Kekkai Sensen & Beyond

Overall (8/10)

I don't usually write Reviews. But so many people sayin' this season is so bad. That's exaggeration. that might discourage people to watch the anime :3 I just don't want them to miss this. It's definitely worth watching.

Everything is good, funny and i love the humor of this anime.
The deliver is Great too .

But tbh Season 1 is better.

why?
...
This season 2 is like there is no actual plot :3
They introduce a new character such a the butler, fight some people planning to create Blood breed soldiers and Drama time with Leonardo's bestfriend. I prefer if they add some story of Leo and White(Mary Macbeth) or Black(William Macbeth) or maybe about the 13 Kings .. but Everything is different every episode except the Last two episode (11/12)

I was Expecting them to fight Femt *King of Depravity* though.

I give it a passing score so waiting and hoping for a Season 3 of this anime !

What are the merits of this second season? More time with the characters from the first season? More opportunities to indulge in the humor of Kekkai Sensen? A chance to see the MC use his abilities more? Yeah, all of those are reasonable points to make if you want to talk about why this season could be categorized as "good." Actually, if you're like me, and the first season was enjoyable to you only because of the in-between elements of it that had nothing to do with the story--hence me mentioning the humor--then perhaps this season will be worth a lot to you because there ... effectively is no story.

But if you're coming off the tail of the first season--even if you didn't like it all that much--I'll bet that you were expecting to see something more from a sequel. Why would you expect that? Well, because the first season hinted at a bigger world that should have been unveiled as the series moved forward. But that didn't happen. Instead, this season presented 12 episodes that felt like no more than filler content. I want to say that isn't a problem, especially because a bunch of episodic stories should mean more of a chance for the best parts of this series to shine (the MC, the humor, and so on), but even those elements didn't seem to hit like they did in the first season. I really do think that the only way you're going to enjoy a season as fragmented as this one is if you ~seriously~ enjoyed the first season. Maybe that's too harsh--maybe a viewer would enjoy this season a lot if they had no context of what came before--but this season didn't operate as a sequel, and that's how I feel compelled to judge it since it's the second season of Kekkai Sensen.

Kekkai Scythes & Beyond

The second season of the series should have been the first. At least it would have made much more sense.

In the second season, we finally see more to the characters and minimal background to the world before the series suddenly ends for good. This results in 6 episodes before the end, only becoming interested in the characters. The first season was empty, it had nothing but humor. And you could hardly empathize with the characters because they were just empty shells.
Now they became not directly profound, but much more sympathetic because you learned more of their personality.

Episodes 1-10 are just ... single-character arcs or comedy episodes. In the end, there is a small character plot, which in my opinion was interesting, but seems completely unimportant.

[Story 3]

80% of the season simply results in humorous moments, exaggeration, and various missions of the characters in which they fight some enemy.

The last 2 episodes deal with a small story between the protagonist and his sister and the fight with a new smaller enemy that the protagonist himself has to face.

[Characters 4]

It's still a sad fact, unfortunately, but I only remembered 2 character names even though I finished watching the anime 3 days ago. The characters were really funny and I liked them in that aspect. But they just didn't have enough charisma and weight for you to remember anyone by their name.

Even though I liked that we finally got more screen time for the characters. Unfortunately, these were also just assignments where we only saw action.

[Animations 7]

Same as the first season, fluctuating between very visually appealing and relatively slightly above average.

The detail of the city and surroundings is very attractive to the eye and I really would have liked to see a lot more to this.


[Music 6]

The intro is average and close to the level of the first season.
The outro is individual, but it breaks my heart that it hasn't been more of the same.

The osts are relatively fitting and well-chosen for different scenes.


[Conclusion]

An Anime that convinces in the area of likeability and has an interesting setting. However, it can be seen as nothing more than a wacky humorous comedy. The actual plot of the series is very vague and has a mostly disappointing implementation. And since around 6 out of 26 episodes are concerned with a sub-par story, the quality suffered.

[Enjoyment 7]

I absolutely adored first season, and more Kekkai Sensen is always great, but as a sequel this just doesn't bring much to the table.

I am currently 8 episodes in (watching in dub) out of this 12 episode season, and I have yet to see any semblance of an overarching plot. The season is, as of yet, entirely comprised of side stories focusing and building on each character of the main cast. Now don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate this; one of the main flaws with first season was how little love some of the characters got. However, with the way this is ... structured, it is much better suited as a side series or OVA's rather than a legitimate sequel. I'm still enjoying the heck out of it, but the lack of any actual plot is a major bummer.

