AKB0048 Season 2 - Anime Review
Supplied: Blurays purchased via Rightstuf
Publisher: Sentai Filmworks
Released: February 4, 2014 locally
00 is back for even more music, dancing, and spreading of joy. We pick up almost as soon as we left off in Season 1. We finally end up getting some kind of antagonist this time, besides the rather formless DES, in the form of the Zodiac Corporation. Their goal is to find out exactly what it is that makes the idols as magnificent as they are. Does 00 still have what it takes to be the best rogue entertainment group out there?
The series continues basically as if it had no break. Training and concerts are as big of a focus as ever. We are still mainly with the 77th Generation Trainees but not exclusively. Having such a huge cast, they do a surprisingly good job keeping all of the Trainees and most of the Successors included in the plot. 00 as a whole continues to work hard to keep their fans happy and coming back to support them. Even going as far as having a fan election for a special event.
Despite having an all-girl cast, and cute ones to boot, they manage to avoid the silly moe-traps and goofs. They focus almost exclusively on plot and character development. Sure, there are some funny bits here and there and even some really ridiculous ones, but it always comes back to the main-line soon after. I really have to give them credit for playing this as straight as they did considering their source material.
One thing I forgot to mention in my previous review for Season 1 was the series unapologetic use of all kinds of colors. There were not afraid to use everything in the spectrum and it looks like the actively tried. It definitely beats the drab colors you see in a lot of the series these days.
Unfortunately, there are still some things that are not as well explained as I would have liked. What we get is sufficient, though, insofar as it gives us clues as to what is actually going on behind the scenes. We get to see glimpses of what it is exactly that allows the girls to shine so brightly and reach out to everyone with love and warmth. A little mystery is not necessarily a bad thing.
One of my major gripes about the first season was the use of 3D character models for some scenes. Not that I am against the use of them, however, their level of quality and polish were not up to snuff and their inclusion sort of broke immersion a bit for me. However, I am not sure what happened between then and now, but the models look much better overall and the scenes seem to blend together much more seamlessly. Kudos on that one too.
Conclusion
I really like this series. I will openly admit it. The plot is still borderline ridiculous, but it somehow manages to work. The characters develop quite a bit over the course of the entire series and it helps drive the plot along in some areas. The music is still as good as ever and action can be almost unbelievable. Is it perfect? By no means. Did it make me smile and laugh? It sure did! I really was invested in the fight for bringing back entertainment to the galaxy. I wanted people to smile again!
Recommendation
If you saw the first half, it's just more of that. If you enjoyed it, you are sure to enjoy the rest of it! 00 still rocks the house! If you did not like the first half, then why are you here reading this?
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