Yuuichirou Hyakuya is finally reunited with his childhood friend Mikaela Hyakuya, whom he had long presumed to be dead. Upon their reunion, however, he discovers that Mikaela has been turned into a vampire. Determined to help his friend, Yuuichirou vows to get stronger so that he can protect Mikaela as well as the comrades in the Moon Demon Company.
Kureto Hiiragi receives information that a large group of vampires will be gathering in Nagoya, preparing for their assault on the Imperial Demon Army's main forces in Tokyo. Led by Guren Ichinose, Yuuichirou's team is one of many selected to intercept and eliminate the vampire nobles.
With the Nagoya mission quickly approaching, the members of Shinoa squad continue to work towards fully mastering their weapons, while learning how to improve their teamwork. Yuuichirou must gain the power he needs to slay the nobles and save his best friend, before he succumbs to the demon of the Cursed Gear.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
bananasplitta
The Story: 10/10 Why? Well, the storyline is good! Alot of action, less talking. Plus family love? Love how they made the story! Art: 10/10 Really detailed and good artwork! The background is really nice and detailed. Sound: 10/10 Good sound effect, the opening is really good. Character: 10/10Good-looking. Other animes made the characters weird while these characters are cute and handsome! Its really amazing how they made their outfit and stuff.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I'm new to this story and it took me 2 days to complete season 1 and 2. Yup 2 seasons in 2 days. This is very enjoyable
Overall: 10/10
This. Story. Is. Awesome.
Hope there's season 3!
ZephSilver
Generic: such a simple word, yet one that can also encapsulate a great deal of information with its utterance. Simply attach it to the title of a show and it works as a description without any need for further elaboration. Just say "it's generic" and a picture is immediately imprinted onto the minds of the audience as to what is to be expected. It's even better saying it out loud, follow after me and let's say it together: "Owari no Seraph is generic!" Now doesn't that just roll off the tongue with so much ease? Fits like a glove doesn't it? It's like the word itself wastailor-made for this show. And perhaps that word is all that's needed to sum up this series.
There's really no change when it comes to this ill-conceived hogwash of clichés and overused tropes. It's still a poor man's version of better shounen stories, it's still subpar in quality, and it's still an intoxicating pile of throw-away excerpts from better-established premises and ideas. Owari no Seraph is the "How to make a Basic Shounen for Dummies" in visual format. If 1st season didn't hammer that point in, then this season surely made sure to get the job done. But I guess there is one noticeable change worth noting, and that's that the show somehow manages to get worse. Through the magic of fujoshi bait, God awful writing and the power of friendship, this anime becomes a firework display of stupidity rarely achieved by many. It pushes forward into the throw-away abyss at breakneck speeds. And in its own way, it succeeds. It has proven that when you really try hard enough, when you really push long enough, and when you really care enough, you can enter even denser shounen bullshit territory. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you "Generic: the anime."
Picking up from where we left off, we follow our protagonist MustProtectMyFamily-kun and the squadron of vampire slayers, as they gear up for an impending all-out battle with the vampires, in what is to be an attempt to regain control of Earth for the sake of humanity's survival. And while all this is going on, in the background, there's an even more sinister plan being conjured up by ImTheObviousBadGuy-sama and his cohorts.
Now the setup for this season isn't all that bad, in fact, it's a traditional one that, if done right, can be quite rewarding to watch unfold. It's the classic clash of ideals, where opposition reaches a breaking point of unreachable compromise. The end all be all fight where the stakes are set on the highest pedestal. A Zero-sum dice roll, where only one side can walk away rewarded. These are the kind of stories that litter literature, cinema and TV on constant rotation, but despite that, can still offer up the same thrills and chair-gripping engagement expected from the best of them. But even when considering the long shelf-life that these kinds of stories offer, if it's poorly written, no amount of the garnishing and repacking can be done to salvage it. And to no one's surprise, Owari no Seraph isn't going to be a show that defies that unspoken rule.
You see, the problem with Seraph isn't the premise or idea, but rather the piss poor execution of it. The show just doesn't seem to have the proper comprehension of what is needed for it to make this kind of story work. Its ineptitude runs deep into the core foundation of the show, from the garish narrative decisions to the downright terrible plot conveniences tossed in to bail itself out of a tight squeeze. Every turn and corner lead into another questionable writing decision that really exposes the lack of foresight on the part of the creator, and improper planning on the part of the scriptwriters. Throughout the show's run-time, this leads to numerous situations where our characters come face to face with death, only to have a last-minute dues ex machina tossed in to fish them out of troubled water. And this doesn't just happen a few times, it happens in an endless cycle, most notably with our main protagonist MustProtectMyFamily-kun, who inexplicably survives more shit than even what's possible with the aid of basic plot armor. It's like he himself becomes the embodiment plot armor, to the point where his existence is met with guaranteed immunity, regardless of consequence. This creates some of the most uninspired character struggle imaginable. There is zero tension to a story that goes out of its way to perform back flips around its lead.
But this isn't only limited to him, almost everyone that's given a name and a back-story is automatically in the safe-zone, even if they're stabbed through vital organs. I can't properly explain this without taking a special mention of the show's ending. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, just pay attention to the numerous times where our main characters not only live through death marker injuries but also walk it off like it wasn't that big of a deal, it's quite laughable. The only ones 'biting the bullet' are characters that are clearly introduced for the sake of dying a few episodes later. The moment they're introduced, a death flag is planted smack dab on their forehead. It's an old trick that wasn't good in other stories and isn't good here either.
But Owari no Seraph S2 isn't all bad, if anything, there was a noticeable improvement in its art and animation. The fights carry more weight behind it (non-figuratively speaking), the character models remained far more consistent from frame to frame, and the issue regarding the flat backgrounds are better worked around. It's a more palatable experience overall, and that, at the very least, deserves some credit. Also, the color choices seemed better implemented. For example, the reds (burgundy to be more specific) and greens were far more eye-catching than the often acid washed look of the 1st season. It wasn't that big of a change but it was enough to be noticed on a panel to panel comparison.
As far as the soundtrack goes, most of the content from season one finds itself worked back into this season. If you liked S1's music score then S2 should suffice. However, the opening wasn't as instantaneous as the first. It feels more commonplace in comparison to the harmonious balance found between the vocals and instruments of the 1st season's musical number. Not a bad opening per se, just not as catchy as bellowing out "I'LL BE THERE, HOLD ON, THEY'LL CHANGE US SOMEHOW, SO WHERE ARE YOU NOWWW?", but it still gets the job done in its own way. Not singing in the shower level, but hey, music is subjective, so that depends entirely on the listener.
Owari no Seraph's 2nd season does improve a few aspects that 1st season was lacking but it also implemented things that were far worse as well. It took one step forward only to take two steps back. It's not the most aggravating title to watch but at the same time, it doesn't have a reason to exist (outside of Wit Studio milking a fanbase it helped establish).
Enjoyment: 5/10
Despite the more noticeable issues this season had in comparison to the 1st, I still can't bring myself to hate this franchise. It's really just a soulless product that comes and goes without registering any sort of response from me. The fights were better put-together but the narrative was more stupid. The animation was more eye-catching but the content being animated was dumb. In a way, it just balanced itself out. A series that's forever just "ok" in my head.
Overall: 3.5/10
Owari no Seraph is a show that's either passable or outright rejected betting on one factor, and that's personal experience. Like I've stated in my season one review, this anime serves as a gateway title to help you get a little insight into the medium's norm and season two only furthers that trend. But where the line is drawn is that factor, that personal experience. If you've been an active follower of anime for an extended period of time, you've undoubtedly seen numerous titles that play out in the exact same order to what Owari offers. And from that vast selection, you've probably seen it play out far better as well. So with that in mind, this anime isn't made for long time anime viewers, it's made for the bright-eyed newcomers who haven't consumed enough of these fast food titles to grow sick of them yet. Owari no Seraph can serve as a title to get others into the medium, but as far as those already steadfast in it, I cannot in good conscience recommend this John Smith: serial number 28927.
