Date A Live II | NUMBER 2 (yup…)

ByOOCentral

Is it worth? Who knows! I’ll let you decide, but first, you’ll need to give it a watch 🙂

Sorry for extremely late upload, got home late, and fell asleep. Totally lost track of time.

The sequel is essentially divided into two halves although the first arc has slightly less material than the second. Still, Shidou remains the focus of the show as the bachelor as he tries to save spirits and the world. The first episode has mostly anime original material but this comes off as disappointing. There’s harem antics thrown in your face fused with a whirlwind of misunderstandings. To make matters worse, the show decides to add elements from classic soap operas to appeal to these misunderstandings to somehow make them more amusing.

This comes out as dishonest as Tohka falls for every single scenario she feasts her eyes on. Neither does the initial set up show any improvement with other characters as they still want to get into Shido’s pants such as Origami. On the other hand, Shido himself has become more confident. He finds adjustment to his new lifestyle now that Tohka, Yoshino, and Kotori are living together. His relationship with these girls/spirits almost feels like a family as they give him the same pleasure as he gives them. And while the show is still regarded as a harem, the feelings the characters show are more honest and innocent especially in the case for Tohka.

Comedy is indulged in this series with some welcoming aspects. While a lot of it seems repetitive, there are also other more refreshing parts such as a little gender bender not previously seen from season 1. The characters behave the way they should be with various personalities. Origami for instance is still her usual self and tries every single moment to get close to Shidou using some questionable yet amusing methods. Then, there’s the classic Date a Live gimmick: the multiple choice.

While it is featured once again as a strategy to deal with runaway spirits, it has less prominence with some of the questions lacking flavor. Yet, it isn’t really what’s being asked that shows the humor but rather Shido’s way of responding. It flirts with the idea of how Shido pretends to get attention of the spirits while methodically see how they react to them. While it makes its point effectively, it still falls under the wish fulfillment and generic tropes. By this time though, it should probably be something the audience should expect from Date a Live. Emphasis on the date.

But for someone like Shido, responsibility becomes part of his life. When there’s trouble, he needs to be prepared. While the first arc didn’t give Shido’s impression of this, the latter half sees an improvement with his strategies. He isn’t just more confident but also fights for beyond the scope of the mission. In retrospect, he becomes more mature and takes his job more seriously with even some admiration to see how far he goes when trying to save a friend.

Taking in the account of action, the show doesn’t cease to make this its way whether it’s aerial battles, ground level warfare, or even a battle of psychological integrity. Shido finds himself in moments of despair and desperation as events become more jeopardizing to peace. Even Kotori finds herself outmatched in some circumstances. And with new characters introduced such as Sir Issac and Ellen from the DEM industries, you can expect a bit of clash of egos. Not only has that but characters such as Origami also found herself on the edge and in trouble throughout the season as she battles against her adversaries.

As the majority of the cast returns to the sequel, you should be familiarized already with their personalities. Unfortunately, their development lacks in terms of characterization as the show focuses more on sealing the spirits and less so when Shido isn’t on dates. Furthermore, the fan service never ceases as the first arc is saturated with ecchi. But again, this is Date a Live we’re talking about a – franchise that pokes at fun the concept of dating to add its own ‘save the world while you get to date girls’ trite. 

Artwork remains generally the same as characters returning from the first season hardly goes undergoes any significant physical changes. In other words, it still remains generic as hardly anything stands out with Shido’s character design. On the other hand, the new spirits such as the Yamai twins and the idol Miku has some attractive figures.

Background visuals remains stale although more lively and natural when the series takes on a beach setting. But remember that fan service never ceases whether it’s be the traditional swimsuits or the libidinous camera angles. It doesn’t cease to hide the teasing either and tires honestly to appease itself with stupidity. There are some cute moments though and decorative outfits in particular with the show’s second half that is more colorful. But overall, it’s still lacking.

Although soundtrack isn’t a powerhouse, it does improve more in this sequel whether it’d be the action scenes or emotional scenarios. The bittersweet moments are focused more intensely to bring out some credibility to character relationships. Both the OP and ED songs of the Anime are alright. For some reason they kind of reminded me of Shinmai Maou no Testament, the vibes of both OP and ED songs were very testament-esk. Take that was you will.