Sekirei: Pure Engagement

Fanboys rejoice as the second season of Sekirei(a.k.a Pimpamon) is now out and I must admit, the direction to which this series is headed can only get better as the "game" mentioned last season, is finally starting to unravel.

Story - 7
For those who had followed the series back in 2008, Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ is a continuation as Sahashi Minato endeavors to 'catch' as many girls as he can to add to his harem collection. For those that haven't seen the first season, I strongly suggest watching the series or else SPE will not make any sense to you(nor this review).

Plot-wise; with the final Sekirei ... being 'winged' in this season, SPE now delves into the Sekirei game which is the main focus to which Minato and others like him must compete in.

I must admit I've started to enjoy this series as the cast who had seemed like your average clichéd characters last season now seem to have some purpose for a plot to develop as a whole. Of course that doesn't mean the show has lost its other harem/ecchi clichés like your accidental 'oops, I tripped and fell on your breast' gag, but what it does mean is that this series no longer has to rely on its fan-service to keep us from seeing how good this show can be...and it is. Whilst the idea of collecting women as battle figures like you would Pokemon may not be to everyone's preference, it's a gimmick that's aimed at a certain crowd and being part of that crowd, I think it's just pure genius!

Art - 7
Art for Sekirei is always a crowd-pleaser specially in the male department. As a fan of ecchi and hentai material, the creator has made sure that all the leading ladies with D-cups and above, are captured in every angle possible for the service fans had anticipated since first season. In term's of animation I believe SPE has improved, and one episode of noteworthy is a particular Sekirei's 'winging', which I have to say was beautifully animated compared to the previous seasons Sekirei's.

Sound - 7
The OP "Hakuyoku no Seiyaku PE" sung by the leading ladies of the series gives a feeling of nostalgia of 2 years ago as it's in the same rhythm, as well as the ED "Onnaji Kimochi". Also as a guy who doesn't like change when it comes to sequels or spin-offs, I was pleased to find that Seven Arcs studio had kept the original seiyuus to lend their voices for the cast of its sequel(especially since I'm a big fan of Yukana).

Character - 5
Unfortunately not much has changed in regards to character development as Minato(uninspiring as he is), is still clueless to his actual surroundings. Whilst there are moments when you think he might actually shine when he stands up for one of his cast, it just doesn't outweigh how indecisive a male lead he can be.

Minato aside, the supporting cast is what saves the show as we're shown Minato's harem increased, who have likable personalities that correspond with the original girls, and which one of them pretty much provides the comedy and humor for the series.

One thing I did like about the sequel so far was the opening of episode one where we are shown a flashback of Miya(caretaker of Izumo Inn to which Minato boards) when she was part of the first Sekirei strike team. The two and a half minutes of pure demolition from her and her team, makes any Sekirei fan realize again just how "bad ass" she was. I can only assume that we will be seeing more of these flashbacks in future series as we discover how the Sekirei came to be.

Enjoyment - 7
As a guy who's not usually into harems(especially if it's an action where the male lead is useless), Sekirei is an anime I didn't mind watching and have found to be amusing since last season. Whilst it's not an FMA: Brotherhood or (insert your No.1 anime here), what it does deliver is pure fan-service with comedy and action. If anything, I believe this season may have raised my amusement up a notch opposed to the 6 I had given it back in 2008 and hopefully it get's better in future.(fingers crossed)

OverAll - 7
As I mentioned Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ is not everyone's cup of tea, and for those looking for twists and/or a riveting story, this anime will not provide it. But if your into harems mixed with action an 'over the top' fan-service, and if you found the first season enjoyable, then Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ is definitely an anime to pass your time with.

Sekirei: Pure Engagement--as the Second Season of Sekirei, this season seems to be the shift from just boobies to actual story line and theme.

Story - 9
The animators took the liberty to adjust some of the storyline to their own liking...fortunately and unfortunately, while it does not completely follow the manga's plot, I would say it actually brings out the theme of love and unity instead of just plain old boobies.

There are parts that even have you crying/tearing up/getting angry, as they also bring out the cruelties of life (not to a mature extreme) and lets just say, much sacrifice was made...(both on the part of ... the manga, and of the sekirei).

Art - 8
The art actually improved from Season 1 and began to look more like the OG Author's actual drawings. Alot of the mistakes that were in Season one were Rectified. Good work! Still, obviously not the best, so only 8 points.

Sound - 7
The OP/ED themes are somewhat lacking, although cute.

If you're looking for an anime that will inspire you with breathtaking sound effects and soundtracks, this is not the anime for you. The soundtracks in Season 2 DO fit with the story and theme, but there could have been better choices in my opinion. (Although this could be me, as I am a musician who writes his own music...and plays 7 instruments...but back to the anime..)

Character - 9
Character development is EXCELLENT. By the end of this season, there is little chance for one not to have selected a favorite character...

I do dislike the fact that the animators seemed to favor Musubi (for example, in the main plot Tsukiumi had her own share of "kills," but in the second season Tsukiumi doesn't have kills, she gets "assists.") and thus it seems like Musubi and Minato become a "Predetermined" couple.

