High Card Season 2

high card = the good looking sad boys' club
haha
not a bad series actually - i'm glad i didn't trust the ratings & went in pretty blind. the animation was pretty good & the story was ok i guess. the entire package was pretty entertaining i'll say. i definitely like the borrowed aesthetics of Kingsmen - i enjoy the movies a lot so probably that bias plays in High Card too.
the anime tries to move the story both character and plot wise which is probably what makes it quite lackluster, but honestly if one doesn't think too hard about the series (or if you're ... here w masterpiece expectations), High Card has the attraction to keep you curious enough for you to click on the next episode, and the next, and the next, until you've reach ep24 & it's over.

6.8 out of 10 overall :)

As an avid fan of High Card, I was all in, eagerly awaiting Season 2, hoping for a deep dive back into the thrilling world that Season 1 set up so beautifully. And to be honest, the first few episodes had me nodding along, thinking, "Okay, this is pretty good." But after that? Well, that’s where things started to fall apart for me.

On the bright side, our favorite characters found themselves knee-deep in even crazier situations, which made them tighter as a group and led to some pretty juicy introspection. Chris, my personal fave, thankfully kept his swagger from the first season. With a fresh ... crop of villains and some long-lost frenemies popping up, the stage was set for a truckload of plot twists.

And plot twists we got—enough to make you rethink everything you thought you knew about those magic cards. The kingdom of Fourland? Yeah, it had way more secrets up its sleeve than we first thought. As the card powers started to unfold, the drama kicked into high gear, cranking up the tension to levels that might just give you whiplash. But, let’s be real, that intensity sometimes came at the expense of the slick, cool vibe that made the first season pop.

Now, let's talk animation—honestly, it didn’t exactly blow my mind, especially compared to some of the other big shows this season. The CGI during crucial scenes was a bit of a letdown, and some of the facial expressions? Flat as a pancake. The music? It got the job done, with the opening theme still holding its ground, and the sound effects were a decent match for the card powers.

Let’s talk about that pacing, though—it’s like they hit fast-forward and forgot to hit pause. Everything’s moving at a million miles per hour, with character development, plot twists, and emotional beats jam-packed into every episode. It’s like they tried to squeeze a whole season’s worth of story into half the time, and the result? A narrative that skims the surface without diving into the rich, intricate details we fell in love with.

This breakneck speed doesn't just mess with the vibe—it steals the thunder from those big, pivotal moments that should’ve hit us right in the feels. Instead of letting scenes breathe and build suspense, they get glossed over, leaving us feeling a bit disconnected and craving more depth. So yeah, it’s not boring, and it's definitely watchable, but there’s no denying it feels like an average anime that could’ve been so much more.

Overall, if you were itching for more of what the first season brought, this one doesn't do the trick. It’s not exactly a home run, and halfway through, you might be tempted to toss it into the "maybe later" pile. But stick with it, and by the end, you’ll probably find yourself going all in for that final episode.

My main problem with this show is that it has a chronic problem with its identity. I found S1 painfully average but saw some potential. And I wanted to give S2 the chance to let it land, and so far its getting worse.

It has no idea what it wants to be and because of this it doesn't do anything well. It's trying to juggle so many elements within the plot that it ends up bouncing from uninteresting character to uninteresting character. For me, the only character I found remotely interesting (that actually got more than 5 mins of screen time mind you) was Leo. ... He got most of episode 5 dedicated to him, and they even messed that up. Episode 5 perfectly represented everything wrong with this show - Poor. Execution.

Another reviewer for S1 thought that High Card was advertised to be a mix of Kingsman and Bungou Stray Dogs and that's what I thought too. But it isn't either of them. It isn't anything. It doesn't deliver anything comedic and wacky. The way the characters use the Cards is laughably incompetent. The plot is very weak mainly due to the worldbuilding and characters being so flat and devoid of any substance or care.

The best way I can describe this show is that its a really bad Power Rangers adaptation that takes itself too seriously. Ultimately, I really wanted to like this show. It has great potential. But if only did it focus more on its narrative structure then it would have delivered on what it actually wanted to be.