Digitamer101
Micro review: The characters are shallow but the story is interesting. Do not watch this anime if you don't like waiting for answers to plot points. Do not watch this if you only plan to watch a few at a time. This anime requires a binge session to finish it as it can get tedious, but it is (kinda) worth it. Story: 5 Art: 7 Sound: 7 Characters: 2Enjoyment: 5
I have now finished this anime and as such my review has changed, slightly.
I will leave my old review up as I still agree with it as i wrote it, 9 episodes in. Go to the bottom for full season review.
Up to episode 9:
[Such a waste of an intriguing plot idea and character (Mika)
The first season was not the best, I will admit. Yet I felt that the story had promise and Mika was way underdeveloped.
The second season is everything that is wrong with the first on steroids, all beefed up and loud. One dimensional characters that are just the tropes of typical animes. No character development or really plot progression.
All that happens could be summed up in a fraction of the time if there were not purely random and unexplained scenes mixed with boring drawn out flashbacks. The only thing that kept me watching was the story, and I found out that it is really not all that complex after reading a summery.
The characters are stuck in a time paradox. One where any actual character development is stuck and all that they can do is spout the same exact lines over and over.
Art and sound are good. Yet, as hard as you try to dress up a pile of trash to make it look fabulous, it's still garbage.
Only watch if you need anything to watch and have no better options to binge.
If the story is grabbing you then look it up online]
Full season:
On a whim I decided to finish this anime late one night, and I am glad I did. Kinda. It is still not the best anime by any shot but I can kinda see it going somewhere next season, so I hold out hope there.
The main issue with it is that it is trying to be the next big hit anime *cough (Attack On Titan) cough*, but FAILS hard. It has a great story, I knew this from the start; this was why I even continued to watch it and why I finished it. Too bad the characters and writers let the story down.
There are simply too many mysteries in the story and more keep coming the longer you watch. With no answers to solve the past questions you just end up lost in what is going on always. Characters motivations are there, but we have not got any idea what they are.
This is the shows biggest failing, the writers are writing in too many character traits without fleshing out the others added before. This leaves you with a confusing mess of a "family" of characters whose motivations are one dimensional and come off as just lame.
Read the manga if you have the itch for answers that I have after finishing. Maybe it is the better read, or at least it is more complete at this point.
Stark700
Owari no Seraph is back. Initially, I was disappointed with the first season. With heavy amounts of exposition and lack of charisma for quite a bit of episodes, my expectations going into the sequel wasn’t high. However, season 2 turned out to be pleasantly different. No, I wasn’t expecting this to be a significant improvement but it does set its foot a bit further than mediocrity. Branded as a sequel, it’s absolutely imperative to be familiar with the first season to get the full experience. As the title implies, the majority of the second season takes place in Nagoya, a city on the surface that isalso home to noble vampires. Originally, it was actually home to humans until the Apocalypse. What is the Apocalypse? For a brief recap, it’s pretty much when a lethal epidemic wiped out a major part of humanity years before the start of the show. From this event, vampires became the rulers and treats human like livestock while also keeping some human children alive for their own purpose. One of these children named Yuichiro Hyakuya managed to escape and was taken in by the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, a group of resistance who plans to liberate themselves from the vampires’ rule. Flash forward to present day and we got a resistance group fighting not for pride or liberty. But for survival.
Adapted from the manga, the second season is actually quite faithful or at least captures the magic of the story especially in the first 10 episodes. The first season had a ridiculous amount of info dump and exposition, so much with the buildup and to the point that it became distracting. Luckily, this sequel is more about the action and the execution. A few concepts in this season deals with how humans desperately fight for survival in the face of unimaginable circumstances, the higher-ups of the Japanese Imperial Army taking a keen interest in Yu, and Yu’s own personal goal to make Mika into a normal human again after realizing that he has turned into a vampire; the very thing he loathes. A lot of the episodes also deals with interpersonal problems and how certain characters such as Shinoa bears responsibility for herself and others. In the face of danger, characters make decisions that gambles on life and death. Some even defy orders for their own personal reasons.
As such, expect the sequel to bulk emotional drama as well. The latter half of the show will easily get the viewers to recognize how dangerous the vampire Nobles can be. Death is reality and the humans realizes that whole earthly. While there is a lot of battle on the frontlines, the show also seems to enforce human drama. The most prominent would be the relationship between Yu and Mika. The latter is no longer human while Yu tries to restore him back to normal. Their conversation unites them with both delightful and painful memories of the past. Just do note that there’s a bit of feeling of subtle BL that fans likes to play their minds with in one of these episodes. While the show isn’t actually a BL, it’s easy to fantasize after seeing the deep chemistry between Yu and Mika.
Other characters in the series also makes an impact of various degrees. Shinoa’s character is much more serious as she has a lot of burden on her shoulders. Meanwhile, Guren shows what his comrades means to him when faced against unprecedented odds on the frontlines. What’s much more interesting though is the presence of the Hiragi family. Kureto, the heir of the family’s current heir, is a character that is a bit different from his comrades. With a cold personality and strong emphasis to accomplish any task at whatever the cost, he also often demands respects from others. To me, he is like the anti-thesis of the main characters. Although he is fighting for the good of mankind, his ways of doing so often puts odds against his own comrades. One could even speculate that he is a manipulative individual as he assigns Guren’s group into near impossible missions. Speaking of family, it still remains a main theme throughout the second season. Besides Yu and Mika, the Moon Demon Company still has a prominent presence. Yu treats it like his own family and often seeks to protect them. Even if this takes toll on his own body and spirit, Yu is selfless in nature. Obviously, this also translates into his desire to turn Mika back to what he was before – a human. The way the sequel is directed improves as each episode adds more and more to the main themes and concepts. Even the storytelling gets more interesting with the developments despite some pacing issues and omitting some parts of the manga. On the negative side, the antagonists of the show still remains dense and stereotypical. Characters like Crowley hardly gets any characterization while most of the fights against the strongest vampires lacks excitement. (most of them are more like one sided fights). Furthermore, Kuel continuously hides secrets from others and we don’t get the chance to know her true purpose. I suppose Mika is more like an anti-hero in this season although his actions are questionable with his vampire nature. But in retrospect, the antagonists aren’t appealing either in character or role.
Wit Studio adapts the sequel although the artwork hardly improved. The character designs still looks essentially the same as they did for the previous season although I like the way the Hiiragi family members are designed. Kureto in particular expresses a ruthless nature that is decorated quite well. In addition, most of the demons has a credible design to induce fear. We also get the introduction of some new noble family members, antagonists that looks even more menacing than before. The battles they participates in are some of the main highlights of the sequel as camera angles and action scenes features them quite well. Match that with the stereo soundtrack and we got quite a season. The OP and ED theme songs also conveys what the show is capable of that gives off more of its atmospheric setting – a battlefield with nothing but potential for destruction and chaos.
After taking a breath in and out, I think this second season is an improvement of the previous. It capitalized the main story’s purpose while delivering memorable fights and expressing a variety of emotions. While the technical features still generally remained the same, the show is easily watchable for those looking into some stylistic action. I can’t say for sure that the sequel will be a pleasurable experience for everyone though. It still omits manga material at some parts and can seem a bit too serious for its own good. One particular episode with Yu and Mika in the second half of the show can be uncomfortable to watch for some people. And also, I feel like they stuffed a lot into the finale, perhaps too much and leaves too open. But for all its downsides, the battle in Nagoya will be one to remember.
BanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) A few weeks ago, I shared a meal with my grandparents, brother, and other cousins. During the dinner, we talked about all manner of topics. Our grandfather’s brother named Georgie. The notion that bigger teeth brings beauty later in life. How awesome that grand meatball tasted. At one point, the topic turned to familial connections, the bonds we share with each other. I stated that I would die for them. They are my family, so this statement sounds obvious. At least, I hope it is obvious for most. I sincerely believe it. Strangers pass by. Friends comeand go. But family. Family is forever. Yu of Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen believes the same. Unfortunately for Yu, he does not get to have dinner-made conversations. Instead, he gets an almost abysmal anime.
