English Dub Season Review: Ishura Season Two

When I first heard of Ishura, I became curious about its concept involving the aftermath of the Demon King’s demise.  However, that concept was also used in the anime adaptation of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End last year, so this idea didn’t seem entirely new.  What I didn’t expect upon viewing its first few episodes is that it contained an anthology-like structure chronicling its multiple “Shuras”, demi-god people with impeccable abilities, roaming around the land following the demon king’s death.  Initially, the show’s first episode indicated that the central focus would be one of the Shuras, Soujiro the Willow-Sword (Griffin Burns), and Yuno the Distant Talon, who holds a personal grudge against the powerful beings.  However, that didn’t appear to be the case upon watching the remaining episodes, as the first season focused on several Shuras amidst a war for independence between Aureatia and the New Principality of Lithia.

The first season of Ishura delivered enough merits in its stories and presentation to faithfully adapt Keiso’s light novel series.  However, its structure and pacing can be unfocused for those who haven’t been notified of its anthology narrative ahead of time.  As a result, I became interested and cautious about the show’s second season, which introduced a new slate of Shuras into the expansive lineup.  Not only that, but it also continues the anime’s overall plot involving Aureatia’s preparation for the Royal Games, a competition that will determine which Shura will attain the title of “True Hero”.  Thankfully, my experience with its first season has made me more aware of the show’s episodic structure, but does it help change my perspective of Ishura?  Well, yes and no.

Like season one, the show’s second season follows an anthology structure focusing on a specific Shura and their respective adventure.  However, some of these characters have more screen time than others, including Kuuro the Cautious (Casey Mongillo), a former assassin for the Obsidian Eyes with clairvoyance abilities first introduced at the beginning of the season.  The other is Yukiharu the Twilight Diver, a reporter with a mysterious ally inside his box investigating a string of puzzling murders throughout the land.  Yukiharu only made minor appearances throughout the season, including “Kazuki the Black Tone”, but regarding his objective, he may play a substantial role in the next season.  Finally, there’s Toroa the Awful (Eliah Mountjoy), a spiritual swordsman seeking to avenge his father’s death by retrieving the Blasting Sword from Alus the Star Runner.

Regarding the narratives, the second season follows up the previous season with a graphically stylized and mildly entertaining slate of episodes that emphasizes its characters’ motives and personalities.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t prevent the season from offering issues similar to those I had with season one.  Due to the episodes having the same structure for each character, especially the second half, the second season wound up being as repetitive as the previous season, slowing its plot progression to a crawl.  Additionally, Soujiro, one of the supposed protagonists introduced in season one, only appeared in “Mele the Horizon’s Roar” and was never brought up again until the season finale, “Shiki, Enemy of All”.  Even Yuno didn’t appear throughout the entire season until the finale, which may disappoint those interested in her story arc.  Despite knowing what to expect from season two, it’s clear that my interest in the plot still lingers because of its desire to introduce the show’s abundance of Shuras.

Thankfully, amid its repetition, several of its episodes succeed in delivering plenty of thrills in their thematic and stake-worthy storylines.  One particular example is the “Atrazek the Particle Storm” arc, which occurred during the season’s first five episodes.  Those episodes had Toroa unexpectedly cooperating with Mestelexil the Box of Desperate Knowledge (Debi Derryberry), an indestructible golem created by Kiyazuna the Axle (Leslie Wadsworth), to prevent Atrazek from destroying the land with its powerful winds.  Despite Mestelexil being a tad annoying sometimes, the mini-arc served as the season’s highlight for conveying the stakes made by Atrazek’s formidable presence and life-threatening storm in addition to its graphic animation style and action sequences.  More importantly, it appropriately strays far from its usual formula before returning to the structure, starting with “Rosclay the Absolute”.  Another example I would point out was its eighth episode, “Uhak the Silent”, which examines that even generous beings have monstrous sides, especially Uhak, whose gentle personality was threatened by his ogreish instincts.  This was another episode that highlights the show using its anthology formula to provide a layered plot fitting for a character’s introduction.

The second season of Ishura was another occasion when the show utilized specific elements that worked in the previous season to progress its overall quality.  One of these is the animation produced by Passione and Sanzigen, which effectively conveyed graphic violence and stylized action through its balance of bleak and vibrant lighting and detailed designs.  The CGI effects can be a bit off-putting when blending with the 2D animation, but they didn’t come off as overly distracting and laughable like the ones from The Misfit of Demon King Academy.  The other is the serviceable voice cast for the English dub, especially for the new characters, including Casey Mongillo as Kuuro the Cautious and Valeria Rodriguez as Linaris the Obsidian.

However, it also contains some of the same issues I had with the first season, mainly the repetitive episodic structure slowing down its main plot, leaving little room for improvement.  Thankfully, it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the season since it offers a couple of intriguing episodes that overcame a few middling ones amid its slow progression.  More importantly, it sets up big things to come for its potential third season, which could allow the series to improve my interest in its structure regarding the Royal Games.  In short, season two is a suitable continuation of the well-animated and graphic anime adaptation whose merits are enough to maintain my intrigue in its expanded world-building.