Kingdom 2nd Season

Haruhisa’s retelling of China’s warring state times is now in full swing, the first season came off as vastly impressive and the second was expected to do nothing but hit new heights.

The biggest talking point of the 2nd season would without a doubt be the art. If you were worried coming off from the mostly CG first season then you can put your worries to rest. It would seem that at the start of the first season, producers had very little expectations for Kingdom and its budget was kept low, but with the advent of soaring Manga sales and anime popularity, they decided to spare ... a few extra change to the second season. It should be noted that the second season consists of almost completely new character designs from the ground up as the story kick starts at about 365 days after the end of season one and the new designs perfectly complements the aging of most characters. The CG whilst still present is kept to a bare minimum and traditional 2D art is extensively adopted. The 2D art is most of the times great but there are still a handful of moments where inconsistencies are obvious. The atmosphere remains striking and dazzling as in the first and vastly improved lighting and shading makes Kingdom a time look like something Ufotable might have done. The 2D art is great and all but it did come along with its own set of luggage when it comes to matters on a battlefield. The CG in the first season is mostly disliked by fans but it’s still apparent that it brought a sense of intensity and thrill that is lacking in the second, various encounters that could have been animated well using CG is instead replaced by still 2D art, while not a recurring event the fact that we could still have had movement if the CG was involved brings down the tone a bit.

The second season although highly anticipated strangely suffered from poor composition. The first season that spanned 38 episodes contained 3 almost evenly length arcs with almost perfect pacing. The second season however had 2 short arcs at the beginning and end with one longer dragged on arc in the middle. Most problems in this season could have been eliminated by simply reducing the episode count to accommodate the length of the story, but someone unfortunately wanted to spend as much time on air as possible. This middle arc is by no means boring but the fact that it drags in a few places affected Kingdom in many ways; Strategy that played such an important role in the first season comes a times too far apart from each other as the present one replays for a few episodes quickly losing impact, and most importantly Xin’s development in general just seemed to come at baby steps a times. What’s more apparent is that there are certain moments where several episodes will contain no noteworthy event happening but then all of a sudden the next episode would be packed full of so much content you won’t know where to begin analyzing, this leads to the question as to why episodes like this might not have been more evenly spaced out to accommodate the slower pace of the show. The slow pacing wasn’t all evil as it featured a little more in depth look at character associations, it was nothing too impressive but at least it was something positive to take from the experience.

By far the biggest and most impressive introduction to the second season of Kingdom is the intra-country politics; the battlefield in Kingdom is now being fought on 2 fronts. The governments in Kingdom adopt a feudalistic civic, meaning an individual need not swear fealty to the King alone and could also gather and own assets such as resources and troops which the throne had no jurisdiction over. This of course does not mean the King serves as nothing more than a puppet but it means that individuals in control of massive assets in the court may have bigger influence in the structuring of the Government than the King himself. What this means for Kingdom is a constant power struggle to enlist allies in the court, it may sound boring in description but the exchanges, secrets, deceptions and alliances can sometimes put the events transpiring on the battlefield to shame. Fans of Zheng who taught he would have almost no role to play in the second season since he had claimed control of the throne in season one can be at ease as he takes center stage in this aspect of the show. The politics is a much needed breadth of fresh air for the show with its only disappointment being that it didn’t feature as many times as one would have liked.

We find ourselves in an age of anime where main characters are mostly found annoying and disliked by most fans, however the case for Kingdom has always been the opposite. Most Kingdom fans enjoy seeing Xin and his development is no doubt one of the shows’ pinnacle moments, however scars of this started to show in the first season and in the second are almost laid bare to all. Kingdom relies too much on Xin. Xin is the MC and is expected to be the main driving force of the show, but what this has incidentally caused is that when the series decides to take a different turn by removing Xin from the story for a little while, it immediately becomes apparent that the show has lost its potency, the supporting characters are just not strong enough to move the story along and their development most of the time takes a back sit or is overshadowed by Xin. Xin is still one of the most interesting MCs in anime and it is because of this that when he is absent on screen for too long, Kingdom falters.

In comparison to the first season, the supporting cast of the second is absolutely outstanding. The introduction of Wang Ben and Meng Tian, two fellow aspiring great generals like Xin added new meat to the story by letting us witness Xin grow around others of the same rank. Xin’s weaknesses are plain to the eye when he compares himself to the two and their continuous rivalry to render achievements as well as seeing their relationship grow is a joy to watch. Kingdom also continues to do a great job in personifying not just Xin’s allies but enemies as well. Enemies unlike most anime are well presented as actual people with hopes, dreams and ambitions with steadfast determination to see them through, their contrasting personalities and exchanges in the story displays how good use of characters really pays off.

