K: Return of Kings

Basically for me this anime does not make the cut. While some may be anima/tv veterans and on top of their viewership for the best of the best I am very much behind and therefore I have little time for an anime that fails to get to the point its trying to make.

Story: What story?

Characters: Main issue for me is that I don't care about any of them, their goals, their demons, ANYTHING. I don't feel any real connection to these characters whatsoever or what they are trying to achieve. Furthermore calling them 'kings' is a gross overstatement. This is basically about a good of ... teenagers/young adult men who have been randomly given these powers and decide to use them however they wish. Only the Blue King and Gold King really have that authority/clout which you would expect a 'king' to have

Art: Very nice and when they fight the colour flames and the kicking, it looks pretty cool. The fact that each clan has their own fighting style is great.

Sound: Not the best soundtrack, nothing memorable. So the music sounds way too similar to the first season in my opinion which gives the impression of a story which has not really progressed or changed in tone.

Enjoyment: Find myself bored for long periods of time.

Overall: In conclusion this anime from the basis of its story should be WAY more exciting and WAY more interesting than it actually is. When you read what its about and then actually what it its shocking how such an interesting premise is not really that interesting. I know I have not watched all the released episodes but its 3 ep limit for me, fail to engage me and I am out of here!

HOW IS THIS ANIME SO BORING?! That's what I want to know

We return to modern Japan, where "Kings" with superpowers reign over clans that are constantly at war with each other. While season 1 focused on the Colorless King and White King, this season focuses on the Green King and his clan known as "JUNGLE." The Green King, Hisui Nagare, seems to be plotting an act of utter chaos, and now it is the job of the new Red King, the Blue King and White King to stop him.

K Season 1 caught my eye for a number of reasons, the most compelling of which being its beautiful visual and auditory aspects. K has a lovely color ... scheme, rich with blues and reds and purples and greens. And its soundtrack has an ambient, smooth feeling that often contradicts the nature of scenes in the show. That's why, despite the shortcomings of season 1, I still gave it a 6/10.

However, season 1 had its flaws. And season 2 suffers from the same flaws as the first season, but it adds some more to the list. Like season 1, season 2 is still severely lacking in character development and backstory. We have no idea who any of these characters are or anything about them (other than the fact that they're hot), we don't know how the kings' powers originated, and we have no idea what each king can do with his or her powers. The female characters are useless as before, only present as objects of fanservice.

I say this pretty often in my reviews, that what matters most to me in a series are the characters. Characters can make an anime enjoyable even without a coherent plot, which is why I'm such a huge fan of so many slice of life shows. So in the absence of well fleshed-out, developed characters, the plot had better be AMAZING. A good example is Code Geass, and it was quite successful. Even Death Note could fit into that category. While some of K's characters are interesting or endearing, none of them are developed, aside from possibly Fushimi and Yata, the only characters in the series who are shown with legitimate inner turmoil. K's beautiful art, color palette and OST make up somewhat for the lack of good characters and plot, but not entirely. The plot is all over the place in this season, but unlike last season, this storyline just doesn't hold as much urgency.

Last season we saw how dangerous the Colorless King was; we experienced the despair Shiro felt as he tried to figure out who he was. But this season, we have....the Slates. What are they? What do they do? Why are they important? And if they're so important, why were they never mentioned in season 1? Most of these questions get answered eventually, but only towards the very end of the series, after a good nine or so episodes of mindless filler and drama. And the ending of the series itself feels kind of anticlimactic, as if the previous nine episodes had nothing to do with the series' resolution and said resolution was cheap.

There are, however, two small things I appreciate about K: Return of Kings. The first is much-needed reconciliation between Fushimi and Yata; it feels realistic and touching, and leaves a positive feeling for viewers. And the second is an ending that definitively ends the K series, leaving room for MAYBE a short OVA about the characters but definitely not another season. Despite the fact that the Slates weren't mentioned at all in season 1, their destruction does wrap up the series and provide no believable path for a sequel. Which is a good thing, because even this season kind of felt like it was beating a dead horse.

While K: Return of Kings had a couple redeeming qualities, the negatives of this series far outweigh the positives. I enjoyed a couple moments (especially the reconciliation), but the majority of my viewing experience was composed of "what are the slates" and "fanservice why". I only really watched for Fushimi, and even still, I considered dropping the anime. Overall, it falls far short of its predecessors (both season 1 and the movie), and the questions season 1 failed to answer remained unanswered in season 2.

Final score: 4/10
Do I recommend it? If you don't care too much, NO. If you care a little, still no. If you're dying for closure, maybe.

I am writing this review under the assumption that you have already watched the 1st season of the show, as well as the movie bridging the 2 seasons. There will be some spoilers but I'll have a notation when that will be so you can skip to the next paragraph.

