Vandread: The Second Stage

It is impossible to enjoy the Vandread series without watching Vandread: The Second Stage. I believe that between the 2 series, the second one is superior.

Obviously, the second season is a continuation of the story that began in the first season. What I noticed about the second season is that all characters went through huge developments; if not, revelations. I don’t want to give out too many spoilers, but in the second season Hibiki is moving closer to his goal of proving his existence, his relationship with Dita is improving even more, and we learn more about characters such as Meia, Jura, Magno and B.C.

There ... are also new characters that will be introduced. In fact, there’s so many of them but only 1 or 2 will take up more screen time than the other new characters. Here’s a clue for one of them: If you remember Ezra from the first season, then you’d probably have an idea of what kind of person the first new character will be.

Most of the voice actors from the first season have been retained from the first one, and thank goodness for that because I would have pouted to death if the had removed Tomokazu Seki from the billing. He is one talented guy, and he always does a great job with each character he portrays (for this one, Tomokazu Seki plays Bart Garsus). Of course, like I said in my review of the first season, the other seiyuus were also able to bring out the personalities of their individual characters.

The second season’s visuals were more or less similar to the first season, except I did find it to be more consistent. The “morphing faces” or anything like were kept to a minimum. I also realized that the used repeated scenes more often for the second season. That’s just laziness, but it wasn’t that bad. Most of the repeated scenes used are the ones wherein Dita’s dread and Hibiki’s van-types were combining.

I like the opening song of the second season better. The song “Justice” by Aki Kudou was almost a synopsis of what the characters of Vandread are trying to accomplish. They are trying to fight for their justice, for a great future and they want to keep it that way. As for the ending song, it’s OK. “Yes Together”, also by Aki Kudou, was too slow and mellow for my taste. Like the first season, the BGM was also well done this time around.

Vandread: The Second Stage is definitely a good way to end the Vandread series. Unlike the first season, the second season actually offers a more solid conclusion that will leave you with a clearer picture of what might happen next.

Highs: Smooth animation; stunning CGI
seamless plot continuation;
distinctive characters

Lows: Nothing too new; transition between comedy and
drama may lose some viewers; a not so spectacular ending

Review: As a direct sequel, Vandread: The Second Stage picks up exactly where the First Stage left off. Generally when dealing with a sequel we are left with an anime that tries too hard to better the original but in the end simply cannot compare. Thankfully, that is not the case as we have a powerful continuation that follows through with the strengths of its predecessor and takes it a step further to the next level.

Unlike other sequels, The Second ... Stage doesn't try too hard to introduce anything new; rather it builds on what was already laid out in the prequel and jumps right into the action. Slowly, but surely more pieces of the plot are revealed and in the process does a splendid job of fleshing out and developing character personalities. The former cast all make a return appearance, with the exception one new face, Misty, a cryogenically frozen girl who brings new energy to an already jam-packed and fun-filled group. The strong cast of characters is what drives this anime to success. Using several character-centric episodes, we can clearly see how the characters grow and begin to apply the lessons they have learned about each other and themselves, to help one another in their fight for survival.

The visuals have been improved and are as impressive as ever. GONZO a specialist in animation does not disappoint in this regard. Vandread: The Second Stage looks like a high budget OVA, showing considerable improvement over the First Stage with the nearly seamless integration of the CGI with its surroundings that remained consistent throughout the entire series. Not only do we have a great storyline, but one that looks good telling it.

Similar to the first installment, The Second Stage, manages to stay fresh and funny. As the anime progressed the atmosphere begins to change as most of the comedy is dropped for a more serious, dramatic tone. Some viewers may not be particularly fond of the loss of humor, while, some might see it as a welcome change. In any case, what we have is an enthralling storyline full of twists and turns and breathtaking action sequences that most would find hard not to enjoy. Although, there may be a common complaint about The Second Stage's questionable conclusion which, not to say lacks any sort of finale, rather leaves a lot more to be desired.

If you enjoyed, Vandread: The First Stage, than this an anime you will definitely not want to miss. The Second Stage is a worthy sequel that concludes the series on a high note packaged full of all the cheerful characters and all the space action you can handle. So, grab this anime, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Wriiten by AlterGenesis-X
Oct 11, 2005

Hey Folks. This is my first proper review, so do not be too critical.

Well, first I shall give a few words associated and not associated with it

It is:
Fighting spirit
Reason for life, reason for love
Pure feelings
Justice
Good humor (sorry if this is subjective :) )
... Ecchi
Teenage behavior
A lot of space, planets, magical robots and stuff

It is not:
Scientifically correct
Deep complicated storyline
Detailed past and future explanation
Detailed description of non-core characters


Storyline:
The storyline is not too complicated, but perfectly answers all the questions it has risen by the end of the 2nd stage. I really like the core idea - far in the future, men and women live on different planets, having developed methods of living separately, considering each other enemies and not even remembering that they can have relations (friendship, love, sex, make children). Then when a few guys get on a women pirate space ship, they have to find their way of changing the ideals they have been risen with to learn to cooperate with women (and vice versa).

