Branded as a sequel, it’s absolutely imperative to be familiar with the first season to get the full experience. As the title implies, the majority of the second season takes place in Nagoya, a city on the surface that is also home to noble vampires. Originally, it was actually home to humans until the Apocalypse. What is the Apocalypse? For a brief recap, it’s pretty much when a lethal epidemic wiped out a major part of humanity years before the start of the show. From this event, vampires became the rulers and treats human like livestock while also keeping some human children alive for their own purpose. One of these children named Yuichiro Hyakuya managed to escape and was taken in by the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, a group of resistance who plans to liberate themselves from the vampires’ rule. Flash forward to present day and we got a resistance group fighting not for pride or liberty. But for survival.
Adapted from the manga, the second season is actually quite faithful or at least captures the magic of the story especially in the first 10 episodes. The first season had a ridiculous amount of info dump and exposition, so much with the buildup and to the point that it became distracting. Luckily, this sequel is more about the action and the execution. A few concepts in this season deals with how humans desperately fight for survival in the face of unimaginable circumstances, the higher-ups of the Japanese Imperial Army taking a keen interest in Yu, and Yu’s own personal goal to make Mika into a normal human again after realizing that he has turned into a vampire; the very thing he loathes. A lot of the episodes also deals with interpersonal problems and how certain characters such as Shinoa bears responsibility for herself and others. In the face of danger, characters make decisions that gambles on life and death. Some even defy orders for their own personal reasons.
As such, expect the sequel to bulk emotional drama as well. The latter half of the show will easily get the viewers to recognize how dangerous the vampire Nobles can be. Death is reality and the humans realizes that whole earthly. While there is a lot of battle on the frontlines, the show also seems to enforce human drama. The most prominent would be the relationship between Yu and Mika. The latter is no longer human while Yu tries to restore him back to normal. Their conversation unites them with both delightful and painful memories of the past. Just do note that there’s a bit of feeling of subtle BL that fans likes to play their minds with in one of these episodes. While the show isn’t actually a BL, it’s easy to fantasize after seeing the deep chemistry between Yu and Mika.
Other characters in the series also makes an impact of various degrees. Shinoa’s character is much more serious as she has a lot of burden on her shoulders. Meanwhile, Guren shows what his comrades means to him when faced against unprecedented odds on the frontlines. What’s much more interesting though is the presence of the Hiragi family. Kureto, the heir of the family’s current heir, is a character that is a bit different from his comrades. With a cold personality and strong emphasis to accomplish any task at whatever the cost, he also often demands respects from others. To me, he is like the anti-thesis of the main characters. Although he is fighting for the good of mankind, his ways of doing so often puts odds against his own comrades. One could even speculate that he is a manipulative individual as he assigns Guren’s group into near impossible missions. Speaking of family, it still remains a main theme throughout the second season. Besides Yu and Mika, the Moon Demon Company still has a prominent presence. Yu treats it like his own family and often seeks to protect them. Even if this takes toll on his own body and spirit, Yu is selfless in nature. Obviously, this also translates into his desire to turn Mika back to what he was before – a human. The way the sequel is directed improves as each episode adds more and more to the main themes and concepts. Even the storytelling gets more interesting with the developments despite some pacing issues and omitting some parts of the manga. On the negative side, the antagonists of the show still remains dense and stereotypical. Characters like Crowley hardly gets any characterization while most of the fights against the strongest vampires lacks excitement. (most of them are more like one sided fights). Furthermore, Kuel continuously hides secrets from others and we don’t get the chance to know her true purpose. I suppose Mika is more like an anti-hero in this season although his actions are questionable with his vampire nature. But in retrospect, the antagonists aren’t appealing either in character or role.
Wit Studio adapts the sequel although the artwork hardly improved. The character designs still looks essentially the same as they did for the previous season although I like the way the Hiiragi family members are designed. Kureto in particular expresses a ruthless nature that is decorated quite well. In addition, most of the demons has a credible design to induce fear. We also get the introduction of some new noble family members, antagonists that looks even more menacing than before. The battles they participates in are some of the main highlights of the sequel as camera angles and action scenes features them quite well. Match that with the stereo soundtrack and we got quite a season. The OP and ED theme songs also conveys what the show is capable of that gives off more of its atmospheric setting – a battlefield with nothing but potential for destruction and chaos.
After taking a breath in and out, I think this second season is an improvement of the previous. It capitalized the main story’s purpose while delivering memorable fights and expressing a variety of emotions. While the technical features still generally remained the same, the show is easily watchable for those looking into some stylistic action. I can’t say for sure that the sequel will be a pleasurable experience for everyone though. It still omits manga material at some parts and can seem a bit too serious for its own good. One particular episode with Yu and Mika in the second half of the show can be uncomfortable to watch for some people. And also, I feel like they stuffed a lot into the finale, perhaps too much and leaves too open. But for all its downsides, the battle in Nagoya will be one to remember.