Kingdom’s second season starts very strong and ends very strong but some parts in the middle were a cause for concern, the new stylized 2D art will be a joy for most but inadvertently had limitations in its application. The saying goes “Third time’s the charm”, a third coming is still unannounced, but if it can provide the intensity of the first season and retain the aesthetics of the second, then very little will stop it from being a masterpiece.

I am new to writing reviews so if u have any suggestions plz comment on my profile.

This can be described by two words, epic and awesome. I will give it two types of reviews a short and another long one.

Short  review
This is a MUST WATCH. It has intense suspense, grand wars, awesome strategies, politics, cool characters, solid storyline. Easy 10/10.

Long review
Imo, kingdom is probably one of the most underrated anime. The main reason for its unpopularity is that the first few episodes of the first season were over animated (which led to half of the people immediately dropping the series). But hey, no pain no ... gain. Also the uncomfortable animation dies down after a few episodes. Season1 might have depressed some due to its slow pace and apparent cliche plots. Added to it was the problem of pronunciation : the spellings and pronunciation didnt match up. And thus many dropped it before the epic war started (around ep20 of season 1).

But season 2 has made this a 100x more awesome.

The story revolves around a young boy Xin who aims to be a great general. Seems childish but the way it is executed makes it too epic. And that's where the story just starts and it has lots of plot twists and It covers two very very epic wars.

Coming to war, a mundane thing in action animes, but boy this is on a completely different level. This is unlike many stupid wars driven by emotions, it is  driven by ambition and tactics. In an epically  epic manner it shows the war psychology. Moreover since this is a historical anime there are no guns or canons, but only swords and arrows. And the incredible strategies that are planned keeping in mind the terrain of the battlefield, timing of the war, abilities of the opponents, their expected reactions, considering any unexpected moves and information suppression and the fact that all this is explained to us using narration makes it no less than a masterpiece.
If u think thats all then u r gravely mistaken, because season 2 comes with added epicness and that is POLITICS. The king vs his own chancellor, what does the king do, how does he prevent the rising power of his chancellor and what are their plans of outshining each other has been covered so nicely that I dont have words to express its magnificience.

All this comes in two packed seasons, and when coupled with some incredible osts and good Voice acting (Xin is voiced by the VA of ichigo from bleach) makes this no less than a perfect anime. The reason I am pointing out voice acting is because it is different from most animes. When a general comes the thundering roar and momentum the fleet of soldiers is just awesome. That simply adds to the grandioseness of a great general.

Finally the characters, they are too good. And this is one of those rare animes in which u can't hate the opponents. Thats because all of them are looking for glory, and every moment they try grasp an opportunity to outsmart their rivals. Also the character development of Xin is just incredible, he starts from a foot soldier to...... For that u have to see the anime. Apart from Xin, there are other characters also who have elegant development, supported by back stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed this anime, and the intense pressure and suspense this anime was able to create, just made my day. On the whole this was too good and I can just pray it gets a Third season. For anyone who hasn't watched even season 1, do watch it with a bit of patience and ignore the animation in the first few eps. For those who have dropped it in season 1 do consider watching it, because it is really good, and u will probably not regret it. For those who watched season 1 completely do watch season2, and I don't think anyone who started season 2 would have any incentive to drop it.

The kingdom series is so precious and sentimental to me now that my only regret was not finding out about it sooner. The emotions welling up inside of me are so powerful that I'm going out of my way to write this review. Now rather than try to entice newcomers to tryout this series based solely on its merits, I will try and put forth my true and pure emotions in the raw intensity that the show also demonstrates.

Story: The world is alive and decidedly mortal as each battle has an outcome on the lives of the soldiers and their people. China is breathing ... and I felt the pressure the states were exerting on each other, even when they weren't being presented in the show. New and powerful enemies that made me feel increasingly significant, as I looked on to what battles have hardened them to become so powerful. The magnitude and sheer ferocity of each and every battle is well displayed in this sequel. Battle schemes and tactics are amazing as ever and kept my interest well absorbed in each and every episode. Moments of turmoil are increasingly heavier than the last with more at risk at each and every strike of a blade. The coming of age story and Warring States setting all mold so extremely well to present such a new found enjoyment for me its indescribable.

Art: The art does no injustice as it encapsulates each and every emotion clearly strewn out every characters face. The subtle movements in ones eyes make for intense telling that a thousand words would not suffice. The 3D CGI makes its return, but not at all at my displeasure. I managed to look past it and look more to the characters and the world. The skies, ground, and terrain all make for a beautiful stage for which wars will be fought on.

Sound: The sound is phenomenal as I had never found myself very rarely tearing up at the mere mention of one of the many spectacular pieces of music the show chose. The sounds of cries of pain or a struggle ensuing in the distance undoubtedly made me . The clashing of swords caused me to feel the weight reverberating of each and every strike. The voice actors do a great job at stressing every word that made feel the weight behind every action they take.