Will update when the season is over, but I doubt my opinion will change much.

UPDATE: After finishing the show, it unfortunately finished how I expected it to. The last couple episodes are the only meaningful plot movement you get, and even then it felt underwhelming. This show is still loads of entertainment, just not what I wanted out of a sequel.

I love jazz. Of all the genres of music, jazz can provide the most soothing, the most thrilling, the most strangely apt backdrop to an anime. Cowboy Bebop paid homage to jazz and did it brilliantly. Pardon me for saying this, but I strongly aver that Kekkai Sensen, season two (S2) especially, is a modern successor to Bebop as jazz made manifest in anime. Obviously it’s not as good as Bebop, but in terms of possessing its own flair and panache, Kekkai Sensen stands out like Bebop does. Both anime are stylish and know it. I loved it, I loved the music, I loved the ... barrage of characters for Libra techniques, I loved the crazy hectic random culture of Hellsalem’s Lot.

Let me explain precisely why I love this show.

~THE MUSIC~
The opening brings you back immediately to Libra and the antics of Hellsalem’s Lot. Sung by the guys that did the ending for season 1, you’re swept back into the hectic crazy awesomeness of Kekkai Sensen. Good, but not as good as the ending. Performed by DAOKO and Yasuyuki Okamura, this cacophony of sound and bright colors all mashed together with the characters, concluding with a succession of briefly shown images important to the plot, followed by Libra walking away in style. Brilliant.

But as superb as the OP/ED are, the SOUNDTRACK is even better. Perhaps one of the soundtracks most aptly suited to an anime I’ve seen so far. With songs sung in Japanese, English, French, German, and Spanish, backed by jazz and piano, the music operators behind this show… they had fun. Kekkai Sensen is, without a doubt, an anime that was fun to make. Often you see little tidbits sprinkled throughout the events of the show that don’t really contribute to the plot, but do add to the cake of Kekkai Sensen (or should I say, Cakeai Sensen). An orange alien octopus humanoid rapping by himself in a street corner. A winged draconian beast moving lazily through the sky in the background. Such moments that develop the world and fill out the sense of wonder are akin to Miyazaki’s proclivity for worldbuilding in that manner. The show is primarily episodic, and the lack of any seriously cohesive plot is intentional; it’s not about “plot” so much as “setting” for Cakeai Sensen, the unpredictably randomness of Hellsalem’s Lot. Not every narrative has to have a plot that carries throughout, there is a strong reason why shows like Cowboy Bebop and Mushishi exist.

Pardon the digression. Cakeai Sensen’s OST is so soothing, and melancholy, and upbeat, and just… perfect. It’s great for listening too on its own, and the jazz. The jazz is great, as all jazz is, for having that seemingly unplanned and arbitrary discourse that yet manages to sound right. Loved it.

~THE FIGHTS~
Or should I say, the blood techniques. These guys are intense. Makes Deadman Wonderland look like a bunch of kids spilling blood for fun. When saying your techniques aloud before using them is cool. Panache. Flair. Elan. The thudding of kanji for each move. The emblazonment of a giant cross of scarlet. The fang hunter vs. the Blood Breed.

~THE ANIMATION~
Perhaps Bones’ best work, after Bungou Stray Dogs S2. Many times when a background is resplendent with a whole gamut of varied kinds of humanoids/monsters, they’re all moving or walking or doing whatever. This keeps the otherwise typically still two-dimensionality when presenting large backdrops out of the picture, literally. The fights as I mentioned are sweet, the colors are superbly mixed, the New York-like city scenery is wonderful, the depiction of the All-seeing Eyes of the Gods is solid, and so on. Very well done.

~THE CHARACTERS~
Almost all of the Libra members, the main ones that is, are accounted for. Each is given an episode for some development and side-plot, so by the end you’re liking them even more. Each one is unique in his or her own right and brings value to Libra.

~HELLSALEM’S LOT~
I want to live here. Of course I’d need Leo’s luck for avoiding a terrible death time and time again, but seeing the largest individual in the world stroll by now and then or have burgers with aliens or running from cute enormous monsters on a daily basis would be wicked awesome. It’s crazy when you stop to recognize that New York City is the only place on Earth subject to this chaos. The Big Apple just got bigger, wilder, and all the more delicious.

I want more cake. I need more Kekkai Sensen. It’s fun, it’s crazy, the music is ambrosia for my ears.