Project K caught my attention a while back and coming out of the 1st season I was definitely interested and excited for the series continuation and how it would build upon the various elements it introduced. Does this 2nd (and from the looks of it Last) season of the show, satisfy the viewer with its ... conclusion ?
TL;DR : Kinda. But here is a breakdown as to why.


Story 5/10

This season kicks off after the events of the movie Missing Kings. The pivotal event in this season is the emergence of the Green Clan that now that the Gold King is nowhere to be seen, is free to start making their move. The Green Clan's activities seem to cause an uproar among the other Clans and they sport some pretty powerful members in order to carry out their master Plan. Once all the Kings are made aware of that, the "clan war" is set in motion.While the story was interesting in concept and rather ambitious, it's really lacking when it comes to execution, there are extensive scenes where we are basically info-dumped and while they are sparse, it can be quite annoying. After the first 7-8 episodes events seem to be kinda random and nonsensical due to the poor use of foreshadowing, but more so due to the absence of any foreshadowing. It seems that the show had problems managing how much information it needed to give and most importantly in what way it needed to convey it. While the story is somewhat decent and interesting in concept, the lack of proper pacing and structure greatly diminish its coherency.
[SPOILERS}

The final episodes in particular lack any sort of payoff, there's conflicts and face-offs that have a lot of build up behind them (e.g. Kuro VS Fujakuji Yukari , Shiro VS the Green Clan) but at the final showdown, they end up feeling flat and somewhat unsatisfying given the amount of hype they received. Another problem with the final episode is that it feels underwhelming when it should have been exciting, bombastic and gratifying, yet it's just somewhat decent. The last scene where Weissman is shown alive and well while crowd-pleasing , feels like a total ass-pull which is very disappointing, because they could have easily fixed it, if only they dedicated 5 minutes in some previous episode, presenting us the hints on how it may be possible. Seeing as this may be the final episode of K altogether, it's a rather mediocre ending.


Characters 5/10

The show already featured a rather large cast which has grown even larger with the introduction of the Green Clan and some others. The characters much like the 1st season, have interesting chemistry and interactions are fun to watch. However while well defined with distinct personalities and their own shade of flavour, they many times feel archetypal and lack depth and/or development in most cases. Development is not always necessary and in the characters it does occur it is quite satisfying, however it seems that no character is given BOTH depth and development, making some characters seem really shallow and oftentimes annoying (will give examples in the spoilers section). I definitely think the show would have been better if more character development took place since now characters don't really feel like they've grown. (with a few exceptions)

Another thing that I should mention is that some characters seem to get the shaft, being reduced to archetypal cute-girls or bishounen. Fan service seems to get progressively tasteless as the show goes on, especially with the characters of Awashima, Neko and Kukuri being the most afflicted, male characters also receive a similar treatment but to a lesser extent.

[SPOILERS]

One character that is explored further but lacks deveopment is Yata, the main issue however is that he is reduced to the "angry guy stereotype" remaining almost perpetually angry even when situations don't warrant it, there were many instances where I felt he was being a noisy dog, making him feel very monodiamensional. Fushimi on the other hand is the only character I felt went through meaningful character arcs and had some semblance of development. These two characters are like the extremes of the bad-good continuum in the show, everyone else falls somewhere in between.


Art & Animation 7 / 10

K has always looked gorgeous, the stunning visual, lighting and color effects of the 1st season and the movie are present in the 2nd season. The action scenes have fluid animation and the really well-done, sustained , perspective shots of the 1st season, make a triumphant return. Backgrounds are very detailed and vibrant, with vivid coloration and lighting. However a big problem is that nearing the final 4-5 episodes, the quality starts being a bit inconsistent, with 2 or 3 instances of crappy CGI and the character animations looking stiff and rigid. which is why this season gets a lower rating than it's prequels.

Sound 8/10

The soundtrack of K:Return of Kings is amazing, featuring many character themes from the previous seasons as well as some new tracks. Be it for a character, a battle scene or to accompany emotions, the soundtrack of K:Return of Kings delivers what you would come to expect from the franchise, even if a large chunk is tracks from the previous installments.
Voice acting is on the same level as last time, pretty good, with the exception of some characters that were flat-out annoying to listen to.

Enjoyment 6/10

While K:Return of Kings looks and sounds gorgeous, its' characters are likable and multiple, even though most of them lack any depth and/or development their personalities are well defined and their interactions are enjoyable. However the story clearly required a greater degree of dexterity in its' exectution and the ending should have been explosive and gratifying, instead of underwhelming and "okay". Combine it with the aforementioned average character cast and tasteless fanservice cranked up and your enjoyment is diminished quite a bit, at least that was the case for me.
At least the show maintained the quality of its prequels (with a few exceptions)

Overall 6/10

I just finished watching it, and for me I think the story was summed up pretty well in the finale. Definitely have to watch the Missing Kings movie to fully appreciate it. I suppose one could say it was a little predictable--obviously the good guys win, the bad guys lose, and mostly everyone goes away pretty happily. But even still, I don't really mind that. How else would it end? With everyone getting powers and destroying the world like JUNGLE wanted?

