Reviews

May 15, 2010
Mixed Feelings
Futatsuki no Kishi, the second season of Zero no Tsukaima takes us back to the magical world where Louise and her familiar Saito continue their adventures. The first season was pretty entertaining and that hasn’t changed much in the second one either. The problem with season two is that most of the episodes follow an individual plot and build up the main storyline slower than what we have encountered in season one. There’s action going on, sure, but the whole bang starts during the last few episodes. Some may not care as much, but it will undoubtedly turn off a couple of less tolerant viewers.

Surprisingly enough, Saito and Louise’s relationship hasn’t changed much. From the very first episode it seems that they’re back to square one and Louise quickly goes back to whipping Saito as if nothing ever happened between them. I didn’t appreciate the lack of progress very much and Saito doesn’t help much either: even though he confessed his love to Louise, he keeps staring at other girls’ boobs and keeps the perverted thoughts coming. There are some nice little touches here and there, and there are a lot more significant scenes that depict the intimacy between Saito and Louise.

There are also a couple of new characters introduced and some really add some edge to the overall feel of the series. First you’ve got Louise’s sisters Eléonore and Cattleya, who seem to start playing a significant role in the anime, but are later overlooked and neglected. Cattleya is of more of a gracious and good willed character than her other sisters and only resembles Louise due to her pink-coloured hair. Eléonore, on the other hand, is just as scornful and arrogant as her younger sister and she’s even got her own whip!

By far the best character introduced is Agnès, the captain of Henrietta’s musketeer force. She is portrayed as being a tough military leader and her skill in swordsmanship is quite impressive. Many will consider her as being a tomboy and she does have a small story arc going on for a couple of episodes. Her presence throughout the anime is indeed significant and she does give the audience a nice break from Saito and Louise’s tiring situation. Another new character would be Julio Chesaré, a transfer student from Romalia who starts showing affection for Louise, which in turn leads to an interesting and funny conflict between him and Saito. There’s an entire episode devoted to his development as a character, but he turns out to be of little importance after that.

The most negative thing about season two is Siesta’s character, which is completely butchered throughout the entire series. Many will recall her as the goodhearted love interest of Saito and a lot actually preferred her to Louise during the first season. There’s an obvious change this time around, though, and the character is completely butchered in season two. The kind and delightful girl suddenly turned into a lying and manipulative bitch that will do anything to sabotage Saito’s relationship with Louise and win Saito over. Not nice, not nice at all.

As mentioned before, the story doesn’t progress too well and there are a lot of things that lack balance and don’t make too much sense. It’s still entertaining, though, which is always a plus, especially when you’re talking about anime. There are also a lot more ecchi scenes during season two – there are never enough anyway! The final episode is much more powerful and climatic than the one in season one and there’s a lot more emotion involved this time. There really isn’t any reason to skip Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi if you’ve seen season one and there’s enough entertainment to keep it from failing, even though it’s not as proficient in substance as the first season was.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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