STORY
This second season (really the second half to the split-cour) of Owari no Seraph (called Nagoya from here on out) begins shortly after the first season (really the first half).
The anime has a glaring issue that persists across most of this season: nothing actually happens. Hyperbole, yes. Events occur and characters move, sure. But the conclusions or outcomes are no doubt insignificant when the bigger picture is looked at.
The anime has essentially five main conflicts that occur one after another. The first conflict is Yu’s team contrasted with Makoto’s team. The second is the multi-front battle. The third is the rescue attempt of Guren. The fourth is Yu aiding Mika. And the fifth and final conflict is the angel and demon clash at the end. Each conflict introduces drama, and each conflict does almost nothing.
The first conflict is designed to accentuate the inexperience of Yu and the other members. They get beat by Guren and reluctantly accepted by Makoto and his team. A nice approach – except for that fact that Makoto’s team gets decimated over the course of a few episodes. Two members are killed off by some vampires, two others are killed off by the angel-demon contraption, and Makoto is left alone. Meaning the initial comparison has nothing come of it since the (supposedly) less experienced squad moves on without a single loss.
The second conflict brings about a lot of action. People die, swords swing, and tension ensues. The purpose of the attack is to wipe out the vampires once and for all. But, as the anime shows, that is all a lie. The attack is nothing more than a sacrifice. In other words, the battling is just the myriad of characters and soldiers stalling for time – they are fighting for nothing.
This conflict is hurt further by the audience knowing nothing of the situation. The audience learns next to nothing about the vampire society. The audience learns next to nothing about the behind-the-scenes deception of the vampires and the humans. The audience learns next to nothing about the more otherworldly aspects – namely the angels and demons.
The third conflict revolves around getting Guren back after he gets captured. Yu being Yu, he decides to bring the fight to the vampires to save Guren, a man he considers part of his family. The resulting failure of the rescue – the attempt meant, in the end, nothing – is certainly an asinine development. But it is the later betrayal of Guren (regardless of whether he is in control or not) that turn his speeches on camaraderie and family into nothing. Plus, Guren ending up back with the humans means the rescue triply meant nothing.
The fourth conflict is arguably the only one that means anything more than nothing. Established in the first half of the split-cour, Mika works to save Yu from the “evil” humans, forcing him to go to impossible lengths to save Yu. Furthermore, the conflict is the only one that exists throughout most of the season leading up to its finale in the grocery store. Mika becoming a vampire, despite fighting off the temptations for years and years, could arguably be more nothing-based drama. But this conflict, compared to the others, actually has a meaningful impact on both the characters involved.
The fifth and final conflict is easily the sloppiest. The angel-demon contraption has nothing in terms of context. The vampires and the humans all do nothing as the demon comes forth. Krul Tepes is (supposedly) killed off when she does almost nothing to retaliate. Kazuki does nothing to save his sister despite how much his character is built on his strong relationship with her. Yu essentially resets everything back to how it was before the contraption appeared (minus a few characters), meaning nothing important happened plot-wise.
Collectively, the narrative does next to nothing.
ANIMATION
Nagoya continues, for the most part, the artistic direction and actual animation that it had with its first half.
The background art itself still has a painting-like quality to it. While the locations tend to blend together as grays, browns, and blacks, this dreariness contributes nicely to the dreary mood of the anime. Lighting is not as much of a focus, unfortunately, causing the anime to lose an opportunity to further cast darkness over the show.
Nagoya’s animated sequences are a mixed bag. Downtime does have some fluidity in eye or head movements, and there are even subtle shifts, such as Shinoa moving her hair out of the way to better hear Yu’s heart or Yu scooching backward while Mika rests in his arms and bites on his neck.
Of course, the anime also includes many a battle, yet, despite the swords, axes, and pikes, the anime rarely depicts choreographed fights. As such, the battles become less flashy and more simplistic with lots of cuts or smoke. Considering that the anime touts itself as having action, having these animated sequences be so lackluster adversely affects the anime.
However, there are certain sequences that prove Nagoya does not always rest on its laurels. In particular, the sequence where Mika battles through a road of enemies to get to Yu involves a lot of movement, perspective, and coolness. Other sequences, like the final fight between Yu and the demon or Yu and the gang versus the top-hat vampire, while not as involved, make the anime less static than it tends to be otherwise.
Lastly, the character designs remain the same as before. Shinoa, Yu, and the other humans are rather plain in design. Some have accessories like bows or glasses. Some have oddly colored hair. But generally their designs are not that intricate. The vampires are more eccentric than the humans, making the vampires’ designs more unique and therefore slightly stronger.
For both groups, their actual outfits are decorated with buttons, medals, and other additions. Most interesting of all is the choice of color. The humans wear black attire whereas the vampires wear white. Color symbolism often dictates that black equates to evilness and white equates to goodness. Meaning, having the colors swapped between who one would usually believe the good and bad guys to be induces a subconscious muddying of morality. An idea that, while not explicit, has a presence in the anime.
CHARACTERS
The characters of Nagoya are difficult to discuss mostly because the anime refuses to properly do much with them – nothingness seeped into the characters, too.
Out of the entire cast, only two characters receive adequate attention: Mika and Guren.
Mika continues mostly where he left off. The vampires dislike or toy with him, he hates humans, and all he thinks about is Yu – and blood. His refusal to fully turn himself into a vampire by consuming human blood (he has satiated his thirst through Krul Tepes’s blood all this time) begins to consume him, and it is this consumption that Nagoya focuses on with his character for about three-fourths of the season. His inability to control himself, his anger at himself for his urges, and his conflicting feelings towards humans.
All the while, he never stops thinking about Yu. His actions always revolve around finding or helping Yu and not disappointing him (by becoming the very creature that Yu hates). Consequently, in what is perhaps the anime’s smartest bit of writing, he and Yu finally reunite when Mika is at his most desperate. I.e., Mika’s thirst for blood and Yu reach an apex.
Yu, valuing family above all else (more on this shortly), gives Mika exactly what he wants: himself. Yu shares a private moment with Mika, he gives Mika his blood, and he reassures Mika that Mika will always be family to him – vampire or otherwise. The moment is nice, signifying development of Mika’s character. Afterwards, Mika still has trouble trusting humans, but he at least comes around for Shinoa and the others, turning him into the best character that Nagoya has to offer.
Guren is the other prominent character. Outwardly, he is a jerk, a rude and arrogant dude. Inwardly, he cares deeply for his squad mates – perhaps more so than anyone else.
Over the course of the season, he leads, he falls, and he “betrays.” Quotes because it technically is not his fault. His weapon had been implied to be difficult to control due to the strength of the spirit possessing it and Guren’s love for said spirit. (Shinoa’s older sister in both cases.) So him succumbing to temptation is not completely out of the question.
The real problem with the betrayal is that it (like the story) does next to nothing. Yes, Guren’s tears while in his possessed form indicate that his true self hates the kin-killing monster he becomes. But it serves little purpose. His actions do not drastically affect the outcome of the season. He does not confront major players besides Yu who, in response, just spouts even more dialogue on family. And, most importantly, Guren’s betrayal does nothing for himself. The betrayal (and, indeed, the whole season) does not provide growth for his character whatsoever.
To be fair, Guren is humanized through a flashback involving him and Yu. He compares himself to Yu, encouraging him, advising him to live and push on until the day he can fight for the one who needs his help. Shinya, seemingly his best friend, also humanizes Guren indirectly: Guren wholly trusts Shinya, counting on Shinya to save everyone in his stead and proving how good a friend Guren can be. These instances make up for some of the improper handling of his character but not all of it.
Now, due to the focus on Mika and Guren (and the focus on a story that does nothing), the rest of the cast is forgotten about. Deeply forgotten about. And that is putting it lightly.
Yu starts to leave his him-against-the-world mentality, relying more on his comrades and acting more friendly towards them. However, he still spouts the same dialogue about family over and over. He is certainly consistent in his ideals which deserves a small amount of praise, but he repeats the same thoughts on family ad nauseam, turning him into an annoyance rather than a worthwhile character. He does seem to gain some control of his powers near the end of the season, but, because the angel and demon concepts had gone unexplained up to that point, his control does not make much sense.
