To give it the benefit of the doubt, I'll consider it as a standalone entity for now, but I do think it's important to consider what exactly it's doing with the manga material (I'll get to that towards the end).
Story: 5/10. TPN Season 2 is all over the place in terms of pacing and progression. Timeskips are utilized without shame, glossing over much-neeeded world and character development to just deliver us the barebones 'big events' that happen. This feels less like an anime story and more like a recap of an anime.
The story is also rather...boring. Season 1 had a core conflict from the start, with a clear progression full of twists and turns to a resolution. It developed the characters quite well, was engaging start to finish, and had a wonderful resolution.
Season 2 is like a very boring journey that feels more like an obligation than an adventure. There is no sense of tension, wonder or progression to any set goal. The worldbuilding is lacking, the only form of it being a few demons chasing kids and characters scavenging for good. The anime could've taken the time here to explore the demon hierarchy, perhaps more about the world of demons vs humans, etc. Yet, it meanders way too much without having anything at its core.
Art: 8/10. Not much to say here, it's pretty decent artwork.
Sound: 7/10. Soundtrack is alright, maybe a bit of a step down from Season 1, but still fine.
Character: 5/10. Characters in this season are incredibly flanderized or just pushed to the side. They're not necessarily bad, but they aren't great or even good either. Perhaps this is an inherent problem with having a larger cast (whereas the first season focused more on a handful of characters), but even in the case of our mains like Emma and Ray, they feel very lackluster. There is little to no development or conflict provided to them, and even when the potential of a dangerous situation comes up, it's resolved just as easily. These characters aren't faced with anything that makes them grow or struggle, since everything they need is handed to them quite easily for the sake of the plot.
Enjoyment: 4/10. Not much to say here. There were some ok moments, but overall it felt like a lackluster experience.
Overall: 5/10. I wrote this review from the lens of an anime-only (as best as I could), but now I want to just say a few words by considering this series in the context of the manga.
It is clear the anime is not trying to be 'different' or tell 'a different story'. It is just speedrunning the manga as fast as it can to the end, skipping entire arcs and adding original content just to tie up loose ends (and not even in a good way). I wouldn't be surprised if this is the final season of TPN, and that the author and studio want to go their separate ways and work on other things.
I would have more respect for the anime if it tried to atleast do something new, but I believe the end result will not please either anime-only or manga fans of TPN. Manga fans will be upset that so much was cut out, and in the end, I believe anime-onlies will be upset at what is clearly a rushed adaptation with pacing problems and no depth.
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UPDATE: Turns out I was right about this Anime being a speedrun. Now that it's finished, I'm updating my score:
Story: 5/10 -> 2/10
Art: 8/10 -> 6/10
Sound: 7/10
Character: 5/10 -> 2/10
Enjoyment: 4/10 -> 1/10
Overall: 5/10 -> 2/10
