IS: Infinite Stratos 2

Infinite Stratos 2 is the anime equivalent of a lobotomy. An anime so insipid, so devoid of intelligent thought that a trip to the garbage can would likely yield something more interesting. Maybe you'll feel dirty afterwards, but hey, at least you won't receive brain damage for it.

I struggle to think of a single good thing to say when describing Infinite Stratos 2. Even the absolute worst of the medium (from the infamous Mars of Destruction to the nonsensical Cipher) can at least be laughed at in their awfulness. Not Infinite Stratos. It is everything wrong with the harem genre and the anime industry ... as a whole, assembled into one cretinous pile of filth. You would need standards so low that they pass the Earth's core and leave the other side of the planet in order to appreciate this trash. Nothing went right. Everything went wrong. Hell, this is awful even by the first season's standards.

Allow me to describe one of Infinite Stratos' most asinine scenes. In the sixth episode, Charlotte finds herself in a situation where her panties have magically disappeared. Rather than simply tell Ichika the situation like any sensible person would, she convinces herself that lifting her skirt and directly showing him is the only way to get her point across. Ichika does as she asks and looks. Her response? "Pervert!"

Another scene involves Ichika being forced to take body measurements of all the girls in the school (which every single one of them is happy about for some incomprehensible reason). He closes his eyes, so embarrassed by female cleavage, thinking to himself that a measuring tape does not require eyes to see. His complete lack of understanding about human anatomy results in him fondling the girl. Every single member of his harem then appears out of thin-air and catches him in the act, screaming and assaulting him as the camera pans away.

Even from the very first episode, we know that a trainwreck awaits. The antagonist walks down a dark corridor and meets five soldiers armed with assault rifles. They open fire... and all the bullets somehow manage to land in front of her feet or behind her. She jumps into the air, pulls out two pistols and shoots them all with perfect accuracy. Yep. Even the most brainless of Hollywood blockbusters aim for better than this, but I suppose Infinite Stratos never cared for quality in the first place.

The final episode is the most brain-damaging of all. The antagonist's sidekick willingly reveals to one of the girls the location of a hidden bomb, and the main antagonist then unleashes a laser attack on thirty or forty armed mech soldiers, annihilating them all instantly. Of course Ichika (the most worthless soldier in the entire school) and the members of his harem can take her on in a one-on-one fight, however. As the final insult to the audience's intelligence, a deus ex machina unfolds, placed in direct sight of the enemy at the most convenient time possible. They then escape, and the story ends with a random onsen scene wherein Ichika passes out in the girl's bath. OK.

I do not know how a show so stupid could have ever been produced. Even putting aside the abysmal writing, the harem aspect (the anime's sole appeal) fares no better. The two new additions to his harem (Tatenashi and Kanzashi) suddenly fall in love with Ichika for no bloody reason at all. In the case of Kanzashi, all Ichika ever had to do was smile a lot and play the white knight role once for her to be head over heels for him. There are so many damn members to his harem that you may as well just throw in the entire school at this point. What do they even see in Ichika, anyway? He is one of the most insipid protagonists ever created, absent of any personality. The animators should have just drawn a rock instead - at least that way there would be one less thing to infuriate the audience.

Aside from having the intellect of a toddler, Ichika has the maturity of one, too. He is so adverse to any female contact (even visibly cringing in one scene where a girl's breasts rub against his arm) that you would ordinarily assume he is a homosexual. The fact that he has seven girls blatantly chasing after him and does not recognise it is a testament to how dreadful his characterisation is. A decent harem series would have the protagonist aware long before this point, if not already actively pursuing one of the girls. Future harem anime should take notes from Sora no Otoshimono and HenNeko, and treat Infinite Stratos like the plague that it is.

Unsurprisingly, the female characters are just as bad. Even the two with a brain (Houki and Charlotte) inevitably fall victim to the show's abysmal writing. The most obnoxious is by far Cecilia, her voice so excruciating that it would be more appropriate in the 9 Circles of Hell. Lin on the other hand has about as much presence as a shadow while Kanzashi lacks any sort of personality or defining feature except "has glasses".

Infinite Stratos 2 is terrible even from a technical perspective. All of the action scenes are rendered in low-budget CG and many times the characters' faces will look as if they were drawn by a 10-year-old with a cheap "How to Draw Manga" textbook. The soundtrack is also rubbish and comprises mainly of elevator music and a tuba endlessly making the same two-three notes. During the action scenes, the music is so turgid and over-dramatic that it almost becomes hilarious when combined with the infantile dialogue.

It is rare to find an anime as bad as Infinite Stratos. It is the exact kind of tripe that gives anime such a bad image in mainstream society. Regardless of whether you enjoy the harem genre or despise it, absolutely nothing of value will be found here. Even as mindless entertainment it fails miserably. Avoid it like the plague, or better yet, convince yourself that it doesn't even exist. You will save yourself some sanity that way.

If this is the future of the anime industry, then god help us.

There was once a time in the early 2000s when Harem shows were one of the more popular genres of anime, even in a few parts of the western world with titles such as Tenchi Muyo and Love Hina. Though many anime fans didn’t love the latter because of this specific trope, the former focused on the anime community with its quirky characters. Nowadays, the harem genre isn’t as it once was, not in terms of merit but popularity. Once in a while, we get trying to put different ideas on viewing the genre in terms of parody, comedy, and character development. But some don’t ... try to do anything unique to it as a whole and most likely felt like it could’ve been a lost harem idea back in 2002.

Now we have the 2nd season of Infinite Stratos. The continuation of a series that most people, even fans of Harem, show no restraint in voicing their hatred of it. Somehow, it has gone to sell like hotcakes despite being anything more than drab and generic. The one question that pops into my head is: Why is this show getting all of the attention from people buying up the OVAs and BDs when there are better harem shows out there and continue to this day?

Some that come to mind are Hentai Ouji, Sora no Otoshimono, To Love Ru Darkness, Kore wa Zombie, and Haganai. All of which have an infinite amount of personality and creativity to their comedic writing and overall creative charisma that the series could ever have in its little world. But, of course, I’d have to explain why I think of Infinite Stratos this way, but I only bring this whole comparison thing up because there isn’t that much to say about this next installment in the franchise. Other than the fact that it pales in comparison to shows like it.

There are indeed some awful characteristics to be made public about the 2nd season. It’s pretty apparent how poorly written the story is for Infinite Stratos. What makes it even more perplexing is just how there’s so little plot, to begin with, and what little serious drama that is present comes across as muddled and overly not well-paced at all. All it is is just the characters going through different kinds of problems that typically might involve Ichika to help them, which eventually leads to him in a suggestive situation. These situations involve him getting kicked or beaten to a bloody pulp for accidentally changing or saying something that made them blush. From what you could get out of this description I made, you might think that they’re sacrificing the plot to emphasize comedy that can succeed. Unfortunately, this sacrifice only provided a lukewarm reception in all aspects.

The way to describe the comedy in Infinite Stratos in one word is “haphazard.” There are hardly any clever gags to most of the jokes to the point where it’s as if the writers copy-and-pasted the jokes on the scene in question and prayed that the audience would get a laugh from it. A few do garner a little chuckle here and there, but the vast majority don’t even deserve a snicker. We’ve all seen the typical Onsen and the accidental peeking scene in every harem show, so why keep milking it to the people who are already tired of it? I’m sure many people don’t mind that kind of humor, but there comes a time when they need to inject new life into these kinds of jokes. If not, it will be the equivalent of getting your face passively slapped multiple times by the people who come up with this day after day.

The writers do not put any new effort into the jokes themselves, but even the ones they wrote are so messy and confused about their reason for existing in the first place. One prime example is when Charlotte forgot to wear her panties, and she’s too embarrassed to tell Ichika. For some reason, that is never explained. After noting Laura, she finds out later that they are back on and pulls up her skirt and tells Ichika to look at them even though he doesn’t want to. Despite this, she still feels embarrassed and calls him a pervert, despite the fact she had no problem telling him to look. It’s almost as if the writers forgot what the punchline was supposed to be and, in a desperate attempt to be smart, just with the generic route of letting Charlotte call him a pervert for no reason. Good job on that one.

