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.
