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Magic Knight Rayearth Season 2 Review

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Season 2 is now upon us as the magic knights get to return for another big journey. In some ways this one is a little unrelenting with action as there is more downtime for talking and world building. That said, when we do get the action it tends to be higher tier with more people fighting at once. All in all this was a really good season and holds its own with season 1. I go back and forth on which one wins but on the record, I’m going to say that season 2 wins ever so slightly. The villains are a huge upgrade here thanks to Nova and I thought Hikaru’s crisis of confidence was a strong subplot.

The show starts with Hikaru, Fu, and Umi still getting over the fact that they teleported into a whole other planet and are now back on Earth. Fuu and Umi are taking it pretty well but Hikaru has a lot of regrets. She feels like they may have actually harmed the planet by destroying its ruler and eliminating the pillar system. Her fears are well founded when the three of them are warped back and the whole planet is on the brink of destruction. Without a pillar to hold it all together, the planet is simply running out of energy. Everyone will die unless a new pillar is chosen but then the world will go back to the problems of season 1. Additionally there are 3 kingdoms which are all attempting to invade. Can the Magic Knights stop them?

The biggest dilemma here is that the problem isn’t so straight forward. Yes, the Magic Knights can likely destroy all of the aggressors but they use destruction as an absolute last resort. It’s not something that they just run to as their first option. Then there is also the fact that beating these armies will not do anything to save the world. The only apparent options are to let the world be destroyed or to sacrifice someone as the pillar.

The pillar system basically works by imprisoning someone within the main kingdom. That person must constantly pray and think about the people of the land while not being able to have any personal wishes or desires. It is essentially an eternal prison and that’s why Zagato wanted to free Emeraude from this in the first series. Now I will say that the pillar system is riddled with assumptions about how it must work but the series doesn’t go into that so for the purposes of this review we will take this system at face value.

You also can’t pick just anybody to become the pillar. It must be someone who is worthy of the system and anyone who isn’t worthy will die if they attempt to go inside the forbidden room. Now it does seem like it takes a really long time for the kingdom to actually fall and it doesn’t help that all of these villains are attacking. Personally I feel like you could have someone become the pillar for a few days, take a break, go back in, etc. It might not be possible to game the system that way though.

The animation is pretty strong like the last season and I would even say that it has slightly improved on this end. The mech fights are really solid and the animation definitely stands out with the human fights as well. There is a lot of action here and the show always delivers. The soundtrack is mainly unchanged from the first season and is still a good one. There is one battle theme in particular that is really solid.

While the romances can be a little on the weaker side, I give the series props letting them try to be slow burns. One of them actually has very mature ending as well. The guy realizes that the girl he likes will never be able to reciprocate. Instead of getting mad about it or rebounding, he decides to just live with this. The memory of loving her would be enough to satisfy him and it’s the kind of plot that doesn’t happen all that often. So big props there, while I would say the main romance with Hikaru takes the wrong approach as she indulges in a confession without even knowing if she will ever see Lantis again. That’s the exact time when you do not want to submit a confession because it can’t really go anywhere.

Like I mentioned before, Hikaru is going through a lot for the whole season. She really doesn’t know how to proceed and none of the enemies want to talk. She tries to de-escalate the situation with each invading army but it never seems to work. Then the villainous Nova looks just like Hikaru and makes things even more complicated. Hikaru may have constantly been ready to fight in season 1 and was real gung-ho but there is none of that this time. The weight on her shoulders has simply grown to be too much and lasts for the entirety of the season.

I don’t really dock any points from Hikaru though because she was trying to handle this well. There are a few times where she would try to talk things out for too long but never took it to any absurd levels. A lesser show would have fumbled here but this one stood strong. Hikaru also continues to look a whole lot stronger than the other two magic knights. She is the powerhouse of the team and is the most fun to watch.