Character: Characters are given more back story which made me appreciate for their plight much more so than the previous season. Characters feel more greatly connected and enemies feel more fiercer and omnipresent than ever. When faced against other state great generals I sensed the force of a person who is like no other.

Enjoyment: I truly enjoyed each and every second this anime offered. Experiencing these massive battles that made the earth tremble was so eye-opening. Seeing each and every character change ideals sparked a flame inside me as well. This anime is like no other to me that it has even motivated me to becoming a better person. Concepts like "never giving up" are all the more apparent to me, as this show has set the bar for giving up.

Overall: I wrote this review as my own little catharsis. I understand if this review isn't coherent at all as I myself am still trying to figure out all these conflicting emotions. It's plain as day to see that this anime will receive a 10/10 from me. Take it as you will, I just wanted to express the emotions I felt when watching this anime rather than trying to recommend it on its characters or plot.

Kingdom Second Season Review: Completed Review.

As the title of my review shows, this is in fact the second season of the Kingdom Anime, from here I will tell everyone to watch the first season before watching or reading this review, mini-review within a review, Kingdom season one is good, but the production costs to make it were quite low, but they increased in the second season quite a lot, so it's definitely worth a watch if your into action and history with more action thrown in.

By this point I don't want to be seeing any Mountain Trolls who haven't seen the first season reading this. ... *cough* Well then back to the actual review we go! As mentioned above about funding, many people were disgruntled by the animations of characters of the series, the movements felt odd and the characteristics of those movements felt out of place, as for the second season, the studio's fund has been improved.

I don't watch anime because some people think it's the best of the best or the worst of the worst, I usually tend to watch it because I enjoy it, if the story is the best or the worst, it doesn't matter so long as I enjoy it, from this point I can relay Kingdom Second Seasons story points to you. The anime is not one big shot where to hero saves the day or gun-blast's everywhere with mecha warriors or super heroes crashing down from the skies and blowing up stuff. It's simply an animated storytelling of the Warring States Period during the Chinese History, some parts are true whereas some bits are just fantasy. There is lots of action within this season and everything piled up is very enjoyable, but that's not all what makes the series good.

This season portrays the History of the state of Qin, protagonists Xin, Zheng and many other primary and secondary characters mentioned in the first season, it takes a step back from non-stop bloodshed like it's predecessor and introduces more realistic relationships between characters which are both happy and sad.

Warring wise, this season focuses on the state of Wei, and it's Army Commander Lian Po, whom is just like Wang Qi but of another nation. Many new and old characters are brought into this season throughout it and many surprised will lay wait to those that watch it. But the story is ultimately revolved around the King's wish to unite China and Xin's wish to become the Greatest General under the Heavens. Within the Story there is now competition between Xin and becoming the Greatest General as two new generals both from high ranking families join in to take Xin's wish, both are smart 300 man generals, where as Xin's still the truthful idiot we all love.

Moving on from the simple basics of the story we move onto the instrumentals of the series, the songs throughout the series played during the series fit each scene with amazement, sad scene music with sad parts where as happy music with happy scenes, for those that do pay attention to everything in an anime, this may make you cry, as the instrumentals along with the feelings of the situation may make you sad or even cry. Next we have the opening and endings of the series, it follows the same as the first season, one opening and three endings. Just like the first seasons opening it's annoying, but over time it drives it into your skull to make it decent where as the endings, all done by the same band are decent.

Having watched the entire second season, I will say it's not the best anime out there, but it is enjoyable it takes another step from the first season and brings it up a notch. hoping for great things for the anime in the future, the only problem is waiting for that future to happen. If you've watched the first season, then by now you've wasted your time enough not to watch the second season, so go watch it, if you haven't watched the first season, go watch it now. *Damn those pesky Mountain Trolls*

Overall I'm etching to give this one an 8/10 because it's enjoyable and it's been improved compared the the first season. The story is quite better in this one while the music has improved. As I said the funding has improved thus the quality of the anime will always improve. There has been two seasons as of yet, and anyone who has watched it is anxiously awaiting the third season to begin.

Well thank you for reading my review, hope this helps you get the feels to watch Kingdom Second Season.

Story - 10/10
My friend introduced to me to the manga, way before the 1st season of the anime was released. In my opinion, this is an awesome series and it is full of actions. If you have read the synopsis, the anime took place in a warring period in China. The story about how one of the main character, Shin, grew throughout the anime, and how the warring states battle against one another. What I found interesting was the battle strategies that were being formulated in the anime. I was awed by how the strategists execute their skills to defeat their enemies, and how clever ... and well-structured the strategies were. I also learned several battle techniques used by the ancient Chinese during the warring period. It was truly amazing and the story was well-structured.