Which is annoying. I personally love Tsundere characters (my own view at any rate) and Tsukiumi was really well developed into that role.

At first sight, Kazehana appears as a typical drunk, but the animators did her a good turn by utilizing an episode entirely on her to better display the theme of love.

Pretty much all of Minato's Sekirei change by the end of the second season.
Maybe not Kusano and Matsu, but all of them tend to change and develop nicely.

Enjoyment - 9
Personally I enjoyed this season more than I enjoyed the first.

Again, personal preference so this should really not matter.I did like that this had a little less boobies and more story. (Although there was still plenty of boobies!)

Overall - 9
What can I say? The animators did the OG Author a good favor by doing it their own way.

If you are looking for some ecchi anime, and haven't watched the first season, watch the first season.

For those of you who prefer story, I would advise Shakugan no Shana instead, although this is not to bad overall.

Sekirei was rubbish. It was a vile, misogynistic series without a single interesting character to be found and a crap story. Pure Engagement will probably be more of the same. Really, the only way this could potentially be fixed would be if they a) replaced the entire cast or b)forgot about the stupid fighting and fan-service scenes and used the time to develop the characters and actually elevate them beyond a single dimension. Let's see if that happens.

I briefly considered just copying and pasting the first series review and making some minor changes, but I decided against it because it would be inexcusably lazy. Plus, ... there are some differences. Pure Engagement picks up where the first series left off. The characters are twits, they're in a super-powered battle to be the last Sekirei standing. Pure Engagement lives up to its name, assuming you're using engagement in the "battle" sense. Any other usage of engagement would not be suitable. The first series mostly focused on the harem elements. This one focuses more on action sequences, although the harem elements are still there and they're still patently obnoxious and horribly misogynistic. The comedic elements mostly fail in this one, just as they did in the first series. It has two funny scenes and a lot that try but fail to be funny. This series does do better with the story aspects, however. And there's one reason for that. It has some scenes that border on decent. It doesn't have a lot, but there is some real effort put into the scenes with Chiho and Uzume. It's almost like taking time to explore the bonds between characters with some level of depth, small as it is in this series, leads to better scenes than cardboard stereotypes fighting over a typical protagonist to give the sexist twits in the audience some wish fulfillment. Still, these scenes make up a very small percentage of the series. The ending is a bit better, but it's still largely a pandering, typical happy ending. The treatment of the female characters remains largely abhorrent with them being heavily objectified. the plot remains replete with stupidity. Including the first season's "this is a secret, but we'll just do it in the open where anyone could easily see it" nonsense.

The characters remain one-dimensional stereotypes, most of which act nothing like real people since they're designed to pander to fetishes (or to fill a cliche role in the case of the male characters) rather than to actually be, well, characters. The closest you get to developed characters are Chiho and Uzume in those bordering on decent scenes and even then they're closer to the archetypal "hot lesbian couple" you see in some media, the type that uses sexuality as a fetish, than developed characters.

The artwork is a bit better than it was in the first series. Mainly because they do cut back on the absurd fan-service a bit. As a result you get more fight sequences that are actually decent and less that are thinly veiled excuses to strip the female characters. The fan-service is still at a ridiculously high level, however.

Like the first, this one doesn't have good voice acting. the closest you get are Nabatame Hitomi and Ishizuka Sayori in those few scenes that border on decent. Even then they're just average. The music is pretty sub-par.

The yuri factor is a 6/10. This one has more yuri moments than the first even moving from just having some homoerotic moments to a canonical relationship.

So, how was Pure Engagement? It's a slight improvement over the first series. Overall it has the same massive problems, but it does manage some almost decent scene and some of the problems are diminished. It's still largely typical harem nonsense. Just with a bit more mindless action. I really can't recommend sitting through the first or even just the second series for those few almost decent scenes. So, how could this have been done well? If the seven twits had just not been there, the focus had been on a small number of characters, their relationships and personalities had actually had time to develop, the fan-service had been eliminated or, at least, severely reduced and the objectifying aspect of the premise had been eliminated this might have been a good series. So, virtually everything would have to be different. Final rating, 3/10. And the next review request I have is... Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari. So, expect that review next week.

Wow. Color me impressed. After the first season of Sekirei, I didn't really have high hopes for Pure Engagement, in fact, I nearly skipped it all together. Thankfully, I decided against that. While the core elements that were featured in the first season are still present and in full force again, the vast improvements to just about every flaw the show had bring this series up from the forgetable, campy, and cliche harem show it was after season one to a thuroughly enjoyable show. And with that, let's get right into things.

Pure engagement basically picks up where the first season ended, and the plot remains ... unchanged. Minato and his corp of buxom female warriors are still participating in the Sekirei Plan. Personally, I liked the whole idea to begin with so seeing things were unchanged was nice if you ask me. Despite that fact, Pure Engagement does a much better job with the plot by adding in three twists to it that do an unbelievably good job of keeping things fresh and interesting. The first addition is the introduction of two new Sekerei to Minato's posse. The new members are a bit obvious, but what is impressive about them is the amount of work was put into them as opposed to the other members of the group; I'll go into more detail in the characters section though.