Shinoa, arguably the most popular character of the anime, loses her edge. In an attempt to mold her into a more serious, reliable leader, the anime cuts down on her smug, snarky attitude – her defining trait. The tradeoff, not surprisingly, failing to work. As a leader, she gets her group into horrible situations and even causes issues (and deaths) for others based on her decisions. And because her smugness heavily disappears, so does her intrigue. And despite her older sister gaining (a minimal amount of) relativity, Shinoa’s overall importance to the anime diminishes.
The rest of the main group – Mitsuba, Kimizuki, and Yoichi – are painfully forgotten about. Mitsuba has an older sister that seems to be working for the evil humans, but, similar to Shinoa, that relationship is not expounded on. Kimizuki gets a small moment near the end of the season where his beloved sister, the girl who his entire character revolves around, is subjected to horrific treatment. But when he is thwarted with a single sword stab and when he chooses to abandon his sister without putting up much of a fight, Kimizuki becomes more of a joke than a person. As for Yoichi, he may as well not even exist for how much the anime ignored him.
Everybody else cannot be discussed because they are even less prevalent than these three. And as far as themes are concerned, the obvious one is family. Different aspects of family are shown as the season goes on. Yu proves how far people are willing to go for their family when he throws himself into the fray. The commander of the humans proves what happens when one does not care about family. And the notion that family means more than shared blood rings throughout the season. The anime does not explore family on the vampire side, so the theme itself is not as strong as it could have been, but the theme is explored to some overall extent nonetheless.
A less obvious theme is that of temptation. Vampires are tempted by blood, and humans are tempted by freedom. But the theme is more nuanced than that. Mika is tempted (indirectly) by Yu. Guren is tempted by his weapon. Yu is tempted by family. For many of the characters, the prospect of attaining their desires drives them forward. To be fair, the theme itself has no outright exploration, but, since the angel-and-demon backdrop exists, the theme of sin – temptation and greed go hand-in-hand – cannot be ignored.
Does Mika, Guren, and some themes make up for the incredible amount of other problems the cast have?
Barely. Just barely.
SOUND
The opening track of Nagoya has to be talked about first because of how poor it is. The tone, especially in the beginning, is overly optimistic. As such, it contrasts too much with the dreary mood that the rest of the anime steeps itself in. The song also does not do the vocalist justice. She is either forced to sing in a standard, almost conversational tone or forced to strain for specific notes. The only interesting part of the piece is the otherworldly sound-effect that seems as though it is produced by dropping a piece of metal in an icy cavern. But (obviously) that is not enough to make the OP even remotely worth listening to.
The ending track, however, is a lot stronger. The beginning and middle adopt a captivating tone that is simultaneously chilling and beautiful. Varying the pace of the piece also furthers the song’s complexity which in turn furthers its strength. This time, the vocalist can flex her prowess, matching the song’s highs and lows, quicks and slows. The ending lyric is a bit silly – a “Trick Star” does not make much sense in the context of the anime let alone in real life – but, overall, the ED stands as a nice addition to Nagoya.
The original soundtrack (expectedly) uses the same kind of music that the first half used. Most of the tracks are filled with drums, triumph, and ominous sound-effects, setting the atmosphere in a manner that befits the oft soldierly show. None of the tracks are particularly noteworthy, however, so they remain as simple additions rather than praiseworthy ones.
Voice acting sees a similar fate. Saori Hayami’s feminine voice for Shinoa is still attractive to hear. Miyu Irino as Yu can be a bit grating when he starts pouting or yelling. And Kenichi Suzumura as Crowley coats his words with a childish lilt. The only above average performance comes from Kensho Ono as Mika for the struggle and pain one can hear in his voice.
ENJOYMENT
This type of show, where the characters are in danger of being killed off or maimed or otherwise needing help, usually gets me. I have to know if the characters are going to be all right because I just do not like being kept in the dark about their safety. And so, I found myself being pulled along by this one.
But that was the only trait keeping me interested. I was not a fan of any of the characters. Yu was too annoying; Mika was even more so. Mitsuba, Kimizuki, and Yoichi were barely relevant. Guren was too much of a jerk, and the other vampires were either too arrogant to root for or too lame to take seriously. And since Shinoa lost a lot of her smug, she too was not as fun to follow.
The action as well was uninteresting. None of the fights were cool or memorable. In fact, a lot of them blended together, especially when Yu and the humans almost never seemed to win or even succeed in any way.
The anime’s comedic moments were sparse. The anime’s drama was not gripping. The anime’s romance could have been more pronounced. I was simply not entertained by the vast majority of what the anime set out to do.
Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen has a slew of issues. The story does nothing, the characters are forgotten about, the animation is par for the course, the music likewise so, and, as a whole, it fails to entertain. Family may be forever, but, thankfully, this anime is not.
SUMMARY
Story: Terrible, so much nothing in the narrative it hurts
Animation: Fine, nice background art, okay character designs, and about average actual animation
Characters: Bad, themes on family and temptation surround Mika, Guren, and a spectacularly awful rest of the cast
Sound: Fine, bad OP, good ED, okay OST, okay VA performances
Enjoyment: Bad, the safety of the characters was the only enticing part
Final Score: 3/10
Darkmoq
Ladies and Gentlemen this is a rare example of a perfectly mediocre anime. Flawlessly bland, exquisitely insipid, wholly vapid. Watching Owari No Seraph is like eating air, there is simply no taste, good or bad. Owari No Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen is the uninspired continuation of an anime that should never have been made. Story: Lets recap. A mysterious virus wipes out most of humanity and vampires come out of the woodwork to wage war on the surviving humans. Yu, our cliche shounen, hotheaded/immature/cocky/must-protect-everyone protagonist, has joined humanity's army to fight the vampires. He really really hates vampires for killing his childhood friends. He reallyreally wants to protect his friends too. The second half starts after he unleashes his mysterious superpowers on the vampires about to kill his comrades.
As with so many mediocre anime, the premise itself is neither novel nor self-evidently atrocious.
The product is simply a sand-flavored cake.
Slow pace/shitty action:
There are a few identifiable things that contribute to ONS' mediocrity. The pacing is mind-numbingly slow. Most of the fight scenes in the show are related to training/testing of some sort. Learning to unlock your sword's potential, fighting your own weapon's demonic spirit, getting tested by the higher ups, learning to fight as a team, etc. The actual action scenes, what few there are, are usually pointless or indecisive.
Convoluted storyline:
The agendas of the humans and vampires are not well developed. The leadership and structure of the two factions are left nebulous and simple questions like why the two factions are fighting? why the vampires are so sadistic? What is a demon in relation to a vampire? etc are not explained. At times ONS try to draw clumsy moral parallels between the humans and vampires but it's just too messy and blurry to have any impact.
Art: Mediocre
Sound: Mediocre
Characters:
The characters are poorly fleshed out and easily forgettable. They will make predictable decisions then inexplicably decide to trust their mortal enemy for no reason.
In the background of the almost completely absent character development is the homoerotic attraction between Mika and Yu. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how that fits in (no pun intended). I think the core problem is that both characters are just too underdeveloped for me to know where their bond is coming from. They are "family" but then Mika looks like he wants to bone Yu. Yu seems to act differently when he's around Mika. The male vampires are all pretty androgynous and the act of drinking blood is unsubtly sexualized. Then there's that strong pederasty vibe between Ferid and Mika... I dunno...whatever.
To say that the characters are flat would be an understatement. They aren't even cardboard-flat. They are 100%, eco-friendly, RECYCLED cardboard-flat.
Yu: Brash, hot headed, annoying as fuck. Where have we seen that before? Oh right, everywhere. He's a cookie-cutter shounen protagonist. He will charge into battle screaming at the drop of a hat without thinking. He has two objectives--kill vampires; protect friends. There's no growth throughout the series and he is exactly the same from beginning to end.
