Chained Soldier – 12 (Fin) – Money on the Table

While Tenka saw her future with Yuuki and Aoba flash before her eyes last week, we get more of Kyouka’s past flashing by here in the finale, as we see the peace and happiness and love in which she grew up turn to ash, and everything she did to become stronger.

She’s fueled by the desire to avenge her hometown and everyone in it, just as Yuuki is fueled by his desire to save his sister, protect his friends, and stand beside Kyouka. Their combined resolve manages to defeat the berserk Unihorn and force an impressed Shikoku to retreat.

With both Coco and Naon being captured by the enemy, Aoba is determined to rescue them. But while she trusts both Tenka and Kyouka to have her and her brother’s best interests at heart, she can’t trust the organization they work for, so she declines their offer to help her.

Kyouka vows to become Supreme Commander, so she can change the policies of the Demon Defense Forces, protect Mato victims like Aoba and her friends, and maybe one day find a cure to their condition. Aoba heads into hiding with a new appreciation of her little brother’s strength, knowing he’ll be just fine until they meet again.

That said, I doubt she’d be okay with Kyouka sharing her bed with Yuuki for a night as his reward while they’re both in their underwear. It’s pretty tame by reward standards, but then again it’s based upon Yuuki’s imagination, so perhaps he can’t quite imagine going all the way with Kyouka (or any girl, for that matter).

The rewards of last few episodes have seemed more of an afterthought; like the show knows this is the system it has set up in order to operate in both the sci-fi action and ecchi spheres, but its heart seemed to be much more in the family dynamics and combat.

That’s evident by how happy lil’ Nei is to see Yuuki when he returned with Kyouka, and how the two go all out to prepare a huge feast for everyone once they recover from their battle injuries. Honestly the sell for Chained Soldier for me is more about these lovable, nicely-designed characters, whether they butt heads, get along, or fight over Yuuki.

Of course, while Tenka can still sneak into Yuuki’s room with her ability and mount him whenever he wants, the fact remains that he’s Kyouka’s “servant” first and foremost. When Nei detects a horde of Shuuki and the 7th squad is mobilized, they’re the ones to deliver the coup-de-grace to the big Shuuki boss.

Since the show kinda just ended with a kind of summing-up of this dynamic, with lots of stuff still to do, either a second season will come along (Update: second season confirmed) to continue the story, or those interested will have to settle for reading the manga. And while I can’t yet commit to a second season, I also won’t deny that I had fun watching this one.

Chained Soldier – 11 – A Common Enemy

While it looked like the humans were poorly matched against their opponents last week, the tables are gradually turned here in one battle after the other. While Kyouka takes on the Unihorn, Tenka finds that Yuuki’s sister (her sister-in-law) moves so fast, all she can do is flee by teleporting; there’s no time for an attack of her own.

So Tenka, who can teleport 666 times in a row, just keeps playing defense, counting on Kyouka to eventually defeat Unihorn and help her out. As she teleports away again and again, she’s also learning Aoba’s movements. That’s the DDF Commander Difference: extra attention to detail and above all, patience.

When Coco reveals that she’s super slimy and her trusty dog is nigh invincible, Shushu and Sahara switch it up. Instead of being huge, Shushu shrinks to the size of a baseball, and Sahara launches her into the dog’s mouth. Then she grows to huge size again, and the dog explodes in a grisly cloud of gore, bone, and fur.

This, of course, it’s the largest plot hole in Avengers: Infinity War: Ant-Man could have easily gone up Thanos’ **** and blown him up from the inside. Anywho, Sahara grabs one of the dog’s teeth and uses her highest-level Sheep power to launch herself at Coco, slashing her across the abdomen. Great creativity and teamwork from the muscle-heads here.

How does Yachiho deal with Hinami suddenly being choked out from behind? By simply rewinding time. Every time Naon and her spider show her a move, she’s able to go back in time and counter it. When she needs a rest, Hinami protects her in kind, by among other things sprouting a hundred guns from her hair and firing them in all directions.

When some of the bullets hit Naon hiding in the wall, Yachiho rewinds time and targets her directly. While they’ll alway be a little hostile or competitive with each other, it’s more than clear that Yachiho and Hinami love each other dearly and will always have each others’ backs—literally in this case.

