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Fairy Tail 2014 is the direct sequel to the first fairy tail. It was renewed under a different animation studio hence why you can see the slight difference in the most recent episodes. characters feel more stiff and the animation has gotten a little more dense, which is quite disappointing. I'll say that I'm a strong fan of Fairy Tail for being a Shounen anime I like it more than most BIG animes out there like One Piece, Hunter X Hunter, and Bleach. Although I enjoyed Bleach a hell of a lot more. This anime gives a different approach in terms of aesthetics.

The sequel is ... pretty much the same from the previous in every aspect. The story continues right off from the Grand Magic Games Arc, where Fairy Tail 1 ended. The longest arc yet, but arguably the best arc of the anime atm. The fights get more epic and it starts off with a bang, However it trails off in a different direction after the Grand Magic Games end, which is what I expected.

STORY:

For a Shounen anime you shouldn't expect a nice story in the first place. You should expect obtuse writing, OP characters, and cliche fights and conclusions. The traditional fight this guy and get more powerful later, and fight him again and beat him is seen here sometimes. Although this anime tends to go through the ideal of protecting comrades as its trope and main reason for the characters winning the fights. Almost every arc is quite cliche it's nothing special at all, but the fights and unique character design keep you watching it. The arc after the Grand Magic Games arc is the Eclipse Celestial Spirits, which is the most ridiculous/longest arc that I've ever attempted to watch. Seriously just skip it. It's not in the anime and it's utter filler shit. The arcs after it are the Sun Village/Tartoros Arc, which is the big arcs that lead up to big events that you should pay attention at. I won't say much about it since the Tartoros arc is the current arc were on atm (At the time of this review). Overall story is nothing special, but you shouldn't of expected something amazing.

ART:

Like I mentioned before. The animation studio got changed resulting in the animation becoming a little bit more stiff like. I don't like it that much, but it's not biggy. The art style in this anime is nothing special, but it's not bad either. It never has bothered me and the fan service art is still there. It's okay and average at best.

SOUND:

Probably the only reason why I watch this anime and the biggest unique factor it has. The OST to this anime is GOD TIER STATUS. Seriously if you listen to the OST and then watch the anime you feel cheated. I found out about this anime THROUGH the music it has. The anime pales in comparison to the OST. It's the same composer who did Naruto and a few other popular animes that I can't think of atm. Anyway the new OST sounds great, and is almost on par with Fairy Tail's 1 OST.

CHARACTERS:

The new characters introduced in Fairy Tail 2 aren't that memorable I must say. The Grand Magic Game arc brings a dark version of Rogue, who I could care less about. The Tartoros Arc has introduced an entirely new guild, with an array of characters. There all pretty generic, but some look cool in terms of aesthetics. A few are quite fan service, but it's w/e. All in all none this is definitely not one of Fairy Tail's strong points. A lot of new characters introduced in this sequel aren't really that impactful.

ENJOYMENT:

For some reason I enjoy this anime maybe because it blends the concept of wizards and guilds somewhat well. It's almost something new, but in the end it does feel the same compared to the other shounens out there. This anime had potential to be way better, but the suspense is non existent, which makes it quite stale. However I think some of the fight scenes are extremely well done combined with the GOD TIER music it has.

OVERALL: Solid 8

For a Shounen I'm not going to complain. I'd choose this over One Piece and Naruto any day. Call me crazy, but I can't stand the ninja/pirate shit. I'd rather go with wizards and guilds. The OST does carry this anime hard, but some characters are likeable like Mystogan, Erza, Laxus, and Jellal.

I'm a big fan of Durarara!! season 1, and absolutely loved the way the story was told. This anime is definitely my kind of thing. The characters, the plot, art style, and sound is all genuinely outstanding. I must say I'm enjoying Durarara!!x2 a lot more than 1. x2 will be aired in 3 cours (This being the first each consisting of 12 episodes).

Durarara!! is one of those mischievous anime's' with a complex story that is told through a variation of characters in each episode. Each episode is smartly crafted into a puzzle like piece where it forces you to watch, and continue the anime ... into the next episode in order to find out wtf was really going on. Certain people might find it exhausting to comprehend, but in the end you ultimately will understand it, since it's usually explained to you in the last part of the episode or next.

