Anos definitely started season 1 out like a champ as he took everyone down and proved his utmost brilliance. He conquered death itself and took the fight to the gods. I would say season 2 has a hard time topping that but Anos definitely looks as great as you’d expect. He’s still rocking gods and everyone else who gets in his ways. I always like when a main character is this OP and he even makes for a really heroic character. This is truly the character who has everything and while season 2 might not match the pop of season 1, it absolutely holds its own.

The first part of the season is really about dealing with Shin’s past as well as Misa’s true form as Avos. The past events naturally get a little more tension than in the present since the characters can’t interact with the past. That would be impossible right? Well…..this is Anos we’re talking about so lets just say he messes with the past anyway but it was a good attempt. Then with the Avos part, yeah Anos could crush her but he’s not the kind of guy to go all out against a friend so the real tough part is finding a way to defeat Avos without actually destroying Misa. Anos is a guy who always has the answers so we’ll have to see what he comes up with.

By this season the character cast is actually rather big. Like in Reincarnated as a Slime, it’s not enough for Anos to be completely overpowered, he’s also got the most overpowered squad backing him up. We’re talking gods, the strongest swordsman, the hero king reincarnated, etc. Anos and his squad really cannot be beat and to try and counter that, the villains have more gods of their own this time but it doesn’t ultimately make much of a difference. Some of these villains are indeed quite strong but this isn’t the kind of series where you are overly worried about the heroes. Anos will ultimately be around to save them should things go too far. The villains do their best to split the heroes up but it tends to be in vain.

Also like I mentioned before, the rest of the heroes are so powerful they rarely need Anos to bail them out at this point. I would say season 2 is a bit more of an ensemble product compared to season 1 where most of it was Anos humiliating everybody. No worries though, Anos is still an absolutely crucial figure so don’t think he’s getting written out of anything like that. Now that would have been sad.

On a technical level, season 2 doesn’t seem quite as high budget as season 1. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say it is less consistent. In season 1 the episodes were always super good looking while season 2 has its stand out scenes but also has some really average ones. So prepare for a bit of a bumpy ride at times but I will say that the important fight scenes always look really good. Additionally the soundtrack is still really good. I would say that the openings are not nearly as good as in season 1 but they are still catchy. Just not ones that you will listen to as often as the season 1 tunes. Those I ended up listening to quite a few times.

As for the characters, Anos is awesome as always. One thing they added in this season was to make Anos get an alternate identity as a kid which was pretty interesting. He’s still really smug in this form while also being able to offer advice to those who need it. It adds a little extra touch of humanity to the character. He’s always benevolent by nature but as a kid he is certainly more approachable for some characters than he would have been otherwise.

Meanwhile Shin gets a lot to do here. We get to meet his kid and wife. Turns out that the guy is a real softy once family is involved. His skills are still the real deal though as he continues to dominate Lay in combat. I like the rivalry that ends up developing as a result. Additionally, I tend to enjoy the trope of the doting father so seeing him be really strict with Lay is fun. That’s how the show is in general after all, maintaining a fun tone all the way. So this is another fun gag to add to the pile and I also really loved the battle of bonds with Shin and Anos taking on Lay and Misa.

It’s only natural that the love of a leader and subordinate would beat the budding love between boyfriend and girlfriend. Maybe in a few years once their feelings have had time to evolve even more then it could be different but could Anos lose in any competition? Yeah this was definitely a whole lot of fun. Reno also ends up being a really fun character. For most of the season you’re wondering exactly how her story is going to play out since appearing in a flashback is always a worrying sign. She is also fairly tough although in this verse at minimum you need to be top tier or you aren’t going to last very long in a fight. She goes through a lot but ultimately Anos ends up stepping in.

Sasha and Misha had their big character arcs in the first season but no worries they still get a lot to do here. They can now use their fusion form at will and in that mode they are also incredibly powerful. They even get a big fight of their own which was nice to see. Sasha still has her tough personality which always makes her a lot of fun to watch. Misha tends to still be quiet which isn’t as entertaining but she means well. I won’t be too harsh on her, she tends to be better than most of the quiet characters in this archetype at the very least.

Misa is a character who didn’t really stand out a lot in season 1 so this time she gets a massive role in the first half. It turns out that she is actually the true false dark lord and gets a massive power up along with her true form. In her true form she is much more assertive and I know that’s just a side effect of being evil initially but then later on she is able to utilize that personality at will. It’s still basically Misa in both forms and I would say it bumps up the character tremendously. It even makes her romance with Lay a lot more interesting. Season 2 absolutely bumped her up the most from all of the characters.

Meanwhile Lay still looks solid in the fight although his whole having 7+ souls thing becomes less and less impressive as the series goes on. Basically to actually defeat him you basically have to murder the guy a half dozen times right away before all of his souls regenerate. The big villains are able to do this rather quickly now and I would say Lay has had a real hard time keeping up with the other heavyweights in the verse. He is still really strong but the series goes all in on the power creep. It’s fitting for a title like this. Lay’s a good guy throughout the series though so his personality is on point.

One of the big OP villains for example is Nosgalia. The guy is one of those gods who can body hop and is always talking a really big game. From all of the villains I would say he easily shows the most arrogance against Anos. The guy is very powerful so I would say it is earned but of course at the end of the day he has nothing against Anos. While I respect his power, I can’t say that I cared very much for Nosgalia as a character though. Not my kind of villain and he’s definitely not the honorable sort.

