Regular readers of my reviews know I love character and thematically driven anime — but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy a good, straight-up adventure when I come across one. And that’s exactly what Chaika: The Coffin Princess is.
Good — A Solid Fantasy Adventure
After the defeat of the evil emperor, the world has transitioned into an uneasy peace. When out-of-work soldier Toru comes across a lost girl wandering in the woods — and carrying a large coffin — he decides to join her on her quest to find the pieces of her father’s corpse so that she can give him a proper burial. Of course, this may be easier said than done as her father was, in fact, the aforementioned evil emperor and his body parts are a tremendous source of magical fuel. Together, Chaika, Toru, and his sister Akane set out to gather the corpse pieces from the heroes who killed Chaika’s father while at the same time trying to avoid the government agents sent out to capture her.
Chaika is one of those anime that knows what it is — a fantasy adventure — and embraces that to its fullest. It is not concerned with trope deconstruction or attempting to be shocking or edgy at every turn. Rather, it is a solid plot-driven anime full of exciting adventures that also explores the mysterious pasts of the various characters — and the secret behind Chaika herself. That’s not to say that the series doesn’t have its plot twists and surprising moments; but these are the icing on the “fantasy-adventure” cake, not the cake itself.
Good — Innocence Personified
Chaika is an interesting character in that she is basically innocence personified. There is not a suspicious or untrustworthy bone in her body. Thus, she takes everything at face value and is shocked when people do not live up to her “lawful good” expectations.
She is an excellent counterpoint to the far more pragmatic Toru or Akane who, as soldiers, have seen the worst humanity has to offer on countless occasions and thus never shy away from the violent path. Moreover, as the series goes on and the various main antagonists appear, their interactions with Chaika become the most intriguing aspect of the show.
The uncanny similarities between Chaika and them are contrasted by the profound differences in their world views. Every conversation between Chaika and one of the main antagonists serves to not only develop him or her, but also Chaika as she is constantly forced to confront a mindset far less innocent than her own.
Good — A Soldier without a War
Toru begins the series as a broken character. Skilled in war to the point of being largely unstoppable on the battlefield, he finds himself unable to adjust to a peaceful life. He is unable to hold down a job and is completely dependent on his sister for room and board.
Moreover, Toru is completely aware of his shortcomings and is surprised that his sister stays by his side despite them. He clearly has a low self-esteem when it comes to his inability to live a normal, peaceful life.
So when Chaika appears, she represents the return to a life he understands — one of danger, violence, and a clear purpose. In her, however, he doesn’t just find the way to a new battlefield; he finds someone who needs not only his skills but him as a person.
Good — Finding a Place in the World
Toru is far from the only person in the series who has difficultly finding his place in a peaceful world. Nearly every member of the main and supporting cast is driven by a similar inner conflict.
Fredrika, the final member of the party, mourns the loss of her partner from the war but joins Chaika’s group in hopes of gaining a similar bond again.
The group of heroes hunting Chaika is made up mainly of outcasts who have found a post-war home in each other, thanks to their leader bringing them all together. In this group they are accepted by their peers, have a leader they respect, and are given the chance to do something good for the world.
Even the villains of the story share this impetus. Whether they are fallen heroes corrupted by the spoils of war or are those like Toru who believe that they are only useful in war, the motive behind their actions on the most basic level is trying to make the world — and their lives — make sense again. It’s a feeling everyone can relate to.
Final Thoughts
Chaika: The Coffin Princess is a fun ride. It doesn’t do anything particularly special or novel and it doesn’t need to. If you are looking for a good fantasy adventure with interesting characters, great twists and turns, and a lot of imagination, you should definitely give this one a shot.
Chaika: The Coffin Princess aired on Tokyo MX in Japan. It can be viewed for free with English subtitles on Crunchyroll.
Comments
11 responses to “Chaika: The Coffin Princess Is A Fun Fantasy Adventure”
To be honest, I expect so much more from this series, especially more character development & world building.
the fantasy elements were great but rushed, so it all lacked weight.
Here’s my full take on it: http://andthegeekshall.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/uh-yeah-well-thats-about-it-really-anime-critique-hitsugi-no-chaika/
Yeah, I feel the same way, great premise, but the characters were not that strong which kind of let it down. Also chakra was just a shit boring generic character in general.
Then of course, it also only got 1 season, so was never going to be very epic, unless they continue it later.
It is in fact being continued with a second season airing around October. It was actually announced while the anime was still airing in Japan
I see. Well that helps I guess. The other problems I think stop it from shining though.
I read the 1st two volumes of the manga, which were direction adaptations of the Light Novel & they handled the characters a lot better than the anime did.
Hopefully the 2nd series delves a bit deeper in the development but as my review in the link above says, the 1st series both dragged out & rushed things.
My main issue is with chakra, who is just literally the worst and most boring character ever (seriously, cutsey girl main characters who are quiet and talk in disjointed wording etc, thats like a 90’s anime trope).
Read my review (even if you have, please click the link again to up my views). Also have issue with that & the other characters in the series who have the same speech.
I DREAD to see how badly they’ll perform her vocal tick in the English dub. D:
V nz trggvat gur srryvat gung nsgre ernqvat gur gi gebcrf cntr ba guvf navzr gung gur rivy rzcrebe zvtug gel gb erfheerpg uvzfrys ol hfvat 3 irefvbaf bs uvf qnhtugre nyn z sevxxva ovfba
All your base are belong to Kotaku.
How about not reviewing things that are not available in this region, getting sick of reading about things I can’t get access to.
Not to sound nasty or sarcastic, but does your region block torrent sites such nyaa.eu?
Torrenting is pretty much how everyone who can’t get streaming access goes.
It is available in Australia – Hanabee have all twelve eps up for streaming – and for free