The story wasn't all that unique for an anime from the beginning, but I don't understand some people's complaints about "plot holes". If you paid ... attention in the first season and in the film, and especially if you read some of the side stories and other manga (e.g. I read K: Black and White right before watching Missing Kings and it was nice to understand who Yukari was right away so he didn't seem like a random, out-of-the-blue bad guy or a plot convenience) most of the questions are already explained

Obviously, the artwork is beautiful. I do have to echo the complains of some others about reused animation, but I don't think it happens enough for me to dock it too severely. Yes, I'm one of those shallow people who watched the series 80% because of the bishounen. Some people complain about the unnecessary fan-service from Neko and Seri, but whatever; I was distracted by Kuroh's beautiful, long hair the whole time anyway...

I did like and care about almost all of the characters, and I think the character development was fleshed-out pretty well. I actually liked that Anna became a more important person in Missing Kings and this second season. I also really liked Fushimi--he was honestly one of my favorites from the beginning anyway, and I like how in this season there's more depth to his character

I understand that Neko is a prominent character, but even still she's just way too annoying for me to like. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if she weren't there at all and it were just Shiro and Kuroh; or better yet if Neko was in her cat form all the time, because at least that way her behaviors would make more sense and seem less annoying

Personally, I was really satisfied by Adolf/Shiro being alive and in his real body in the end, and also no longer being immortal--which is nice because it means he'll age along with his friends and doesn't have to worry about his second best friend growing old and dying long before he does again

On that note, I was also really happy with the relationship development in that department throughout the series: for it to go from Kuroh trying to kill Shiro in the first episode, to risking their lives to save each other on several occasions later on, to finally living together happily ever after with Weismann as the schoolteacher and Kuroh as the househusband and Neko as the loving housecat...

So that last part was probably not helpful. Anyway:
Story: 7
Art: 10
Sound: 8 (honestly, I was hardly paying attention to the music)
Character: 9 (docked for Neko not always being a cat...)
Enjoyment: 10 (...because the handsome cast makes up for it)
Overall: 8.8

K: Return of Kings should really be called "K: you can now finally watch this." What began as a brilliantly animated but horrifically puzzling work back in 2012 has now developed into a reasonably understandable and finally contiguous storyline. As a bonus, the show has outstanding production values with awe-inspiring, artistic graphics and a clean yet themed audio experience to match. It's hard to really classify K as there aren't a lot of other shows that I've watched like it. It has a wide range of characters that would probably satisfy both male and female viewers. The actual story is a fantasy, magic-based alternative to ... current day Japan, with lots of high-budget action and a few dramatic moments.

Imagine an alternate world where several individuals have amazing super powers, be it immortality or control over fire. These Kings share their power with other individuals, known as clansmen. Through a delicate balance, they somehow bring prosperity to Japan. Now not all the Kings are happy with the status quo and some are instigating a coup so to speak. The story is told through multiple characters though mostly through members of the blue, red, and silver (or white depending on the source) clans. This season picks up directly after the events of the movie K: Missing Kings where we see the rise of the new red King. There is still no sign of the silver King Shiro and his clansmen, as well as those of the red and blue clans, are desperately holding back an onslaught from the green clan, who are bent on changing the world order forever. Given the turbulent past between the clans, will anyone be able to counter the seemingly endless tide of the green Jungle?

Animation:
Back when K was released in 2012, there really wasn't any challenge to the animation quality expect perhaps UfoTable. This is true today as well as the gap in animation quality between K and other ordinary shows remains vast. Expect gorgeous panoramic detailing in a multitude of different sceneries. The show has superb lighting and effects; sharp reflections literally move as the camera pans. There is also extensive and playful use of colored filters and lighting, which gives the show an especially unique feel. Other than some occasional CGI usage, this is literally the epitome of what we can expect today from a non-movie work. The cast of K is very large, and it only grows larger in this season. However, all the clans other than the Silver clan have a uniform and/or assigned color and thus the only possible confusion is between members of the same clan; and really a lot of the supporting members of the red and blue clan don't matter- as long as you get the #2 and #3 from each clan down you're good to go. The superb animation doesn't stop with the scenery as characters have a great deal of detail all the way from the styling on their outfits to the playful smirk on Reishi's face when he draws his sword.