The next twist is a sudden change in the rules of the game about a quarter way into the season. Basically, Minaka declares that any Ashikabi who doesn't have a win under their belt will be forcibly eliminated from the game and their Sekirei will cease to function. This was a brilliant alteration to the plot for two critical reasons; first of which is it's enabling battles to finally be pushed to the forefront. One of the few things that I actually liked about the first season were the battles between the Sekirei. They were surprisingly well done and the unique powers each of them posessed made them pretty interesting to watch, but there simply wasnt enough in the first season. Not the case this time around. Due to this new implementation, the many Ashikabi that have been trying to avoid participating in the game are now forced to play if they want to continue living with their partnered Sekirei. Thanks to this, not only do we see more fights in general, but we also get to see quite a few new Sekirei abilities. Admittedly, we only see most briefly, but it does a more than good job of keeping things new.

Secondly, the rule also brings about a little bit more of a focus on monogamous relationships as it seems the majority of other Ashikabi only have one Sekirei, and since the majority of these new players have been hiding in order to not lose their partners, it's obvious these newbies are in love with their Sekrei. Thankfully, the show actually embraces this fact, and it's stated more than a few times that this is the case. The result is Minato and the gang fighting for a much greater purpose; to protect the Ashikabi and Sekirei who have grown to love each other. In turn, fights have much more importance now that we know the sad truth to why they must battle. Thanks to all this, we also are given a reason to truly hate Minaka and finally see him as the villain he is meant to be. It's all done extremely well and gets quite emotional a few times; it's really some decently powerful stuff.

The third event I'm not going to go too far into since it's essentially the ending. Suffice to say, like the change in the games rules, this final event is extremely well done as well. My issue with the first seasons ending was that it really didnt feel like an ending event for the most part, it was more like a mid-season plot arc than anything else, and didn't even really have a whole lot to do with Minato and company. Not the case this season. This time, not only is it about the main group, their actually sort of turned into targets. Once again, it enables a greater focus on fighting, and some of the best battles of the entire series occur during this time.

Now let's talk about characters. Once again, this area has also been improved upon, though not as greatly as the story was. The problem is that the original members we met in season one aren't really touched up on enough, and generally remain about as generic as they were in the beginning. That's not to say there weren't any improvements on them at all. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say that "nerdy boobs" and "the loli" that I mentioned in my review of the first season will get promoted to finally being decent characters and grace them the privelage of being called their names, Matsu and Kusano, respectively. Where Matsu was little more than a creepy computer geek who bafflingly wanted to grope every other female in her proximity, this season she becomes a rather powerful, quite brilliant tech wiz. To get who she is in this season, think Oracle from Batman. We also learn a lot about her past in this season as well as her number in the Sekirei "ladder" which, I won't lie, actually took me by surprise.

As for Kusano, she has changed quite a bit more. First season she rarely talked at all, instead communicating with an anoying set of squeeks and chirps in tandem with equally annoying generic anime facial expressions. Now, all I can say is she's freaking adorable. That's largely due to her spot on vo work...well at least as far as the English dub's Tia Ballard is concerned; she seriously nailed it this time around. As per usual, I don't watch subs, so I have no clue how her Japanese vo is, sorry. Also, the show makes her relationship with Minato normal, making sure to point out that she sees him as a brother as opposed to a romantic interest. On top of all that, she plays a much greater role as a character towards the second half of the show, and actually turns out being instrumental during the final two major story arcs.

As for the two new members of the crew, I really don't want to reveal too much about them, as they are extremely interesting. Most who watched the first season likely know who the two are already, but for those who don't I'll keep it a surprise. I do want to say though, the work done in terms of their backstory and character development is extremely well done. Both of them we discover are very prominent figures in regards to MBI and the game in general and both are quite powerful for very special reasons.

As for the art, it's similar to last seasons, but I will admit that I felt it was improved upon at least a bit. Character designs are far more consistent this season with the girls looking to be somewhere between relatively normally proportioned (once again, aside from their rack) and "Barbie Doll" unnatural. So, yeah, they look like what you'd expect when you hear "hot anime girl". As far as the environments and such go, they too seem to have received some extra TLC this time around. Overall, it's still a pretty well animated show.

Oh. Yeah; their tits still look surprisingly good too.

Sound is once again a weak link, though this time I'd say its the weakest. For the most part music is forgettable, though once again, the op is very well done sounding even more epic than the original, which is nice as it mirrors my feelings for this season as a whole. For the most part, the vo is of the same quality as last season, with the sole exception of Kusano's Tia Ballard, who really stepped up her game this go around. The usual ending theme is kind of "meh", as are the unique ones that play after significant plot arcs conclude.

Now, before I end this review I want to touch briefly on the comedy this season. Anyone who read my review of the first season may realize I never once mentioned it. That was for a good reason; it was straight up awful. So much so that it was hardly worth mentioning. Filled with far to many recurrent ecchi humor gags and feeble attempts at generic harem jokes, it was just terrible. Thankfully a lesson was learned and this season is actually quite funny with more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. It does still have a few moments where it falls back on those over used gimmicks, but this time you'll only see them happen once or twice and their done for good.

