English Dub Season Review: Clevatess Season Two
Based on the Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūji Iwahara, Clevatess returns with a second season that takes its dark fantasy story in a noticeably different direction. Compared to season one, the story spends considerably more time at a magic school full of dark mysteries while expanding its deeper lore. New factions, characters, and mysteries are introduced along the way, gradually revealing that there is far more happening behind the scenes than initially expected…
On the Technical Side, the second season was once again produced by Lay-duce and directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi, with Keigo Koyanagi carrying over from the first season to write the series scripts, Souichirou Sako returning to design the characters, and Nobuaki Nobusawa likewise carried over to compose the music. The opening theme song is “Foreshadow,” performed by Mayu Maeshima, while the ending theme song is “Awake Anew,” performed by Myth & Roid.
One of the more interesting aspects of this season is how heavily it focuses on the lore surrounding the world of Clevatess. There is clearly a much larger story unfolding, and the gradual revelations about its history, powers, and various factions make the setting increasingly fascinating. However, the amount of information being introduced can occasionally become overwhelming, with certain explanations feeling dense enough to resemble reading a wiki rather than watching a story unfold. The world-building itself is compelling, but the execution doesn’t always find the best balance between explaining the lore and allowing the characters to experience it naturally.
Alicia remains one of the season’s biggest strengths. Her struggles give her plenty of opportunities to grow, and her determination to remain a hero despite everything thrown at her makes her development particularly satisfying. Her journey works especially well because the story doesn’t simply hand her greater power; instead, her trials force her to confront who she is and what she wants to become. The supporting cast also has some interesting developments, with characters such as Klen, Vordin, Milea, and Naie providing their own moments of personality and intrigue. Of everyone, however, Alicia continues to stand out as one of the most compelling characters in the series.
Unfortunately, the season isn’t always as successful with its pacing and expanded cast. The school setting occupies a large portion of the story, and while it contributes to the world-building, it doesn’t always have the same adventurous momentum that makes Clevatess so entertaining. With so many parties and characters becoming involved, the direction can occasionally feel uncertain, while some of the newer characters don’t receive enough development to make their presence particularly memorable. The lore can also become overly exposition-heavy, making some of the slower portions feel more tedious than they need to be. There are plenty of interesting ideas here, but not all of them are executed as effectively as they could be.
Visually, Clevatess continues to look strong, particularly whenever the action finally erupts. The animation has some genuinely impressive moments during the larger confrontations, with Clevatess’ monstrous abilities providing plenty of opportunities for the animators to go wild. The character designs remain distinctive, while Alicia’s progression is reflected through the visual changes accompanying her growing abilities. Even during the more dialogue-heavy episodes, the production maintains a consistent level of quality, making the eventual bursts of action feel all the more rewarding. The music and voice cast also continue to complement the darker and more emotional moments effectively.
Overall, Clevatess Season 2 is a more lore-heavy and uneven continuation that takes some risks, even if not all of them pay off. The school arc can drag, the expanding cast can make the story feel crowded, and the exposition occasionally becomes too dense, but Alicia’s continued development and the increasingly wild revelations keep things compelling. Then the finale completely will completely throw you off with a series of unexpected twists that leave the future of this world hanging by a thread. With the manga still ongoing at the time of this review, it’s only a matter of time before we eventually see where this story goes next and hopefully Season 3 won’t keep us waiting an eternity.
