Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle

Hitsugi no Chaika is a show of peculiar nature, one based on a fantasy premise but is able to explore in depth of its potentials. The sequel, Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle wastes no time as it returns with our trio of adventurers. For those who have seen the first season, then it should be known that Chaika, Toru, and Akari are still on their quest to find Emperor Gaz’s remains. But throughout that journey, conflicts arise and dangers lurk in the shadow for the group to deal with. From this sequel, we learn more about their world, characters, and secrets that may invoke more ... than just a SHOCKING TRUTH.

As a sequel, it’s advised to watch the first season especially since this continuation doesn’t recap events. Nonetheless, new events happen which breaks down the barrier of normalcy. While the show still focuses on our main characters, it also doesn’t miss the opportunity to give other characters insight as well whether it’s Red Chaika’s group, the Gillet Corps, or even King Gaz himself. And like a race to win a game, Toru’s group faces competition in collecting the remains. This is where the fun pours in as we see how far they go to get the job done. One thing that the show has been good at doing is evoking entertainment through humor and gimmicks. Rather than just shock value or overly extended fan service, the show cracks jokes between characters at proper timings. This includes scenes relating to the characters or battles. Because let’s face it, without some comedy, the show would end up to become a chore and too straightforward to watch. However, Hitsugi no Chaika seizes every opportunity at the right time to inspire laughter in a good sense.

The overlay of the story is irrefutably crafted by realizing the setting of its world. In this sequel, we learn more about some of the origins and secrets that unfold when our heroes journey to a mysterious place like never before. What’s more interesting about these secrets is that it also brings question to Chaika’s ultimate goal. While the info dump can be a lot to take in at once, it also makes the show more interesting as we see how the protagonists deal with their newfound knowledge. Of course, the show doesn’t stop to focus on backstories and deliver action-packed moments to keep up with the momentum. It unites themes and buildup to bring about a story unfolded with revelations while mixing in humor at once. Although it sounds hard to accomplish, I would say that the sequel definitely played its cards right. At its best, the story works like a charm as a gift for what fans expect to see.

A decent balance of the pacing is also evident throughout the sequel. While the show has both heavy info dumping and action scenarios, it also makes time to characterize the cast. Although there’s not much change to their persona, it’s easy to see how they fit with the story with credibility. Not only that but new characters introduced also gets their own memorable spotlights. The problem that does occur on occasions is how some parts feel less inclined to fit in with the pacing. However, it’s also simple to see how far the show goes to create a feeling of connection between certain characters. Even enemies can become comrades when the situations calls for it and gives the audience a glimpse at the true nature of our characters. We also can’t forget about the humorous exchange between certain characters such as Toru and Akari. Chaika’s broken speech continues to be a device for amusement. In contrast, characters suffering from their own issues such as Vivi also creates tension and compelling emotions. The endgame here is that characters aren’t just there to fight like chess pieces but all fit together like a puzzle with impressive fashion.

As the show is called Avenging Battles, the sequel doesn’t neglect action scenes. Whether it’s competitions, training sessions, or fighting for survival, the series pulls out the right combinations for what’s trying to accomplish. Every battle has a mix in of intensity, strategy, and humor. It’s important to mix in these together or otherwise, fighting can become quite stale when it’s all straightforward. It also gets violent too with the blood spilling, limps severed, and deaths that actually occur without teasing. Viewers who are familiar with the first season should already expect this with some of the abilities of our main characters. What never ceases to be noticeable still is Chaika’s Gundo Sniper Rifle. Even though the weapon is about half her size, she uses it with great skill complete with ridiculously long spell incantations. Be rest assured though as the action never dies down by its pacing and is crafted with unique attributes that stand out for itself.

Despite the refreshing story, Hitsugi no Chaika isn’t without flaws. Namely the story, there’s pitfall of fast resolutions when it comes down to the way it concludes certain episodes. Rush would be one word to describe such resolutions. Not only that but the villains involved in them are stereotypical whom are saturated with clichés and generic motivations. Mad scientists, corrupt political figures, and experimental species aren’t new to the anime world. Neither too are mysterious girls with odd-looking eyes. The point is that some of these villains aren’t very compelling or interesting at all. To put it simply, they are just there to move the plot forward as devices with little focus on their characterization. Furthermore, the comedy can be a mixed bag for some people. It can feel repulsive at times with the same repetitive jokes between characters.

Bones return as the animation studio to adapt this series and to say the least, they are impressive on the visuals frontier. Characters are crafted well with fantasy tropes such as the case of Francesca, demi-humans, and experimental beasts. Weaponry also offer a variety of factors with relevance. Like I mentioned before, the action scenes are coordinated with strong degrees of fluent movements. It’s rapid and takes away your breath when witnessing it with your own eyes. Furthermore, the fantasy lands of the sequel exploits new places that are memorable. Fan service remains minimal as the show concentrates more on plot rather than exposition of fulfillment.

Soundtrack remains adequate although it doesn’t change much from the first season. We do get new OP and ED songs that retains a similar style compared to the first season. Nonetheless, the OST and character voice mannerisms stand out the most. Unfortunately, some of the new characters can be easily forgotten and only returning cast steals most of the show such as Red Chaika, Francesca, etc. To put it simply, the soundtrack is decent but nothing earth shattering with their voice mannerisms.

Consider this series as a gift for the fans as the show adapts further into our heroes’ quest in an unknown world. What started out as a journey to collect pieces to a puzzle has become a complicated labyrinth of mysteries forged by origins of the characters. While the show doesn’t escape the usual generics with its stereotypical archetypes, it does compel to a more refreshing premise backed up with insightful characters. The intersecting arcs puts characters at angles where viewers can anticipate what will happen. And along with plot twists, there will be moments when you feel as though the show is hiding even more. While pulling off all the risks, this sequel is a must-see not just for fans of the first season but also anyone who is interested in a journey of enthralling fantasy.

Every once in a while you stumble upon gems amid a sea of plain, gray stones, and to me, Hitsugi no Chaika was one of them. While it was nowhere close to being a masterpiece, Chaika explores certain themes and original ideas that few anime are able to. This action-adventure flick can get a little boring sometimes, but certainly pays off towards the end.

TL;DR
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Character: 6/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 7/10 (rounded down from 7.25)

... Good points:
+ Adorable main moe lead (Chaika)
+ Great action & fighting scenes with myriad of magical abilities
+ Huge set of varied and interesting supporting characters
+ Significant plot twists throughout development
+ Excellent OP and ED themes
+ Great animation
+ Good main antagonist (Gaz)
+ Good resolution

Bad points:
- Disappointing male and female leads (Toru and Akari)
- Plot development is a bit slow and can be draggy at times
- Some plot holes especially in S2
- Dialogue may seem too repetitive in nature

Story: 7/10

Chaika is set in a world where technology and magic co-exist, or rather where magic is seen as technology and "progressive" in nature. Also, there exists beasts and hostile creatures called Fayla with magical powers that have been studied to research into magic. While the origins and source of said magic research is not shown, the plot does keep to these believable assumptions and does not deviate from the laws it itself creates. (+1 for believable assumptions)

The story is split into 3 main arcs spanning across two seasons. The first, being the "remains gathering" arc, the second being the "Niva Lada arc", and the third and final one being the "Martial Arts Tournament arc".

The story starts off with Toru rescuing Chaika from some hostile Fayla, and already you know you're watching an action flick. It doesn't take long for the audience to realize that Chaika is completely clueless, knowing nothing save for the fact that she wants to collect her father, Emperor Gaz's, remains. Toru and Akari are then hired by her and thus begins a long journey of collecting said remains throughout the first half of series (up to Avenging Battle).

Apparently, we are told multiple times, as if the writers were afraid we'd forget, that Emperor Gaz's remains contain great magical power and we constantly get the feeling that Chaika should be looking more into her lost memories and that as they collect more and more remains, that they are making a mistake and are inadvertently going to bring disaster somehow. (+1 for interest) The story alludes to this by the introduction of Guy, a mysterious informant who does nothing but conveniently tell them where the remains are, yet answers none of their questions as to why Chaika is gathering remains. Chaika's reason was for "Father's funeral".

Also, from the beginning we are introduced to the Gilette squad, whom we already get the feeling from their general aesthetic that they are protagonists alongside Chaika, despite them seemingly trying to stop White Chaika's group from gathering more remains, with the goal of "averting disaster" or the coming of another war. This same idea that the remains could start another war gets constantly repeated and perpetuated that it would come to no surprise that it would indeed start another war - the only question remaining is how it would do so.

The Gilette squad though, while only being supporting cast, actually plays a huge role in this plot. They managed to uncover the secret of Gaz's empire from rumours heard by townspeople who saw large fortresses flying around many years ago. They were also instrumental in helping White Chaika and her gang multiple times along the way.