STORY: 9/10

The story starts off I believe a couple months after the events of season 1. Everything has roughly stayed the same, and Ikebukuro is still a city that has millions of things happening in it at the same time. Each episode has various stories being told, with almost every character having an impact on what is exactly happening in that precise moment. All characters are part of the story and all of the events happening eventually converge. It might be a messy way of storytelling, but you will find out quickly if it's something you enjoy or hate. A variety of characters return, and a whole lot of new characters are also introduced adding to the joy of Ikebukuro.

As shown in season 1 we see the clash of gang wars, as well as new gangs that pop up inside the city adding competition between gang members, and of course the Dollars are involved in every conceivable way. A lot of things that you've seen in the first Durarara is still present in season 2, and the only difference is the addition of new characters, a twisted storyline, and overall a large amount of color and flavor to add to it.

ART: 10/10

Nothing extremely special here. The animation is beautiful, nothing bad about it in my opinion, and I find it hard to believe anyone having problems with it. The intro is amazing, and is now one of my favorite openings to an anime ever. The outro not so much, but it's like every other Durarara intro/outro. Each one introduces all the characters in the show (new ones included) doing their daily tasks in Ikebukuro. TBH I find no reason to criticize the art at all.

SOUND: 9/10

The music to the intro/outro is very nice. The intro more so. I know all anime intros are suppose to be catchy, but this one nails it. Overall a lot of the music is recycled from season 1, which is fine. I see no reason to make a new OST for this anime. The music matches very well to what exactly happens, when events unfold. Overall I don't find any of the music memorable, and I don't envision myself listening to many of the songs from the OST (other than the intro songs).

If you are planning to watch this Dubbed or Subbed. It doesn't really matter since both are very well done. I would actually lean toward the dub version though. This is one of the very few anime's that actually have a nice English dub, and the fact that both are airing simultaneously is a nice plus as well.

CHARACTERS: 10/10

This is where Durarara really shines. The anime introduces a very large cast of characters. The best thing about it is that they all mesh together very well with what's going on as well. You never feel that any character is bland or left out for filler. Each character offers their own sense of uniqueness. This anime doesn't exactly have a protagonist, since all episodes showcase nearly all the characters with shared amount of screen time.

I guess you could say that Mikado is the protagonist, but in my opinion he's my least favorite character.

Mikado - He's the generic high schooler who's naive, oblivious to everything, and all around a pussy when it comes to when stuff is about to happen or IS happening.

Anri - If you watched season 1 you know that she's the demon chick with the katana. She's alright, but overall I could care less about her, since she shares a very passive/innocent personality that can tick you off a bit.

Shizuo - The badass guy in the bartender suit, who we all love. This guy is apparently the strongest person in Ikebukuro (Literally) and no one wants to trifle with this guy one bit. He returns with some pretty big parts in this anime.

Izaya - My favorite character from the series, mainly because of his tricky personality. Izaya enjoys messing with people (mainly Shizuo) and he is the person who literally runs Ikebukuro. He's an information broker who fights with Shizuo often, and exchanges information for his own desires. I would describe him as a young intelligent underground boss of Ikebukuro.

There're loads of other characters, but in all honesty just watch the anime and enjoy it yourself.

OVERALL/ENJOYMENTS: 9/10

This is a very nice anime to watch to catch some laughs. Considering it's only a comedy like anime, which I don't really watch often. It does it well, and I see no reason why people would dislike it. I thoroughly enjoyed every single bit of it. I laughed and regarded this anime as a very clever one, which makes you think, and pay attention. I never found myself bored of watching it. The dialogue and characters kept it lively, and full of euphoria.

I guess the only thing you can really say about this anime that could be bad is that there is never a feeling that people will actually die. None of the main characters are really killed off, although many of them want to kill each other and say they will ie. Shizuo/Izaya. They never really get around to it, and in the end everyone ends up fighting and surviving anyway. So you never have to worry about your main character dying, even though people still get hurt. They brush it off like a flesh wound. The suspense is non-existent, and its leaned toward a more comedic approach now, which I think was a smart decision.