I love the first season, this one? There is lack of progression and no overarching story making me question myself why I still want to continue this series. Every next episode I constantly trying to find the overall story or what this anime trying to accomplish, hoping that the next episode will finally give me a reason to stay but no... It's one of those shows where every episode is a contained story, just like the first season the difference is in the first season there is progress and an overarching story in the background that builds up till the last episode. There's none of ... that here, it failed to present a story and it looks like the writer just improvise along the way. It focused too much on the side characters like they dedicate this one episode to one side character and on the next episode they dedicate it to another side character to flesh out these characters more and then completely forgets them on the later episodes. They go back to these cardboard cutouts of their characters. Leo, Zapp, Klaus and Zed are still the characters that carries this movie. The "Villains" here are just pathetic compared to black from the first season. There is also this tone in the series that's somewhat inconsistent. Like some cute alien brutally eats a person. The physics is out of the roof, characters surviving falls that will break their bones it's basically a cartoon. Let's talk about Leo, Leo seriously needs to be buffed. The "All seeing eye" is so underpowered in this show that Leo always getting his ass whooped and there's nothing wrong getting his ass whooped but at least give him a chance to fight back. They gave him an electric baton, that's cool right? The good thing about the show that makes it somewhat watchable is the art style, animation and sountrack just like the first season but it's not enough to carry this series. If there's going to be a season 3? Give black more screen time and bring white back maybe as a villain this time. Drop the 13 kings crap.

"Kekkai Sensen & Beyond" , also known as "A gathering of 12 ova's whose connection to the original kekkai sensen is abissmal", is a perfect watch for everyone that is yet to experience the well written, deeply touching and refreshing art piece that the first series is to behold. Infact, anyone gone through the King of Despair Arc would find this attempt at milking the kekkai cow laughable at most.

The story is entirely inexistent, characters are one-dimensional and as shallow as it gets, bearing little to no weight in the episodical plot and, as a result, they don't undergo any kind of evolution. Where some ... would blame the episodical nature though, i think that, even with that system, awesome results can be achieved (go see ep.3 of Kekkai Sensen and the Klauss character establishment, personally I cried)That said, the writers at least tried to lure the original fans through well positioned baits such as the sparce showings of the ghostly ex-"best girl" and the hairy she-detective's character analysis.

The art doesn't feel as impressive as the first series' one, even though some episodes truly show off the show potential (flying butler's car-thing). Intro and outro are pretty cool, especially the latter, but the whole thing doesn't hold a candle to, who would have ever thought, the amazing combination of the first instalment.

In the end, be it because of the remarkable love that i feel towards the original series or because of the actual unremarkableness (is that a word?) of the sequel, the only taste left in my mouth is bitter (not even sugar song to bitter step).

The second season of Kekkai Sensen: in my opinion better than season 1

Story: 6
So let's start off with the story. Compared to the first season, this season was in my opinion better paced and executed. Of course, it was still chaotic, but that's the whole concept of this series. The story in this season was easier to understand and we got more background information on each character of this series, which I also really liked. Still, there is unfortunately no overarching plot over the whole series, but just I still enjoyed watching each and every episode of it.

Art: 9
Then let's talk about the art. Just ... like in season 1, the animation this season was also great. The visuals were again on point and I really like the urban, New York-ish style. The details in the scenery and action scenes were still on point and I really liked it.

Sound: 8
The soundtrack used in this series in mostly based on jazz, which really gives off a chill vibe and gives you again straight away the feeling of an urban environment. Sometimes accompanied with great vocals and I found it very pleasant to listen to and a great addition to this series.

Character: 6
This season you got more background information on every character which made them more relatable. I already really liked the main character, but the further I watched this series the more I also started to like the side characters. Each person has its own unique personality and they are all very likable. You also got to see a bit of character development in the main character, which also made this season a bit better than the previous one.



So overall, I really enjoyed this season and I give it an 8. Yes, there is no real plot and is their an end goal in this series? Probably not. But there is something in this series, which made me want to continue watching. Every episode has its own story, which were all very exciting. And I personally really liked the main character and how he interacts with everyone around him. If you liked the first season, I would definitely recommend you to watch this season as well and if you didn't like the first season, I wouldn't recommend it, because the concept is still the same as the previous season but I would say that it's better executed overall this time.

Honestly, I'm not sure why the most recent reviews are so pure.

However, the vibes from season 1 and season 2 widely differ. Season 1 was much more serious with an extended dark plot and suitable ending that left many in tears. Season 2 was more lighthearted, giving us an insight to the characters backgrounds and random cases that the team would solve.

