Rockman.Exe Axess is easily one of my favorite anime arcs of all time and the series that got me into anime. However, I was a little nervous that it wouldn't hold up when I rewatched it. No one likes rewatching their favorites and realizing they don't hold up anymore. But after completing all 51 episodes, yeah my thoughts are the same. Rockman.Exe Axess is still fantastic. It uses the plot of Battle Network 3, 4, and Network Transmission to make its own unique story that is extremely well written and cool. Now it's not perfect, but it's still extremely good. The plot is simple yet wellexecuted. Yuurichiro Hikari creates a new battle chip, the synchro chip, a chip that allows navis and humans to fuse. Netto and Rockman use this synchro chip to achieve Cross Fusion to merge in the real world to fight Darkloids, beings of darkness created by Dark Chips. It's a simple plot premise that has some twists and buildup later on. The story has a villain of the week formula as well but it's honestly not a con and actually makes the arc a lot more enjoyable. The arc also has some pretty well pacing with some occasional filler that's super enjoyable, and just like the previous arc, it tackles many heavy themes like addiction, grief, and loss of self.

The animation is a massive step up from the previous season. It's a lot more fluid, rarely feels like a slideshow, and is a good basis for what I think good animation is. It doesn't have to be a crazy masterpiece of a light show like Demon Slayer, it just has to be fluid and keep people engaged, which Axess does a good job at doing. The voice acting is also pretty good. While I personally prefer the dub voice acting because it adds a bit more personality to the characters with extra lines, and Netto is voiced by Brad Swaile, you know, the voice actor of Light Yagami, but I recommend sub more for a first time watcher because the dub cuts out a lot of important details since it was dubbed by 4kids, which for those of you who don't know, 4kids censor anything that breathes, and gets rid of some of the best scenes. So for a first time watch, even though it can be hard to find, I recommend the sub.

In terms of story and enjoyment, it's hard to beat Axess. All the characters were great, especially the new characters of Laika and Search Man, Enzan character arc was so good and Netto and Rockman are still a goofy and fun duo. Fights were a massive step up due to the animation increase. Some good fights worth shouting out were Rockman Vs Metal Man, C.F. Rockman and C.F. Blues Vs Burner Man, C.F. Rockman Vs Gravity Man, Rockman Vs Video Man, any fight with Search Man, and C.F. Rockman Vs C.F. Laser Man. Transformations were also very cool. Cross Fusion is one of the coolest fusion methods in anime, and Double Soul had many great uses.

Also, one more note, the soundtrack is so good. Easily one of my favorite anime soundtracks of all time. The cross fusion theme alone makes it a 10 and Shade Man's theme, Dark Blues theme, and the opening song are also all bops.

I don't actually think Axess has any cons. It's good at everything it does. All I will say is that it can be a bit formulaic so if you don't enjoy villain of the week like stories or filler, you might not enjoy it as much, but I would recommend giving this season a try, even if you didn't enjoy the first. Also, slight warning but 4kids stopped dubbing Rockman.Exe after this point so if you want to watch Stream, Beast, and Beast+, you can only watch it in sub. Thanks for reading. Hopefully I enjoy my Stream rewatch next.