Mika: Now a vampire. Struggling with his various 'urges'' you might say. I don't think it's a stretch to call his bloodlust an allegory for homosexuality but again, whatever. As a character his thought process is largely absent. Why is he siding with the vampires when they murdered his friends? If he is siding with the vampires why is he so hesitant about drinking blood/killing humans. If he is hesitant about killing humans why does he enable his friends to murder children and distrust humans so much? If being changed into a vampire has altered his thinking why does he still have such a boner for Yu? Why is he so wishy washy about everything?
Everyone else:
Too many half baked characters to keep track of. For such an vacuous anime you would think there would be plenty of room to develop the side characters but not really.
Enjoyment: Meh
Overall: Overall disappointing. The last few seasons of anime have been pretty weak so I finished this out of boredom. Watch only if you are really, really bored.
La_Matona301
My Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen Hen review. Ratings: Story: Fair 6. Art: Good 7. Sound: Fair 6. Character: Very Good 8. Enjoyment: Fair 6. Overall: Good 7.Now that this sequel is over, why can I say about it? Well:
Story (up)
I gave it a fair, because it was still connected with the 1st season in an apocalyptic wasteland ( I just exaggerated it) where vampires wanna rule and humans have to survive, but in its general context, the story simply rely on the "Betrayal" theme , where one would think knows who bad and the good were, but as it turns out it wasn't that black and white. In this sequel, it wasn't surprising that in any show with an apocalyptic theme, it would always have an open ending.
Art (up)
Well what can I say, it's the usual quintessential for any anime or manga to overdress the characters, it's like making them go to a formal gathering in a bikini, then again, this anime didn't rely on the fanservice to sell, that would prompt them preves to play with their joystick.
Sound (up)
I don't have any comment as to the seiyus who did the character's voices, and I don't have any liking for both the opening and closing themes. I think that's "Fair" enough.
Character (up)
I've said before, in this anime the distinction between black and white isn't that obvious, in fact this anime has kept us audience guessing as to how them characters would turn up, thought the main protagonist Yuuichirou Hyakuya is the quintessential character who should be the most powerful one the anime wasn't solely focus on him, rather it was equally divided amogst the characters, but the most profound where Guren, Mika, Ferid, Cowley and Kureto, they basically defined treachery in their own order and Shinoa, Kimizuki, Mitsuba, Yoichi and Mikoto defines survival in their own way as soon as they themselves got caught in a situation where they can no longer trust even their own side, which provides for a "Very Good" climax and ending for this anime.
Overall (up)
I suppose, I could have given this anime's overall an 8, but since it ended with an open ending with no assurance of a season 3 (or will it), I just ranked it a 7, which IMAO would be "Good" enough............
PEACE and Happy New Year
For_Reign
I wish this was not a second season and a continuation of the first season making it a total of 24 episodes that I could have rated better altogether, unfortunately that was not the case. The reason for this, is that I would have had a better Overall rating than I gave for each season on it's own. After watching the first season it was understandable that the setting needed to be revealed and back stories needed to be told, etc... so I saw it to be a little slow until it got some action after 2/3 of the anime had passed. So then Irated it a 7. I'm almost done watching this second season I know I I'll be giving it a 9. There were parts where I was anxious, surprised, concerned, sad, and I even cried a little. This season gave me what I wanted and I enjoyed it very much.
It made me feel bad I gave the first season a 7, but that just what I felt it deserved seeing as it just ended with the god stuff happening almost to the end. So that is why I really wished it would have all been a 24 episode 1st season instead. This time, my enjoyment surely maxed out, and I was certainly not disappointed. If I had to go back and re-rate the first season knowing what would come afterward, I would have given it an 8; however, I will not because that's just how I felt it was, and having it spit up that way was not my choice. At least the first season was good enough to make me want to see this second season and I'm glad I did.
All that being said, here are my ratings for the following:
Story: 8/10
With season 1 out of the way, the progression of the story and this particular arc (battle of Nagoya) was very interesting to me, and we get to see a lot of action. It's what I was looking for in the first place, but it wouldn't have been as enjoyable without the story-telling in season 1.
Art: 9/10
This rating has to do specifically with the animation and execution of the battle/fighting scenes since ,well, the overall art is the same as the first season. When I saw a noble vampire strike Guren, you could have felt the power and intensity from just watching it.
Sound: 8/10
Character: 8/10
This Mika and Yuuichiro thing is my weakness. Say yes to friendships <3
Enjoyment: 10/10
I definitely got more into this second season than I did with the first. Looking forward to see more in the future.
OVERALL: 8.6/10 which translates to a 9 (if you round it off hehe)
Meowsorz
I like to write my reviews to the point and with little bullshit, so, i'll get to it. This show isn't as bad as some say, and not as good as some say. If people say it's bad they are over exaggerating cause it's better than a lot of the slice of life plague or poorly put together anime adaptations of ecchi mangas. And it's certainly not an epic that everyone should watch. However, that's not to say you shouldn't watch it. If you're a fan of action anime, this is probably your cup of tea. If you're more of a story kind of guywell then you might have to force yourself to drink the tea, but leave with the word of "meh" filling your mind and will probably re-evaluate your choices in tea.
This show got kind of hot and heavy in this second season, which is was fine and dandy. Problem is it got rushed making anyone who watches it break out into a sweat from running through the plot so fast all in one episode. The final episode just bust out all the stops and sped through probably about 3-4 episodes of material all leading up to another season which will take a while to come out.
So, go watch Attack on Titan because this show is basically that but with the power of friendship or family or something.
BlueBlur00
I just finished watching Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya which is the second season of the show. I said I would review it and here it is. So are my problems with the characters fixed? Does the second season improve all of the first season’s flaws? Let’s find out! (If you have not seen the show yet I suggest you do so or at least watch the first season since I will be talking about the ending of the first season) Story: The second season picks up right at the end of the first season with Yuuichirou fully healed and everyone going back to business asusual. That is until they find out that there is corruption in the army and are sent to Nagoya to take down a huge vampire army. The majority of episodes in this season are about the battle in Nagoya (hence the name) and that is pretty much the main plot of the second season. I would go into more since there are a lot of twists and turns in this season but I am trying not to spoil the story since I highly suggest you watch this show for yourself, although as I said I will try not to spoil anything extremely major to the plot if you are here just to know if the second season is any good. And the answer is yes. The second season is a lot better than the first in terms of overall story progression since a lot of important stuff happens in this season opposed to the first and thanks to the setting and the main plot of this season there are a lot more epic fight scenes which was lacking in the first season. So overall in terms of story this season was a big improvement over the first, although like the first it does end on a cliff-hanger which I hope gets resolved since this is a show that deserves another season or a continuation of some sort. This story needs to be continued and while you could read the manga I still think it deserves another season since if you read the manga you wouldn’t get Hiroyuki Sawano’s epic soundtrack or the awesome voice acting backing it up.
Characters:
Thankfully this season gets rid of the main problems I had with the characters Yuuichirou and Mikaela. Yuuichirou is still a stubborn and generic shounen anime protagonist but still likable, and his goals aren’t mainly set on revenge but to also protect his new family and fight to defeat the vampires. Mikaela’s problems are fixed as well as he takes the role of a lone wolf, undercover protagonist rather than an anti-hero as he is still set on ‘saving’ Yuuichirou but is also not on the side of the vampires as, even though he is one, he still holds hatred for them which wasn’t really shown from him in the first season. Other than that all of my opinions on the other characters stay the same and not many new characters are introduced in this season which gives time for all of the old ones to be further fleshed out rather than focusing on some random new characters. Any of the new ones aren’t really worth talking about although they are still likable even if they don’t serve much to the plot. The only new character I will talk about is the show’s newest antagonist: Kureto Hiiragi. Kureto is one of the main heads of the Imperial Demon Army and also the main source for the corruption in the army. Throughout this series you will learn to hate Kureto as some of the stuff he does is pure evil, especially in the last two episodes. Although the show still never explains what the Four Horsemen of John are or where they came from. There is something that kind of explains it but it is a spoiler and it only happens in the last episode.