The story is not only about fighting scenes and gaining territory, it also touch on the internal political conflict within the states itself and how the characters struggle to gain power.

If you have some knowledge on the China's history, you might find this anime enjoyable, because the story followed its history for quite a fair bit.

Art - 9/10
Beautifully drawn art. It is suitable for a battle anime like Kingdom. Since one of the genre of this anime is 'History', I think the art is drawn close to what an ancient Chinese would look like, unlike the modern art used for light novels.

Sound - 9/10
Awesome sound effect and background music. I feel most of them are inspirational. It keeps me hype up while I am watching.

The opening theme and the closing theme are also awesome!

Character - 10/10
Many great and powerful characters. Most characters are based on famous people in the history of China. The main characters had gained a lot of growth and render great achievements. Plenty of character growth.

Many characters exhibit great traits such as leadership - boosting the morale of the army by using the power of words.

Enjoyment - 9/10
Definitely enjoyed the anime! Great characters, excellent plot, good art. I believe that this is one of the best series ever made.

I was also awed by the size of the army - it was a number far bigger than any other anime I watched. In every battle scenes, many soldiers would be seen fighting in the background while the main character was engaging his enemy in the foreground.

Overall - 10/10
In my opinion, the only bad part about the anime is that there is no bloodshed or body parts flying off as shown in the manga. Nevertheless, I would still give a 10 due to its excellent plot and character.

I am hoping for a Season 3!

Kingdom could really be described as one of those Anime’s that nearly reached perfection but lacked an element or two un-allowing it to do so. I absolutely loved everything about Kingdom; however you do have to make it past the first 12 episodes or so to get to the real action. Note: I don’t know anything about China’s history so I won’t be talking about the history element of this Anime in the review.

Criteria
Story: 8.5
The story of Kingdom Season 2 continues off from season in the sense that both Xin’s and Zheng’s dreams are the same, except this time Xin’s dreams stray somewhat onto ... the path of Zheng’s. Zheng’s dream as we all know form those who watched season 1 wants to unite all of China something that has never been done before, and Xin’s dreams is to become The Greatest General Under the Heavens. However in season 2 there is a lot more politics of war with both ‘wars’ going on inside the castle and on the battlefield. Be prepared for a lot of drama in this season as well because 90% of the time I was on the edge of my seat.

Ending: 7
The ending for season 2 however although good didn’t quite do it for me, as events don’t wrap up as soon as the great war is over, they seem to just drag on for another 4-5 episodes all which could have been wrapped up in 2 max 3. Although the ending was somewhat happy and suspenseful and it also leaves me hoping for a season 3.

Solid Plot: 8.5
The plot for season 2 was somewhat easier to maintain than season 1 due to the fact that season 2 only contained 1 war and politics whereas season 2 contained a near 3 wars with politics. Therefor the plot was fluid easily understandable and rarely strayed off path.

Moral: 10
Basically elaborates the already set moral of season 1 further by simply stating how we don’t bring up the sacrifices our comrades made we simply honor them and remember them and we do not cry over them. Also goes further to state that no matter the position of a person on the battlefield the all carry the same weight on the shoulders and it is this weight that makes them strong.
“[We carry the dreams and feeling of our fallen nakama on our shoulders which makes us strong]” A simple yet also touching moral to this story filled with sacrifice and death. Our nakama did not die for any reason, they sacrificed themselves so that we may carry out their wishes, their dreams, their feeling, just because they are dead does not mean we should forget these things, these things that they stood for, because when we truly forget these things is when they truly are dead.

Sense: 7
Even though in season 1 it didn’t really bother me, the lack of blood in the anime when someone is cut really did start to annoy me in season 2, due to the simple fact that people would just die after being cut yet have no wounds or signs of a cut. However overall when it comes down to politics, war tactics and everything else in general, it does make sense.

Music: 8
The BGM in season 2, to me, was a lot more noticeable than that of season 1; I found that the was a lot more emphasis on the BGM and it played at perfect times, die to this sad scenes would seem sadder and exciting scenes would get the audience more excited.

Art: 8
The same general art style of that from season 1 except some obvious changes to character design due to their being a time skip. That same sense of realism with the art is also kept so we don’t have to adapt our eyes to a new art style. The only thing that really annoyed where some characters eyes, not how they were drawn more how they acted; for example there are some characters who have their eyes closed 90% of time and some who have them open 90% of the time, by this I mean the rarely ever open or close their eyes…in essence there wasn’t enough blinking…

Characters: 9
The same characters you know and love from season 1 are obviously in season 2 except stronger, taller and ready for all the new challenges. The one major thing I like about Kingdoms characters in terms of character developments and progression is that both of those factors increase with the characters title and with other characters respect to the said character; for example in season 1 Xing’s character development and progression are noticed by his rank going from a simple servant to a 300-man general which is incredibly impressive. Other developments include the strong relationships he build and how much these characters respect and value Xin, which is demonstrated through how they are always there to pick him up after a big fight, or even put themselves in the line of fire for him to survive, this shows the audience how much faith, trust and respect all these characters have for Xin…Xin who was once a mere servant.

