The original Weiß Kreuz was one of the anime I watched in childhood. It was not as good as I had remembered, but I still want to watch its sequel to see what it is all about. Just like the OVA, it is serviceable to pass time (you might still want to watch it regardless of the bad things I say just because you're a fan of Weiß Kreuz). But it is unfortunate that it leaves a lot to be desired. Firstly, the design. The creators had a falling out with the original character designer. That's why it's disorienting when you're used to the original. Thisone is significantly worse.

And since the design is different, it was hard to pick apart who is new and who is the old Weiß.

This design reinforces the feeling that this version of Weiß Kreuz is set in another dimension or at best a fan fiction, and we're not even talking about the inconsistencies.

In my review of the OVA, I complained that it didn't mention Aya-chan or Sakura. For the most part that is true, but Aya-chan appeared in the last episode. A little too late perhaps, but we don't have any clue what happened to Sakura.

Another aspect that might be disorienting is how the narrative is handled. In the original Weiß Kreuz, it was mostly episodic, then converges to a common enemy. Glühen, on the other hand, is one long mission.

I think Glühen's structure is better than the original as the initial episodes in the original Weiß Kreuz was boring. Despite that, the disorientation negates all that.

Prior to watching Glühen, I had this impression that the missions will be taken by a new Weiß team. Alas, there were only two new personnel shown: Kyo and Sena with Sena taking most of the screen time.

With only 12 episodes, the plot structure is better at the expense of the characters. **SPOILER ALERT!!!** When Kyo died, we don't really care about him. And Sena, who appears to be our main man, eventually died. (Why would you kill him? See my speculation later.)

While Sena was hogging so much air time and was like a more whiny version of Omi, I think this anime did not do a good job in making us care for him. What a shame!

So all in all, it all goes back to the original four members of Weiß.

In this anime, Omi has taken the role of Persia. Also, he has embraced his being a Takatori. So he is known publicly as Takatori Mamoru. He is also seen on numerous occasions talking to his grandfather.

I find it hard to believe how Omi's grandfather was written. I suspect when the first Weiß anime was crafted, the grandfather wasn't on anybody's mind.

But here we are with this grandpa character who actually told Mamoru that Reiji wasn't his real father but Shuuichi. Eventually, he left and didn't want to talk to Omi.

I wasn't satisfied with how they presented him. We were spared the details on how Omi met him and how he convinced Omi to come out as Mamoru.

Also, Schwarz reappeared but this time, they were allies. I don't know how that happened but this is disorienting. Also, it is interesting that one of the new characters look similar to the original design of Nagi Naoe. This can also add to the confusion.

Anyway, while they were able to finish the mission, it seems that Weiß Kreuz Glühen ended in tragedy.

1. Youji had an amnesia. Sure, he wanted to remove his memories, but it is no less tragic.

2. Ken, even though he is cheerful, voluntarily incarcerated himself.

3. Aya died, or it seems to likely despite some hoping that he did not die. He survived so much shit, gunfire, but his life ended when a kid who bumped him actually knifed him. Actually, he could've saved himself, but we were shown that he walked a great deal of distance for some hours before he gave up the ghost. Only someone suicidal would not scream for help.

4. My dear boy Omi, my favourite from the original anime, is starting to get corrupt. Remember that I complained that Kyo and Sena wasn't given enough moments for us to care about them?

Well, he was nonchalant that a certain batch of Weiß got killed. For him, these are only pawns. My complaint on the characterisation of Kyo and Sena might be deliberate to show that the sweet Omi we knew is no longer that same person. And this highlights the tragedy the story is trying to convey.

Overall, I cannot recommend anyone to watch this. It has aged far worse than the original anime.