Sound:
First off, I forget to mention this in my review of season 1 but the first season has a good opening and ending and they were never songs I skipped. The same can’t be said for the second season however as the opening is boring, generic and not enjoyable to listen to and the ending is plain but better than the opening. The soundtrack remains the same and it is still as epic as ever, if even more as most of the songs I like from the soundtrack only play in the second season. And every time I hear the main theme play I just can’t help but smile at the epicness since it can make even a conversation about escaping between Yuuichirou and Mikaela sound like the most epic thing in the world. Definitely one of Hiroyuki Sawano’s best soundtracks and one that I will be listening to a lot down the line. My main problems still remain the same however as some of the sound effects sound muffled at times and the music to midway animation sequence transition is still pretty awkward. All of the voice actors return and the actors for the new characters are on par with the others. I would expect nothing less from a Funimation dub.
Animation:
My opinions on the animation are exactly the same as the first season since it is exactly the same. The colors really pop, the characters look really nice and Wit Studio shows that they can handle action scenes really well. My only complaint is that CGI is sometimes used, although it is never bad CGI it is still really noticeable and can break your focus during a scene when it appears. Although I don’t mind CGI in anime as long as it’s done well. The animation still remains to be one of the shows high points.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I thought that Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya was a definite improvement over the first season, mainly in terms of story and characters. It’s a show that deserves another season or a continuation of some sorts since it feels like it’s a story that you need to witness in anime form. I haven’t read the manga so I wouldn’t know how it compares but the awesomeness of this show, accompanied by Hiroyuki Sawano’s epic soundtrack is something that made me love this show so much and I couldn’t dream of witnessing this story without my favorite voice actors doing the voices or listening to the epic score in the background. That’s why I am happy to give Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya the rating that it deserves.
Rating: Great
(My rating system is explained if you check my profiles main page. I hope you liked the review and look forward to more in the future)
Peace out, Anime fans!
PyraXadon
Ah, Shonuen. For most, it's the gateway genre into anime as beating the shit out of people through epic action sequences with swords, magic, what have you is quite amusing to many, and the power of friendship or something like that is also quite fun to watch, apparently. But then you have series that just...sort of push the envelope on what they want to do and it just sort of...falls flat. Story: Picking up from where the first season of Owari no Seraph ended off, Nagoya, as I'll call this second season continues our adventures of our merry family of vampire killers as theycome across more secrets, more vampires, and well...a lot of spare blood dying.
Owari no Seraph has a very glaring issue when it comes to storytelling, and that is balance. Like the season before it, Nagoya focuses heavily on the 'bonds' between the members of the main cast and their bond together as 'family.' Now, as a concept, this would be ok, since most shonuen have this kind of concept to their storyline since most protagonists feel they need to SAVE EVERYONE or what have you. But in Owari's case, they really shove it down your throat. You can't really go five minutes in the show without someone shouting out either the word family or alluding to it, and it's just irritating. They focus so much on these bland characters and their 'connection as a family' that the show as a whole takes a nosedive in quality because they try to make us care about them more so than the actual plot of the show, thus bringing me to my next point.
The world of Owari no Seraph is decently crafted. Contrary to the first season, we get answers. Not many answers mind you, but answers. As such, the plot and what is happening does start to make some sense, and I genuinely think that the way this world was made is actually interesting. But because the show puts so much focus on the people of the show and not so much as to what is happening, the show really suffers since it's not really able to expressively give itself out as a story while it has these half-assed characters drag itself down with it. (Seriously though, the concept of the seraphs, demons, vampires, etc is all really interesting.)
And then we have one of the bigger issues aside from its bullshit family motif, the pacing. The pacing of the show is subpar at best. At time, it really drags itself out, while other times, it rushes itself a lot. For the most part, these pacing issues occur during the 'character' and the 'plot' parts respectively since, as I've mentioned before, the show puts more focus on its characters rather than its plot. In the end, we got a lot of possibly great storytelling with a lot of not so great parts in between it. Especially since the last episode had so much, but was a horrible end because they rushed it to all hell without any explanation and essentially set up a season 3. (Wit Studio, plz. Don't do this.)
Overview:
+ Good World (Honestly, the world that this show is in is quite interesting)
- Pacing issues
- Family motif. (It's not so much as a motif as it is a word they shove down your throat when you're watching.)
Characters: Oh, characters. I have quite a bone to pick with these character not only because they're bad, but because they...are...insufferable. A good majority of them are really quite bad to the point that you don't even want to root for them.
Contrary to most second season reviews I do, I have to mention these ones again. Yuu, as our main protagonist has shifted his role this season from an Eren clone vampire-killing maniac, to the guy who cannot go a single sentence or set of lines without mentioning the word family. It's so bad to the extent that I cannot really describe him any other way simply because that's what he is. He's a very one-note character with literally one character trait and he just isn't very interesting. In fact, he is a character, is one I could not really care much about simply because he's just so insufferable at times to watch.
Then we have Mikasa. Now, I am a strong believer that Mika would've made a much better protagonist than Yuu did before, since his entire deal in the series was to protect the last person that he considered his family, (still insufferable, but it made more sense here) and he dealt with the conflicts of now being a vampire when he was previously human. In this season however, he comes back more as a one-note character since his entire purpose is to "Protect Yuu-chan. Protect Yuu-chan!" which really isn't all that interesting and just adds to how average the characters are.
Other characters in the main cast, Shinoa, Mitsuba, Kimizuki, etc, are all pretty much shafted to the side. Guren however gets this trait that isn't ever really explained (but you can kind of infer) but really, these characters all don't change and are less important than they were made out to be in season one. That's not to say that's a bad thing since a lot of their character traits (except Shinoa, though, she is less snarky than she was before, and that's what made her great) are intolerable to listen to or deal with at times.
And then we have the side cast, or spare blood. Now, a lot of the characters that we are introduced to in this new season are for the most part, just fodder for the series. A lot of them get killed and it really doesn't really tug your heartstrings. This is mostly due to the fact that the show tries to really emphasize its 'character' half of the show but fails on account of its generally one note cast. As such, you have a lot of deaths that really either don't matter or are made without really any explanation as to why they were killed. (Note, what happened in the last episode.) Another issue is the lack of antagonist motivation. Ever villain has a motive for doing what they do, but in this case, the show doesn't really have much explanation. Both humans and vampires have villains with their own agenda, but because the show never fully devotes itself to the actual plot of the show, these 'villainous agendas' are left quite hung up to dry and really are just stupid for the most part since what they're doing is obviously dumb when you look at what's going on. (How do you save humanity by killing your own people? Anyone else see the fault in logic here?)
Overview:
- One note characters
- Most of the main cast kinda gets shafted
- Most of the cast is just spare blood for the most part
- Villains have unclear motivations
- Mika kinda sucks now...
Art: Produced by Wit Studio, Nagoya boasts the same kind of animation quality that its first season had. Having fluid battle scenes, high quality animation, and overall very nice effects, details, and stunning backgrounds.
There's not really much to say about the art because it genuinely is good, and there's really nothing bad to say.
Overview:
+ Good, high quality art
Sound: Inversely, the sound is a bit...meh. With its new OP made by Fripside called "Two souls", Nagoya has a bit of a different feel to its first OP since it's a bit more generic than its first opening. Fripside is a good artist, as she's done OPs for other shows like Black Bullet and Railgun, but this one...just doesn't seem to cut it.
The ED on the other hand has a more of a gospel or choir feel to it, harking back to the "seraph" of the show which similar to its respective OP, is a good song, but isn't really memorable or really all that special.
Overview:
+ Good songs
- Not really memorable or unique
Personal Enjoyment: I don't like Owari no Seraph. As a series, I feel like it had so much potential, but falls VERY flat because it tried to make itself a character-based show, when it really should be a plot-based show because it had so much potential and so many great concepts that just were either not explained, or were rushed with little to no explanation.
Did I like this anime?
I like the concept of the seraph and what it is in this series. Lack of explanation didn't help the show, but hey, it's the concept that really intrigued me.
What didn't I like about this anime?
Pretty much...everything else. The characters are insufferable, the concept of family is complete bullshit, the story is crap, the villains are crap, the amount of spare blood we have is stupidly large...need I say more? If it wasn't clear enough, I personally think that Owari no Seraph is just bad. There're far too many problems with it to make me even consider it as a half-decent series. Also, that goddamn ferrari in episode 6. Just...why was that even in there. Why?
