To be precise, the second season is noticeable for being only 8 episodes in length. Compared to the first season, that’s about 1/3 the run-time. Yes, you’re probably asking yourself something along the line of “then how will the story conclude?” The answer is pretty simple: it won’t. The series is more about the journey rather than the destination. As such, treat the storytelling more as a way to showcase Arslan and his co. as they take on new adventures.
That adventure begins with the war drama. Remember, Arslan Senki is more of a war story than a fantasy adventure despite having supernatural content. Arslan’s forces has their hands full in the beginning to deal with an invasion from Turan. While all this is happening, we are also introduced to a mysterious relic that Hilmes (Silver Mask) has his eyes on. A good deal of the first few episodes establishes the ruthlessness of the antagonists. In particular, Tokhtomysh (King of Turan) even delivers execution in order to draw Parsians into a trap. Anyway, I think the main point of the series is to establish the challenges Parsians must deal with to declare their independence. Arslan has also grown to become a well-respected leader known to even other countries. His maturity is shown with leadership, cleverness, and loyalty with his comrades. So much so, Gieve even returns with his services after going off on his own.
One of the more dynamic elements of Arslan Senki are the characters. Even though the main characters are well-established at this point, we still have characterization and subplot focused on them such as Narsus, HIlmes, Etoile, etc. Sometimes, I find the subplots about these characters to be even better than the main story because it makes us understand them more. Furthermore, their role in the series has influence on the overall story. For instance, Narsus’ reunion with his old friend Shagad shows his cleverness. They have a relationship that I’d describe more as acquaintances rather than best friends. Furthermore, we can easily see Narsus’ own ideologies about certain sensitive issues such as slavery. On the other hand, characters such as Hilmes gives us a decent insight about his past in this sequel. It shows a more gentle side of his character rather than the one we came to see on paper as a ruthless warrior. Even Etoile gets a major role in one of the episodes to showcase her importance. On the downside, new characters such as Grahze can only be remembered for their action and hardly anything else. Other previously introduced characters such as Elam and Falangies gets less focus compared to the previous season.
To say the least, the overall storytelling of Arslan Senki: Dust Storm Dance can feel a bit predictable. Now this might not be true for all fans but should be easily recognized for the plot about the pirates and merchant ship conflict. On the other hand, there are also episodes that are really important. As I mentioned before, the subplot context feels as though they have better storytelling than the main plot; Hilmes and Etoile being prime examples. Thus, it’s disappointing that the show itself is shrinked to 8 episodes to focus on the main story with what it already has to work with.
On the technical front, the art style of the sequel has more or less downgraded. This includes some of the more complex battle scenes involving characters with jerky movements. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still ‘wow factor’ when it comes to fighting in the show. Daryun and merchant captain Grahze proves that quite well. However, it’s more about the character expressions that feels underwhelming. On the plus side, the background settings improved with a more adventurous feel. The introduction of sea and merchant ships also offers some neat naval battle that is refreshing.
The soundtrack is still pretty similar compared the first season. It uses harmonic music to keep in pace with different scenarios ranging from simple conversations to intense battle scenes. Character voice mannerism is delivered well on most parts with Arslan being more noticeable for his maturity. One praise I would like to throw in would be Hilmes for his ability to portray personalities ranging from ruthlessness to sympathetic.
So what should you expect from the sequel of Arslan Senki? If you’re looking for a masterpiece, then it’s clearly the wrong place to look. Even on paper, the pacing of just 8 episodes should trigger a red alert. Less characterization on certain other main characters should also be expected as well. However, the sequel still offers a good amount of storytelling with its existing characters. Remember, the show isn’t just about getting to the end goal for Arslan but rather his journey to reach it. And for that, I think it’s worth to take that journey with them.
