IS: Infinite Stratos 2

(Review may contain minor spoilers for IS Season 2)

Infinite Stratos, what a fine anime it is truly, you can find anything from ecchi moments and the male protagonist being a pervert with the classic harem aspects. The anime is a deluxe bundle for fan-service anime, truly a hidden treasure but of course it is also very poorly produced with many plot-holes and moments throughout the season leaving you dumbfounded and confused.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed watching IS series because of the fan service content and not exactly for the plot or the quality of the anime itself. I think we all watch anime so we can ... be obviously entertain and enjoy it and that's what exactly this anime has done for me in return.

Story (6): I couldn't seem to enjoy enough as much as I trying to, multiple times the anime was filled with ecchi moments and mostly the male protagonist getting absolutely beaten up by the other female MCs. Most of it is useless garbage and generally fillers but I seemed to like it and probably you too as well.

Art (7): The art in IS is nothing memorable or special, it was fairly decent and basic as well, it carried the story and characters together otherwise I would never even considered watching this anime.

Sound (6): Some of the audio soundtracks are very nostalgic and as well as similar to a classic superhero "saving the day" or kids show, it is questionable at most but for the most part it was okay in building the mood.

Characters (6): Like I said before, the characters in the anime are nothing really special and most of it throughout the anime are just pure ecchi and fan service all throughout. Ichika is like any determined, heroic, and stupid MC's male protagonist you would find in some animes.

Enjoyment (7): I did for the most part enjoyed watching Infinite Stratos purely just for the fan service because it was entertaining as well as the ecchi stuff.

Overall (7): Overall IS is not unique or genuinely a good anime, it's simply just entertaining to watch as the male MC's get pulled apart by his own harem as well as mech fighting. You should consider watching this!

This season is rather disappointing. To be specific, it disappoints in certain aspects but not everything.

This story continues from season one but feels extremely dumbed down. The entire season feels like filler for season one, which isn't entirely a bad thing but also is. This season focuses on the harem aspect of this anime, with the occasional fight thrown in the mix from time to time. I'm a guy who enjoys the harem and ecchi genres, but there is always a time and place for everything, and this anime doesn't understand that. This anime was supposed to be serious than sexy, but this season just ... reverses that. Things pick up near the end however but end up feeling like a setup for a third season.

The characters remain the same as in the first season, but there is no development for these characters. The only ones who get actual developments are the ones who are introduced in this season, which is unfortunate. A bit disappointing, but that's just what this season is.

The animation is of good quality. with some smooth and fluent animation here and there, but this unfortunately isn't enough to save this season. At least the ecchi scenes look good though.

Overall, a very disappointing second season to what could have been. I did enjoy some parts of this season, mainly the harem ecchi parts (guilty as charged), but the entire season was a letdown. With the way this season was set up, I ended up really wanting a third season to fix all this. This season is still worth a watch if you liked season one of IS.

Story: For the second season of IS, this season didn't even try to be decent. It didn't even put effort into progressing the plot that it was setting up for in the previous season. Each episode is 17 minutes of fan service and 5 minutes of substance. This season has decided to push any chance to have a story or character development out of the window just for cheap and dull fan service we already experienced in season one. I can't even remember the story because of how little the show spends on it for all 12 episodes. This season spends 20 minutes focused on ... the plot. Anyone who enjoys this season, I'm positive are new to anime and are here for the harem and titties. There cannot be any other reason to say you enjoy this show.

Art: Here's the most positive thing I can say about the show and that's the art is pretty good and the color scheme is solid. Yeah the mecha designs are pretty generic, but I can let it slide. The character's design is also somewhat charming and memorable. I admittedly suck at remembering character's names, but their interesting design helps.

Sound/Music: As for sound effects and voice acting, this anime has done an acceptable job. It's not unbearable, so thank goodness. The soundtrack of this season smacks, so credit given where credit is due.

Character: Now that we're done with all of the positives this show has to offer now it's all down hill from here. Yes the characters are memorable, but that's strictly because the art style makes them so. Other than that, the characters don't have anything worth mentioning. Yeah, it's cool that all of the harem girls are of different ethnic background, but that's all your getting for anything interesting about them. Now let's talk about the elephant in the room, Ichika Orimura is THE harem protagonist. When you think harem protagonist, this is the guy you think of. No personality, no real interesting trait; other being the only male being able to pilot an IS, and the reason he has a flock of girls falling for him is because he's a nice guy and you know why he's a nice guy? Because you're a nice guy. He's literally an empty vessel for you to project yourself onto. He's as boring as mine and your middle school and high school love lives. He has no depth, he isn't funny, and/or doesn't have an actual motive or goal. I am confident that if the studio swapped him with a cardboard box in the middle of an episode, no one would notice. With the introduction of a few more girls this season to join the harem circle jerk, they are both completely forgettable. I actually had to go check what their names were whilst typing this review.

Enjoyment: I did not enjoy this in the slightest. I believe gargling a bowl of nails would be more entertaining and fun than re-watching this season. I can tolerate season 1 because it did have fun battles and actually attempted to push a story, but if I had to choose to either watch this again or to fight Madara Uchiha solo? Then hand me my ninja headband and allow me to get folded properly.

Overall: This show is awful and I could theoretically recommend the first season, but I would always suggest that they should stop right there. I wouldn't recommend this show to my worst enemy. I can't even sarcastically suggest this to someone. If you're reading this right now and you haven't watch this yet, you are currently blessed. Feel free to watch it at your own risk.