Ajin Part 2

Think this review here is likely geared to watchers/readers of Ajin. It's the second season after all. I won't say much, you know already the main pulls/strengths of this work. I'm just here to comment on the pacing, direction, and creative differences the anime team has taken with s2.

First and final episodes do not feel like an opening and ending, especially considering we're picking up where Kei and Kou left us initially. The first couple episodes in s2 settle us in for that, and once Kei and Kou are firmly established in the next structure/phase of the story it feels like nothing they do here ... really matters/add to plot. SPOILER! Rinse and repeat, it's just Satou proceeding with his kill list and the protag team being useless in general. Perhaps the one takeaway would be Kei's convo with the professor, or budding friendship with one of the uncles. Other stuff they do okay, like the female Ajin's backstory but I swear if she calls "Kuro-chan!" for the nth time... (dont. just. dont.)

I'm not a reader of the manga but it seems fights in the manga version are longer, well thought out and more impressive in highlighted areas. S2 seems to be gunning for action as some have pointed out but it wasn't all that interesting either. Actions they take aren't completely out of left field, but a special concoction of bland bc it feels like "this is what would happen if the status quo was like this, but I'm not particularly invested in this universe." Yeah that's it, the production team doesn't feel involved in the mechanisms of this story. It's like okay, this is supposed to be a story of fighting for civil rights (portion of Ajins), a fun-loving lunatic (who is sane for all his craziness), governmental issues, Kei's human psyche (sorry i can't come up with better descriptions lol) but they don't delve, expand or circle too deeply around any of those. It's not like they're skimming the surface either, but just taking them when it, naturally, has to come without a specific direction in mind. Essentially another one of those, presenting a story because we have to present a story.

Now note the staff aren't necessarily incompetent or uncaring. Execution is good overall, but the idea wasn't, because they couldn't get into the idea in the first place. They could have cut half the episodes and s2 would still make sense, mainly bc Satou fulfilling his kill list and the American agents really didn't have anything to set for the overall meaning of the Ajin verse. (So like I mentioned I don't think the anime team's got a good handle of their understanding in the Ajin series.) Who knows tho maybe they just had to fulfill their episode quota. Though one doesn't even have to take a look at s2!Kei to know how horribly wrung he is here. Basically he's been converted into your generic shounen hero (whose actions follow only for plot) under the shell of his idiosyncratic personality. Don't have to mention how all over the place that gets.

The ending has to be the worst part of the season despite people liking how pumped it was. On its own, maybe. Barely. As the ending to the second season of Ajin the series... (chortles) It felt like anime staff was shouting in my ears "WE DON'T HAVE TIME AND WE NEED TO SET THIS UP FOR S3!!!!" Wasn't that what you saw? Tosaki resolving all their ongoing troubles that took most of 2 cours, with like 3 lines, quickly getting to the milestone that is 'defeating' Satou without understanding the usage of this mechanism in their universe, it was and had been difficult getting myself to finish s2 since the anime staff showed how they were gonna direct this: chess pieces in the palms of their hands. The king can't teleport to any space on the board, but they can tell the opposing soldier not to eat him in the next move. So yeah, logical as s2 was, it was irrational in a sense and the reason is simple. There's no direction for the story. Anime team has no idea why they're doing this, which is okay. Stick to the fucking original then.

But I heard one thing anime has done right is moments of curt humor, which I had thought originated from the manga. If so props to the anime side because the humor is gorgeous with all the surprisingly, inherently laid-back steadiness of the characters in Ajin. Like Kou yelling "I'm afraid of heights!!! Dying hurts!!" in his simplicity, cracked me up so bad in s1. But yeah I don't know if there's anything worth watching in s2 that you wouldn't be better off reading in the manga. Again the juvenile Ajin of the winged IBM probably had his dialogue taken word for word bc I can feel that profound, distinct Ajin verse characterization in him, but was completely forgettable the way he has been executed in s2. Kei's sister is as much a mess as him. Kai... should you bother even turning up in the story at this point? Anime team really needs to know where they're going with things if s3's coming up...

Kou... everybody... (props cheek grimly) I don't think I've seen a blander cast being executed, not bc their personalities are 2-dimensional (rich and 3-dimensional as a matter of fact) but that the team presenting you doesn't hold a prominent interest in your workings. It's almost like anime staff is doing a fucking report. You know when a series is derailing, just like in Kimi no Na wa's review I mentioned, is when you can't describe efficiently what the show's about. What's Ajin about at this point, stopping Satou? It's stooping to unbelievably generic levels of typical shounen fare if everybody hasn't noticed this about s2 already and even this is loosely based bc production team isn't letting it allude to that. In fact they aren't letting it allude to anything, and it's not on purpose which is what's so pathetic about the whole season.

The only good thing to have come out of this is my increased liking for Tosaki because, and I bet in the original, of all the characters I've seen in over 400 animes of my viewer life, easily tops the chart for dullest, mundane and most boring. Almost horrifyingly so. So much that I was pissed because what the hell is he doing in a show like Ajin? You know but come s2 and I begin to realize that's really just how he is. Kind of dumb and limited in his sight and when his boringness settled in (makes me wonder why I could accept Kou so quickly, and knowingly, for his idiotic simplicity and not Tosaki? maybe I was casting the shadow of greater things on him considering he's supposed to be smart) I'm like ahhh just like Kei, just like Kou, Tosaki is merely being Tosaki. You have no idea how much he and his Ajin subordinate annoyed me at the start though, all because I didn't categorize them like Kou right away. One thing Ajin does great is genuineness.

