Chained Soldier

Episode 4

"Whirlwhind, Himari, Roar" is a somewhat undercooked episode of Chained Soldier, but just like that first bowl of brownie mix that your mother let you handle that one time when you were six years old, an underbaked dessert can still be an okay treat. It's just a little mushier than it ought to be, is all, and you really want to make sure it stays in the oven long enough next time. Salmonella is no laughing matter.

My main issues with this week's episode of Chained Soldier mostly involve how the episode is all setup and has no payoff. From the moment a whole squadron of new gals show up to make Yuuki's life even more complicated, the show finds itself at once trying to accomplish a lot while also managing to cover very little ground, by the end of things. Outside of learning just a little bit more about Himari and her contentious relationship with older sister Yachiho, the episode does little more than establish the very flimsy excuse for having the Sixth and Seventh Division hold an "exhibition" battle and then drag us all the way to the cliffhanger that sees credits rolling just when something interesting was about to happen.

It doesn't help that Himari has yet to rise above my initial impression of her as the least entertaining of the 7th Division girls. She's not a terrible character by any means; I don't find her especially interesting as a rote tsundere archetype with a big-sister-sized chip on her shoulder. She's perfectly adequate as a supporting character, and I will admit that the joke of her not understanding what Kyouka meant by describing the cost of Yuuki's power as "physically demanding" was a little funny, but that one good joke doesn't do enough to carry the whole episode.

(I can give one more point to Himari's favor: Her particular "reward" for Yuuki's Greninja transformation is maybe the most successfully sexy of the show's fanservice scenes so far.)

Overall, I didn't walk away from "Whirlwind, Himari, Roar" feeling betrayed or disappointed. Rather, I remained as thoroughly, unremarkably "whelmed" when the episode ended as when it began. It was an acceptable way to kill a half hour. No more, no less.

Rating:

Chained Soldier is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.