That brings us back to Tenka vs. Aoba. She’s gotten into such a repetitive rhythm of dodging attacks and teleporting that Aoba is totally caught off guard when Kyouka breaks that rhythm with her katana. She makes it possible for Tenka to finally use her attack for offense. But when she has Aoba right in her sights, she hesitates.

Aoba strikes her down with a direct hit, and asks her why she hesitated. Tenka’s answer proves her love for Yuuki: she didn’t want to make him upset by killing her. Aoba assures Tenka she didn’t need to go easy on her, but she also beams as brightly as we’ve ever seen her as she thanks Tenka for thinking of her brother’s feelings. She’s decided she likes Tenka now.

Mind you, that doesn’t mean she wants Tenka to marry Yuuki, but in her battered, possibly concussed, yet mostly lovesick/horny state, Tenka can’t help but hear Aoba’s words and start visualizing a life with Yuuki  as her husband and Aoba as her sister-in-law.

It’s quite simply sweet as hell, and if it brings the battle to a screeching halt and serves as a momentary truce of sorts, so what? Battles are fun, but character stuff like this is fun too, and really deepens my connection with the characters. This isn’t good vs. evil. These battles only even started because hotter heads prevailed.

Turns out it’s a good thing everyone stops whaling on each other at this point. As soon as Naon and Coco appear before Aoba with Shushu, Sahara, and the Azuma sisters in tow, the two “godlike” humanoid Shuuki Shikoku and Jouryuu blast a hole in the cave ceiling and descend.

To the humans’ surprise, these two are not on Aoba’s side; in fact, they consider Aoba and her friends to be “mutts.” Shikoku introduces them as the “Eight Thunder Gods”, leaders of the Shuuki. One stomp from Jouryuu sends everyone flying, and when one of Shikoku’s snakes bites Unihorn, it turns on Aoba.

Clearly, these two are extremely powerful, possibly more powerful than Aoba, Kyouka, and Tenka, especially when they’re already extremely beaten up and fatigued. But that mighty wind Jouryuu kicks up? Aoba shields Yuuki and Kyouka from it, and when she’s down on the ground and Unihorn is about to deliver a critical blow, Kyouka comes between them—while riding a freed Yuuki.

If Coco can get herself and everyone healed and they find their second wind, I’ll take all of them plus Yuuki working together against anyone, any day. It’ll be an uphill fight for sure, but it looked that way for the humans last week. A lot can happen in twenty minutes, and Shikoku’s naked arrogance might be something that can be exploited.

Chained Soldier – 10 – Caught in the Middle

Naon tells Yuuki the story of how she was just an ordinary human model doing a shoot when she ended up in the middle of a Mato mishap. She tasted a peach, which then went haywire, and the next thing she knew she was a captive research subject of the Onmyou Bureau slowly transforming into a shuuki. It was cruel, inhumane ordeal that makes her desire for revenge valid.

But that validity begins and ends at the Onmyou Bureau, and the people who hurt her directly. It should not extend to the entire human bureaucracy in Mato, including the Demon Defense Force. And yet, despite Yuuki’s protests, Naon, Coco, and his big sis are itching for a fight, alongside their hulking monster familiars.

Kyouka, Tenka, and the others arrive outside Aoba & Co.’s cave, and Yachiho uses Golden Hour to instantly defeat all the small fry. She and Himari take on Naon’s weapon-wielding spider-like familiar, while Shushu and Sahara face off against Coco and her bear-like familiar.

The melee abilities of our wrestler girls are a poor match for Coco’s ability to make herself slimy and slippery, and her familiar’s near-invincibility. Yachiho’s Golden Hour ends up working on the spider monster, but it used itself as a diversion so Naon could ambush Himari with Yachiho too far away to help.

Meanwhile, Kyouka successfully tracks down Yuuki, and I love the way Tenka wordlessly opens a portal, walks through, nabs Yuuki, then walks back and waves to Aoba. Kyouka still owes Yuuki a reward, so she starts sucking and licking his fingers. Tenka joins in despite not under the effects of any contract, because a.) she must feel left out and b.) she really is into Yuuki.

