Himari and Yachiho’s match tests their endurance. How will Himari reward her slave Yuuki’s extra effort?
Episode 5 — “Sisters, Yachiho, Ridicule”
Hmm.
The submissive-dominant relationship is one of degree, as the audience has seen in Chained Soldier. Consent still matters, but compatibility is another component. I enjoyed how this episode featured a character study about Himari and her complicated connection to Yachiho. Their sisterhood linked back to submission and domination, which Himari interpreted as bullying. Elder sister Yachiho’s tsundere personality type conflicted with Himari’s personal tsundere tendencies, creating a negative feedback loop that ruined their relationship. Yachiho also has a dominatrix attitude, so she wants to improve Himari’s situation only after the younger sister becomes submissive. Well. The pair are more alike than they want to admit.
They even complain about Sahara dozing off the same way! Unfortunately, Yachiho has to figure out another way to spend more time with her independent-minded little sister.
Heh.
Chained Soldier flashes back for foreshadowing. I see a handgun on a towel. It’s Chekhov’s gun! Asking sleepy Sahara sounds like a bad idea because would she even be awake long enough to pay attention to what her squad mates were up to? Yachiho’s overconfidence should give Himari and Yuuki the path to victory. Put a pin in that thought because action scenes will spin around that thing for dramatic purposes.
And back to the fight. Yachiho uses the same pistol Sahara brought into the changing room. Himari’s strategy hinges on Yuuki being fast enough to punch Yachiho in the time it takes to strike the Golden Hour pose. And that Yachiho can only freeze time or rewind time five seconds. There’s your key to dramatic tension for this Chained Soldier episode. We have an action-oriented chess match until Yachiho reveals the hole in Himari’s research about her time-controlling ability.
Prime Time for a Chained Soldier Momentum Switch
Yachiho can dodge Yuuki’s flash steps! Is Yuuki hesitating to hit a girl? Tenka likes watching the boy fight for someone else besides Kyouka. She’d also like to borrow the boy toy, but is that possible? Himari duplicates Kyouka’s Eternal Chains skill through her Learning ability. There it is. Yachiho has another pose for a third ability: Prime Time. This technique freezes time for ten seconds! Tenka watches with satisfaction in the first eye-catcher, while the other shows Yachiho’s other weakness: candy.
Yachiho makes the same mistake villains always do. Chained Soldier fell into a common complaint about shounen titles. Too much yakking and not enough blowing out brains. But Yachiho strategized her fight against Himari through knowing how Learning and Eternal Chains work. Himari needs to pay Eternal Chains’s reward price before she can switch to another skill she knows. Yachiho believes Himari is too rigid in her strategy to adapt to something she didn’t plan on. But she has a partner now. How will Yuuki function as a wildcard? Misdirection and sneakiness! Blammo! Himari shot Yachiho in the neck. Thank goodness that Ginna’s Fight Club can reverse injuries.
Oh, now Yachiho tells us. She wanted to “train” Himari not to overwork herself and set herself up for failure. But only after she “broke her spirit.” That’s a nasty version of overprotective tsundere energy. Himari achieved something today so she can return home to the Azuma household. Uh, no thanks. Har. Poor, broken-hearted Yachiho. She misses her little sister! Look at that! Sleepy Sahara does pay attention.
Chained Soldier Kisses and Tells
It’s reward time for Yuuki in Chained Soldier. He said he was thirsty, but this is full-service hydration. Himari’s kissing and making out is hot. Tenka dissected Yachiho’s match effectively. She suggests the fight would have been over faster if Yuuki hadn’t pulled his punches against a girl. The Squad 6 commander also admonished Yachiho for standing around talking instead of finishing off a prone opponent. Ha! Yuuki says Himari has a sharp tongue but soft lips. Aw. Yuuki changed her mind about boys. They’re okay sometimes. Like when they suck on your sharp tongue! Shushu now understands what Himari meant when she called Kyouka’s ability “physically demanding.”
Hahaha! Yachiho makes the same bird face Himari does when she complains about Sahara’s sleepiness. Uh oh. It looks like these talking Shuuki will interrupt Mato exhibition matches.
Whoops! Yachiho took over Nei-sensei’s Omake to explain her Golden Hour ability. Nei took over just in time to announce next week’s episode title. Sahara will feature against those hot female demons.
Chained Soldier (魔都精兵のスレイブ, Mato Seihei no Slave) streams on Hidive in Japanese audio and English subtitles.
What did you folks think about Yachiho letting victory slip from her grasp? What about all the fluffy lighting effects during Himari’s make-out session? I wanted to see more tongue and lip action. Or are you ready to see another session with Kyouka? Let us know in the comments below.
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