Isekai Quartet 2

The first season of Isekai Quartet was easily a surprise highlight of the 2019 year of anime for me. It took a genre that I shamelessly seem to be drawn to and went even deeper down the rabbit hole by taking characters who had already been isekai’d, and isekai’d them again (along with the rest of their supporting cast), putting them all in a school together. It was goofy, hilarious, and just the perfect way for the genre to make fun of itself. And whether you like to hear it or not, I’m here to say season 2 does a fantastic job following it up, providing more of that great goofy entertainment.

With the casts of Saga of Tanya the Evil, Overlord, Konosuba and Re:Zero, Isekai Quartet already had a strong universe of anime Avengers. This year saw the addition of the unlucky trio from The Rising of the Shield Hero (as well as a fun cameo of another goofy goddess and her companion in the later episodes that I won’t spoil here). My point is, there is a lot of star talent in this show and they made it even bigger.

I wouldn’t call Naofumi, Raphalia and Filo an addition to the main cast, however. Their characters are placed in a different classroom and very little time is spent focusing on them. We still spend the majority of our time with the original set. While some people find this disappointing, I’m not sure what other decision they could have made.

Unfortunately, all of the episodes in both season 1 and season 2 of Isekai Quartet hover around 10 – 12 minutes long. Considering the absolutely mega-sized cast in this show, that leaves very little time to focus on any single character. Now, it isn’t like Isekai Quartet is meant to be anything deep or meaningful. We aren’t necessarily losing out on character development time; we’re here to watch them fail miserably in a modern day school, not overcome personal obstacles and rise above. We can watch their main shows if we want that (except for you, Subaru, you frustrating, frustrating man).

There isn’t a lot I can say beyond what I said in my review for the first season. Isekai Quartet 2 takes all of the energy, slapstick humor and big personalities and sends them to school, just like in season 1. And honestly, the writing of the show is so good that the chemistry (or lack thereof) between cast members across different shows feels truly effortless. Despite the short episode times and only a single season under it’s belt, Isekai Quartet 2 really gives you the feeling that these characters have not only known each other for years, but they actually truly belong together in this school rather than off in their own fantasy worlds. Nobody feels out of place.

If you’re a fan of any of these sets of characters, I’d say the chances are really high you will like this show. Even characters that should feel out of place in a chibi carnival of comedy (like Tanya) feel right at home. It should feel almost sacrilegious, but it really just works. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen everybody’s original series. Sure, you’ll miss out on a little bit of backstory and a few inside jokes, but Isekai Quartet 1 and 2 both do a good job making jokes out of the current situation rather than relying on audience familiarity with the characters. If you’ve held back until now, please give it a try. I don’t think you’ll regret it, especially since the episodes are short.

Score:

8.5/10

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