Chained Soldier Episode 12 Review

Victory for Kyouka’s Hometown

Chained Soldier Episode 12 is the final episode of the season. And, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t impressed. This was a pretty disappointing episode for a variety of reasons. But, two of the big reasons are the lack of action and the reward(s) Yuuki got.

Sure, there technically was action at the start of the episode. We saw the conclusion of Kyouka’s fight against the Unihorn. However, this fight didn’t give me what I look to get out of most fights. It didn’t showcase any characters using their abilities in new or unique ways.

The Unihorn showed off a new form toward the end of the fight. But, I don’t care about that. Instead, I wanted to see Kyouka and Yuuki do something new. For example, Kyouka could have teamed up with Aoba to make her another master of Yuuki’s for a limited time.

Remember how Kyouka and Himari tried out riding Yuuki together? Wouldn’t it have been cool to see Kyouka and Aoba do that here? I certainly think so. Unfortunately, what we got instead was Kyouka and Yuuki fighting as they always do. Yuuki used brute strength and Kyouka used her sword.

Complaints aside, something I did like was Kyouka’s declaration of victory. The shot of her raising her sword and declaring this victory in honor of her hometown was good. It would have been better if the fight preceding it was better. But, I’ll still call it one of the best parts of the episode.

I suppose another issue is that I never cared much about Kyouka’s backstory. Chained Soldier isn’t exactly the best when it comes to making me emotionally invested. Well, in some ways. I’m invested in the romance — not the characters’ backstories.

Disappointing Rewards

In this episode, Yuuki got one real reward from Kyouka and one “fake” reward from Tenka. Considering this is the final episode of the season, I expected more from these rewards. Overall, they were extremely tame. Yes, even the reward from Kyouka was tame.

So, let’s start with Kyouka’s reward since it was the one that came first. After returning to the dorm, Kyouka told Yuuki to take a bath and then come to her room for his reward. The implication here was that something spicy was going to happen.

We then cut to Yuuki lying on Kyouka’s bed in his underwear with Kyouka standing over him in her underwear. This is a good start. But, that’s where the good stuff ends. Kyouka lays down with Yuuki and reveals the biggest disappointment of the series. His reward is sleeping with her — literally sleeping in the same bed as her.

Now, I wasn’t expecting this series to have sex scenes. It could without crossing the line from ecchi to hentai. But, I still wasn’t expecting it to. However, this reward is so disappointing because it’s less ecchi than many previous rewards. Kyouka’s not even nude.

Now, what about Tenka’s “reward?” She requests a big reward from Yuuki the next time they’re alone. So, naturally, I figured that we were going to get some hot Tenka content. Instead, we got Tenka waking Yuuki up by lying on top of him. Something more could have happened, but Kyouka interrupted.

This wasn’t terrible, though. I actually liked it more than Kyouka’s reward because it was cute and wholesome. And, the way Kyouka interrupted Tenka and Yuuki mirrored the way Shushu did in Episode 8. Tenka and Yuuki were even caught in the same positions as last time.

Yuuki’s Love Levels

Something else I was disappointed by with this episode was the lack of Shushu content. Shushu made an appearance. But, as my favorite girl, I would have liked to see a lot more of her. I know, I’m biased.

When we did see Shushu, she was planning out how to win Yuuki’s love. Her strategy is to play hard to get. That’s pretty much it. However, she also estimates what she refers to as Yuuki’s “love levels.” This is a ranking of where she stands compared to her rivals (Kyouka, Himari, and Tenka).

What exactly the love levels show was a little unclear, to me. Kyouka’s in last place. Himari’s in third place. Shushu herself is in second place. And Tenka is in first place. But, what is a love level? What’s it actually ranking?

At first, the answer may seem clear. These levels illustrate how much Yuuki loves each of the girls. Or, is that not the case? They might illustrate how much each of the girls loves Yuuki. That’s what I’m not entirely sure about. The former option seems correct. But, the latter option seems just as correct.

Tenka being in first makes more sense if it’s how much the girls love Yuuki. She’s kind of obsessed with him, so I could see Shushu ranking Tenka above herself there. And, I guess this might be why Kyouka is in last — she’s the commander so Shushu might view her relationship differently.

Also, why would Kyouka be last if it’s how much Yuuki loves each of the girls? To me, Himari being last would make more sense. And, I’d even put Kyouka above Shushu. So, are you now seeing why this chart isn’t as clear as it at first seemed?

Final Thoughts

What do you think about the final episode of Chained Soldier? Did you like how Kyouka and Yuuki defeated the Unihorn? How did you feel about the rewards Yuuki received from Kyouka and Tenka? And, what do you think Shushu meant with her graph of Yuuki’s love levels?

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