Each magic knight gets their own plot and so Fuu has her own kingdom to fight. She ends up engaging in some friendly competition with the young ruler of the first invading land. Fuu can still be a bit too much of a pacifist at times but is able to get her point across without having to fight the whole time. She also does learn a new spell in this season which is even able to damage the final bosses so that was impressive. Like in season 1 I do think she could have done more to really stand out in the battles but this was a start. She’s not a bad character even if she can be a bit quiet.

Then we have Umi who gets to fight the two dancers. This fight is a lot more intense since it is a potential life or death match. Additionally Umi gets to use her fencing abilities again which was pretty cool. My only complaint with Umi is that she allows the genie summons to shake her resolve way too easily. I get that they are a bit weird but I thought that she was way too dramatic about the whole thing. In context she is responsible for protecting a whole kingdom and so that means she has to always be ready to fight. There is no time to be distracted.

In some ways Master Mage Clef may be the most disappointing character but that’s only if you were assuming that he would do anything. Let be real, the guy never does anything so that was always going to be a lost cause. I do really like his name and the grand title associated with it though. Whenever someone is called a master, it means that you’re going to want to sit down and listen there. This guy spends most of the season injured and then he is stuck trying to prop the castle up.

Lantis is the one who has to get out there and do some fighting. His loyalty is questionable though as he left for another kingdom a while back and now those guys are attacking. Lantis did tell them all about the pillar system as well since he was not expecting this invasion. That ended up being a poor decision on his part. He ultimately does fight his former friend Eagle when push comes to shove but I would be mad at him if I were the other heroes. He ultimately took way too many risks with private information and no amount of hindsight can make that a good decision. Lantis also has great abilities at his disposal but still finds ways to get outsmarted and overpowered. Not a good look for him.

I ultimately preferred his brother Zagato but Lantis still did well. He was just a little too indecisive on everything that mattered. His fairy friend Primera could have been cut out though. She gets a little subplot where Mokona is always picking on her but it never actually gets to be all that important. I guess in a way it’s the comedic subplot but eh it was more of a miss. The show is too dramatic to really need any kind of animal mascot here.

Ferio also doesn’t get to do a whole lot here. He’s more of a standard warrior now which isn’t bad, but it does mean that he just has way less personality now. He only gets one standout scene early on when he gets to save Fuu. Otherwise he is mostly stuck in the background here. I suppose the character cast was large enough where the show started having issues balancing everyone out.

Ascot takes the award for most improved character since season 1. He was easily one of the weakest characters there but then in this season he actually ends up being a really good character. Gone are the days when he was really timid and now he has become a brave warrior. His monster summons are considerably more powerful than they used to be. He is also able to handle rejection well. I was really impressed with this guy, he is definitely a character that will really stand out in each scene.

On the other hand, Alcyone takes the award for the character with the biggest drop. She wasn’t the strongest villain in the first season but she did have a certain level of grace. In this season she goes completely crazy. This is partially due to Debonair’s influence but then spends the final episodes in a super nervous state where she is unable to do anything. It was really rough to see and the final scene at the end was too little too late to save her. It’s too bad because she started the season off with some potential but could not see it through.

As for Debonair, she just doesn’t get enough time to do much. She spends most of the season telling Nova not to keep on fighting. She wants Nova to hang back and yet in quite a few of these situations Nova would have claimed victory. This would only work if Debonair had some kind of a master plan but this never seemed to really be the case. Her abilities are technically really good but it’s always hard to convey that with such limited screentime. So she ends up feeling rather unimpressive overall.

As for Nova, well she is a villain who really stands out. I’d say that the very ending of the show seems to retcon her character a bit though. She went from being a completely evil figure to someone who was presented as being a bit misunderstood. I didn’t buy that at all and she works best as being a full on psycho. She could be a bit too extreme in her devotion to Hikaru though which leads to some weird scenes. Nova is crazy but that’s what makes her so dangerous. She should have went out in a different way but the show wrote itself into a bit of a corner with the knowledge that any attacks against her would directly hurt Hikaru’s own heart. So in a way there was no way to truly defeat her physically,

Again that is what makes her so dangerous though. She was a really fun villain and also had incredible stats. One on one there are few characters who could really stand any kind of a chance against her. She also has the best looking mech in the series. With it she could have dominated even more but none of the characters use the mechs as much as they should have. I would note that being able to teleport anywhere inside of the kingdom should also make Nova functionally unbeatable so the heroes have a lot of plot armor here at all times.