Expect excellent choreography throughout a multitude of adrenaline-filled battles with both magical and melee elements. Effects are sublime here, probably epitomized by the shiny clashes of fierce blades. There is a bit of blood and not all characters will make it through the season though the show spares the viewer from some of the more violent wounds. Rarely will you see such variety and innovation in attacks and abilities in a single show. There is a bit of ecchi as well ranging from very obvious panty shots to a lot of bouncing on the part of Seri. Neko gets plenty of innocent cat-like behavior as well- not really ecchi but enjoyable in its own way.

Sound:
Yui Horie gets the honor of starting the show with a playful, brass-heavy piece, which also happens to have a pretty nice, if slightly dark melody. The show ends with a guy song with a cool vibe but mediocre main melody. The superb BGM of the original show is further refined here. Many of the new tracks build meaningfully on top of melodies of the original show. The BGM is composed of a lot of different instruments but works to create a uniform, clean and modern sound. Some tracks make use of piano and stringed instruments while others are just trendy, with extensive use of percussion and electronic instrumentation.

One of the reasons I originally picked up K was the high-powered sound cast, and it only grew stronger this season! First and foremost, Mikako Komatsu has had a lot of great roles since the original K, but I firmly believe that Neko is by far her best role- suggestive yet playful, occasionally strong yet fragile; her character here has it all. In addition to the ridiculous combined male talent pool of Daisuke Ono, Tomokazu Sugita, Mamoru Miyano, and Jun Fukuyama, you even get Houchuu Ootsuka, instantly recognizable as Jiraiya from Naruto. Miyuki Sawashiro gets an expanded role in this last installment, as does Yui Horie as 11-12-year-old Anna. In addition, surprisingly, we get Rie Kugimiya playing a guy, definitely a side we haven't heard too much of. Wow, what a list... and with a story that actually makes sense the characters finally come alive and give merit to the powerful cast.

Story:
The main pain point of the original K was the confusing nature of the story, where much of the setting was left unexplained. Though I still don't get how the kings system brings prosperity to the nation, a great deal of the other open questions is finally resolved in this series. It explains the horrific Damocles down that left a crater in Japan, Neko's true origins, and the history behind the Kings system among other things. What makes this installment particularly pleasant is that this is all explained organically while continuing down the central, linear plotline.

The show can be broken into two main arcs, which would require a spoiler tag to fully explain here. In any case, each arc is executed with great care and precision; it took what went well in the K movie and applied the same treatment to the arcs. The show is full of interesting twists and alliances- in a normal show you have usually two or three sides, this show has many more clans and yet keeps everything tidy and manageable. Though some of the final battles felt a bit anticlimactic, the overall pacing was very good. The final resolution is a bit rushed, and a fair amount of conclusion is told through images in the closing credits. Regardless, it does have a feeling of completion, which is particularly welcome after watching numerous open-ended shows this season.

Character:
While this show won't win any awards for depth of character, you do get a bit more of a feel for some of the characters. My review for the original show mentioned how a lot of supporting characters felt underutilized despite being fairly developed, this season made full use of those characters; you'll see plenty of Anna as well as various supporting blue and red clan members. This season also introduces a handful of important clansmen of the green clan, which serve as the antagonist for the season.

Given the huge cast and complicated nature of the whole story, there isn't a lot of time left for character development; all characters are essentially static characters. Though we learn some interesting tidbits about characters, such as Neko, there isn't a whole lot to laud about in this category. If there is a positive, it's that the story doesn't center on the silver king Shiro, which was one of my largest gripes around the original show. In summary, expect many passable and entertaining static characters.

Value:
K is a beautifully drawn show with good overall production values. K Return of Kings successfully brings the franchise back to an understandable level while executing an engaging and action-packed plot. The characters aren't the strongest but it's forgivable given the sheer scale of the story and brilliant animation. If you haven't given up on K yet, here's your prize for sticking with it.

Absolutely amazing. The plot is superb. For new comers, this anime might be a little bit confusing considering there's a lot of clans and characters. If you feel like dropping this anime, I suggest you to push yourself through. If you do, you miss out a really good anime. Once you grasp the concept and the world of K, everything comes easily to you.

Plot: 10/10

Amazing. I've watched tones of anime and K's plot is definitely not a let down. It is built nicely and the plot expands as the story progresses.

Characterization:

I'm not sure why but I definitely love the main character, Isana ... Yoshiro. He's not overly powerful and likeable and he has flaws which makes his character more realistic to a certain degree. Though I find myself not favouring the girls in this series except for Anna. However, I do feel that the Kings are overly powered, making their clansmen look extremely weak. But I guess that's how a king should be?

Overall, I enjoy watching this anime and I recommend others to give this anime a try too! So, which team am I? It's a tough call but I would serve for Silver King.

I personally don't like this anime,

The 1st season and all of the hype for this anime is just making this worse, especially with the lack of mystery from the 1st season and a lot of flashback just to keep us waiting.