When we hit halfway into the first season, we get introduced to Red Chaika, who's completely different from our White Chaika, but who's also after the emperor's remains, just for a different purpose - Revenge. And that's where things start to get interesting. The story thrusts us into a realm where many things could be possible, and succeeds in making the audience curious beyond measure, asking questions like "Why are there so many Chaikas collecting remains?" and "Who's orchestrating all this?" but it continues to keep us in constant suspense.

Towards the end of the first season, there's also the introduction of another Blue Chaika, one who gave up completely on her mission of finding remains after finding out the truth that she was just a tool. She instead decides to help two fools in a quest to start a war by killing innocent girls for their memories as a form of magic fuel for flying fortress Soara. After the destruction of Soara, Vivi from the Gilette team turns into a Chaika herself, making the audience even more startled.

Meanwhile, aside from the trio's adventures, there are also multiple scenes of The Alliance of Six Nations discussing whether or not they should take military action against a certain party, and this discussion kind of goes on and on throughout the anime, and even though no decision can ever be reached, most of the parties simply take independent action and launch their flying fortresses anyway - hence completely making every one of these scenes irrelevant, save for Konrad's updates to the Gilette Team.

Most of the first arc felt rather slow and repetitive, it was all about infiltrating some location, housed by some hero who defeated Emperor Gaz 5 years ago, and this hero took one of his body parts as a reward. After getting the remains and the trio would, every single time, question themselves as to why they are getting remains in the first place - to which Toru will always answer "Let's just do it because we can."

Things start to clear up when we hit the second season, in the second arc, when White Chaika gets word from Guy to get her "father's fortune" on a secret island off a coast. As revelation upon revelation about her own past occurs, first from the Kraken Fayla who told her about her use as merely a tool to collect the remains and unlock a "destiny", and second from Iszmash, the wizard who carried out Gaz's dying wishes in creating a super powerful Gundo (magic weapon) - called Niva Lada. (+1 for plot development)

At this point of the story, it also begins to explore themes on whether Chaika was merely a "tool", akin to Niva Lada's role, in the story. Throughout the anime Chaika has been performing a role as a tool, and eventually, is revealed to simply be the "magic" that Gaz himself created to revive himself, but at the same time we can see that Chaika is more than that - despite being young and innocent, she has a personality, stubborn and all, and so does Niva Lada, and this autonomous nature of personality becomes a key driver of the plot, though it's a pity it only appears in the last episode. (+1 for depth)

Already we start to see snippets of how the anime is going end, and in the final arc, the Chaikas begin to gather at the principality of Hartgen, where it seems to be all part of a Black Chaika's plan to get all the remains at one place. After some long action, fighting and random duels, the Black Chaika finally managed to blackmail / steal from all the other Chaikas to finally get a hold of all the remains. At first, we are inclined to think that Hartgen was the perpetrator, but the plot gives a twist again - that it was instead Gaz who had all along planned his reincarnation. (+1 for plot twist)

Then again, this twist was very well substantiated because honestly there were clues littered throughout the entire anime, and for the simple fact that gathering a magician's body parts together in one place was obviously going to revive him. Anyway, Gaz reincarnates and is able to acquire this huge source of magic power, and with Niva Lada in his hands, looks basically unstoppable. Specifically, the reveal of his pre-made satellite technology used for gathering feelings of people for magic fuel, was very ingenious, original and breathtaking to watch. (+1 for originality)

Toru goes on a suicide mission to defeat Gaz that we already know will fail, but enough about him because honestly, Toru sucks. Chaika ends up being the main hero of this story, and in a very fitting way - by recognizing Niva Lada as a "person" - and to saying the final line that she had been saying all along. The line that I found mostly repetitive and annoying throughout, but at the end giving the most fitting finishing line before killing the emperor with his own weapon, "Father, funeral." That has been her objective all along, also making her the only Chaika that was able to kill her own father. (+1 for plot twist)

When it comes to coherence though, the plot also suffers a bit as well.

Throughout the first season, Toru and Akari continuously insist that it's okay if Chaika doesn't know who she really is, so long as she completes her objective. This is completely stupid and against common sense, especially when there are multiple Chaikas around. Even if they are task-oriented people, Saboteurs should at least have enough common sense and intuition to realize the importance of knowing how she got her objective in the first place and where she comes from. What if Chaika was brainwashed by bad people? Could they not have at least considered that possibility? I find it stupid that Toru and Akari make no effort to investigate and find out who Chaika really is - even Gilette did so, and all Gilette needed was to have one encounter with Chaika to set him thinking on the right track!

In episode 3 of S2, Toru's adamant insistence, that finding Gaz's remains is more important than Chaika's wish to see her father's fortune on the hidden island, is invariably stupid. Didn't Toru say before that a Saboteur's objective is his master's objective? If Chaika really wants to go to the island, what right does Toru have to convince to change her mind? In fact, why is Toru so fixated on this collection of remains when all he's doing is supposedly following his master's wishes? As a good saboteur he should be supporting Chaika when she said she wants to find the island. At least towards the end of the episode, Akari points out this contradiction between Toru's words and the "law of Saboteur" that he claims to live by, but I'm still penalizing for this under unreasonable character behaviour.

Also later on in the episode, Toru suggests that the reason why Clay Morgan didn't sell off the remains despite not wanting to be near them, was because he thought he would be cursed if he got rid of them. How does this make sense? If anything, it should be exactly the opposite - he should be scared of a curse if he kept them!

In episode 7, Toru and Akari are seen using these wooden snorkels to dive. Despite having these snorkels though, their heads still resurface when they need another breath of air. What's the point of having those snorkels if you're going to end up resurfacing anyway? Isn't the whole point of it supposed to keep you slightly more inconspicuous as you breathe through the snorkels, just slightly below the surface of the water?

In episode 9, we see the Chaikas being forced to battle it out in a duel orchestrated by the Black Chaika, whose goal was to capture White Chaika and force them to hand over the remains. Not a bad deal, but then why also capture Vivi who didn't have any remains? For entertainment? Also, Gillette's memory erasure was never fully explained. Why is it that only when his hand got cut off did his memories come back to him?

Also, the mystery behind Guy is never really fully explained. He seems to have mind controlling powers as we see in the scene where he saves Gillette from death by ordering all the soldiers around him to surround him using their bodies to protect him from the magic blast. He also seems to have multiple forms of himself towards the end. If Guy was really Gaz, as was suggestion by the similar voice and hairstyle, how did Gaz managed to create Guy? In fact, what's the point of having a human body if Gaz could simply use all his magic through Guy? Guy was basically invulnerable by all his appearing and disappearing.

So a total of 6 plot holes, unfortunately I can't give a bonus point for coherence.

Art: 8/10

Animation: 3/3 - Very well done. I loved all the Gundo animations when magic was being used, and all the action scenes were very well animated.
Aesthetics: 3/3 - Excellent. Character designs were very varied, many different outfit and hair colours, very pleasing to look at. Even the Fayla designs, demi-human designs were pretty good.
OP Sequence: 1/2 - I didn't really like the first season's one, but the second season had really nice OP sequence
ED Sequence: 1/2 - Just beautiful with the wonderful designs. I liked S1 better than S2 ending sequence.

Sound: 10/10
OP Theme 1: 2/2
ED Theme 1: 2/2
OP Theme 2: 2/2
ED Theme 2: 2/2
Background Music: 2/2 - They also use the same music for most action scenes, and all the sinister scenes, but it's really good :)

It's amazing that all of the themes are just good - all catch and upbeat, exactly the way I like it!

Characters: 6/10

This section is probably where the anime may suffer a bit. We'll go through with the best characters, followed by the worst characters of the lot, from both protagonists and antagonists.

My favourite character definitely has to be Chaika Trabant. While all the other Chaikas are all cute, moe and pretty awesome as well, Chaika Trabant is like the epitome of innocence and cuteness. Her cheeks are always permanently blushing with that red tinge and she is voiced very well with that cutesy voice. She's a magic user so she has basically like a gazillion useful spells up her sleeve, and her stubborn and helpful nature means that she will insist that they save people along the way, like the demi-humans, even if they aren't necessarily part of the objective (+1 for cuteness, innocence and sincerity, +1 for magic usage).

The second best character would have to be Gillette. Despite being relegated to a supporting cast member, Gillette shows a high sense of duty, honour, responsibility, and also lots of courage and bravery - being able to stand up to an entire army, risking his life to save his friends, Viva and Zita in the Soara arc (+1 for bravery). He also shows us that he can think on his own and goes to research about Gaz and his connection with Chaika. Unfortunately, being a supporting cast meant that he doesn't get much screentime and despite playing a key role in the plot, is not developed any much further beyond that. But he's still very likeable as a character.

The other character worth special mention is Gaz himself, the main antagonist of the story, later revealed. He's a not the simple villain type role who only seeks destruction around the world, he merely uses war as a means to further magic research, to gain magic fuel, as well as power to rule over the entire continent (+1 for deep motives). While he may seem inherently cruel, and throughout the anime stays shrouded in mystery, he's also actually contributed lots to the progress of society with his research of magic tools, so perhaps he's not such a bad guy after all.