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of Season 2's style, but that's just a personal preference of preferring the characters over an extended dark plot.

While I do agree that some of the episodes seem a bit rushed, the sound and enjoyment does ... not fail me. With both seasons, I thoroughly enjoyed the soundtracks and it's one of the few that I nearly never skip the intro nor outro.

Season 2 allowed us greater insight into the characters, showing us why they are who they are and bits and pieces into their lives and I enjoyed every piece of it. The random pieces of comedy inserted are also tasteful don't take away from the story/episodes, which is why I ended up binging the entirety of Season 2 in a few hours.

I thoroughly enjoyed this season. If you're someone that loves knowing the characters themselves, i would really recommend this. However, if you're a huge fan of Season 1's dark plot, then give it a shot but you might not enjoy it as much.

Kekkai sensen & Beyond is one of the biggest disappointments I've ever had, just like its first season is a show style over substance episodic, but I am anticipating I will try that this review is the most complete possible.

Story
Leonardo Wacth came to Hellsalem's Lot, which is literally New York with random monsters, but with the same stereotypes of this city (which I will not say). Leonardo for things of destiny joins a organization called LIBRA whose objective is to maintain peace in the city and in the world.

Characters
The most solid point of the series, they are well characterized and also give an episode ... to each one to know more about them, my problem is that for the main story it does not contribute anything, there is even a characters that are relevant in a single episode, a particular case there are two episodes for a character completely irrelevant.

Development
As I said, it's a style about substance plus there's no real continuity, like the first season each episode is about a specific character and even this season's main arc feels very rushed and you can see that they ran out of time. The same thing that happened with the first season but at least the first time there were many more competent giving clues in all the episodes of what the main arc will be and they left us intrigued by their villain's intentions, they don't do that here. So Leonardo's character arc doesn't feel that personal and the villain is stupid, we don't know anything about the villain more than his motivations also we do not know where he comes from and they did not anticipate it like the previous season. Really a disappointment.

Animation and other sections
relatively still the same as the first season, Rei Matsumoto is the most talented of the staff but here I do not shine her talent as the first season, that episode 5 was the best thanks to her. The ost is still just as good, but the opening and ending is lower to the first season in every sense, musically and direction.

Conclusion
I sincerely expected this season to be much better than the first season, but it ended up being lower in every way. This season I don't recommend it, it's more out of commitment and out of curiosity, it's still not bad, it's a 5/10 for me.

Since I don't like the shape of the sections in a review of myanimelist, here my shape of the sections.
story: (0.5) / (2)
character: (1.5) / (2)
development: (1) / (4)
animation(others): (2) / (2)
5/ 10
thank for read:)

Kekkai Sensen is undoubtedly an anime that didn’t have much to keep, due to its closed and slightly incoherent but pleasant ending. But surprisingly, this second season ended up pleasing me more than I thought it would.
Primarily she kept everything I like Kekkai sensen, the animation, the soundtrack and the characters remain extremely charismatic, only this time there is no super confused and meaningless villain. I felt that this season tried to focus more on developing the characters, giving more or less 1 or 2 episodes for each one, for example the episode of Steven, which is perfect, the one in Chain which is really ... fun, and the one in the hospital explains more about Klaus and Steven's relationship.
In short there is not much I can say about this season since (I postponed writing the review for 5 years) there was nothing "wow" that got me out of the chair because it is incredible, so all I can say is, Kekkai Sensen & Beyond has an absurd animation, an even better soundtrack and extremely charismatic characters who manage to make this series worth watching.
Grade: 7

I really love the first season and thought it did everything right! it is of one my favorites but Beyond felt boring at times! It felt very dull and while there were great moments overall it was a very dreadful experience! it was a let down considering the excitement that was building! The Animation and Music were amazing as everyone expected but story wise it felt very stale and the main villain was introduced too late unlike the king of despair which they built to the entire first season! It felt way too laid back and did get me to care! Everyone was back and ... they didn't really good on the character stuff! They developed characters who really needed it (Like Chain and Zed) and did a fantastic job with Leo where he shines once again as a fun likable main character! The last two episodes are amazing and build great suspense which I think is what the rest season was lacking

Blood Battle Blockade & Beyond (or B3&B)

It’s more of the same, what’s not to love?

There’s no real point in me sitting here giving a detailed review on BBB s2 when it is so nearly identical to s1. If you liked s1, you’ll almost certainly like s2, and that’s basically all there is to it.

