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The Tower of Druaga ~Sword of URUK~

Studio: Gonzo

Genre: Fantasy

Ratings (of 5)

Story: ♥♥♥

Animation: ♥♥♥

Characters: ♥♥♥

OP/ED Themes: ♥♥♥♥

OVERALL: ♥♥♥

Thoughts:

So, the first and foremost part of this review is to determine whether someone who hasn't seen the first season (The Tower of Druaga ~Aegis of Uruk~) can jump in on the second season. I only saw the first two episodes of Druaga's first season-- it really didn't hold my interest, although that first parody-ish episode was fun –so I can probably speak to that pretty accurately.

And the answer? Yes, you can jump into season two after skipping season one. If you haven't watched any of the show at all there'll be a slight learning curve on all of the characters, but the judicious use of flashbacks and in-dialogue explication manages to get the general idea across without weighing down the episode two bad.

The basic idea is that the team who defeated the monster Druaga in the first season have fallen on hard times in the second, which takes place six months later. They received no credit or reward for their victory, and are stuck in crappy jobs. Fatina, the pseudo-catgirl/swordswoman, is working as a tour guide talking about their historic battle. Former royal commander Kelb is working as chef at a restaurant, and Jil, the team leader and protagonist, has shacked up above the restaurant, lying in bed all day and drinking beer and not eating.

In the first episode of the second season, Fatina and Jil find themselves in the possession of a young girl who is wanted by the Golden Knights, who have been wreaking havoc amongst the citizens in the name of the king. The girl wants them to go back to the Tower, which we're told she is the key to.

For those of you who didn't watch the first season, it's got solid Gonzo animation, and fun character designs-- although my favorite in the first ep of this new season is actually the throwaway sign-holder girl character at a wrestling match Fatina and Jil go to, even if it is very reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's Yuna.

So far, I find the series more interesting than the first season, which wasn't bad but never managed to draw me in. I'm inclined to blame that primarily on the unusual method of creating a first episode that is actually sort of a non-episode, albeit a very funny one, followed by a second episode that was remarkably serious, making it hard to get a grip on exactly what the show was going to be like. That said, I'll probably watch the second episode when it comes out on Crunchyroll on Thursday-- and if you're a fan of somewhat traditional fantasies like Record of Lodoss War, .hack//sign, and Scrapped Princess, you might want to too.