Last but not least, the character that shows the most amount of growth through the anime is actually Vivi, the girl on Gillette team who not so secretly likes Gillette. At the beginning, she doesn't show much development, she was just portrayed as shy, and a bit like a tsundere-type, but once Gillette is reportedly dead by Leo, she transforms into a chaika herself and starts making things happen on her own rather than always clinging on to Gillette. Her determination really starts to show, and even though Nikolai was given mantle of leadership, it mostly seemed like it was Vivi who was the most influential in the group (+1 for character growth). It was also a pity that we didn't get to see more of this beautiful supporting character.

Now we come to the rather problematic Toru and Akari. Sure, they are both good fighters, but beyond that they are nothing special. Their Iron-Blood Transformation was supposed to make them faster and stronger, but in almost every battle they end up just being on par with their opponents, hence making them actually physically weaker or making the transformation have so little effect that it's technically useless.

Toru is a major problem in this anime and it's a shame that he was given they main character role over others. Toru's main flaw is with his narrow-mindedness and ability to only think about the objective, following the "Saboteur's Law" which Shin has constantly reminded him that he isn't cut out to be a saboteur in the first place. Toru makes countless of annoying references about being a Saboteur, and while it's great to see that he has fervent loyalty to Chaika, his loyalty is also baseless and he fails to substantiate anything he does with any reasoning beyond "It's my duty." Even at the last part when he goes on a suicide mission, it was simply for revenge on Gaz for calling Chaika just a tool? I mean, really what gives with this stupid male lead?

Then we have the other stupid female lead, Akari. Akari is slightly more interesting because at least she has this brother complex that makes her say weird and inappropriate things about Toru, things like being wet, preying on girls and so on, but her character also fails to pull through. She maintains only 1 kind of facial expression throughout the show and I've honestly never seen her smile, cry, laugh or anything of the sort. She seems devoid of emotions and her character is reduced to nothing but "brother complex", which is very sad for one of the main characters.

Luckily for the anime, it's saved by it's host of very varied and interesting supporting cast members like Fredrica, the adorable dragoon, Zite, Nikolai, Claudia the vineyard manager and even the whole of Chaika Bogdan (Red Chaika)'s group. All of them are just a really great cast that made the story a whole lot more interesting and enjoyable to watch. (+1 for variety of supporting cast)

So as a whole, the characters are mostly fine, save for the main characters Toru and Akari, whose backstory was pretty okay save for the fact that it didn't get any proper character development whacked into them somehow. This is a first for a set of main characters who have a backstory to have so little and so trivial development. Just a complete disappointment.

Enjoyment: 7/10

The suspense for this anime, despite it not being a mystery show, was pretty good and they managed to keep it up all the way until the Niva Lada arc, which by that time, I was honestly thinking the resolution was going to fall flat on it's face due to the number of unanswered questions, but eventually the anime delivered so I'm giving it a point. (+1 for suspense)

The action sequences in this anime were also very good from start to finish. Every episode had a good action scene in them and it was also using a combination of interesting magic spells coupled with saboteur-fighting, plus throw in a dragoon and you've got a great fight sequence (+3 for action).

There was also some parts of humour in the show, particularly with Akari's completely inappropriate and spontaneous comments that came out of her brother complex, every time that Toru gets wet or has to go with Chaika. Red Chaika's interactions with Toru when she was captured was also rather funny to watch. (+1 for comedy)

As for pacing, the story started off really slowly, with not much going on and the plot hardly progressing beyond collecting more remains. At this point, things and conversations could get so repetitive that it was tempting to just skip to where more key plot lines were being uncovered. Towards the middle, even as things were being revealed, it also took a really long time, with Blue Chaika (Layla), the Kraken, Iszhmash and finally Gaz himself to tell Chaika that she was a tool before it finally hit her. The good thing was, at least the story didn't end abruptly, and the resolution was pretty much complete. (+1 for satisfactory resolution)

This anime receives a bonus point for not having any filler episodes! (+1 bonus point)

Overall: 7.25/10

Having watched Shingeki no Bahamut (an anime with a very similar plot line) before this, I was really expecting to be disappointed at the resolution. Fortunately, I wasn't, the anime resolves all the conflict in quite an amazing fashion, tying up most loose ends, and wrapping up a plot that had much fewer plot holes than that of Bahamut. Another key difference is that while Bahamut's forte lies in the exquisite nature of Favaro, the hero, Chaika's forte lies in the innocence and sincerity of Chaika, the tool. While both animes may seem similar, I ultimately enjoyed Chaika better than Bahamut, owing to a more consistent plot that had less plot holes overall, and a much better antagonist.

Ha ha! man! this show got even more awesome!

The animation along with the intense amount of action was almost flawless! Thrilling! exciting, I mean the overall quality increased, and you can tell that the animators had themselves a jolly good time working on season 2.

There were so many things that I liked first one being that the main story is finally a clear as to who or what Chaika's are. Along with the main story that back-story that I've wanted has finally been explained too! because there were a few more questions I had as to why there were so many chaika's and honestly ... it started to ruin my experiences however after getting the explaining I'm okay with it. The story was so interesting to the point where I marathon-ed both seasons 1 and 2 via Crunchyroll and knocked both of my reviews out today! that's how great it was. The amount of action is the strong point of this series. There should be no disagreement with this. It's like everything comes down to this finally conclusion where both Chaika's and squad has to complete their goal or fulfill their purpose. Now, biggest problem I had with Season 2 was that there were way too many damn Chaika's. It really got annoying after some times. I mean I know it's part of the story and all but there is a limit to how many of the same characters I can take. After more than 3 were confirmed I was saying to myself "oh god dammit all." The ending was okay, I'm not going to spoil it but it is a bit of a cliffhanger... kind of.

One thing I said in an earlier review that I thing I now regret is saying that Chaika's speech pattern is annoying. Once I got used to her, her speech became really cute! CHAIKA WANT, SEASON 3, NOW! I'd also like to take back the comment about her seiyuu too... my bad. Moving along from those comments, my comments etc. With this seasons, I liked seeing new characters, that weren't Chaika just thought I'd add that again. Because while most of them were not of significant importance to the story, they still provided enough entertainment for me to enjoy. Examples of course the tournament on episode 7 and onward to final boss.

Moving on finally to the soundtrack it was pretty nice. I said and keep to my word that the music helps improve the dramatic battle sequences. The OP and ED songs were not that interesting to me. I didn't r

Really care for the songs again this season. So I don't have too much to add on that setting.
Enjoyment 10/10 I love watching shows that keep me entertained more than keep me waiting. Some shows that I like will let drama build and build then deliver its good. However Chaika it's almost nonstop in your face action.. Gosh the last sentences sound kind of lewd, don't they? Hmm anyway Overall I have to give Season 2 8/10 because it was phenomenal in many ways!

I waited till the whole anime was over. Warning! It may contain spoilers. I try not to.

The anime is done now. I don't know about the manga. I was pleased by the first season and more excited by the second season. The story was good through the whole season except the last episode. It felt like easily done, we don't have the time to make it perfect. But still the rest of the anime make it all a good fit. I wished to see more of the battles for the remains of the emperor.

The characters where nice. I wished to see a lot more ... Chaikas around the anime instead only the last episodes. The story contains only the white Chaika and sometimes the red Chaika. But through the story you hear that there is a lot of Chaikas. So why only those 2 mainly and the black one with her puppets in the end? A little dissepointed though. The other characters where avarange. The Gillette Sqaud was on 3 people a little in detailed. I am talking about Gillette ofcourse, Vivi and Stora. The others of the sqaud you know the names and that is basically it. Toru, Fredirika, Chaika and Akari was where the anime was over. You know them good at the end. You know what they were going to do.

Like I said. I like the anime. That's why Enjoyment is a 9. Story is an 8. Character ( Toru, Fredirika, Chaika and Akari) also an 8. Art was very normal so but still okay same as sound both a 7. Overall it is still an 8.

I would recommend this anime. If you love an adventure, some weird humor, a dragon and magic. And that you are okay with pieces of the human body.

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)

A famous piece of music contains the line, "War, what is it good for?" And the response is, "Absolutely nothing." War brings about destruction, famine, despair, and global bloodshed. While not technically nothing, it's definitely something that shouldn't be desired. Yet, for some people, war, or to a lesser degree, violence, is just in the nature of their hearts. Some describe war as an inevitability, while others still attempt to thwart such onslaughts. Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle is a mix of the two ideas, a mix that is a significant step down from the original season.

STORY

Avenging Battle ... continues where Hitsugi no Chaika left off. Toru, Akari, and (of course) Chaika are still looking for the remaining body pieces of Emperor Gaz, Chaika's father, in order to fulfill Chaika's wish of providing him a proper funeral.