Then there is the main evil - the Earth which has turned half-robotic and needs constant supply of fresh human bodies to live. This topic can be seen in a lot of other pieces (like Matrix for example), but they do not get into too much detail about it either. The core idea they succeed to prove here is that sacrificing your body and your life for the rest of your kind is only good when you make that decision yourself.

The battles show a lot of courage and just feelings, so they make me feel happy. The other thing is the scientific aspect of combining robots which fight with swords, shooting with huge laser rays, making black holes and stuff. If you are a physicist like me it is best to ignore the small pieces when they try to explain how the devices work.

Finally, the best part, best resembled in such pieces like onegai sensei, is the idea of overcoming your standstill, opening your eyes, starting to live your real life, living for the sake of both yourself and others. The small bits of philosophy are done very decently.

Art:
Clean and cool. A lot of well drawn motion, including 3D ships and planets. Ecchi lovers will find a little of "friendly boob squeezing".

Sound:
Sound comes in right place. No exceptional masterpieces, though the opening theme is quite decent.

Character:
Has about 10 major characters, and spends half to 1 episode explaining their past (except Hibiki, the main character). The characters make a wide spectrum, from calm people like the scientist girl and the doctor to completely crazy people like Dita who loses her head because of love or Paiwey, who is always running around ruining peoples' quiet moments together and making photos at the least suitable times. There is however 1 thing that joins all these people - somewhat sad and lonely past, and happiness of being together even though they sometimes fail to admit it. Certainly nowhere near Naruto or Hikaru no Go, but it is much shorter too.

Enjoyment:
From my point of view the anime can be watched on one breath. It has a lot of funny moments and a lovely ending.

Conclusion
Watch it if you search for a light anime to inspire your pure feelings and do not watch it if you search for deep science fiction. Also, ecchi fans, some of your dreams will be answered in a charming way, however this is not the anime for the most perverted ones, they will not be satisfied.

Second Stage:

This show is just a perfect continuation of the first season, if you liked season 1 you will love season 2. Some may disagree, but i think they are few and far between.

Love interest play out, foes come to light, and old friends reappear in this perfect continuation.

Finality is the word for this season, and although everything gets pretty much wrapped up, i felt like i wanted so much more at the end.

if you need to know about vandread as a series read my vandread review
http://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=61535

I think the lack of delivery on a lot of what this series set up is probably its greatest disappointment, but it's hard to blame the second season alone for that. The action was a lot more bombastic and fun, the characters actually developed in some interesting directions (even if some of them remained largely frustrating), and while some of the plots evoked S1 more than S2, it felt like there was genuine progression and a through-line to this season that was lacking in the first. It's far from perfect, but it did more than I was expecting, so at least there's more to like ... here, albeit less than I really wanted out of this series.

The Second Stage has a rather interesting plotline that follows the heroic crew of Nirvana as they struggle to fight past the Harvest fleet and reach their home planet. However, the numerous emotional turmoils they go through are a bit of a drag. The Harvest fleet has several new surprises in store for them, making it a tough battle. The anime tries to teach the deep significance of proving to oneself and others that there is a reason for one's existence, but it overdoes it with repetitive lessons that Hibiki keeps relearning. The love triangle between Hibiki and the girls Misty and Dita is downright ... annoying and repetitive, and watching it is the hardest part of the anime.

The show has quite a large cast of characters, but unfortunately, most of them are frustratingly annoying, especially the main characters, Hibiki and Dita. The rest of the characters were on a case-by-case basis, and there were some cool characters like the stoic ace pilot Meia and some funny ones like the silly girl with the frog puppet Paiway. One good thing is that several characters go through significant growth and character development in this season, especially Bart, who takes a stand and finds a reason to fight.

In my opinion, this show failed to integrate CG into the action scenes effectively. While the lasers flying around looked somewhat cool, the overall execution seemed rather cheesy. Also, it was quite frustrating to see none of the Van pilots from Nirvana getting seriously hit despite so many lasers flying around. Although some of the Vandread combinations were impressive, most of them had a Power Rangers kind of feel. The character designs were unoriginal for the most part, and the animation seemed simplistic for a sci-fi fantasy anime.

If you're a fan of sci-fi space anime, there are better shows out there with more engaging action and storylines. The romance aspect of this show is the most difficult part to watch. However, the show does well in developing minor characters, which makes it a fairly compelling drama. Whether or not you like this series will depend on whether you find the characters you like worth watching along with the characters that you don't like.