Chaika: The Coffin Princess

Omfgakitten★ 9

First and foremost, I went into Chaika without greatly high expectation as I hadn't heard too much about it, it was one of the least hyped shows airing at the moment. And it turns out that it was also one of the most underrated! So let's begin... Story - 9/10. The story of this anime may not look particularly original if you only read the synopsis, but getting into it it provides a really satisfying adventure-filled romp through various places. I didn't find the story either too simple or too complex, it was filled with just the right amount of twists and turns and didn't overcomplicate itself with overlywordy explanations, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't pay it full attention, as it's full of little details. What also made this enjoyable to me was the lack of fanservice - a nice refreshing change from a lot of the anime currently airing (similar to WIXOSS), which I think would have detracted from the story. Art - 8/10. Although it may not be the "standard" anime style, I really enjoyed the art of Chaika. It was refreshing and original, and I thought it gave the characters actual character. It looked really nice in HD and the colours were fitting - dark and gloomy when the mood called for it, and lighter neutral tones when needed. I also enjoyed the fact that Frederica (sp?) was not animated in 3D - this can often look clunky and out of place in anime, so it was nice to see. The 3D animation that there was (the air ships, some of the magic effects) actually fit in nicely with the overall art style and did not detract from the anime at all. The fights were also really well animated - they didn't look ridiculous, or impossible, instead going for a more believable style. Sound - 8/10. What I really liked about Chaika was not the sound, although a really good job was done with it. The opening theme, DARAKENA, is catchy and sets the mood for the anime quite well, and the background sounds within the anime were fitting - the mood was also set by little piano parts and punchier music. The characters' voices were excellent for their character - they could have made the mistake of making Chaika too "moe", and although her voice was pretty high pitched it never seemed to fall into that trap, at least not for me. It portrayed her apparent innocence very well. I also liked the fact that Akari's voice was a bit more mature sounding, as often in anime now even girls in their 20s sound like they are 5, which is frustrating. Character - 9/10. And here we come to my favourite part of Chaika. The cast of characters I thought was phenomenal - you have the two main characters, Toru and Akari, brother and sister but not by blood, Chaika, the coffin princess, Frederica the dragoon and a host of other side characters, each of which added something to the story. The interactions between the main characters are funny, sometimes adorable and always somewhat believable. Akari is obsessed with Toru, but it's a running gag that this show does not overuse so it doesn't come across as needy and annoying. And they both have an actual personality to support such gags, as opposed to them being essentially token characters. Chaika is a bit of a mystery - she seems innocent and pure, however throughout the story she is made to doubt herself and her purpose. I can't say much more without spoiling the story. I found even the side characters had their place in Chaika, either adding another bit of comedy, seriousness and depth - the mysterious entity telling Chaika where to find remains, Gilette-sama and his band of followers and various other parties are met along the way and they all add a little something more to Chaika. Enjoyment - 9/10. Of course I very much enjoyed Chaika, I thought it was a fun, heartwarming and exciting experience. I fell in love with the characters very quickly, they're so well written and none of them seem out of place. I would recommend this anime to anyone who enjoys a fun adventure story with bits of comedy and a lot of magic.

nomnhah★ 7

It’s always difficult to review shows like Hitsugi no Chaika - ones that are clearly enjoyable to watch, but not necessarily of high quality. The characters are nice, though flat; the world is mysterious and intriguing, though it doesn't remain so; and the politics and ideologies are interesting, though simple. It’s the type of show you might marathon some lonely weekend, enjoying as you watch it, and then completely forget about. The show takes you through the adventures of Chaika Trabant, Toru Acura, and Akari Acura to recapture the remains of a deceased, tyrannical king - Emperor Gaz.The king was a “bad guy” who loved war, and thus the question throughout the series is whether war is a positive or negative good. Don’t expect this to be investigated too much; this is not one of the better shows on the morality of war, like Now and Then, Here and There. But they do interesting things with the motif. Along with that, questions of identity begin to pop up, prominently for Chaika but also for others; the question of how we determine and relate our identities to what we think, or what history claims, us to be becomes a formative point for a variety of characters. Many of the other reviews seem to praise the storyline - and I can see why. There is a sense of scope, of ambition, in the epic suggestions the story attempts to suggest. But to end a review at what the show attempts to do, and to forget how it actually turns out, does a disservice to readers. There are little interesting details, but Hitsugi no Chaika doesn’t do this particularly well. There is a vague alliance of nations - the Six Nations - that serve as the constant backdrop to the adventures of our hero and heroines - they really only come into play when the show wants to show how badass the villain is, who will inevitably destroy their slow fleet. They might be vaguely based on European kingdoms. That “bad” king? He ruled for a long time, did bad stuff with magic. Never really elaborated. You will never truly be invested in the world Hitsugi no Chaika describes, because we’re not really meant to be invested in it. Rather, we’re drawn to the characters. Toru Acura is a lazy bum of a saboteur, one bored dry by the armistice with the Gaz Empire drawn up fifteen years prior. His passion for fighting and the saboteur lifestyle has led him to become idle in the era of peace. Akari, his sister, is...well, into her brother. That’s really her most important quality. The show plays up her fascination to outrageous, hilarious degrees. Chaika, with her adorably broken Engrish, grows and develops as a character during their adventures to retrieve Emperor Gaz’ body parts. Soon others pop up too, but the focus remains on the core three - for awhile, at least. Again, don’t expect too much here. The characters are nice, but nothing to write a paper on. Peppered throughout are plenty of adequate action scenes - occasionally, they’re even awesome, though only occasionally. The fights are distinguished by teamwork and cooperation, which give an exciting and tangible feel to an otherwise confusing battle system. For example: Toru and Akari - both hired by Chaika as saboteur bodyguards - heighten their powers via the Iron and Blood Transformation, an unexplained technique that, well, makes them more durable. Why? Because lineage, one supposes. The music is decent, nothing extraordinary. Decent art - nothing to write home about. Clearly I’m not enamored by the series - but I tuned in to watch it, and its sequel, every week. As long as you don’t expect too much from the show, I recommend it to everyone - especially to those who love a series that hints at a large, almost epic scope. I don’t think the series really keeps that hope alive for very long, as most of the promising things about the series fail to live up; they are, instead of becoming great, wholly adequate. Chaika might be among the most adequate shows I’ve ever seen - everything is fine, nothing is particularly great. I don’t intend to pretend that this show is worth a particularly high rating - it simply is not relative to other anime series, and I think anime scores should be, in some fashion, relative to the quality of other anime. Don’t let the numbers deter you, though - we all easily gravitate towards 10s and the like. Sometimes a light, lower score is still worth a watch - often, in fact. Chaika is an instance of a show that does everything alright - sometimes bad, sometimes good, but rarely great - and can entertain you without blowing you away.