The first season did a lot of things right: an intriguing world, fun cast of characters, and a journey with a seemingly peaceful end-goal in mind. For all intents and purposes, the second season is no different. It's more of the same cast doing what they can to achieve Chaika's dream. However, whether it be the journey coming to an end or the rather strange plot points, it just doesn't feel quite the same. The narrative mostly jumps between differing locations in order to provide us with new information in order to make the story seem coherent. That is, instead of Toru and Akari investigating this world and getting to the bottom of the mystery, they are sort of forced to just "go with the flow."

This "flow" is quite choppy. Many of the plot points that occur are either left unexplained or never seem to hold much substance: Gaz's fortune, Guy's omnipresence, Vivi's transformation, etc. Now, the argument here is that most of it can just be attributed to "magic," but that's a rather contrived excuse to avoid providing reason to many of the occurrences. Much of the fault lies with the abysmal ending. Where the majority of the show leaves things unexplained, the conclusion leaves many open-ended areas. This includes for many of the characters as well as the story as a whole. Perhaps the idea is to continue with an OVA or movie of some sort, but as it stands, this season is entirely incomplete.

Trying to dig deeper, and linking back to my introduction, the show tries to look at the idea behind war and whether or not it can be prevented. To an extent, it does this moderately well. Overall, Chaika is a story about war. It's effect on society, the environment, and on the future of the people involved. The show's answer to stopping violence is with more violence, and while that may seem silly, it works. While people may want or wish for violence to just up and stop with peaceful protest all of the time, there are instances when resorting to such measures is unfortunately necessary. Avenging Battle provides such a setting to demonstrate this idea, and while the inconsistent story telling tends to get in the way, this idea is not lost in the process.

ANIMATION

Avenging Battle maintains the same art style that was employed by its first season. The character designs themselves are generally well thought out, with each of the Chaikas having a particular allure to them due to their hair and personal coloring. Toru, Akari, Frederica, and the rest of the cast are also unique enough to be distinguishable.

Of note are the settings involved. Invisible, off-shore islands, a foreboding castle, and local towns provide great fantasy locations that lend to the overall atmosphere.

Finally, the actual animation involved is usually above average. The fights are easy to follow during duels, there exist both large and small scale battles, long-range skirmishes, and air-raids. In other words, there is no shortage of opportunities for the anime to show off its animation skills.

CHARACTERS

This time around, Avenging Battle sadly foregoes character development in order to focus on the story, and since the story became a mess, the characters are incapable of picking up the slack.

Perhaps it's best to start with Toru and Akari. At this point, we know who they are: Toru is level-headed and looking to perform his job to the best of his ability, while Akari is trying to find the inside of her brother's pants rather than trying to find the next Gaz piece. As they are, they're fun people. Akari is more or less relegated to the sidelines this time around, which I can forgive. However, Toru is placed in a strange spot. His wishy-washy feelings toward Chaika and his general lack of emotion are never given an opportunity to flourish. He is literally just there to be Chaika's guard rather than become someone interesting.

One of the biggest disappointments comes from the final antagonist, who is not too terribly hard to guess. The build-up his immense, and the pay-off is extremely lackluster. Around for less than a single episode, his purpose is to present the message talked about earlier, that war is a cycle that will never truly end. The issue with him is that he is way too much of a final boss. Beyond over-powered, his capabilities as a person were beyond anything the show had to offer. And his quick defeat has zero impact because of his lack of presence. This is odd, considering his "presence" throughout both seasons. But this almost had to happen when considering his aforementioned powers; he is so strong that if not dealt with immediately there would literally be no more Chaika.

Finally, and since her name has been mentioned enough already, Chaika at least tries to support the cast. Per usual, her broken speech pattern, bright whiteness, and gundo are back. One thing that is missing, however, is the cute Chaika of old. This is mainly due in part to the tonal shift of the show going from adventurous to arduous. The show becomes more serious, and with that, Chaika loses part of her charm.

Part of her development for this final season was to have her come to the realization of who she actually is, since that was a rather important question and has been for a long time. Such questions are finally answered, and for a time it seems as if Chaika learns and grows from the revelation. However, the show doesn't really allude back to such facts, and when it does, it seems as if Chaika actually hasn't developed at all, maintaining the same reaction and shock from the first time. Even right up until the end, the idea of who she is as a person isn't looked at with enough light to warrant her a well thought-out character, which is a huge disappointment considering everything she's been through.

SOUND

The OP has the same feeling as its season one counterpart, with the vocals and hard guitar taking the lead. The song gets considerably better when it picks up at around the half-way point, and ends on both a literal and figurative high note.

As with the OP, the ED pays homage to the first season. The soft singing and ambient instruments give an eerie tone that fits nicely with the atmosphere of what goes on within the anime. It is also quite catchy in certain sections.

Both the OP and ED, however, are okay at best and are really not standalone pieces.

Oddly, I find the soundtrack to be stronger than the OP and ED. Of special note is the fast-paced, stepping piece that usually plays during tense fight scenes. It makes the viewer feel that much more engaged with what is occurring on-screen.

As for voice acting, Chika Anzai (yes, not "Chaika") performs nicely as Chaika once more, giving her the iconic voice and speech we all know about her today.

ENJOYMENT

The anime itself had to make a tough choice, and that was deciding to split up the content into two separate seasons. The way it all goes down, I believe that this was an incorrect decision. The ending is rather lame and what goes on in the middle is too grandiose or nonsensical to work. Only the beginning arc of the second season felt like it belonged. There we had nice character interactions, more history about the world, and some of the more interesting battles. Afterwards, it felt more like the show was trying to feed us as much information as possible to make us satisfied.

Akari and Chaika are some of the main reasons for why I liked watching this one all the way through. Their personalities and way of acting never really got old (at least, when they were being true to themselves), and same goes for Frederica. Sure, she is a huge convenient plot device, but I enjoyed having her around when she was needed the most.

Maybe given a few more episodes or at least some type of continuation can we call Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle fulfilling. But when everything wrapped up, it just didn't quite live up to its predecessor.

SUMMARY

Story: Bad, inconsistent, terrible ending, lost message

Animation: Good, fantastical setting with a plethora of fight scenes

Characters: Bad, lame final antagonist, weak main cast

Sound: Fine, okay OP and ED, okay soundtrack, fine VA work

Enjoyment: Fine, felt like "no Hitsugi no Chaika"

Final Score: 4/10

Hello everyone!
I was expecting much from this season of Chaika, after I finished watching the first season expecting much from the second and was great.
The story of getting the remains of the parents has been fine integrante, namely because they had other Chaikas, the battles, music (the opening fabulous), well designed characters, I love Fredrica :3 ,and art make this anime in my opinion one the best of 2014.
I would have given it a 10/10 but I feel that some things were in the air (must watch the anime and you will realize) and just 10 chapters seemed a final very forced.
9/10 Recommended 100%
thank ... you for reading!!!

Anime...Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle....now finish, man I'm speaking like Yoda, here, anyways the season 2 is finally over and for that I'm gonna make my review.

Story

What we have is basically a continuation of the previous season where a Chaika finally accomplishes her mission....of course it was in a indirect situation where she has to fight to gain possession of Arthur Gaz's parts and like any quest it has to end. What I like about the story of this anime is how she keep her goal to bury his father's remains which of course it ended in a very good climax despite of the rush, ... and oh when she did say "bury".....well it doesn't always mean that has to be on the ground, it can sometime be by fire. Ok, so it was rushed, who cares? as long as we see Arthur Gaz's demise and to me, its an 8 for the story.


Art

Tbh, I just have nothing to say about the art of this anime, in fact I don't even care if the cast would wearing school uniforms. I'm just after the content. But I do have some issues with Chaika Trabant's eyelash where I find it to be too ugly. My verdict for the art, a 5.

Sound

I find Chaika Trabant's voice very cutsey and so as Toru's voice, but not with Akira's voice since it kinda project a more mature tone given that she is younger than Toru, it would have been much better if Saito Chiwa did Akira's voice rather than Hara Yuko, also I kinda like Albéric Gillette way of speaking since it establishes authority with honor, so its a 7 for this part.


Character

Hummmm, well let's see, I don't like the way as to how Chaika Trabant was portrayed as this character who speak like Yoda, where the sentence violates every grammatical rules, ok , so the way she speaks was a symptom of having to use her magical power, where every time she uses it she loses some of her memories, but does it have to affect her speech? Lousy, its not just Chaika Trabant, but also Chaika Bohdan, I can help but notice as to why it was only limited to the two, where there are other chaika's who seemingly speak normally. Also, I hate the fact that Chaika Trabant is the only one who has to hand carry her coffin, I mean, wtf was going on in mind of the original creator, Sakaki, Ichirou for having her do that in the manga, anime or LH? For all I know since he could have had the main character, Chaika Trabant have the ability to magically put her baggage in some kind of magical portal where she can pull it out when needed, also the two other character like Toru and Akira, whom Sakaki, Ichirou has them portrayed as "Saboteurs", now I don't know if he's trying to have some fun of his low vocabulary IQ or if he is just too chicken to use the term "assassin" for Toru and Akira since basically that what the two does. Now let's go to the two "Saboteurs, Akira and Toru, at first I'm annoyed that those two always get to have the upper hand over their opponents, however my mood for them has change when the two were finally got owned on the few remaining episodes which kinda provide me with such enjoyment, frankly I hate the fact that they are called "Saboteurs" where in fact the term "assassin" would have been a better fit for the two, since that what they really do. Now ever I've started watching the 1st season I've always like that those two "Saboteurs" would be owned by the Gillette Corps, but alas, it didn't happen and it would have to be Shin Acura who has to owned them, so for getting to owned Toru and Akira, I'm giving this part a 8, which btw the score is for Shin Acura.


