For the sequel that's led by Corpse Party director Akira Iwanaga, the story is (obviously) continued from the events of Season 1 that ended with Volume 4 of the LN, and the continuation that's heralded between the leftovers of Volume 4 to Volume 6 of the LN, which is in my mind, a huge improvement from the last that doesn't feel rushed for the viewers. Everything is where it should be with no excuses of cut content, just full on trash enjoyment values, which I really breathe a sigh of relief after watching the horrendous prequel 2.5 years back.
Unsurprisingly, Hajime and his harem gang are back (and yes, including his class of heroes which I thought are always brain-dead niceties), and they get a fair bit more action in the sequel continuation. The difference is now with new characters like the mer-folk/dagon-type demi-humans and the whole Demon Army side of things, where only now it gets frenetic with stakes at hand. The young mer-folk Myu is a new addition to Hajime's gang at the tail-end of Season 1, but her inclusion this season does provide some resting moments, other than always being in peril with their lives on the line in the situations that they face in the Grand Guen Volcano, to back home in Myu's birthplace of Erisen. Of course, what's left to say more than the eventual conflict of Hajime and the Demon Army of both demons and classmates being evil, that's a thing.
As to be expected, everyone will bite back at the overall presentation, and this still feels like ass, though not as bad as how much Season 1 was effed upside down with the last-minute production changes. Studio asread. is still here, albeit with yet another studio's help: studio MOTHER, replacing the intended White Fox in the 3DCG department. It honestly doesn't feel bad to finally see Arifureta adapted in decency, though this is still a far cry from its potential.
Though I'm quite saddened to say that the OST wasn't as strong as Season 1, but who I am kidding myself since it was pretty much the same as before, except for the theme songs obviously. Void_Chords set an insanely high bar with their banger of an OP 2.5 years ago (and is still a fantastic song to this day), and though MindaRyn is beginning to build her reputation as an esteemed Anisong artist, it just feels night and day when compared between the two. Even with DracoVirgo's kinda lackluster ED for Season 1, though FantasticYouth did a better job, both songs just aren't really my taste and sound quite average.
Even as a "restart / reboot" to the series by doing the usual adaptation practices right, Ryo Shirakome's Arifureta as a whole, just is not a good Isekai, and even if Season 1 was heaps of terribad with some good points to it, Season 2...just felt like there wasn't any "fun" injected into it with its overall serious tone that it would carry from start to finish. I am glad that the sequel fixed up the vast majority of the glaring issues of the prequel, though at the expense of feeling numb to watch any more of Arifureta. Take this sequel on your own risk if you think that this series still has some value to you that's worth the continuation.
