Isekai Quartet 2

Just because there were no new Isekai this season, doesn’t mean we are free from the menace, as our chibi cast of Isekai characters is back for another go around. Yes, Isekai Quartet season two. Now season one was pure fan service novelty showcasing some of the best Isekai and putting the characters into one setting inside a school. It was a bizarre premise that managed to work somehow. So much so that we got a sequal with some new characters to join the cast. Yet despite using the formula from season one and doubling down on it, I didn’t enjoy it as much asseason one. Why? I’ll tell you. Sit back relax, pray to god, whisper “Ains-sama,” cast EXPLOSION while returning from death as I present to you the anime review of Isekai Quartet season two. Lets begin shall we? Note: the format of this review will be different than my usual reviews as I’ll simply be going over what’s new and briefly go over what stayed the same. That being said, let’s quickly over what stayed the same; which is the animation and ost. If you were not a fan of the art-style from season one, then this won’t change your mind as it has pretty much stayed the same as it was. Same goes with the ost as it really hasn’t changed as well and is still some of the songs from the shows on display. So if you were a fan of both from season one, then I’m sure it will please you. Now onto the rest. Season 2 picks up right where we left off with Roswaal introducing the new transfer students, which turned out to be Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo from Rising of the Shield Hero. They get introduced to the rest of our cast who are now accustomed to school and they continue on with school life. Again, the plot is very basic because it’s relying on the established characters to make the entertainment and put them in different scenarios; which still works. The scenario’s range from working part time jobs to playing a simple game of dodgeball to maintain the chemistry between our characters. Since they are more chummy now after getting used to one another, their interactions feel more natural. BUT, this affects one of the main charms about Isekai Quartet. One of the main reasons why season one worked was because of us predicting how these characters would interact with one another and watching it in action. Season two lacks this and now is relying on pure chemistry with each other to make it work. And while it does work, it doesn’t have the same draw factor. This season had to rely on the cast of Shield Hero to fill that void. In short though, it was very lacklustre. The inclusion of the main cast of Shield Hero felt like nothing more than this season’s gimmick because, outside of episode one, they merely make cameos the majority of the time. They don’t really add much to the show as a whole and their chemistry with the rest of the cast was disappointing. Look, I get it, it’s a Quartet, but you would think that they would have a more significant role. But instead, they are merely forced into positions just to make their cameos. Then there is the new opening and ending sequence. The opening, “Isekai Showtime” is less catchy than the season one opening and aims to be more stylish as a showcase. It once again shows off the main cast as they literally sing in a quartet as a performance, whereas the first opening was just confusion about the characters’ surroundings. Do I think this opening is better than season one? Well they are about the same in terms of enjoyment, even though they are slightly different. Same goes with the ED as it basically uses the same formula from season one’s ED. "Ponkotsu! Isekai Theater,” is sung this time by the actual best girls of their respective series Shalltear, Megumin, Rem and Viktoriya. It’s another quartet sing-along used in season one with 8-bit pixel designs of the characters. Again, it’s about the same in terms of enjoyment but not as endearing as season one. And that last sentence really carries throughout the show. What Isekai Quartet is is a novelty and the thing is that novelties tend to wear off and it has started to take in effect for me. While I still enjoyed season two and had plenty of good jokes and comedic moments; with my favourites being how Kazuma wants to get chocolate from girls and the Wall of Jericho reference, it didn’t have the same impact as it did in season one. By the end, the novelty of these Isekai franchises living in the same world had worn off and now I just want more of their respective series. As much as I like seeing Ains and company on the screen interacting with these other Isekai characters, all it does is make me wish Madhouse would make season four of Overlord already. Same goes with Youjo Senki due to the movie leaving us on another cliffhanger. The inclusion of Shield Hero didn’t shake things up as much as I hoped and while it wasn’t the only Isekai franchise to make an appearance, it was the main draw and it honestly failed in my opinion. I may seem negative when it comes to season two but I did enjoy my time as the formula did not change and the character interactions are still the main highlight, it’s just the formula is now starting to wear down on me. The novelty is wearing off. When we get season three, I hope we get more screen-time of other Isekai characters that can really shake things up. But for now, I will take what I can get. Story: 5.5/10 Characters: 6/10 Animation: 7/10 Sound: 6/10 My Personal Enjoyment: 7/10 Overall score: 6.3/10 Recommendation: Consider it

