Hitsugi no Chaika – 11
He’s pretty much a shota Saruman…
Alright, the Relic Hunt is hotting up like fire elemental’s bar-mitzvah (and no, I don’t really know that means).
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Too Close to Call?
So, who won this round?
I love it when they begin a show just right. No rehash, no wrong scene, just right where they left off. It was a good choice, as it started the pace of this one off fast and loose. It didn’t matter if it were quick bursts of melee, or the verbal thrust and parry, some people got messed up. It thought it was very telling. If it weren’t for his feelings, Akari would be dead. He had the advantage, and he gave it up. That cost him the rest of the fight, as she outsmarted him. Toru why did you choose a bad defensive position on a rail….over a huge freakin’ hole. I thought it was right for Vivi and Zita to take this opponent off your hands.
The Sword Unsheathed
Well, at least the cookie was tasty. You just much didn’t take the fortune to heart.
Gah! Gillette! Why would you do that? You gain nothing taking this position. Look I know you want what is best for your team, but trust them. Both Vivi and Zita are resourceful and smart, in addition to being weaponized moe. They can figure something out. That’s why you sent them there, with your sound advice to not do anything rash. Advice another team member gives you just moments ago. I know you want to be seen as passionate and effective, but do that finding a third option. I get the feeling they are setting him and his team up to become outlaws, so they can join Team White. But there had to be better ways to go about this. Wouldn’t they be much more help as officials? I mean, where is that magic telephone thingy they used to communicate with their superior in the Post War department? That would have come in handy!
Blue’s Clues
Chaika Blue confirmed deliciously evil
We got pretty much the confirmation we were looking for about what the concept of Chaika is. While we became most familiar and most favorable with White, we also came to enjoy Red. Both of them share quite a bit of the same backstory, with a few character changes. Blue breaks that mold. She has become her own person. This is a really good concept. But I fail to see why it makes her the True Chaika. Doesn’t breaking this conditioning that all Chaika’s have just make her a True Layla? If they all act to conditioning aren’t all of them (we are presuming many more) True Chaika’s?
Is that Gaz? I don’t see the resemblance.
All those identity issues aside, I am loving the other big concept they introduced. That Chaika as a concept is being used to usher in something the likes of which no one has ever imagined. Now that could be just Big Talker Talking Big, but what if Papa Gaz has been planning this for quite some time. My current theory has to do with memories. Zita talked about how memories can be very useful magic fuel. In an incredibly gruesome scene. What if the idea is to use as many divergent in personality Chaika’s all collecting their own memories. along with all the Remains? And then…use that as a huge magic resource. Again, gruesome, but for evil it’s darn effective. As Guy discovers, one Chaika breaking the conditioning, does put a spanner in the plan.
…and then this shit happened
So Many Chaika’s
Wow. OK. I tried to hold off on the gruesome stuff up there, but I really can’t escape my final thoughts without bringing them up. Holy Crap! Fredrica! Don’t be dead. Please. That was such an awesome moment. No big build up, no huge music. It was just like Leatherface in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. One moment, nothing there, next moment killy killy death thing. They just can’t not do horrible things to the LOLi. Stop it. Making me mad. But if that was bad, we also had just plain awful. I just cried a bit with Zita’s reaction to that. She is quickly becoming a great supporting character. But I won’t say anymore about that scene. It said volumes all by itself, didn’t it?
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
By your Chaikas combined… I AM EMPEROR GAZ! calling dibs on that.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…s’fair…
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
or could be “its chaikas morphing time”
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Zord no…
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
Another great episode of chaika; little by little this series is starting to come into its own. I think what is being set up here as a closer to the first season is the war that is just looming over. War is coming, and i think by the end of the last ep, it would have begun, which will most likely be the basis of the entire second season. That scene with the kidnaps girls….damn..and yes Gillete’s loli’s, especially Zuita, are starting to stand out.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m not going to be quick and say that war will be declared, but something will change the status quo.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
I must say that this episode reaffirmed why I love this series. I’ve enjoyed the whole RPG style action and plot unfolding all the way, but comparing the rush job episode of Black Bullet and this one it was clear to see the difference.
