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.

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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.

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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?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

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Formation S and Himari’s Secret Weapon

Chained Soldier Episode 11 was all about the battle between the MDF and the humanoid Shuuki. Kyouka and Tenka were fighting Aoba. Shushu and Sahara were fighting Coco. And, Himari and Yachiho were fighting Naon.

At first, these fights weren’t going the MDF’s way. But, the MDF members have a few tricks on their sleeves. The first of these that we saw was Shushu and Sahara’s “Formation S.” What does the S stand for? Small (shrink?). This might be the first time we saw Shushu shrink herself in a combat situation.

Shushu shrunk down and had Sahara throw her directly into Kuma’s mouth (Kuma is the bear Shuuki). Then once swallowed by Kuma, Sahara uses her Paradigm Shift to become giant. Of course, this didn’t end up well for Kuma, who was ripped in half from the inside. Though, his wounds healed not too long after.

Okay, so while I liked Shushu’s “Formation S,” I wasn’t really a fan of how Himari helped to defeat Naon. Himari tells Yachiho that after the exhibition match, she did some serious training. And, the result of this training was the creation of a new, secret weapon.

What is this secret weapon? Himari can now have an afro of guns. Alright, so that’s not quite what the secret weapon is. But, it’s the most prominent way that she can use it. The actual secret weapon is that she’s further mastered the weapon ability that she often copies.

I don’t remember if we’ve seen her transform her legs into guns. But, at the very least, she could transform her arms into guns. Now, she can transform even more of her body into guns — like her hair. So, basically, her secret weapon is that she’s more proficient with this ability.

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Tenka’s Bright Future

Episode 11 didn’t include any rewards for Yuuki. But, that doesn’t mean we didn’t get any fan service. We got to see Shushu imagining some ecchi content involving Coco, Naon, and Aoba. We also got to see some ecchi content involving Tenka. And, we even got a random panty shot of Himari.

But, the best fan service of the episode wasn’t ecchi fan service. Well, most of it wasn’t. It was when we got to see the bright future Tenka was imagining for herself. She imagined her future with Yuuki and her sister-in-law, Aoba.

First, we see Tenka having a nice dinner with Yuuki and Aoba. This appears to be a date at the Wakura family home where she’s getting to know her future sister-in-law. Next, we see Tenka and Yuuki kissing at their wedding, with Aoba in attendance.

After that, comes the ecchi part of Tenka’s bright future. Here we see Tenka spending some quality time with Yuuki from Yuuki’s perspective. Surprisingly, in this scene, Tenka’s on the bottom. I assumed she’d be more of a top considering her personality. She’s pretty assertive and calls Yuuki “Slave-kun,” after all.

A few months after that last shot, we see a heavily pregnant Tenka. And, Aoba is pressing her ear up against Tenka’s stomach so she can hear the baby’s heartbeat. Finally, the baby’s born and we get a scene of Aoba holding it while Yuuki and Tenka look on.

This was some wholesome fan service. But, I think my favorite part was how Aoba was still a humanoid Shuuki throughout it all. I guess that makes sense since Tenka never saw Aoba when she was a human. However, it’s still funny, to me, that she pictures Aoba this way in her “bright future.”

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The Eight Thunder Gods

In Episode 10, Shikoku told Jouryuu that it was time for them to make their God’s declaration. I took this to mean that they were going to declare something about the God they followed. You know, their God.

But, apparently, that’s not what she meant. Shikoku wasn’t talking about the declaration of their God. She was talking about their declaration as gods. That’s pretty different. Shikoku, Jouryuu, and Rairen aren’t the followers of some God. They’re gods themselves — at least, according to them.

Shikoku also now refers to them as the Eight Thunder Gods. That’s very interesting considering there are only three of them, that we know of. So, I guess over the course of the series, five more are going to be revealed. And, it should be noted that Aoba, Naon, and Coco are not included in this.

Well, at least, these three aren’t included right now. Shikoku refers to them as mutts, heavily implying that she views them as beneath her. But, if that’s how she really feels, why has she been searching for them? It seems like there’s more to this than Shikoku’s saying here.

My prediction is that — at the very least — Aoba is set to become one of the Eight Thunder Gods. That doesn’t mean Aoba herself is one. She might be a vessel for one of them to take over. And, that doesn’t mean this will happen. But, my guess is that’s Shikoku’s plan.

What evidence do I have to back this prediction up? Well, there must be some reason Shikoku’s interested in the humanoid Shuuki. And, it was said that Aoba’s the only one who can handle eating multiple Mato Peaches to power up. So, there’s something special about her.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Chained Soldier Episode 11? Do you like Himari’s secret weapon, or do you think it’s dumb like I do? What was your favorite part of Tenka’s bright future imaginary scenario? And, do you think Aoba is meant to be one of the Eight Thunder Gods?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 12 is available now.

