Chained Soldier (2024)

[魔都精兵のスレイブ]

Season 1

Director: Junji Nishimura, Goro Kuji
Studio: Seven Arcs
Starring: Yuya Hirose, Akari Kito, Yume Miyamoto
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
In a world where females with supernatural powers defend humanity against extradimensional entities known as Shuuki, a young man who dreams of being a hero discovers powers of his own as a servant to an officer in the Demon Defense Force.

Impressions:
I love how leery English translators avoid directly translating the titles of series that have anything to do with slavery. In this case, the whole "slave" thing is more the BDSM variety. If that's already got you headed for the doors, you should probably just follow your instincts and keep on going. This is an unapologetically ecchi series, but not much more extreme than your garden variety ecchi romcom. As with any such series that manages to hold on to me for more than an episode or two, there are some honestly compelling character dynamics going on. The interplay power and sexuality make for some interesting interactions. The reward system that comes with Yuuki's "slavery" can at times upend the power dynamic, and the fact that it draws on his subconscious desires (and potentially, to a degree, his master's subconscious desires) can get you thinking about what's really going on under the hood. There are some decent action sequences with clever applications of different power sets, but if you're here for the action, you may be a bit underwhelmed, and if you're here for the pervy stuff, you (like some other commenters I've observed) might complain that it's too tame. For my part, if it went further with the latter, I probably would've checked out, but my tastes are probably not the best barometer for either general or specialized audiences. Oh, and if you're wondering why it isn't main girl Kyouka who's featured most prominently in the ED, it quickly becomes clear when the girl in question (best girl Tenka) enters the story, though I generally like most of the characters, which is nice. I can't quite give it a full-fledged recommendation, but if you're fine with the ecchi factor (and not demanding anything more extreme) and find yourself drawn in by the characters, you might just find it worth a watch.

Rating:
50/50