Chained Soldier (Episode 5) - Sisters, Yachiho, Ridicule

Himari’s fight with Yochiho begins for the second time, however, Himari realises that she’s already tired which means she must have used her time control ability. But can they really win when time is against them?

Chained Soldier (Episode 5) – Sisters, Yachiho, Ridicule

What happened?

Yuuki hit Yochiho with a massive attack as soon as the fight started. She didn’t even have time to activate Golden Hour. However, the hit didn’t kill her so she was able to wind back time. However, Himari noticed that she was already tired and switched to their next plan. They leaped into the air which seemed to play into Yochiho’s strengths. That was until Yuuki kicked off the barrier and launched himself at her for another attack. She rewound time once more, each time draining more of her energy.

Yochiho stopped time earlier than before but when she did, they had leapt in the other direction. Himari was watching Yochiho’s body language, reading the clues and constantly adapting their plan. Yuuki kept on the move, racing around the arena, forcing Yochiho to use her ability without success and further draining her. However, Yochiho had a trick up her sleeve. On top of Golden Hour which would allow her to freeze or rewind time for five seconds, she had developed Prime Time. It drained her energy more but gave her ten seconds. That was more than enough to get within range of Yuuki and Himari. She fired.

When time resumed, Yuuki and Himari crashed into the ground, Yuuki peppered with bullet wounds. However, he refused to give up, knowing how much this meant to Himari. They also had one last trick to pull, although Yochiho was confident that they wouldn’t stop her with her ten-second window. This time, they charged straight at her and just before she posed, Yuuki transformed back to his human form creating a flash of light and a cloud of smoke. Yochiho couldn’t see Himari so she fired randomly. When time resumed, she felt a bullet blast through her neck. Himari stared up from the ground, still gripping her gun. They won!

After the fight, Yochiho asked Himari to come home, but she refused saying that her home was with the Seventh. She helped Yuuki inside to get a drink, however, rather than just handing him the bottle, she took a swig and then kissed him, passing the water to him that way. Was this the reward? You better believe it was, but that didn’t include Himari apologising to him for how she treated him. As Shushu prepared for her fight with Sahara, she saw the whole thing and was a little shocked.

Chained Soldier Episode 5 Yochiho activates Golden Hour

Chained Soldier Episode 5 Yochiho knocked back again

What did you think?

I was curious how Himari and Yuuki would beat someone with time control abilities because as far as I’m concerned that’s the ultimate over-powered ability. Use it right and no one stands a chance. However, I think they made a really good show of how you might beat someone like that. There was the moment after the fight when Tenka told Yochiho that had Yuuki not subconsciously held back with his first attack, she would have instantly lost. She also pointed out that the only reason she lost this time was because she didn’t take it seriously. Rather than finishing off her target, she stood there gloating. I already like Tenka. She’s bang on the money there. Yochiho should have easily won.

I also think that while Himari was rewarding Yuuki, she may have slipped in an extra kiss that was intentional. It was the ideal moment to get that out of her system, especially as she was clearly sorry for how she treated him and had developed newfound feelings for him during the fight. I think that one at the end looked like she paused and then went for it, making me think the reward was already over at that point. I wonder how this will impact Shushu, because I think she had feelings for him since the second episode. Knowing that this is the kickback from Kyouka’s ability may make things complicated. I’m sure she’ll find a way to get in on the action though, she’s too mischievous not to.

And finally, who were those three strangers that showed up at the end? They didn’t look anything like Yuuki’s sister and the girls she was with, but they also didn’t exactly look human. The guy in the middle could be the result of something similar to Yuuki’s situation, but I’m not convinced. I think we’ve stumbled upon something higher up the food chain than the Shuuki and Aoba’s group. The plot thickens…