Nothing was out of place or got left out and the action flowed from one scene to the next. The revelations from Blue also gave us a view of the bigger picture. Before I was thinking the remains were going to make something big happen, however like you suggested, maybe it’s the Chaikas themselves that are going to either be the catalysts or the change themselves.
And if more Chaikas awaken and become ‘individual’ (like I think our White Chaika already is becoming) they’d not just throw a spanner in the works but be able to bring the whole Gaz/Guy/mystery group’s scheme crashing down.
Either way I’m along for the ride all the way!
PS: Frederica is not allowed to die!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, I have to admit, my theory is just a touch flighty…
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
I wonder what the white monster that stabbed Frederika was.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I have no idea, only that I am officially it’s worst enemy…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s a magical abomination. We’ll leave it at that. Whatever it was, it was ugly as hell.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Think…Fullmetal Alchemist.. but more like a pet, which is creepy enough..
They do have some smooth looking legs.. that’s one thing
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
The white scary spider monster was not something saw coming but hey it is magic so anything can happen.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I hate it, but it was a genius moment…
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
It was rather scary since for a second I actually forgot it was Chaika The Coffin Princess instead of some horror movie.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The name “Chaika, The Coffin Princess” is about perfect for some horror movie, isn’t it?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
True. Being called a “Coffin Princess” is nowhere near within the parameters of normality. I’d give an ominous feel along with intimidation.
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
So Layla is the mastermind behind everything what’s happened. A master manipulator who brainwashes shota Saruman and his wizard to torture young girls and use them for fuel for their flying fort and assemble an army of brainwashed soldiers and spider holumculi for the sake of rebelling against her fixed destiny. The fact that she made this all possible and controlling them behind the scenes makes her even more nefarious and calculating. We’ll probably see more of her in the 2nd cour.
The duke’s son and the wizard were probably broken before Layla’s intervention. She just give them a reason to sate their boredom, which is to start another war. I have no sympathy for them because of what they did. Doesn’t matter if Layla came in or not, they would have ended up being serial killers or terrorists either way. Hope they die gruesomely.
gotta admit, if this show has taught me anything, sudden peace makes people crazy.
I hope Frederika isn’t dead. I fact that she has been telling people that stabbing her in the brain would kill her makes me think that she’s lying about her weakness. Either that, or that spider has very poor aim.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
You know I just can’t believe she would actually be dead. Nope I will hold on to my Frederica is totally alive belief. I mean I kind of have to since there is something, so adorable about her except when she seriously wants to kill Toru.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
BELIEVE
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
She will be turned into another chromatic chaika…
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
So thats how they are made… wait a minute! I think your lying!
Though Frederica is a special case, she shifted her brain at the last second.. ya that’s what we will go with.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
From what little scraps of information I can get out of the library that is the Internets, I believe Emperor Arthur Gaz Co. mass-produces Chaikas for public consumption. Still, the Acura NSX runs circles around Chaikas.
Hmm… I should consider changing my gravatar angel to Jibril… But I like her sister Sacchun… T_T
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…shifted her brain at the last minute. Thorgrim you just shifted my brain, dude.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Heh, my imp of the perverse wants that to be the end of Frederica, never to be even shown or mentioned again, just because everyone would be like “What, you can’t kill off a supporting character like that!”
The depths of evil represented by Ricardo, Grad, and Layla are almost unfathomable. And that they’re all so glib about it just makes it more disturbing. At least before, the Chaikas we’ve met have been earnest and forthcoming, but from the beginning, Layla was scheming, baldly manipulative, and outright amoral.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
I shall sic Ricardo on your imp of the perverse. >:(
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
As for the first part…well. No…because no.
For the second, it’s kinda refreshing to have concentrated and deserving of their comeuppance evil. But as I point out in another comment, Layla does have a moe facet to her, and I wonder if she has a breaking point. They did rather show that she was tortured herself.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Chaika poster scans, with bathing Akari and various others:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=5150077&postcount=810
Apparently the animators are adapting the first 5-6 volumes of the Chaika LN series for Season 1.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
So its pretty much Tokyo Ravens again but with more rushing.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Uh. Wow. Fredrica knows how to have herself some fun.
And yeah, that is rather rushed. But the background still holds rather well, better than that other series I blog.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
The backstory of 2 of the heroes are explained in more detail in the source LNs.