When Aoba finds them and rushes at the girls, Yuuki stands between them and halts her attack. He tells Kyouka and Tenka about Aoba and the other humanoids’ circumstances, and how they’re victims to. Kyouka promises that the Onmyou Bureau will pay for what they did, but Aoba doesn’t trust her. Tempers flare, and Aoba ends up tying Yuuki up with her hair so that he’ll be out of harm’s way while she fights Kyouka and Tenka.

Kyouka ends up taking on Aoba’s Unihorn familiar, making Tenka Aoba’s first opponent. When Tenka introduces herself as Yuuki’s girlfriend, it enrages Aoba (who is a bit of a brocon) that much more, hopefully to throw her off balance.

With Naon and Coco in firm control of their battles against the others and the mysterious Shikoku ready to make a big move, things are really starting to heat up. But don’t get it twisted: the show remains committed to tossing in as much ecchi content as it can.

Chained Soldier – 09 – Is My Big Sister a Baddie?!

After another battle in which Yuuki takes care of the last Shuuki on his own, Kyouka praises him, and it motivates him to keep getting stronger so he can save her. Then his reward acts out the fantasy of saving Kyouka, gathering her in a princess carry so she can kiss him. It’s a rare instance of Kyouka letting her guard down and being a little vulnerable, if only because she’s in reward mode.

Back at base, Tenka is still loitering around, and when talk of Yuuki’s inspiring big sister comes up. Yuuki regales her and the squad of a time one of his classmates and his big brother threatened him, but she came to his rescue, judo-throwing the older brother (who is three times her size). To her surprise, Yuuki also puts the younger bully in a lock, having learned a thing or two from his sis. This pleases her to no end.

Anyone would envy having a tough, cute big sis like Wakura Aoba, and no doubt Yuuki has been missing her every day, and remains both confused and intrigued by the possibility she’s still around, in humanoid Shuuki form. When Nei detects what looks like a kid being chased by Shuuki, Shushu and Himari are dispatched to save her, only for the “kid” to be one of those humanoid Shuuki.

When a second humanoid Shuuki shows up, Shushu and Himari are in big trouble, so despite Kyouka giving Yuuki the rest of the day off to bathe and recharge, they have to head right back out to save their comrades. By the time they arrive, a third humanoid is there: the one who looks like Aoba. When he charges at her, she shouts for him to stop, and he obeys. Kyouka is thrown from his back, and Aoba surrounds her with lesser Shuuki. By the time she’s carved her way through them, the humanoids and Yuuki are gone.

It’s a rare defeat for Uzen Kyouka, but more than that, the fact Yuuki is more than a pet or slave, but a comrade and friend as well, makes it that much harder for her that they’re now separated. He waks up naked, being licked all over by the petite humanoid (her saliva has healing properties). Then Aoba comes in, acts in a way Yuuki immediately clocks as his big sister, and they share a touching embrace.

Aoba, along with her comrades Zanibako Coco (petite) and Yuno Naon (sultry), act pretty much like the humans they used to be … they just look a lot cooler and sexier now. Their chemistry and interactions prove just as charming as the ones among the DDF members. It’s only when Yuuki brings up the DDF that their eyes start to glow and they adopt a more menacing posture, but that soon fades and Aoba returns to the big sister Yuuki knew and loved.

I actually like how much of his time with Aoba the humanoid Shuuki depicts them as less two-dimensional than the heels they make themselves out to be on the battlefield. At the end of the day, they are victims of Mato-related accidents making the best of their new half-monster lives. Like Yuuki, through Aoba I was able to empathize quite a bit with them. These aren’t monsters to be defeated by the DDF, but people with the same souls thery had as humans.

That said, Aoba and her two lieutenants have higher-ups who seemed a lot more one-dimensionally eeeeevil, and it’s clear they have no interest in negotiating or co-existing with the DDF. Suruga and Himari are worried not just about Yuuki, but Kyouka, who holes herself up in her room after they return, but once Yuuki transformed back into a human, Kyouka became a Yuuki detection radar, since she needs to give him his battle reward.

Tenka, Yachiho, and Sahara join forces with Kyouka, Shushu, and Himari for the Rescue-Yuuki mission, but none of them know yet how much more complicated things have gotten. Now that he knows what she is, I doubt Yuuki will allow his big sister to be harmed. It’s your classic case of family-vs-friends divided loyalties, adding a welcome and fascinating wrinkle to what had been a black-and-white fight.

