Hitsugi no Chaika

The action genre may have been the genre that pulled in many anime fans, such as those long running shounen series that is widely known in the West. Growing up, those were the sort of things found on mediums like Toonami and introduced the medium of anime to the West. Being someone that falls into this category, I wasn't fond of the long running series, but always have a guilty pleasure of finding enjoyment in the action genre. I have been watching action/adventure series recently and stumbled across this which had a not so interesting premise but a promising first two episodes. Well this show ... certainly left a mark on me, a deep wound filled with venom that gives me nightmares just thinking about.

The plot is simple and its good that it is, anime series that expand upon the simple plot seem to do well. Chaika introduced a lot of plot points early and it seemed like it was going to have promising payout had it been handled correctly. Unfortunately for those who have watched it, no answers are given and frankly the new plotpoints brought up are just not interesting. Really, this is some of the most simplest, watered down type of writing which a 10 year old with imagination could come up with! So many plot points are shrouded in mystery and the writer had one job, to answer those in a fluid manner that doesn't detract from the overall plot yet we are given new things to think about. Closure of these ideas are critical in good story telling and if the reader of this review is looking for that, pass on Chaika.

Characters are boring, stereotypical archetypes that we find in tons of anime, exception being the male main lead, Toru. He has actually has characterization to him and I've grown accustomed to seeing "me vs the world" kind of archetypes, so I don't mind his actions. However, the rest of the cast is reduced to satisfy anime tropes. The ditz, the childhood friend jealous, dense antagonist, blah blah. Full of lame characters with lame interactions, and also the females are reduced to sexual eye candy which isn't a problem itself but the show is not very subtle with it. Development is an issue as frankly it was non existent and they seem to be there just for the plot to move along. It is a poor excuse at moving the story along and seemed force.

Sound was...wait there were sounds? Probably was but my disatisfaction for everything else must've lowered my perception of other elements. OP/ED are ok, good animation for it I guess. Sound for the voices fit their archetypes and really brought the tropes to life. Not a fan.

Animation was underwhelming to say the least, action anime should have action scenes. There was a lot of building up/setup for the fights and a lot of them ended up being a 30 second moving with commentary type of scene. In the end, resolved within seconds and not impressed. Also, what is up with the females eyes??? Who knew everyone would have mascara or eye liner w.e the fk it is above and below the eye?

Chaika is like waiting in line to get a video game at midnight and you just reached the door in the long line. People who have bought the game say there is only 10 copies left and you're the 11th person in line. Thats the feeling I get from watching this. Anticipation for plot points and the disappointment from not getting any answers. I am usually a fan of action/romance/adventure but this is just on a different level of poorly handled. Too much is left to be desired and while I haven't watched the 2nd season, I doubt any answers are in that as well. I stress the plot for the show because there are too many convenience factors within it. Characters were too meager and inconsistent for me to remember.

SPOILERS



and wassup with the romance being between a 14 and 20 year old. The brotha has a partner at the same age right next to him. SMH japan ur doing it wrong