Actually, wait up a sec. There is a caveat, don’t go into s2 expecting it to have any real plot until the last 2 episodes (so yeah, the same formula as the first season). If you go into it expecting the series to move on with the storyline presented at the very ... beginning of the series (because, we are at the second season now after all), you will be disappointed and view all the mindless episodic fun as filler – which will ruin your enjoyment. So don’t go into it with that mindset. Enjoy B3&B for the mindless fun it is (there are actually a couple of surprisingly deep episodes too, where we get to explore the backstories of the other cast members), and then, when they do actually get to the plot (right at the end of the series), you won’t feel like it’s been thrown in out of nowhere.

Enjoy! 😊 XD

I don't usually watch anime and it's even more ironic when I'm so invested in drawing anime-like characters, but when I do, I'd choose something that 1. is born for technical admiration (at least the other aspects are digestible), 2. memorable character and world building. Well, guess what? This show is surprisingly all about those ridiculous standards of mine.

Story: 6/10
Okay, for those who don't like the idea of an anime that does not have any real interesting plot hooks in particular, I can relate to that now. Jokes're everywhere, but feel forced and cheap, although I appreciate the effort in trying to make a ... bunch of well-placed humor without ruining the mood (well, it did, half of the time). Small stories of the rest of Libra's members only told more about how these characters react to some bizarre events, which is the thing you shouldn't binge too much if you remember how bizarre Hellsalem's Lot is everyday (at this point I actually beg for something big in the last season, even if it was poorly developed).
It's literally like the description of Libra in the ep 2 of season 1: "A secret organization of people with supernatural abilities dedicated to maintaining order in the everyday chaos of Hellsalem's Lot". Nothing goes beyond that.

Art and Animation: 8/10
Bones is known for producing quality and consistent animation, regardless of the anime's popularity. I still find detailed and vivid backgrounds with above average fighting scenes, pretty much like the lavish production in the last season. Now there's something quite annoying about the optical effect in some certain scenes, I don't understand the physics thing in film making but I can tell you that it's ANNOYING. Anyway, the rest is beautiful.
The style changed a little bit, in an even more stylized way than the first season, the show tried to capture the "edgy lines" in its oringinal manga, which is fine I guess.

Original Soundtrack: 8/10
The sound design in this series is incredibly competent (again), among with the animation. Iwasaki did an amazing job in creating soothing aesthetic and highly catchy music, he mixed various kind of genres, including hip-hop, rap, to some pop jazz, trip hop or just pure piano track. Although the music itself is atmospheric, the direction is not that brilliant, a lot of moments are so misplaced and awkward. I personally feel like Masumoto put more passion in this area than Aketagawa.

Character: 6/10 (5+1 for the designs)
Since the last season had to deal with the dull character development issue, the second season did change the plan, but it wasn't all that matter. Those stories did settle some certain feelings for the characters and introduce their personal backgrounds, but that's it, no real strong impact, no mind-changing situation, no questionable moments of thoughts, no nothing (maybe K.K's episode is exceptional, but still, it's just too simplistic for this Baccano,Durarara-toned series). And even Leonardo the MAIN CHARACTER, oh good lord, what an impactful flashback. I mean, I have no issue with Michella but seriously? "You're my turtle knight"? Richly textured story I guess.

Overall: 7/10
This is a pure entertainment, come on and enjoy the wackiness of this series, filled with memorable music and visual impression.

It is not as good as the first season, I do not see evolution in the protagonist only in the last chapters against the doctor I see that he does something. After the rest of the chapters more or less leaves me without wanting to see more. Because episodes have become chapters and that as there is no main plot as in the first but it is entertaining. For the characters we already knew and the world in which it introduces you.

En español:
No es tan buena como la primera temporada, no veo evolución en el protagonista solo en los últimos capítulos contra el doctor veo ... que hace algo. Después el resto de los capítulos mas o menos me deja sin ganas de ver mas. Porque se volvieron capítulos episodios y eso como no hay una trama principal como en la primera pero es entretenida. Por los personajes que ya conocíamos y el mundo en el que te introduce.

Alright alright, i have no background in writing reviews and what not, but i wanted to add my 2 cents.

When it comes to the story......WE ALL KNOW ITS WEAK.

I didnt specifically watch this show because the plot line was strong and gripping. It did pull at some heart strings a few times, and they definitely could have done more with Leo, but overall its one of those shows you just watch to enjoy. (season 1 definitely did better story wise).

