Chained Soldier Episode 11 aired on Thursday giving fans a bunch of action and fan service. Which one is new? But while I could argue that the fights were pretty average in many ways, the crux of the episode was what excited me more than anything else. (Spoilers ahead)
Interesting cliffhanger
Shikoku and Jouryuu appearing at the end isn’t exactly a surprise as they’ve been teased a few times at this point, especially in last week’s episode as well. So I’d say the shock value of them getting into the fight at the end comes from both of them just showing off how much stronger they are than anyone else there.
Not much is known about these two other than what they do’said at this point and in this episode we learned they’re basically gods (because fighting them is always fun). I wouldn’t say I was impressed with either of their characters, but then again, I was the same with Aoba and her group, and still am. At least with Shikoku and Jouryuu, we can clearly see how big they are, which presents a major obstacle for everyone in the series.
I would say that, overall, the cliffhanger is interesting because we finally have someone who is an established threat to both sides of the war in this episode—a sort of “enemy of the enemy” scenario. My enemy is my friend.” Not only are Shikoku and Jouryuu interesting threats to their abilities, but they also give the series a much-needed villain that I can finally take seriously.
Average battle
Most of this episode is dominated by subpar dialogue and unconvincing conclusions about everyone’s fights, especially Kyouka and Tenka vs. Aoba. When you tease a huge fight between two people who are essentially the top two on each side of the fight and don’t even have them attack at any point, it leaves viewers with a sense of disappointment. .
During that episode, Tenka was gaslighted by Aoba (pun intended) and while she was lying on the floor and bleeding, Kyouka just ran to her and Aoba and had no sense of urgency. Even worse, Kyouka didn’t want to fight Aoba almost from the start. It’s just a weird scene that’s incredibly awkward in that it almost feels like a sibling fight that got out of hand rather than the big, climactic battle of this season.
Tenka is lying there, on the brink of death, while Kyouka suggests to Aoba that she should surrender instead of actually fighting her. It really felt like there was no urgency and some of the dialogue was corny. Aoba goes from “I will kill all of you” to “I can’t wait for Tenka and Yuuki to get married and have a child!” far beyond the strangeness that Aoba had shown at this point. Kyouka had the most opportune moment to finish off Aoba along with my pain watching it (but I understand why she didn’t).
I have to say that what was even more disappointing was Kyouka’s fight with Unihorn. At least with Tenka and Aoba, we got to see a lot of their action scenes accompanied by some solid dialogue. But Kyouka’s fight that has been building since her first encounter with the Unihorn earlier in the season is incredibly moving. All we got was Kyouka saying she was calm while the episode showed us her wrapped in a wet towel. Again…what?
I don’t mind the fanservice in the series. After all, that was the foundation of the story from the beginning, and The Chained Soldier usually did a good job of saving it for calmer, comedic moments rather than a serious situation…until episode 11. This fight means a lot more to Kyouka but it makes me feel like I didn’t really get to see anything in the first place.
Who is the best fighter?
That’s easy— Yachiho and Himari fight Naon. It involved complicated writing and timing, and we saw another bit of character development with Himari, who was basically purebred American for a few seconds. Although many of the battle’s angles were kept the same, it was still a nice bonding moment between the two sisters, proving how far Himari had come as a warrior and Yachiho as a sister.
Naon has always been a lazy warrior, which fits her personality perfectly. She’s almost the opposite of Sahara in a way, but unlike Sahara, she actually stays away from fighting as much as possible. Of course, that’s not necessarily bad writing, each character needs to be different in their own way. However, when the shooting girls confront her, it seems more like the sisters are against Shuuki than Naon herself more than anything.
Summary of episode 11 of Chained Soldier
The production of this episode was a success for me. Some moments with Kyouka look rough but others with Aoba and the Azuma sisters look solid. Luckily, the soundtrack is as great as ever, making the battles a lot more exaggerated than they would be without it. But for what was supposed to be the showdown of the season, it felt a little stale in some places.
Episode 11 rating: 7/10
If you loved Chained Soldier Episode 11 then be sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! The season finale (Episode 12) of Chained Soldier will be released on Thursday, March 21. HIDIVE is streaming the uncensored version of the anime.
Image via HIDIVE
© Takahiro/Yohei Takemura/Shueisha/Magical Defense Corps Public Relations Department