil (because it is all black and filled with spires straight out of a JRPG Boss Realty Listing). He certainly seems in on the thing from the beginning, back when the Emperor was attacked in the first place.

[shinta|hikari]

Nah. A saboteur repeatedly told by his employer there's a change of plans only needs to shut up and begin to adapt to the new situation. A friend might argue against the change, even resort to this kind of stunt of seemingly marching away, hoping it will revert the decision. Tooru simply doesn't know if he wants to be an employee, like he keeps telling, or if he wants to be something more. His words and actions are in a disagreement right now.

You do know that if Chaika didn't say that and simply kept telling Tooru that she wanted to prioritize the treasure, he would have given in, right? He gave in after acting all emo, after all.

[Buffalobiian]

HS -S02E04 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=616826)

---------------------------------------------










No touch. Rude!



The joy that Sexy Chaika brings us...

[Buffalobiian]

HS - S02E05 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=619742)

-----------------------------------------























Same formula of seeing Chaikas do cute things I suppose (00-Chaika tag team, topped off with Chaika's "stick close to me")

[lelouch]

S2 seems to be a lot more exciting than S1. Lol at Red Chaika's use of White Chaika's trademarked "Kansha". Great battle scenes this episode.

[Kraco]

Tooru's life would be so safe, empty, safe, boring, safe, unexciting, and safe without Chaika. He really shouldn't try to walk away from her again. What would he do with all those years of life left without Chaika? In her company he doesn't need to worry about the future; no use worrying about something so fleeting.

I have to say it was a pretty funny scene where Tooru was escorted by only a single guard and then the guard turned his back to Tooru to open the door. "Really?" was all I could think at that point. No wonder the scumbag scientist wizard was displeased by his underlings.

The new shapeshifting girl is quite an interesting addition to the group. And one more character named after a car. I wonder if the author is a fan of Nanoha, or something, but doesn't dare go all out.

[shinta|hikari]

Tooru's face said the exact same "Really?" at that point.

[Ryllharu]

[HorribleSubs] Chaika Avenging Battle - 06 (http://nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=622559), 07 (http://nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=625144), 08 (http://nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=627734)

----------------


Why is it that the Chaikas who can speak well are the biggest bitches and the most arrogant? Layla was a vicious skank, Vivi is a flat-out bitch to everyone, and black Chaika is worse than Layla was in pretty much every way (man, Tange Sakura (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=creator&creatorid=483) is good at playing evil characters lately).

You can contrast them to Bogdan and Trabant, who are honorable, generally pleasant, humble, and kind. Both struggle to use this country's language (or any for that matter). Bogdan tries to scheme now and again, but she only does it half-heartedly.

Despite this, guess which ones are better at obtaining remains? The nicer two. Black Layla sits in Hartgen's castle, luring them to come to her, but for all the Chaika's she and Hartgen have killed, Chaika Trabant still seems to have the biggest set of remain. Once red Chaika adopted white Chaika's strategy, she too started to make a good amount of headway, to the point that the two of them were racing each other to the next hero.

I suppose you could say Guy was luring and aiding both white and red Chaika in helping Hartgen's Chaika, but it is hard to get around the fact that the bitchy, scheming Chaika's aren't really good at gathering remains for their associated arrogance.

In this latest episode, I was really hoping Red and White Chaika would team up again and try to kill the black Chaikas. Bring them down from their balcony and really prove which was the best one.

With Niva lurking around, I can only assume she will switch her loyalty back to white Chaika, defying Guy and Hartgen's Chaika, and Toru will contract with Frederica to become a dragoon knight. They have been hinting pretty hard blatantly stating that Toru is a shitty saboteur because he is too sentimental (and honorable).

[KrayZ33]

I expect Touro to make a contract with the dragoon soon.

"You were right, I'm not fit to be a Saboteur, but I have other ways and other weapons to fight with"

[Kraco]

I'll never understand why anybody with an objective of their own would play according to the house rules in a tournament such as this. Akari and Frederica were kind of doing what I'd have expected, but it's still dodgy since there was no coordination. They were against the whole nation, since the opponent is a king, so what good is it to use only two when they have four available? Especially when they, unlike all the nameless mob we saw, should have had a hunch the king wouldn't necessarily honour his own game. At the very latest when they were accused of having broken the rules, they should have abandoned all ideas of following instructions, as after that it would be obvious they would only be either used like tools or disposed of.

If Tooru still refuses to become a dragoon knight, he's a clinical fool. He's too weak at the moment, and there's no way he wouldn't know it.

[Kraco]

Episode 9 - HS





- - - - - - -





Chaika, Tooru, and Akari ought to become quite infamous people after this, unless they very quickly fix the situation. After all, they collected most of the remains, plus the treasure (Niva), and delivered them to Hartgen. You could say they created the emperor anew, even if the arrogant black Chaika tried to claim all the credit. Hartgen's brain had really deteriorated, though. Maybe the twin Chaika's had been feeding him some nasty poison (like vodka). Well, he got what he deserved, so who cares. In my opinion Tooru and Akari would be entitled to some big reward. Like all of Hartgen's treasury. It's not like the emperor would need any of it.

[Archangel]

Into original end land we go, no stops on the full retard train! Choo chooo

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 10 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=633158)

---------------------------












I'm quite content with this ending. I wouldn't have said it was anime original if Ark didn't say it, despite how quickly the end came about. There are worse.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm not. That was utterly retarded.

The only good things about that ending were the action and Frederica being hilariously useless til the end. Even the dragoon contract was pretty useless. It all boiled down to the deus ex machina, "I have a personality," bullshit.

Even the harem epilogue was weak. We don't even know if Chaika's memory got wiped and to what extent if it was.

To be fair, the action in this episode was great as usual. This show excels in action direction.

I think anime original endings are intentionally made horrible. Someone who has managed to adapt the rest of the story quite well could not fail this much unless he/she intended to. I'm guessing a terrible anime ending will compel people to buy the light novels and follow the series, driving sales of the books up. I, for one, will start reading the light novels, but I won't buy them just to spite those who came up with this ending.

[Kraco]

I'm forced to agree with Shinta, though my words wouldn't have been so harsh. The worst parts were the abruptness of it and indeed the "I have a personality" solution to everything. It would have still been cool if Niva had simply refused to shoot Chaika, but that's it. Of course then they wouldn't have had any way to end the show. Funniest of all is that Niva saved the day (and the world) by having a personality, yet the "happy" end had her locked away in some storage while everybody else lived their lives happily ever after. What the hell was the ending writer thinking? Niva should have been there with the rest of the heroes, granting her robotic friendship to the recuperating Chaika.

Frederica's role really was pitiful from the beginning till the end. I can't help but feel sorry for the poor draconeko. Even finally getting the contract wasn't any good considering Tooru's state of mind and motives. I suppose it wouldn't really matter to her so much in the sense she only wanted to fight, but it still wasn't fair.

[Buffalobiian]

My attachment for this show had been steadily going downhill since 2/3 of the way through Season 1, so that my explain my indifference.


Even the harem epilogue was weak. We don't even know if Chaika's memory got wiped and to what extent if it was. It was wiped completely, I'd imagine. She looked completely blank and seemed like she could barely walk at the end.

The personality -> storage development was funny, though promptly forgotten.

[Archangel]

Original endings: Not even once

[Munsu]

Finally managed to watch the second season, and I concur with you guys this was quite weak. Wasn't much of a fan of the Chaika character in the first place, hate these types of characters, so the poor plotting that enfolded the 2nd season didn't help matters all that much.

Oh well, at least the action was entertaining overall.