The first season is special for me with all of their mystery and plot twist and how well they work there. In comparison, this second season is just not that special.

The visual also feels like a mess, with the blue hues thing and the ridiculously bouncy boobs. I don't really mind sexualization, I definitely think Neko's first appearance is really hot, but this is just.... ... ugh.

While we're talking about Neko, I'm disappointed with how uninvolved she is after the movie hyping her up like that. I can't even criticize it because there's just nothing to really critique.


Overall... I think they can do way better than this

Well I am very late in case of watching anime and it would be very rare if someone would actually saw it
I am not going to explain story since there are other reviews for that(there are reviews for other things too but I am sharing my opinion)
May contain a spoiler or two
Let's start!
1:Story
Story was pretty good and was enjoyable,learning that Colorless King wasn't alone was quiet the fun too,Anna being in fights,Shiro being not clueless,the three Kings alliance all was good
9/10
2:Art and Animation
If you talk about the art and animation,both were good in terms of resolution and attractiveness,but the studio used same scenes over ... and over again,from season one as well as season two
I didn't like their laziness at all,like use some new stuff!if you are spending Mooney on something then at least make it look like you put an effort and was not lazy or stingy
7/10
3:Sound and Voice
Again same case as art and animation,sound acting was fair but the fact that it didn't sync on some occasions,like Shiro saying something and his lips aren't moving,Anna doing something but her action doesn't resemble her words,Neko showing another emotion in speaking while showing off something else
very poor in my opinion,now a days,almost every 2 out of 5 anime is doing this sync thing which isn't great at all
6/10
4:Character
Since there weren't many new characters so they didn't had to put much effort,still Nagare's and Iwa-san's character wasn't explained very well,at least Nagare's character needed something more cause I understand that due to the spoiler they couldn't explain Iwa-san
9/10
5:Enjoyment
I enjoyed K season one and season two but there is less action and more strategy,there isn't much action involved as compare to season one and movie.Though the fighting wasn't as dope as season one,it was fair
9/10
6:Others
Although season one was pretty good,the studio tried harder to destroy its image in season two
There were times when i was like"WTF is going on?"as well as enjoyment.At some point,the anime gets so boring that you want to drop it,but last episode covered it all
It still doesn't explain the body switch,since Shiro was shown almost same in past,but didn't resembled(to me,you may not find any difference or agree with me)anything from last scene's Shiro
Also Sukuna was crying,he didn't shed a single tear,and more than that,he moved on quicker than the speed of sound,hardly five seconds of sadness?Spoilers shouldn't be like that!
7:Overall
I think the anime as a whole isn't so bad but some scenes or dialogues affected it
It at least deserves an 8 but I give it a 9
(To anyone who decided to waste his time on my review,thank you so much)

I really liked it a lot! I wish they could make a 3rd s.

Really happy about Saruhiko and Misaki
I'm kind of very sad that the powers they had are gone now but I'm happy for Munakata and Shiro.
A bit sad... I liked the green clan somehow.

I also wish they could make an Movie or an OVA about Saru and Misaki from the Lost Small World and then until now and maybe show us a bit more of them after making up.

x

... I really liked it a lot! I wish they could make a 3rd s.

Really happy about Saruhiko and Misaki
I'm kind of very sad that the powers they had are gone now but I'm happy for Munakata and Shiro.
A bit sad... I liked the green clan somehow.

I also wish they could make an Movie or an OVA about Saru and Misaki from the Lost Small World and then until now and maybe show us a bit more of them after making up.

The artwork is also amazing. Feels like watching a movie not an animation. I never saw something like this before. The lens setting make it feels like it's not a drawing, it's not anime, it's a movie. Catchy back-sound also make it more live! Like every back-sound is really suit every scene. The coloring itself also "uncommon". Feels like the animator give some "effect" inside.

Talk about the story, well it's pretty stagnant yet focused in one mater. I love the consistency even though some of the story left curiousness like why there's only 5 kings while it says originally has 7 kings. What happened to ... the other kings? Why they don't have any successor and ext that need to be told in my opinion.

I also curios about the death of the green king. Why he can't be alive again while Weismann can be safe after the accident? Will it has the 3rd season or will explained more in an OVA? Who knows.

In conclusion I love this anime and recommend you to watch it!