For me what made it was the art and comedy. I could just see the amount of time and effort that went into ... creating the scenes, the people, the (aliens?) monsters, etc.
Then cue in some always amazing fighting scenes......yeah always a good time.
I feel if you solely judge this show on its weaknesses you may miss out on a lot of the enjoyment. Just sit back and laugh at the completely ludicrous events that happen so sporadically. Lots happens in this city :)
Surprisingly, this was a show my whole family within a variety of ages enjoyed.

Yes lots of parts could have been better.
I know tons of people treasure a story...i know...i love anime shows with great story lines too...
But i also enjoy a small collection of shows that I watch just to be impressed visually and get me laughing and this one fits that bill.

Oh and Leo is freaking adorable lol.

I wasn't intending to watch it... I didn't watch first season, so I just wanted to take a look at episode 1 of this 2nd, to see if it was worth go fot the 1st...

...and then, that "Fake Town, baby" OP got me from the throat and brains and now I'm here.
I saw the entire "& Beyond" season before even a glimpse of season 1 or mangas.

... so, my opinion is based almost entirely on Season 2 itself. I'm barely reachin' ep. 3 at Se01, by now.

And here it is:


... Nightow is a genius.
Nightow is nuts.

I didn't think so in Trigun ( I haven't watched Gungrave) ... here he has made that very clear to me.

HellSalem's Lot is the most absurdly immersive city than I have experienced in an Anime exceptis excipiendis Otomo's Neo-Tokyo; practically another character of the plot with a greater weight than most of the human/demoniac ones.

This serie is like a Garage Rock song performed by the London Philharmonic under a bipolar Bushman producer ...
... and I'm falling short...

He managed to integrate 3D in a way more subtle fashion he did at 1st season (so far I saw it) and worked on light and environments 'til obsessive levels.
There are scenes I must replay 'cause I was so caught up in the ambients I barely knew what the characters were doing

The endless mix of multicultural meta-references permeating art, music, dialogues and even "extras" walking the streets is soooo exhausting ... I am unable to follow them all or remember them all ... my poor wits utterly fail.

In addition; dude enjoys getting the audience into rhythm and emotion roller coasters using narrative ways odder and weirder than a purple dog with Balrog horns.

In the 1st season looks like everything was more linear; here we got a bunch of autoconclusive OVAs, alternatively starred by each one of the Libra (including the butler and some-guy-that-happens-he-was-around-there-for-no-reason).
Not too clear where anything is goin' on; more alike the original manga, I've been told.

The polyglot battle techniques (originally spelled in Japanese, English, German and Spanish)... they are perhaps what I like the least ... my bad; action is dynamic and spreads adrenaline until splashing the 4th wall.

OST easily into my Top-3 of the Year:
Each song and theme has been specifically composed, played and delivered just for a precise moment of the show.
Each song and theme goes from "More than Average" to "Great!"

Bizarre, asymmetric, chaotic, plain, lisergic, delicate, raw, world-wider, stupid, genious...

Say more; you'll probably be right whathever the adjective you choose.

I could go on for several more pages, but I am a compassionate man and we are at Christmas Times.

So Happy New Year to all of you.

Kekkai sensen & Beyond splits into 2 parts in these 12 episodes.

The first part is more story focused around Leonardo and thats episodes 1,11 and 12 and the second part are the episodes between them which involve the rest of the Libra characters and helps as some short of character development.

The first part and especially the last 2 episodes are for me the most enjoyable episodes of the whole season .And that is because they were focused around Leonardo and his sister Michella.
I would really like to see more story involving Claus but that didnt happen on this season at least.

The second part is the ... episodic one around the rest of the libra members like Chain,Steven,K.K or even Gilbert.We get 1 to 2 episodes focusing on each one of them without having any connections between them.
I really liked the fact that they showed more of Gilbert for example but whats the point since we dont see him being involved in anything in the rest of Kekkai?Same goes for the doctor or Dog.
And the only reason i complain about this is because of fact that the season has only 12 episodes.
We barely saw any of the thirteen kings except from Fempt.

In terms of art direction and music/sound there is nothing to complain about as they are as good as the first season. I wish Kekkai Sensen % beyond was more story focused with more episodes.

