The problem is, coming up with a unique concept and/or a unique combination of character archetypes doesn't mean the series is going to be good. In fact, having a unique idea that's never been done before has nothing to do with whether the writing for a given series is good or not. No, whether the writing is good or not has to do with the quality of the narrative being told, how the writer utilizes the narrative devices at their disposal, and whether the narrative device is new or not. As such, one can have a narrative device that is brand new and not have a story that is well-written.
Of course, in this same regard, a series doesn't have to be well-written to be entertaining; to which there are series where the flaws in the writing can be overlooked because the work is entertaining. That's how I would describe the first season, yet I'd also argue that there were some positive things the series did as well. For the second season, however, the flaws from the first season became even more evident while, in turn, the positive things in the series occurred a lot less then.
The most glaring issue lies with the main character, which is also one of the main concepts of this series.
Our main character, Yuusuke, is presented from the start of the series as a character who hates the world to the point the first season tried to present him as having the ideals of a psychopath who needs to be reformed through this major, life-changing adventure. In reality, this particular middle school student is pragmatic about life and the way life works, far more than one would want a middle schooler should be, but apparently, he went through something that left him that jaded. He understands that lie isn't equal and that sometimes people have to make hard decisions that they don't necessarily like making. Yet, this train of thought is presented as wrong simply because - well, pacifism is effectively treated as saintdom in this particular series.
It's to the point that the fifth round attempts to lay out just how vile humans are compared to - well, Orcs.
Yes, we're talking about a creature that eats humans that sees humans as just another fleshy food source that can easily be disposed of should they prove to be a big enough nuance which is, in turn, rather ironic given something Yuusuke says during the fifth roundabout humans that he claims is a human only trait, yet anybody with a brain would realize that the Orc share this same trait with the humans. Only, we're supposed to be seeing the humanity in these Orcs with the singular moment we get to see an ounce of humanity be trampled by what he said applies to the Orcs. Nor does survival factor into what he's saying.
Yet, at this moment, what he says that is completely wrong is treated by the narrative as being right, while some of the other things he said are treated as wrong. Differing opinion isn't allowed, and he's even called out by one for carrying more about the people of the other world than the other heroes, which is aggravating given the people of the other world can't revive as they can. They're still getting on his case about this after they find out that the other world is real.
We also shouldn't forget that all of this relies on a negative stereotype for those with social issues, but in Yuusuke's case, we're given this message of a pragmatic individual, who thinks with reason instead of just emotion, is some form of psychopath simply because he would act in a pragmatic manner rather than the pacifist manner that would get everybody killed. He thus needs to be taught how to become an integral part of society who can benefit, which is showcased in his lack of idea regarding what he wants to do in the future, belittling the fact he - a middle school student, doesn't know what he wants to do with his life once he graduates high school despite the fact only some kids will have an idea what they want to do with their future. It's more of a concrete idea in high school.
And, of course, those who lack proper social skills as kids are being put in their place.
Round One's Iu is shoehorned into the role of having social skill issues, with a lot of her issues involving her family background and the fact her older family members are delinquents. There was her temper which was shown only once in a flashback, only to be brought down by the fact other students noticed the teachers treating her differently simply because of who her family was, which is why she came to rely on her peers to stand up to others, at least until she could prove she wasn't like the rest of her family. She's also got a sob story of having a friend who killed herself, although this never really plays much into the story let alone match up with her issues.
As for fatal flaws, she has none outside of the ones forced upon her by the game master. Her actual purpose is likely to have a certain archetype within the group, while also, if what I'm discerning in this season is right, she's going to be the romantic pair off at the end for our main character. Her entire persona is the cool girl, and she honestly falls to the wayside plot-wise as more and more characters join their party.
Round Two’s Kusue had an illness that needed to be cured, which apparently, becoming a pharmacist instead of a doctor will result in her succeeding in finding a cure. However, I don’t really follow that train of logic. Finding a cure to what is obviously a hereditary illness, as her mother also suffered, becomes an ute point as her time in the other world improves her stats in that world, thus hand waving her social issue, because there’s, of course, a magic cure for everyone's social issue woes in this universe. Never mind that there is a definite question of whether the illness is real, resulting in her being lucky even to be born or just all in that head of hers.
In turn, her illness falls to the wayside in later rounds because of this, and the new thing that defines who she is is to be Yuusuke’s moral compass when it comes to killing other human beings because her pacifist ways are considered by the narrative to be more morally correct than his pragmatic thinking. Thus she also remains in this rut of struggling to kill, well, anything.
Round Four’s Yuka is your bullied character, which would be great if they didn’t manage to trivialize the bullying as “girls will be girls” as well as “friends will be friends,” and there being justification for why she puts up with everything. Her other defining trait are being a pervert who has a definite, “I’m not attracted to that because I’m not a perve – wait, am I a perve moment.” She’s also got a thing for getting mad at Yuusuke for being pragmatic regarding how they utilize the fact they can revive as he places less value on her and the character introduced in round five.
Round Five’s Keita Torii is – well, he’s actually fleshed out compared to the other three of our MCs companions. Part of this comes from him being an older brother and being into the whole tough love, but like Yusuke, his ways are treated as being morally bankrupt despite being the pragmatic answer to a given situation. He does turn his background and social issues on their head and not fit the stereotype, and yet there is a definite cogitation with his character that dropping out only happens because someone is dumb, rather than the more logical explanation here that he’s got to help his mom support their family because dad’s not in the picture.
And then Round Six.
Round six really isn’t worth writing home about plot-wise, and the adult addition to the group is a creepy lesbian character whose role could easily have been fulfilled by an existing character. His background is also creepy.
And no, the reason I call her a creepy lesbian isn’t because she’s same-sex attracted. It’s because she falls into that negative stereotype of actually saying some very creepy things about the younger female characters that, if she were a male character, would be seen as her being a super creepy perv that you wouldn’t want around these kids. Yet, she is.
As for the creepy background, that has to do with the trivialization of PTSD by trying to hammer home the message of pacifism over pragmatism only to have contradicting messages within the narrative, along with her sob story of her coming out of the closet to her father resulting in him wanting to kill her because we’re told that’s the case AFTER she notes he had severe PTSD.
So, yes, there are some definite things that will make some want to give this one a good hard pass, and while I love the characters and I love the concept, it’s not something I’d easily recommend to others unless I knew what their comfort zone for this kind of thing was.
