Just Anime

After watching the first season of Sengoku Basara I’m sure many of you were left craving more. Soon enough our prayers were answered with another hit of Sengoku Basara in the form of a second season. But was it worth the wait?

The Good

 Despite what happens in the world around us it is wonderful to know that Sengoku Basara will always remain the same. The over the top samurai action anime is back; however, it comes back better than the original in every single way. In the world of achient Japan, everybody fights for no particular reason. Friends fight each other, rivals fight each other, enemies fight each other--it’s what the cool kids do. The show starts off with some of the good main characters and their corresponding armies fighting each other for no particular reason, when a forth newcomer shows up on the scene. This is our baddie, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who’s fist is the fist that can pierce the heavens. His ambition is to unite Japan and make it a strong country. Much like the first season, our heroes must unite and help put an end to this threat the country now faces.

The good news is that if you haven’t watched the first season, there is no reason why you would not be able to enjoy this one. I mean let’s be honest here, you are not watching this because of its amazing plot, but because of the epic battles and the over the top screaming. The animation quality, along with the art in general has improved over the first season, though hopefully this isn’t just because this is the first episode. New music tracks were impressive, which assist in making the battles and characters more epic and bad ass. 

The Bad

Despite the fact that most westerners love samurai and wish they were one, this show was not really made for us. I’m not a slouch when it comes to Japanese history, but I can hardly keep up with the name dropping, geography, and the previous history of the Sengoku period that the characters go on and on about when the are not fighting. Outside of battles, I often don’t understand anything about what’s going down in their world. It doesn’t really bother me, but I’m sure I would enjoy it a billion times better if I knew who everyone was, and where everything was located. 

The Verdict 3/5

So far, so good. But it’s so similar to its predecessor that it’s hard to say if it will turn out good, or if it will somehow fall apart in the middle. Though I don’t really care, Sengoku Basara 2 scratches an itch that most of us experience every now and then, and it does it extremely well.