So, Shingeki no Bahmut: Virgin Soul. The much anticipated sequel to the 2014 anime (in my opinion) Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis finally aired it's 24th and final episode and boy was it a major let down. Let me get straight into it.
Story: 3/10
The story picks up 10 years after our heroes have saved the planet from a certain destruction. And what did they get for their selfless sacrifice? Favaro is MIA for half the season and Kaiser in stuck in stagnation as the commander of a dying-out military force. Some nobody is out of the blue named King and is following closely in the footsteps of an all-to-familiar 1939-1945 dictator from west Europe. Janne is exiled for reasons beyond my understanding. Demons are discriminated and considered as trash, angels are being massacred left and right for no reason and humans are just kind-of there. A NEW character is introduced, without any background or foreshadowing, without any character development or contribution and we're somehow supposed to jump aboard.
Skip a few episodes (23 to be precise) and we come to the conclusion where, SURPRISINGLY all the bad guys turn out to be ACTUALLY good guys, some people die, get forgotten and the BAD guys, who turned GOOD guys get to live happily ever after as heroes. Sound like LeLouche? Well, it's LeLouce only without him dying but instead getting everything he wanted and more.
(those of you, who actually sit through this 24 episode of time-waste will understand)
Art: 8/10
Just like the prequel, the art in this sequel is top-notch. It's not on the level of Unlimited CashWorks but it will leave you satisfied if visual effects are all you're looking for.
Sound: 5/10
Let's get this straight - the bad-ass opening from season 1 is gone and it's not coming back. The OP and ED in this sequel are not worth mentioning and the soundtrack in the actual anime is almost forgettable.
Characters: 3/10
Bland villains, bland main character, little to no character development, lots and LOTS of plot armor for the important characters. NO plot armor for the side characters. Not really the strong point of this anime (much like the story). Bad guys turning good - cliche as cliches get. The true bad guy defeated, but not really, so that a 3rd season cash-grab can be made - check! If you're into mindless action and shallow storytelling, with little to no character presence, then this anime is PERFECT for you.
Enjoymend: 5/10
The first half of the anime had potential. The second half ruined it all with it's horrendous storytelling, cliche characters and predictable plot. Not to mention the sacrifice of key characters without their contribution to the story being fully told.
Overall: 4/10
I wish I could give it a lower score but the average from the above 5 categories prevents me from doing so.
To summarize: if you are into a shallow story, with bland characters, no development, lots of minutes (potentially hours) wasted in idle chatter, some battles and some moral discussions, all leading to a predictable ending (with a few sad but overall overlooked deaths here and there) then this anime is definitely for you (poor soul).
I do hope we NEVER see a third sequel, as that will most certainly butcher an already massacred anime.