As time goes by, you notice more and more which anime "Darling in the Franxx" was inspired by. And this is another one of them, as far as the second season is concerned.
This season hangs right on the heels of the last episode, including the Ova and follows the new events from season 1 with a pretty fast pace, especially at the beginning.
Honestly, I had high hopes for this season as it got off to a pretty solid start and possessed a pretty interesting implementation and portrayal of the vigilante theme.
Together with the new third protagonist of this season around which the story revolved, this was on the whole an interesting plot. Unfortunately, until about episode 8, everything after that was boring, stretched out, and covered with an absurdly stupid finale. Seriously? Of all the things you could have done, you chose this paradoxical decision? And then with such a bad implementation and explanation? That was even more of a failure at the end than "Mirai Nikki".
Of course, this spoiled the whole positive build-up of the season, although I would have liked to say that this season was better than the first. It was superior in terms of faster pacing, better writing, and characters.
Story [5]
And here's where another problem has been. The entire story arc was only connected to revenge, on the masterminds of the first season. Otherwise, it dealt with nothing more than the various ambitions of the characters. But thanks to the much better execution than in season 1, this had been presented very creatively.
Unfortunately, the finale to which everything boiled down was quite a disappointment. "Time" is a dangerous topic, especially if you can't properly implement it in the plot. Because of this poor approach, everything that was built up for this finale was naturally ruined.
Characters [6]
Honestly, this surprises me, but I couldn't give this season fewer points. Not only did we see a very understandable presentation of revenge and vigilante justice. But also many character conflicts and developments, especially between the finale of the first season and the transition to this one.
The protagonist learned and developed through his mistakes so he could help Birdy with the same problems. Kind of ironic, isn't it? First, he was the problem child who couldn't accept the truth and wasn't aware of his feelings and now the roles have reversed.
The antagonists this season have unfortunately been very empty and had almost no screentime nor real ambition. The only thing they had was a hateful personality so that you would feel a "good feeling" as soon as their karma reached them.
My favorite this season, however, was a new character that everything revolved around. His calm yet impulsive personality and a strong quest for justice made him completely understandable and relatable.
Animation [6]
Predominantly subtle in the day-to-day and increasing in the action. This dynamic style of animation is atrocious in terms of detail, all you see are stone blocks flying around and characters playing Twister. However, they have been very suitable for larger stage changes in the battle scenario, as well as the choreography of the fights.
Music [6]
The intro...I kept having Darling in the Franxx flashbacks, help?
It was musically satisfying, as well as visually. On the whole, neither an earworm nor a major recognition value is present, just as with the outro.
Only a few osts have been stimulating and interesting.
Conclusion
I don't know the manga, but after a quick check, I noticed that there are significant differences between the manga and the anime already at the beginning. Therefore, it could be that the flaws in the work are "Anime Only". Unfortunately, I won't know and since this season has an open and unfinished ending, it will probably be the same for many.
It was a decent anime for in between, which had good approach but failed in a meaningful implementation.
Enjoyment - 5]