Boredom/Captivation Scale: 8.5
With the added drama element to season 2 I found myself enjoying season 2 a lot more than I had season 1 and found more self quite literally at times on the edge of my seat. “Is he gonna die?” “Is she gonna die?” Is hi gonna kill him?” “Is he gonna let him live?” All these questions and a lot more you find yourself asking yourself whilst watching season 2 of Kingdom.

Personal Score: 8.5
I really would have liked to give this season a perfect 10 and I probably would have it had as much gore as it did in the manga, and I’m talking about peoples head getting chopped off, peoples guts flying out their stomachs and head literally getting crushed to oblivion; after all this was rated as an R18+ anime yet it didn’t have as much R18+ as I’d hoped it would have (In the manga they literally take R18+ to the next level)

Genres
Action: 9
Enough action packed fighting scenes in Kingdom to be shared among 4-5 different Anime shows, so yer I’d say kingdom is pretty action packed. However one down side is that some fight scenes are repetitive with the cannon fodder battling cannon fodder but the strategic point of those scenes makes up for it.

Drama/Suspense: 9
When there not fighting, or plotting to take the throne, or unite China then it’s filled with drama and enough drama to pull at your hair. Also the suspenseful scenes that entwine with the drama support the series nicely

Military: 10
Everything from politics of war to the combat of war is done very well in Kingdom, so well infarct that I think I’ve learned a thing or two about war and how it’s actually done both on the lines and behind the lines

P.S sorry for any grammatical errors…this was not proof read….

Overall, this is better than the first season in most things and worse in a few others.

It's more enjoyable, the animation is better and the pacing is better. But the characterization is by far a lot worse. The manga is fatally flawed in that it has one-dimensional characters that are incredibly annoying, super-powered (when there are no superpowers in the story universe), and rely on plot armor to progress the story at every single turn. Xin was already a heavily flawed main character in the first season, but the story relies on him (and other secondary characters) overcoming what are ... clearly impossible situations with deus ex machina plot armor. Xin is about to die...but then he grits his teeth for the 10th time, spouts out some nonsense about how the other character's heartfelt dreams are "wrong" and then he miraculously heals enough to overcome substantial leaps of power and strength. You get your arm cut to the bone, leg severely injured, ankles cut, head wound, about to pass out and the next second you are good as new? Sounds like Xin! So blatantly stupid and ignorant of anything other than whacking people with swords (because he is somehow a master swordsman after 1k friendly bouts with his childhood friend and a few battles) and yet he always claims he'll be the best general ever because...thats Xin! He has such little depth and likability that the only real thing you can enjoy about his character is that people get surprised by him a lot and he feels like the underdog...but by the 100th time, this mechanic is old.

Is it worth a watch like S1? Yes...and I don't think the animation studio is at fault for the story, it's just a mediocre manga (with wonderful art) that had the story setting, art style, character dynamic and creativity to really make a wonderful piece, but then feel short because they went with the popular "Naruto-esque" styled character of the time which is a writing travesty of a creation if there ever was one.

Overall I do rate this an 8 which is pretty high by my standards

PROS:
-The characters and character development for most of the characters is great and at times inspiring, their personalities all differ which is nice to see and is a sign of good story writing which incites rivalry and friendship

-The art is okay, it is MUCH better than the art from the first season not great but not certainly not horrible

- The plot is very good and the war strategies they implement are very intense and intricate but this anime is more than just war there is very interesting political power struggles as well ... as physical warfare which spices things up.

CONS:
My absolute biggest pet peeve about this anime is the fighting animation which is sad since everything else about this anime is very good. For example, A strong character strikes with one poorly animated slash from a spear or a sword and ten enemies go flying and all die, The best fights lack the animation capacity to make it really intense, There's no insane fight scenes like Hunter X Hunter where they dodge and weave and strike with absolute precision like Akame Ga kill, Naruto or the likes of other great action shounen anime, they simply lack the animation capacity to do so and it really shows. The writers are good at hyping up a fight but there is no real well animated battle skirmishes, it is not really exciting or complex what so ever.

CONCLUSION: I do recommend watching this anime despite the cons because it is a great story and is well written if you can look past the fight scenes

Season one was promising. Sure, Xin was a dumb kid that survived just by brute force, assassin girl was just aloof and overpowered because edgy magic, the mountain tribe were just the most powerful guys in the country but nobody knew them etc, but factions like the other king of Qin or Zhao were fleshed out and the Big Battle was great. So many tactics, charismatic leaders and thrilling outsmartings. They actually lived and died for their strategies.

