--- Animation & sound: identical to the first season
The animation is still of high quality. It is clean and smooth, there are very few inconsistencies, and the fight scenes look very good. The backgrounds are well drawn and detailed. Some buildings look very cool, for example the Hartgen castle and the Emperor’s floating fortresses.
Sound-wise, however, it means that the opening and the ending sound as shit as in the first season. Nomizu Iori still doesn’t know how to sing. The background music is still very meh and forgettable, though it is not bad enough to hinder the show.
--- The end is rushed and disappointing
There are too many things happening in a short time, especially in the three last episodes. In episode 8 the black Chaikas organize a series of fights in Hartgen castle, red Chaika’s team vs white Chaika’s team and Tooru vs his former master Shin, among others. You would have expected these fights to be somewhat epic but they’re not, they’re wrapped up in 30 seconds each. It is even more apparent in the fight against the reincarnated Emperor Gaz. I expected him to be a charismatic, extremely powerful and clever wizard, but instead what we have here is a boring villain who says lame pseudo-philosophical lines about war (“humans crave for war”… no they don’t you goddamn imbecile), has less screen-time than the blue Chaika in season one, and is defeated in a matter of dozens of minutes thanks to some unexplained event. Everything was part of his plan, except the betrayal of his human weapon, apparently.
--- Other flaws in the story
There are probably others, but here a few notable ones:
– In this second season we get the confirmation that magic does everything: magic circles can be used as elevators and ship engines, while magic guns (“gundos”) can replace GPS and be used to start a fire. We’re getting closer to magic coffee machines, I tell you.
– The characters get the Emperor’s remains too easily. One of the eight heroes gives Tooru and his team the remains after a fight that isn’t even a fight to the death but rather a game, while the other heroes are so weak they get bullied into giving the remains to whoever attacks them first.
– With all the Chaikas, Fredrika and the introduction of Niva, the girl who is also a magic gun, there are moments where this series reaches a point of loli overdose. There are so many children on the screen it looks like a field trip rather than a quest.
--- Verdict
This second season is on par with the first one, that is to say it is slightly entertaining but there’s nothing new or incredible about it. If you enjoyed the first season you will most likely also enjoy this sequel. If you didn’t, skip it, as it doesn’t get better than the first one.