Chained Soldier – 08 – Getting Personal

This is the second straight week where there’s not a lot of action out in the field, but this episode makes up for it with action elsewhere. Tenka is serious about acquiring Yuuki from Kyouka. At first she says “pet”, but when she meets him in his bedroom via portal, she clarifies that she actually wants more of a normal boyfriend, and he’ll do nicely.

While she really should have knocked, I do appreciate that she asks Yuuki if he’ll miss his shirt before she casts it into a mini-singularity. She tries to convince Yuuki to agree to date her with her body when Shushu pops in. For failing to knock, she’s punished by having to see the boy she likes being glommed on by the 6th Squad’s commander.

While Tenka is caught, her offer to Yuuki remains, and Kyouka won’t interfere in his personal life. He’s free to date whomever he likes as long as it doesn’t disrupt his duties as her slave. Speaking of, she has Nei hop on Yuuki’s back and take the reins in order to determine if he’ll transform into a useful variant.

In this case, he’s not too strong or fast, but he does have extremely keen vision and hearing, the former allowing him to see through his comrades’ clothes. Nei ends up giving him a peck on the cheek as a reward (whew), and makes Shushu eager to hop on Yuuki as well. Unfortunately, while the resulting Yuuki is stronger, he’s also much slower, and can’t scale up along with Shushu.

The testing session in interrupted by an alarm indicating it’s time for Nei to head to school. Yuuki accompanies her, still curious why a relative kid would join the defense force. Like his sister, her parents vanished in what was likely a Maho Mishap, making her an orphan. Her Peach ability’s name, “Sure to Find: Promise”, indicates her stalwart resolve to find them. Her lack of tears and bright smile confirm she’s tougher than she looks.

After having sukiyaki with Tenka, the 6th Squad commander follows her home and immediately starts hitting on Yuuki. Then an alarm sounds, and the three head to the battlefield where Himari and Shushu are already mobilized. There, Kyouka takes it back: she doesn’t want him fawning over Tenka anymore.

Call it jealousy, possessiveness, fear of distractions, or all of the above, Kyouka’s decided she doesn’t want him to date her rival. After giving him a stern talking-to, he’s fired up to give it his all, and they’re able to easily defeat a boss-level Shuuki that was designed by the Snake Lady to toy with them.

Kyouka and Tenka’s boss wants to try talking with the humanoid Shuuki first, but somehow I doubt things will work out so peaceably. As for Tenka, the fact Yuuki is off-limits only makes him more attractive, so I’m sure she’ll keep trying to make him hers.

Chained Soldier – 07 – Housekeeping

Rairen thinks he’s hot shit with his lightning, but 6th Squad Commander Izumo Tenka is able to dogwalk him, thanks to her mastery of portals and singularities. She employs the former to dodge his attacks and teleport where she wishes, and the latter to suck him into oblivion. Tenka has an aloof, ethereal air to her combat style, and like last week the animation and use of color and lighting is very nicely done.

After a debriefing and giving Bizen his autograph (she now respects him a little even though he’s a man), Yuuki is ready for a nice long bath, but forgets that both Kyouka and Himari owe him significant rewards. As expected, they carry them out together, disrobing and assisting with his bath. This scene is also very nice looking; the show doesn’t skimp when it comes to fanservice, making the trashy look classy.

Yuuki travels with Kyouka and Himari to 6th Squad’s barracks, where he’s put to work as a caretaker-for-the-day while Kyouka and Tenka have a meeting. He finds the place very clean, though he still isn’t quite used to doing women’s laundry. Shushu stays at home, her crush for Yuuki still in full flower. She even considers tidying up her room for the first time, since it’s possible he’ll like her more if she’s less of a slob.

This downtime-filled episode is full of great little details that add texture to the new 6th squad characters. We see that for all her harsh words and treatment of Himari, Yachiho is kind of obsessed with her cute little sister, judging from her drom decor, and that Sahara is just as deadly with the wrestling moves when she’s fast asleep and mistakes Yuuki for a pillow trying to flee.

