Rating: B+
Ragnarok is upon us! Well, sort of.
Really, it’s just an opportunity for Shadow to fight a boss monster-type foe while his Shadow Garden minions do all of the lesser work. The minor problem for the series is that Ragnarok just isn’t that interesting a foe on its own. Sure, it wrecks part of Oriana before Shadow distracts it, but even as the pinnacle of magical monsters it’s still not in a league with Shadow, and it lacks the moves to make the fight as interesting as Elizabeth did back in episode 23 or Aurora did last season. Thankfully, the show staff seemed to recognize that and thus largely downplayed that part of the fight in light of everything else going on.
And there’s definitely some other interesting stuff going on. Turns out Lambda and a bunch of lesser Shadow Garden members were secretly in the wedding audience. Beta and Epsilon are also present to confront Mordred, allowing Rose a chance to act like a queen – really a minor thing in terms of Shadow Garden’s objectives, but an important one in terms of Rose’s role in the setting going forward. Her resoluteness even gets her former maid back on her side, too! That means Shadow Garden is effectively going to be replacing the Cult of Diablos as the power behind Oriana’s throne, which is a certain kind of irony on its own.
And the Cult of Diablos is definitely going to be out, since Mordred can’t even handle Beta and Epsilon, much less Shadow. (And I loved the way those two upended Mordred’s boasting by realizing that he was relying on artifacts.) While Mordred’s “lecture” does seem a little too convenient, there is at least some sense that he’s the type who loves to show off how smart he is by explaining everything. What he has to say about how this current world came to have magic is very enlightening indeed. The presence of the high-end technology now makes more sense, as does the suggestion that Diablos was created by the cult rather than the cult forming around Diablos. Perhaps most importantly, all the multidimensional theory helps explain what happens near the end of the episode, to the point that the lecture was probably forced in specifically to explain how Cid is getting isekai’d again, just this time without dying. (This does provide a plenty convenient way to mix Shadow Garden into a future new season of Isekai Quartet, though!)
I heartily recommend going back and watching episode 1 after seeing the end of this one, as the last few minutes are practically a scene-by-scene replay, except with the added twist that the timeline has advanced a few years in Cid’s original world (but, interestingly, only a few years instead of 16 or more) and something apocalyptic has happened in the interim – maybe one of the convergences that Mordred was talking about? Whatever’s going on there, it will be dealt with in a just-announced follow-up movie. As for what Shadow Garden will do while Shadow is gone? They’ve shown before that they can make do just fine, even if key members may feel like they can’t. In fact, in some senses they may be better off without him around as a wild card.
Overall, this season doesn’t quite live up to the level of the first half of the first season, but it does have its moments and provides a plenty fun view. It still has a place in the discussion about both the season’s and the year’s top series despite the fierce competition.
Bonus: Kage-Jitsu!
This is a collection of 2 minute shorts that stream online in accompaniment to each episode this season most episodes last season, done in the same style as Isekai Quartet but featuring what various Shadow Garden members are doing when Shadow isn’t around. Collectively they provide a bit more insight on some characters who don’t get much screen time, and they are usually quite fun.
Use this link for a YouTube channel containing most of the Season 1 entries in English subbed form.
Use this link for Season 2 entries. (I especially recommend episode 6, the one where Delta goes to the Lawless City to hunt Juggernaut.)
USA Anime 