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The Yin Yang Dorm

Chained Soldier Episode 10 reveals what happened to Aoba and the rest of the humanoid Shuuki. And, it also reveals that there are two separate factions of humanoid Shuuki. There’s Aoba’s faction and there’s Shikoku’s faction — more on that later.

We already knew from Episode 9 that Aoba hadn’t eaten a Mato Peach at the time of her Mato Incident. Now, we have confirmation that the same was true for Naon and Coco, as well. These three all ate a Peach in order to help themselves survive within Mato.

But, unlike everyone else who eats a Peach, these three had negative experiences. The Peaches they ate went out of control and began transforming them into monsters. Why? Is it because they ate the Peaches while within Mato? That’s all I can think of. But, at the end of the day, we don’t know.

Now, after eating the Peach, Aoba found the cave that the humanoid Shuuki now call home. She remained in there and held onto her humanity as best she could. However, Naon and Coco had very different experiences after eating their Peaches.

Naon tells Yuuki about waking up in the Yin Yang Dorm. This is an offshoot of the Mato Defense Force that performs experiments. And, they proceeded to experiment on Naon and the other humanoid Shuuki they had at their facility. These experiments had the potential to help figure out how to cure these women. But, it’s clear that wasn’t the main goal.

Eventually, Naon used her Peach ability to break out of the facility along with others. At some point, they met up with Aoba and told her about their experience. And, this is why the humanoid Shuuki view the MDF as their enemy.

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Coco Juice and Hitori Shizuka

Like everyone else (female) who’s eaten a Mato Peach, the humanoid Shuuki received Peach abilities. So, what are Aoba’s, Coco’s, and Naon’s abilities? Well, Aoba’s actually hasn’t been confirmed yet. But, her ability seems pretty obvious — at least to me.

Unless this is a feature of her being a humanoid Shuuki, her hair manipulation is her ability. In this episode, we saw Aoba use her hair to lift and bind Yuuki to get him out of her way. That seems like it would be a Peach ability.

Coco’s Peach ability has the best name of all the Peach abilities we’ve seen so far. It’s called Coco Juice and it’s a slimy coating on her skin. When an opponent attempts to hit Coco with blunt force, her Coco Juice causes the blow to slide off. This prevents Coco from taking the full force of the hit.

As Coco says during her fight, Shushu and Sahara are the two with the worst matchup against her. They fight with raw power and their fists. However, her Coco Juice wouldn’t help against Kyouko’s sword or Himari’s and Yachiho’s guns.

Naon’s Peach ability is called Hitori Shizuka. It lets her pass through objects — including the ground and other people. If you’ve seen My Hero Academia, you probably understand how powerful this ability can be. And, as far as we know, Naon doesn’t have the same drawbacks as Mirio in that series.

What do I mean by that? If you haven’t seen MHA, allow me to explain. Mirio’s quirk (ability) comes with two major drawbacks. First, he has to concentrate on using his ability, or else he’ll fall right through the ground. And second, he can’t breathe while passing through objects. I don’t think Naon has these issues.

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God’s Declaration

Okay, so earlier in this review I mentioned that there are two humanoid Shuuki factions. There’s Aoba’s faction and Shikoku’s faction. Before this episode, I assumed they were all working together. We hadn’t ever seen them together. But, this is what I assumed.

We now know that’s not the case — though, the MDF probably still thinks that. Shikoku’s group includes Shikoku herself, Jouryuu, and Rairen. Shikoku’s the snake girl, Jouryuu’s the winged woman, and Rairen is the large guy. Rairen’s the only one the MDF has fought before.

So, how do we know that Aoba’s and Shikoku’s groups are separate? Other than the fact we’ve never seen them together, Shikoku’s group seems to be searching for Aoba’s. And, at this point, I’m assuming they’re responsible for what happened to Aoba, Naon, and Coco.

Are both factions humanoid Shuuki, though? Technically, I guess they are. If they’re considered Shuuki, then by definition, they’re humanoid Shuuki. That’s because they’re humanoid — they resemble humans. However, there are definite differences between the groups.

Aoba’s faction is made up of humans who turned into Shuuki via the Mato Peaches. That doesn’t seem to be the case for Shikoku’s faction. They look different than those in Aoba’s faction. And, based on how they’ve spoken about humans, I don’t think they were ever humans themselves.

Additionally, in this episode, Shikoku refers to a god. She says it’s time for their god’s declaration. So, that’s another thing that tells me this is a separate group. Aoba’s group hates the MDF for experimenting on them and wants to become human again. Shikoku’s group acts as the messengers for some unknown god.