Enjoyment and Overall

It was a good 10 episode, where it has some degree of development and the fact that the Chaika Trabant was able to do what she has to do, where it was too bad for Arthur Gaz who seemingly didn't saw that a Chaika's task can go both ways where he was revived and in the end met his demise in the hands of the same Chaika whom he deemed as a tool and that makes it enjoyable. Though, it is very good I still can't deny that the last episode was rushed, so overall it a 7 all the way.

Review..finish..no more...to say.

The original "Hitsugi no Chaika"was a pleasant surprise for most people. It started out as your average fantasy- filled with magic, swords, and a quest. It was slowly, but nicely, paced; however, it left the viewer with a lot of questions. "Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle" set out to answer what was left in the air, and possibly conclude the series.

The story in Chaika 2 started out very poor. It lost the intensity that the ending of Chaika 1 had, although many sequels do. The show leisurely found a footing and made its linear path to an almost ... disappointing ending. The ending wasn't what was very bad, but it was the time leading up to the final episodes that was poorly done (specifically the introduction of Gaz being in episode 9 or so). Some might call it an attempt at an intricate plot, but it became almost predictable. Predictable or expected really; there weren't any surprises that would catch you off guard. It didn't resolve its romantic subplots, but finished off some of the other ones (Nikolai/Gillette squad) decently. I'm not satisfied with this ending. From the the hype that Gaz was given, it seems too unlikely that'd he'd be beaten so easily. 4/10 for story.

Animation was nice to look at, nothing much to talk about here. The fight scenes were ok, but it didn't have anything outstanding. 7/10

The opening for Chaika Dos was catchy, but not memorable enough. Same with the ending; it wasn't anything special. The OST blended fine with the art style to create it's fun but serious tone, and it was fine overall. 6/10

The characters weren't developed enough for my care. Shin was given very little screen time for his, somewhat, important role. Our MC's were developed enough in the first season, but didn't receive much this time around, which is fine. Hartgen and the other heroes didn't get much backstory, which was disappointing. As well as the new Chaika's that were introduced. I was hoping for more, and was left disappointed. 5/10

Didn't enjoy this that much compared to the other, better series' this fall. 4/10

Overall, 5/10 for feeling uninteresting at times, but still keeping its fun charm. No matter what I said, it's not bad, but a mediocre series overall. It is still worth the watch if you've seen the first season. I wouldn't put this high on your priority list, but it is a nice, fun series.

There seems to be a trend going on with anime these days. With any show with 13 episodes gets a sequel, there always seems to only be an allotted 10 episodes for the sequel. I dunno why. Anyway, real introduction time. Chaika, Chaika, Chaika. When a word is said over and over again, it is said that it will lose its meaning eventually as the same syllables are played over like a broken record. But what happens when you put a little something...more into a word's meaning, hmm?

Story (7.43/10): The story of Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging ... Battle stays relatively the same as its predecessor in terms of main story which is to gather the remains of the Emperor Gaz. Our protagonists Toru, Akari, and of course, the Coffin princess herself, Chaika, continue their task in finding the severed remains of the emperor that befell the Allied six nations to war.

What I've always liked about the Chaika series is just how unique it is. The story of Chaika has always played out as a sort of fill in the blanks game where after every piece of the Emperor is obtained, more and more of the story is unfolded. The first season benefited highly from this storytelling perspective because it never revealed too much or too little with every bit of story it was giving. The second season does continue this format of giving the crucial backstory to our main characters while progressing the plot.

What I also feel is beneficial about this sequel is also from a difference perspective. While the goals that the characters try to achieve with every arc are virtually the same, the settings and individual arc storylines are different enough in terms of setting from one arc to the other to give off a different feel as to what the characters have to do in order to accomplish their goals.

Another point I have to make is magic. Magic is a very subjective term in anime because it has a wide variety of terms and spectrums that pertain to individual series. It can either be total wands and spells like Zero no Tsukaima, or it can be based on the complicated theorems and terms that can break our heads like Mahouka. Chaika achieves what I believe is a perfect balance of both complexity and "fuck it, it's magic" because it logically make sense in the world that they're in. Not to mention that it's centrally tied to the story which as an end result forces out more explanation and thus, and easier understanding. Plus, they use freaking sniper rifles to fire magic. That is awesome.

However, no series is without its flaws. Let's start with a really obvious one, time crunch. Seeing as how this series only got a total of 10 episodes for its runtime, a few fears ran into my mind. 1. There would be a lot of uneven pacing, rushing through some parts of the story whilst leaving other maybe more important parts high and dry. 2. Story may be incomplete by the end of it. Luckily, the second point wasn't anything to worry about, but the first one is definitely an issue.

Rush, rush, rush. Pacing. I stated in my previous Chaika review that the pacing can get a bit awkward at times. This sequel is no different. In fact, it's even more so of a problem than before. Because of the 10 episode time crunch, some parts of the series were what I would call half-baked. When you're doing anything with mystery, you need time to fully explain what exactly is going on because the audience anticipates an explanation to the mystery. Chaika does this a little bit by speeding through a couple of what I would call crucial explanations, sort of glossing them over as if it was nothing. In fact, THE most crucial explanation was given maybe like 4 total minutes of explanation and I feel sad because I personally was anticipating a good explanation as to WHO Chaika was. Plus, the final episode was horrendously rushed, making me feel like they could've made the finale just a bit more epic with more screentime because having that an epic finale, a finale that you anticipated for and thought would be awesome and epic, be boiled into one episode, kinda ruins the tension since you basically solve an ENTIRE PLOTLINE in 23 minutes. (Looking at you as well, DAL II)

And finally, and this is the most crucial part, the story ends. A lot of anime adaptations I see don't really have a satisfactory ending, as they either try to end the story but end up failing miserably, or make it so open-ended that you have to either read the source material to know what is going to happen later, or do it just so they can laugh at their fanbase. While the end I felt was kinda...meh due to the fact that like I said, bad pacing issues (and pretty bad ones at that), it ended, the story is done and over, and that's the best thing I can ask for any anime.

Overview:
+ Good storytelling
+ Good integration and explanation of magic
+ It Ends
- Pacing can get bad at times
- The final rush to the end

Character (7.01/10): The characters in Hitsugi no Chaika are characters I've praised before due to their uniqueness as characters and their attitudes towards certain events and people around them.

Up first is our main protagonist Toru, the sabetour (basically a mercenary) that is employed by Chaika to help gather her father's remains. As a sabetour, he thinks himself nothing more than a tool used to help his master achieve his/her goal thinking more as a strategist with a level head in order to achieve said goal. What I like about Toru's character is the growth. As time passes on, you can clearly see what his motives are and think more of himself and for himself as he becomes less and less of a tool. His personality doesn't really change that much, but his viewpoints in life certainly do.

And then we have Akari who is...Akari; kinda hard to explain her. She is similar to her "brother" (since they're not blood related) in the sense that she takes the tasks she is given seriously and is also like a sabetour, treating herself like a tool for her master more than anything else. Honestly, she doesn't change much in the series and sort of fades away into the background as time goes on since she truly doesn't get any development to her character.

And then we have Chaika. Chaika, Chaika, Chaika. Chaika as the sort of main female protagonist has always been a very interesting character what with her broken speech pattern, unknown past, and desire to give her father a funeral by burying the dead remains. Her character for the most part has been shaped in large due to the effect of the word "Chaika" in the six Allied nations as well as the little hints of backstory that we get concerning her character. But that's really where it ends. While Chaika herself does get a bit of development, she really doesn't change very much aside from having to think about who she is after finding out what exactly "Chaika" means.

With the main cast, we have the supporting cast of characters of varying importance starting at the bottom with the Nation leaders who don't do anything beyond talk and discuss what is going on in terms of plot around a round table, the Gillette Squad that act as "protagonists" since the main characters of this series are technically doing something bad, the red Chaika and her small band of mercenaries, and Frederica, who once again GETS KILLED. (I mean seriously. You did this last season! You don't kill the same character AGAIN in the same point of the series!) The supporting cast does little more than to add obstacles or give more explanation to the world that is Hitsugi no Chaika. They each have their own personalities and motives, and some of them are even quite interesting but, in comparison to what kind of characters they were in the first season, they have little to no change.