This second season, and the third, just leans gradually more and more to the worst parts of this show. See, this is supposed to be about strategy and ... how China was united with intelligence. However, every new chapter seems to prefer the power of will/friendship to solve duels and even battles. Big dude who has never appeared before comes shouting because manly, and another, even beefier general just kills him while unconscious with his big brutality and epicness. Sounds familiar? It's shonen 101. I would be okay with it, if this was the intended genre, but it's not. This is about battles, characters are not supposed to be heroes of friendship, they are never treated like more than actions anyway so what's the point.

Watching this will hurt your neurons and eventually disappoint you so much if you expect a deep, actually earned war payoff.

Kingdom season 2, old but gold? It is hard to tell. There are a lot of welcome surprises after the first season, but it is still not quite the show most of us would love to see.

That being said, lets delve a bit deeper into the good/bad things about this series.

The good: a very interesting story that feels very unique and is just an enjoyable watch overall. The characters are also very well written, with some (minor) exceptions. On that note however I do want to talk a little bit about Xin, because at the moment he still feels a bit lacking as ... a character. I do understand the narrative of him being a more fighting/instinct oriented character, but his complete lack of braincells at times can feel frustrating (considering he is supposed to become the greatest general). That being said, I do have hopes that this is still part of the development to come.

Before moving on, i would like to point out that i really love the ideas behind this series and I think it could honestly be a masterpiece, BUT there are some (major) flaws that really hold back the series, which will be the topic of the second part of this review.

1. the animation: It is indeed a lot more watchable compared to the first season, BUT at the same time, it is still very far from what this series deserves so it can truly shine. Yes, the overall animation outside of fights is actually quite good and I am very much a fan of it. But that being said: fights often look awful and a lot of scenes with horses look very weird. In general the use of CGI is simply just very bad in this series and really limits the viewing experience a lot. People that are not so much attached to the story simply cannot watch a series that looks like this.

Spoiler warning for this point:
2. A more minor issue, but some PG13 changes really feel like they take away some of the extra detail that would really benefit a show like this (for example: the cut in the arm of Lun Hu rather than his fingers chopped of or Meng ao not losing his arm)

3. To round it out, my most major issue with this series: Things don’t make sense waaay to often, which is certainly not helped by the animation/ screenwriting / directing (I don’t know much about this :) ). I feel like a lot of the very nonsensical things that happen are not that much an issue in the manga, but just look so bad by the way the show is transitioned from the manga.

Having highlighted these points, my honest conclusion on kingdom season 2 is that it is good and bad at the same time. I honestly still liked it very much even though it is very flawed, but at the same time I know that people that are not as much into this type of show just cannot watch this.

Do I recommend watching this season? If you liked the first season: Yes, it’s even better. Otherwise? Probably better of reading the manga :)

Kingdom 2nd Season (Dub) Review

Story (6/10) Fair
More Specifically (6.75/10) Fair+

Majority of the story that was being adapted from the manga stayed intact, but sadly since once again this is being adapted by probably my most hated animation studio, Studio Perriot they can't do a manga justice 9 times out of 10 they never do. Just like the first season certain smaller but still important arcs were either rushed or skipped over. And to add insult to injury Studio Perriot had the audacity to add filler to series with a already has a ridiculous amount of canon source materiel to be adapted anyway. Non-canon flashback filler ... which seemed like a poor attempt to further deepen the characterization of one of the main characters. Sadly the flashback filler I felt was extremely boring, intrusion to the canon source material (which certain wasn't lacking) and not needed one bit in my opinion. For further elaboration on the anime adaptation not doing the manga justice I'll explain more in the enjoyment section.

Art and Animation (5/10) Mediocre
More Specifically (5.50/10) Mediocre

If there's one thing you've probably heard about Season 2 of Kingdom is that "it's far better than Season one, oh it's night and day". This statement is not true, if Season 1 was night then Season 2 is like sunset. Everyone knows the absolute main reason why this overall adaptation sucks and it's because of the horrible and intrusive combination of CG anime and handdrawn artstyle that Studio Perriot decided to go with. Is the CG less consistent in comparison to Season 1 like they say? Yes. But is it gone? No. Is there far more handdrawn than CG? Yes. But during the more important scenes is this handdrawn artyle consistently present? No it is not and that's probably one of my biggest gripes about Season 2 of Kingdom, hell this entire adaptation. It's the fact that absolutely no scene that I thought was amazing in the manga was adapted satisfyingly well in this anime. And that's sad because this is one thing you would assume an anime watcher would have over a manga reader is the fact that they get to enjoy ANIMATION and not just any animation GOOD ANIMATION. Not what this adaptation offers which was basically some of the worst CG I've ever seen in anime, some decent handdrawn scenes during basically scenes that had no animation what so ever and when there is a fight scene let's basically do the entire fight scenes in colored slide shows with sound or just combine it with horrible CG.