It seems obvious that Aoba and the MDF are going to team up against Shikoku.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Chained Soldier Episode 10? Do you think the Yin Yang Dorm had something to do with turning humans into Shuuki? Which of the humanoid Shuuki abilities is your favorite? And, what do you think Shikoku’s group is actually after?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 11 is available now.

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Wholesome Rewards

Over the past two episodes of Chained Soldier, Yuuki received some wholesome rewards. In Episode 9, he picked up Kyouka like a princess and got a kiss from her. That’s pretty cute if you ask me. And, in Episode 8, he got a kiss on the cheek from the adorable Nei-senpai.

These rewards are quite different from some of the other rewards we’ve seen Yuuki receive. You know, things like bathing with Kyouka and Himari or having Kyouka sit on his face. So, here’s my question to you. Do you prefer these wholesome rewards over the dirty ones?

I’m not sure which I prefer. I like the wholesome rewards. But, at the same time, the dirty rewards are a major part of the series. Like, I don’t think the series would be very popular without them. I know I certainly wouldn’t be as interested in it.

But, something I was thinking about while watching Episode 9 is that there needs to be a balance. The wholesome content is what makes me get invested in the characters. I’ve liked Shushu from the start because she has a crush on Yuuki. And I liked Himari and Tenka a lot more once we saw their cuter sides.

However, if there’s no ecchi content, Chained Soldier isn’t all that exciting. I could watch plenty of other anime if I want good action and romance. The ecchi content is what makes this series more unique.

Now, there was some ecchi content in this episode. We got to see Coco licking Yuuki all over. But, that wasn’t quite the same as some of the previous ecchi content in the series. First of all, it wasn’t uncensored. And second of all, it didn’t tie into Yuuki’s fantasies, which is important.

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Humanoid Shuuki Are People Too

We got to see a pretty different side of the humanoid Shuuki in Episode 9. The fact that they’re sentient and have personalities is nothing new. Even Yuuki’s sister still being herself despite her current appearance isn’t new. But, we hadn’t yet gotten to see them acting like humans.

Things like Aoba and Coco wrestling and laughing together are what’s new. Or, the other, unnamed humanoid Shuuki going about their daily lives in the village. When we see things like that, it illustrates that the humanoid Shuuki are still people.

And, Aoba points out something very important. The Shuuki that Yuuki and the MDF usually fight are 100% monsters. However, the humanoid Shuuki were all humans at one point. They know what it means to be human. And, they probably still have human family members who are missing them.

Considering all of this, it’s no wonder that Yuuki believes there’s a path to peace. The Commander in Chief of the MDF wants to set up a meeting between both sides. So, if the humanoid Shuuki are still human to an extent, they should be able to find common ground.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem possible right now. Aoba, Naon, and Coco reject meeting with the MDF and declare that they’re going to continue to fight. I’ll get into why I think this is their stance in the next section. But, I want to point out that I still believe that there will be peace in the end.

Yuuki’s the bridge between the two sides. The girls of the MDF like him, so he has a decent amount of sway there. All the humanoid Shuuki like Aoba, so she similarly has sway in her domain. And since they’re siblings, they should be able to work things out.

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Peace Was Never an Option

Okay, so why isn’t peace an option (currently)? We don’t know for sure just yet. But, we can infer some things from what little the humanoid Shuuki said. In particular, what Aoba said. And, the first thing is that they view the MDF as their enemy.

There was nothing said about humanity being the enemy of the humanoid Shuuki. At least, not from these three. Some of the other humanoid Shuuki might not agree with that. But, it’s specifically the MDF that Aoba, Naon, and Coco have an issue with.

So, what did the MDF do to them? As far as we know, nothing. After all, the MDF only recently learned of the existence of humanoid Shuuki. At least, as far as we know. It’s possible that the higher-ups already knew. And, it’s possible that they did something to the humanoid Shuuki in the past.

What could they have done? Did they commit humanoid Shuuki genocide? Again, it’s possible. But, something else Aoba says seems to imply something different. She says that the reason the humanoid Shuuki look the way they do is due to the Mato Peaches.

However, we also learn that Aoba never ate a Mato Peach — at least not when Yuuki knew her as a human. So, did she decide to start eating them once she arrived in Mato? Did she have to in order to survive after the Mato incident that took her away?

Or, was the MDF responsible for her disappearance and current situation? Did they kidnap and experiment on her? I’m going to predict that’s the case. I’m predicting that the humanoid Shuuki were created against their will by the MDF. And, I predict that only those at the very top know about this. It’s a conspiracy.

Final Thoughts

What do you think about Chained Soldier Episode 9? Do you prefer the wholesome or ecchi rewards Yuuki gets? How do you think one becomes a humanoid Shuuki? And, why do you think they view the MDF as their enemies despite a proposed peace agreement?

If you enjoyed this article, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And, I’d like to thank Pepe and Rob for supporting at the Kouhai tier. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.

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