Review of Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya
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!