The first part benefited, i believe, from having only 13 episodes. This sequel suffered from it. Not in the sense that it was rushed, but in the one that they had too much time. (i gave the first season a 9 btw) Over the course of the review, i try to contrast what made the first season great and this season suck, and to anyone who hasn't watched it, i definitely recommend the first. The second maybe only for completion's sake.
To use the cliched phrase, as much as i hate it, the original K 'showed' and didn't tell. Much of the enjoyment i derived from ... it was from its reluctance to just hand me everything on a plate and have me try to read into what was being shown. While the sequel tries to do the same at times, most others, it just punches you in the face with what it wants to say. The most infuriating part? More often than not, it doesn't have anything to say. Atleast nothing we haven't heard already a thousand times (without going into details, its the same old crap about the strength of humans, and the belief that they can do the right thing...sigh, it basically became a shonen in the end, with all the bullshit ' i believe' and 'i dont need anyone other than friends' being thrown around)
It also doesn't help that the female characters are little more than a broken record that can repeat just the single line (especially the insufferable cat, i really hated her this time even more). Like seriously, while i didn't particularly mind the excessive fanservice at times, they are even lesser than 1-dimensional characters in terms of traits. This issue unfortunately spreads over to other characters that were quite good in terms of personality from the first season. Here, they just practically repeat the same lines over and over (looking at you Anna). If all the extra time was instead focused on characters like the blue king and...well only him i guess, it could have made things more interesting. After some thought, there are at most one or two who are interesting apart from him. Not exactly great for a show that has so many characters is it? But i guess you cant blame the show though. I feel like all that could have been explored in terms of character was done in the first season itself. So, this time they had to focus on more of the same (case in point: the red clan) or try to introduce a stupid conflict that was a nonentity anyways (the blue clan). Hence, why i feel they had too much time.
Now on the matter of plot. Its simplistic to say the least. Not that the first season was anything great in terms of complexity. But it wove multiple threads, revenge, coming to terms with past mistakes, trying to help a friend, all trite plot lines to be sure, but the execution was great. Also while the powers involved in the story themselves are grand, the plot felt grounded in more human emotions. This season it tries to be something more. But just fails epically at it, probably the only thing that was truly grand about it in the end anyway. That's about it without going into spoilers.

To go over the rest of the elements in brief. Animation is good. Sometimes too good. Enough so that a lot of times you can easily make out that they are reusing clips. And they reuse clips. A lot. And i mean a lot. Get it? A lot. Yeah, its that bad, that many 'lots'.
Art was good too. Really good designs and art choices. Not the colors though. It just felt strange sometimes.
Music kind of changed styles as well, became more dancy, helped the fights seem more like dances, which i think was what the directors were going for so it helped i guess. No particular standout songs though.

Overall, a disappointment. While i had some fun, i would have much rather spent the time on some other series. If you're a fan of the first and can't help but have more, go ahead, maybe you'll feel differently. If you're reading this without ever having seen K for some reason, go right ahead and watch the first. The first. And maybe forget the second exists before its too late.

(Whew, that was long i think. thanks for reading. maybe i should keep a tl;dr version...)

It's hard to determine exactly how I feel about the second season of K. Right from the go the second season has a completely different atmosphere than the first -- removing what made it special.

The first season was almost more about the mystery than anything else. The presentation, atmosphere and direction all felt unique, albeit off-putting at times. It was a clever blend of randomness and showmanship that kept the audience engaged.

Which is precisely why the direction the second season takes doesn't come as a total surprise. Instead of being cleverly unique, from the beginning the second season is a completely over-produced, hyper-stylized train-wreck. ...

The amazing sound design (/soundtrack) come back strong, but don't seem to match the atmosphere of the series at all. While I still adore the added music in-of itself, it simply feels like a jumbled mess that doesn't blend together well.

The story also loses what makes it special. The mysterious MC from the first season now accomplishes nearly nothing, and even when he finally attempts to, it feels completely unsatisfying. And all the side characters that had been justly treated in the first season, with their own sub-plots presented compellingly, are just kind of there this time around. Nothing much happens with them, and the story is pretty much just focused on its linear narrative.

This is only made even more abundantly clear with the reduction of all the female cast (of any significance) to straight-up, borderline sex dolls. They have no significant contribution to anything this time around, minus a gimmie here or there, but remain prevalent only for the purpose of many a fan-service shot.

It seems like they cranked everything up to 11 this time around, but somehow stripped the series of the depth it had in the first season, making it feel like a try-hard copycat. Many of the moving-camera shots even started to make me feel nauseous, especially when it's just one after another.

I have no idea what went on behind the scenes between the movie and the second season, but this is a serious disappointment. Which, again, isn't a terrible surprise as the first season seems to be a perfect storm that probably had no right to be as good as it was.

I probably would have been better off having NOT re-watched the first season (and movie) in preparation for the second, but alas my opinion on the series is going to lie where it may. Based on my personal experience, I can't legitimately recommend the second season (or the first movie for that matter) as its hard to not draw comparisons between it and the first.

However, I do feel others may have more fun with the second season than I did. Its pomp and circumstance is likely welcome when not watching all 13 episodes back-to-back and it still has a few impactful scenes that made it enjoyable overall.

I don't know what happened with the quality of this season. I've spent the hole season annoyed with the shades of blue/green/red/orange/purple around the scenario or... everything?

