Chain Chronicle: Haecceitas no hikari

There were those who played the original Chain Chronicle tower defense role-playing game and were tinkering with their Yuri, going on quests and forming alliances, all to get to the final confrontation with the Black King (this is where this anime series starts). Those people must have found that the first episode was like a cold shower. The narrative continues, and I could not believe how a character I spent many hours with could screw up this anime adaptation in such an extravagant way. He is even going to get poor little Pirika taken away from him - loser! The beginning is fine; it is during the grand finale of the game when victory is within reach that it all goes so beautifully wrong. If I had experienced that after forty or more hours of play with a real game, I would have thrown the computer out of the window. The idea of figuring out all the context and understanding what just happened is very good and I like this a lot. So there is a washed-up main male protagonist who has his tail between his legs and is running away because he failed. All is lost! It is a great start. So, of course, the main male protagonist has to quickly find new motivation, deal with his own struggles, and try to get himself together so that perhaps this time, he is not going to screw up so badly. However, it is not that simple. A classic fantasy adventure would follow the usual "hero's journey" where the protagonist does not falter and achieves a well-deserved happy end despite all the pitfalls and confrontations. However, that is not quite the case here. A big twist in the middle of this anime series cheered me up and made a simple narrative much more interesting. Narratives that are better than the usual fare are not black and white or predictable. They were quite successful in that regard with this show, although it was still possible to predict what would happen next despite what had already happened (and what I had not expected). In addition, I have to say I enjoyed it despite all the typical tropes, the grand and emotional speeches, the emphasis on friendship, and the importance of relationships. Furthermore, there is another major shortcoming. Because this is based on a well-known game, people who have not played it are going to find it hard to get their bearings concerning the characters. In addition, some characters just appear and disappear; others travel with the group for a while, only to leave it a few episodes later. These characters seem unnecessary on the one hand, even though it is important to remember that they are characters from the game. In terms of continuity, they have to appear in their designated places. So, in the end, I see this as an above-average fantasy adventure that is slightly confusing due to having so many characters. There is quite a bit of fighting, a respectable attempt at some psychological and character development (best seen with Aram). However, in general, it does not really step beyond the rules of its established genre. And while it surprises, it remains somewhat predictable. I enjoyed the animation and the soundtrack, so 7/10. Otherwise, if anyone is confused as to why there are two versions, the anime's writers decided to release a movie trilogy. The first installment of this trilogy (the first four episodes) was shown on the big screen in December 2016 and was also released on DVD. The next four parts (second installment) went to the cinemas on the 14th of January, 2017. Once again, it was released together with the DVD release, and the third installment (the last four parts) was released in February 2017. In addition, there is now an anime television series adaptation compiling the movie trilogy, which was first aired on the 8th of January, 2017. The anime series is actually exactly the same as the movie trilogy and is probably going to be shown on TV. This is probably because not everyone can afford to go to the cinema every month. I think this was an interesting marketing strategy, although it was already done quite recently by Ajin: Demi-Human. (2017.01.08) (kevesebbet) (több)