Overview:
+ Decent character growth
+/- Unchanged supporting cast
- Some MC's lacked any proper development

Art and Sound (8.35/10 and 7.98/10): Hitsugi no Chaika was produced by Studio Bones. Yeah, no explanation required as to how good the animation. The entire series is done in a very crisp looking animation that utilizes many dark themes to show that this show is not some happy go lucky magic show. Many of the characters are wonderfully detailed, showcasing the many details that are involved with their designs such as Chaika's dress, Fredica's dragon form, and of course, the magic circles. The action and movement in this show is very fluid and nothing visually looks clunky.

In addition, the show gets special mention for its magic circles as the magic in this show utilizes the formation of magic circles. Let me tell you one thing, they're fantastically done. There is an absurd amount of detail that goes into every one of these circles and the character utilize these things A LOT.

In terms of soundtrack, similar to its predecessor, Avenging Battle hosts a very unique sound. Both its OP and ED use fast-paced music that have a very yearning and hopeful tone to them, in addition to some darker areas in the songs, giving the audience a feel of what is to come when they watch the show. Personally, the Chaika soundtrack is one of my personal favorites because its actiony, but not sterotypically actiony. Plus, if you like electric guitar solos, you'll get a lot of that.

Overview:
+ Studio Bones (Aka, fantastic artwork)
+ Great soundtrack

Personal Enjoyment (8.01/10): Chaika I've always felt was a very underrated series. Many people don't like it and I'm a bit saddened by that because it does offer a very interesting story idea in addition to its unique characters and way of expressing plot. I was very excited for the second season because the first one had enthralled me with its story and the mystery of what Chaika is. And now, having had finished the series, I can honestly say that the second season of Chaika is a good sequel. It isn't without its flaws, but it still is a good show. Onto the three questions!

What did I like about this show?

What I liked about it is that it was a true sequel that did pick up from where the last one ended off. A little bit of time passed, but being able to see what happened after the first season and then continuing on was a good thing. In addition to the unique plot, characters, and soundtrack, the series also ends fully, as in nothing more beyond it storywise.

What didn't I like about this show?

A big complaint I have now is well, I don't have anymore Chaika to watch. Another thing is its horrendous pacing at times. Some explanations were cut short and/or glossed over in order to move the plot around due to time constraints. Explanations are very important when it comes to mystery anime, and when you cut down even one, there are some issues. In addition, I felt that the end of the series was rather sudden. After the final event is over, we get an epilogue as to what happens afterwards which really doesn't explain much heavily since they squeezed all of the afterstories in 5 minutes of runtime. Also, 10 episodes. Why not make it a proper sequel with a length of 13 or something like that? You wouldn't have to squeeze in so much information in such a small timeframe. Really.

Would I recommend this show?

If you're a fan of mystery anime or magic anime, go for it. Hitsugi no Chaika is what I define as an underrated anime because it solely focuses on its story and its characters without any fail. It puts the story first beyond anything else and that is why I praise it so highly. There is no ecchi crap that you'll find with this series, no romantic subplots (ok, maybe one REALLY minor one), and no sidestories. It does have its fair share of pacing problems, but overall, this is a good show. Honest.

Overall Score: 7.42/10

Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle

Where the story ends by finding all the remains of the most powerful wizard of all time.
By this phrase, I think you can guess how is this going to end...you know...he is the most powerful wizard of all time, and the smartest (or not).

I got to be honest, I was kind disappointed with the second season. The first season had most of the story pretty cooked to be eaten on this season..But still this being an action anime, we didn't’ get the opportunity to see much action. The fight were probably the down side of this season, were there was ... always an overpowered side, with no suspense or excitement. It felt kind empty and sad. ("most powerful wizard my a**")

Weren't you here to see that badass dragon to kick some a**? Or him?

The ending, in one word - empty.
It told me nothing, is it a happy ending? But where is everyone? Is she okay? What?

Let's stop the chitchat and go to what you came here for.

Score

---- Story 7/10 ----

It's basically the continuation of the "hunting" for the remains of the "most powerful wizard", A.Gaz, but now even with that, they throw in a new quest to found a lost treasure of the wizard boss. But the sad part of the hunting is that it lost interest, there is no more sneaky peek saboteur getting into fights to steal the remains. Now they almost give them with no problems. And, being the last season, you can guess they get all the remains, the rest you can imagine what will happen...he actually is the "most powerful wizard"...but c’mon the MOST POWERFUL with a battle of that style? Nhaaa...and the ending, really empty. Just some random images put together. Not that good to end an anime. But still it was a solid story.

---- Art 8/10 ----

I can say that I like almost all kinds of art, and this one had its style, I am no artist to judge how good this was. If you have doubts, just go to YouTube and watch a little segment.

---- Sound 7/10 ----

Chaika's voice. 10/10 Me being a cuteness fan, she was the best :D
The rest of the voices were pretty good
But music? Nothing to be memorable.
Only 1 OP and 1ED.

---- Character 7/10 -----

So many Chaikas! o/ But only our Chaika is the cutest! :D

Well, this season was kind weak on "telling" the story behind of the 3/4 hero’s left, where the one more "strong" was the one that had the head. But still, it was forgettable.
There were even more 2 downsides for the Character's.

One: The final enemy. Being final, we would say it needed to be a nice and long fight. But guess what. Nop

Second: The final "form" of Tooru, was so cool, but with a final enemy like that we didn't’ even had the opportunity to see and feel its true potential.

The rest of the new characters presented were all forgettable. And me being stupid as I am, I was still hoping for my "Romance", but no, don’t get that idea. There is nothing like that for you in here.


---- Enjoyment/Overall 8/10 -----

I actually enjoyed this anime. Not as much as i wanted, but still was kind satisfying. You have the fight segments mixed with some comedy, what was the refreshing side of it, by keeping you attached to the anime.
Tbh, I felt a sadness inside be when I saw that this anime would only get 10 episodes...I was like will the fights and hunts fit in there? Well...it did...not like I wanted...but still..
I know mist of you will not agree with my final score. But I actually felt bad by giving a lower score to it.

Just keep one thing in mind. No epic ending, No epic sounds, Funny and relaxing, small and fast.

Thank you for reading everything (like you actually did xD) and give me your response to it. I will delete any kind of hate/troll/irrational comment to my profile.

As I've stated before, the trend of split-cour TV series (a series that will air its first half, take a season off, and then air its second half) has become increasingly more popular in the anime industry. Not only does it give the writers more time to think of ideas for the second half, but it also allows them to budget the animation better. By this logic, the second half should be just as good, if not better, than the first half, but is this always the case?

... To be honest, this was one of my most anticipated series for the Fall season, and the unique flair of fantasy mixed with pseudo-gothic elements from the first half has carried over nicely into the second half. However, in terms of having a stable story, Avenging Battle leaves a lot to be desired, and the reason for that is actually a bit odd considering the circumstances. As I mentions earlier, turning something into a split-cour series is usually done to relieve both the pockets of the budgeting committee and the brains of the writers, so it was a bit strange to see that Avenging Battle only has 10 episodes, while the first half has 12. While the reason for this doesn't seem clear, the result is obvious: the story went from being moderately paced in the first half to speeding off a cliff towards a conclusion in the second.

The last three or so episodes are especially guilty of this. There were many times throughout each episode where it felt like they were going through the Cliff Notes of what was actually supposed to happen in those scenes, resulting in rushed story lines, unexplained plot holes, and forgotten character development, ultimately leading to a final episode where a ton of events happened that didn't really seem to connect to each other. I have no doubts whatsoever that if this second cour had gotten 12 or 13 episodes, the pacing would have sat much better, but of course that isn't the case, so now we're left with plot threads dangling everywhere. Why did Vivi turn into a Chaika at the end of the first half? What exactly was the point of introducing the demi-humans if they're going to be forgotten completely after they left the island? What exactly happens when you make a contract with a dragoon? None of this is answered, and the series leaves us with a lot more questions that will never be satisfied.

Character development takes a rather noticeable hit because of this pacing issue as well. To be honest, pretty much all of the character development that was going to happen in this series happened during the first half, and only the main Chaika sees any significant changes in Avenging Battle, which only happens in the final episodes, and even then it feels rushed and poorly explained. Even the new characters that get introduced barely get any noteworthy developments, even the ones that are pretty much crucial to the plot of the entire series.

On a quick aside, without spoiling anything, there is a certain event that's been foreshadowed throughout the entire series and finally transpires in episode 9, and while this particular scene could have been written in any number of ways, the method they chose was, quite possibly, one of the worst possible ways they could have done it, creating a conglomerate of the weirdly gross and the unintentionally sexual. I bring this up because this a perfect example of what happens when you don't pace your writing properly. Really weird stuff starts happening, and unfortunately one of the images from that scene is now something I have permanently associated with this series.

Like the first cour, the animation was done by Studio Bones, and not much seems to have changed in between these two halves. The pseudo-gothic style and surprisingly diverse environments work really well for this series, but the animation itself still suffers from a lack of clarify and refinement, just like the first half.

There is currently no dub to speak of, though I would not be surprised if Seraphim Digital were to create one for this series.

