IS: Infinite Stratos 2

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.

"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

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.