Would I recommend this anime?
No. If you want to know anything about the series, read it. The timeframe that this anime provides and the amount of family stuff they choke you with equated to a lackluster story and lack of explanation. As such, a lot of the concepts that this show has is just not explained, the biggest reason as to why I say that this show is just not worth the time to watch.
zeluqa
This review will not contain any heavy spoilers. I will mostly comparing how things are in this season than the first season. "More fujobait but gets way better than the first season." Story : 9/10 It gets way better than the first season. We got a lot more backgrounds on what's happening. The start are kinda slow and filled with daily lives of them in the main basecamp and some events to tie up the "Yuu's awakening" incident. The main story kicks in a few episodes later where they are sent to Nagoya for war, hence the season title. The finale was also as great as the firstseason.
Art : 9/10
The art are as good as the first season with oily hand-drawn paintings as backgrounds, and it meshes well with the animation that used thick lines as borders. The animation also got better, no more awkward scenes like where Mika's feet gliding trough the stairs like in the first season.
Sound : 10/10
Sawano Hiroyuki. Also we now got fripSide for OP and Yanagi Nagi for ED, I particularly loved the ED.
Character : 8/10
Now Yuu aren't as annoying as he was in S1, he's gotten more mature somehow and doesn't yell "I'm going to kill every vampires" every 5 minutes anymore. Another notable improvements are Shinoa and Guren, now Shinoa got more personalities than just the smugness people praise her for. We also got a better look at Guren's personalities. Overall the Shinoa squad members' interaction are better with each other. And we also got more Mika on screen now.
Enjyoment : 8/10
Shonen being a shonen, the battle hype is really good, it was fun to see people hacking up other people with swords and various arms imbued with a demon. There are also a few comedy scenes which is good to break the ice.
Overall : 9/10
tl;dr It's better than the first season, if you didn't like the first one, you might like this one.
GonzyChan
Do you ever have that one anime where you feel many things were going on but still feel like there was no impact? Anime that are of the action genre often come into this dilemma. Ones with an overarching story that tries to make it grand and epic, only to squander it by not giving much to go on. It doesn’t help with a short 12-13 episode season. Considering that Owari no Seraph had a 2nd season in the same year to facilitate its story longer and still come off short is rubbing salt in the wound. To go back on the first season for abit, since I never reviewed it, my initial impression of the story was incredibly underwhelming. I thought the way it told a revenge plot involving a boy who wants to kill vampires who killed all of his friends was too simple and drab for me to take seriously. There are ways in which this could work, but with Owari no Seraph’s case, it comes across as predictable and hamfisted with the melodrama. Not only is the story itself nothing special, but the way it is presented is all over the place. Most notably, the pacing is what drags it down so low. There are places where the plot rushes to get to the next battle scene without any exposition to tell the audience what exactly is going on. This is very apparent in the last episode of this season, where the last ten minutes felt like there should’ve been two more episodes to fill in to make it feel more like a seamless transition from scene to scene.
Writing is the key point to any story, and Owari no Seraph has probably the most boring dialogue of any shounen anime this year. It’s like the running joke in America where we think of Hollywood as just reusing cliched catchphrases we see in countless action blockbusters by putting their hand in a jar and picking whatever line is on a piece of paper. It feels like some of the lines lean on the “edgy” or “melodramatic” nature of Owari no Seraph. Even if you’re watching with the worst fansubs or know a little Japanese as I do, many of the lines reek of stale dialogue writing that even a high school student with a novice level of writing composition could do better. They can range from predictable to groan-inducing on many occasions.
Unfortunately, most of the characters here are of the same level as the story in terms of quality. They all fall under the category of forgettable and flat, except for one character, the one ray of sunshine of this entire anime. The character I am referring to is the lovely sarcastic lady, Shinoa Hiiragi. However, her character development is on par with the rest of the bland cast, her snarky demeanor and voiced wonderfully by Saori Hayami, who does her lines a cut above the rest. Without her, I don’t think I would’ve sat through all 24 episodes of seasons 1 and 2; in fact, I would say the only reason I bothered to continue this was to see more of Shinoa. Her presence in season 2 is just as good, albeit a little more serious than in the previous one, which disappointed me, but I’ll take whatever Shinoa I can get at this point.
Yuu proves himself to be the stereotypical edgy protagonist who shouts most of his lines, blurts out predictable vengeful lines, and promises to stick with his friends' lines. Admittedly, I think Mika, Yuu’s other friend who gets turned towards the vampire side, was probably the least bad out of the suck bunch in the cast. Only because he at least had a role that was kind of captivating to see where he has to battle out his friend’s other friends to reunite with him. All three of these characters are the only ones I even remember. As much as I rag on Yuu’s character, at least I can remember his name and the dumb lines he spouts out. You could quiz me on the rest of the characters, and I will guarantee that I would not make more than a 20% grade percentage. This is the problem of how so little development any of them have despite being in the same armed forces as Yuu and Shinoa or the vampire clan they are fighting against. The only thing we have to go on is that they are fighting an enemy that threatens their way of life; that’s about it. Whoopee.
It is weird to analyze the technical prowess of Owari no Seraph because I do love the artwork of the characters, and even some of the backgrounds look nice to look at. However, the animation is very hit or miss. Nowhere is this more evident than in the fighting scenes where there are some episodes where the animation takes a nosedive. The animators were cutting corners, possibly due to budgeting issues or whatnot. It is serviceable to the eyes and compliments the artwork when it isn't of such low quality. Besides the animation is a mixed bag, I genuinely love how colorful the characters look. If the characters didn’t have very distinct features to their hair or skin, I think my opinion of them being forgettable would be even lower than it is.
Vampires and humans battling each other can be fun on paper but rarely has there been any that succeed in reality. Had the writers taken their time to develop the characters and story slowly for me to get a sense of the world, I think this could’ve been pretty good. What I got out of Owari no Seraph after finishing its 2nd season was just the biggest meh that has ever meh this year of 2015. All I got out of it was more Shinoa fanart to gaze upon with my own eyes. At least great things can come from average places.
Grade: C-
Flawfinder
Seraph of the End really did not get off on the right foot when it first arrived on the scene, did it? I mean when the premise of your show revolves around vampires ruling the world and massacring everyone you hold dear, the last thing you want to see in said world is a fucking high school. And yet somehow, that wasn't the worst problem to befall the series. Wit Studio has never been good at managing budget - which is fair considering they're still new and all - but even by their standards, Seraph of the End looked like complete ass. I'm not sureif it was fixed in the blu-ray, but the first cour was riddled with production problems that made the incredibly bland writing even blander, along with making Durarara!!x2 Shou look like it was animated by Madhouse on a good day. Awful character movement. Action scenes consisting of nothing but stills. Devoting entire episodes to generic "friendship is everything" bullshit. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't killing the show's pacing in the process.
So it was some trepidation that I watched Battle in Nagoya but apparently the studio had just been cured of a disease in-between cours because there's absolutely no production issues in the show whatsoever (or at least none that's really noticeable). The action scenes are consistently fluid for the most part and the pacing, whilst still taking a little too long to get places at times, actually gives off a feeling of stuff actually happening. Said feeling hit a speed bump when the show ends on yet another cliffhanger with little manga material to make a third season in the near future but hey, points for actually getting me somewhat into this series this time.
I'm not going to bother recapping the plot since this is a second cour and you'd only care if you watched the first one, so let's just say that after Yu and Mika had their long-awaited gay reunion, ending with the former awakening to hilariously inaccurate monstrous powers that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, the vampires and the anti-vampire military gear up for another war and Yu's squad leave their high school roots in order to train with the big boys. But as was hinted at the cliffhanger at the end of the first cour, said military isn't exactly the most pacifistic people on the planet, and unlike the military in Attack on Titan, they're not exactly open about it. As such, a lot of internal strife occurs whilst we wait for the two sides to clash, and it's not like the vampire side consists solely of BFFs either given how Mika still refuses to drink blood.