Sound (Dub) (6/10) Meh
More Specifically (6.75/10) Meh+

Knowing how many episodes I had to bare though I couldn't find myself watching it in sub although to be quite far that's definitely the superior one out of the two if you asked me and why is that? Well it's because for the most part the english dub acting behind this adaptation sucks really badly. Voice actors chosen for the characters sound like they should but for the most part they sound like they are reading from their script and pausing in the middle of lines and it is completely noticeable when it happens and destroys any immersion you possibly were holding on to. The only reason the category even reaches the realm of a 6 is because that opening theme song was great, I never skipped it and sadly was the most enjoyable part of this entire anime, once the opening ends that's where it for the most part became a dread to watch sadly.


Characters (7/10) Good

The characters just like the story for the most part were adapted ok enough none of them had their personalities changed during this adaptation. Now going back to the english dub voice acting for a bit if there's anything that'll make you not like a character it might be that but if you're watching in sub then you probably didn't have this issue. Censorship which I'll take about more in the next category does kind of hurt certain characters because it does take away the presentation of how brutal this character was meant to be portrayed when it a scene is completely changed for censorship purposes.


Enjoyment (4/10) Bad

My enjoyment like I said ended when the anime opening ended and that's a very bad thing to say. Like I said earlier and I can't stress this enough I can't remember off the top of my head any pivotal moment that was in the manga that I thought was amazing or hype done well to any degree in this adaptation within it's 39 episode run. It was either ruined by censorship, modified, CG or worse of all, all three all at the same time. This is what happens when a great Seinen manga is adapted by a company that can't and would go anywhere near the lengths that the manga did. You can tell they only grabbed this manga series to adapt because it was raising in popularity in Young Jump and just like Tokyo Ghoul which is also in Young Jump and has it's anime being adapted by Perriot is garbage thanks for ruining my enjoyment once again Perriot.


Overall (6/10) Fine i guess but for me still disappointing

I rated the manga a 9.65/10 and ranked it in my top 5 favorite manga of all time, I love the Kingdom manga it's phenomenal please go read it. This Season 2 ended right before what people consider the best arc in the series (at the time) and to be honest thank god that didn't adapt it because I don't think I can watch one of my favorite manga series be turn to shit anymore than I already have. Going from a 9.65/10 to a 6.00/10 is a massive drop and should say more than just something. And to be honest giving this anime a 6.00/10 is being massively generous because I know if you haven't read the manga but have watched this anime you probably fairly enjoyed this garbage because you have no clue why the manga is rated as high as it is on this site, just like how I have no clue how this anime adaptation can muster over an 8.00/10 on this site. Is it better than Season 1? Yeah but that's not saying much since season one is a steaming pile of doo-doo butter with only the music carrying it. Just go read the manga please, Studio Perriot go fuck yourself.

Kingdom's manga is my favourite ongoing manga lately but it's anime adaptation is almost a complete fail. Don't let yourself fooled by it's high rating!
The first 15 episode were great, unlike it's previous season. Whether it is momentum , Shin's battle cry or the serious story telling narrator that you like, i know that you won't respond well after watching the more latest new episodes
as the animation will get a lot worse then Kingdom S1! As the way you see how those soldiers & characters move in battle it will only ruin your mood.
~Overall~
As a fair warning there are a few arcs that ... aren't faithfull to the original works!
And that's why my comrads all dropped this anime...
Considering that i don't know much about other historical animes, i only know much about hisorical mangas which i would like to recommend:
- Historie
- Shoukoku no Altair
- Kingdom
- Vinland Saga

Intro: This 2nd season is both better and worse than season 1, but overall it is weaker.

Anime vs. Manga character names:
King Zhen = Ei Sei
Xin = Shin
Qiang Lei = Kyou Kai
Li Mu = Riboku
Wang Qi = Ou Ki
Meng Wu = Moubu
Fei Xin Unit = Hi Shin Unit
... He Liao Dao = Karyo Ten
Lian Po = Renpa

Story: 7/10
The story picks up where season 1 left, revolving around Xin and Zheng starting to act on their plan of uniting all of China. It follows the power struggle between the King Zheng and the right chancellor as well as Xin's successful military career.
This 2nd season has a bit more flaws and plot holes but it is just as enjoyable as the 1st season.