Earlier during the debriefing at the 7th barracks, Himari makes sure to thank Yachiho for saving her life during the Shuuki battle. Yachiho scoffs it off in her tsundere style. At the 6th barracks, Himari watches her sister work out in the gym, and both Yuuki and Sahara encourage her to talk to her.

Sahara believes Yachiho’s Peach ability was borne from her desire to spend more time with Himari, while Himari’s learning ability was borne from her desire to learn from Yachiho. The sisters have a nice little moment when Himari hands Yachiho a towel, Yachiho snatches it without saying thank you, and they start amicably bickering, the way sisters do.

Meanwhile, we get a peek at the humanoid Shuuki’s arena-like headquarters, and learn that Tenka was correct in her uncertainty about Rairen dying. He was rescued at the last second by Shikoku, a snake woman who lounges around looking at relics from the normal world. I also dig Jouryuu, a buff Amazoness with lionine hair and piercing eyes.

Rairen’s plan was to launch a full-scale assault on the Demon Defense Force, but it failed spectacularly. However, it did shoe Shikoku who they’re dealing with commander-wise. She’d previously engaged the 3rd squad without their leader present and defeated them easily, but Kyouka and Tenka are a different story.

As for the two commanders, Tenka ends the meeting with a request that comes as a surprise to Kyouka: she wants “the little slave”, i.e. Yuuki. We saw her teleport into his room while he slept, and watching him in battle has only intensified her desire to possess and use him. The ED visuals in which she plays with a collar suggest she’ll be Yuuki’s master at some point, but I highly doubt Kyouka would part with him permanently.

Chained Soldier – 06 – Eyes on Me

Having witnessed how “physically demanding” Yuuki can be on his masters, Shushu wants a piece of him too. She wants him to watch while she kicks the sleepy Sahara’s ass. Both hand-to-hand specialists, their first round is a classic wrestling match with some really niftily animated moves.

Just when Shushu has the upper hand, sleepy Sahara demands that they be allowed to use their abilities. Shushu blows up in size, but Sahara basically Super Saiyans into a ball of violent energy. Due to Sahara’s smaller size, she can dodge Shushu’s attacks, while Shushu is a bigger target for her attacks.

After Sahara beats Shushu with her eyes closed (in unconscious berserk mode) and also rips off the front of her shirt, Shushu returns to the barracks to rest and change, tears in her eyes from such a pitiful performance. But Yuki is soon there on the other side of her door to cheer her up. She rewards him with a kiss, but stops short of confessing until she makes him to like her more.

While Nei is partoling the area with her scanning ability, she spots two humanoid Shuuki, and all of a sudden the exhibition venue turns into a battlefield. Rivalries are cast aside, as Shushu returns to the lines and is backed up by Sahara, and the Azuma sisters prepare to take on the towering, haughty Rairen.

When her arm gun won’t work on the foe, Himari asks Kyouka if she can ride Yuuki with her. Yuuki kisses Himari’s hand having already kissed Kyouka, and he transforms into a bigger and much more powerful form, and is able to fire a cannon like his humanoid Shuuki sister, Aoba. This sharing means they’ll surely be giving him his reward together too.

By teaming up with Kyouka, Himari left Yachiho to deal with Rairen herself, but she only has to buy some time (the perfect goal for someone using time as a weapon) for her boss to show up. When Rairen tells her how she got through the army, Tenka calmly asks “What army?”, and the fog parts to reveal she’s already neutralized them all.

The exhibition matches might be cancelled, but make no mistake: Tenka and Kyouka will still be competing to see who can be the most badass squadron commander. Everyone else best sit back and watch them cook.

Chained Soldier – 05 – Out of Time

Himari and Yuuki’s duel starts out well, with them scoring a hit on Yachiho before she can complete her pose and catchphrase (thus exposing a key curiosity in virtually all magical girls – Why does the enemy give them time to transform?). However, Yachiho counters with Golden Hour, which is a weird name for a power that can only stop or rewind time for five seconds.

When Himari and Yuuki get Yachiho into a state where she believes it’s time to freeze time, they bolt away quickly enough to be out of her range. In this way, they compel her to waste a valuable Golden Time, but she counters by using Prime Time, which freezes time for a full ten seconds, allowing her to close their distance and shoot them while time is frozen.

