Anime Hajime Review: Date A Live II

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Date A Live and Date A Live II. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Shido Itsuka (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) is still adjusting to his new role in life. The world remains in danger for the next spatial quake. A phenomenon which is the direct result of beings known as Spirits.

A Spirit’s power is serious business. They are too dangerous if ignored. If left alone, the damage a single Spirit could cause is unimaginable. That’s where Shido comes in. He has the ability to seal away a Spirits immense power.

Doing so is easier said than done. Shido has to put in a little effort. What that means is wooing the ever-growing number of Spirits. A task Shido has managed to do many times. Though he cares for all the Spirits he has help, there’s one who holds a special place in his heart.

Tohka (voiced by Marina Inoue), a.k.a. the Princess is one of the most powerful Spirits there is. Both she and Shido have managed to build an unbreakable bond. Whenever one is in danger, the other will be the first to rush in.

This unity is soon put to the test. Shido must now face against some of his most challenging assignments to date. All the while, outside forces continue to spin their own agendas. Shido must be careful. Exceeding his limits could be deadly.

Series Positives

I suppose in this situation, there’s no point beating around the bush. I had a better time with Date A Live II that I did the original. Just not for the right reasons.

One of my biggest complaints about season one was its inability to commit. It couldn’t keep a single tone for long. Whether good or bad it didn’t matter. As a result, the show felt sloppy and jumbled. Had the first season picked a direction it would’ve been much stronger. Date A Live II proved I was right. To a point.

Season two wasn’t all over the place. What it wanted to do and what type of series it wanted to be was clear. This was a harem comedy first and foremost. It was also an ecchi. Season one did this as well. But I don’t recall it being as ridiculous. And it was that ridiculous factor which played into this season’s superior enjoyment.

Yet, this is where my hesitation’s coming from. The series had to sacrifice some things to reach this point. What those things were, we’ll discuss in a bit.

I don’t what it is about this franchise. It’s hard for me to articulate what I like or don’t like about it. That’s why I always end up sound vaguer than intended.

The Characters

I’m so glad this carried over between the seasons. It’s the one thing Data A Live does well. Since this is a harem anime, what do harem anime need? Characters to fill it.

In in the case of a second season harem anime, it needs more characters.

Before getting into the new cast, how does the old hold up?

Shido was, again, a strong and a great focus. He was active in what was going on. This was not a character who could get pushed around without pushing back. Shido remained a likable protagonist. It made sense why a following would grow around him.

Adding to that, I was a little bummed the dating sim gimmick got brought back. I get why it was. It’s kind of the show’s thing and it’d be weirder if the series abandoned it. To Date A Live II’s credit, this aspect got downplayed and wasn't given much importance. This was fantastic because Shido had to rely on his own charm and wit. Something he proved he was capable of in the first season. We got to see more of it here in season two. And, surprise-surprise, it reaffirmed Shido as a person who has earned such high admiration.

 

It was great to see Tohka play a much larger role. She never became irrelevant in season one, but she did get sidelined a bit. It seemed as if she was the main in a growing collection of routes.

Date A Live II was more Tohka and Shido’s story. Of everyone, she was the best suited to fill such a prominent role.

Origami Tobiichi (voiced by Misuzu Togashi) became a side player. A big one, where she fit in the story wasn’t where it was in season one. Though a disappointing, she made up for it in her badass-ness. She was a much more competent fighter. She could not only hold her own but surpass difficult threats. To go up against her wasn't a formality. She turned the tide of battle on a few occasions.

Yoshino (voiced by Iori Nomizu) was around to be cute. Makes sense, she was adorable. Yet, it would have been nice to see her be part of the story more than she was.

The one who surprised me the most was Kotori Itsuka (voiced by Ayana Taketatsu). She wasn't important to this season. Strange seeing how key she was in the first. It was jarring and I can’t say I was okay with that. I wasn't too taken aback by this since the new characters were good additions.

First were the twins, Kaguya (voiced by Maaya Uchida) and Yuzuru Yamai (voiced by Sarah Emi Bridcutt). Right off the bat, and I’ll talk about this more because it was a problem, the twins were visually boring. Compared to Tohka, Origami, and the rest, there was nothing which made them stand out. But their arc was my second favorite of the entire franchise. The two played off each other well and were a lot of fun. Also, it was these two who brought that level high level of ridiculousness to the series.

