Isekai Quartet 2

MORE ISEKAI, MORE QUARTET, QUINTET?

Isekai Quartet 2 continues where the first season leaves off from where we get a new member to join their class being....Chomosuke..you know the cat from KonoSuba. Yeah as a little bait and switch, the cast of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari are actually in another homeroom than them but they occasionally make cameos more or less, so in a ways, Isekai Quartet's title still seems aligned to it.

Now the Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari cast mostly Naofumi gets the homages to the series he's in while Raphtalia and Filo interacts alot more often with the core 4 cast at that ... too. The only problem LA sees is that because of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari cast's bit part in this season their screentime is rather slim, you know even though their suppose to be the new cast members in all this but nonetheless good cameos all in all and another defense is that a cast filled with FIVE anime casts together and all of them trying to get equal screentime was a tightrope and a half to pull off, so LA could see why Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari got the bit part cameos more than not, still wished Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari cast got more screentime though.

Now Isekai Quartet 2 is back to their usual hijinks and cross-referencing animes with the huge amount of cast members and from that Isekai Quartet 2 pulls more from ReZero, KonoSuba, Overlord and Youjo Senki's minor cast, the biggest one being Betelgeuse from ReZero and he's mostly in the Valentines episode because...AI!.

Even with some of these small to large changes, the comedy is still up to par thankfully due to the huge roster of characters it can pull comedy from as well as referencing and alluding to animes at the same time and again seeing more cross anime character interactions is awesome to say the least.

The animation once again by Studio PuYUKAI and really once again it's the same animation style and consistency as the first season sooo not much to speak of there, good job really from Studio PuYUKAI.

The voice cast is even bigger now but incomes even more voice actors doing MULTIPLE voice roles, with once again Rie Takahashi as Megumin and Emilia, Yuusuke Kobayashi as Subaru and Warren Grantz, Yumi Uchiyama as Puck and Mare and now Asami Seto as Raphtalia and CZ Delta from Overlord. Due to this, amazing voice cast what else?

Though the Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari cast do get some form of cameo appearance is a few episodes, the BIGGEST cameo surprise was that small cameo of SEIYA and RISTARTE FROM Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore Tsueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru in Episode 11 which again was the biggest surprise in terms of cameos.

The finale shows off the the majority if not ALL the core cast all in the limelight which was great and all the while nudging to anime allusion tied to the characters that Isekai Quartet knows has been doing for 2 seasons. Overall a great finale for this season even if the result leaves it as the status quo (as it were).

Isekai Quartet 2 is all the more the same as the first season, bringing in allusions and references to the anime that the characters are in and massively blends them up in increasingly wacky ways. If your a fan of all these isekai's and wants to see them interact, then Isekai Quartet 2nd Season is a no brainer to watch, let alone this season hinting at what the greater goal of this "world" is about, all the while MOSTLY giving us comedic hijinks with these 4 now 5 isekai casts mingling with one another being the biggest draw factor to this season (though the first season did this too).

With that surprise Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore Tsueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru cameo, wonder who else might be in Isekai Quartet?...Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken cast for Isekai Quartet 3 maybe?.

Make no mistake, how many of this Isekai crossover series that Kadokawa can make, and Isekai Quartet will definitely not hesitate to slow down, with the endless list of Kadokawa characters this short can fill just to satiate us with the teasing of new characters, but with a cost of leaving them on the wayside. With Season 2 featuring the Shield Hero characters, and the aforementioned Season 3 (possibly) featuring the Cautious Hero characters (more or less), will this be a trend going forward, I totally have no idea, but just hoping they would've have just as enough screentime as the main cast.

I mean, if ... you've watched enough of Isekai Quartet, it's standard fare as with a touch of a button, the characters just come at the beck and call of the standard quartet gang of Overlord, Re:Zero, Saga of Tanya the Evil and Konosuba. Meanwhile the shenanigans range from content to content, but the real caveat has always been the huge cast of characters interacting with one another and the many classical noteworthy gags from the 4 series being parodied enough, so much that it feels fresh for other characters to "utilize" and make a joke out of it.

While Season 2 here has gotten better due to the chibi art refinements and how the production stuff find new ways to amass better content, this season really suffered on content that are hit and miss, depending on how the different characters react to real-world stuff and situations that are usual in their world, have different takes on it, spare the comedy that has good amounts of laughs. The music also took a hit, and if from a musical standpoint, it's still good, but IMO compared to Season 1, the OP/ED are good but unfortunately not as whimsical and lively as the former and depending on your taste for music, IMO lost brownie points here.