Some flaws and plot holes I remember:
1. The creators wasted 5 episodes showing Zheng's past instead 1 episode, which would have been much better.
2. How did Zheng's mother become The Harem Queen?
3. The generals are more OP than ever.
4. How did Lian Po smash as huge boulder with his polearm?
5. Zheng's maind getting pregnant is unexpected and not suited to the show. I don't remember seeing the king be romantically involved with her. Let's just throw a "Oh, by the way, I'm pregnant" and then continue like nothing happened. Probably the chancellor is going to assasinate the maid causing Zheng to act irrationally.
6. Why not stop the great general's advance by cutting the horse's legs?
7. These horses seem indestructible when ridden by a general or the MC.
8. Why did an entire unit stop in the middle of a war to talk about Qiang Lei's past?
9. Why does Xin not wear the armor he bought in season 1?
10. How are Xin's clothes the same form season 1, after being cut and tworn apart and Xin getting taller they fit perfectly?


Characters: 5/10
The characters are failry generic but they are decently characterized and get some development.
It is upsetitng to see how inferior Xin is, intelligence wise and the fact that he is no getting any smarter make being a great general a hard thing to achieve. Xin is still giving me cringe reactions when he says/has stupid reactions.
The support characters are better this season, they are better characterized.
The relation between Xin and Qian Lei develops more and more which is a good thing.


Animation: 7/10
The animation is fluid and the art is nice but the utter lack of gore/blood is awfull.

Sound: 7/10
The opening theme is good, the ending theme is nice and the OST is well suited to the tone of the show, the voice actors do a good job as well. The result is an overall good sound experience.

Enjoyment: 7/10
This 2nd season is more entertaining than 1st season, with better animation and better fight scenes combined with a good plot.

Overall: 6.3/10
In the end, Kingdom succeeded in doing its job of entertaining the viewer. I recommend completing this series, season 1 and season 2.

" The objective of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his. " - Kingdom of Chin

This season is where Kingdom truly entices its viewers and holds you by your balls or, in sense of females, BY YOUR BALLS!!!.
Last season, had that eye-bleaching snicker mixed with twister bar of CG trash animation.
THEY LISTENED, AND THEY HIT US WITH A MIKE TYSON EAR REMOVAL PROCEDURE by putting in Pierrot for the job. It is awesome. purely bliss and emphatic emotions rush through your head every few seconds with this season.
The music, the build up, ... the art, the VOICE ACTING.... MY LAWD I JUST...... EHEMMM. All good.

Of course, then and now, they do drop that b**c* slap backhand, with very few seconds of CG and all of a sudden our handsome and chivalrous, daunting and broody, beautiful and cunning characters suddenly look like lego and Mould Kings made kids, BUT weren't really INTO IT. I mean to imply they are absolutely vile to look at, and I mean that in the nicest sense possible. Just check the clips online for proof.

Overall, EGG CRACKLINGLY NOICE. The perfect beginning for the actual story. [insert meme with correction] LOOK HOW THEY *SAVED* OUR BOY. [/end meme]

Thanks for reading
Have a great day

I keep this review spoiler free and short.

The second season of Kingdom surely does better in every way than the first season. I do not get the criticisim that the second season starts with mentioning Zengs past. We do need a background to understand characters. I still wish for a brief introduction of Xins past to know, where he really comes from.

Characters
Of the three main characters: Zeng, Xin and Diao, Zeng is the most interesting, Xin comes next but I can live without Diao. I still think that Diaos character is unfitting in the setting or should have been written differently.

Next we have Zengs right ... hand Chanweng and his right hand Bi, I truly love both of them. You truly care more for the secondlead characters and generals than the maincharacters, thats why it doesn't get boring.

Plot/ Storytelling
I don't want to write much about plot because you can read a brief summary on this website. The storytelling does not however differ much from a shounen which is kind of dissapointing. It was much worse in the first season I need to admit, so we have an improvement.

I think many deaths were truly sad, even if it was an enemy that had died.
Still, like Li Mu said, we don't know the true horror of war and maybe that is why the storytelling is kind of naiv when it comes to war.


Also I like to mention, the show does a good job for not letting you root for Qin completely, which I enjoy.

So?
Kingdom gets better with each season, and Xin does get some improvement later.

Points:
Story: 7
Art: 6 (better than first season, but still cuts to 3D at war)
Sound: 5 (nothing I can remember)
Characters: (MC: 6, Generals and everyone else: 8 overall:) 7
Enjoyment: 7 (some war scenes were boring)

Overall: 7

I'm a huge fan of the Kingdom manga, so after reading through it all twice I decided that I should probably give the anime adaptation a try.

The story follows the manga pretty closely, meaning that it was great, only skipping a few details. One downside of it being an anime is of course the heavy censorship of the actual fights and killing blows, being much less graphic and bloody compared to the manga. The only major downside of this adaptation for me would still be the use of CGI in some of the scenes. In the scenes without it, the anime looks amazing, but when ... it is there the CGI really ruins some of the moments.

However, overall, I really enjoyed this anime and it was the first time in a while that I actually binged through parts of it because it was so addictive.