Warning: The following contains spoilers for Chained Soldier episode 6!!While sometimes associated with controversy, Chained Soldier on HIDIVE isn’t making headlines for anything controversial, but for completely obliterating one of the biggest romance tropes in the perfect way – by transcending its own successful, albeit obvious, gimmick that does so unofficially. Shushu Suruga just kissed her love interest Yuuki Wakura, and it wasn’t because of a special power that causes certain characters to act overly affectionate or inappropriately.
One of Chained Soldier‘s initial appeals is that Yuuki receives steamy rewards from Kyouka Uzen every time she uses him in battle. Although this sometimes involves kissing, no one can really say these instances break the massive romance trope where love interests don’t kiss until an anime’s season or series finale, since Kyouka has no choice but to reward Yuuki in this way.
However, Chained Soldier episode 6 sees Shushu do just this on her own volition. What’s truly amazing about this development is that the anime chose to do it for her, just because of how she has been portrayed up until now.
Chained Soldier Couldn’t Have Broken the No-Kiss Trope With a Better Character
Produced by Seven Arcs, based on the manga by Takahiro & Yohei Takamura
One of Chained Soldier‘s many shonen tropes includes the more problematic type of harem, where Yuuki gets in steamy situations with each girl. In this regard, Shushu has always been the worst offender. Even though her feelings for him are clearly genuine, her ways of expressing them can be easily construed as some of the most heinous kinds of harassment. Regardless, it’s still incredible that someone as controversial as Shushu is the first character who kisses Yuuki for a reason that isn’t associated with the series’ reward system.
Of course, there are still some caveats to the interpretation that Chained Soldier defied the no-kiss romance trope. Shushu may have legitimate feelings for and kissed Yuuki voluntarily, but it was more of a one-sided affair. There’s no indication that Yuuki reciprocates what Shushu feels. It’s much more likely that he does or will care for Kyouka in this capacity. It would have therefore been much more momentous if Yuuki and Kyouka had shared a passionate kiss instead of him and Shushu for that reason. In other words, those who share this view undoubtedly believe that Chained Soldier will only break the no-kiss trope when that happens.
While relevant criticism, any form of kissing that’s driven by actual feelings is rare in romance anime. Ever since Shushu and Yuuki’s first appearance, in the episode “Curiosity, Shushu, Undress”, viewers have been aware that she is, at least, attracted to him, as opposed to just amused or curious, as was originally the case.
Each subsequent installment has hinted at the fact that her attraction might even be deeper. As a result, it’s impossible to say that no fan has embraced either a “YuShu” or “ShuKi” ship during the last few weeks. At the very least, their kiss in HIDIVE‘s latest episode of Chained Soldier is more monumental than one between Yuuki and Kyouka could ever be.
Chained Soldier is simulcasting exclusively on HIDIVE.
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