Now lets talk about the kingdoms. First we have Lady Aska who basically wants to be the pillar for the most superficial reasons. She basically just wants to be the ruler because of the unlimited power the role brings. Aska is basically a kid though so it makes sense and she is the easiest to set back on the right path compared to the other two. I would also say that she appears to be the weakest of the three factions. Her voice really stands out but that’s the best part of the character. She’s okay but there was no point where you were actually rooting for her.

Tarta and Tatra represent the second kingdom and are much more sympathetic. Their kingdom is quite small and so they want to use the wishing power to extend the kingdom. This way their people can live in peace on actual land. It makes a lot of sense and so they are doing their best there. I do think that they could have been more open to discussion though because there were a lot of possibilities before all out war. Tarta is the more fun member of the duo because she is way more headstrong and ready for a fight. That is always the kind of trait I like to see in a character but her sister is definitely the stronger one.

They’re better than the first kingdom but are still pretty limited in what they can do. The final kingdom easily has the biggest role and is also the most powerful force. This is the faction led by Eagle with the strong second in command, Geo; as well as the mechanic Zazu. Eagle needs to become the pillar to save his people from a dying planet and has planned everything out. His kingdom relies on the power of science rather than magic in order to fight.

This science is really at a high level because his mech is able to hold its own against the Rune Gods. While I would always take Hikaru in a fight, I do think he could beat the other two fighters. Eagle is also a very cunning character who always has a lot of plans at the ready. He always has a secret weapon at the ready and even in a near death state was able to fight with Nova. I gained a lot of respect for Eagle from his first appearance through to the ending.

You could even say that the guy is a bit like Batman. He’s certainly got the determination down as well as all of the gadgets. He also had a good dynamic with Hikaru and Lantis. It felt like the show was going to lean into making this a triangle subplot but it finished strong. I’d say it went for more of a solid friendship plot with Eagle realizing early on not to even wish for any more than that. Next to Hikaru’s self doubt plot, Eagle definitely had the strongest emotional storyline.

It’s pretty impressive how different both seasons felt from each other. The first one is definitely going for a classic RPG vibe while season 2 is definitely more Star Wars. Maybe even throw in a bit of horror/thriller for the Nova scenes. Bringing Hikaru into her world of darkness was definitely intense and same goes for when she put Lantis in there. Knowing that no backup can reach you is definitely intense. You are either able to handle that kind of pressure or you can’t.

There is also the fact that the world itself is ending in the background because of there not being a pillar to take in the energy. The writing is good though and so you will be glued to your seat the whole time. Your enjoyment may depend a little bit on how much you enjoy hearing about the pillar system every 5 minutes though. The characters really go over it a whole lot but I never found it to be boring. I just felt like the characters could have really talked things out a whole lot sooner.

If anything they took so long that by the end point you will feel like there should be too many hard feelings to have a constructive conversation. A whole lot of people could have died during the invasions, including all of the kids who were taking shelter in the castle. You have to really hope that Lantis found all of them in time too since Master Mage Clef seemingly has no spell to find the lost souls across the planet.

Overall, Magic Knight Rayearth had another good season here. The ending definitely does come off as being really rushed though. I really didn’t think there was any way the final episode was going to be the end because of the fight still going on by the commercial break. At least I can definitely say that the end result was for the series to be keeping action at the forefront all the way to the end. I’d definitely be up for more sequels. It’ll be interesting to see if the remake will be able to defeat this one. There was certainly a lot of drama but this was a strong ride all the way to the end.

