Meng Qi Shi Shen: Zaijie Liangyuan

I honestly didn't know how to rate this one, but I definitely found myself enjoying season 1 A LOT more. I was wayyyy more bored with this sequel. I watched it because other reviews said the romance between the MCs progresses more, because there wasn't much in the first, and I wanted to know what was going to happen with them.

That being said, there was definitely way more scenes between the two in the first season, so if you're going into it hoping for more you don't really get all that much.

STORY
Season 1 was lackluster, and season 2 is even moreso. There really isn't much ... of a setting here, and absolutely zero conflict. Season 1 at least had some tension and fighting. This season is more slice of lifey, but focuses more on cooking and less on drama and romance.

If you were disappointed by the amount of cooking in season 1, you'll be happy to know they added more to this sequel.

Other than that, nothing really happened. I was really hoping for more between the MCs. Especially considering the ED contains a bunch of modern-day photos of them as a couple.

CHARACTERS
I still liked the MCs, but everyone else was rather dull. They introduced some new characters that I sort of liked, but they didn't add much and I didn't find them interesting enough to want to pay attention to them.

ART/SOUND
The art and animation in season 1 is definitely better. It becomes a little more of your average anime in this sequel. The music is nice though, and I liked the OP and ED. Very cute!

Overall, it was meh. I'm not sure what they plan to do with season 3, but considering their status by the end of the sequel, I would hope they include more scenes between the MCs. I mean, they really don't know much about each other. One could assume Chunyu only likes Jinxuan because of her cooking and cute looks, and that she saved him that one time /shrug.

Do you have to watch this season? Nah. If you're here just for the romance, skip to episodes 11 and 12 for some progression. And yes, I know this is a COOKING anime, BUT as mentioned, the romance between the MCs is canon and made very evident by the serious lack of rivals and the ED credits.

*SPOILERS............
I'm not a Jing fan but damn. Seeing him walkaway at the end just hurt...he really had a pointless role in this sequel. It's hard to not pity the guy. Also, how did no one realize Jinxuan was a girl this whole time?? I find that really hard to believe. I sound like a major critic, I'm not. I'm just a romance junkie and am disappointed, lol.