With the writing automatically becoming a one-trick pony, the overall character cast doesn't provide better reception, but a few do get some laughs. The new character Sarashiki is quite humorous in her attempts to be sneaky and conniving in messing with Ichika and his romances, even with her muddled reasoning for liking Ichika in the first place. But the charms stop there in the 2nd half when her appearances are only brief. We have to sit through her sister, who doesn’t have anything going for her except that she’s there for the 2nd to the last arc for no reason. As for the rest don’t improve from the 1st season, nor do they decline in quality since they weren’t even that strong to be with other than cute girls. Lingyin hardly makes an impression this season, indicating that she might have been the least popular of the girls, even though Cecilla would’ve been the more reasonable choice.

Then we have Ichika, the main protagonist, just about the by-the-book harem protagonist that you could find in the entire catalog of dense male protagonists. It’s safe to say that Ichika represents what most otaku love to see, a poor guy who acts so brainless to the male hormones that he can’t even muster up the courage to express his genuine emotions to feel better about themselves. Here’s a unique idea: How about a strong male protagonist who acts like an actual male would in that typical scenario? Now I’m not saying that being a total pervert is a good thing, nor does this indicate that we need more protagonists to think of females as sex objects. But when you’re like me, and you constantly see someone like Ichika that does the same shtick where he always acts like he doesn’t have any interest in any of the girls yet somehow later on does. He can’t find the courage to admit it openly. You’d think that we would be tired of this kind of thing around 2005, but nope.

The technical prowess of the show isn’t of any exceptional value because of the generic designs of the mechs, the average attempts on CG, and the average character designs. The girl designs are colorful and pleasant to look at. The opening and ending animation is almost like they recycled previous ones from the first season. Then we have the ensemble cast, to which I must ask how, in the name of all that is good and decent, these talented voice actresses sign up again for this? Granted, Kana Hanazawa is in every show that comes out these days. Still, actresses like Yoko Hikasa, Chiwa Saito, and Inoue Marina deserve better in something else than this. They attempt to be charming as usual, but it doesn’t dull out the pain of going through mediocrity even with those in mind.

Infinite Stratos 2 could’ve been an attempt to pull out a full-blown rant into tearing this show apart like some of my colleagues are willing to do, but in all honesty, you could sit through way worse as far as harems go. You could probably dig deeper into the lost collection of thrown-out harem shows that the studios have dumped and see how much worse they can be. However, since Infinite Stratos is headed by a well-known studio, 8bit, it can be seen as a high-profile failure to reboot the series for a second season that was in dire straits of regaining some merit. Not something that I would ever watch fully again in my life, maybe only a few amusing clips of it, but as I said before, I’ve seen way worse.

Grade: D+

Chances are that if you are plan on watching Infinite Stratos 2, you probably want to see how the story goes on between Ichika and the friends he has made at IS Academy in this brand new adventure. After all, season 1 didn’t end with an exactly a high note with its indecisive conclusion. Yes, I’m talking about Ichika and his dense mind along with the irrational decisions he makes. The story itself only had some moments that shined while others fell under the typical harem tropes with little development. Unfortunately, Infinite Stratos 2 doesn’t get any better. In fact, it went backwards and became ... even worse. It’s a continuation of a story that set itself on a time bomb ticking away at its destruction.

Infinite Stratos 2 is the sequel of the first season based off of the light novel in the same name written by Izuru Yumizuru. The series continues directly from season 1 with a young man named Orimura Ichika. To refresh some memory, Ichika is the first male pilot of the exoskeleton mech known as the IS (Infinite Stratos). Because the system was designed for female pilots, Ichika becomes the first user of the technology. The government obviously has plans for him and sent him directly to the world famous IS Academy. That means it’s a paradise for him because he is set to an academy where everywhere around him is: girls.

Like I mentioned previously, this series begins exactly where the first season left off. Ichika is still the talk of the academy because of his status and kindness. It’s no surprise that girls are interested in him in some way because most if not all of them came from a girls-only school previously. Among these girls include the return of the five female protagonists known as Houki, Cecilia, Ling, Charlotte, and Laura. Although most of them had some spotlights in season 1, this sequel puts them to shame. Their development is in ashes because the a big chunk of the series concentrates on some nonsense where everyone tries to get Ichika’s attention. Unfortunately, Ichika is dense as ever and hardly understands any of the girls’ attempts. In fact, he seems them a sign of gratitude while all the while being ignorant of its intentions. This comes early in the series in many shapes and sizes. These include the typical pool episode, absurd cosplays, surprise party extravaganza with absurd gags, and even an entire episode dedicated to a pair of panties plying around the lost & found game. While all this seems to fun at first, it quickly grows old because of the lack of depth in its fun.The comedy is also killed thanks to Ichika’s dense personality.

On more a directional side, the series does contain a story that expands further somewhat. Even in harem series like this, there is a story because the concept is serious with the IS being part of the system. In this sequel, the story introduces two new characters - one of them with an authoritative control, skill of a pilot, and ability to flirt with Ichika like no tomorrow. There’s some problems wrong with her character though. For one thing, she seems almost too perfect. Furthermore, Ichika is confused throughout the series as to her true intentions. Her smile often seems to be a like a mask that hides her purpose as a facade. But behind that smile also lies a girl whose skills is unrivaled in IS combat. To make matter worse for the girls though, she seems to be also possesses the skill to tame all of Ichika’s harem. Initially, she stands out as the boss of the series, like a game that the girls must overcome.

On the other hand, there is also another character that represents the opposite of her. It’s quite odd seeing Ichika interact with her as someone that hardly gives him any attention. In many ways, she represents the opposite of the typical girls in this harem anime.

To say that Infinite Stratos 2 completely sicks under the ocean with no chance of salvage is also an exaggeration though. Despite the lack of development or engaging storyline, the sequel does expand on a more darker side as the characters learns the existence of an organization. Their purpose stands for what terrorism is and their actions speaks louder than words. In fact, this organization declares war against IS Academy along with Ichika and his friends. There is also some mystery related to one particular member of this organization whom bares a strikingly similar appearance to another character from the series. Calling herself by a name that shocks Ichika, she becomes a pivotal antagonist that brings out the dark side of IS.

Action wise, Infinite Stratos surprisingly has some decent movements with its mechanics. The system itself is designed to fight efficiently in almost any circumstances. Also depending on the skill of the user, each IS has its own specialization or customized weapon that can inflict additional damage. In this sequel, new models are introduced with even more devastating abilities. The new models also gives them an impressive look from its exterior with its threatening design. Even with the harem tropes all over the place, the IS does stand in as a prominent factor as each time they are shown on screen, the camera angles focus exclusively on them with a more detailed look.

Unfortunately, that’s not where the only place where the camera points to...

The fanservice is all over the place in this sequel. It shouldn’t surprise viewers considering the way season one was handled. However, the show goes on with even from the beginning such as Laura crawling into Ichika’s bed or the swimsuits coming off just because. Cosplay also seems to make its way into this sequel because the show wants to try out some new ideas to cover all the field of a harem anime. This includes the form of odd animal outfits with skin bearing. There’s a hidden reason behind this but is definitely one that Ichika is not pleased with. Even when he doesn’t try it, Ichika is the center of attention just because of who he is. There’s almost no credibility in any of the characters’ attachment to Ichika in this sequel either thanks to a lack of exploration in their past/histories with Ichika. The characterization is shallow and doesn’t get anywhere. Even when there’s some hope, there are those moment killers (thanks to our new characters) that ruins the fun for Ichika; if he even depicts as fun in the first place. It’s absurd, idiotic, and a disgrace to the main story.

