Review of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan - Demon Capital
Criteria Story: 8 Season 2 of Nurarihyon no Mago leads a very similar story to that of season 1 in the sense that Nura Rikou is still battling between his human blood and his demon blood except in season 2 he is more aware and more accepting of his demon blood than he was in season 1. Season 2 of Nurarihyon no Mago can also be described as a ‘Demon War Arc’ as that is what it essentially is a war between two factions of demons. Tono Yokai vs Kyoto Yokai. In season 2 they also address the specific powers and abilities used by demons, thatbeing ‘Fear’, and the many different ways this ability can be used.
Ending: 8.5
The final episode of Nurarihyon no Mago really does go out with a bang, leaving us satisfied yet also wanting more. With many plot twist that arise in the final episodes of Nurarihyon no Mago its gets quite hard to keep up and fortunately it does all make sense. It is somewhat hard to review this ending without spoiling it so all I can really say is that ‘you get what you pay for’ i.e the ending we want and deserve.
Solid Plot: 8
Even with the numerous plot twists towards the end of season 2 the plot still does stay consistent and flows smoothly. There a very few instances where you find scenes not relating to the plot and luckily there were not entire episodes that also strayed from the main plot.
Moral: 8.5
The moral of season 2 is the same as that of season 1 except just elaborated a little more in detail.
“The moral can really be seen as analogy more than anything; with Nura Rikuo constantly preaching for equality between demons and humans and that he will treat both their crimes and achievements equally. This can be compared to both Equality throughout the human race, addressing factors such as racism, and equality throughout genders, i.e male and female. Even though humans and demons differ, Nura Rikuo still wishes to treat them both with an equal amount of respect and fairness; which can be compared to the fact that even though there are a lot of differences amongst humanity we should still treat each other with the same amount of respect and fairness.”
Sense: 8
Thankfully in season 2 they get rid of the ‘let your enemy go’ mentality the characters had in season 1. In season 2 enemies are hunted down and destroyed. Apart from that most of everything made sense in season 2 except for the one thing that was in season 1 that remained in season 2, that being when allies or enemies or cut or wounded, the wound does not match with the cut i.e if someone’s arm is cut clean off, it does not show their arm being cut clean off, it only shows a very deep wound, this happens more in the case of allies than enemies but it is still quite annoying.
Music: 8
The music in season 2 I found to way outshine that of season 1. The music had more a presence and I found it to be more ‘epic’. The music also helped to emphasize the mood of a scene a lot more than that of season 1’s music.
Art: 8.5
Again the same as in season 1 the art style remained the same with not a lot of noticeable changes. The only real noticeable change is that from Tono to Kyoto, the scenery in Kyoto being a lot darker than that in Tono.
With that said though I did really like the art and art style of Nurarihyon no Mago, both the way the scenery and characters where drawn where amazing. I could not find any noticeable similarities between characters which is a great upside to any Anime.
Characters: 8.5
The characters where absolutely great seeing now they did have more of a presence as each of Nura Rikuo’s main guards were given their own backstory. This helps the audience to relate with the characters and give the characters themselves a greater atmosphere around them, making the character actual characters and not just walking and talking mannequins.
Boredom/Captivation Scale: 8
With there being a lot more highpoints in season 2 of Nurarihyon no Mago than there where in season 1 than off course I would enjoy it a lot more than I did season 1, the action scenes actually lasted longer than 30 seconds and sometimes even extended to episodes. Retaining the same style of action featuring all different types of abilities and techniques season 2 was all the more enjoyable. All in all I can honestly say that there were very little low points with season 2 and found myself liking it a lot.
Personal Score: 8.5
Not the final question, that being would I recommend this anime….Hell Yes! If you’re a fan of plot twists, action, abilities and all other manner of supernatural things than this anime is right up your alley.
Genres
Action: 8.5
The action scenes actually lasted longer than 30 seconds and sometimes even extended to episodes. Retaining the same style of action featuring all different types of abilities and techniques season 2 was all the more enjoyable.
Abilities/Powers/Techniques: 8.5
Nurarihyon no Mago is jam packed with all 3 abilities, powers and techniques. With things like martial arts to water bending and super strength Nurarihyon no Mago fills these criteria well.
Super Moves: 7.5
There were not many super moves in Nurarihyon no Mago but when there was they were on a grand scale making them worthwhile.
Supernatural: 7.5
Even though they don’t technically address the factor of there being a heaven if there is a hell there is a demon that is a messenger from god and acts as if he is a divine demon. So overall the supernatural element of season 2 is good.
Demons: 9
The demon factor for Nurarihyon no Mago was done incredibly well as most demons tend not to look alike and there is an incredibly large array of demons.