Rising Impact Season 2

This season is a good second season. It takes place right after season one and all characters gets some good screentime. This is very reminiscent of early 2000s anime and I am here for it.

The story is like any other sports anime. The underdog loses at first and then gets stronger (in this case new parts of his rising impact ability). The show doesn't do anything revolutionary in the sports genre. Simple sport with a supernatural twist to make things more interesting. I love how they made all the American characters yappers, very much like us.

A downside is the amount of fat jokes ... there are. One or two is fine but it feels like there's more than last season. This anime feels like the target audience are teens, but the jokes don't quite land as such.

The second season of Rising Impact builds on the foundation laid in the first season. It dives deeper into the world of competitive golf while further developing its young protagonist, Gawain Nanaumi. This season continues to blend the intensity of sports anime with the technical intricacies of golf, making it both educational and entertaining.

Story and Character Development
Season 2 focuses on Gawain's growth as a golfer and competitor facing increasingly challenging opponents at the prestigious Camelot Academy. The narrative explores the psychological and emotional hurdles of pursuing greatness in an often organized and slow-paced sport. Gawain's journey becomes more complex as he faces skilled rivals who ... bring their unique strategies and backstories into play.

One of the standout aspects of this season is how it handles character interactions and rivalries. Gawain’s relationships with his peers, particularly Lancelot Norman and Kiria Nishino, are explored more deeply, adding layers to their characters and making their conflicts on the golf course more compelling. However, while these relationships are fleshed out, some secondary characters still feel underdeveloped, which might leave viewers wanting more from these interactions.

Animation and Direction
The animation quality remains consistent with the first season, with Lay-duce doing a commendable job bringing the sport to life. The depiction of golf techniques, weather conditions, and terrain intricacies is visually engaging, making each match feel unique and thrilling. Director Hitoshi Nanba continues to use the same methods that kept the first season visually dynamic, ensuring that even non-golf enthusiasts can stay engaged with the story.

Themes and Execution
A recurring theme in this season is perseverance in the face of adversity. Gawain’s journey highlights the mental toughness required to succeed in a sport as demanding as golf. This season also delves into the importance of strategy over raw power, as Gawain learns that every shot requires careful consideration of multiple factors. This lesson is well illustrated through the various challenges he faces.

However, some of the first season's criticisms persist. The pacing occasionally feels uneven, with specific episodes dragging due to the detailed focus on golf mechanics, which might appeal to only some viewers. Additionally, while the season provides some resolution to ongoing storylines, it still needs a clear long-term objective, leaving the overall narrative direction somewhat ambiguous.

Final Thoughts
Rising Impact Season 2 is a solid continuation of the series, offering a deeper look into the sport of golf through the lens of shonen anime. It balances technical detail with character drama, though it might only partially satisfy viewers looking for more traditional sports anime pacing. For fans of the first season and those interested in golf, this season provides a rewarding experience despite minor shortcomings.

Overall, Rising Impact Season 2 is worth watching for its unique blend of sports action and detailed exploration of golf, earning it a strong recommendation for fans of the genre.

I am stuck between loving the characters and the overall story and being displeased with how unrealistic certain(read:almost all) other parts of the show are. Basically my enjoyment boils down to how much I can suspend my disbelief. I haven't really watch sports anime before, so I don't know how they normally go, but I wasn't expected it to go full dragon ball z with the power creep.

As someone who played junior golf myself, I guess it is easy for me to see the lack of realism in it all. Basically every aspect of golf is turned up to 11, and beyond. The show has ... good characters and overall story, but it is just constantly unrealistic in pretty much every aspect that it is hard for me to just watch the show without the situation at just about every level feeling wrong. I do freaking love Gawain and Lancelot though, the characters also have turned up personalities that makes them very interesting and endearing.

So the golf holes themselves are completely unrealistic, players have unrealistic skills(before we even get to the people with actual super powers), and players are way too easily affected by the games of others, good players fall apart too easily, and get back into form just as easily as well. Also the courses are so long, have so much elevation change, you'd have to have legs like a mountain climber to make it through 18 holes. The pacing of matches and general formats also just don't make sense. Like every group stopped playing after 9 holes and waited for the half way scores to be tallied, this would never happen and would make a very long course that already takes all day to play even longer, especially with the amount of other drama and slowdowns happening on the course, it would be like a 12+ hour round of golf for all of this stuff to happen. Also, any of the star players are already good enough to go pro - if you are shooting eagles and albatrosses on ridiculously hard fantasy holes, you could tear apart any hole on the actual pro tour- why is there a guy who has won a tournament 4 years in a row still wasting his time as an amateur? Just go pro and you'd literally already be at the top.

I get that it is fantasy, and I am supposed to go with it, but I feel like they go too far too often where it just feels disconnected from reality I am not even sure what kind of universe the show is taking place in.

So yeah, I enjoy the show, and the character development actually is pretty good and got me liking characters I didn't think I would. It's just that the show is so far from reality in actual golf that it really takes away in some aspects. I wish they could have ramped up player abilities more slowly, contained the power creep and milked it for more, because after the first season things only got more out of hand and it seems like there is really no where to go after this season. If you don't care about any kind of realism and can just turn your brain off to follow the story and characters, then it's probably great though, I just have trouble doing that.