The soundtrack was composed by Seikou Nagaoka, and while it does fill in the silence rather well with its intense orchestral sounds, nothing really stood out as particularly impressive. The opening theme "Shikkoku wo Nuritsubuse" by Iori Nomizu gives us another hard rock punch to drive us in, though this time with a bit more of an uplift that in the first half, while the ending theme "Watashi wa Omae no Naka ni Iru" by coffin princess (VAs Chika Anzai, Saeko Zougou, and Iori Nomizu) gives us another quick-paced dance number.

Overall, while I wouldn't say that this was a bad ending to the series, Avenging Battle certainly wasn't as good as the first half of Chaika, and it's rather disappointing to see the series not be allowed to flesh itself out more.

The continuation of Hitsugi No Chaika...continues Hitsugi no Chaika. It doesn't improve upon it, it isn't a lot worse than the original, it just...continues.

Differences from the first season: The pacing of the story events is faster and the focus has partially shifted away from Tohru as the main character.

Similarities: Half of the episodes leading in to the climax have no point. The plot and characters don't really develop at all. Well, a couple of the side characters developed a bit this season, just none of the main three. The anime makes up for all this by having an intriguing premise and interesting world building or ... in-world philosophy.

Is the cause of all conflict that humans are intrinsically unsatisfied with peace? Can good intentions prevail over evil wisdom? You might find out if you skip to the end of the season.

Also, they added ANOTHER loli. Because 4+ wasn't enough. I will give them this, though, the main villain who appears in the very last few episodes is genuinely creepy. Good job with a strong villain, guys.

In short, the story felt rushed.
With only 10 episodes to spare, the ending wasn't impacting. The Final boss of the show is brought to light in episode 9 and in the Final episode, how else are they going to finish it? They're wasn't enough time for characters to show more sides of themselves or what certain meanings lie in the midst of their interactions. Some scenes should be extended to show more impact and fall so flat after it ends abruptly. It is a little annoying that some characters don't put up a fight either, like when they get out-numbered or an enemy shows, ... they don't try to think of a plan to escape or anything. They legit give up and it shows that all their time fighting/ training is for naught.

Wish there were more episodes so it would pan out better, but it is what it is.

i actually think the story of the sequel was splendidly done. The anime actually started half way where they ended the first season, to continue the story and have answered a lot of question that the first season has not given. if you've watched the first season and liked it, wanting the answers. you should watch this, i loved how they ended it.

Overall: this is the sequel for the anime " Hitsugi no Chaika", i rated it 8/10 since it has given more than the first season. enjoy

Since this is the Second Season, most unanswered questions were answered here. Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle puts forth new questions in a deeper story about memories which define one's personality.

Story: 9/10
The story that was started in the previous First Season ends here in the Second Season as we get to explore it in more depth. The conclusion was fitting, but felt a little bit rushed towards the end, especially the last episode. The pacing was fine throughout the other episodes otherwise. The story becomes more complex in this season as darker secrets appear to be uncovered. Sometimes sequels will completely ruin a show and ... sometimes they make it even better. This show did go deeper into the story and didn't stray away from it, so it wasn't worsened, but the quality of the story didn't improve either. The First Season already gave a good start to a good story and the Second Season finished it off with an appropriate conclusion.

Art: 7/10
The art is good, thus 7/10, but the problem in the art isn't because the animation is cheap, but that the character designs were nothing too admirable. The animation is actually great especially for battle scenes. It's just I've seen many shows out there that have amazing character designs that captivate me completely, but this show at least has a distinctive feel to it and definitely was far from bad. (Chaika's eyebrows) The background art was important to this show as it the characters travel, with their environment constantly changing, and it wasn't handled badly in any way at all.

Sound: 8/10
The opening and ending still stayed consistent with theme of the story and the background music doesn't ever get old or annoying. The voices were my favorite part. I felt that the voice actors all portrayed their character's personalities really well. There are some shows where the voice and the character seem out of sync and unnatural, but this show definitely has a well done connection between the characters and the voice actors. Akari's voice really went well with her comedic remarks, Fredica's voice actor really did a good job of portraying her voice in all different forms (Dominica, the dragoon, and Fredrica). The voices for the other characters were definitely well thought out and even the beserk and antagonistic characters didn't sound like monsters. What caught me the most was Chaika's voice because I'm a fan of cute characters, but it wasn't overly cute up to the point where that was her only trait, making her a strong but adorable and lovable female lead.

Character: 9/10
Chaika wants to find out more about herself because she starts to feel uncertain about her existence. Tooru is against it, wanting to protect her from danger. Red Chaika starts becoming more active in stealing the remains getting one step ahead of the main cast. More Chaikas start appearing, one of them being the one the First Season ended off on: Vivi. The informant guy starts to have more of an active role than he did before. There's lots of character development and change everywhere, and each of the characters deal with the changing situation in their own way, since as noticed in the previous season, the personalities of the characters vary from one to another making it a diverse cast.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I really enjoyed this series from the moment I picked it up and the moment I finished. Chaika was an innocent, cute, and overall likable main female lead that was consistent with her character even as she learned more of the truths in the world. She really wasn't as weak as she seemed. Most female leads when hit with a tragic truth go down in despair and need the protagonist to cheer them and motivate them back up again, but Chaika didn't need to. My enjoyment came mostly out of the characters: Chaika's strong will and Akari's well delivered comedic remarks. If the story is good, but the characters don't flow naturally with the story it makes it hard to watch. The characters really fit along with the setting and plot, making it original and an irreplaceable anime.

Overall=9/10
Definitely a anime worth watching (Of course, starting with the First Season)

Hitsugi no Chaika - Avenging Battle - 7/10

Before we start, let me warn you, Hitsugi no Chaika was my first ever anime, so keep it in mind while reading this review.

Short Review:
Art is ok, budget is kinda low but at least it's watchable so, it lacks CGI or cinematic effects so, to be fair it's a 6/10
Sound is ok, voice actors really did push some unique voices and personalities, the episode BGM is bland, but the Opening and Ending makes up for it so 7/10
Characters don't really have any depth whatsoever, but they are likable, maybe not as likable as say Cowboy Bebop, but still ... close enough so a 6/10. Another thing is that Chaika is neither as moe or as adorable as she was in the first season, particularly because 10 episodes left barely any time for her development and dialogue.
Enjoyment factor really stands out as all the action scenes have nice choreography and are all animated good, again, nothing too special but good is good, besides, the pacing in this show is fast and the plot unravels quickly so the overall dynamic is enjoyable, both here and in the first season in fact, straight 8/10 in that department.
Story is good, the lore is big and clever, while it may not be deep or hard to comprehend like in some other adventure/journey style shows like Ergo Proxy as an example, it is still quite a big universe and the world of chaika is an interesting experience, along with numerous new, to the fantasy genre concepts such as getting magic from memories and without spoiling too much the creature designs are very interesting and how they interact in the world. The actual plot is quite simple at the start, mostly really just finishing what first season started while throwing in plot twists up untill the end where all mysteries are solved and the show rapidly concludes itself wrapping up the story and coming to a complete closure, so i think the story, albeit simple, is enjoyable and deserves a fair 7/10.

Long Review (or rather an extension to the short one):
First of all, the ART is good, nothing too awesome, but it's ok, it's slightly worse than Akame ga Kill, but there is nothing too wrong with it, there is no CGI aside from a few small scenes, there aren't really any lightning or other advanced FX and it's just plainly drawn with not much detail, but aside from that there aren't really any glitches or mistakes in the art department, and i guess i can't judge the animation quality since it's only out in shitty bitrate on HDTVrips and not actual BDRemux/BDrip releases yet so even 1080p still looks like shit. Ok, the soundtrack itself is good, OP&ED are awesome just like in the first season, although the actual episode BGM is quite bland, nothing interesting there. Now the enjoyement rate is really high and the action scenes are well drawn from what i could tell and are fast-paced which makes it all dynamic and intense which is something i haven't seen in anime for a while. Now the story and the lore, especially the lore i think was the focus of the show, and i can't particularly state it succeded.
What i really liked about Chaika was that world-building, where it was a simple shounen anime technically, but it still had some unique aspects such as the creatures themselves and what they do, the history of their world, the mystery of emperor Gaz and what and why the Chaikas are in this world. I like how now in the second season the show then switches to de-building that world by questioning chaika's past and everything else, introducing one silly and expectable plot twist after another while simply working on what was already there in the first season. However, then in episode 9 there is a massive twist and all the mysteries are solved and all the pieces of puzzle are pulled together, the lore is now pretty much complete and we get a full picture and answers to why and how. Then in episode 10 there's a little bit that seems simillar to how in Fullmetal Alchemist the main villian tried to use souls to power the superhumans, only that here it's smarter and the main villian uses emotions and starvation for war, ironically the main protag and every good guy in this show fights and has emotions and memories, which power the magic in this show, so it becomes an interesting dillema, but the show ends before any of that is given any focus.
Overall, i liked the plot, the universe and will definitely miss this show and it's characters which may not have that much depth, but they sure are likable. The ending is very straightforward, and i'm not so sure really whether i like it, on one hand it's definitely good it didn't end in a mindfuck or some open-ended shit like Ergo Proxy because as much as those endings have the artistic value, they always leave a bad taste in my mouth, so maybe because of the good ending i liked the show, felt it had a closure.

