The Fall 2014 Anime Preview Guide

Chaika -The Coffin Princess- AVENGING BATTLE

Theron Martin

Rating: 4 (of 5)

Review: After a season off Chaika – The Coffin Princess – is finally back to continue its run, this time with a fresh subtitle rather than a “season 2” designation. Don't let that mislead you, though; this is a direct continuation of the first season, one which wastes almost no time explaining what came before. Those who have not seen the first season will be utterly lost.

A month has passed since the battle between the flying fortresses, and Chaika, Tohru, and Akari are back on the active hunt for Emperor Gaz's body parts, but the former hero they have run into this time – the mistress of a successful vineyard – is proving quite the troublesome foe, as she is a wizard who can use incantations shorter than Chaika's and her workers and servants are all ex-soldiers recruited when they found themselves without work in the wake of the past war against the Gaz Empire. She magnanimously allows Chaika to duel for the remains, and not even to the death, though her initial failed attempt shows Chaika that she is at a disadvantage that she cannot easily compensate for. Meanwhile other affairs are afoot, such as a possibly-familiar figure observing Chaika and crew, the Council of Five Nations continuing to analyze the lingering influence of Emperor Gaz, and the Gillette Squad trying to regroup in the face of the apparent loss of Gillette and the partial transformation of Vivi into a Chaika-like form. Vivi also has her own first encounter with Guy.

Everything that was likable about the first season – the character interactions, the multilayered mysteries, the magical displays, the numerous possibly-related story threads – is back in full and delightful force, so fans of the series should see no letdown. The first episode not only serves up a bevy of potential angles and story threads but also provides a flashback that reveals a bit more insight into what Emperor Gaz was trying to accomplish with his Chaika project (though not too much!) and a more detailed explanation of how magic works in this world. What's going on with Vivi is unquestionably the most intriguing side story, and that certainly looks like it is not going to be neglected. The Next Episode preview also suggests that we haven't seen the last of Red Chaika, either.

In a season that has already proved to be unusually heavy on fantasy series, the story potential shown here could keep Chaika among the cream of the crop if the execution holds. Given that the writing/directing team has proved their ability in the past, there's no reason at this point to believe that it won't.

Chaika – The Coffin Princess – AVENGING BATTLE is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Hope Chapman

Rating: 4

Season 2 of Coffin Princess Chaika definitely doesn't bury the lede! The very first frame is bursting with Chaikas: dozens of Chaikas begetting hundreds of Chaikas. It's a real Chaika-palooza, following on the heels of the first season's greatest unexpected twist that takes the titular coffin princess from a struggle of herself against the world to a struggle of herself against herselves. How can Chaika be sure that she is "the real daughter" of Emperor Gaz, if one ever existed to begin with? How can she be sure if what she's doing is just, when the whole world is against her and even her own allies don't care if what she's accomplishing is right or wrong? It's a surprisingly heavy and complex series of questions for what began as an unassuming yet unique fantasy series from the author of the equally memorable Scrapped Princess.

This first episode back with our heroes is all action at the start and all action at the end, with some lovely character writing and foreshadowing mixed into the middle. Chaika, Toru, and Akari are still hunting for Gaz's remains, but for once, the warrior guarding them is being cooperative. She only wants to beat Chaika and her allies in a fair fight, which Chaika is deeply moved by, but her saboteur friends assure her that this is impossible and they should just escape with the remains under cover of darkness. Chaika puts her foot down and insists in her adorable broken speech that win or lose, she will earn the right to her father's heart (literally his blood-pumping muscle) through just means, which is just one small part of what makes her such an endearing heroine. On the other side of camp, we have the Gillette Corps at their most compelling, now drawn into the morally muddy side of the conflict after Vivi's transformation into another Chaika. An informant named Guy assures her that she is the "real" one and always has been, further deepening all the confusion and intrigue. The episode is such a strong return to form that it reminded me that yes, I really did miss this story and these characters, and it's had a deeper heart and bigger brains than its generic face would suggest from the beginning.

Chaika's just good genre entertainment, top to bottom. The worldbuilding is good, the character writing is good, the animation is good, it's all very very very good. It's a nice reminder that even the most conventional and familiar of anime can have the power to impress.

Chaika the Coffin Princess - Avenging Battle is available streaming at Crunchyroll.

Nick Creamer

Rating: 3

Chaika has returned and is still comfortably Chaika. In this first episode of Avenging Battle, we catch up with all our various characters a month after the events of season one's finale. Chaika, Toru, Akari, and Fredrica are still gathering Gaz's remains, and are currently challenging another of the great heroes, who now runs a successful vineyard. The world sits on the brink of another war, and various other Chaikas are still running amok. And Gillette's squad remains on the job, with half-Chaikified Vivi now being propositioned by the mysterious Guy.

This was a much slower episode than the first season's debut, and unfortunately featured a real lack of exploding unicorns. Instead, this episode was largely focused on reestablishing the character relationships and offering a little more worldbuilding exposition. An early flashback gave us direct confirmation of Gaz's hand behind the Chaika Initiative, and Chaika's later attempts to reduce her incantations revealed a little more about how magic works in this world. I really appreciate the grounded nature of magic in Chaika's universe - it's nice to hear that Chaika's incantations aren't just random spell-words, but are actually intended to define the form, trajectory, and other details of any specific conjuration.

Chaika's other priorities were also on display this episode - namely, being cute while also reflecting on post-war identity crises. We had Chaika curiously inspecting grapes, Chaika demanding to try the hero's wine, Chaika getting hit by a pillow and talking about her “precious friends” - if you're here to see Chaika act cute, Chaika was ready to entertain. And on the other side, it was nice to see the vineyard here offer an actual positive example of soldiers picking up the pieces after a life of war. Chaika's issues with her own identity (issues now shared by Vivi) are really just a microcosm of the show's larger concern with defining yourself in the wake of war, and it's a comfort that the show's answers there aren't all negative.

Chaika's production remains solid, though this episode offered little opportunity to show off the show's dynamic fight choreography. Overall, this was a muted but reasonable reentry to the series, and I'm looking forward to watching Chaika do her Chaika thing again this season.

Chaika the Coffin Princess - Avenging Battle is available streaming at Crunchyroll.