Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Complete Series Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Complete Series Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Chaika: The Coffin Princess is an action-adventure anime. Created by Ichiro Sakaki, the series has a dark concept but the execution is more adventurous than some might anticipate. The series features animation from acclaimed animation studio BONES (Darker than Black, Fullmetal Alchemist). A compelling anime creation.

Chaika Travant (Chika Anzai) is a strange and mysterious girl wandering the Earth while carrying a giant coffin in tow. The mission of Chaika is unclear to those around her and leaves a lot of questions on the table. Chaika is seeking the missing pieces of an emperor’s body but for what purpose?

After a violent war resulted in the body of an emperor being torn in to pieces, Tohru Acura (Junji Majima) and Akari Acura (Yuko Hara) are retired saboteurs and the pair find themselves running in to Chaika and with nothing more than questions – who is this mysterious girl? Could Chaika be related to the slain emperor? The puzzle pieces will come together over time but one thing is for certain: Chaika is someone unlike anyone else – the coffin girl!

Chaika makes a interesting central protagonist. The character is a lot different than one might expect to find from this type of program. The character is one-part charm and ordinary and another part odd: as much an outcast as one can become. These elements are at play with the characterization and make things more compelling with the concept. The loner and outcast element is something that many “otaku” anime fans can probably relate to.

The animation for the production is excellent. Featuring chief animation direction by Masahiro Suwa (The Rising of The Shield Hero) and Nobuhiro Arai (Bungo Stray Dogs), the series looks great with a creative art style. The animation is certainly superb and provides the series with the right balance between the contrasting sensibilities of the series.

The character designs by Nobuhiro Arai (Bungo Stray Dogs) are effective. The designs are certainly worthwhile and fit the characters. Arai manages to design the characters for the anime with a particularly impressive aesthetic fitting for the production. A solid effort by Arai.

The cinematography by Hikaru Fukuda (Snow White with the Red Hair) is excellent and works well with the setting of the series production. Fukuda gives the series plenty of light and colorful cinematographic elements. The style is surprisingly more robust and colorful than one might expect given the concept of the series but it works well.

The score composed by Seikou Nagaoka (Brave Witches, El Hazard: The Alternative World) is entertaining and engaging. The music adds a sense of excitement to the production. Composer Nagaoka provides the soundtrack with plenty of excitement and there is something impressive about the manner in which that unfolds.

Written by Touko Machida (The Everyday Tales of a Cat God, Tears to Tiara), Chaika: The Coffin Princess finds the right balance of excitement and intrigue. The series unfolds with questions about the coffin princess and her role in the saga. The viewer will find these elements compelling to ponder about. Certainly, Machida gives the character interesting dialogue and a neat personality.

Directed by Sōichi Masui (Sakura Quest, Scrapped Princess), Chaika: The Coffin Princess is entertaining and has plenty to offer audiences of genre anime productions. The series explores a unique anime concept unlike anything else. There are countless anime series with similar concepts so it certainly is interesting to see something come around that is a bit different from the pack.

Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Complete Series Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Chaika: The Coffin Princess is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release has an impressive high definition encoding from Sentai. The presentation capably handles the animation. An engaging presentation with good color reproduction. The line art and character animation is impressive on the release. A solid effort from Sentai.

Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Complete Series Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). Either option will provide a worthwhile lossless audio presentation with crisp dialogue. The score is well integrated in to the sound mix. A solid encode and one with an impressive soundstage for a stereo audio design. The soundstage is certainly good at showcasing the soundtrack – the score sounding clear and concise on the release.

Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Complete Series Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Part 1:

Japanese Promos (HD, 3:36)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Part 2:

OVA: The Targeted Coffin / Ruins Resurrected (HD, 24:57)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Toka Gettan: The Moonlight Lady Returns (HD, 1:35), Beyond the Boundary (HD, 1:31), No Game, No Life (HD, 1:32), and Humanity Has Declined (HD, 1:32).

Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Complete Series Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chaika The Coffin Princess is a series with a unique concept revolving around a mysterious girl wandering the land with a coffin. The series features impressive animation. The Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks includes a solid video and audio presentation as well. The release also includes a selection of extras – including the OVA episode "The Targeted Coffin / Ruins Resurrected" as well.

The bonus inclusion of the OVA episode is certainly one of the best elements of the release. It is nice of Sentai Filmworks to provide the OVA on the release instead of releasing it separately and charging fans even more for a separate OVA only release. This provides some extra value to the collection and makes it a better deal for fans of the series considering a purchase. Fans of the series won't want to miss out on this quality release. Recommended.