Make no mistake, how many of this Isekai crossover series that Kadokawa can make, and Isekai Quartet will definitely not hesitate to slow down, with the endless list of Kadokawa characters this short can fill just to satiate us with the teasing of new characters, but with a cost of leaving them on the wayside. With Season 2 featuring the Shield Hero characters, and the aforementioned Season 3 (possibly) featuring the Cautious Hero characters (more or less), will this be a trend going forward, I totally have no idea, but just hoping they would've have just as enough screentime as the main cast. I mean, ifyou've watched enough of Isekai Quartet, it's standard fare as with a touch of a button, the characters just come at the beck and call of the standard quartet gang of Overlord, Re:Zero, Saga of Tanya the Evil and Konosuba. Meanwhile the shenanigans range from content to content, but the real caveat has always been the huge cast of characters interacting with one another and the many classical noteworthy gags from the 4 series being parodied enough, so much that it feels fresh for other characters to "utilize" and make a joke out of it. While Season 2 here has gotten better due to the chibi art refinements and how the production stuff find new ways to amass better content, this season really suffered on content that are hit and miss, depending on how the different characters react to real-world stuff and situations that are usual in their world, have different takes on it, spare the comedy that has good amounts of laughs. The music also took a hit, and if from a musical standpoint, it's still good, but IMO compared to Season 1, the OP/ED are good but unfortunately not as whimsical and lively as the former and depending on your taste for music, IMO lost brownie points here. In a nutshell, Isekai Quartet as a series can be seen as the long-running short that will never stop as long as people have inputs and considerations of Kadokawa's characters being able to incorporate easily into chibi style and let them handle their shit alongside the formidable quartet, albeit still in that same school comedy setting. Still a good show if you'd ask me, but make the content a lil' bit more interesting when Season 3 rolls around, pretty please?

Another solid season to the Isekai Quartet. just as entertaining as the first season and it was cool to see more characters show up and interact with the main cast. Even though I've only watched Re: Zero at this point, the character interactions were still pretty funny and I was able to understand most of the show. I probably said this about the first season, but there were probably a bunch of more subtle jokes I didn't get because I haven't watched the other shows, but if anything, this has made me want to watch the other shows more. Overall, this show is pretty chill,something I can put on in the background when I want to watch something that doesn't challenge me in any way.

Finally, Isekai Quartet brings to us a second season for all isekai fans to enjoy. The sequel to Isekai Quartet is definitely another well-made crossover anime that features the main casts of KONOSUBA, Re:Zero, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Overlord, and The Rising of the Shield Hero. Having only seen three of the five current anime titles featured in Isekai Quartet 2, I was nonetheless able to find this mash-up very interesting and refreshing for me once again, especially since I've been waiting for new seasons for some of the featured anime. Plot: 7/10 I mean, what did we expect for a school-like setting? Personally, the variouscomedic situations set for our cast seemed pretty bland to me. Though thanks to the characters themselves, it was somewhat more enjoyable than what I had thought. However, I was quite disappointed for this season due to the fact that the Shield Hero and his party didn't get too much screen time until the end. In my opinion, it definitely would've added more chemistry to the story. Art: 9/10 Isekai Quartet was probably the anime that introduced me to chibi style art, and I do find it very unique. The characters of the show get to express themselves in much smaller proportions. Each design for the characters are well drawn and animated, and I personally think that some of the characters look just as detailed as their original. Sound: 8/10 Nothing much to say about this one, but I guess it's pretty much expected to have ambient sounds and songs for a school setting. I also give props to the background designs as well, since both are very dependent on each other. Character: 8/10 What's not to love about characters like Raphtalia or Aqua? Isekai Quartet 2's does great once again with the anime mash-up, putting similar characters from different shows to form various situations that can crack a joke or two. Though as I stated before, it is disappointing to find that the Shield Hero doesn't appear too often, but at least we can appreciate that his cast did great whenever they had screen time. Overall: 8/10 The sequel to Isekai Quartet is a great watch and can freshen your mind off of the countless other anime series that you may be binge watching now. I believe that the most enjoyment will be found in Isekai Quartet when you've watched all the featured series in the quartet (quintet). But, even if you've only seen one or two of the anime series in Isekai Quartet 2, I still think that you can enjoy at least most comedy and the odd personalities one may not have thought a character would've had until now.

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