Chain Chronicle: The Light of Haecceitas (2017)

[チェインクロニクル ～ヘクセイタスの閃～]

Director: Masashi Kudo
Studio: Telecom Animation Film, Graphinica
Starring: Akira Ishida, Ayane Sakura, Daiki Yamashita
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
The Yggdra Alliance fails in its attempt to defeat the Black King and Yuri of the Volunteer Army must rally the nations for another attack as the world teeters on the brink of destruction.

Impressions:
Having recently picked up the game this series is based on, I decided to check it out. Rather than start at the beginning of the story and do a straight adaptation, this series instead starts with a botched boss run and we pick up the pieces after that. For someone who hasn't played the game, it probably feels rather opaque as not a lot is explained and a lot of characters are thrown at you. I do , however, like the idea of setting the story at what you'd normally expect to be the climax and then go from there. The game's protagonist Yuri gets eclipsed by original character Aram, who can feel a bit Stuish at times (your mileage may vary on that).

The overall look is good and the animation can look particularly nice and fluid at times. We occasionally see CG models of the characters used in action scenes. It's not as janky as some other examples, but it does feel a bit off. (And there's one scene of environmental destruction that looks pretty bad.)

I would describe this show primarily as a bonus for fans of the game, but even if you don't have that experience, you may like it well enough. I've definitely seen worse game adaptations out there. I'd say it's worth a watch.

Rating:
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