Chained Soldier Episode 9 aired on Thursday, bringing us closer to the climax of the current season. In typical fashion, we were given fan service as a means of humor, and then some fighting here and there with “just-alright-production.” However, the biggest developments in the episode that captured my attention were Kyouka’s fondness for Yuuki and the contrast between her and his sister, Aoba.
Fan service aside, I appreciate how Kyouka and Yuuki are written as characters. While Yuuki’s subconscious is the primary reason the series has a lot of fan service in the first place, it never comes from someone who aims to take advantage of Kyouka or any of the other girls. He’s an upstanding guy with a respectable resolve, albeit rather basic, but I digress.
Kyouka herself is more than a character that’s easy on the eyes. She actually hits growths of development throughout this entire season and it happened again in Episode 9. Her affection for Yuuki is slowly coming to the surface and this episode was almost a sort of tipping point for her after everything Tenka tried to pull off in the last couple of episodes.
There’s no better opportunity to show how much Yuuki means to her — to Shushu, Mei, and Himari as well– than a rescue mission to take Yuuki away from his own sister. I wouldn’t say Kyouka’s ability to sense Yuuki because of her ability is a cop-out since Nei couldn’t find him, but rather, it felt like it was used as a way to progress their relationship with each other. Kyouka actually showed signs of happiness and relief for once in the reward portion of her ability and it was, above all else, because she knew Yuuki was safe.
In an anime that’s classified as ecchi above all else, you’d think character development and overall story development wouldn’t just take a back seat—it would never be in the car at all in the first place. But Chained Soldier has shown through Kyouka that it’s not the case whatsoever. We already know Takahiro’s work at developing a strong female main character with good development with Akame from Akame Ga Kill, and now, it’s starting to be apparent with Kyouka and her feelings towards Yuuki not as her slave, but as a person and what he means to her.
Kyouka realizes she’s in a tough position to not show the feelings that Shushu clearly displays for Yuuki. However, now she’s getting to the point it’s getting harder and harder to hold back—and that’s not a bad thing. In a series where all the girls develop some sort of relationship with Yuuki, Kyouka having to hold back as the 7th Squad’s commander can understandably be irritating. Last week, she willingly let the others ride with Yuuki despite knowing what the rewards could be. This week, she shows legitimate concern for someone she’s developed a close relationship with.
This brings me to my next point and that’s the contrast between Kyouka and Aoba and their relationships with Yuuki. While Kyouka started off seeing Yuuki as nothing more than another slave under her command, Aoba started off seeing him as her equal—as siblings—someone she knew she could be partners with if it came down to a conflict. Now, Kyouka and Aoba, have basically switched places in their own ways.
Kyouka is now taking herself down the route of seeing Yuuki as an equal that she truly cares about while Aoba is seeing her brother as nothing more than property. While Kyouka lets Yuuki have his own free will (for the most part), Aoba has now put him in her own little bubble by force. All of this leads up to who cares about what Yuuki wants the most — a piece of a Chained Soldier that I love because it’s objectively solid writing.
Kyouka and Aoba are both leaders of their respective groups yet they couldn’t be further from each other in terms of personality—Kyouka being the more stoic and level-headed, Aoba being the wild card. Again, this in turn creates a nice set of contrast between the two characters who are most important to Yuuki. That being said, in this episode we see Yuuki hesitate at the thought of not being able to go back to the 7th Squad with Aoba responding in anger and disgust.
Aoba is kind of a pain in the ass. Anytime I see her on the screen I just know the episode is about to become some sort of headache. It’s one thing dealing with her energetic attitude, but it’s another dealing with Aoba’s brother complex. One minute you think she looks at her brother as nothing more than her brother and is protective of him—understandable. But the next she’s complimenting Yuuki by calling him hot and the most amazing thing anyone’s ever witnessed moments after seeing his naked body, and it just leaves me sitting there going, “Why?”
Kyouka has seen Yuuki’s “subconscious side” but she never once treats him differently or showcases him like he’s some sort of trophy. Even though she did get slightly possessive of Yuuki when Tenka entered the fold, jealousy is a normal and human trait to have and it showed that Kyouka isn’t some stone-cold ice queen either.
The next episode undoubtedly has me excited as the 6th and 7th Squads are joining forces to bring Yuuki back. What I loved most about this moment at the end was how series Tenka and the others were. No jokes. No fan service. It was nothing but “Let’s go get Yuuki back,” and that was it. I’m not too big on Coco or Naon and honestly couldn’t care less what happens with them at this point, but an Aoba versus Kyouka showdown is definitely a need at this point.
Episode 9 rating: 7/10
If you loved Chained Soldier Episode 9 then be sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! Episode 10 of Chained Soldier will be released on Thursday, March 7. HIDIVE is streaming the uncensored version of the anime.
Images via HIDIVE
© Takahiro / Yohei Takemura / Shueisha / Magic Defense Corps Public Relations Department