Recently I watched Season 1 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicals (will be shortened to Tsubasa for the sake of the review) and I enjoyed it a lot actually. If you had read my review on Season 1, you might remember that I had very few problems with the series, mainly on the story, but either way I liked it enough to watch Season 2. Let me say that I found Season 2 to be more enjoyable for quite a few reasons actually, one being that there was more action in this season than in the previous, another being more of a plot starting to unfold (eventually leading up to Tokyo Revelations if my sources are correct), and more back stories to our heroes. So, without further ado, let's get this review started, shall we?
Tsubasa is an anime about a princess who looses her memories, and the journey of her and 3 heroes as they set on a journey through other dimensions to find those lost memories that have taken the form of powerful feathers that can grant the holder tremendous powers, often leading to trouble. As our heroes explore these worlds, they usually end up helping the citizens of that dimension with problems involving evil emperors, demons, or other things similar to that. That was the basic plot of season 1, and season 2 is very similar to that. Basically, it's a continuation of their journey for her feathers. As I said before, the plot had started to unfold the further the anime progresses. Mysterious characters start to come into play, character's back stories are told, and it all starts to piece together little by little. Other than those few additions to the story, it is very similar to the first season, but like the first season, the second season fails to end the series on a satisfying note, which is why they ended up making 7 more episodes to conclude the series. Overall, I personally found the story better in this season.
Bee Train was the company who animated Tsubasa, same company who animated Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, Murder Princess, and the .//hack series. I enjoyed the animation as much as I had the first season, so I was satisfied when I realized not much had changed in the art department.
I've watched the English Dub, due to the fact I received both Season 1 and 2 as gifts from a family member. From what I watched, I liked the voice acting in season 2 better. My main problem with the English Dub in season 1 was Monica Rial's singing. While I do love her acting career, I hated hated HATED it when she sang. It was off pitch and frankly... annoying. However, there was no singing coming from her in this season, so that upped my opinion about the dubbed cast for this series. I still love Vic Mignogna as Fai, and Kurogane and Syaoran started becoming more likable the more they talked.
Not much should change from my last review in terms of the characters. For starters, we have Syaoran. He's the male protagonist of the series. He's calm, he's smart, and he has rad kicking abilities, so rad that he might even give Sanji (One Piece) a run for his money. He is also slightly skilled with a sword, thanks to Kurogane. Kurogane (Kuro-Poo, Kuro Kuro, Kuropon, Daddy, nicknames are endless) is the big, buff, rough and tough character that no one should mess with if they don't want their butt kicked. He is scary at times, but he's an overall nice and funny guy. Next is Fai, my personal favorite. He's apparently a mage, but you'd never be able to tell that he is cause he never seems to use his magic. Quite frankly, I don't even know what he does to help anymore... but he's still epic. Sakura is the female protagonist of the series. She's gotten easier to handle the more memories she gets, but until the finally confesses to Syaoran (if she even confesses), I'll be thinking of her as a character that can't really seem to do anything. And last, the most annoying character in the entire series... Mokona. Like most animes, there is always that little animal sidekick that usually ends up annoying the heck out of me. She/He is standable this season, but just barely. Overall, a slight improvement on the characters this season.
I enjoyed this anime a lot. I will eagerly await the Tokyo Revelations/Spring Thunder Chronicals in the mail as it ships all the way from wherever Amazon is keeping it... but until then, I recommend that you watch this. It is also recommended that you watch season 1 before this due to the fact that some characters will be returning from season 1 in season 2, but if you don't mind, you can watch this if you so desire. But overall, I liked Tsubasa a lot.