Yachiho then deploys her second-most powerful weapon, her words, insisting the wounded Himari give up and come home. It’s an old pattern of abuse and tough to break out of, but Yuuki is there to snap Himari out of it. They’re not as bad off as it seems, and they use one more trick—having Yachiho stop time while Yuuki is in the middle of transforming back to a human—that Yachiho is blinded.

She couldn’t see Himari slip under the blast of light and smoke, so when time resumes, Yachiho gets a bullet to the neck. Since she’s exhausted from using Golden and Prime Time, it’s enough to bring her down and award Himari her first victory against her sister, and put the 7th Squad up 1-nil.

Yachiho, whom we learn from her inner monologue actually does love and care about Himari (in her way), is happy to admit she’s gotten stronger, but still asks her to come home with her, not as a slave but as a sister. Unfortunately, Yachiho dished out a bit too much over the years, to the point Himari doesn’t consider their home home anymore. She’s where she belongs, and Yachiho can pound sand.

Back at the barracks, Yuuki’s reward kicks in just as he and Himari are grabbing drinks from the fridge, and she transfers the water form her mouth to his. She also pecks, nibbles, noms, and tongues Yuuki’s lips mouth as she presses on him (witnessed with great interest by a spying Shushu), all while thanking him earnestly for helping her defeat her sister. As Himari puts it, “sometimes boys are okay.” Truer words.

Chained Soldier – 04 – Self-Growth Through Face-Sitting

6th squad commander Izumo Tenka (Uchida Maaya) has come to inform Kyouka that due to the discovery of humanoid Shuuki their squads will be working more jointly. Her second-in-command Izuka Yachiho accompanied her primarly to shit on her little sister, Himari, in whose ability she’s not at all confident.

Kyouka can tell Himari is steaming over here, so she challenges the 6th to an intersquad Mato exhibition match. Kyouka agrees to lend Yuuki to Himari so she can kick her smug-af big sister’s ass, though she warns her that having Yuuki as a slave is “physically demanding.”

It turns out Himari’s ability to turn her arms into weapons is just one of many abilities available to her thanks to her true skill, Learning. That said, she can’t just borrow anyone’s and use it effectively. It’s a matter of compatibility, and she happens to be compatible with Kyouka’s.

Both Himari and Yuuki are surprised to learn his Shuuki form takes on a different look, trading strength for lightning speed. Yet despite packing less of a punch, he’s able to defeat some small-fry Shuuki with ease with high-speed pummelings.

Once Yuuki transforms back to human form, Himari gets a rude surprise: her body moves on its own and she won’t get control back until the reward conjured from Yuuki’s subconscious is duly received. His first reward consists of Himari pulling her skirt off, then removing it and sitting on his face.

Now Himari knows what Kyou-sama menant by “physically demanding,” but she’s determined to beat her sister, so she’s willing to endure the occasional indecent act. On the drive home, Yuuki learns that Himari has many sisters, none of whom expect anything from her. This, despite the fact Himari is a strong, hardworking and a vital member of the 7th Squad with her commander’s full confidence.

Himari’s desire to become a full-fledged badass hero like Kyouka, and to become a new version of herself and show off a part of herself nobody’s ever seen—Yuuki relates to it quite strongly. He wants to become strong enough to confront his Shuuki-fied sister. Serving and training with Himari is a key to opening a new door for him as well.

That said, their opponent Yachiho has a tricky ability: Golden Hour, which allows her to freeze and rewind time. While powerful, it’s a huge drain on her energy, and she also indicates when she’s about to use it by doing the Sailor Moon hand pose.

Himari and Yuuki believe they can use his impressive speed to overpower Yachiho before she can use Golden Hour. Himari also tells Yuuki to focus all his energy into his legs or fists to increase their power. Kyouka also has Himari ride Yuuki, which enhances his power further. He gets a lot more worn out after training sessions, but the rewards provided by Himari serve as a motivating factor.

Eventually, the two get the hang of each other and build a rapport and camaraderie. Uchiyama Yume’s voice work brings a lot of spirit and energy to Himari, and it’s truly heartwarming to see the two get along and become stronger together … even if Himari has to strip and fondle her boobs afterward.

