English Dub Season Review: Chained Soldier Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

To save the world, Yuuki Wakura (Gabriel Regojo) must be willing to become Chief Kyoka Uzen’s (Roxanna George) servant both on the battlefield and at home.

Our Take:

Chained Soldier is an anime adaptation of a Japanese manga series written by Takahiro and illustrated by Yohei Takemura.  It is directed by Gorō Kuji, with Junji Nishimura as the general director.  The script was written by Yasuhiro Nakanishi, Ryota Kanō, and Akira Kindaichi.  It is produced by Seven Arcs, which is known for producing other shows like Magical Girl Lyrical, Dog Days, Blue Period, and Failure Frame.  Hiroyuki Yoshii handled the character designs, and Kohta Yamamoto composed the music.  The opening theme song, “Yume no Ito (“String of Dreams”),” is performed by Akari Kito, and the ending theme song, “Chain,” is performed by Maaya Uchida.     

Do you know that in specific harem anime, a male protagonist always leads a team of sexy female characters?  Well, this show is pretty much the complete opposite of that concept.  Instead of a young man enslaving a group of girls in his quest to become a hero, he winds up being enslaved by them.  But it’s also not without a few innuendos and sexy moments that we’re familiar with, and they’re pretty dirty.  That alone sums up the concept of Chained Soldier, an action-fantasy anime that warrants its mature rating, and it’s not because of the violence.

The first season of Chained Soldier centers on Yuuki Wakura, a recent high school graduate in Japan who collided with a distinct dimension called Mato.  Both Japan and Mato are protected by the Demon Defense Force, an organization consisting of women with supernatural abilities from “Peaches” tasked with defending the territories from a group of monsters known as Shuuki.  One day, Yuuki accidentally stumbles into the portal leading to Mato, where he’s saved by Kyoka Uzen, the commander of the defense force’s 7th Squadron with the power to “enslave” any Shuuki or human.  When Yuuki consents to being Kyoka’s servant, he gains a Shuuki-like form and joins her squad as their caretaker.  As Yuuki strives to become a hero while surviving the remaining squad members, he eventually discovers the mystery surrounding the appearance of the powerful humanoid Shuuki, one of which happens to be his older sister, Aoba (Karlii Hoch), who disappeared a few years ago.

I first caught wind of Chained Soldier through specific clips I discovered on social media.  It seemed like another action-packed female empowerment anime at first, but upon further research, I realized that it’s surprisingly a bit more lewd than I thought it would be.  While it has the usual elements from other action-fantasy anime, modern and otherwise, Chained Soldier is also an erotic comedy involving Yuuki receiving “special treatments” from the 7th Squadron members.  Whenever Yuuki performs his duty for a specific member, whether on the battlefield or at the dorm, he receives a “reward” from them, mainly due to Kyoka’s ability.  Of course, by “reward”, I mean fulfilling Yuuki’s sexual desires against their will.  In short, it’s another anime in which sex provides as much pleasure as its action.  

While it may lead to some “Rule 34” content in the future, it also resulted in my concern over its amount of seduction and the role it plays.  Understandably, it’s one of the normal trends of anime we’re used to seeing, but if improperly executed, the sexual content could serve little to no purpose to the plot other than fulfilling viewers’ wet fantasies.  Chained Soldier seemed like it could be the case while watching the first few episodes, which had Yuuki assisting and receiving “rewards” from the members.  However, after sticking with it a while longer, I became genuinely surprised at how well-balanced this element was.  The sexual “rewards” are definitely not for everyone regarding the mature rating, but instead of being pointless filler, they serve a purpose in its storytelling and even the show’s comedy.

