The original Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis was perhaps one of the most surprising anime of the last few years in the sense that it was an ultra-rare case of a game adaptation that actually didn't suck. In fact, it was actually a really solid fantasy adventure, albeit perhaps not with the best ending. Virgin Soul can be roughly described as a more extreme version of the same pattern: it's even better than the original for the vast majority of its runtime... but also somehow has an even worse ending.
Virgin Soul takes place approximately 10 years after the events of the original. At this point the human realm is the dominant force in the world, lead under the ruthless King Charioce XVII. He has managed to effectively steal the powers of the gods and used them in order to turn the demon residents in the capital area into slaves. Both Heaven and Hell have rebellious thoughts on their minds due to the oppression they're suffering, but they have a hard time doing much against the overwhelming power which Charioce possesses. It is here we find our new protagonist Nina Drango: a young and energetic bounty hunter who arrives at the capital seeking her fortune. As a tiny little catch, Nina has the ability to transform herself into a dragon, but only spontaneously, involuntarily and uncontrollably.
As the story goes on, many more characters are introduced, including both new ones and returning ones from Genesis. And what I really like about them is that they're not only extremely well characterized, but you get so many different perspectives about the conflict in place in Virgin Soul. It's not just that many of the characters are quite likable on a personal level, but the agendas of Heaven, Hell and the human realm respectively are all very logically depicted. It's a very balanced cast both in terms of differentiating back stories but also in terms of personalities. Nina herself may be extremely naïve and overly optimistic, but that's also part of her charm and her personality is frequently played around with as a means to drive the story forward in certain directions. And on the opposite side of things, I also have to say that Charioce is one of the more interesting villains I've seen in quite some time. There's so much mystery regarding his true intentions and motives that pretty much up until the very last few episodes of the anime, you still don't know for sure if he's really good or evil, or why he's doing any of the things he is. Yet at the same time he's extremely charismatic, and the peculiar Romeo & Juliet-esque relationship he forms with Nina throughout the story is very unorthodox in nature.
The world-building in Virgin Soul is also excellent. It truly feels like a living and breathing fantasy world in its own right, and it helps magnifying the importance of the consequences of any major event that takes place. And there truly are a lot of major events in it, with its large scale storyline and grandiose vocal + instrumental soundtrack. It just feels epic in general, but without being excessively overdramatized. But unfortunately, for some reason the story just can't keep up all the way to the end. I can't really go into detail without spoiling some of the biggest plot points, but basically there are several plot twists towards the end of the anime which quite frankly don't make any sense. They undermine the credibility of large portions of the anime's storyline leading up to that point, and as a result it leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth by the time you actually finish the show. Of course this is only a small part of the anime as a whole, but the ending is pretty important for a story like this, so seeing them slip up at the end like this is a bit frustrating. Especially considering that it's the second time in a row it has happened for the franchise.
That being said, for the most part Virgin Soul is still a very good fantasy adventure anime in my opinion, even more so than its predecessor, and while it certainly left a lot more to be desired in the end, ultimately the level of the journey leading up that point is enough to make up for it. I also firmly believe this is an anime which most people will enjoy regardless of what your usual genre preferences may be. Honestly I generally dislike action anime and typical battle shounen adventures even more so, but I like this anime quite a bit. Virgin Soul just feels more believable than most series of this genre. No one feels unreasonably overpowered in this story, it's not too predictable and other than the disappointing plot twists towards the end, the various motives for its rather diverse character cast are quite logical. Even when it does go into action scenes, every move feels perfectly plausible based on the characters' own writing, and you don't see any forced turnarounds as a result of plot-convenient power-ups or dumb luck. It all feels relatively fair.
Virgin Soul is a solid continuation to an already good anime, making great use of its world-building and characterization to deliver a very enjoyable final product. Yes, the ending kind of sucks (again) but don't let that discredit the quality of the show leading up to that point. Overall it's still one of the better adventure anime in the last few years.