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I want to start off this review by saying I still love the TPN series as a whole and season 1 is still one of my favorite anime. If you’re a fellow fan disappointed by season 2, please don’t let this season ruin your love for season 1 or the manga. At this point, it’s probably better to view season 1 & 2 as separate entities due to how drastically different they are.

That said, as someone who has read the manga I am beyond disappointed with season 2. Countless other people have already given great in depth reviews explaining the differences from the manga so ... I won’t bother repeating that. But to summarize, they cut out one of the best arcs and a very well liked character among many other crucial plot points. The pacing is some of the worst I’ve ever seen and the story is all over the place. I know some anime onlys like this season, but I really don’t understand why. Viewing this season without knowledge from the manga just makes it confusing. Like how did the soldiers find the bunker? What’s up with the “help” written on the walls? How did the kids find the temple and disguises they wore in episode 5? If I was an anime only, these are just a few of things I would be confused by.

The characters range from mediocre to forgettable to one dimensional to unnecessary. The story is so rushed that we don’t get to spend enough time with any of the characters for long enough to make them memorable and not enough is known about the characters that would make you actually care about them. Emma and Ray are basically the same as they were in season one. Despite a year passing, they have not changed or learned anything. Lani and Thoma have become more of a nuisance than anything. And there’s literally nothing to say about the other kids, they just exist and that’s all. The art is a mixed bag. Some of the CGI demons were pretty cheap looking. The repeated use of still frame montages come across as more lazy than anything. And they reuse a lot of character animation which is just cheap. However, there are a few good things I can say about this season. I absolutely love the opening and ending songs. I especially like the visuals in the opening because it gives subtle hints of what’s to come without giving too much away. Most of the art is solid and the backgrounds look great. The sound and voice acting is also great.

Needless to say, I was super excited for season 2 and I have never felt this let down by a show before. It’s even more disappointing when you imagine what it could’ve been. The manga definitely has issue and things that need to be expanded upon so I was thrilled when I heard the author of the manga would be supervising the scripts for season 2. This season was the perfect opportunity for them to fix the problems people had with the manga by further expanding on the world and characters and I just don’t understand why they didn’t take that chance. To be clear, I’m all for there being new original scenes, but you can add new stuff without cutting out characters and events that people already love. Also none of the new scenes add anything to the story so what’s the point? I’m super eager to read an interview with the author on why he thought these changes were a good idea. I’ve heard rumors that the author lost confidence in this series after so many people criticized the manga ending. If that’s true, it’s really unfortunate since TPN has so much potential and for the anime staff to not even attempt to utilize that potential in season 2 is just devastating. I don’t know who thought these changes were a good idea, but regardless, whoever is responsible for writing this season should be ashamed of themselves.

I will continue watching season 2 just to see where it goes, but I really don’t think it can be saved at this point. Hopefully one day we’ll get a reboot that does the series justice.