So overall, no please don't watch s2. Except for the car scene and the one before that with Kou being stupid (anime brilliance) in the pilot episode there's nothing else in for it, you're gonna be severely disappointed by s2!Kei, not even his reunion with Kai will be worth anything, definitely not the shotgun finale if you love Ajin with all your heart (SPOILER! uhh the professor just disappeared halfway, so is Kai and his new friend in India now, no "Kai-san!!!" spiels from the little sister?), were the American agents a filler arc actually I felt I was watching another anime all together... no, nothing you can't get from the manga from what I've gathered. Even soundtrack was rubbish.

The second season of Ajin, or Ajin Part 2, falls short of the expectations set by its predecessor. While the animation and visuals remain polarizing, there are instances where they seem to have regressed in quality. Though bursts of fast-paced action from the first season are present in some episodes, the overall pacing of the season is notably slower. While certain episodes delve into character development, exploring their backgrounds and motivations, the series is weighed down by the introduction of several story-lines that fail to advance the plot, resulting in a bloated and unevenly paced narrative. Moreover, the conclusion feels underwhelming, appearing rushed and lacking ... in coherence, especially considering the buildup throughout the season. Ajin Part 2 ultimately falls short of surpassing its predecessor and does little to instill confidence in the future of the series, particularly given the series' relatively average reception.

Hmm....I'll just keep it short. Ajin Season 1 was one of my favorite shows with almost no logic holes. Everything felt real, realistic, gritty and most importantly made sense most of the time.

Season 2 was a huge letdown. A total change of mood. There were logic holes everywhere. It got worse as the show went on. There were only THREE major events/operations in the whole season. The government barely got any spotlight, and whenever they did, they failed most of the time. Plot conveniences everywhere.

Pacing, content and directing was horrible. I needed to watch it at double the speed..

Shounen Hero glorification left and right. It's ... mostly about Nagai Kei becoming a "SUPERHERO". If it's not glorifying Nagai, they were glorifying Satou, if not Satou, it's the Tosaki, if not him, it's the tech guy, if its not him then some other dude, so on so forth.

Apparently the tech dude can hack anything and can make weapons from the future! SO MUCH INTELLIGENCE~! The whole of season two was Nagai Kei focused. Nagai Kei VS Satou to be precise because apparently they are just "so intelligent" that they are only a match for each other. Even the government is no match for Satou, but Nagai is. Much HAPPINESS~! (You can already guess what the last showdown would be >.>) Oh, and Nagai is so intelligent that he ends up briefing "military operations", taking over Tosaki's role.

Ah, but they made one dude (Kou) in the team "extraordinarily unrealistically" dumb for..let's see.. comedy? Like seriously..there are better ways to do comedy then to put someone in the sacrificial dumb clown role..

They only had one major token female character, and she barely got any development nor proper screen time. And when she does, it always about her screwing something up, being ordered to shut up or being shouted at etc. I feel really bad (and pissed) for how they handled Shimomura...And another Ajin female which showed up only briefly as she got similar treatment.

Also, trigger warning for those who care; Please take note that despite the modern age of anime, they can't help but throw in some gendered sexist insults here and there towards females. Sigh..~ (Rough eg: "You're weak, like a girl.") Season 1 was fairly neutral because females barely even appeared but they couldn't help themselves from making it worse for females in Season 2, could they? >.> ...~

Overall, season 2 was a huge disappointment and it felt like a badly done Hollywood + Shounen Hero glorification movie, but spread out to 13 episodes.. I ended up spending more time discussing how bad the show was (pointing out holes etc) with a friend during every episode compared to watching the show..Ugh..~

For an anime that started so strong in its first season, the second season really is a letdown.

In season 1, the Ajin had a bit of mystery, and even the characters were somewhat mysterious. You were given the time and scenes to figure them out. What are their reasons for doing what they do? What are their ideas, philosophies? And with this supernatural phenomena of immortality and the ability to call upon a very potent companion, how should it be treated? None of this is further expanded upon the second season.

The CGI animation is still pretty good, for CGI, but the emotional performances are carried ... by the voice actors rather than by the visuals. The style and color palette are also quite basic, but with CGI I get that they went on this route. It is packed with action though, and the action does not disappoint. But that is the only thing this second season has going for it in my opinion.

The second season becomes a lackluster cliché terrorist crime drama. The Ajin's existence are not explored, which I thought they would after season one. But letting some supernatural power stay an obscure mystery is fine by me. But nothing interesting is done with it for the rest of season two. Ajin on both sides use their immortality, and use their ghost to do some simple tasks or battle moves. It could have been so much more creative though, especially in the action scenes. If the Ajin powers were used more creatively, I could have said you could have watched this anime for the cool action. But Ajin are a mere tool, used as a blunt axe. Sure the terrorist group exists because Ajin came into existence, but otherwise the show might as well be the most generic good guys vs bad terrorists action series, with a new toy to play with.

If you have seen season one and you want to start season two, you can give it a try. But if you notice you do not like it after two maybe three episodes, just drop it, it is not gonna get better. If you are someone who is wondering whether to start season one, I am not going to recommend this anime. You are far better off watching other more fun and interesting anime, which there are plenty of, than this CGI mid tier action trap.