Dominika became a dragoon cavalier to obtain wealth and fame to ensure the livelihood of her younger sister, Lucie. However, Lucie was killed by greedy villagers trying to pressure her into selling the Skoda estate to them, while Dominika was away. Although Dominika and Federika kill the culprits, Dominika never recovers from the shock and dies of a broken heart later on. The little girl form Frederika appears in is that of Lucie.
Simon Scania is already dead in the LN. When Toru and co. destroy the dream machine, they find his very dead corpse next to it.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeah, I just read that part of the manga this week, the day before this episode aired in fact. It made the stabby stabby scene much more intense in my mind.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Genre-savvy tells me that Frederika survived. It hasn’t steered me wrong yet, so I’m going with that.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I like your genre-savvy, it’s much nicer than my desperately wanting…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I seriously doubt a single stab to the head is sufficient enough to do her in. You’d have to destroy the brain completely to kill her once and for all.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
And the moment has come…
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
ya, stabbed in the brain that has no use! But ya I think its smilar to what Briar said, the whole brain, she’s just laying in fear for what that white thing was, i mean it like..Bam right there!
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
i half-expected this episode to end up the way it did but i must admit parts of it rattled me a bit (Frederica’s uncertain fate; the depths of depravity perpetrated by Layla et al.). also, it makes sense that all these Chaikas have different personalities and talents — it’s a great way to distinguish them from each other and to confuse their pursuers, and give them greater chances to succeed in areas where other “Chaikas” have failed.
so far, this is my favorite ep. hopefully the last episode will give us a rousing, satisfying finale without skimping on the details(as we wait for ssn 2).
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
onyxx, thank you very much for joining us, I’m happy you stopped by to drop us a line. I look forward to you next episode, and indeed the second cour. And anywhere else around here. Cheers.
…and yes, we are reminded that other Chaika’s have already failed, good call.
This was one of mine as well, with four being next. We will probably be given some sort of new deal, or status quo that just begs more questions, and a lengthy Summer….wah!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
An emotional penultimate episode for the first half, particularly provoking negative emotions. Looks like the first half of the series is going to end on a high note.
There really is some variety among the Chaika’s in many ways. Layla is Chaika’s opposite in every aspect. I’d say she look cute but that nasty, depraved personality of hers kills her appeal. It would be like trifling with a poisonous snake.
The scene with the kidnapped girls made my stomach turn. Anyone capable of that level of cruelty has no right to be drawing breath. So I’m hoping Ricardo and Grad either get killed in action or executed for their heinous acts. Whatever happens better be slow and painful. Layla is just as culpable for aiding and abetting.
Being Frederica is suffering. Stabbed without warning last episode and again in this one. What did she do to deserve such ill treatment?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Our dragoon’s story is a long and rather lonely one…
Yes, I rather loved that mirrored approach to the many Chaika’s development.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Ya I agree, Layla personality kills her appeal, and that makeup adds to the kill. Maybe Chaika will develop her own opinion on what to do with her father, my guess is she will continue to aim for a funeral, but we can all guess what will happen, White team will gather all body parts and get ready for a funeral, but wait.. all according to plan! dun dun dunn
haha, that’s right, she DID get stabbed last episode,I forgot that happened, oh man good thing she always comes back… wait…
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Though what Gill did was very dumb, I think it will have a good outcome since it prevents the commander guy to attack Soara that will spark the war between Soara people and the nation if he does. After all, that is what Layla wants right, if I remember correctly? To “revive” the concept of the emperor by creating war? That’s probably why she calls herself the True Chaika, being the “closest” to the goal of reviving the emperor and all that. At least, that’s what she thinks. So full of herself. God, she’s such an obnoxious woman. I don’t like her
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Layla’s character, as written, makes me scratch my head a bit. So, it’s not enough to be a poisoner, a boon to a torturer, and a mind controller, and a war criminal, let’s maker her a manipulative prostitute as well (there is, of course, another word for that, but I’ll avoid saying it). It does make me wonder after so much the piling on, there is a breaking point to her. She is a moe style character in at least one facet.
I thought about that aspect as well when it came to Gillette. But for one important issue. He is outnumbered.