So if you watched the first season and were trying to figure out if Pure Engagement is even worth your time, I'll say yes, it most certainly is. Give it a shot, and I can almost promise you you'll be surprised at how much better its gotten. The season ends with almost a promise that we'll be getting a third season (no idea if that's still really the case or not but...); and this time I'm actually pretty excited to see it. Very well done. Very well done, indeed.

Sekirei, a mix of repetitive comedy, girl to girl action, and a intoxicative amount of breasts.

Story-5 Average
The story in the first season was pretty good, somewhat fresh and interesting. A boy meets a bunch of girls that will fight for him, but he doesn't really want them to fight but doesn't know what to do. What I got from the second season felt like a copy and paste from season 1. But this time, it lost it's freshness and felt very dull.

Art-7 Good
The art and animation in Sekrei isn't anything special. At times the costume can be dull, and I always feel that the eyes ... of the characters are to big for the face. But when it comes to the animation in fighting scenes, I think they are pretty flashy and nicely done. Anything else like backgrounds isn't extremely detailed, but it isn't bad.

Sound-8 Very Good
The BGM in Sekirei doesn't really stand out, I sometimes think there isn't any at all. But what really stood out was the opening and ending. They really fit into the story, and it's fresh. The song and animation of the op and ed matches very well, and I thought it's a bit funny when I first saw it.

Characters-7 Good
Typical? I thought that the characters were not very original. You typical guy wanna protect the girls protecting him. The main girl that is ALWAYS happy. The girl that always fights with the main girl over something etc. etc. But yet I still thought that they were very likable. They fit into the story, and they can be really funny sometimes.

Enjoyment-9 Great
I really enjoyed this series. Some of the comedy it really funny, and some of the characters (even though they're unoriginal) can be put into a funny scene and be funny too! And not to mention, for all you ecchi fans out there (Including me XD), this is the right anime for you. Large amounts of exposed breasts and panties (woot for the fan-service!)

Overall-7 Good
Overall, I enjoyed this anime for it's comedy, action, and ecchi (XD XD XD) If you're looking for a serious anime, then look somewhere else. If you're a ecchi fan looking for a easy story with lots of fan-service then look no further!

boobs, action, foreshadowing, and boobs all crunched together, something like this gets a 11 for fan service but it could have done a lot better in terms of a story, the idea has the potential to be a very interesting show, but sometimes it gets over looked because of the ecchi overload that was put in it.

Art - 6
the characters sometimes become deformed for extended periods and during times when its not needed. the fight scenes are also down-graded because of the background-less attack sequences

Sound - 7
the ending themes attempted to show the love and friendship themes of the show but came short.

Character - ... 6
Pure Engagement does slightly better at characterization than its prequel but explaining some of the female backgrounds.

enjoyment - 10
boobs, action, and boobs. I am a guy after all ^^

My rating uses the actual words given by MAL; a 5 is average. My goal is to be as unbiased as possible so i suggest reading the review rather than looking at my rating to make your choice. As this is a sequel it is also geared towards more of what to expect if you wish to continue.

-Little focus on other Ashikabi.
While this leaves more time for Minato, it would have been nice to see more interaction between them. There is obviously fighting between the groups, yet I don't recall more than one other ashikabi having any true impact.

-I was honestly surprised by an arc ... twist.
Without spoiling much, i will say there is a chance a twist will actually work. It is not groundbreaking, but in the relative atmosphere of the show i didn't see it coming.

-Next phase begins, and more fighting ensues.
As usual there are fights between the 108 sekirei. However it seems that, while not lacking, there was less fighting than the previous season. This is also due to the fact that the fighting is distributed to the large cast of Minato's sekirei so don't expect your favorite character to fight more then a few times. It also seemed that the fights were shorter.

-Matsu, Uzume, Kazehana and Homura get the focus.
I found out just how truly awesome Matsu really was all this time. Actually, along with Kuu she became my favorite sekirei personality wise. The other members get some much needed development; Uzume and Homura's secret identities from the first season finally comes into play, as we can expect a bit more closer. While we learn about a few of the other older sekirei there is minimal development from other characters.

Sekirei, your "almost" average harem anime. Not only am I doing a review of this segment of the anime, but the anime in it's entirety. But a warning. There are spoilers.

Story: 8
Reason: This story is a very compelling one, something that drives you into watching the next episode every time, when I was watching this story unfold when the first season came out, it was just a compelling story. And when it seems like everything is going to be peaches and cream, they tell you that only one Sekirei gets to be with their Ashikabi. And that seems depressing because of the fact that he ... meets so many wonderous Sekirei as the episodes come. So in the end, it has a very heartwarming story. With breasts galore, I might add. I'm not one to say that an anime really pulled on my heart strings, but this one sure did.