Overall 7/10

Magic Knight Rayearth Review

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It’s been many years since I read the manga for this series so it was fun to see the animated side of things. Season 1 covers the main arc with the heroes heading off to save an entire world. The pacing is good and the arc goes by real fast. The characters and fights are good with a soundtrack that pops out more than you would expect. Whether you like magical girl anime or just a classic adventure then you should be satisfied here.

The series begins by introducing us to Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu who are on a class field trip. Hikaru stands out for having a lot of fun and enjoying the experience while everyone else just goes through the motions. All of a sudden the three of them are transported into a whole new world. They are told that the world will be coming to an end soon because Queen Emeraude has been kidnapped and she is the pillar which holds the world together. These three girls will need to quickly become friends and learn how to fight at a high enough level to stop the enemies that have conspired to keep Emeraude from saving the planet. Umi and Fuu aren’t so sure about this but Hikaru is eager to save the day. Will her determination be enough here?

Right away I can say that Hikaru is the best of the three heroines because of how quickly she focuses here. Hikaru wastes no time in wanting to be of help and throughout the show she is always very enthusiastic. It’s probably good that the three main characters are all very different for the contrast but at the same time it’s no surprise that Hikaru stands out the most. She gets quite a few scenes where everyone else has been defeated but Hikaru keeps on fighting. Without her the heroes would have really been doomed.

She just has good battle sense and so she is able to always put up a fight even though it takes a long time to get her own mecha. Other characters might have lost heart but not Hikaru. Umi mainly wants to go home and from the three leads it takes her the longest time to adapt to this world. She just doesn’t think it is their problem and wants to get back so she can be in the fencing competition. I was a little surprised at how long she stays on that point but it does show how seriously she takes her school commitments.

In terms of ability I would say she is second in strength to Hikaru. She clearly has a lot of talent but it doesn’t always translate as smoothly. As Umi begins to focus more fully on the world, she does better. She’s not quite as stuck-up or arrogant as you might have expected with her dignified background either. You could see her making a lot of friends real easily.

Finally we have Fuu and well I guess someone had to be in last place. Fuu is certainly not a bad character. She tends to be more soft spoken and her abilities aren’t offensive in nature so there’s a lot she has to deal with there. She also has a bit of a romance plot going on with Ferio so she tends to be a bit more distracted at times. They fight quite a bit when first getting to know each other and with the world at stake, there isn’t a whole lot of time for that. So Fuu is good but a big step below the other two.

As for Ferio, well he’s one of those charmers where it’s hard to say when he’s really being genuine or not. He works well in being the rival who shows up to change the situation but if I was Fuu it would be a bit hard to trust him after a while. He has more than one deceptive moment included here after all. He also tends to get discouraged when the going gets tough and just runs off to be by himself. I do like his fighting style though and he actually could hold his own for quite a while.

Presea is a supporting character who doesn’t appear much but has a good role in encouraging the heroes and being someone who could drop some exposition as needed. She didn’t last long but seemed like a powerful fighter. This tracks as the strongest characters tend to go out quickly like Clef. Clef is the ultimate super sage and yet he stood no chance against the villains. It’s why the prophecy about the three magical girls was so important because without them it is clear that the villains had an overwhelming edge here. The heroes were rarely in the same ballpark in terms of abilities and would have quickly been stomped. Clef has to come across as one of the most underwhelming characters because of all the hype though.

The first villain to go up against the heroes is Alcyone. Typically you could say that the first villain will always end up being the weakest. Well, in this case I think she was stronger than Ascot but it is safe to say that she wasn’t very powerful since a day 1 Hikaru was able to push her back and overwhelm her main spell. Alcyone has a one sided romance plot going on as well but it doesn’t do her any favors. You definitely have to be careful who you fall in love with, even if that’s not easy.

