Anime: IS: Infinite Stratos 2

Disclosure: My personal focus in giving reviews is always on the writing.Basics Modern warfare in this world is carried out by personal, individualized mech-suits called IS that can only be used by women - except for the male MC, of course - and the use of which gets taught in high school already. Sigh.No concrete explanations of institutional structures or dynamics of this universe are ever introduced beyond the vaguest of terms. Sigh.The story (both seasons) consists of eternally superficial high-jinks between male MC and his female harem interspersed with arbitrary, unexplained, and purely melodramatic action against throw-away, meaningless antagonists. Extra-deep sigh.A Closer LookThis series (S1 and 2) does actually spend a surprising amount of screen time just setting out its main characters and letting them breath a bit in everyday interactions. The characters have very little depth to them and are given virtually no development throughout. But the general impression for most main characters - from the combined effects of their designs, animation, voice acting, etc. - is quite pleasant and even entertaining. At least, until they are force-fed into the wrangler of either the harem "comedy" device or the "action" subplot. Houki Shinonono, the original childhood friend / samurai girl is fine. Standouts are Charles Dunoa - the sweet, genuine, down-to-earth French Girl, and Laura Bodewig - the German military loli. The English ojousama Cecilia Alcott is a bit too shrill for my taste, but can be entertaining too. The only real cipher in the original cast is Rin, the Chinese girl, who is bland in every dimension and adds nothing at all to the harem. These characters, flat as they are, are the most enjoyable parts of this series.Season 2, unfortunately, does heavy damage to those elements by introducing a new girl out of nowhere who is infinitely better at everything than the main harem girls, effortlessly shuts out, or shuts down the old harem whenever she appears and completely monopolizes the MC's time. In Tenchi Muyo terms, she is Noike-syndrome to the max. What makes her actually worse than Noike, though, is that the MC is practically made complicit in her shutting out of the original harem. Previously, the MC had been established as simply clueless in regard to his harem girl's feelings towards him. But with the advent of the new super girl the MC's submissiveness to "older females" - he has "onee-san" syndrome, as well - is played up to such a degree, that in the face of the new girls agressiveness he actually comes across as utterly spineless.Season 2 also felt the need to increase the melodrama quotient from the action subplot substantially, still without providing the antagonists with any better motivation.As a consequence, this season seriously wears out most of the sympathy, or enjoyment the first season may have generated, even though production values, in general, remain the same.Recommended only for completist fans of the first season with a masochistic streak.

IS 2 is for those who thought that IS 1 didn't have enough girls in the Onimura harem. Specifically, the first season was lacking the slightly mischievous sempai type and the ever-increasingly popular hikkimori/nerd type (Valvrave and Robotic;Notes are just some examples). If you've liked the first season and want more of the comedic, light harem with bits of action and the protagonist getting beaten up/dominated by the girls around him, then this is the show for you.

IS2 is a direct sequel, not a reboot, of the first season. It has no intro whatsoever so the first season is required viewing. The second season has surprisingly little plot, focusing instead on giving Ichika maximum time to rotate among the now seven competing girls. Despite being just an ecchi, fan-service based harem, IS2 definitely is among the more refined, enjoyable segment of the category (having just finished the trashy Walkure Romanze). While lacking some of the excitement of the first season, it is still a textbook example of a decent harem implementation with interesting character interactions and a good balance of elements.

Animation:
IS 2 has a slightly updated animation styling from the original a few years ago. Unfortunately, it still relies on CGI for all the mech sequences, though it isn't nearly as bad thanks to graphical improvements and fewer such sequences. Expect a fairly bright and cheerful coloring scheme for the most part mixed with some dark, mysterious antagonist scenes. The character styling is recognizably similar to the first season though of course we have some new additions. Tatenashi, in particular, is a standout with fierce, blood-red eyes and a surprisingly good fit in a neko costume (assuming you make it past the first few episodes). Regardless of which girl you will pointlessly root for, expect brutally short screen time before girl rotations.

This is still a show with subpar action and heavy ecchi. In IS1, the harem members' mechs are the definitive best in their respective countries. This is apparently not the case in IS2 as even more powerful students and antagonists appear with super mechs that require combined effort to contend with. Regardless, the battles are the same with particle spamming, ridiculously brazen and stupid frontal sword attacks by Ichika, and scenes where fighting mechs are reduced to distant, colored blobs that dance around each other. The fan-service is pretty heavy with lots of bouncy body parts, overly-revealing clothing, and intentionally suggestive scenes. Every girl wants a piece of Ichika and all try their best to win his hand; though none of them ever seem to get through his thick-headedness.

Sound:
The new OP is more energetic and balanced than that in the original. The melody still isn't that great but the instrumentation feels like a good fit for the series. The new ED is likewise an improved version of what was in the original. It is a fitting piece with all the harem participants singing; yes, more girls will join in as the series progresses. The BGM is recycled mostly from the original; viewers may still remember some of the ecchi-themed tracks.

The star-studded VA cast returns with yet another outstanding performance. If anything, Marina Inoue gets a livelier performance due to Laura being able to show off a bit more of her playful, feminine side. Kana Hanazawa is still absolutely great at Dunois though I'd argue that Tatenashi sempai gives her some pretty fierce competition; Chiwa Saitou gives her character a confident yet mischievously playful voice that suits the role perfectly. You definitely won't be disappointed in this category.

Story:
The first season wasn't terribly impressive from the plot perspective; it was just a very well executed harem. This follow up loses even more of the story aspect to maximize Ichika's ecchi exposure with literally all the girls. A large segment of the show is spent introducing the Sarashiki sisters and their induction into the Onimura harem. There is a bit of progress in terms of overall plot, but nothing is really explained and so it feels like more of a teaser if anything. Then again, everything in this show is really just a teaser (fan-service included). Regardless, there are plenty of random situations that Ichika ends up in, many of which are quite funny. The balance between comedic moments and the infighting within the harem was very good.

Like the first season, there are some plot twists and cliff hangers; similarly, don't expect much of a conclusion. Though miles better than Walkure Romanze in terms of execution, this show is still easily predictable. However, the antagonists are anything but predictable. They appear somewhat randomly and no attempt is made to develop or explain them whatsoever; and apparently it is really easy to steal top secret IS tech and get away with blowing up massive parts of cities. I get that the show needed a way to break up the harem routine but this is probably one of the weaker elements of the show.

Character:
This is still the strong suit of the franchise. All the girls, all seven of them, have distinct personality quirks on top of their appearance. I say quirks because most of them are variations of the base tsundere stereotype with additional traits. Though some of the older harem members seem to be relegated to the back burner (pretty much all but Dunois and Bodewig), they all retain their original charm; in this season they seem to be more assertive in presenting their feelings towards Ichika. The new Sarashiki sisters add on additional, popular harem archetypes. Though their origins are somewhat mysterious, they are the only dynamic characters in the show.

Value:
If you liked the character interactions in the first season, you'll like this season quite a bit. If you were hoping for the show to fill the first season's plot holes, you're going to be very disappointed, they just dig the holes deeper. I can literally copy and paste my value paragraph from my IS season 1 here and it would all still apply. Infinite Stratos 2 is, like the original, a show that has good harem qualities and pretty good interactions. It still lacks a semblance of a true story but at least avoids sounding corny like Walkure. If you're looking for a harem that is actually decent as a harem, you've found a fair one.