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REVIEW: Chaika - The Coffin Princess season 1


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:04 am Reply with quote
A surprise of the season imo. I think Bones did a good job with this adaptation both storytelling and humor wise. I like Akari probably the best from the show for the role she plays in.

Definitely going to be on the look out for the second season to air this Fall!
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A Mystery



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1886
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:16 am Reply with quote
I think the review is spot on with this show's strengths and weaknesses and I look forward to the sequel this fall.
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:30 am Reply with quote
Quote:
current romcom trends

Those things are everywhere, like ants or something.
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prime_pm



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 2333
Location: Your Mother's Bedroom
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:30 am Reply with quote
This one and No Game, No Life were two great surprises this year. Glad to catch up with both and hope for more from each of them. Here's to another season for both of them.
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Thespacemaster



Joined: 03 Mar 2012
Posts: 1095
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:52 am Reply with quote
What i like about Chaika the Coffin Princess is that for one the characters within the story are not the typical types u would expect in anime series these days, they are actually more unique than most even Akari's love for her step sibling relationship even tough that has been recycled so many times. she shows it in a way quite original and funny.

Also the story, This is the first time in a very long time, where a Fantasy adventure show is actually a Fantasy Adventure show, Most Fantasy shows these days either feature a fantasy school or slice of life fantasy theme. This one actually has adventure, Also the unique Magic Technology and Creatures is also something to be admired. Especially The Flying Fortresses and Magic Guns. Also i like how it reveals the plot line and mystery bit by bit and yet still leaves enough mystery that keeps u guessing and keep u wanting to stick to the story to see what else might be revealed.

The Animation i would agree it is not up to standard these days, but it is still good, i think they sacrificed the animation budget in order to produce enough episodes to adapt to the entire series. This is already confirmed because they stated this would end at the same time as the LN, Same thing happened with Scrapped Princess and Gosick both of which are previous Bones work. In a Way i actually like the way the animation was done it reminded me of the animation of the late 90's to early 00's, So in a sense its like when i watch it, it is like i am watching the anime's of the old it gives me a reminiscent feeling. Haha maybe it;s just me getting old ( I'm 21 by the way).

The Music and soundtrack was probably the best thing the series had particularity the opening and ending credits. Every time i want to listen to them, there is something about them that i find stimulating.

Bottom Line: It is defiantly one of the surprises of this year and i think it swept under the radar a bit but hopefully with your review and with the feedback from other viewers it might persuade others to give this show a try. it really should been seen by more.
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Wrangler



Joined: 11 Nov 2007
Posts: 1346
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:07 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed and looked forward to the second half of Chaika the Coffin Princess. The show was very good with its plend of magic steampunk genre.

Having world where main leads are victims of conflict that has ended and been suffering in the peace that as come in.

It has its problems, i'm sure Dragoon issue will be resolved, unless things climax by end of the second half / second season of the show. I hope it doesn't, i under stand need to close things up to make it more attractive of a sale, but have another group of 24 episodes with this kind of writing would be something to look forward to.
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:09 pm Reply with quote
This show was great. And that damn cliffhanger... I cannot wait till fall.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:21 pm Reply with quote
B seems like good fit, it has its problems and won't have you desperate for more each time, but it is a good story anything really bad. I thought Frederica was used well, but I guess you are right that balance with her will be needed, her part in the final arc was at least well, horrifying and cute.

Maybe the designs in general are nothing very iconic, but Chaika kind of has enough of it to spread it around. Well her bodyguard are meant to not stand out too much, so it is good to see them often wearing concealing hoods. And not sure it is conveyed enough that I don't think Chaika's speech issues come across the full on moe pandering you would expect.
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kevinx59



Joined: 27 Jan 2012
Posts: 959
Location: In sunny California
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:57 pm Reply with quote
I thought the series was pretty good, and would probably also give it a B rating. It wasn't the series i looked forward to every week, but i enjoyed watching it. I liked Chaika: her character design was odd (those eyebrows!), but I thought her manner of speaking was interesting and as the series went on I found her strangely cute. Akari really stood out to me: she is a weird mix of competence/badassness and sheer idiocy. The way she says everything in a serious, deadpan and confident manner, even when she's proclaiming her brotherly love or admitting that she is a complete idiot, it was pretty amusing.