A lot of unnecessary fanservice when Neko and Awashima appeared. Awkward 3D. Annoying endless electronic music, even in momentos of tension there was the same happy electronic song going on. I mean, in season 1 the songs were a good combination and well disposed.

This season was a visual let down. The story was ok, I guess I would enjoy it better reading the novel.

I don't know if I can stand another season like this one.

I was so hoping that I could grant this anime high marks. Sadly, though, it just didn't catch my interest. I didn't dislike much about the K franchise, but I also didn't find anything all that special.

The actual premise of this season was interesting, but the middle of the season would've been a better place to end it, in my opinion. The last five episodes or so were lacking excitement. I did still enjoy the characters I enjoyed in the first season of K, but there wasn't much more character development for any of them, so I bored of them quickly.

I did find ... the first season to be more intriguing than this one, as well, which is sort of the opposite of how I'd like it to be. One thing I can say that improved with this season was the music. It wasn't a huge improvement, but it wasn't as off putting as the previous two installments of K.

All in all, this season and this anime in general were average to me. I wish I could give a recommendation to tell you if you should or shouldn't watch it, but honestly, I think it may just be personal taste, so you'll have to give it a shot and find out for yourself.

This is K, a story about supernatural powers and the kings that uses them. Well it's the sequel of K. This is actually a rewatch of this series. The story is as much as I expected of the K series. The story is of course one of the best part of K. Some battles in K are very good yet some are very underwhelming. I feel that the battles had much more potential that what was actually displayed. I didn't expect the appearance of another king so that was kind of surprising. Art and animation is pretty slick. The animations are also really smooth, thought ... it seems lots of budget went into Seri's ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). I personally loved the K soundtrack, the opening this time around is also very wonderful with Anna singing it. K has some pretty unique characters, such as Fushimi and Neko. Kuroh obsession over his late master also interest me. The Green King, Nagare Hisui was also quite the interesting character. The Green Clan clansmen doesn't falter even when compared to their king. Yukari and Sukuna was quite the fascinating characters, especially Yukari. One element of characters that I didn't quite like was Shiro's role. I know he is supposed to be the brains of the kings, but shouldn't you think a man of Shiro's caliber would at least know how to fight back. I thoroughly enjoyed the series, hence why I rewatched it.

This series is one of the hidden gems in the anime community..
If you are an anime fan you owe yourself to watch both seasons of this anime,
I watched the S1 back in 2014 on Animax and was visually stunned by it.

In terms of animation, it's 8/10 since there is too much CG (more than necessary) but still enjoyable not on Hand shaker's level.

the story overall is 6/10 not because it is bad but rather it always seems like I am watching a small part of a much grander narrative (yeah, yeah I know should read the LNs) the plot is extremely rushed.

The characters ... are 7/10 not saying they are bad or average rather it has some of the best characters in any series till now but those characters are given very less screen time so I just can't connect with them. for example, Fushimi (the guy who betrayed Red to join the blue) is one of the well-written characters in the series but still has given little to non-background info completely opposite to Naruto where most bad written characters are given a ton of back-story so viewers are able to connect to them..

Overall the series is 7/10 and would have been 8 or 9/10 if it was long-running series with more world building and powers explained and character depth..

After Mikoto & Tatara died this become the worst anime ever!
HOMRA!!
They are amazing they should become the main Characters, not the stupid Yashiro team!.
It will become more interesting and enjoyable if the main Characters like HOMRA!!
Next time they should think of that. this was a big chance to create an amazing anime.
Unfortunately, they focus on stupid atmosphere and some Ecchi shot.
That way (K: Memory of Red Manga) was amazing.
All HOMRA Characters has charisma make any one watch it scream with them (NO BLOOD,NO BONE,NO ASH!)
That what I want to say but it ask me to write more I don't have more word!

An anime original does a few things quite good, and K series does not disappoint.

Like sound. Awesome soundtrack just like the first season. The opening and ending may not be remarkable but are still good. The background soundtrack, voice acting etc are phenomenal.

Art and animation are also one of the few things that are benefits from being an original work. Although, the repeated cut scenes of special moves do get annoying.

Sadly, the fight scenes, even though they probably planned to make them very intense, are quite lacking. They add flashy moves like the spinning of swords or preparation of a special attack but to hide ... the actual fights. Fast and odd camera angles to give the fight a sense of intensiveness.

There is a little bit of fanservice by the name of Awashima. Really, it seems like everything she does needs a jiggle of her assets or the way she falls must be an upskirt moment. Frankly, I am not opposed to fanservice but I think this anime could have done as good as it did without it.

There is some character development along with some back story revelations in the form of flashbacks but they still seem lacking a bit. I understand that is some work to be done by the novel writers.