In a nutshell, Isekai Quartet as a series can be seen as the long-running short that will never stop as long as people have inputs and considerations of Kadokawa's characters being able to incorporate easily into chibi style and let them handle their shit alongside the formidable quartet, albeit still in that same school comedy setting. Still a good show if you'd ask me, but make the content a lil' bit more interesting when Season 3 rolls around, pretty please?

Just because there were no new Isekai this season, doesn’t mean we are free from the menace, as our chibi cast of Isekai characters is back for another go around. Yes, Isekai Quartet season two. Now season one was pure fan service novelty showcasing some of the best Isekai and putting the characters into one setting inside a school. It was a bizarre premise that managed to work somehow. So much so that we got a sequal with some new characters to join the cast. Yet despite using the formula from season one and doubling down on it, I didn’t enjoy it as much as ... season one. Why? I’ll tell you.

Sit back relax, pray to god, whisper “Ains-sama,” cast EXPLOSION while returning from death as I present to you the anime review of Isekai Quartet season two. Lets begin shall we?


Note: the format of this review will be different than my usual reviews as I’ll simply be going over what’s new and briefly go over what stayed the same.

That being said, let’s quickly over what stayed the same; which is the animation and ost. If you were not a fan of the art-style from season one, then this won’t change your mind as it has pretty much stayed the same as it was. Same goes with the ost as it really hasn’t changed as well and is still some of the songs from the shows on display. So if you were a fan of both from season one, then I’m sure it will please you.

Now onto the rest. Season 2 picks up right where we left off with Roswaal introducing the new transfer students, which turned out to be Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo from Rising of the Shield Hero. They get introduced to the rest of our cast who are now accustomed to school and they continue on with school life.

Again, the plot is very basic because it’s relying on the established characters to make the entertainment and put them in different scenarios; which still works. The scenario’s range from working part time jobs to playing a simple game of dodgeball to maintain the chemistry between our characters. Since they are more chummy now after getting used to one another, their interactions feel more natural. BUT, this affects one of the main charms about Isekai Quartet. One of the main reasons why season one worked was because of us predicting how these characters would interact with one another and watching it in action. Season two lacks this and now is relying on pure chemistry with each other to make it work. And while it does work, it doesn’t have the same draw factor. This season had to rely on the cast of Shield Hero to fill that void. In short though, it was very lacklustre.

The inclusion of the main cast of Shield Hero felt like nothing more than this season’s gimmick because, outside of episode one, they merely make cameos the majority of the time. They don’t really add much to the show as a whole and their chemistry with the rest of the cast was disappointing. Look, I get it, it’s a Quartet, but you would think that they would have a more significant role. But instead, they are merely forced into positions just to make their cameos.

Then there is the new opening and ending sequence. The opening, “Isekai Showtime” is less catchy than the season one opening and aims to be more stylish as a showcase. It once again shows off the main cast as they literally sing in a quartet as a performance, whereas the first opening was just confusion about the characters’ surroundings. Do I think this opening is better than season one? Well they are about the same in terms of enjoyment, even though they are slightly different. Same goes with the ED as it basically uses the same formula from season one’s ED. "Ponkotsu! Isekai Theater,” is sung this time by the actual best girls of their respective series Shalltear, Megumin, Rem and Viktoriya. It’s another quartet sing-along used in season one with 8-bit pixel designs of the characters. Again, it’s about the same in terms of enjoyment but not as endearing as season one.

And that last sentence really carries throughout the show. What Isekai Quartet is is a novelty and the thing is that novelties tend to wear off and it has started to take in effect for me. While I still enjoyed season two and had plenty of good jokes and comedic moments; with my favourites being how Kazuma wants to get chocolate from girls and the Wall of Jericho reference, it didn’t have the same impact as it did in season one. By the end, the novelty of these Isekai franchises living in the same world had worn off and now I just want more of their respective series. As much as I like seeing Ains and company on the screen interacting with these other Isekai characters, all it does is make me wish Madhouse would make season four of Overlord already. Same goes with Youjo Senki due to the movie leaving us on another cliffhanger. The inclusion of Shield Hero didn’t shake things up as much as I hoped and while it wasn’t the only Isekai franchise to make an appearance, it was the main draw and it honestly failed in my opinion.

I may seem negative when it comes to season two but I did enjoy my time as the formula did not change and the character interactions are still the main highlight, it’s just the formula is now starting to wear down on me. The novelty is wearing off. When we get season three, I hope we get more screen-time of other Isekai characters that can really shake things up. But for now, I will take what I can get.


Story: 5.5/10
Characters: 6/10
Animation: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
My Personal Enjoyment: 7/10

Overall score: 6.3/10 Recommendation: Consider it