English Dub Review: Chained Soldier “Birth, Yuuki, Awakening”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Yuuki Wakura wanders through a gate to an alternate dimension.  There, he meets the Demon Defense Force, including Chief Kyouka Uzen, who will reward him for his servitude.

Our Take: 

In most harem shows, a protagonist has multiple girls joining their crew as allies or enslaved people.  This particular series is the complete opposite of a harem show, in which the female protagonists enslave a male character to do whatever they want.  This would’ve been a dream come true for most people, but it’s actually a pretty rough (and sexy) struggle for one of them.

Chained Soldier introduces viewers to its protagonist, Yuuki Wakura.  Yuuki is a high school graduate who discovers one of the gates leading to another dimension called “Mato”.  Upon entering Mato, Yuuki encounters a particular woman named Kyouka Uzen, the commander of the seventh squad of the Demon Defense Force, whose duty is to protect people from the monsters known as “Shuuki”.  Kyouka also has the ability to enslave a Shuuki or a human and enhance their abilities, which she uses on Yuuki to rescue the kids from the Shuuki.  However, the catch is that Yuuki would receive a reward for his servitude, and from the looks of this intimate concept, I’m not talking about getting treats.  In addition to the Shuuki and Mato, the episode introduces us to Mato’s resources called “Peaches”, which give women supernatural abilities upon consumption.

The series recently announced a second season with a new studio at the helm, indicating that this violent and seductive concept must be enticing enough to warrant a continuation.  The first episode mostly proves this theory with a fast-paced and mildly entertaining trek through the Mato.  Besides the clunky CGI effects for the Shuuki, “Birth, Yuuki, Awakening” did a decent job introducing this premise through its badass female characters and suitable animation style.  Of course, it’s also not without a “it should’ve been me” moment involving Yuuki’s “reward” that made me slightly intrigued toward its risqué scenario.