The story takes a dive in the second season mainly because of the very vague logic and reason for the antagonists. I understand not every evil plan should be grand but for old experiences men to just go along a child's immaturity does not sit well.

At this point, i'm watching the 8th episode. Good art, good sound... But if you enjoyed the scenario, please, don't watch this season.

In few points, here is why :

1) The anime turned into a 13 year old shounen, like naruto, bleach, one piece, and other 700 episodes anime. Every battle are very emergency, but they turn into a "speack 2min with my opponent whatever". Sometime you just want to hit the characters and say "Hello, little boy, that's time to battle now" Well, a young boy shonen.

2) The scenarist abuse.
Imaginary exemple :
a) One time a character will be able to resist over more ... than 30 RPG rocket, (cause he is so powerful, you know) but, 4 episodes latter, he can't do anything about a single revolver bullet.
b) Three overpowered character can't do anything about one medium powered enemy. Deal with it. (I guess this enemy eat scenarium at lunch)
c) An enemy can flee from the most ultra secured place in the world (By many kings and also the government) with an helicopter, well, no rocket launcher, no fighter jet, nothing against it. Why not.
- You just rage all the time cause of non-sense or just stupid twist. The anime say something, then he do the opposite.

3) All the useless characters : Every-time, EVERY-TIME there is a big fight (Even in the 1rst season, that's true) there are more than 30 secondary character, and they are useless, cause even all together they can't do anything against a principal character. So they just fight between them, killing another useless secondary character, no one care about... They are only here to show how mighty a principal character is, but why ? Why are they here if they can't do anything in first place ?

Well, I just can't deal with nobrain anime anymore.
The first season deserved a 5/10, this one got a 2/10 cause she goes worst.

K: Return of Kings is the long anticipated sequel of the anime K and the movie K: Missing Kings. It closely follows the style of its predecessors as a hot-blooded story about the tragedy aroused out of the differences in ideologies and the value of friendship coupled with quite a bit of Ho Yay (which is, to sidetrack a bit, part of the reason why I know this show). Its strengths and weaknesses are also similar to them, having excellent aesthetical attraction but merely mediocre plot.

The biggest appeal of the K franchise is its visual design, thanks to its generous budget. The scenery is gorgeous, ... to speak the least, and every character is visually attractive while having their distinctive designs. The only minor flaw is the 3D animations that may look awkward when juxtaposed against the 2D characters. I can't say whether all the panty shots and gainaxing makes the anime better or worse - I am not a big fan of fanservice, but your mileage may vary.

To add to the aesthetic value of the show, the aural effects are also good, if not outright excellent. The seiyuu is an all-star cast - we have Daisuke Ono (who voiced Sebastian) for Kuro, Mamoru Miyano (who voiced Light Yagami) for Fushimi, Jun Fukuyama (who voiced Lelouch vi Britannia) for Misaki, etc - and there is no doubt that all of them successfully bring out the emotions of the characters The background music is in a variety of genres including soft piano , electronic, orchestral, so on and so forth. The OP, Asymmetry by Yui Horie, is a typical J-Pop song while the ED, Solution by CustomiZ, is a more hardcore rock that suits the badass feeling of the anime. The soundtrack is probably inferior to shows like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Steins; Gate, but that doesn't mean it is bad either.

Not so, however, when it comes to the story. The numerous logical leaps and are also an eyesore. For example, how can Yashiro leap down for 3 episodes before landing at the exact right spot for a big damn heroes moment? Why can Kuro, even after the Dresden Plate is dealt with, still retain their power for some time? Why is Reisi suddenly empowered to beat his opponent, despite failing epically in the previous match? These flaws, accompanied with the hand-waved explanation, render the story mediocre at best.

The characters somewhat compensate for the mediocre story, but one needs to look at the side materials in order to truly appreciate them. The net result of having loads and loads of character is that each of them can only have a day under limelight, if any. Yashiro unfortunately received a huge badass decay when it comes to his guile and fighting skills, which is evident in how he manages the siege in Episode 6-8 by literally flying around. This can be explained by his pacifist nature, but it isn't clear on first sight. The Silver Clan receives little development. The motive behind the main antagonist, while more or less depicted in the side manga, is not clearly elaborated in the anime. HOMRA and Scepter 4 are also hosts of many interesting characters, but to truly appreciate them, side materials are, again, necessary. Especially Scepter 4 - the only people I can remember in the anime are Reisi, Seri and Fushimi. However, if you read the Days of Blue novella, you will soon see every character is idiosyncratic in one way or another, and their relationship is both professional and friendly.

Fortunately, the fleshed out characters and the well-constructed fighting scenes compensate for the above problems to make the show enjoyable overall. This show is not as much a melodrama as one may think at first, but one needs to rely on side materials and deeper appreciation in order to realize it.