One reason is that the series is self-aware of its limitations toward the characters’ sexualization and actions.  The noticeable example is the 7th Squadron’s youngest member, Nei Okawamura (Kristen McGuire), whose ability is clairvoyance due to Mato’s resources, the “Peaches”.  Most of the members are old enough to experience their sexual desires toward Yuuki.  On the other hand, Nei isn’t old enough to get a driver’s license, let alone have a relationship.  Considering the age difference between Nei and the other members, I’m extremely happy that the show didn’t sexualize Nei like it did for Kyoka and the others.  Otherwise, this would’ve been an immediate turn-off for me and everyone else.  I can handle young adults being sexy, but underage kids?  No, thank you!  Another reason is the comedy, which mainly involves the awkwardness of the scenarios and even Yuuki’s reactions to the Squadron’s “rewards”.  Most of them were pretty amusing, while some were quite hilarious.

Regarding its plot, Chained Soldier is another action-packed narrative involving the protagonists’ pursuit of accomplishing their desires.  The narrative didn’t offer much to its formula that we haven’t seen before, but it usually compensates with its entertaining scenarios, comedy, and likable characters.  Yuuki dreams of becoming a hero so he can play a role in saving the world from the Shuuki.  However, his quest led him to become the Squadron’s dorm manager and servant, for better or worse, depending on how you look at it.  Despite that, Yuuki strives to be useful in the Squadron’s duty to protect Japan.  He’s also the type of protagonist who doesn’t take the “rewards” for granted in favor of their generous yet timid personality, which keeps him from being immediately unlikeable.  Gabriel Regojo did a solid job portraying Yuuki’s unselfish personality through his vocal performance, especially his over-the-top reactions.  Kyoka Uzen, who’s suitably voiced by Roxanna George, strives to become the Supreme Commander of the Demon Defense Force and avenge the destruction of her hometown, fueling her rage against the Shuuki.  She certainly has some badass moments involving her skills, but her backstory drives her as more than just a hot-headed commander.

The remaining members of the 7th and even the 6th Squadrons also have their moments of charisma to elevate their personalities.  Himari Azuma (Natalie Rial) is a formal yet hostile member who can copy people’s abilities and is quite hesitant toward Yuuki at first.  However, she starts warming up to him after joining forces to defeat Himari’s abusive sister, 6th Squadron member Yachiho (Margaret McDonald), in the fourth and fifth episodes.  Shushu Suruga (Juliet Simmons) is described as the oddball of the 7th Squadron who constantly flirts with Yuuki and desires to be his girlfriend.  She’s basically the show’s comic relief when it comes to its kinkiness and an amusing one at best.  The same goes for Tenka Izumo (Kelly Greenshield), the general of the 6th Squadron who tries desperately to win Yuuki’s heart, more so than Shushu.

The animation by Seven Arcs was also respectable for providing some decent visuals, and I’m not just talking about its mature sexual content.  Regarding the action scenes and character designs, the presentation may not be as pleasurable as the Squadron’s rewards, but it’s visually stylized enough to fulfill my animation desires.  Some of the CGI effects are usually used for the Shuuki, which could make or break the style’s immersion due to its uncanniness.  At times, the uncanniness of the CGI effects can be a mild burden when clashing with the 2D animation.  Thankfully, it didn’t negatively affect my experience with its narrative and characters.  However, Seven Arcs won’t be sticking around for the show’s second season, as another animation studio, Passione, is brought on to produce the upcoming season.  If my guess is correct, this change could be a suitable improvement for the show’s presentation.

Overall, Chained Soldier rewards anime viewers with an entertaining and often humorous blend of action, comedy, and sexual pleasure.  On paper, I would’ve been quick to call it an anime whose only purpose is providing soft pornography for its characters and nothing else.  In short, it’s another gateway to some more “Rule 34” content we might get in the future.  While that may be the case in the first few episodes, the series carefully considered limiting its seductiveness to make its traditional narrative more tolerable for specific viewers.  It’s familiar in its formula, but execution-wise, it’s also surprisingly enjoyable when it focuses more on its story than sexualizing its characters constantly.  With that said, I’m curious to see what direction it’ll take for its second season, especially with the change in animation studios playing a role in this sexually charged action-fantasy anime.