En'en no šóbótai - Ni no šó

So, the second season has finished. The main question is - was it better than the first one? Well, truth be told it is still kind of the same so probably not... There were plenty of fight scenes, however, they rarely came close to the fratricidal carnage of the end of the first season, both qualitatively and aesthetically. The background of the world and story unfolds, and some of the answers provided are definitely interesting and surprising, mainly because of the last episode’s finale. I got the feeling that the big stuff is yet to come in season three, and so the whole of season two was just a transitional part between the opening and the finale - the worldbuilding. I have already shared my first impressions in a discussion here, however, just to clarify - I was not really into the beginning. The first episode would have made a pretty cool OVA, however, it did not impress me very much as a wannabe cool and funny start. Likewise, I did not really enjoy the Chinese arc. I thought there were some important characters missing from the story and instead all we got were other characters that I mostly did not care for, and I also thought the talking animals were just an unnecessary peculiarity… However, on the other hand, it turned out that this arc has revealed something quite significant to the story. Likewise, some of the characters from that arc had a useful role in the following episodes, so I found that even the presence of the absolutely unremarkable Juggernaut ended up making sense. Furthermore, the later episodes were the best. I really liked Captain Shinmon and I absolutely adore the mysterious Joker, so the episode dedicated to them immediately put a smile on my face and I really enjoyed the Joker's version of Steve Miller's iconic song. The Haijima Industries and the Netherworld arcs were good, and I once again enjoyed watching the Fire Force, a feeling which I had almost lost during the Chinese arc. The finale was very good, as it set the stage for the next season. It made the main male protagonist upgrade and level up (and I am looking forward to him showing what he has learned in action now), and so all we have to do is wait for the third season to start. In conclusion, I enjoyed the second season on average as much as I did the first. I am telling myself that if I were younger (boomer alert!), I would have enjoyed this whole anime series and goofy humor a lot more. As it is, I have to make do with the (still) pretty good fight scenes, a story which, thanks to its mystery and sophistication, I find quite interesting, and a few characters I really enjoyed (Joker, Shinmon, Obi, Princess Hibana, Charon...). Oh, and what the hell was that Soul Eater moon supposed to be about? All the sixes, six-six-six - 6.66/10. (12.12.2020)