Artwork wise, the series maintain the same style as the original. What that means is the characters all retain their generic designs. Most of them retain the way they still look while new characters make their way with their flashy introductions. The new threat that is presented in this sequel does bring out a dangerous outlook but also confusion as one of the characters has a familiar outlook. Unfortunately, her character is never really explained at all so you’ll be guessing who she is towards the end. Our main male protagonist Ichika doesn’t even change an inch in either his outer or inner appearance. There’s little to in depth with any of the designs besides the Infinite Stratos models. Luckily, the backgrounds of the series is rich enough to give the feeling of a high level technology environment. The way both the inner and outer exterior of Infinite Stratos Academy is designed stays true to its terms by standards of high level technology. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really mean much with its generic traits that is thrown almost everywhere artistically.

The standards of its soundtrack has a so-so presentation judging by the OST. Most of the action scenes contains an explosive tone thanks to its intensity. Like mentioned before, the primary concept of IS means serious business so the series portrays it seriously with its standards. The OP song True Blue Traveler foreshadows some ideas of what to expect from season 2 while at the same time throws generic concepts all over the place. Kouki Uchiyama also returns as the voice actor of Ichika whom surprisingly has a decent acting ability that portrays the typical harem lead well. New characters voiced by Chiwa Sato and Suzuko Mimori also represents their characters well despite their opposite personalities. To say the least, the soundtrack department isn’t half bad but honestly, that isn’t saying much.

Finishing this series should only be a priority if you want to see how the franchise concludes rather than expecting greatness from it. There’s nothing really great about this sequel considering its lack of characterization, poorly constructed plot clustered with fan service , generic subplots, and weak progression. This adaptation also omits some parts from the light novel that could have enhanced the comedic side of the sequel. Unfortunately, it backfires in the end. There’s no doubt some fans will be disappointed at how this show turned out to be. Infinite Stratos 2 is a perfect example of an adaptation gone wrong with no redemption. There might not of been infinite possibilities to expand this continuation. However, the excuse of its story is beyond miserable. So if you plan to watch this series, I’d recommend you to hit the fast forward to save some time. Time for you isn’t infinite after all…

Sometimes at night when I'm having trouble sleeping, I find myself wondering; if you could shove in as many dere heroines as possible (with individual fanservice, of course) into an anime, what would it look like? My highly philosophical questions of utter importance have been answered: IS 2. In a way, I'm genuinely impressed. How did they think of this? Or rather, how did they not think of anything else than stereotypical characters falling in love with the main character which, coincidentally, has the stereotypical brain that consists of concrete. Is he supposed to be portrayed as stupid? If so, apologize to the stupid people, ... as they (the whole population of idiots) have been portrayed faultly.

I had somewhat high hopes for the first season of IS, since it sounded cool for a 16-year-old me, and they even managed to get me to watch through it without smashing my head into a wall. Impressive. Now, with a critical eye to it as well, I'm disappointed in the 16-year-old me. This entire series has been nothing but a disgrace. The first season of IS did indeed try to progress, albeit slowly, but there was without a doubt some progress. The second season just seems like the producers gave up and threw girls at the fans. Yay, sex and stuff. Although I'm used to fanservice taking place more and more in anime (which, by the way, is not a good thing), IS 2 is on a whole new level. As I said, it feels like they simply threw the storyboard away and let everything happen as it happened. Like they didn't give a shit.

If there's anything good (or rather, something to not really complain about) in IS 2, it ought to be the animation. It would literally be better if the whole series were the fighting scenes combined into one long (not really) fight. But noooooooo, the producers chose to draw figure-8's and got a brilliant idea.

I give IS2 the final rating suicidal tendencies out of 10.

I've read a couple of reviews bashing IS2 quite heavily now and whilst I feel that many of their points are justified and I agree with most of them... I can't help but feel the need to throw this series a life-line. For a summary skip to 'enjoyment' section.

Story: 5
The only word I can think of to describe the story in IS2 in a nut-shell would have to be 'filler'.
The story is effectively non-existent consisting mostly of the girls (Ichika's harem - which he remains completely oblivious to as is now a custom with harems echii or not as it would seem) throwing their ... boobs and panties thrown in every possible direction with the occasional fight here and there... (here it comes) ... HOWEVER... whilst this season is effectively fan-service there is a small plot running throughout that left me wondering 'how long until #### goes down' with a sense of excitement.
In addition a number of the antics that were thrown into the mix left me laughing or giggling at the very least and I liked the art quite a lot too.

I think the issue people have here is that things don't 'go down' until the end where things finally begin to heat up, but even then there isn't a conclusive end to the arc... This leaves me with the feeling that the producers are planning to develop it in a third season (or at-least I hope - I'm not sure how closely it follows the manga either). I know its hopeful but it really could pull the series back into perspective story wise.

Art: 8
Nice art work which felt fluent and well drawn throughout the series with some nice detail on the IS's (which are used more than you might think they would after reading comments about the story). The characters looked fairly good including in any echii scenes for those who are interested.

Sound: 6
Sound was average in all honesty with ok intro and outro music. Although some credit has to be given to the voice actors who did a decent job (I'd be shocked if they didn't considering some of the talent there).

character: 5
All of the characters remain the same throughout this season as you (probably and if you haven't then go look at the first series) saw at the end of the first without any character development what so ever; even the 'near-ish romantic' bit is completely forgotten about for all those hopefuls.
The only glint of development from season 1's characters arises from Ichika's big sis which is towards the end if at-all.
The saving grace (if it can be called that) is the introduction of two new characters of which one shows some development over a few episodes.

Enjoyment: 8
Overall despite a stagnant story, very little character development and feeling slightly let-down from season 1 as a result... I somehow really enjoyed this series to put it bluntly. I loved some of the scenario's however cliche some of them may be simply because of how they were executed. I liked the well-drawn art style and loved the battles that were included in it (though I wish the battles were focused on a little more and I've seen more 'epic battles' in other anime). I can't quite explain it... All I can say is that despite its criticisms IS2 is still worth a watch & that I'm still left wanting a season 3.

You know, for quite sometime now, I forgot about this anime...since there is nothing memorable about garbage. This sequel to IS has the same amount of bullshit as Old McDonald's farm. Once you're on the tip of your chair or what ever you're sitting on, it pushes you back down making you say "Really...you're really going to do that". Of course this isn't the first time it did this *cough* season one *cough* but this time I was really,really, really let down.

The story from season one.... really didn't move. Even though the series did have some highlights like mecha fights, getting chased...by girls, misunderstandings...., and ... how Cecilia can't cook to save her life. All those high...lights... But don't worry guys and girls! We have two new characters!

Like most sequels to any animes, Infinite Stratos also gives us new characters, two new characters. You guessed it! A student council president and her sister! The Sarashiki sisters (Tatenashi and Kanzashi) both have blue hair and are totally "totes" for Ichika...you know like how the rest of the school is....The other characters, that play as the villain,Madoka Orimura, who obviously is not Chifuyu and Ichika sister, does not get much screening time. And once she does, she is there to just make shit happen. Leaving out explanations, and leaving the viewers with sooooo much questions just to be turned down with ass and tit shots. (Did I mention that Ichika forgets his own birthday. Seriously, who does that?)

You know the art was the only thing this anime could have kept going on. The art was pretty much on par as any 8-Bit producers want it to be. Seeing how this anime is one who like to show off cleavage, I could pretty much tell that they were going to emphasize on the "jiggles" and they did deliver on the "jiggles".

The sound was fine. Nothing special, it's pretty much the same as season one but it seems like there was not enough "umph" into it anymore.

I like harems. I like ecchi. "If" (huge if) they are done right. Examples are Zero No Tsukaima, Sekirei...Hell, I could even say Highschool of the Dead had more plot than this pathetic excuse for a harem. Honestly, my thoughts haven't changed since season one nor has my enjoyment. I have read a few pages of the light novels and they are pretty much the same. Really disappointing but really I wasn't hoping much, just a little. And that little hope got tossed out to the nearest four way intersection, right in the middle of street. The reason why I was hoping just a little change, was because of some other series with the same genres and elements, changed during the second season. Examples are Boku wa Tomodachi, Sekirei, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?.

