If you have watched the first season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00, then it is highly unlikely that you, dear reader will consider reading a review for help but if thats the case then please take some time and read this review. The first thing I noticed was that the episode length increased slightly to 20-21 minutes from 18-20 minutes in the first season.
STORY
In the 4 years between Gundam 00 and Gundam 00 S2 the world has been united but there are still uprisings happening around the world and the newly built Earth Sphere Federation (ESF) uses the Autonomous Peacekeeping Force (A-Laws) to shut down any threats to the government. The ESF still maintains a normal army, which is not part of the A-Laws. The situation is similar to David VS Goliath, where the big giant smashes the small people, who still have concerns over the new government. The A-Laws act with such a ferocity and savagery that Setsuna feels guilty for the situation and he decides to revive Celestial Being (CB) and gather the old crew once more to finally end all the injustice that is still happening around the world. The first story arc of the show deals with the rebuilding of CB. You will get to know what happened to all the team members and see CB being rebuilt to full fighting strength. The plot this time is much more simplistic, which is not necessarily a bad thing. As a viewer you will know right away what you are in for and if you look at it as a continuation of the first season, it holds up quite well.
There are two more parties involved consisting of Ribbon's personal gang of replicants or "Innovators" as you call them in the Gundam 00 universe. Ribbons and friends have their own agendy and ideals which will be unveiled later on in the series. Like the A-Laws they act indepent from the ESF but are considered allies.
The fifth and last party is Katharon, they represent the civilists who rebel against the ESF because they are unhappy with the way how peace is accomplished in this newborn world.
In the end you can split those 5 into two major parties. The ESF, A-Laws and Innovaters against CB and Katharon.
There are some inconsistencies in the story and I think if you have watched season 01, the inconsistencies will be quite obvious. It mostly concerns the characters and their development. Keep in mind that 1 year passed in between the production of season 01 and season 02, so the public opinion on the popularity of some of the characters might have influenced Studio Sunrise in some way or another.
The overall pacing is very good, I felt very engaged and there was only one time about 9-10 episodes into the show where the momentum slowed down and I didn't feel like I had to watch the next episode right away. Apart from that I always had to stop on purpose or else I would've bingewatched the whole thing, I believe.
CHARACTERS
Fear not, everyone makes a return and a bunch of new characters are introduced too. I did have some problems with the cast of season 01 because it were just too many for my taste and history repeats itself here. But this time most of the new characters are on the antagonist side and not even noteworthy because they are all just simple marionettes and rather bland, especially Ribbons gang of bad boys and girls. (Whose names, most of the time, I didn't remember until late into the show) The good thing is, all the protagonists make a return and their backgrounds and stories are fleshed out. Some are left behind (Feldt is still... well I don't know. She is nice and all but she doesn't play a substantial role at all, there is even a scene towards the end of the show which feels kind of forced but you should go and watch that for yourself)
All the other main characters have their backgrounds explained really well and deepened in the second season. Tieria for example who didn't get much exposure in the first season, receives way more screentime in the second season. The same goes for Sumeragi whose background and relationship with Billy is finally uncovered and their relationship takes a new direction. There is also a new Lockon Stratos but he is where the inconsistencies begin. Don't worry its no major spoiler, the new Lockon will be introduced within the first 10 minutes of the first episode. I call him new Lockon because he is a different person but yet very much the same. If you paid attention to Lockons backstory in season 01, you will realize why this character feels a little out of place but I think he must've been very popular among the Gundam fans, so they wrote a new Lockon Stratos character into the story. Another thing is Hallelujah who apparently did not die but is still very much alive within Allelujah, even though it is said in the anime that Hallelujah was gone.
But I don't want to keep nitpicking on small details because I was still carried away by the show and its characters. The most interesting pair of people (imho) were Louise and Saji who somehow ended up on different sides of the conflict. I suffered a lot when I witnessed their break-up in season 01 because I really liked those two. Louise who heartbreakingly sent Saji away to find his happiness (That's like the worst thing a woman can do, send the man she loves away and saying, it's her wish to make him happy. But Saji without Louise is very unhappy so that's that.) Louise apparently became crazy after the incident involing Nena Trinity and it is only very late into the show that her side is explained completely or rather, the viewer will be able to realize why she became this way. I felt that a lot of people did not like the new Louise because it wasn't properly explained what happened to her mind in the beginning of the show but for me it was part of the fun to wait it out and suffer with the characters and the choices they made. Saji was a little harder to bear with but he eventually shows some determination and sticks with his decisions.
There is a new triangular relationship between Sergei Smirnov who plans to adopt Soma Peris and who has to deal with his son Alexei Smirnov. Soma's personality undergoes some hefty changes during the story, which I did not like but she does reach some kind of middleground towards the end of the show. which was acceptable for me, personally. Your opinion on that might differ depending on what kind of characters you like.
I pretty much enjoyed the whole cast and their relationships. Kati Mannequin and Patrick Colasour will also make a comeback to the show and there is going to be a new masked man going by the name of Bushido. The so called Char clone was absent from the first season although his role in 00 is not as critical to the whole show as it used to be in the past. You can consider Bushido's appearance more of a nod towards the fans and he does spice things up indeed. He behaves a little like Milliardo Peacecraft/Zechs Marquise who wants to fight an honorable battle and behaves very knightly. (Not familiar with Char, but I do know of his heritage and Zechs Marquise is the first incarnation of him that I have seen)
ANIMATION
The animation is top notch, just like the first season. Its even better and there is more action going on.
SOUND:
The sound is also above average. The voice acting is spot on and the sound effects are well done. There are even some more memorable songs scattered through the OP & ED themes. I liked it more than the first seasons score and songs.
ENJOYMENT & OVERALL
I really enjoyed the first season and I didn't think the second season would get much better. But boy, I was wrong. I am digging all the characters and the story of Louise and Saji struck a chord with me. (Even if it was just a subplot) I didn't mind the inconsistencies even though I noticed some of them right away. At first I thought the new Lockon was a dick but later on, he taught me otherwise. I probably focused a little too much on the romance part of the show because I am sucker for this kind of stuff. If this show was a stand-alone effort, I would probably rate it 9 but together with season 01 I will give this show a 10. I laughed, wept, felt sorry or was happy while watching the show so it pretty much triggered all the emotions. I was even thinking about rewatching Macross Frontier, which is my favourite show, to see if Grundam 00 might be better but I decided not to because I would look for flaws on purpose which would kill the enjoyment. The ending of the Gundam 00 was very fulfilling and a happy ending on all fronts for me. Sometimes when I watch anime, for example Makoto Shinkai's work, I feel a little uneasy because his anime-ending usually leave a lot of space for interpretation. That's not a bad thing, I like to think about the possibilities but I also like happy endings very much and this one was perfect for me.
I have a hard time picking a favourite character for the 2nd season. I liked the old Lockon because he was cool and held the guys together. I also liked Allelujah because he was a little crazy but both of them were toned down. Lockon is busy with self-loathing and Allelujah behaves like a sissi when his love-interest is involved. In the second season I liked Tieria the most, which is funny because when I saw him for the first time in season 01, I thought he was a flat chested girl until he opened his mouth and sounded very manly. I am usually not into these feminine characters but in the second season he proved to be a selfless-giver.
I hope you will like the show too!
