bmcclure - 2016-06-19 22:09:56

Well, time to review the second season of one my least favorite anime...yay?

Anyways, The Second Season of the Asterisk War follows Ayato Amagiri, our...main character, as he participates in the main tournament, the Phoenix Festa, alongside his partner, Julis Alexis von Riessfeld, and his supporting harem, Saya Sashami, Claudia Enfield, and Kirin Toudou as he seeks to find out what happened to his sister, who has been missing for...some long amount of time (no, really - they don't say how long she's been missing since).

Now, there were 2 ways that this should COULD have redeemed itself in the second season.  The first is ditch the wish fulfillment elements and actually make us care for the main character - they could have done this by having Ayato lose but still get to advance on a technicality or something (this would show us that, while he is powerful, he is not invincible); not only would this have made him more relate-able, but it would have also planted the suggestion in our mind that maybe, he might actually struggle in the future.  Unfortunately, they did the exact opposite of that, and instead made his victories feel even more scripted - so much so that I legitimately started to expect the John Cena theme to start playing whenever he entered the ring (although that would be a hilarious idea for an abridged series).

The second thing would be if they actually focused on one of the few things that is likable about the main character, his desire to find out what happened to his sister.  And it DID seem like they were going to go this way...but then they got sidetracked by a combination of the tournament and one of the most annoying things I've seen in an anime.  But more on that second thing later.

Now, there was ONE other way I could have found enjoyment out of while watching this -  the trainwreck factor.  I'm the type of guy who LIKES to watch so bad it's good anime - I've sat through schlock like Sword for Truth and MD Geist, laughed at titles like Gundam SEED Destiny and Mars of Destruction and as of writing, I am currently sitting through the much-derided Valvrave the Liberator.  However, as contradictory as this sounds...this anime was TOO competent to fall into that category of entertainment.  It walks a contradictory line - it's too competent to be an entertaining trainwreck like Guilty Crown, yet it's not competent enough to be a good show.   

Another major flaw was that the series was WAAAAAAY too long - the ending felt like it was on episode 9, yet it went on for 12 episodes.  And worst of all, IT TEASES A THIRD SEASON.  Which (Fortunately) we'll probably never get, but still.

Now, the animation is by A1 Pictures, and it's still rather lackluster.  In particular, when compared to, oh say, Your Lie in April, it feels as if there's 2 A1 Pictures - one that knows how to deliver great animation, and another that can, at best, only slightly raise an eyebrow.  I legitimately found the fight scenes so boring that I started playing Rune Factory 4 while watching this series.

The cast of characters is...pretty much the same as it was in the first season.  Unfortunately, that's not a good thing, since most of the returning cast I either still feel indifferent towards, or I grow to dislike even more.  The only characters from this series I can say that I like are Irene and Claudia.  Now, I mentioned that there was an annoying thing that this anime got sidetracked by, and her name is Flora.  She really rubbed me the wrong way, and it probably didn't help that her voice sounded like she had a cold all the time.

The music is...still as forgettable as it was the first time around.  I legitimately forgot that there was a soundtrack if I didn't pay attention.  Although I would be remiss if I did not mention the opening, "The Asterisk War", which is one of the few highlights of the show - it provides a fast paced up beat frenzy that gets you pumped for the battles...only to get let down by the episodes that it is attached to.

There is a dub...but it's not out as of writing.  If I ever decide to rewatch this show for some odd reason, I'll update this review, but for now, I'm not touching it.

Personally, I regret watching this show, and I cannot in good faith recommend this anime.  There are TONS of other, much better, harems out there that you could watch.  Just watch ANY of them instead.