Would I recommend IS: Infinte Stratos. Yes, only if you like to lose more brain cells.

With an ending as open as Infinite Stratos's was, there was a lot to expect when the sequel was announced a little over a year later. As with most sequels, people come to expect that with the introductions and character building out of the way, a fresh start can open new possibilities for the title to showcase with more air time. Unfortunately, there are titles that take advantage of this gargantuan amount of free space and use it to try and attract a larger audience through obscene amounts of fan service and the unnecessary plot devices that arise out of it. While these types of ... sequels are fine and dandy toward those who expect nothing of the series, Infinite Stratos 2 tries to do the unthinkable: combine illogically contrived fan service with a full-fledged plot focus.

Infinite Stratos 2 starts off where the debut season ended; with Ichika Orimura and his band of merry miracles flying through their schoolwork as if it didn't mean a thing, and to all fairness, it probably doesn't. What this anime likes to portray, especially in this current season, is the mirage of a typical harem/slice of life series with some added robotic plot devices for good measure. However, later on, it tries to force itself into a plotline involving an unknown team of evil-doers that really have no purpose in the series except for driving Ichika, the bland, uninspiring main male character, to show off his use in times of dire need; in typical shounen fashion. When a large amount of time spent on a series is contributed to fan service and moments of unrivaled bliss, it's hard to incorporate a necessary dose of serious scenarios to it. With Infinite Stratos 2, it's the equivalent of driving a monster truck into a library; it's loud, obnoxious, and ultimately as far a match as anyone could imagine.

To spice up more of the fun that is Infinite Stratos, the series takes it upon itself to introduce two new characters: Tatenashi and Kanzashi Sarashiki. Conveniently enough, these two characters are sisters, which only provides an excuse to give some characterization to the younger of the two, Kanzashi. Somewhat of an instigator of the fan service that arises, Tatenashi is the self-proclaimed student body president of the school that all of the original characters attend. With that symbol of invincibility, Tatenashi places Ichika into inconvenient situations that most other males of his age group would probably trade for anything. As Tatenashi causes trouble for our hero, Kanzashi is the complete opposite, as most series like to portray this template for sisters. Kanzashi is timid, vulnerable, an introvert, and a whiz with computers. She gets the most amount of character development than any other character in the series, but only for a limited time, as is typical of harems. While Kanzashi's entire arc feels natural and fresh, Tatenashi seems to pop up out of nowhere whenever both trouble and an instance for fan service comes to fruition. Overall, they're mostly remembered for their blue hair.

Of course, all of the fan service can't be compared to the original source of the madness. Cecilia, Laura, Charlotte, Houki, and Lingyin are as presentable as ever whenever meaningless plot shows its ugly face. Throughout this season, however, each of these character don't get an equal amount of screen time. During the first season, Ichika's childhood friend, Houki, was focused on as the prime suitor for Ichika's affection, and it seemed as though she had a good shot at him as a romantic interest. Unfortunately for those who cared, Houki is barely even shown outside of scenes where Ichika is placed in a precariously obscene situation. Lingyin is also noticeably missing from most of the series as well, with her being the least shown original character out of all of them. Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura all get their own individual arcs of varying lengths and substance. All of them are forgettable to a point and laughably silly. It seems that Infinite Stratos 2 wanted to put more emphasis on the original characters' assets and Tatenashi moving the chaos along than trying to develop these characters into more than simply plastic.

With this series being notorious for fan service, it's safe to say that the art suits the desires of those who view it. With two years difference, Infinite Stratos 2's artwork is noticeably more full of shine than its predecessor. The character designs remain the same, as though the series wanted to remain nostalgic, with the student uniforms and shaky CGI looking as though they were cut straight from the first season. What was noticeable to a point, however, was the CGI itself. What's different about the CGI within the second season is that the quality isn't different whatsoever. During minimal movements, the machines are still shaky and lazily bulky. The animation comes to shine when the action comes into view. Although, with the amount of time spent on the characters' assets, those watching could forget that the IS machines even exist. For those who are expecting any action from this series could look forward to the ending sequences of this anime. Whether or not the ending disappoints you, at least it will look presentable.

Why not try and make it better? While fan service and an overexaggerated amount of female body parts isn't enough to completely disregard an anime's effort, it's hard not to cringe when an anime tries too hard to be something it isn't. Infinite Stratos 2 wants to be something fantastic, something so fantastic that it can combine fan service and dramatic, life-threatening predicaments into a giant heap of animated excellence. The harder it tries, the easier it is to expose its flaws, and it certainly has them; lots of them. Perhaps if this series tried to be one or the other, maybe it wouldn't seem so forced. Instead, it's everything in one and it couldn't feel any more like wasted potential.

I'm gonna start off by saying I've always hated Infinite Stratos. I was unfortunate to be invited in by the concept alone, expecting some good science-fiction action. I was very upset only to find it to be a very poorly written and generic harem with few redeeming qualities. However, I looked forward to the second season with almost no expectations, only to find that it had slaughtered said redeeming qualities from the first season.

In case you didn't know what Infinite Stratos is all about, let me remind you: It's set in the near future where the eponymous weaponized armors are the norm in military warfare. ... The only drawback is that only females can pilot them, and so the Infinite Stratos Academy was founded for the sole purpose of training future pilots. However, the main protagonist, Ichika Orimura, is the only male who can pilot an IS. Throw him inside an all-girls school and harem antics ensue. Dumb, cliche harem antics.

That's it. The first season never goes on with that premise because apparently harem is more important. Most harem anime tend to be rather flimsy when it comes to story and plot development, but in Infinite Stratos 2, "story" does not even exist. There's a group of terrorists known as Phantom Task who want to kill Ichika and his older sister, Chifuyu, for unexplained reasons. There's a certain plot point with a member of Phantom Task named Madoka, who is revealed to be Chifuyu's evil twin sister and has a vendetta against her for unexplained reason. That's right, "unexplained reasons" is pretty much how this entire season runs on. Any plot threads concerning this are left completely unfinished. Wouldn't it be a good idea to actually elaborate on who these guys are and why they're doing bad stuff? According to the writing staff, apparently not. They only take action for about less than two and a half episodes total. All other episodes is basically "How much can we pander to the viewers' cocks until their nutbladder explodes? I mean, nobody will care about the lack of character and plot when we can give something for our viewers to fap to every week." A whole season of filler had better writing than this.

Now the characters: First, you got Ichika himself who is just your standard harem protagonist whose about as dense as a brick. Then you got his harem; all but only one or two are nothing but generic cookie cutter stereotypes who has about as much personality as a piece of cardboard. But wait, there's more: They're unique from other harem girls in that they're a multinational harem! So you got the Japanese childhood friend/abusive tsundere, the German girl who hides weapons in her locker, the Chinese tsundere, the English chick, and the French reverse trap. All of them have nothing special about them and they only want Ichika because he's the only male in school. You might as well throw the entire student body at his bones, while you're at it.

Production values are decent for the most part. The music is forgettable, much like the first season. One thing I actually did like about this was the IS designs and the battle scenes. Even if the harem part was badly written, the fight scenes kept me entertained, even if it isn't the major focus as I hoped it would. Unfortunately, harem comes above all else in Infinite Stratos, so the military warfare part is left high and dry.

Infinite Stratos in general is not a good anime, let alone a good harem show. This mistake known as the second season turns it into an unsalvagable, burning wreck. There have been very few good harem anime in this day and age, but this is just another one tossed under the "pathetic" pile. And the second season shoved it into the "worst ever" pile. If 8-bit were smart, they should save themselves even more embarrassment and don't even bother with greenlighting a third season because it won't fix anything. Instead, just do the right thing and leave Infinite Stratos to die in its own filth.