The hardest part of being a critic of anything is deciding whether to give in to your snobbish, critical side or to allow yourself to actually enjoy the things you watch. It’s a problem a lot of hardcore critics have to deal with and something that doesn’t translate well in the written word. I have written many reviews stating that an anime has problems but I heavily enjoyed it, something that seems contradictory to many, especially when the score reflects a better product than what is actually seen.

Thus, Chaika: The Coffin Princess, an anime I had such a hard time reviewing because I loved it ... oh so much despite all the issues it had. It was so average in nearly every regard that giving it a 6 seemed perfectly fine. But my critical persona dissipated after watching part of the second season and I realized I don’t think Chaika deserves a 6 because it’s more than a good average. It’s freaking good.

And that’s why I raised the score on the review, that’s why I had to re-edit it, and that’s also why I created the new Otaku Seal of Approval category, a category dedicated to anime I particularly enjoyed and think you’ll find fun as well.

The second season of Chaika: The Coffin Princess is just as good as the first and finishes up the story of Chaika and her pals gathering the pieces of her father’s body. While it opens following the same formula as the previous season it moves into a grand finale with a final confrontation against the old emperor himself as well as a whole lot of revelations about what the Chaika’s are and their purpose.

Let’s get into the averages. Average story. Average world-building. Average writing. Average characters with average development. Average music.

But the action is fantastic. The characters are cute and despite their averageness I still think Chaika is lovable and adorable, Toru badass, and Vivi is just so freaking wonderful.

The story isn’t anything new or smart but it provides for an entertaining ride that is formulaic but has pretty good twists toward the end and keeps you invested in the character’s.

The world itself is weakly developed but the magic system is unique and interesting. Using bullets containing magic powders and then being able to shoot the weapon and produce all kinds of different effects based on the incantation they use is a really smart and interesting system. It makes more sense than a fantasy series containing guns with regular bullets being used alongside lances and swords.

Some new problems of the second season include the introduction of a female character who was artificially created to be a weapon. Her purple twin-tails combined with her purpose reminds me all too much of Sophie from Tales of Graces F.

The mentor of Toru and his sister winds up working for the bad guys by complete coincidence. Oh, and so does a supposedly dead character.That’s poor writing.

But the biggest problem I have with this anime is that it moves too fast to the conclusion. Not only do I want more but I feel like, had the series been extended to twice as long, it would have built up the characters and escalated the tension of the final scenes. The ending is emotional and pretty good, but it feels like the buildup wasn’t enough. There are eleven books in the light novel series and I can’t help but feel they compressed the books too much. Perhaps I should wait for the release of the first light novel in English this summer as it may develop these characters I already love and make me love them even more.

The ending comes way too abruptly and we don’t get to see the characters after the final battle more than thirty seconds. This small glimpse is not enough to satisfy me. I want closure, I want to see that Chaika and Toru are together or Chaika is happy in her new life. I want to see why Red Chaika is busting down doors and living with Toru, his sister, and Chaika. The most important thing an anime can do at the finale is leave us feeling satisfied that our heroes are doing well because when they’re happy, we’re happy. There is an upcoming OVA I hope gives us a better glimpse at the aftermath of the series, but lord only knows what they’ll do with it.

Chaika: The Coffin Princess is not a smart, thought-provoking, or pretty anime. It’s a really fun show, despite all the flaws, that I feel you’d be remiss to pass up. Definitely one of the better anime I’ve seen from last year and one of my favorite anime I’ve reviewed in the past couple of years.

Hitsugi no Chaika as a quite phenomenal series with the main character, Chaika, back with a second season. Still using the same theme in the first season, we were taken to see Chaika collect the pieces of her father's corpse despite the doubts and the mystery behind the Chaika herself. Accompanied by Tooru Acura and Akari Acura, also loli dragon Frederica, this second season solves up various mysteries that were encountered during the first season.

With the use of the same themes in the first season until the third episode, we were taken to Chaika adventure in finding the heroes who have the pieces of her ... father's body. The story began to focus on the mystery during the first season on mid-fourth episode. Still the same as the first season, the series is still using a fast tempo story. Luckily we can still enjoy the story though there are details that are missing, the same as the first season that lost the important details of the story.

I think because of the fast tempo, the end of the story feels end quite suddenly. A king is said to be the greatest wizard and has been in power for five centuries was defeated by his own goods in about 1 hour time story. I feel it can not be matched by the development of the strength of the main character. In addition, there is a "betrayal" by a character with unreasonable reasons. There is no scene that implies that the reason given is a reasonable.

Despite the weaknesses that exist in the story, the character traits of the characters in this series is quite satisfactory. Additional character in the second season brings a new atmosphere in the story. In addition, the mystery of the few characters solved properly with reaction of those characters when they knew the truth. In the final battle, it can be felt the flashbacks that were given very illustrate what has been passed by Tooru for this two season.

In addition to the characters, the animation is displayed quite nicely. It’s quite obvious that there are additional budget in the battle animation. However, it is not matched by the quality of the art even after how they did the first season. Depictions of "derp face" that exist in the first season are still widely seen in the second season. In addition, there is a mistake in the second episode when Chaika fall with her Gundo. All of a sudden, the Gundo disappeared from her grasp and the next scene is shown that Akari bring the Gundo to Chaika. Also, the coloring of the character in this series does not really represent the darkness of the story. It is quite unfortunate because the designs of new characters there are very brilliant in describing the atmosphere of the story.

There is nothing special about the music in this series. The opening song sung by Iori Nomizu still have the atmosphere similar to the opening song on the first season. Similarly, the closing song too. Background song also did not have anything special. Quite good for the action series like this, but can’t make me amazed.

Although with the reproachs that I gave, I quite liked this series. The absence of important details on the story and how the picture did not deter me to watch this series. I have always been loyal to watch this series every week to look forward to a variety of characters and also with the mystery solving. I am not so disappointed with the end of story, although I am a bit curious about the fate of Chaika memory. Hopefully this is discussed in the OVA.

I can say that this series is quite interesting to watch. The mysteries are quite interesting although not all the mysteries solved in this series. Also, the character are very entertaining and made me look forward to this series. I would recommend this series to you who like action series with spices of mystery and stories.

Thanks for reading my review!

Having enjoyed alot the first season, I was expecting the second one to be at least good.
Not diving much further into.
It meet my expectations, and while it had slower, more boring episodes, the story was still interesting, the music was great to be point I never skipped the OPs, the characters, again if you enjoyed the first season, you know what to expect, Frederica is charming like always, the main cast trio is likeable, the supporting characters do they job, sure the anime has some flaws, some pacings issues, and japanese nonsense, but you see the anime till the end, and those cease to ... be that noticiable.

By what I found, the LN ended already, and these 2 seasons are supposed to have covered the whole 11 volumes. So this is really the end of the series.
And that is where I most enjoyed the series itself, despite the flaws, and of course there is always room to improvement... the conclusion is satisfying!
It brings closure! Some stories, you were attached to those so much but by the end, they leave a biter taste in your memory with the conclusion, and while Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle had its cliches and predictable troupes plot, you invested your time watching the anime, you will be rewarded. Sure I was left wanting to see a bit more, non less it is easy to watch, and concluded in a pleasant way, not the most unforgetable anime, by far. But it does the job, and doesnt disappoint, and like I mentioned, if you enjoyed the first season, I cant see you hating this one.
Give the first a try, and if you liked it, you have here more 10 episodes to entertain you.

I’m really disappointed in watching this. The first season was mildly entertaining with just enough substance to keep me going towards the next season here’s why you shouldn’t waste your time on this season and pretend that the manga ending was the true one. For starters let’s get one thing out of the way there is way less character development than the first season it is incredibly noticeable. In the first season cut always were used to flesh out other main characters and what not and now that is just thrown out the window for more screen time with our main cast. Not that they ... are horrible characters or anything but they are so one dimensional that It hurts the story by having to constantly focus on them as opposed to having multiple perspectives like in the OG season. The story is paced horribly too fast certain events happen and instead of taking time and processing what just happened the story brushes off any of it and moves on to the next plot point. This causes scenes that lack any semblance of tone and seem to progress with no real reason beside the story needs to move. This also hurts the character whom appear to do things with no rhyme or reason which in the first season appeared to be for mysterious reasons but in this season only served to advance the plot. The ending is the biggest middle finger because it adds nothing and goes out it’s way to make it a happy every after without trying to wrap up the story. If you have any questions about the final episode good luck finding any answers because the show won’t answer them. Everything else was average the art was ok the music was ok but that just leaves a sour taste in my mouth as I desperately want to wash away this season.