English Dub Review: Chain Chronicle: Light of Haecceittas “To Be With Others”

Someone should tell Berkhart that sharing is caring.

Spoilers Below

After the epic battle in which the survivors of the Volunteer Army met the spellthief Aram, our newest buddy passes flat out from exhaustion. They take him into their camp, and when he awakens, they pass on thanks from the villagers for his bravery. We get to see no matter how bad Phoena’s cooking is, Aram thinks it’s the newest dish at Emeril‘s. Though hers seems a bit more meat-based than the typical cheesy sauce. Amidst this heartwarming scene, the heroes’ half of the Chain Chronicle begins to release a flood of dark mana, sapping the life from nearby trees.

The Chain Chronicle, it seems, is not merely a book of history. It is tied with the very fabric of the world itself. The Black King has been using his half to corrupt the entire world with dark mana, and pass that corruption on to the other half. If he succeeds, and can find the missing pixie, Pirika -You remember, she vanished at the beginning of the last episode? She’s apparently the living embodiment of hope, go figure.- then the world will fall into ruin. Why anyone would want that, I don’t know, but video game villains have such strange motivations. The heroes forge on to the vice-capitol of the kingdom, maybe for some supplies or a real bed or… to fight those black soldiers, sure, why not?

Round one is easy enough: there isn’t any of that black, mana-sapping fog. During it, Aram gets to witness Yuri, Phoena, and Cain pulling out their ace move, a Chain Attack. By syncing their mana, they become even more powerful and are capable of clearing the battlefield easily. When he asks to be taught, he gets shut down by Berkhart, who is still pretty pissed about getting his mana stolen in both battles. Aram runs off. After he does, the black soldiers arrive for round two, this time reinforced by a much more powerful soldier and the black fog. Without their mana available, Yuri and company are against the ropes. Just as things look their worst, Aram returns, donating mana to each of them and charging up their special attacks. Boom, victory! Of course, the win is bittersweet. Berkhart is terribly wounded and collapses.

The story and action seem to be picking up in this episode, as we are given a bit more of the importance of many of the characters and items present. Though we still don’t know much about the black fog, its presence is certainly a sign of a boss battle incoming. I still wish I could have played the game to see if this was a part of it. The action is living up to the intensity of the first episode’s opening, and Aram’s acrobatic style makes it all the more fun to watch. He’s flipping and spinning all over the battlefield, and making mincemeat of the enemy.

It is here that I noticed some of the more minute details of the animation. While most of the scenes are hand-drawn art, for some of the more high-impact activities, they switch and blend in CG animated models. Because these models are moving quickly, and in complicated ways, that it could be difficult to spot. This made it cheaper and easier to make these scenes, which would have cost thousands of man-hours if done in a traditional way. Every time a character began moving more slowly, they switched back to traditional art to regain the needed style and soul to keep the characters feeling alive. It’s an efficient way to cut costs and increase quality, without sacrificing the art. The dub work was more than adequate. I continue to see them syncing the lip movements to the dub, even in places where they could have gotten away with otherwise.

Chain Chronicle continues to wow me and hold my attention, and I want to know more about Aram’s special abilities that keep on saving the day. I give this episode nine of Phoena’s bruschetta out of ten.