One final look at how good this series could be…
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Ichirou Sakaki (original story)/ Shinta Sakayama (manga)
Translation/Adaptation: Athena and Alethea Nibley
What They Say
A blunt request by Toru results in both the end of Dominica Skoda’s hospitality…and a battle over the remains of Arthur Gaz in her possession! Can Toru and his companions defeat a woman invulnerable to swords and magic? And could there be more to Dominica’s true motivations than meets the eye…?
The manga adaptation of Chaika: The Coffin Princess reaches its grand finale!!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Chaika, the manga, had some perplexing shifts in tone and pacing. Looking back over the reviews I have completed in the last year, no other manga has seemed so determined to create a world while allowing the story and characters to play a secondary role. Volume 5 explains some of the choices of the mangaka while allowing the characters to come into their own for the series’ fans.
Volume 4 left off with Chaika looking for her father’s remains at the home of a Dragoon Cavalier, Dominica. As they ready to battle her, Toru breaks the holographic projector that maintains a projection of Dominica’s dead, younger sister. Readers who wondered about Dominica’s cool and somewhat distant behavior will enjoy Toru’s plan to get her to open up. In chapter 25 we have Dominica soul-searching her feelings about her sister. With contemplative pacing, and scenes of characters coming to terms with their feelings, the chapter suggests a volume of character development as well as answers to questions the previous volumes have foreshadowed.
But those looking for an action installment will be happy with the majority of the volume as Chaika and her party battle Dominica in chapters 26 through 29. Yes, four chapters of battle, but unlike the tenth season of a shonen anime trying to stretch a story, we have an incredible amount of character development in the many pages of speed lines and blood splatter. As had been foreshadowed, Dominica had died and her presence has been carried on by the dragon who fought with her. Having lost the purpose she had brought to their relationship, the dragon took her persona and tried to live up to her goals. Dominica’s goals had been shaped by the loss of her sister, and even though the dragon tried to take on her emotional baggage, it never had the capacity to feel like she had.
As the battle continues, we see the thoughtfulness of Toru and the capacity of Chaika to separate the feelings of their own losses to understand the dragon. Many of the previous volumes offered glimpses into the pasts that shaped Toru and Chaika, Volume 5 offers to wrap up the feelings by developing the characters while advancing the story. Toru finds compassion as he realizes that even if he had protected the life of Jasmin, he would have carried another kind of guilt that might have been more destructive. Chaika realizes her mission will never heal the wounds she carries, but her mission offers her life a purpose. Even though this volume had a planned ending where the larger story would be left without resolution, the mangaka did a great job of using character development as a way to create a satisfying end to the series.
Artwork really stands out in this volume. Detailed backgrounds offer a cinematic view of the scenes before they devolve into abstract (and busy) action sequences. Faces convey careful and realist emotion, and some scenes, especially when Chaika fires off a spell, offer a spatially visceral presentation. Even though much of the artwork appeals to the moe desire to protect, the manga offers restraint in showing the fragility of Chaika and Dominica’s little sister. The volume begins with two full color leaves. Two pages contain panels from the story, one page has the table of contents, and another page shows the striking full page image of a nude Dominica with the armored dragoon holding and protecting her.
Shinta Sakayama explains some of the pacing issues the manga series encountered. When first planning the series, the original idea was to produce two volumes for fans of the show. That number got extended to five volumes and three years of work. Earlier reviews noted the series had many narrative and plotting issues. Chapters would go nowhere, dialog or exposition would not advance the larger story, and at times, the manga seemed to be putting off telling the story. The series was being produced for the fans of the other Chaika properties, and it was never intended to be a complete manga adaptation of the light novels or anime. In other words, the series was made for existing fans.
In Summary
Volume 5 demonstrates the best of what the Chaika manga could be. With the heart of the manga based on action and battle, the bookend chapters offer worthwhile character development and the first real sense that the characters have depth and a purpose for being together. Artwork makes the most of the characters in battle, and while the action scenes sometimes fade in speed lines and impact flashes, the artwork does an above average job of conveying space, place, and emotion.
While this volume wraps up the manga series, it really shines at demonstrating what Sakayama could do with these characters. Even though most of the series seems directly targeted to existing fans, it does offer something interesting, if flawed, for fantasy adventure lovers.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: September 27th, 2016
MSRP: $13.00