Here we go again, after a very fun and confusing 1st season Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond released a 2nd season. I became big fan of this series cuz although it's plot was all over the place it was such a joy to watch with a lot of great action, interesting characters, and cool music. Entering this season I was hoping it would focus on giving us more info on some of the characters(Libra in particular)cuz we didn't get much of it in the previous season. Plus I wanted the series to be given a set plot for it to focus on that way it ... can improve the pacing. If the series did both of us we could've be given a masterpiece, but did it do it ?? Once again it was a 12 episode season and after finishing it here's what I thought.***contains MINOR spoilers***


Story:7/10
In terms of pacing season two is very much the same as its first season. Like season one the series starts off by using an episodic pattern and then towards the end it gives us an overarching plot. Clearly the show's biggest strength here is when it sticks to the episodic pattern and focuses on character interactions cuz the series is so good at giving its audience entertaining and funny moments with a bunch of exciting fights. This season also focused more on giving the side characters their own episodes where we learn more about them which is something I heavily appreciated. We were given an episode of an event that occurred during the big collapse which I felt was important cuz it showed us how some humans like newcomer Luciana Esteves gained supernatural upgrades. The show does however still suffers from exposition, for example everyone makes a big deal of Leo's eye power but we're never given its full extend which leaves you kinda wonder what's the big deal ?? And we're still never shown how the Libra members were given their powers either. In the last two episodes the main plot was revealed to be about Leo and Michelle and although it's a part we wanted to see it wasn't given enough build up to make the episode finale much of an impact. The series needs to be given more episodes/time to in order for us to explore everything and for build up that way we can be truly invested.

Art:10/10
This is an area where its 1st heavily excelled at and it exceeds once again. But then again it's Studio Bones so what do ya expect. The show once again does a great job at portraying Hellsalem's Lot by showing stunning shots of the city's skyscrapers, subways, and streets. There was also an absolute astounding image in the season finale where the series captures a lake and my god not only was it beautiful but it looked so real. The show's look really gives you that modern New York vibe with the use of technology like iPhones and television. Like the previous season the animation did a great job at handling the action scenes only this time there were actually MORE explosions to emphasize the destruction. The action never slows down it's very fast paced and never once does the series look dull. It's a very cool and attractive looking anime and it's another prime example on how Bones handles its given work.

Sound:9/10
While the music is still great it wasn't as great as the first season unfortunately. This was mainly due to the opening and ending themes, while I find both to be good they just weren't as awesome as the two from season one. Even so, the ending theme of this season "Step Up Love" done by DAOKO and Yasuyuki Okamura has been nominated for best ending song by this year's crunchyroll Anime Awards so the community finds it great. The same composer, Taisei Iwasaki does the music so the season still contains the great background music from its first season. My personal favorite track would be "World Goes Round" as it reminded me so much of a 90's R&B song and it sounded great. Once again the voice acting is terrific, majority of the cast is the same except for Zed's as his VA was changed to Chris Wekhamp for w.e reason. I highly recommend for this to be watched in English as it contains some beloved voice actors such as Aaron Dismuke(Leo) and J. Michael Tatum(Steven) and they all put on fine performances.

Character:9/10
So did this season improve the characterization from the first season, thankfully yes. This season finally gave us insight and backgrounds on the Libra members that we've wanted. Characters like Chain, Steven, K.K., Gilbert, and Zed are all interesting and got their own episodes where we learned about them. As we already knew Chain is the sexy sadist who's an invisible werewolf who likes to beat up Zapp every once in awhile. Now we know that she's apart of an all female assassination squad who each have the same powers that she has. We were also given a glimpse of her home life, she appears to be a slob who leave's her apartment very messy and loves to drink Blue Moon, plus she seems to have a crush on Steven. As for Gilbert we already knew he's Klaus' butler but we've learned that he's a badass mummy looking man who has superhuman regeneration which is the only reason why he's still alive. Aside from that he can also kick some serious ass who owns a bat mobile like vehicle, so he's Bruce Wayne and Alfred all in one I mean how cool is that !! Zed who's half man, half fish is given a backstory of his own we're given how much of a chill and lovable guy he is as he goes job hunting so he can balance out Libra's funds. Now I could sit here explain more about the others but I don't wanna give away too much, just know that this season gave the cast more depth and insight that made them more relatable and understanding. And Im real proud at this. I do however wish we get more of Femt who's been hinted that he might potentially be the show's central villain.


Final Verdict: 8.7/10


Pros

+Continues to excel in its episodic route that keeps the series to be fun and cool
+Improved character devolvement that helps the cast become relatable
+Art and style continues to look great and really stands out
+Those badass signature moves never gets old !!


Cons

-Lack of story arcs
-Series as a whole still suffers from exposition
-It's too short give us more !!


Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond continues to keep the series fun and exciting. It has goofy funny moments, beautiful deep moments, great fight scenes, happy scenes, and sad scenes. From an entertainment standpoint this series never failed and thanks to its character development it made this enjoyable cast even better. From a story perspective however it's still a lil disappointing, it keeps throwing plots at the end that make you ask, "Why don't they focus on setting it up rather than just throwing it in ??' This series is a perfect example of an anime that's too short, and it has so much potential to be just a mere 24 episode series. As of now we don't know if a season 3 is gonna happen I hope so cuz the series doesn't look wrapped up at all plus we NEED more. If this show can live up to it's potential by handling its story better this could really be a masterpiece. In conclusion, this season was slightly better and it has many moments on why we loved it in the first place so it's safe to say that it won't disappoint anyone.

Kekkai Sensen was a mediocre anime I reviewed five years ago. It had some good ideas but lacklustre execution and largely dull characters worked against it. Well, now I've got a request for its sequel, which came out in 2017. So, let's see if it improves like Overlord did or stays relatively stagnant like Sword Art Online. (Yes, I know the second series was a slight improvement. But going from a '2' quality to a '3' is hardly worth celebrating.) 

Story:

& Beyond is largely made up of stand alone episodes that seem to be trying to add some depth to our protagonists from Libra while providing an entertaining ... viewing experience. That seems to be the goal, at any rate. 

The biggest problem with it is that a lot of these stand alone episodes aren't very interesting. They rely a lot on over the top, absurd action sequences and the bombastic humour that always clashed with the somewhat serious moments in the first series. Which continues to be a problem with the tone here. K.K.'s episode is dull. Zed's episode is basically, "he's lonely and was created in a lab." Nothing really interesting there. Steven's episode, also kind of boring.

The last episode has a pretty big flaw with its consistency. Basically, Leonardo finds himself menaced by a being no one else can see and has to figure out a way to defeat it in order to save his sister so she can marry some dude who also has no personality and live an unremarkable life. The issue with this is that we've seen in this series that Leonardo can extend his special all seeing eyes to his comrades therefore allowing them to see things the way he does. So, why exactly doesn't he do this when he's literally surrounded by his comrades? You might say, "well, maybe he's worried about his sister" but there are two occasions where he and the entity in question are away from his sister and he has comrades nearby. So, it comes across as him not using the ability we've seen him use multiple times because the script says so. 

There are some entertaining episodes thrown into the series. Chain's episode, the phantom hospital episode and the butler's episode stand out as high points. And the series continues to have good ideas behind it. Though I question at this point whether or not it's ever going to do anything interesting with those ideas.

Characters:

This is an area that's barely improved on over the first series. For all the focus on character-oriented episodes, there's not much actually added in terms of character depth. For most of these people, we get one new character trait. We learn that K.K. has a trite domestic life. We learn that Zed's lonely and so on. Basically, it's about adding a trait that doesn't interfere with the very bland archetype or alter a character's personality in any way. But hey, if they keep adding one trait per series, we'll have fleshed out characters by the time the 6th series of this is over

Art:

I will continue to praise the designs that this franchise uses for its otherworldly creatures. The action sequences are pretty strong. They'd be really good if not for the stupidly labelled special attacks. Seriously, why do we need written characters popping up on screen to show the attack names? It's exceedingly stupid and just damages the flow of the battle. That's the entire reason Klaus has the weakest action sequences since they do it with his moves more often than with anyone else's. 

Sound:

The same big issue persists. The over the top, bombastic performances. Sakaguchi Daisuke & Nakai Kazuya especially go full ham. When the performances are more subdued, they're decent. Maybe not the best ever, but they're fine. Some of the music is forgettable but passable, some of it is among the worst hip hop ever recorded. 

Ho-yay: 

There still isn't any ho-yay. 

Areas of Improvement:

Character development, character development, character development. If you're going to go the episodic route and focus on different characters during different episodes, this is essential. 
Subdued Acting. Because the bombastic stuff does not sound good. 
If your character has an established ability that would hugely benefit them in a situation, either have them use it or give a damn good explanation for why they aren't.

Final Thoughts:

If you're a big fan of Kekkai Sensen, this will give you more of the same and likely keep you entertained. If you didn't like the first series or, like me, just found it relatively mediocre, this is not going to change your mind. As such, I'm giving it a 5/10. Like the first series, I just find it to be an average experience with negatives that roughly balance out the positives.