The art wasn't bad, but to me it seemed a little old. It looked more like a mid-2000's series than one from 2014 (then again a lot Bones series look like that to me.) The animation was excellent though: I'm not a big fan of Bones, but their animation is often top notch, and its nice to see Chaika follow that trend. In fact, like another poster mentioned, a lot of this series reminds me more of early 2000's style anime, and I kinda like that. Some of the music reminded me of Strike Witches(same composer, but was not expecting similar themes). In the end I liked this series ; not one of my favorites, but I'll definitely check out season 2.
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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1291
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:34 pm Reply with quote
I'm glad Key refrained from major spoilers in this. I was thinking I shouldn't read it until I finished the last episode, but gave in. Now I really need to watch that last episode! Smile
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:42 pm Reply with quote
This was probably the best thing I watched of the spring season but than again it's been a rather lackluster spring season, and the fact that the first half is so much like Scrapped Princess is a downgrade because Scrapped Princess was and is so very good. I didn't have that big a problem with spoiler[Frederica] being so overpowered she was my favorite part of the series.
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Cyclone1993



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 947
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:54 pm Reply with quote
I adored this series. It doesn't hurt that I love Chaika's design passionately. I can agree with the review in some aspects. However I think that the majority of the characters have very interesting designs, even the members of Gillette's group had particularly appealing designs.

I think comparisons with Scrapped Princess are a little unfair to both series. They are similar in some regards but I don't know if a review of one is the place to mention them. I enjoy both series regardless, but I enjoy Coffin Princess more.

The series doesn't really do anything majorly wrong in my opinion except for some maybe poorly drawn faces when shown at a distance.

I initially found Chaika's speech pattern a little weird, but it did become very endearing and can't imagine her without it.

Fredrica is one element I find odd. I like her personality and design but her role in the story doesn't make full use of her and she seems ridiculously overpowered.

But that's really the only bad thing I can say about the show. It's a nice high fantasy that doesn't really involve fanservice or a school setting which is definitely appreciated.

It's on it's way to being one of my favorite series, so I will definitely be watching the second season!
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:02 pm Reply with quote
The last three episodes were abysmal and almost sunk the show. Ugh, it hurts just remembering it. Well, that arc is over now so hopefully the show goes back to the high standards it displayed in the first nine episodes.
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:10 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
Well, that arc is over now so hopefully the show goes back to the high standards it displayed in the first nine episodes.


No, it won't. Source: the light novels. Also, I completely disagree with you.
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ChibiKangaroo



Joined: 01 Feb 2010
Posts: 2941
PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:19 pm Reply with quote
Parsifal24 wrote:
This was probably the best thing I watched of the spring season but than again it's been a rather lackluster spring season, and the fact that the first half is so much like Scrapped Princess is a downgrade because Scrapped Princess was and is so very good. I didn't have that big a problem with spoiler[Frederica] being so overpowered she was my favorite part of the series.


Suprisingly, I think I am in agreement with this. I really didn't like the first episode of Chaika. The whole unicorn exploding spectacle was just sensationalism with no purpose, and the world that the show takes place in is extremely unimaginative. I basically thought it looked like New Jersey, and not the nice part either.

However, the show got better as it went on. The characters became smarter for the most part, and I really grew to like Akari and Frederica. Chaika's speech pattern was extremely annoying to me, but I could do with it.

All that being said, this show was still just good enough to keep me watching but didn't blow me away by any means. And, this season was pretty abysmal. World Is Still Beautiful was practically a bust, and none of the other shows really hooked me. (I watched some of Dragonar but it was a loli-romcom trope fest - same thing with Black Bullet. There weren't any standouts, so Chaika wins by default.)
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