On the other side, Yachiho is drawn, and voiced by Hieda Nene, with maximum haughtiness and villainy. Heck, she wouldn’t look out of place among the humanoid Shuuki, though I wish she’d throw out an ojou laugh or two. I imagine she’s doling out the same abuse she received from her older sisters.

This isn’t just about pride, either: if Himari loses, Yachiho is taking her home to be her servant. While both that and her cartoonishly evil look are evidence Himari and Yuuki won’t lose, their ensuing duel doesn’t go exactly according to plan, as Yuuki is quick enough to punch her, but not quick enough to finish her before she rewinds back to the start.

Himari and Yuuki have contingencies in their plan, but they’re not the only ones who’ve gotten stronger. Yachiho may be able to use her ability more than they bargained for. We’ll have to wait until next week to see how it shakes out.

Chained Soldier – 03 – The Mistress’s Nemesis

Yuuki joins Kyouko on his first scheduled R-and-R, and gets to see Kyouko in civilian going-out clothes for the first time. A quasi-date ensues, starting with a somber first stop at the memorial dedicated to Kyouko’s village, which was massacred by Shuuki led by one high-level monster she calls Unihorn. She won’t rest until she’s found it and taken it out, properly avenging her village.

Perhaps in part because he wants to cheer her up and in part because he’d rather their “date” last a little longer, Yuuki convinces her to join him at a café that’s supposed to have killer parfaits. Sure enough, they taste as good as they look, and Yuuki experiences another first with Kyouko: he gets to see her smile. It’s a great smile, and I’m glad that we get to see this more joyful version of Kyouko.

Unfortunately an alarm from the 7th’s barracks cuts their day off short. Kyouko saves time getting back by having Yuuki transform and riding him, but later has to give him a reward by having him to remove her stockings. As fortune would have it, the Shuuki that caused the alarm are led by Uniforn, which is being ridden by something even Kyouko hasn’t seen before: a humanoid Shuuki that talks.

And this “Shuuki” (if that’s really what she is) talks abou her dear little brother, “the most handsome boy in the world.” The keen of ear will recognize Kusunoki Tomori voices her, and also voiced Yuuki’s big sister in an earlier flashback. Further, when she gets a good look at Yuuki’s beast form, she reacts as if she recognizes him.

Kyouko slashes through her prehensile hair and arm, causing her and Unihorn to begin to withdraw. Kyouko prepares to chase them, but Yuuki snaps her out of it when he fights off the Shuuki threatening Himari and Shushu.

Himari and Shushu will be fine, but as Kyouko delivers another reward involving stepping on his crotch with her booted, then bare foot. The juxtaposition of this … activity while she talks perfectly soberly about what just went down with that new kind of Shuuki is the best kind of absurdity, and the staff responsible for foley deserves some kind of award for the lingering sound of Kyouko’s boot on Yuuki’s crotch. Yuuki later gets help preparing dinner from Nei, is ambushed in the bath by a naked Shushu, then accidentally walks in on Himari changing. Just a day in the life of the 7th squad’s caretaker.

While Himari chases him around the barracks with a chainsaw arm, their spat is interrupted by the opening of a portal right there in the hallway. From it emerges Izumo Tenka, commander of the 6th squad, and her lieutenant, Azuma Yachiho.

Tenka takes an instant interest in Yuuki, getting right up in his face with the look of a cat that’s just cornered a bird. Methinks Kyouko may need to watch out for servant poachers, but I must say enjoyed the twist of Yuuki’s beloved big sister being the bane of the Demon Defense Force.

Chained Soldier – 02 – Asserting Dominance

The 7th Squadron girls’ reactions to their commander’s new male slave vary: Nei is the friendly senpai, while Himari is the exact opposite, pointing one of her arm-weapons at him at every opportunity. Suruga Shushu is somewhere in the middle: more than anything, she’s curious about Yuuki.

To that end, she exhibits her ability to shrink as well as grow, using the former to spy on Yuuki’s every move, then get him to accidentally pose for blackmail photos, simply to stir things up. But especially when he says he has a big sister (she has two) she seems to warm up to the guy—the first she’s ever spoken to.

When she challenges Yuuki to Strip Street Fighter and only his drawers are left, he warns her that she might be in danger if she takes them off. Shushu laughs heartily at this, then grows to five times his size, just to underscore the fact that she’s in control here.