Can’t say I was a big fan of Erdomaid either but that guy gets a considerable amount of hype too. Anos really tames him into being a forced servant for a good chunk of the season though. He almost literally cannot oppose Anos now that his powers are shackled but this guy is a real trickster. If anyone can have a second wind it’s him. In a way his goal is to make Anos the best demon lord possible but their sense of morals and what makes a good demon lord are completely incompatible. I would say Anos should just permanently off him but he is the kind of demon lord who tends to be merciful to a lot of characters so it’s not exactly surprising.

Now by this point you probably figure nobody can really do anything against Anos so what’s the next step? Well, what if Anos’ memories were tampered with. What if…he tampered with them? The only one who can possibly stop him would be himself so that makes things interesting. He meets up with the goddess of creation and she seems to know a lot but for now it’s fairly cryptic. Part of the second half is about Anos trying to regain those lost memories and find out why they were removed in the first place.

This actually leads into a tournament! The God Selection where 8 people will compete with their summoned gods in order to obtain true power. Anos doesn’t have a whole lot of interest in this but he is thrown into the mix regardless and at least this could give some clue as to where his true memories are. It’s not the most formalized kind of tournament as the combatants tend to do their own thing and everyone has an agenda but it was still pretty fun. I liked how high stakes it was and naturally this meant Anos would have time to style on everyone a bit more.

Away from all of the big battles, Emilia also gets a subplot to herself. Her character appearing in general was definitely a surprise. She was pretty awful in season 1 but now the true depths of Anos’ plan have finally hit. He is helping her to become a better person and the punishment of having to teach the pesky humans is just part of that. Her class was filled with a bunch of troublemakers and do-gooders but she is ultimately able to reach out to them. Thanks in no part to the corrupt headmaster who is just there to cause trouble. We see how Emilia had to eat lunch all by herself and was shunned by everyone. The scenes aren’t particularly long but do make you feel really bad for her. I was glad that she ended up getting a happy ending.

Eleonore and Zeshia also get to return thanks to the new venue. At this point the power creep has long since surpassed them but they still do well against the monsters that showed up. They’re generally fun characters like most of the cast so I was glad to see them around. Even the Anos fanclub gets to have their moment to shine with the songs so the series really made sure not to leave anybody behind.

Arcana is one of the god summons with the biggest roles here. She even gets a flashback and a pretty nice dynamic with Anos. He’s close friends with a lot of people but now he gets to be a big brother as well. She is certainly very powerful but when her master has her fight with Anos you know how that is going to turn out. Even literal gods have nothing on the Demon Lord of Tyranny. Arcana could have been at risk of being a little too naive and soft spoken but the show doesn’t play this up too hard so she ends up being fun.

Ahide is one of the big bosses of the final arc and he is strong but he also does spend a lot of time whining. He’s at his best when he maintains his cool, calm and collected outlook. It just never lasts for too long with these kinds of characters as Anos is around to shatter his illusion. Get ready for several tactical retreats as Anos always manages to convincingly crush him. Anos goes harder against him than usual as he really breaks the poor guy.

Then you have Ceris who claims to be Anos’ father. That definitely made for an interesting twist and he ends up being a very mysterious character. Finally someone who might be able to give Anos a run for his money right? Well at the very least I would say that it does make him very interesting. I thought he made for a fun wildcard as he seems to know a lot but stays cryptic during most of his appearances.

Diedrich is one of the first combatants to make a move so you already know that he’s doomed. He was quite powerful though and I did appreciate that he was always up for a fight. He also ends up being a lot more honorable than I would have expected so I ended up liking him. I was expecting him to be one of those crazy corrupt kings but I suppose that’s why you can’t judge a book by its cover. He perhaps overrates his abilities in relation to Anos’ just a tad but I won’t fault a character for being confident.

Golroana is another religious fanatic, the Pope himself! I did think it was pretty interesting to lean so hard on the religious angle for season 2. It makes sense though as this season focuses on how powerful legends and reputation can be for a character. This was especially relevant for Rena in the first arc but plays a role here too. Legends give you power and so likewise everyone believing in a religion would give those folks power. It’s the same concept as the Anos fan club giving him extra power when they sing his songs. So it’s not as if this is a new concept, if anything it has just been actively weaponized here a lot more than we had seen previously. It was a solid thematic element.

Yeah this season was definitely really satisfying. Now I won’t say it’s perfect or anything. it does still have the occasional bout of fanservice but on the whole I would say it’s surprisingly tame. It also helps that in general I love a good power fantasy so I don’t get bored of Anos being so overpowered. I could watch another 3 seasons of him just humiliating everyone and I would still be fine with it. They picked the perfect voice for him and it helps that he’s a generally nice guy. The show actually teaches you valuable lessons about friendship and everything.

Overall, Demon Misfit continues to be a great show. It’s another example of how solid writing will always be enough to clear the day. It may not have the absolute budget of other titles but it doesn’t ultimately need them. The show looks great when it counts like I mentioned earlier but it also absolutely nails the humor aspect. The character cast is also really strong so you have all the elements you need for a great show. This is one I could definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fun anime to watch.

Overall 8/10