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.
