Chained Soldier

I haven't watched any anime for a long time and I found this one on a youtube video. I gave it a try and I clearly don't regret it.

I really liked the opening, the character designs, the story and the fights. I can say that there's a good animation and everything is well drawn. And I don't think the "ecchi" side is too much. I'm not someone who use to watch ecchi animes honestly but that was good.

Maybe the relations between the characters are a bit too fast but it's alright ! I appreciated the fan service of this anime which is obviously a lot of romance.

Now, I am just sad because it's already finished and I gotta wait for the next seasons.

I'm a fan of this manga as " Mato Seihei no Slave", where I have to say the artwork of the characters is far beyond better than the anime. I found this manga by being the same writer of "Akame Ga Kill." It's very different from Akame, but has its own charm. The Chained Soldier manga moves at a different pace than the anime and a lot of the character development and why the characters are the way they are, is missing in the anime. The anime is basically a summary of the manga story. However a lot of the characters comedic still shot moments live on in the anime. While the anime shortens the story it does follow the manga in that they didn't rewrite or straight up create anything specific for the anime.

The overall point of Chained Soldier is a fun action anime with ecchi moments. I think the anime while having a different feel still holds to the spirit of the original story and intent. If this gets a second season you'll see there's a whole lot more to this story than what you'll get in this one season. As far as the MC goes, he is the way he is because of his sister and you'd have to read the manga to get the full scoop. As I write this there are seven volumes released in English with two more scheduled this summer. I only hope this gets a digital release sub or dubbed. Unless you only enjoy very particular types of anime you should definitely check this out, it's totally worth it.

The story hinges on a place called Mato, where people land after a strange event and gain powers from magical peaches. While there are monsters and an "Anti-Demon Corp" fighting them, focusing on Mato as a bleak wasteland is unlikely to develop characters or move the plot forward. This is because Mato itself is not very well-developed. There's some character growth outside of Mato, but it's so predictable that it's not worth mentioning.

While Chain Soldier, an anime known for its fan service, boasts characters like Eris, Roxy, Cliff, and Sylphie, none of them are particularly unique. Even if the story focused on any of them instead of the main plot, it wouldn't feel any more impactful. The problem lies in how generic these characters are; they fall squarely into tired anime tropes. This lack of originality prevents the series adaptation from capturing the essence of the source material.

For instance, Yuuki is a self-insert MC with black hair whose main character attributes are that he gets shy around ladies and feels obligated in a stereotypical "good boy" way. Kyouka is a stereotypically strong leader who questions Yuuki's insecurities and says trash about leaders for 90% of her talk. Shushu is an extremely aroused "teasing girl." Himari is a tsundere who doesn't like men at first, but for some reason, she's attracted to our main character right now. The only character I genuinely feel a little fondness for is Nei, mostly because she serves as a delightful diversion from the other characters.

Chained Soldier might be categorized as an ecchi action show, but it fails to deliver on both aspects. The story and characters are forgettable, and the animation is underwhelming. The fan service is there, but it's not good enough, and even if it were, it wouldn't be enough to save the show.

So, what does Chained Soldier do well? Honestly, not much. It's barely even bad - not offensive, not infuriating, not exciting. It just sits there, firmly in the realm of mediocre. The problem? That makes it completely forgettable. In fact, I'm forgetting it as I write this. Maybe the best I can say is that it's inoffensive.

I am a big fan of the ecchi genre. If there's something this beautiful genre has shown me, it's that it can compete with any other genre and shine with its great stories. That's why I'm very demanding with it.

Chained Soldier started very ambitiously. An ecchi anime with a deep story and mysteries to unravel. What could go wrong?

The problem wasn't the story or the fan service. The problem was the harem. Without a doubt, one of the worst I've seen in my life.

How can a harem go wrong? Let me explain:

There are two types of harems. The most common is where the girls fall in love with the guy because he is chivalrous, has good feelings, and pays attention to them. The guy is usually a pathetic type with luck who never concretizes anything with any girl out of shame (the dream come true for insecure guys). Most harems are like this.

In the second type, we have a guy who is still chivalrous but has no problem concretizing encounters with the girls. The girls fall in love with him for his prowess and power.

Chained Soldier, apparently, is of the second type. However, something fails: there is no reason for the girls to fall in love with him. It's not that the protagonist isn't a good guy. The problem is that the girls fall in love BEFORE he can prove that he is. It just happens. And it's not a light infatuation. These girls already want to marry him almost immediately.

This incoherent plot development, which seems like a mockery to the viewer, becomes the main development of the story, leaving the plot in third place (the second place goes to the fights), so one can't help but feel that they are watching an anime that is really a waste.

Now, not everything is disastrous. The mystery behind the plot is quite good. However, the best part is the fights. The battles between the girls, or between the girls and the monsters, are truly epic. There is not only violence but also strategy, reflections, and a lot of action.

In conclusion, Chained Soldier could have been better, but they wasted everything with such a fake and boring harem that the anime ends up being second-rate. When I watched the anime, I thought, "Why make this a harem? It could have been a great story with strong fan service and it would have been perfect."

THE GOOD: The fights. They are incredible.

THE BAD: The terrible development of the harem and its weight in the plot.

LET'S HOPE it improves in the second season now that apparently the harem is complete.

In my opinion, the animation quality falls short, particularly during CGI scenes, which appear poorly integrated and lack cohesion. However, this was somewhat tolerable as my primary interest was the fanservice and harem elements. While these aspects are present, they are unfortunately not as abundant as I had hoped. This was disappointing, as certain scenes held great potential but were either not emphasized enough or rushed through too quickly.

The inclusion of blood and serious moments was also a drawback for me, albeit to a lesser extent. Personally, I feel that fanservice and serious, blood-driven scenes do not blend well together. These moments disrupted the overall mood and detracted from my enjoyment.

Moreover, I felt the show struggled to execute its key aspects effectively. The lore and themes were intriguing but insufficiently explored, and the fanservice was not prioritized or given adequate screen time. Despite these shortcomings, I plan to watch the second season, primarily for the fanservice, and I hope it offers a greater focus on this aspect in the future.