Next was Miku Izayoi (voiced by Minori Chihara). I didn’t like her at first. The beginning of her arc was dull. The show tried to replicate with her something it already had. That said, the more we learned about Miku, the more likable she became. Of all the girls Shido had to fight for, she was the hardest. And with good reason.

With the old and now the new, these characters are what makes this series watchable. If there ever is a season three, this cast would be one of the two reasons why I would get excited.

The other reason…well, if you read my first review, you might know where this is going.

Kurumi…Again

Kurumi Toiskai (voiced by Asami Sanada) was still the best thing about this series. She wasn’t around the whole time. Not even most of the time. And I’m thankful for that. This made whatever screen time she had all the better.

Her unpredictability was alive and well. Sure, she wasn’t as big a villain as she was in season one. But she remained untrustworthy. It was hard to tell what she was going. How far she was willing to go remained a mystery. She had a goal. If someone lined up with that goal, she was a powerful ally. If she didn’t need that person anymore, she got rid of them.

The series tried to portray Miku as another possible Kurumi. It didn’t matter if it was for show or for real, Miku was always just Kurumi-light. She could never be the real thing. The difference became crystal clear in Miku’s own arc.

It wasn’t a great introduction to a character. In fact, it was kind of boring. The set up wasn’t promising. The final result was much stronger than indicated. Getting there, though, was an uphill battle.

Or at least it would have been.

All the show needed was a shot of Kurumi standing in a crowd. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t do anything. And it was maybe only two seconds. But those two seconds were enough. She was around waiting to make her move. I didn’t give a s@#$ about what was going on. I all cared about was that fact Kurumi was on her way.

I love this character so much.

Series Negatives

As I said, Date A Live II was more focused than its predecessor. It chose a path and stuck with it. What the season went with was a more comedic tone. Plus, there was a larger emphasis on series’ harem and ecchi elements. Because the show did this, season two was more enjoyable.

I also said the series sacrificed a few things to get to that point.

One of the things, thankfully, was the dating sim element. It didn’t work in the first season. And the times it got used in the second, again, didn’t work. Shido was much better on his own.

Another thing which got reduced were the roles of some of the older cast. In replace of that, we had more time with Tohka. And we got more good characters. This was, again, good in the long run.

 

Too bad these weren’t the only things to go. Date A Live II suffers in two glaring areas.

Visuals and the Fights

Maybe I’m misremembering the first season. But I sort of recall the fights being more exciting.

The only fight of note in season two didn’t involve the Spirits. It was an airship battle and it was awesome. It was a one-time event and the show never did it again. Instead, we got battles which were lifeless.

We had combatants who used bright, beautiful colors in their respective combat styles. Why then was each fight so dark and gray? Like I said with the twins, they weren’t impressive to look at in their Spirit forms. When they went at each other, or anyone for that matter, it was so dull.

The worst part, this season showed it could use color. Yet, instead of using pallet variety in the many high-energy fights, what did the show do? It used it for a f@#$ing battle-of-the-bands segment. I wish I was making that up.

The Story

 

Ten minutes. That was all we got.

The majority of this season added nothing to the main story. That big devastating quake that happened, yeah, we were reminded of it. But we didn’t get any more information.

Where the Spirits came from, still a mystery. Why the Spirits got hunted down so hard, was, for the most part, left unsaid. What Shido’s role was in all this was only hinted at. And that’s the key.

So many things were...hinted at. There were small nuggets of information. Not a lot, but enough. Enough to get you wondering. Enough to require a third season. How this got done was bull s@#$.

When I said we got ten minutes of story, eight of those were in the final moments of the show. The series was all like, “Revelation, bye.” Middle finger as it walked away.

That’s such an underhanded way to build excitement. Info dumping at the last possible second. If Date A Live II had only sprinkled this kind of information throughout. Then this would be a different situation. We would've gotten more invested in what was going on. Instead of being sucker punched while walking out the door.

Final Thoughts

Date A Live, as a franchise, lives off good things. It's a series that's enjoyable enough. Are there problems with it? Yes, but they’re packaged well. Thus, making the whole thing more palatable.

While it changed many of the problems of the original, Date A Live II didn’t fix the problems of the original. There’s a lot of stuff you still need to accept. That's easier to do when given characters to like. With all the nonsense this series is, the cast is a constant beacon.

Granted, there wasn't much story added this time around. And the action was lackluster, so that was a shame. But as pure enjoyment, this is where season two overtakes season one. If you enjoyed the first, Date A Live II doesn’t get better. It just becomes more fun.

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