STORY [4/10]:
Generally, you can split this season into two main arcs (The Beast of Gevaudan and the Amusement Park arc) with a filler episode between them.
I would say that the story of Vanitas no Karte is complex and the author has a habit of withholding information and giving it to us bit by bit when we need it. And normally, I’d love that (I liked that in the first season very much!), but in this second season, I just couldn’t handle it.
The Beast of Gevaudan arc was awfully confusing which made me zone out after a while because I didn’t understand what was going on (I could not explain the plot of the first arc for the life of me xD). The first episode was already kind of insane and I had a lot of questions about the plot (What happened with the book? Who broke the chain? Where is Noé? Where is everyone else?). However, it was fine because I thought the confusion would clear up after a few more episodes. But, no! I was lost in the plot! I was more and more confused and maybe it’s my fault, maybe I just didn’t pick up the clues. Still, the pacing was off in this arc and I think everything was horribly explained (maybe it’s better in the manga, but I probably won’t check it out).
The filler episode was okay. It was just to further develop the romantic relationship between Vanitas and Jeanne which I don’t care about. Though I have to say that I found it very funny and I giggled a couple of times.
The Amusement Park arc was much better in terms of pacing and storytelling than the first arc. This one focuses more on the characters and their dynamic which was quite engaging. I liked the conflict between Vanitas and Noé. Finally, we find out more about Vanitas’s past and he and Noé had a nice bromance moment at the end of this season.
ANIMATION [8/10]:
The animation and art are decent and of the same quality as the first season. The fight scenes are nice, not much to say there. But sometimes it felt like they put more effort into the fanservice, specifically Vanitas’s and Jeanne’s scenes.
SOUND [7/10]:
Fine. The sounds and voice acting are as good as in the first season. What I have to mention is that I love the opening and ending songs of this anime. They truly never miss!
CHARACTER [6/10]:
This season focuses more on the backstories of the most important characters like Vanitas, Domi, Jeanne and Noé with newcomers like Chloé and Mikhail. Furthermore, Vanitas’s and Jeanne’s romantic relationship grows which is fine. I don’t see the connection between them except if we’re talking about lust (because let’s be honest: it’s mainly based on that aspect). The romantic feelings feel just too forced to be believable to me. I’m also not one of the people who would want it to be a BL anime/manga because I like the friendship Vanitas and Noé share. It reminds me of platonic soulmates or something like that and I think that it’s well written.
ENJOYMENT [5/10]:
The first half wasn’t it. I couldn’t care less about what happened in the first arc and as it turns out, it doesn’t even matter that much because it never came up during the second arc. The Amusement Park arc kind of saved the whole season for me since I enjoyed it though I don’t see myself reading the manga or even watching the next season (but who knows… that could change). The comedy relief in this season wasn’t always for me. A lot of times I’ve found it to be misplaced and it took me out of the moment on more than one occasion (there’s a serious situation/talk and it cuts off to some chibi-styled comedy).