Art: 9
Reasoning: The artwork that I saw within this series was extremely fluid, even within the battle scenes, because with some of the anime I've been watching, it seems very sloppy, but Sekirei was different. This anime was very well done in terms of the art because nothing was poorly drawn, everything was put into care. The characters looked cute, and most of their body was put into proportion, but that's what you get when you're looking at a "harem" anime. Breasts WILL be more developed. But I digress.

Sound: 9
Reasoning: The soundtrack was amazing, I loved it because it really enhanced the mood of the scene whether it be sad or happy or anything inbetween. The Openings and Endings were also a joy to listen to. I have been a musician for 10 years, and the background music was invigorating. Something that I completely enjoyed, through and through.

Character: 10
Reasoning: The emotions that were drawn from this anime, I cannot fathom. The characters were very unique. Some of them had quirks and stereotypes, but a couple of them through me for a loop. Tsukiumi with her "Shakespearean" speech was quite humourous at times. And I liked that a lot. And Musubi for always being a smiling, cheerful girl. Someone, no matter what the situation, she always has a smile on her face. That's something I'm not used to. And Kusano, the cute little thing. I like her as well because of the fact she believes that she is one of the women, even though she hasn't even developed yet, and her willingness to try as hard as the others, despite what I had mentioned before. Matsu, being the nerdy girl she is, I love how she's also a little perverted, because it reminds me of a certain "Soul Eater" character that loves to do "experiments". And Miya, how she is always so motherly and kind to each and every one of them. I cannot even dream of losing even one of these characters in the story. When I had seen that Usume was dying, after she had been attacked by "No.16" to defend Musubi, it brought me to tears, because she was such a loving character, and no matter what wrong she committed, she was doing it to help her Ashikabi live another day. I couldn't help myself to cry when she told Minato to take care of Chiho, as her final request. The protagonists of Sekirei seem to be a very lovable bunch, and in turn, if I were able to live with them, I totally would.


The more villainous ones characters are also flawless, because they are so sinister, and so evil, that they would think it is just "entertainment" to see innocent lives be taken away from people. While they may be Sekirei, they still act and feel just like humans, and react just as humans would do. But to see them just be killed or "deactivated" is some man's "entertainment" which is just sick, in my personal opinion. And even though they are sinister, there is a bit of comedy in them, with Benitsubasa as the comedic relief of the Disciplinary Squad, which reminds me of Team Rocket a little bit because even though they may be all evil and have the mindframe to kill, they still have some comedic bits about them that you can't seem to get out of your head.

Enjoyment: 10
Reasoning: I completely loved this series, 100%. There was just something about this anime that really reeled me in after the episode had finished. There was this sense of wanting more, that I always had. I couldn't stop myself from wanting the next episode. I laughed, I cried, and I loved this anime. I couldn't veer myself away from this series because some of the characters were very heartwarming.

Overall: This anime was an absolute wonder to watch. The series was riveting, and the characters were well thought out, even though a few of them had cliched roles, Tsukiumi being tsundere, Kuu being the small lolita, Kazehana being the drunkard, Matsu being the quirky perverted nerd, Homura being the distant, aloof guy and Musubi being the happy-go-lucky girl. But you gotta love 'em anyways.

It may have not been one of the top series in my list, but it's a very solid anime that I think anyone that loves action, and harem in the same title should be able to see. I sincerely hope they make a third season, because it's killing me to know what happens to Musubi, Minato and the rest of the Sekirei bunch.

If you're aware of the 1st season of this show, then you pretty much know what it's about. If you don't know, to sum it up it's about very attractive chicks beating the tar out of each other, In some cases killing one another. But that's not why you want to watch this show, you want to watch it because of the "PLOT". Plot being ASS & BREAST. Although it is harem & ecchie, after a couple episodes & if you watched the 1st season you gained somewhat of an attachment to a few characters, if not all. On to my review then shall we ... =)

STORY: The story is very enjoyable if you're very easily entertained. If you're looking for an Anime that takes itself very seriously, this isn't the show for you. Like many Harems it revolves around a 19 year old guy who happends run into a girl with remarkable power Physically. As the story presses on he gains more very attractive girls who proclaim their feelings for him & will die before they someone hurt their master.

Art: The Art in this show is very good. The colors, details, & character development are on par with other Animes.

SOUND: The sound is very pleasing on the ears, you shouldn't have a issue there.

CHARACTER: The only thing I found very disappointing in the one of characters was that one of the main support characters, is a little girl that shouldn't have been in this anime to begin with because of the "PLOT". I feel as though they could of put a more older character to compliment the show of attractive girls even more.

ENJOYMENT: Based on my viewing, it was an enjoyable watch overall.

OVERALL: If you're looking for a harem & ecchie that has action, look no further this is the show for you.

Enjoy =)

The lack of animations in this series is an abomination! I do like the soundtrack as always but the story plot is bull. I mean the bigger the breast, the lack of animations becomes worse. The background characters are stiff and never moving and the cut-scenes transitions seems less attractive to the plot and more annoying of figuring out what will happen next. Whenever's there's a fight going about to happen between the girls, there's a stiff walk from the background characters that slowly leaves or were never there in the next scene as if the before scene was never created. The mixing needs to ... work on the audio effects. They seem out of place with the vocals from the characters. It just feels off.

