Title: Chaika The Coffin Princess season 1
Director: Soichi Masui
Creator: Ichiro Sakaki
Anime Writer: Touko Machida
Studio: Bones
U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23
Format: Blu-ray/ 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Supernatural
Age Rating: TV 14
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Synopsis:
The end of the war with the Gaz Empire only meant unemployment for former Saboteur Toru Acura. So when he collides with fate in the form of a young girl carrying a coffin through a forest, it doesn’t take much convincing for Toru and his similarly inclined step-sister Akari to join young wizard Chaika on her bizarre quest: to collect the scattered body parts of the former Emperor.
Unfortunately, the severed pieces were carried off by the Heroes who killed him, and some think that reassembling them could restart the war! On top of that, Chaika may not be who she claims to be, as there are others conducting similar missions all across the kingdoms. Is Chaika a dead man’s daughter, picking up the pieces for burial, or is there something far more sinister in the works? The winds of war are stirring and there are dragons waiting in the darkness ahead for Chaika The Coffin Princess!
Commentary:
Chaika The Coffin Princess is not what I expected. I was thoughtful and full of dark mystery. The series first came across as just another dark fantasy, but as it progressed I found the plot to be much thicker and well developed. You never really know who or what Chaika is but it does become easy to by into the little group because of the blind faith that Toru who is looking for a reason to live.
The other thing that makes it easy to like this series is the animation. Bones does a lot of different animation it doesn’t always work, but for Chaika the look and feel is spot on. The story fits the fanciful world they live in and helps keep things moving along. That being said I am getting a little tired of seeing the magical rings show up in every show to evidence some summons or spell being cast. It is over used I think it would have worked just fine without it.
Overall Grade: B+
Chaika the Coffin Princess is a strong fantasy that give you enough story and plot to make it worth while to get involved in. As it worked toward the end of the first 12 episodes I was hoping for more information and maybe even a secret or two to be revealed, but I was left wanting more. Sometimes it is a terrible way to setup a series but when the story and plot are strong enough it is a wonderful way to move the series along. Chaika the Coffin Princess voice acting was rather tight and caught the feeling exceptionally well. The only draw back was Crystal LaPort who played Fredrika. She came across whinny and took to the high pitch end all too much that it became annoying, much the way Monica Rail plays many of her characters. It is just too much.
Chaika the Coffin Princess is a great option for the fantasy lover. It should be easy to get past the tired Lolita crap laid out with Chaika and get into the story. For those of you looking for something different then this might be just what you are looking for. I found much of the drama and action that is found in Sword Art Online and some of the solid plot of Fullmetal Alchemist.
Check it out and enjoy.
