The story of K - Return of Kings focuses on what the title suggests: the different kings that remained unknown in the first season, as well as the previous kings and its development, including the silver king and the newly crowned red king. What is more, it explores more on the mysterious "Slates" and its ability, in addition to introducing the mysterious group "JUNGLE" whose objectives are unknown. With that being said, the story remains unpredictable and entertaining, albeit having its share of flaws such as plot holes and the lackluster characters.
Viewers are presented with an expansion on the different kings and the Slates, and thus its powers; however, the explanation on how these work or their precise origin is never revealed to the audience. This was a drawback, as it was one of the aspects of the first season that I personally wanted to see in the sequel. The action scenes presented were varied as well as intriguing due to the unpredictable nature of the anime; however, it had its share of power imbalances, growing or lessening whenever the story required it.
The pacing itself was a bit "chaotic", meaning events were at times either to fast or too slow, yet had its typical K feel to it, which was a positive aspect at a personal level. Another thing that could be mentioned is the fact that it focused much less on the slice of life parts presented in its predecessor. However, there were also quite some scenes that were unnecessary for the story such as flashbacks, or either dwelling too much on certain scenes, characters or themes. Dialogue presented was quite lackluster and basic throughout the anime, repeating lines a bit too much to my liking: it was at times not straightforward.
As for the characters of K - Return of Kings, the cast presented is basically the same as the first season, with the addition of a handful of characters. It could be said that in one case it was doubtful whether the character was male or female because of its behaviour. Character development and the fleshing out of these remain overall very lackluster, to the exception of some. This is the case for Saruhiko for example, in which his motives and past are a bit better explored. What was very lackluster is the fact that some who remained mysterious in the first season remain unexplained, such as Neko: this character just seems to be there for fanservice purposes, besides of being quite annoying at times. This concerns the red king as well, who remains as plain as ever, with absolutely no change in character. The fact that it didn't further explore on the golden king or the silver one either was a shame as well. Nevertheless, the interactions between the various characters were at times interesting.
Moving on the art style of the anime, this quite engaging to the viewer, especially concerning the environment and backgrounds, which applies to the characters as well. However, these are all "bishonen" type of characters, with a flamboyant hairstyle and figure: this applies to the few female characters as well. Which leads me to think the anime is mainly targeted to females, rather than the male demographic; and in case some males are watching, beautiful woman with overly large breasts are stationed there as well. As for the animation quality, this is of very high quality and colourful, as audiences are accustomed of the anime, with great action scenes.
Concerning the sound, this was very befitting of the anime, using a variety of great compositions such as the piano ones. As for the voice actors, these performed their role well, which generally matched with the characters. What however must be mentioned is the fact that the dialogues are repeated a tad too many times, such when Scepter 4 unsheathed their swords.
K - Return of Kings was overall an enjoyable anime, and a sequel that maintained the standards of the first season, yet not improving on its flaws. It was once again a pleasant experience animation and soundtrack wise, as well as the unpredictable story, albeit very flawed. The character designs were a bit of a drawback personally, in addition to some characters that remained unexplored. So do I recommend this sequel? I do for those who enjoyed the first season or the soundtrack and animation; yet for those who didn't, I would stay away from it, as it is basically the same with no improvements made, including a story of lesser quality.
Thank you for reading.
