Like my review of the first season (QF1), this will be pretty much spoiler-free, only this time, instead of going into detail about every facet of its production & execution, I will be focusing on its strengths & weaknesses in comparison to QF1, to give you an idea of what to expect without giving anything away. With that said, let's get the scores out of the way:
Story: 7
Art: 5
Sound: 7
Characters: 7
Enjoyment: 8
Overall: *7/10*
STORY: There are a number of major differences between the two seasons in terms of story progression, some of which make them flow in a completely different fashion. First. while QF1 is something of a coming-of-age story that comprises a period of roughly 4-1/2 years, covering Mo Fan's high school career, QF2 is more of a quasi-dystopian tale that takes place over the course of less than a week, and details the events surrounding the "Bo City Disaster." As a result of this, the story isn't nearly as MC-centric as it was in QF1, especially since Mo Fan is in the midst of a citywide catastrophe and thus not the only major player in the story. Finally, because you are seeing multiple perspectives of the same events over a far shorter period of time, the story moves much more slowly than it did in QF1, creating a viewing experience almost completely unlike its predecessor.
One thing that the seasons share, though, is the abruptness of their endings. Unfortunately, this is one aspect in which QF2 especially disappoints - while the ending in QF1 was so easy to predict that you pretty much knew what would happen by the 4th episode, it was still quite entertaining and met my expectations for a good finale; in QF2, the ending was a bit anticlimactic, not too believable and kind of cheap by comparison. This was a bit of a letdown, but the blow was lessened by the fact that I binge-watched all three seasons in one sitting when I first saw this series.
ART: The animation in QF2 is MUCH better. Almost immediately, it became obvious to me that considerably more effort was put into the art. While the character designs are a little more plainly-drawn, the action scenes flow much more smoothly and do not contain the shit-tastic panels that sprang up in QF1 from time to time. Perhaps the greatest improvement in production quality, though, is in the monster designs, which are leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor. In the first season, the monsters never really give you the impression that you should be all that scared of them, as they moved slowly and looked kind of dopey. In the second season, however, that could not be farther from the truth: Every monster depicted looks terrifyingly deadly and evil, like something that would haunt even a grown man’s nightmares. While the one-eyed rats in QF1 looked like cycloptic green penis Twinkies, and moved about as gracefully, the rats in QF2 actually look like giant, bloodthirsty, man-eating rats that would literally enjoy killing you. The wolves are no exception; in fact, they are so ruthless & menacing that they make the new-and-improved rats look almost stupid and silly by comparison. Even worse for Bo City, there are now at least three “species” of wolves they encounter, each one exponentially more horrific than the last. Finally, you have the “black-raised monsters,” which are a uniquely threatening presence and often a sign of much worse things to come. It’s amazing what a detail like this can do to alter an entire production: Before, there was talk of the dangers monsters posed to humanity, but you never got a sense of the true gravity of the situation; in QF2, however, you are shown exactly why humanity’s very existence is threatened by these creatures just by how they look, which is actually pretty impressive.
Despite my praise for the improvement in production quality, I do need to make one thing absolutely clear: The animation is still not very good. Make no mistake, corners are still being cut and the characters’ movements are still pretty stiff & unnatural at times, so do not expect a stunning visual experience from any season of QF. This is still low-budget trash, but it is trash that just so happens to be very entertaining because it still gets a lot of things right.
SOUND: There is really not much to say here, except that the voice acting improved and the sound effects are generally not too bad. The music isn’t nearly as enjoyable in this season, though, but I don’t watch anime for the music.
CHARACTERS: Perhaps the most significant change in this season is the development of many secondary characters and Mo Fan’s interactions with those around him, which makes this story a little more interesting & engaging. In QF1, the series was focused entirely on Mo Fan & his high school career, so other characters did not get (or need) much development beyond their initial establishment. In QF2, the focus is more on a specific event in Mo Fan’s city, so you almost have no choice but to rely more on supporting characters, which QF2 handles surprisingly well. In addition, you see how the rest of society react to the catastrophe, from military magicians to regular people, and you get an interesting glimpse into how this society is run. I don’t want to give away too many details about the characters and spoil the fun, but there were a few shining character moments I would like to mention:
- As one might expect, there are a number of tragic deaths, and each one ends up conveying something of substance about some of the surviving characters... although one such moment will make absolutely no sense (you will cringe when you see it).
- Mo Fan literally threatens to kill one of his classmates if he doesn’t shut the fuck up, and it is a gloriously satisfying moment. That entire scene is pretty badass, and it helps further expose the extent of Mo Fan’s ruthlessness as well as his resolve.
- Several characters get a chance to shine, and one character turns out to be far more honorable than one might expect... while at least two others are revealed to be much worse.
ENJOYMENT: Like I said in my introduction, I don’t quite understand why this season gets so much heat. I really liked QF2 and found it to be technically superior to QF1, especially since it looks better and has a more “focused” story, but people really seem to think otherwise, for some reason. While I may enjoy this season ever so slightly less than QF1, mainly due to the lackluster ending, there isn’t much that justifies the level of hatred. My theory is that the timeframe has a lot to do with it, since they do feel different as a result, but perhaps there is something I’m missing…?
-----------------------
IN SUMMATION: While this season does have a more disappointing ending than the last, QF2 is a major improvement in most other respects: The production quality is a couple notches higher; the monsters actually look scary; the supporting characters get significantly more attention; and there is a more cohesive & well-defined plot. There are also some differences in tone, scope and timeframe that fans of QF1 may not expect, but one should not overlook this season just because of such details. In the end, QF2 is an entertaining, action-packed adventure through a hellish cityscape with likable characters trying to make it out of a disastrous & terrifying situation, and it makes for a fine continuation of the series.
