17 December 2014: It's all right, we can always get more Chaikas
Speak no evil.
I didn't finish writing my introduction to the second season of Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle before it finished airing. I haven't read the light novels, so I don't know if the anime ending diverged from the books. I don't believe the light novel series themselves end for a few more months, so there's a good possibility there are some differences, despite how much Japan loves spoilers. I guess there's also the possibility the anime and the books have never been anything alike, and I wouldn't even know. (The Scrapped Princess novels by the same author are significantly different from the anime adaptation.)
That's some good sneaking.
At a minimum, I can't imagine the Fredrica moments are nearly as amusing in print. Basically every Fredrica scene in the anime is pure gold thanks largely to comedic timing and wacky visual gags. She also renewed my appreciation for Saito Chiwa, whom I haven't thought about for years. In fact, I think I need to nominate Fredrica for Girl of the Year even though she arguably isn't a girl 2/3rds of the time and technically isn't so much a character as a plot device. Puella Ex Machina.
Thighka.
I'm partial to two-cour shows in general now simply because they're relatively rare these days. They used to be the norm, but I suppose financial risks and production considerations make shorter shows more attractive, to say nothing of audience attention spans. Thankfully, Hitsugi no Chaika is well worth the time. I understand many viewers felt unsatisfied with the ending, but I didn't find it inappropriate in the context of the show as a whole. However, I do hope to see more of Hitsugi no Chaika in an epilogue at least once the light novels conclude.