If you have not seen the first Sekirei, then do yourself a favor and watch it. Otherwise, here's my take on Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~. The story picks up right after the last episode of the first series. Minato and his Sekireis are now into the next stage of the Sekirei Plan. That and the introduction of some new additions to Minato's already 'huge' lineup. This series now opens with new information about the Sekirei Plan and how it came into fruition.

The continuation of the series is a relatively easy gateway into the actual origin of the sekireis. A lot more info has been introduced and ... if you already have seen the first series, the story goes deeper and takes a more serious tone. It still holds a lot of the humor that made it funny but the plot itself is now more interesting and a little more darker. It also brings in some characters that you have seen before but now have a more integral part in this series. The existing characters are still entertaining but have also developed more into their roles as Minato's sekirei.

Art/Animation of the series never really changed much which is a good thing. Character design is still close to flawless. Since the story is more intense, so was the animation so it stepped it's game up a notch. If you're a fan of Sekirei, then this should be a no-brainer. Hopefully, the next series will be just as good, if not better..... if there will be any.....

Let me start by saying I've neevr read, nor do I really plan to read the Sekirei manga, so I won't be making any comparisons to it, however I have read the comments and most people seem to agree that until the final 5 episodes or so it's fairly faithful to what's in the manga. Take that for as much, or little, as you wish.

Sekirei: Pure Engagement is the sequel to Sekirei and with a largely story driven anime like this it really is important to have watched the prequel first, I'll be writing this as if you had. But if you didn't enjoy Sekirei ... then you might as well stop here, the formula remains very similar and it's unlikely Pure Engagement will turn your view on the series around if you didn't enjoy the first season.

With those two little disclaimers hung up let's move on to the plot; well as I hinted at above, not much has changed. We see the Sekirei Plan move forward, I'll avoid giving too many spoilers here but really most people can likely guess at how it's likely to go. With most of the Sekirei snapped up by the end of the first season Pure Engagement is more focused on relationships within the group/harem/cast than adding more people to it and we see more action in general than the first season. Sadly though there are several plot threads that are left dangling at the end and no real conclusion is ever met, even without having read the manga it's quite clear when the anime deviates as the last few episodes suddenly jump in pacing to hurry to a conclusion of some kind within the 13 episodes given. Also if you're anything like me you'll get annoyed by the consistant lack of use of Norito's despite being established as being the 'ultimate attack' of any Sekirei they are used maybe.. 3 times in this entire series.

Art wise, well art is always a subjective thing so I won't comment on the style but it's pretty much the same as Sekirei, very few changes and I didn't notice any serious quality drops or flucctuations, characters seemed consistant and easily identifyable. But then I didn't watch to look for these things so it's perfectly possible they slipped me by.

With the characters, well it's a sequal so there's not much to say here Uzume gets some welcome exposition but there are very few entirely new characters introduced between seasons and those that are are usually cameos at best so if you liked them in the first season, you'll like them here.

Sound quality was good and I never found the voice actors ill-suited to their character or found any of them to get grating. For the OP and ED, again these are subjective, I enjoyed them at the time but neither is likely to find it's way onto my computer or ipod and I wouldn't fault anyone for skipping them over.

In conclusion Sekirei: Pure Engagement is just what it says on the tin, a continuation of Sekirei, if you enjoyed the first series then you'll enjoy this but if you were expecting evolution of the sries in the sequal then you'll likely be dissapointed.

This is the second season/series for the Anime Sekirei. I definintely recommend watching the first part of the story before giving this a look. It continues where the last one left off, and there are 2 OVA's between the seasons that are completely optional to watch. As a stand alone anime it isn't bad, in fact if you've only seen the first season/series anime and not read the manga then this is completely worth your time. This anime has enough action and comedy to be a stand up sequel/second season. I am actually glad they added the "Pure Engagement" to the title, because it really ... is packed with filler and a truncated version of the manga storyline. This is not adapted as closely as the first season/series is.

This is a fun series to watch, even the OVA's are (which I will not rate separately, my score includes the OVA's because of how different this is from the manga) worth watching for a few giggles. If you have read the manga before watching the anime then you may have a problem with this series.

Firstly, the manga is far superior to the anime as far as story and artwork goes. The part of the story they ended the first season on was changed a bit, so they recovered at the beginning of this season with filler episodes. Once they had the story back on track they truncated it so they could end this season with an original sort of finale. For those that care about accuracy with manga adaptations, you have now been warned. That being said, it's still worth watching, and I gave it a 6 because it's still not quite as good as the first season/series.

All in all, not a bad watch.

Really, this is the anime series that I hold all other anime to, regardless of genre. This is the series that I believe sets the gold standard on everything: how to pace a 13-episode season, how to write a wide array of characters, how to write those characters interacting off of one another and, yes, how to integrate T&A fan service into a show. This is a show that I believe does everything right.