She manages to get his underwear off and laughs at his little Yuuki, but their fun is interrupted when a giant shuuki (not one of the small fry Kyouka can defeat with her bare hands) appears and starts to crack the barrier around the dorm.

As it’s just Shushu and Yuuki at the dorm, she tells him “wimpy men should stay put” and rushes out to fight the thing. You can tell she’s also trying to put on a show for Yuuki to prove how badass she is, and it would’ve worked if she only had one giant shuuki to contend with. When a second kaiju-sized shuuki starts giving her a run for her money, Yuuki is desperate to pitch in, but he can’t transform without Kyouka … or so he thought.

He tests a theory that he’ll transform if his lips contact something Kyouka has worn…say, her boots. It works, and even if he only transforms partially, with Shushu holding the shuuki down he’s able to blast him into oblivion, though when he transforms back, he’s significantly weakened, naked, and falling to his death.

Fortunately for him his fall is broken by the soft embrace of Mega Shushu’s breasts. She’s definitely impressed a mere guy was able to save her, but in Yuuki’s state he fails to notice he’s fully on display, and furthermore the excitement of battle resulted in, shall we say, enhancement? That also impresses Shushu, though she doesn’t say that out loud.

While Kyouka also had a great first impression, Shushu stole the show from her this week with her charm and her novel size-changing ability that made for clever and unique dynamics in both battle and in rom-com situations.

After Kyouka gets off Yuuki after an intense massage and leaves the room, Shushu then hops on top of him, “asserting her dominance,” but also staking her claim to him. The first guy in her life has proven immensely entertaining; she’s not giving him up so easily.

Chained Soldier – 01 (First Impressions) – Not Bad, for a Man

Wakura Yuuki is an unassuming man in a woman’s world, fated to end up in some innocuous dead-end job after high school. But when he suddenly falls victim to a “Mato Mishap” he ends up in Mato, an alternate dimension filled with nasty, hollow-like monsters called Shuuki.

Yuuki is cornered and about to buy the farm when he’s rescued by Uzen Kyouka, commander of the Demon Defense Force’s 7th Squadron (voiced by Kitou Akari). When the monster she’s riding is defeated, she uses her ability to turn one of the Shuuki into a steed, and orders Yuuki to hop on.

As she cuts through the Shuuki, her officers report in and join the fray: Azuma Himari (blue hair), who can conjure a machine gun arm; Suruga Shushu (yellow hair) who can grow to colossal size and wreak havoc; and Ookawamura Nei (pink hair) who can scan Mato for other people in need of rescue.

After rescuing a little girl (whom Yuuki moves to protect), Kyouka raises a temporary barrier, then decides to use her ability on Yuuki. Removing her glove, she holds her finger out, and Yuuki, who vowed to do anything to survivew, reflexively licks it, then transforms into a monster.

Leaving both the little boy and his big sister in the other officers’ care, Kyouka mounts Yuuki and is impressed by his strength, speed, and agility.  Even when a boss-level Shuuki coalesces, with Yuuki as her steed she’s able to defeat it with ease. While the ensuing battle has a fair share of CGI, it’s at least easy to follow, while Monster-Yuuki packs a punch.

After the battle, Yuuki returns to normal, and Kyouka must give him his “reward” for serving as her “slave.” That reward consists of her giving him a passionate kiss, then a downright raunchy French kiss. She makes clear that her body moves on its own in instances like this, and the shuuki she enslaved only wanted meat as a reward. Herein lies the ecchi element of the show.

Presented with a new job opportunity in which he’ll be able to make a difference, Yuuki jumps at the chance to join Kyouko on a full-time basis. But upon arriving at the Demon Defense Force’s dorm, he learns he won’t be joining the force—men aren’t allowed.

Instead, he’ll be the 7th Squad’s caretaker. Since Yuuki said the only thing he had confidence in was his housekeeping skills, Kyouka believes he’ll be a good fit, even with the colorful personalities of her three officers. The character designs are attractive, Yuuki’s a likeable enough lad, and they don’t take the ecchi stuff too far. All in all it’s not a bad start, efficiently introducing the main players, setting, and premise.