I have a sneaking feeling that Wit Studio randomly came across the manga one day, noticed how similar it was to Attack on Titan, and that was all they needed to pick it up for adaptation, because Battle in Nagoya borrows a lot of plot points from that show and the director does his damn best to capture Araki's theatrical bombast whenever he can, what with the dramatic shoutings in regards to squad members whining about how they're all a family and the fight scenes themselves going for epic brutality. Although Seraph of the End's homosexual coupling of Yu and Mika brings Sunrise more to my attention given how much BL material always seems to make it into their stuff, right down to having an anime named after it. And good god does the show double down on the BL when the two finally meet again. Remember in Tokyo Ghoul how there was this human girl who was willing to let some of her flesh get eaten if it meant her ghoul boyfriend can stay alive? Well guess what Yu's solution is to keep Mika alive when he realizes that he can't survive without blood?
Speaking of Mika, he was always a bit of a whiner in regards to his best friend, but whilst he never becomes the male version of Yuno Gasai, his feelings for Yu border on the obsession here. You guys know about the Bechdel Test? Well replace "women" with "Yu" and Mika would fail it within the first fucking syllable of whatever sentence he speaks. And that's not even getting into the fact that he makes it very clear that anyone who's not Yu can die in a ditch, which Yu obviously has problems with given that he's still an incredibly generic protagonist who fights for his friends and will trust them even when they stab him in the back.
Mika's growing problems and Yu's lack of growth aside, I actually found the characters more engaging in this iteration, particularly Shinoa - who was more a snarky comic relief character in the first season, but mostly has to rely on using that personality as a defense mechanism now that shit has gone serious and the importance of her family name is afflicting one of her squad members. Most of them are still simplistically written and all, mostly acting as Yu's cheerleaders with the only real story being given to Shiho at the very end when it's revealed what happens to his sister, but since they're not given any more focus than necessary this time around, it's not hard to tolerate them. I'm not sure what the common consensus is for Guren himself, but whilst his story does make him more interesting, it's also incredibly predictable and I found myself really unable to care for the chemistry that Yu seems to have with him. Did he really help the kid that much to the point that Yu would sacrifice his life for him as much as his friends and Mika? I can't seem to recall anything in particular.
Unfortunately, whilst the execution is better, the core of Seraph is still about as substantial as Mac in Cheese without any salt or pepper put into it. The structure is the same as the first cour in that the first half or so is dedicated to building our protagonists up and the second cour is when things come to a clash before ending on a cliffhanger. And no amount of people dying bloody deaths along with the overall theatrical presentation can make me overlook the fact that the show doesn't put enough spins on its genre cliches to make that structure stand out in any way, unless you count what ultimately becomes of Yu's squad when Mika throws a wrench into the whole "all vampires are evil" way of thinking as fresh. It certainly opens the way to something fresh, as (spoilers) I've never seen a shonen action anime cast our protagonists as fugitives, Deathly Hallows-style, before. But that's at the very end, and everything prior to that is just a bunch of flamboyancy taken seriously so that it's kind of funny at times, but ultimately it's not doing anything new that you haven't seen before in vampire fiction (current or old). It's like a less stupid but still nothing "must see" version of that Let Me In film.
So whilst I can recommend Battle in Nagoya with much less reservations than the first Seraph, I think you guys are better off waiting for the Attack on Titan sequel...whenever that shows up.
nvpknockout
Owari no Seraph Seson 2 was great. I just thought of the final fight between the humans and the vampires to be very bad. It could have ended better that for example guren to turn back to hes normal self, they also could have made it that kimizukis sister was saved and some others. But all in all the story was amazing the main characters designs were incredible. I love yuu as a character hes a really nice fighter and a great addition to the team. If you guys have something to add plz comment on the review i will gladly read them.
NineNTG
*Since there arent really positive reviews i will make one.,and sry bout the spoilers...* So the story..oh well damn i can say that is full with cliffhangers,large scale battles happen and the characters(especially the MC) grow even stronger.What can i say..it was better,or at least it had more action than the first season.here we see more betrays and a darker humanity. The art is outstanding as the previous season was.Same with the sound,nothing really different here. The characters develop deeper bonds also getting stronger along the way.Yuu and Mika are finally together and Asura and Yuu are friends.Sadly we do notsee Mika developing more than just becoming a full vampire.The characters develop more as a team not individually and that's a bit sad.I would like to see more backstories,learn more of their past.
I did enjoy this season more than the first and i recomend you watching both since they need each other.I feel more sentiments mixed from friendship taken to extreme and hatred for humanity.Just to make it clear i despite betrayers.
Evil127
Owari no Seraph is the worst anime I have ever watched, after the mediocre season 1 ended it was hard to see whether the production company could do any worse. OMFG it got worse. The animation is poor at times. The sound sometimes seems out of sync. By episode 10 it is an utter snooze fest - plot lines are predictable, stupid at times because absolutely nothing made any sense. Characters are lifeless and wooden, they took Mika's character and shit on it. WTF, where did the King of Salt come from? Was to try and emulate my emotions while trying to force myself to watch this pile ofshit?
For something that was supposed to emulate AoT, it seems a crime to even compare the two.
3/10 - I hope this burns in hell for all eternity!
faye
Here is the thing: Owari no Seraph is a piece of mindless entertainment. It has everything to keep you occupied for a couple of hours but sadly not much else. Story is pretty dumb. It is just there to justify the characters movement across the screen. We have a lot of angst and pump up drama – teen with anger issues and so on. Nothing out of ordinary! Most of the mainstream anime titles are like this. The good thing is that the apocalyptic scenery is constantly been overlapped by clichés such as school life, friendship and snippy remarks which makes the whole thing hilarious!For that help a lot the smugdere – Shinoa and here we go to the second point:
Characters: Again nothing special. Overused archetypes and MC is fucked up emo shit but still their conversations are entertaining and cute at times. Not to mention the smugdere queen ;)
Music: It is over average. It is not the best Sawano work out there but it has more than enough good tracks. Especially in season two. OP/ED were nice as well.
Art/ character designs: Well good over all but not the greatest. The backgrounds were interesting but not used optimally much of the time. The characters are mostly bishies and bishoujos so no complains there.
Enjoyment: For me it was entertaining enough. I don`t look for the deeper meaning so I was more than happy with what I got.
Special note: Shounen ai vibes during the anime. Yep! One of the things I found hilarious! Especially the comments afterwards LOL. Come on! A few longing face expressions haven`t killed anyone. Don`t make it such a big deal ;)
Overall: I like it but won`t watch it a second time.
Story – 5
Characters – 7
Music – 8
Art – 7
Enjoyment – 9
Overall – 7,2
clefairykin
I just finished watching all of Owari no Seraph, and after taking some time to think it over, this is how I rated it. The story gets a very solid six. I find the set up fairly interesting, especially since I don't really care for vampires in general. I really wanted to rate it a seven, but there were so many parts left unexplained, which will probably be shown in the third season... if it ever gets there. The art was outstanding to me, and it's what I expected from Wit Studio. Definitely, check out the Blu-Ray if you can. The animation whileairing on tv has some bad quality, but it's still pretty great.
Although I thought the soundtrack was fair, I really did enjoy the English tracks on it. I also love the first season's opening the most. The song for the second season's ending was beautiful, even though I couldn't watch the ending since I just wanted to skip to the next episode.
The major downfall of this show are the characters themselves, especially Yuu. He is insufferable. It's almost like the mangaka was trying to create the most annoying character, and combined every protagonist in Shonen Jump - and Kirito from SAO. I really liked Shinoa, but the second season. Jesus Christ. Why would you not follow orders from your superiors when you're in a vampire apocalypse and everyone's lives are at stake? The entire squad bothered me to no end.
Props to Mikaela for being the best damn character in the show, though.
Overall, I really did enjoy the show. I ended up binge-watching season two as soon as I finished season one on blu-ray. It is a mediocre show, yes. But I definitely think it's a good time waster. If a third season does come out, I will be watching it, even if it is just for Mikaela alone.