Wow. It's hard to decide where to begin. I suppose I should mention in advance that the first season of IS was one of the first anime I had ever watched, and I was naive enough to think, "This is pretty good!" I assumed the dialogue and plot were supposed to be cheesy and nonsensical. I laughed at what a silly guy that Ichika was! And so, after rewatching this franchise, I wish to apologize to every person that viewed my list in the last year and saw an 8 or 9. Undoubtedly, you shook your head in shame and wept at my foolishness, with ... good reason.

However, don't misunderstand me, I'm not completely disregarding this series. I can understand the viewpoints of both those for and against this show. It's likeable, but please, don't make it out be all that great. It is not the "bee's knees", because even people of the 20's wowed by early Mickey Mouse cartoons would probably not be in love with this show.

I'll lay out the few good points first. The animation is good. When I say this, I'm mainly referring to the mecha fight scenes. This has always been the best part of IS, and it continued into the sequel. It's a harem, through and through. So if you're really into that genre, you'll get plenty of haremness to fill your harem quota. Plenty of women fall for the main guy. In fact, aside from his sister and the girl who invented the robot suits, there is not a single female in this show that does not show some romantic interest in our hero. Lastly, IS 2 creates some depth and plot in the new season! Hooray!

Unfortunately, in order to discuss the bad stuff, I have to rip apart most of the preceding paragraph. Because IS 2 is bad. It is worse than the original. Yes, IS 1 had its flaws: a moron for a main man, lack of depth or character development, and on and on. So while IS 2 did some things slightly better, the flaws were kept and got worse.

What little character depth and romantic progress from the prequel almost completely disappeared. Laura, for example, had some backstory and development. She was originally confident and somewhat headstrong and forward, despite the little attention the show gave her. IS 2 degraded her character, and gave me the impression that she was simply socially naive and blunt. Nothing new is revealed about the other girls either, nor do they do anything but drop semi-subtle romantic hints and act as comedy/fanservice tools. Speaking of which, both comedy and fanservice are reused from the first show, maybe even dumbed down a bit. If you liked the humor in IS 1, rejoice. You're getting the same thing this season.

(One running gag is Ichika getting attacked by his harem. In the first ever episode of IS, they mention regulations and when they're allowed to use their suits, because they make such a big deal about how dangerous Infinite Stratos is. Naturally, this goes out the window for the sake of comedy, and in 24 episodes, the protagonist is ALMOST MURDERED 14 TIMES BY HORMONAL, LOVESICK TEENAGE GIRLS WALKING AROUND WITH THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED WEAPON ON THEIR ARM.)

There is kind of a plot, I'll give you that. But it fails. It is more present in the show than the 2-episode plot of IS 1, and yet it goes nowhere. You learn someone's name, and her relationship to another character, then nothing else. The bad guys attack throughout the show, but absolutely NOTHING else is revealed. The last two episodes feel incredibly rushed, except nothing really ends and you're left pondering the point of it all.

Finally, I'm going to torch Ichika, the protagonist. Without a doubt, the lamest and worst protagonist of any I've seen in the almost 20 years I've been alive. Yes, he is dumb and oblivious. He is constantly suprised, embarrassed, or confused. Apparently, his hearing should be checked because he can't hear the comments his harem makes in front of him to each other with clear romantic implications. Often times he plays them off or just doesn't react to any 'subtle' advances, because god forbid the story advance. IS 2 also makes Ichika afraid of women and female contact at times, because his character has to stay fresh, of course. He also cannot win a fight whatsoever. He's pathetic. He's constantly being saved.

Okay, rant over. Basically, there's a reason IS 2 can't even average a 7 out of 10. It's watchable, and it can be enjoyed, but it definitely helps if you are:
-into watching terrible tv/movies
-slightly masochistic
-blind
-deaf

A very short review.

If you're into the plot and storyline, DON'T WATCH THIS. If you're into hot chicks, then watch this (specifically Episode 5). IS 2 is just a continuation of the first season, with no improvement, however with new characters. Amazing VAs in the series, but I didn't like the plot. I enjoyed it thanks to Charlotte Dunois and Tatenashi Sarashiki. Hopefully, season 3 would mark a big improvement to the series, and let's just hope Ichika isn't that dense anymore (it probably wouldn't happen, read the light novels/manga/wiki). GG.

Bueno, as the info states this season 2 was compose of chapters from 5 to 8 of the manga and quite frankly the way studio 8-bit executed it was not very impressive compare to season 1, now, it's difficult to say as to whats going on in the mind of this anime's director, Yasuhito Kikuchi and writer, Fukihiko Shimo that they've decide to come out with a season 2 where a clique harem was more profound than the action. Also, the introduction of Tatenashi didn't do much, for I hated her more than the antagonists called "Phantom task," which brings us next subject as to ... who really is Modoka Orimura? Where, there isn't much info about her, except that she's Ichika's twin sister, such info actually conflicts the notion that it is only Chifuyu and Ichika were the only siblings, all in all this anime has left us with a lot of loose ends where one thing conflicts another. Going back to the harem part, ok, I'm really disappointing that the Ichika X Houki arc becomes more choice than before, in fact it wasn't just Houki, rather it also involves other member of the guy's harem where a newbie Kanzashi joins in. Ichika, for some reason become more like your typical stupid harem guy who allows two new competition to his already complicated romantic situation which proves to be quite annoying for me. So here are my ratings for this pathetic anime.

Story: Mediocre 5.

Because, studio 8-Bit just recycled the usual harem thing from season 1, and even with the addition of "Phantom task," and the Sarashiki sisters didn't help at all.

Art: Good 7.

It's only the fanservice that interest me.


Sound: Good 7.

Both op and ed also interests me.


Character: Pathetic 1.

Ichika- usual harem guy who has gone from dumb to dumber with his harem members and not much improvement with his combat skills.

Houki, Cecilia, Char, Huang and Laura...still hoping to be Ichika's girl.


The Sarashiki sisters- with the exception of Kanzashi, Tatenashi was pretty much the girl I hate.

Phantom task- if studio 8-Bit would have given them such air time in a way that they really did a lot of bad ass thing and unable to succeed, then this season 2 would have been more enjoyable to watch.

Modoka- they should have added some info as how she came to be.

Chifuyu and Maya- nothing from the ordinary.


Enjoyment: same as above.

Boring, so why did I kept watching it up to the end....well, I was hoping for some action where there will be an epic battle between Phantom Task and Ichika with his harem, too bad it ended in a cliffhanger where it's added OVA is yet to be shown next year 2014.

Overall: same

Studio 8-Bit should never had made a season 2 this boring and just leave as a manga. Like I've said season 1 was better than season 2.

When the second season of Infinite Stratos was first announced, I couldn't wait for it to come out. The first two episodes were fine, but from there on it just went downhill.

Story (5/10): The first season of Infinite Stratos helps to put in place most of the characters seen in Season 2. At least back then, there was something to be achieved, unlike this continuation of a series. Aside from the fact that there is a bare minimum of what a "plot" there is, the MAIN flaw would have to be how there is this "alternation" between plot and no plot every alternate episode. ... For example, one whole episode would be spent showing how the girls chase Ichika around, and at the last few minutes RIGHT before the credits when Ichika is alone, he gets ambushed by the enemy. And of course, the next whole episode after that is spent resolving the issue. This definitely wasn't the case in the first season, where there was somewhat a blend between the two in each episode.

Art & Sound (8/10): Not much to point out here. Since the first season I was always a fan of how the characters were drawn and how they looked. For the soundtrack I prefer the opening and ending song of the first season as compared to this.

Character (5/10): Pretty much no character development at all. Ichika is still dense as hell, like all main characters in all harem type shows. The original 5 girls from the first season are even more clingy to him this time, but with the addition of 2 more girls into the harem and slight personality changes in a few of them as the episodes progress.

Enjoyment (7/10): Even though this anime is FILLED with flaws, I still enjoyed certain parts of it, laughing at how absurd some of the scenes are (those which are certainly not possible/probrable in real life). One thing is for sure though, the ending was a letdown since it wasn't a good one anyway.

Overall (7/10): Giving it a 7/10 is really kind of stretching it, when compared to the many other masterpieces out there. Would I recommend this to the people who finished the first season? Not really. It isn't much of a sequel anyways.

