Maybe it’s the fact that there are girls with outrageously large guns, but Hitsugi no Chaika has caught my attention. The new anime series will adapt the light novels written by Ichiro Sakaki (Scrapped Princess, Strait Jacket). Another work of his, Outbreak Company – Moeru Shinryakusha has also been greenlit for an anime adaptation, announced back in April. Outbreak Company stars a “moe” evangelist, the otaku son of a light novelist and eroge maker, who is sent to a parallel world and entangled in war.

As for Hitsugi no Chaika, which translates to “Chaika the Coffin Princess,” the story revolves around a retired soldier who runs into a young girl carrying a coffin. Together, along with the man’s sister, they travel the world in search of work but ultimately encountering a lot of monsters. In addition to the original light novel series, Hitsugi no Chaika also has a manga adaptation has been periodically releasing chapters since late 2011.

I’m a big fan of adventure/fantasy settings, but I feel like they’re aren’t recent anime that take place in fantasy worlds. A lot of series nowadays take place in contemporary settings, with maybe slight hints at fantasy. However, these two new works from Ichiro Sakaki might possibly fill this void for us. Maybe I should check out some of his older works, like Scrapped Princess.

B.W.