Not Recommended
Here I am again, after almost 3 years (at the time of this review) of being this show's great Devil's Advocate in sparing what is then an oversaturated tri-factor of genres (Isekai, ecchi and harem), and still to this day, remains somewhat of a dilemma. With that said, Season 2 coming back to grace those who loved Season 1 back in the day (plus yours truly)...was much more of a convoluted decency than what was already established with the prequel beforehand, which ended on a cliffhanger that definitely warranted a follow-up season that we're only getting now. Let's expunge the problems with the sequel season beforewe get to the main meat: From the changing of hands in production to even the change of Japan's TV broadcasting stations. Ajia-Do did a fairly respectable job back in Spring 2018, and dare I say that the fanservice that this show provides a substantial amount by being under the paywall of Japan's premium channel AT-X, that is the only big bite factor for Isekai Maou's watching "excuses" for the "plot" (and believe me, it is superb to watch uncensored anime as people of culture) back in the day. Fast forward to this Spring season, and with both problems (plus a change in directorial duties to Tezuka Productions' in-house director Satoshi Kuwabara), Season 2 got off to a good start with all that familarity coming back...to only then falter with its decisions by handing off to a co-production between Tezuka Productions and Okuruto Noboru (yes, that low-budget studio which did the awful Hidden Dungeon show) and airing in a general TV broadcasting station like TBS (which means that you can kiss the uncensored version goodbye). Look out for a Director's Cut of the uncensored version of this sequel in the near future, if you want to remain as cultured as possible.
People complained that Isekai Maou's story was unrevolutionary, and back then, depending on the side that you were on, you could love or hate the fact that this series mainly balances actual plot with the harem and fanservice. So for people of culture like you and me, we find it enjoyable to a certain degree that while the story is heaps dry and bland, the fanservice at least keeps the momentum going strong to likeness. And this effect would come back to bite the series, now in this sequel season where the actual plot takes precedence over the fanservice (which honest to God, is not needed, and that's why the broadcasting plan was altercated), and it bites hard, clamping on the enjoyment factor of the show to downright distasteful nothingness (with some good moments that fell short of expectations).
The Demon Lord Diablo is still king of the series along with fellow supporting boing-flat-boing slaves Shera and Rem, and over the course of Season 1 we get characters like Sylvie, Horun and others to make the story churn out some fresh stuff as a set-up for more compulsive orders that needed the absolute chad Demon Lord's insanely OP power to qualm and resolve the endless situations of "Who's king" (though IMO it feels forced). New to Season 2 is the "You've heard umpteen times of how fantasy stories HAD to have a church conflict between religion and faith as a plot device": the High Priest Lumachina and formally for the first time, Diablo's personal stronghold of a maid, Rose. Yay to more girls to a harem protagonist, though with that many and come what may, the chad Demon Lord will still find it easy to grasp them within his reach and exterminate enemies from false truths to even fake identities. For that, the character aspect still earns a plus, but nowhere near Season 1 levels of awesomeness.
I'm not an avid fan of co-productions, especially when series are already established from the get-go, because as much as production values aren't gonna improve due to current world events, it's the feeling of unnerving-ness when series have to stray away from what it was made out of. In the case of this sequel, the production took a lot of liberties by going for character cuts every so often that although by the nth time you see it and feels low-budget, it still feels jarring to break the scenes just like that. Most particularly, the inclusion for Okuruto Noboru isn't really needed as an outsourced episodic project kind of stuff, it's just in-between animation and a full, fledged episode production to their name. Nonetheless, it is what it is, and I'm meh about it.
I don't know about you, but the one thing I find weird about this sequel is in the choice of the OST. Legit, there are fans of DJ KOO & MOTSU who find their music repertoire a head-banging effect (especially for the OP), and Shera's VA Yuu Serizawa helping out as a collab, but while it's no Aoi Yuuki levels of the Seiyuu voice when it comes to OPs and EDs, it's just weird to have a pumping song for such a show like this. It's an unique aesthetic I'll give it that, but I just can't shake the feeling that there is some sort of disconnect between the thematics of expressions.
Should you watch Season 2 of Isekai Maou though? I feel that this is a legit question for those who've enjoyed thoroughly of Season 1, because this represents a significant tonal shift of focus that is both a blessing and a curse to the series as a whole. If you're here for the story, then by all means do continue where it left off, but if you're seeking for the fanservice, please stop at Season 1 and just continue with the source material (the manga adaptation of the LN that is, if you're looking for more fap material).
Not great, but not to the point that I can still say that Isekai Maou is interesting anymore: it's just another ecchi, harem-fest of a light novel adaptation, of which there're hundreds like it that you've seen it all before. Just stick to Season 1 (of which have been extensively covered by both manga and LN versions), and continue on with the source material, you'd have a better way to spend time than wasting 4 hours to watch a subpar sequel.
