Yuuki and his Demon Defense Forces learn the origins of the Oni Girls Village. Can the opponents forge peace?
Episode 10 — “War, Naon, Recite”
Hmm.
Foreshadowed elements have come together for a three-way battle in Chained Soldier. The theme of using the enemy’s power backfiring is out in the open, so the action scenes can unfold without much thinking. Watch out for the matchups to bang drums to hit their emotional beats.
I hope the upcoming fights with the talking demonesses avoid the problems of standing around talking as an exposition device. I want Chained Soldier to tell me where these female Shuuki came from, but not at the expense of proficient narrative building. It’s a regular trap that action stories and the shounen genre fall into when they feel a time crunch in explaining a backstory. Anime adaptations have the luxury of using flashbacks quickly without interrupting a narrative flow. But weird things happen as the season finale approaches. I want to spend as much time as possible with that tanned dragon lady, but not if she’s standing around with her mouth parts flapping.
Chained Soldier Makes Me Go Heh.
Aoba confirms to Yuuki that she first ate a Mato Peach when a random gate sucked her into the demon world. All Oni Girls had the same experience. Naon tells her story of a fashion model avoiding the Peach dose in the human world but eating one after a Mato Mishap. And then, a Shuuki research institute locked her up and experimented on her. And guess what — that’s not a black leotard they wear. Yup. We saw a bare Coco booty crotch last week. Aoba’s case differed because she survived as a free-range Oni Girl while Naon and other test subjects escaped the lab. Now we know the origin of the Oni Girls’ distrust of the Demon Defense Forces.
The Oni Girls claim they tamed the exceptional Shuuki. Is Kyouka’s Peach Ability related to this dynamic? Aoba must have tamed Unihorn after it destroyed the Squad 7 Commander’s village. Kuma-douji, Akura, and Kidoumaru (Unihorn) have names that sound like house pets. More kanji puns from Chained Soldier. 鬼童丸 (the kanji for Kidoumaru) uses the “on” kanji pronunciations for ogre-boy-ball. Uh oh. Aoba sensed Squad 6 and 7’s arrival.
Yuuki draws Kyouka’s body like a magnet until she can reward him. Tenka has never felt jealous about a stolen boyfriend. She savors that feeling! We saw how all these girls’ powers work during their exhibition match, so the action is just mucking about until they reunite with Yuuki. This is the shounen stuff that bores me. I am curious, however, about the Oni Girls’ powers competing against them.
Chained Soldier Brings Girlfriends Home to Meet the Family
The Demon Defense Forces have never seen a cave like the one the Oni Girls use. There aren’t Peach trees, for one thing. It’s clear now that the central command of the Demon Defense Forces wanted to negotiate with the Oni Girls, not the Shuuki Goddesses. Tenka rolls around the Mato on God Mode. So unfair! Aoba is not happy.
Breaktime for Yuuki’s reward. Kyouka can’t do anything else until her slave-master loop closes. Why did Yuuki want finger-sucking? Did the idea come from Coco healing his scratches? Ahahaha! Tenka joins in, just because! She’s the perfect girlfriend, Yuuki. She’s willing to get freaky to make you feel good because it makes her feel good. Win-win-gasploosh!
Uh oh. Angry big sister. But she’ll stop fighting for her little brother. Time for a meeting in the first eye-catcher. The second eye-catcher shows Coco cooking mushroom stew. Don’t feed that to the little brother!
Chained Soldier Shifts Gears into Shounen Action and Drama
Chained Soldier gets back to fights between the Oni Girls and the Squad that don’t matter. We know they’ll come together to fight the Shuuki Goddesses, so there’s no dramatic tension here. The sheep sound in the middle of Sahara’s Mad Sheep transformation always cracks me up. I guess some tsundere fans will enjoy the Azuma sisters fighting together. I guess.
Kyouka and Tenka hear things about the Mato they’ve never heard before. Tenka knew about the Onmyou Bureau’s research into Shuuki but didn’t know about experimenting on Japanese girls. 陰陽 (おんみょう, onmyou) means “cosmic duality, yin-and-yang, etc.,” so you know backfiring consequences are on the menu. Does Aoba believe them? Her distrust is understandable. The Oni Girls will destroy the Onmyou Bureau with or without the Demon Defense Force’s help. Indiscriminately, too. Impasse.
Family Spat or Family Splat?
Aoba trussed up Yuuki, so Kyouka must fight without him. The road to reconciliation with Aoba for Kyouka lies through Unihorn (Kidoumaru). I don’t care, but Chained Soldier will show it anyway. Ha. Hahaha! Tenka introduced herself as Yuuki’s girlfriend, Aoba’s sister-in-law! Aoba is mad now! The only tension for this fight comes in the comedic timing.
The Shuuki Goddesses are about ready to join the fray. Snake girls need baths, too. And crotchless panties? The dragon lady thinks she looks more like a goddess than the snake lady. She’s got a point.
Fun! Naon and Coco hijacked Nei-sensei’s omake. How do their powers work? Thanks to Coco’s slippery fluids, she appears to be better girlfriend material than Naon. Next time, Aoba will do anything for her little brother. Anything!
Chained Soldier (魔都精兵のスレイブ, Mato Seihei no Slave) streams on Hidive in Japanese audio and English subtitles.
Are you impatient, like me, to see these beautiful Japanese ladies team up against the Shuuki Goddesses? At least the comedy is flowing freely. Tenka inserts herself into every situation as Yuuki’s girlfriend. Aoba and Kyouka might team up against her! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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