If this is what the anime industry honestly has in store for us, I might as well go live under a rock from now on.

Sequels, in all honesty, should build on their predecessor and deliver a new splash of flavor to the series - whether it be a more invigorating plot, new/interesting characters, or a more in-depth back story that does not fail to amaze.

IS: 2 fails to do any of this - it, in fact, is the epitome of everything that can go wrong.

Enter Ichika Oriumra, the same male lead from the first season of IS. You would imagine by this point that ... he would undergo some kind of character development - but, in reality, he is as dense as he was in season 1. His dense nature is probably why this anime was just so unbearable - everything about him was very predictable. Someone making a move on him, for example? You can pretty much guess how he would respond.

The other main characters do not change much either. They behave and act with all of their weird little strange idiosyncrasies - which is obviously fine up to a point. Their idiosyncrasies are a way for viewers to differentiate between the female leads; I guess you can call them personality "quirks", if you will. But where IS 2 goes wrong is that these same "quirks" are used over and over, up to the point where it becomes predictable and bland.

There are also new characters, obviously, but their introductions into the series are incredibly forced. Orimura continues to build his harem, new villains are introduced... you know, the same old cliches and what not. Again, new characters are fine, but what is not fine is their entrance into the series. Each new character appeared in the series just for the heck of it - they were not well-integrated to the surrounding plot (if you could even call it a plot).

The plot is awfully forced too. The plot is too focused too much on the fanservice/harem aspect, and thus, most of the time, it doesn't even seem like there is a plot most of the time. When there is an attempt to make a plot, it flowed extremely poorly - an utter and complete mess.

The plot execution is flawed too. Here's one example (trying very hard not to spoil anything!): IS 2 attempts to incorporate a number of cut scenes but a lot of the times it is difficult to interpret their true purpose or whether they are even necessary.

The only plus to IS 2 is the art and sound, and even then, there's nothing exceptional there. Which just tells you how bad this anime is.

This anime should be a sin. I try not to give any 1's to any anime series, but IS 2 was just too unbearable for me. If I were you, I would avoid this anime at all cost. I'm not even sure why I decided to suffer through all 12 episodes...

Checklist
Story: 2
Art: 4
Sound: 4
Character: 1
Enjoyment: 1
Overall: 1

tl;dr
Pros
- The only pro I can think of is the art and sound.
Cons
- Poor character development
- Poor incorporation of characters
- Poor execution of plot
- Unrelatable characters

*Sorry that I'm pretty vague about this, I'm trying my hardest not to spoil anything.*

I initially didn't plan on writing a review, but I wanted to more or less try to tell about how... Mixed the feelings when watching this show are.

First, it was heavily criticized by the viewers it seems, and like them I totally agree with the negative point. This show was awful in its structure and totally cliché with fanservice all the way. No originality.

There was a plot. We pretty much forgot about it until a few reminders sometimes, the pace is horrible. To make things worse, they rushed it totally at the end of the show, with nothing answered at all even though something was ... starting to get interesting(I liked the little development at the end of episode 10, that was a pure detail but the character was one I liked and it was interesting to see more of what she can do).
And there's a awful lot of useless episodes, the main one, totally ridicule, being the one with Charlotte and her disappeared panties, which I didn't enjoy at all... There are a lot of cheesy situations too, while I don't mind, sometimes it's a bit too much (still Charlotte's episode, or the measurements scene, as said by other reviewers. Hell, good thing the action was off-screen because I don't even know HOW he can lack anatomy knowledge to the point of mistaking it this much and how he ends up doing what he does).
Honestly , a few less of those nonsense and a bit more development on the plot or better introduced gags would be welcome. At least, I hope they'll make a season 3 because else that would just be truly a pure shitty show judging from how it ends with questions. TO me, it's bad, but there's worse, and I hope they'll make better in S3. I think this season would have gained some benefits from getting 24 episodes instead of 12 (well, 24 is a bit much, more like 20. Ep 13-15 being plot related to develop a bit of what was going on at the end of 12, 16-17 being a bit more comedy-centered, and back to the plot on 18 to 20 to reveal the intentions, motivations, and some final fights)


Yet, I liked it. Well, not as much as I liked others harem shows, but well... aside from the few useless episodes, I liked the cliché setting. Yeah, sure, no originality, but why always seeking pure originality? It's also rather enjoyable sometimes to see good ol' scenes in other shows, when you enjoy the genre.
Like, I dunno, Death note. Death Note was a nice thrilling story and I liked it. Then Lost Brain was published with a similar plot (student with great intellect fooling the police with great "tactics" and all), and everyone was like "this is just a death note copy with hypnosis instead of killing books". Heck, I liked it because it was similar to Death Note! The "it's not original so I don't like it and don't want to see it" mentality is comprehensible, but then I think it's a bit of a waste as you can never be allowed to get into the same ambiance than the first you ever read in that style.
So yeah, I enjoy seeing the harem cliché, that's rather funny seeing them back. Although I have to say a lot of the gags were bad-written, some were quite enjoyable anyway, as some relaxing show.

I can understand the lassitude of always seeing the same things, and if you're watching a lot of harem oriented shows recently, I suggest you don't watch IS. Not now. What I usually do is getting into periods of anime style: watching a few shows of serious, good plot without much of a comedy (duno, for example, Psycho Pass, Kara no Kyoukai, Shingeki no Kyojin), and then switch the change to mood and not being too overwhelmed by the heaviness, dark ambiance of those animes, by watching a few lighter things, like harem, simple romantic comedy, stories with a plot but still having somewhat of a plot or pure WTF colorful shows (dunno, for example, watching To love, Dog Days, and D frag).

So indeed the harem cliche was strong, but I did enjoy quite a lot IS and IS2, because that has been a while since I've watched a good old harem show with colorful characters like this. The last light animes that I saw were a bit less cliché, but not as lively in consequence as there's not a whole bunch of girls trying to get your attention, more like a few scenes here and there without much boldness coming from them. So it was kinda refreshing seeing a show like IS. Back to IS2, I was grateful for the new characters, Tatenashi being someone that lacked in the harem, the almighty always-plotting-troublemaker who only gets things worse, and is the boldest of all (even if her timing isn't all that great), and yet is strong enough to be able to keep doing this without fear.

Also, the voicecast is good. I was pretty happy to hear Kana Hanazawa, Marina Inoue, Yukari Tamura, Megumi Toyoguchi and Yukana(the last one being awfully rare in the shows I usually watch, yet I really like her. Still, I think Yukana was playing a bit too high-pitched in this). Sure, the show isn't great, but it's rather enjoyable to hear those voices when you like them.

So, to conclude, IS is a mere continuation of the first season, with an interesting background not exploited at all and it just feels like an horribly long intro plus a few OVA-type episodes mixed in the middle, but while it's not a good show, it's not the worst of what we can see either. It's abit frustrating sometimes, true, but well, just watch it when your brain is off. Seeing IS after a while of not watching typical harem anime can be nice, if you want one without much of a thinking, just for relaxing after a long day.
Let's hope a season 3 will be coming to finally develop that poor plot who was totally neglected during this season.

Ohhhhhhh, Infinite Stratos! How I loladkv----loveevasfdsa-love-hate this! Okay, I'm just kidding I don't actually hate this show, but I am joking when I say I love it.
Season 1 of this show, was well pretty good. (I'm hesitant on actually writing a review on that season) Not good enough to make me go, "OH MY GOOOOOOODNESSS!!!" But more to the point of, hmm, okay let's just watch season 2 of this show, for poops and gigs.

Before I continue on, if you want someone more experienced, and someone more in depth on this series, go right ahead and skip this read. I do also expect ... you to have SOME background knowledge so that I can actually, "spoil" some of the more obvious stuff. For those of you who actually read this, thank you.
I have watched 12/12 episodes.