The Story
From what I hear, this season deviates from the manga. However, since I do not read manga and believe an adaptation should be able to stand on its own, I do ... not care if this is true or not. So, what's the story? Highlander. It's Highlander, albeit Highlander-by-way-of-buxom-superpowered-women: a limited number of superhuman beings, some good and some evil, fighting it out in one-on-one battles because they all seek to win a contested and immaterial prize that each one desires, for in the end, there can be only one. Yeah, if you liked the story of Highlander, then you'll like this. And since Highlander is one of my all-time favorite movies and Highlander: Endgame one of my favorite guilty pleasures, I'm very biased in favor of Sekirei, which deviates from its Highlander root just enough to stay fresh.

The Characters
The opening character scene in Maison Izumo is easily the best way to re-introduce characters that I've seen in a show. Each one is allowed to interact with each other and the voice acting and animation characterize them very strongly. Each one also has a different relationship with each other one, and no two characters talk to each other in the same way. This is a perfect portrait of Sekirei's characters: they're all unique, they're all memorable, they're all easily distinguishable from one-another, and while the archetypes they're based on feel familiar, they do have traits that set them apart from those archetypes, though these aren't made clear from the get-go. Point is, the characters, even the minor ones, are all well-conceived and each are compelling in their own right. That's not to say that EVERY character gets long interactions with one another, but this is a series with over 20 NAMED characters, not counting all the ones that appear as one-off opponents for the main characters. I expect quality, not the impossible.

The Sound
I rate this a ten mostly because I was never distracted by the sound quality or music, which is always a good thing, but DAT OPENING. Holy crap, that is a badass opening number: starting off calm, picking up speed as it builds intrigue and shows us our characters, before finally going full-steam-ahead to set the tone of the action and the show. Brilliant.

The Art
At first, I was taken aback by the character design, particularly the way the breasts and eyes were drawn, but it's done in a way that makes it stand out. I really love how no two characters look alike, from the hair to the eyes to the clothing. They look almost like they were designed with pastel paintings rather than anime artists, and it helps give the series identity. I didn't spot any major flaws with the animation but, again, totally biased in favor of the show because of the freakin' awesome story and characters, totally possible I missed all the lazy animation moments and that this series has terrible art. So sue me.

Enjoyment
I tell people that this action-heavy, character-driven show about busty women and sexy men hitting each other is my favorite anime, everyone always laughs at me. I constantly try to convince other people to check it out, and people say it's just a shallow fan service anime. To them, I say nay. Sekirei is the antithesis of your run-of-the-mill action-ecchi show: the fan service is kept on a leash, the characters are all given likable personalities (even the villain is hard to hate sometimes for how over-the-top eccentric and full of himself he is) and the pacing flows from one episode to another. This is my kind of show: the one that gets even better the more I think about it and analyze it, unveiling new layers of win as I delve deeper into it. Few other shows do this, and even fewer do this while also putting a fresh spin on a beloved hardcore '80s action movie. Really, the only way I could think of to improve this show (aside from giving it the 3rd season it deserves) is to bring Freddie Mercury back from the dead to do the soundtrack.

Sekirei has a rare plot that leaves you terrified of their situation.

One of the things that hooked me for Sekirei is how dire their circumstances are. The close bonds they develop live in the shadow of an end that there can only be one left standing. Another thing this series does an outstanding job with is the handle on the young female character. Many series hyper-sexualize young women. Sekirei doesn't make this mistake. Instead, Ku is one of the most adorable and tasteful characters you will ever meet in an anime. The MC is a loser. So, nothing special there. And the formal blonde is ... a bit over the top. I feel like they could have expressed her personality by turning that dial to a good 7 instead of 10. It's worth mentioning that Sekirei is loaded with great fanservice. The soundtrack isn't too memorable. The art is nothing insane, but it's still great. The biggest problem with this series for me was the reason they are in this terrible position. The whole time you'll feel like their circumstances being the result of someone's entertainment is just a bit off. Just seems like they could have played that hand a bit better. All in all, Sekirei is an amazing show loaded with good fanservice and feels.

Story- 8
Art & Sound- 9
Character- 9
Enjoyment- 9
____________
Overall- 9

The story continues from the first Sekirei, and it was a little but dull but still enjoyable. The story is what's interesting about the show, the whole survival game was interesting, but at the end it gets really weird and I think this is where the producers went overboard.
The art and sound were good, every character had a unique appearance quality. The voice actors were great for the characters given to them.
The characters are all lovable. I totally doubt anyone will dislike the main characters in this. Each of them are funny in their own way.
Overall I really ... did enjoy both the Sekireis. Despite the harem and fan service it was still good, the main character wasn't a pervert and he was a respectable guy. I am looking forward to the next Sekirei (if things go according to plan), and I'm also hoping for more violence and also more blood (lol).
I recommend this for anyone who are looking for Comedy, Drama, Romance and Action.

Following on from the first season, you're shown some of the history of the Sekirei. War has begun, but not everybody is willing to take part.
Minato is back with Musubi, Kusano, Matsu and Tsukiumi. The girls are still fighting over who gets to be his wife, and Matsu still just wants him all to herself.
We've already met Homura and Kazehana, but they start to become more prominent in the story.

