Chained Soldier Vol. 1
Author: Takahiro
Illustrator: Yohei Takemura
Publishers: Yen Press
Age Group: Older Teen
Genre: Shonen
Type: Manga
Content Warnings: Fan service, Nudity
Spoilers ahead
Plot
Yuuki Wakura, a teenage boy who wants nothing more than to fight on the Demon Defense Force instead of facing his future of a 9-5 grind, cannot believe how unlucky he is. First, he’s a boy, while only girls get to be on the Demon Defense Force. Since Mato, an otherworldy and dangerous dimension appeared, the world turned upside down to a modern matriarchal society. Special fruit known as “Peaches” grant unique abilites…but only to girls.
Second, his skills include cooking, sewing, mending, and household chores (which he is quite proud of). He has a fighting spirit but not a single fighting bone in his body. Until he gets involved in a Mato mishap where he is saved by Kyouka Uzen, the beautiful (slightly sadistic) commander of the 7th squad of the Demon Defense Force, who…orders him to become her slave?!
Character Development
The character development in Chained Soldier is actually really good. We follow our househusband-type protagonist as he’s thrown into the world of the female-only Demon Defense Force. Yeah, he’s a slave, but he takes that in stride as he’s more excited by the prospect of doing what he’s always wanted. Who doesn’t wish to avoid the workforce grind and pursue your dreams, even if they’re logically unreasonable?
Kyouka Uzen is a sadistic all-business commander. She trains her people hard because she expects great things. Her team is at the Reverse Ogre Gate which sees a lot of monsters. They need to always be ready because the barrier that surrounds their dorm isn't always going to save them. She dislikes using her power until Yuuki comes along (which comes with its own sets of problems).
Each of the girls in 7th squad has a blaringly obvious personality type. Yet, there are twists and turns as we get close interactions between each one and Yuuki. I look forward to reading more of these to see how each personality type twists to make each girl memorable.
World-building
We have our standard modern world, but mostly men have to deal with the workforce grind. There’s also a lot of tension between the sexes as men are pretty much considered slaves to women. Yuuki laments his future until he’s involved in a Mato Mishap. This is when random portals to Mato open up letting humans into Mato or demons into the world.
We learn that Yuuki’s sister had the same thing happen to her and was never found. All he can do is follow the guidelines they’ve been taught (repeatedly) to stay put and wait for the Demon Defense Force to save you. He does just that until he gets mobbed by monsters and books it through Mato just to stay alive until he can be saved.
Once he is saved, we learn from various characters that Mato is divided into quadrants. Each quadrant has a squadron of the Demon Defense Force. If we read the translation notes it further explains the world. The ogre gate (northeast) is considered inauspicious or bad. The same holds for the reverse ogre gate (southwest). If we follow this logic also knowing that more monsters spawn at the 7th squad’s southwest location, Yuuki is in for a rough time.
I like world-building in Chained Soldier because it uses specific things from Japanese mythology and superstition that add flavor and depth to this created world. Even the use of peaches is a reference when the god Izanagi fled the underworld after failing to retrieve his wife. To get away, he threw three peaches at his pursuers.
If you read this series, definitely check out the translation notes at the end for more context. It explains some of the world-building and fleshes things out in post.
Themes
While there is a lot of fan service in this series, it has some good themes such as never giving up on your dreams—they may happen but in unexpected ways.
Another one is no skill is lesser than others. Yuuki’s skills for housework earn him his caretaker role in the 7th squad. Without that, he wouldn’t be there. He earns a lot of respect from fighting as a slave on behalf of Kyouka but also by doing the chores. He puts up with a lot of shit from the girls.
Observations & Predictions
There will be more fan service. I can also see that we’ll be introduced to other characters. Along those lines, we’ll also see more of the current cast’s personalities as Yuuki wins them over one way or another. He may just start collecting a harem without realizing it. If he does realize it, it won’t be like the ones in his dreams.
As for world-building, we are already immersed in it pretty well. I think it’ll just flesh itself out inadvertently as the author tries to focus more on the fan service and character relationships. We may also see some character development from Yuuki so he doesn’t feel like he’s useless outside of the fight. We see a little bit of this when he grabs anythingg of Kyouka’s he can, forcing himself to transform to help one of the other girls out of a tight spot. The dormitory is under attack and she’s the only one, so Yuuki figuring out a way to help earns him a lot of points.
Recommendations
Fan-service fans:
Monster Musume
By: Okayado
High School DxD
By: Ichiei Ishibumi
Similar Shonen arcs:
Spriggan
By: Hiroshi Takashige
Combatants will be dispatched (light novel)
By: Natsume Akatsuki