Story 3/10 (Let's dive right into it~)
The story was "decent" not a bad plot, it was sort of "meh." The plot itself doesn't really seem to be going anywhere, for the plot is not really a plot. What I mean by this is, sure the main characters have special missions, there's a group of villains, and yeah they fight and square off with each other to see who is the best, it's just that fan service got in the way. In my honest opinion, everything in this season, felt like it was being brought up too late... Timing is key for a good story. Like the villains being introduced at a good time, but not really doing anything a certain episode/s. And before I go on about the fan service, I just wanted to say that the story takes place right after the events of season 1.
The story and plot got to heavy reliant on the fan service. Now what I really hate about this is that the story was going to be actually pretty good, if you didn't have all this other nonsense going on at the same time. If the creators put in more time and work on the actual story, and got things rolling, instead of making a FULL episode (spoiler, they make an entire episode dumb!), a "Fanserviceode" then things might have been different.

Art 7/10
I'm not usually picky when it comes to animation, but like many anime, Infinite stratos just isn't as good as other anime in it's time. The animation is pretty standard, nothing I haven't seen before. Also with the fight scenes I would have wanted more strategic battles, with cool attacks. Rather than the "BOOM-KA-PAW-WHAM" type of explosion animation.

Sound 7/10
With sound, I'm not that picky either. What I look for in sound, is good opening/s and closing/s. If the show doesn't have these I don't mind, but just make sure to have enough music to not make every scene sound the same. (Which IS did fairly well at.) The music wasn't "amaze-ballzzz" but it was probably the best thing about this anime. They didn't really change some of the osts from the first season, which bothered me, because some of them were bad and made the scene a bit awkward. But at the same time some of the music just fits the show to well, for it not to be in there. The voice actors did a nice job also, no complaints on this end. Although, sometimes I just cringe.

Character 2/10
When I watch anime, I look at the characters and say, "is that someone I can sort of relate to, or even just hang around with?" Because for me anime is an escape from my daily life. So when Infinite Stratos made these characters, I got pretty mad, and then just straight up bored. These characters are ALL so one-sided and predictable, AND cliche. You have the dumb MC, and his harem, not much more to say here...
Like I've stated before this show became HIGHLY dependent on the fan service aspect, so when that happened, the characters all went to poo. There was almost no character development at all for the old season 1 characters, and for the new main season 2 characters, the character development was more like 30% development and 70% fan service. Overall, for the character part of the anime, I got bored, I stopped paying attention when the dumb fan service parts happened, and well I even wanted to skip a certain episode...

Enjoyment 4/10
Okay from what I've been stating, this anime looks grim, hella grim. Don't get me wrong, it is hella bad, but that doesn't really mean I didn't enjoy this anime. Actually this anime got a couple laughs from me, in some scenes I actually smiled and hoped for something good to happen. (KEK) It's just that story/plot and character is all I truly enjoy, sure when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, I love the art and the sound too. But when you strip the 2 main aspects away from me, I feel like this isn't good anymore, it's just there. Sure I enjoyed it, but to a very, very, very limited extent.

Final Verdict 3/10
In all honesty I was actually pretty hyped up for this season, seemingly only to be disappointed. When you ask me or someone asks me, "eyyyy, you know any good anime with lots of fan service??" I'll simply just reply with, "Watch IS." Because that's all Infinite Stratos is, fan service. I'm disappointed because the first season, wasn't this terrible, it was actually quite OK. I simply just hate anime that lose face, and do not use any of its potential and waste it.
I strongly do not recommend this, there are plenty of others that can fill this ones place. But I guess if you are into harems with dumb MC's then this is for you. If you like cat fights with kawaii faces, then this is for you,

"He's been closing and opening his left hand for a while. When that habit shows up, he usually makes simple mistakes."

And that mistake my friends, was the second season if IS: Infinite Stratos.

To start off, let me just say I was a fan of the first season. I understood where everyone was coming from when they were talking about the cliche harem aspects of the anime, as well as the completely dense protagonist, but I enjoyed it anyways! Why? It had good visuals, some of the characters were awesome (IE Charlotte and Laura), and the action scenes? Beautiful. I was looking forward to a season ... 2, hoping for it to be as awesome as the first season, and maybe even find out if Ichika will ever be even the slightest less dense...

But sadly, my dreams were shattered...

I think the worst thing about this season was the storyline. That's the thing though, there was no storyline. There was the idea of one, but it was never carried out. Instead, what we got were a bunch of filler episodes, with a few action scenes here and there. The fillers ranged from a slutty costume contest, a reenactment of some crazy fairy tale, and trying to get a shy girl who dreams of her prince charming to become friends with an idiot who doesn't realize he has 6 other girls hanging off of him like bananas on a tree. What I was hoping to see was the idea I was previously talking about turn this ruined season into a story that might just save it. Sadly though...

One of the few things they did right were the animation and the sound. The animation was beautiful, but the only thing preventing me from giving said animation a 10/10 was the fact that they barely ever put it to good use with action scenes. Instead, they decided that it would be fun to see how graphic they can make a slutty costume competition without getting the video flagged on YouTube. And then there's the sound. I enjoyed most of the actors and actresses' roles, but the thing is, I watched the first season dubbed, mainly because I liked the cast, so it was difficult to get used to the subbed as I watched each episode the day it came out. But in the end I found the subbed version entertaining and well done.

Now, we get down to one of the biggest problems with this season... THE CHARACTERS. The thing is, I still like Charlotte and Laura, but the problem is that they are completely different from the first season... like most of the other girls as well... it seemed like the only thing I was hearing them talk about was how much they loved Ichika, and what they would do to be with him and stuff like that. There were no interesting "Oh hey, I just learned something new about them" moments or backstories, just a bunch of girls drooling over the most dense person on the planet. Luckily, there were 2 new characters we got to know... well, at least one of them were okay in my opinion. One of them turned out to be exactly the same as the rest of the girls, but at least the other one had some skepticism about it. But overall, very disappointing to see Charlotte in a sexy dog outfit... wait... I guess it wasn't THAT disappointing... but still...

Overall, IS: Infinite Stratos II was somewhat of a trainwreck... it had it's pros, although there were very few of them, but it had so many cons I really wish I could unwatch season 2 and wait until they release an actual, well done, great story, backstory included season 2. Sadly though, that won't be happening... at least not for a long time.

Story: 3
Art: 8
Sound: 8
Characters: 5
Enjoyment: 5

Final Score: 5

What can I say about the sequel to the big hit known as Infinite Stratos? Infinite Stratos 2? More like Infinite Shit 2! The first season wasn't the greatest thing ever animated but how far are you willing to fall before you fall into the abyss known as IS2? Read on please!

STORY: 1

One could argue there is no story! Only emptiness. There is a story however and it sucks. If they had no specific storyline and instead centered on tournaments fighting for Ichika's happy sacks until they graduated, I would be totally unopposed to it and it would've garnered it a 7 or 8. Unfortunately ... it follows the light novels, and the light novel does something extremely groundbreaking: It puts in an evil organization. Never mind how original the name "Phantom Task" is. (Say it out loud! it sends shivers down your spine!). No anime or manga has ever DARED put in an evil organization into their storyline. EARTH SHATTERING! The planet is desperately trying to glue itself back together! Help! I'm entering space!

CHARACTERS: 5

IS2 gets half a full score only for it's character design. The girls are quite preetee!! I want to hold hands with Charlotte Dunois, pet Laura Bodewig's head, spy on Cecelia Alcott while she makes toilet, wipe my nuts all over Huang Lingyin's sleeping face, and ambush Houki Shinonono with my golden shower as she washes up after kendo practice. IS2 does not fail with the pretty ladeez!

They introduce two new chracters: Tatenashi the student council president (because that's required in every high school harem) and her ugly sister who would look fine without glasses but sadly only exists to serve those with a fetish for NURDZ!

Ichika Orimura.. Has changed.. During the first season he had this expression on his face that made him seem like a 5 year old in a older teen's body - In other words he looked like an idiot. Now Ichika is a cool calm Harley driving thug who takes nothing from no one and takes everything from everyone. He looks that way at least.