Minato gains two new Sekirei. Things start to get serious, but it keeps it's comedic side and balances them both well.
Questions begin to be answered and more start to be asked.

Kazehana joins in ... on the girls battling for Minato's attention, and Homura is struggling with who he is.
Yukari and Shiina become more active in the series, and their parts are great. Funny and serious, important parts to the story.
I didn't expect any part of this to make me teary, but it definitely did.

The ending is really intense and satisfying. But again, leaves you waiting for the next season.

Okay Lion Tamers, I'm finally getting to Sekirei Pure Engagement, et al!

Firstly, I will not be talking about the excessive fan service and other related aspects of this Anime. Other reviewers have done this to death, and inspired themselves more than enough !

Secondly, I will also not talk about the surface plot; it has also been done into the ground by others.

There are however, matters that have not been discussed; that I think needs some words.

1). The Sekirei
These people are off-world aliens, in cold-storage. Some back-story about them, in their own right; would have been nice. But there is none. Their aged vessel is ... discovered by college students. Were the Sekirei sent to help the Mankind they found? Were they sent here to conquer us? Or did they just crash-land, and just never get woke up, by the onboard computer (which is shown still running)? More importantly, in the vein of the resurrecting of the Sekirei, by Minaka Hiroko and others; what would the Sekirei have been if they were never "adjusted"? We will never know. Is there any larger lost opportunity?

2). The descent into pure evil.
Minaka Hiroko is not the genius he is portrayed. Anyone can back-engineer someone else's technology, and then become a profiteer on the backs of the superior creators of the technology, in the first place. Did Minaka create anything new? No. Did he use the gene-pool he discovered, to advance the intelligence and capabilities of Mankind (including himself)? No. When we realize that genetic modifications not only change the living, in their own time; they also change the next generation and the next. The changes tend to be permanent.

But Minaka had a better idea. Let's use the modified Sekirei to promote a game, which ultimately ends in the death of all Sekirei. They die, for a purpose that is obviously a huge lie. The viewer should not accept Minaka's premise. There is no prize, he knows they're all going to die. No win, no way out, pain and suffering for everybody connected.

WHAT A WASTE!
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In other words, Sekirei Pure Engagement is a snuff-anime. It's not about Life. It's all about Death. Heroic moments in the story line do not forgive the fact that ultimately, Minaka Hiroko will find a way to force the Sekirei to kill each other. That was his original aim, his process during the game, and his plan for the ultimate outcome. It's all about the Game, for his amusement. He might as well have been a audience member at a Roman Circus, Gladiators murdering each other and all. No other value is possible, for Minaka. He even hands out strange gifts, to the viewers and participants; like the Roman Emperor used to do when he offers Bread and Wine to the viewing throng, for their amusement and edification.

The artwork is quite good. The music is mediocre at best; I would have expected other reviewers to have higher standards. The interior music, in support of plot points, is more than adequate.

The acting dialog is above average. For some anime, I like sub-english, because the Japanese actors fit the characters well. But in this particular case; both the sub and dub versions are more than adequate. I happen to be a fan of several dub-actors: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Stephanie Young, Jamie Marchi, Clarine Harp, Brittany Karbowski; and many others. All are in attendance, in Sekirei Pure Engagement. And all are inspired.

In the end however, Heroic deeds, and Heroic strains of Music; cannot take away from the basic component of Sekirei Pure Engagement.

A sadness beyond all description.

I give Sekirei Pure Engagement, and it's first season "Sekirei" a 7.

I think most of the problems I had while watching Sekirei Pure Engagement are caused by it being the second season. The story's not as fresh as it first was. The main character has already achieved something and some trump cards can't be played again without seeming repetitive.

The story hasn't changed much since the last season. Parts of the background story were revealed but that didn't change my perspective on the whole story much. I was sometimes annoyed by the action of the main character and some elements of this series got a bit old.

The animation is still good. Nothing jaw-dropping.

Pure Engagement definitely isn't better ... than the first season but I hope it's a necessary link between the first and the third season.

Minato, Minato!
Musubi calls out.

This is the sequel to the the first season. And quite an improvement. Season 1 focused on character and story-line development. This is the season where the action really heats up! The comedy is still here as well.

Very easy to enjoy and to watch. I highly recommend buying a copy on ebay for $50-60 before the price gets too ridiculous. Season 1 & 2 together cost four times the cost of pure engagement on BD. As you've probably already read, Tsukiumi is annoying in how she speaks with "thou and dost." If you can get over that, there isn't much else you ... need to force yourself to get through. Uzume and Kazehana make up for it. Kusano "Ku" likes to say "big brother" when she talks to Minato. It is the cutest. Yet not in a pervy way that I can't help but think some other animes are. Brittney Karbowski's voice is actually almost pleasant when she voices Hikari.

Overall, if you like Infinite Stratos or High School of the Dead, I am confident you will like this one as well. The only drawback is it's missing it's final season. Even so, I have now watched this series twice in the past decade and am rewatching it a third time. That's how great this show is.