She at least had a strong presence though. Ascot has to be the most underwhelming villain because he can’t fight at all really. He just relies on his various monster summons and then gets mad when the heroes blow them up. At one point he yells about the magic knights almost 4-5 times for the episode cliffhanger with an echo in there and it just showed how helpless he was. If he really wants to stop this, then he needed to get into the ring and fight himself. Anything short of that and he doesn’t deserve to be one of the big monster commanders.

Caldina is a bit harder to scale because she also isn’t the most direct fighter. She likes manipulating the humans to assist her and then had Ascot as backup as well. She seemed reasonably tough but left as soon as she appeared. She actually got off rather easily considering she was a total accomplice to the villains here. She had a good personality and I liked the gambling gimmick. Her battle with Ferio was certainly a fun one.

Rafaga was a fun villain. He’s being mind controlled for most of it so that’s why I’d say it’s fair to refer to him as a villain. His abilities are clearly way ahead of the others and so only the main characters could really handle him. Well, naturally the main villain as well which is why he fell into this mess. He feels like a Fire Emblem character and I like everything about this guy. His powers, outfit, and personality are all very becoming of a knight. I would have liked to have even seen more action scenes out of this guy but he made every bit of screen time count.

Then you have Innova who is Zagato’s right hand man. This guy is definitely a really good fighter and his first battle with the heroines really showed what he could do. His barriers are able to nullify any attack and then he can launch attacks of his own. If anything it felt like he was a bit nerfed in his true monster form since he suddenly lost all strategies and just ran around like a mindless beast. Not a good idea when you’re fighting monster hunters like the main characters.

A good right hand man can always go a long way in an adventure like this and so I’m glad to say that he lived up to the hype. Then we have the main villain Zagato who is very good. He tends to win most of his fights with absolute ease. His goals also make a lot of sense and are dare I say admirable? He made a lot of great points and you could draw similarities to Homura Akemi from Madoka Magica. The system was broken and so he decided to make a move. It is a move that would destroy the planet but when you learn what the alternative is, it suddenly doesn’t sound so bad.

This may sound like madness to the average reader so you’ll need to watch the show to get the full context here. It comes down to the classic dilemma of sacrificing someone to save a group people. At what point are the numbers worth it, if ever? At least Zagato did something about this while everyone else was aware and chose to stay on the sidelines. It’s another reason why I give Zagato major points there. He ends up being the kind of main villain that you will not soon forget.

As for Queen Emeraude, well she has a lot more character than the average queen in these things. For starters it is also nice that she can fight. She has incredible powers at her disposal which is how she kept the whole planet stable. She isn’t some figurehead, but an actual leader who can be on the battlefield. I’d say her actions in the end will probably be questionable for some as well but ultimately I was on board with this. She had to make a lot of difficult decisions all throughout her life and finally made one last one in this show.

The animation is definitely pretty good. There are a solid amount of action scenes and the colors are always very striking. I’d say the show feels more high effort than you would expect from a magical girl title but then again it makes sense since this one loops all the way around to feeling like a true shonen. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also quite good. In particular there is a battle theme that is really solid and I’ve listened to it many times by now. It has a sense of danger that really supports the battles.

Good technical effects like this can always help to enhance a title. So like I said, the show is very good all around. We’re talking good writing, solid fights, good animation, etc. The ending is also a lot more intense than you would have expected. Of course there is a second season but on its own this would probably end up being known as one of the more depressing endings. Certainly not what you’d expect from a title that looks more like a feel good adventure.

Overall, This is definitely a pretty good series. I’d recommend checking it out. The show doesn’t need to have a giant cast or anything like that. It crafts a good adventure with monsters of the week as each villain gets a few shots before moving onto the next one. It always feels like the show is moving forward. Also a show like this is really dependent on the main cast being very charming and energetic. Hikaru is able to handle that side of the show with ease. There’s really nothing to dislike here and if you watch it you may find yourself being on Zagato’s side. In the end this isn’t as straight forward a threat as you would have assumed going into the show.

Overall 7/10