However one character really pissed me off. Tabane Shinonono the genius rabbit chimp hybrid. I enjoyed her in the first season, she was quite adorable and moe. However, her scene in the final episode was the most cringe inducing thing I've ever seen. It was bad enough they introduced a cliche "secret organization" into the mix but now they try to make the cute random critter-like Tabane all BA and overpowered in a scene that may have got some of you excited, but made me slap my hand right through my head. It's stuck in there and I can not see!!

SOUND: 8

The OP and ED for the first season were great. The OP for the second season on the other hand SUCKED! The ED was aight doe'.
The soundtrack production team really messed up picking this anime to create music for. They did wonderfully but there talents could have gone to a show that deserved it much more.

ART: 8

No complaints. The art and character design are great. As usual the mecha battles are excellently rendered although the "technology" (such as the mechs user interface) designs are very questionable.

ENJOYABILITY: 8

This show makes me want to barf into my lap just so I can see the barf and barf again to ease the nausea from watching this piece of shit. This is possibly the wor- wait what?? an 8?? N*GGA IS U HIGH?

Yea that's right! This show is very enjoyable! Yeaaa I said it! Overall this definitely deserves a 4, possibly less but the enjoyablity deserves an 8! ECHHI IS EPIC! EIE..IO! AND ON HIS FARM HE HAD A TSUNDERE! EIEIO! WITH A ITS NOT LIKE I WANTED TO HERE AND A ITS NOT LIKE A WANTED TO THERE! While the "main plot" is cringe worthy and should be blocked out of your mind sit back relax with a six pack and enjoy the fanservice.

This anime is highly recommended! FOR ANTS!!

Compared to the first season of IS: Infinite Stratos, the second season feels very similar. Just like the first season, the mecha theme is brought back, along with the harem, the ecchiness, the gag. In simpler words, it doesn't feel like anything has changed.

Like other harem animes, IS: Infinite Stratos 2 brings a cast of girls chasing one guy, but the difference is that the setting is in a girls-only school with the protagonist, Ichika, the sole male in the school. Judging it as a harem anime, sure, this is a pretty smart idea. However, since both the characters and the story are ridiculously ... weak, the anime as a whole simply cannot be taken seriously, similar to many other harem animes. We have the prototypical protagonist boy whose strong male presence (considering he is the only male in the school) attracts a whole lot of girls, but he is oblivious towards their feelings. We have two types of girls in the school: the first type is the type that falls in love with him for no reason at all, and the second type is the type that falls in love with him because he promised to protect them. Basically, the characters are very one-dimensional, sounds very similar to the first season, right? Charlotte is the only girl who has an enjoyable and understandable character, which is why she is also the best character across both seasons. The story is a minor improvement from the first season, since at least a few episodes have antagonists in them (the Phantom Task), but it is still very poor, as the story is full of holes and a very important antagonist gets introduced out of nowhere, which leaves me wondering many many times, "Who the **** is that? Why the **** is she not introduced in the first season? What the **** is wrong with this storyline???"

Other minor aspects are just OK. Art is what you would typically expect in a mecha anime. The ISs look pretty good, characters are like any other anime characters, animations are average, nothing to "Wow" about. Sound is also average, but it does its job to fit in with the anime. You're not going to hear any sound that's going to make you cry or fire you up.

Among all these negative aspects of this anime, the one shining star is: it draws cheap laughs out of you. This anime isn't going to leave a lasting impression like Steins;Gate does or Gintama does, this anime isn't going to give you an anime hero that you will think about for the next week like Death Note does or One Piece does. The most you should expect is laughing at silly, ecchi scenes with tsundere girls. Bored? Want a break from your routine? Want to laugh at stupid things and drool over breasts? This is it, this anime is for you.

10 notes that I wrote after the first episode of the show.

1. Besides this piece of writing, there would not be any further comments on IS. I might rant on Facebook, but I would probably not to do so.

2. The reason that I would not write anything for IS is that it does not need any review. Simply put, nobody would care if IS had got any actual plot or not. The first episode already proved my point by having the French and The German (that’s my acronym for the characters inside this show.) eating Crapes, The Male (yes, there is only one ... male) and The Chinese, The French and the British outdoor, or The Japanese’s door being knocked while she was having a shower. Anyone counting this as serious drama should have their brain checked, and yet many watched joyfully every week.

What? Oh you mean Phantom Task? Someone stealing an IS from the school? Who cares? At least not the script writer.

3. Main plot of IS: a bunch of girls and a boy having operations.

Please feel free to interpret and imagine what kind of operations was being referred to.

4. Another clue showing that there would not be any serious bits inside the show: by comparing the ED of the first season and the second season, they just look the same aren’t they? It could be summarized as a bunch of girls running around and more girls running around on the 2nd version.

5. the Correct way of reviewing this show should not be in ordinary points. It should be count as “X out of the 10 Moe”. For episode 1, I originally give 7 Moe, since my favorite character didn’t showed up. There are also some new settings that probably they won’t even used again so that’s another 2 moes.

6. This Show lacks any actual drama. The one thing that it doesn’t lack of is the original script writer Yumizuru Izuru

7. The most interesting factor of IS isn’t about the characters. IS is a good indication of How light novel publishers trying the best to hang on to popular writers. Even thought his new novel “Afterschool Battlefield” received loads of bad reviews and he was being kicked out of his old publishing company, his still got another publishing deal. It reflects the competitiveness of the light novel industries nowadays.

Also, the reason that IS is able to sell well is not because it is a well written novel, nor because that Yumizuru is a good writer or a nice person (in fact, he is an ass). It is all because that IS had a good illustrator. Since everyone are buying light novels without any chance to read the content (At least, this is true for Hong Kong and Taiwan), the illustrations, cover pages and popularity of the series are often the key component for consumers to decide whether they would like to purchase or not.

8. Rather than reading the novel or watching the show, the true battlefield Is in Comiket and Doujin. Have I not told you that C85 already started? BTW I like Chika Arimura.

9. Since I was in college studying English and we do have an unbalance portion of boys and girls, I can surely tell that Harem is all just a dream.

10. if Ichika dies, I will give this show a 10. Oh never mind, it will never be that way.

An interesting sequel to the original infinite stratos anime it becomes a fairly mediocre but enjoyable series.

To get the main thing out of the way first this season of Infinite Stratos is a harem, echhi, comedy with SOME story in it. NOT an aspiring story with some harem, ecchi, and comedy in it (yes there's a difference).

The anime follows Ichika with all the main characters from the first series placed into this one. A lot of it becomes the awkward harem ecchi that is to be expected from Infinite Stratos with little deviation from the original seasons. The character development wasn't too bad ... considering most of it was done in the first season although it feels like the ecchi and harem parts have been taken up a few notches.

The problem comes into play mostly as they hint of an arc or story that rarely comes to light in each episode. In the end if your hoping to watch an enthralling story the anime will quickly feel like 10 episodes of fillers and 2 episodes of story.

Overall its fairly hard to critique the second season as it doesn't do too much from the first. They both had fairly average story, the art is similar along with the sound and the characters are the the same as well with few editions. With the haphazard use of the story it becomes difficult to review an anime that doesn't add too much to the series. A few things are found out particularly about the antagonists and how they relate to Ichika but it doesn't seem to delve much deeper then that. The last episode is where the story really comes into play and sort of wraps up, but it feels quite obvious that this seasons was made to push the story along a bit and set up for another sequel.

Still though taking the anime like it is, its one of my favorites. The females flock to Ichika as expected in a harem. There is ecchi scenes and times when they are being really cute or really strong. Ichika is still as weak as ever but its good to see him fighting for his friends and I particularly enjoyed the strength that Charlotte and Laura bring into play.

In closing (or TLDRthrough its an interesting anime, in which I feel if you enjoyed the first series you may likely enjoy this one. Although don't expect too much from the story as a lot of it will feel like a group of people doing random stuff for a while until the last episode.