Posts Tagged ‘sequel’

Over the summer, you might’ve heard about a little OVA called Black Rock Shooter. It was released specifically to be a marketing cash cow receiving very mixed reactions in the process. Some people really liked it (that would be me), some people hated it (that would be a bunch of other people) but it served its purpose and generated quite a bit of buzz (and sales income) along the way. Even better, it ended on such an obvious cliffhanger that everyone was left with no real choice but to believe more would be made at some point and for a little while there, we all thought that was exactly what we were getting.

On November 13th, the internet erupted with rumors that the president of Good Smile Company Aki Takanori had announced a Black Rock Shooter sequel OVA at Anime Festival Asia. And there was much rejoicing. Until a few hours later when My Anime List became one of the first to post their retractions. Taking to Twitter, Takanori stated

It (the rumor of BRS2) is not completely wrong, but our eagerness to produce a sequel seems to have been interpreted as an official announcement in the enthusiastic atmosphere of the festival. Anyway, we’ll keep on working hard to realize BRS2.

So alas gentle souls, we shall have to wait a bit longer for the barely clad warriors to resume their fight unknowing of the new enemy that is waiting for them in the wings. Still… would’ve been nice.

In the latest Young Gangan seinen magazine, two new anime will be officially revealed as green lit for production. First up is a sequel for the dark action drama Darker than Black. The series follows a group of individuals called ‘contractors’ who are able to use psychic powers after a mysterious wall appears on the outskirts of Tokyo called ‘Hell’s Gate’ and the investigation into them by various government agents and police.

The second announcement to come in the magazine is for the slice of life comedy Hanamaru Yōchien. In this slice of life, the characters the audience follows though are kindergarteners and their teachers.  The series will be produced by Gainax with Seiji Mizushima as the director. Looking at histories here, the only other comedy ever directed by Mizushima is ‘Oh! Edo Rocket’ making this a sort of rare departure from his usual field of big freakin mechs.

A new website has been opened for the sequel series to the recently premiered and licensed horror series, Shikabane Hime. The sequel series will premiere on Japanese television in January with the title ‘Shikabane Hime: Kuro’. Last month Funimation announced the license of the first season of this series but an email seeking comment on the possible license of the second season is currently unanswered.

Updated 11/17: A rep from Funimation replied with a non-commiting answer leaving fans and press to speculate.

And now I’ve come to my first sequel series of the new season and for that I’m digging into the second season of bishie high school vampires being angsty with each other, Vampire Knight Guilty from Studio Deen.

            Jumping into a series that had me more than a little addicted when the first season ended.

The Story

            A week has passed since season one ended and season two begins (in their world, not ours). Zero has been missing for all that time and Yuuki has questions about that night. When Zero returns to the school though, things are not as they once were. Zero begins acting strangely around her.

            Zero is having a rough time on his own. After taking Kaname’s blood, he finds himself still filled with a blood lust and love for Yuuki. Kaname still has his eyes set on her for himself. Soon none of that will matter as it will come out that more than a few people are very unhappy with Zero and want to see him pay for his crimes.  

Good and the Bad

            Entering the second season of Vampire Knight, the story for this series picks up where it left off with the same characters but a new tone. In early episodes of the first season, Vampire Knight was never afraid to go for the jokes in order to endear the characters to the audience. Now that the characters are all people we know, the drama that made the series stand out last season is now its primary focus. Vampire Knight Guilty doesn’t completely ignore using comedy within the episode but the amount it is used is really quite little with mostly the Chairman being the one to get the gags.

            The story itself is starting to take shape quickly and it’s obvious that it’s once again going to center around Zero, Yuuki and Kaname. One of the biggest complaints I had about the first season of Vampire Knight was how little impact the supporting cast had on the primary story. It seems that in this season that trend may continue though I am hoping that they will get a bit more to do this time around.

            The animation in this opening episode looks wonderful. The character designs remain beautiful with bishie characters as far as the eye can see. All of the staff members have returned from the first season to work on the second so the same high standard that was used during the first season should be the standard that fans can expect to see here as well.

Music

            Along with the studio staff returning, the same artist who performed the opening and ending themes to the first season has also returned. Pop group ON/OFF return to perform the opening theme ‘Rondo’, another haunting theme filled with very strong harmonies. For the closing theme, Kanon Wakeshima returns with ‘Suna no O-shiro’ a very soft ballad which plays with a piano melody. To be fair, the ending theme to this series is aided in large part by an absolutely wonderful looking closing animation that features Yuuki lying on her back as the camera zooms out to show more. The imagery here is fabulous.

Cast

            Yui Horie continues to do a fabulous job in the lead role of Yuuki. Since the beginning I’ve enjoyed this performance immensely. With the plot synopsis for this series promising lots of mysteries to be revealed, audiences can only imagine what kind of crying scenes Yuuki will be in later in the series.

            Daisuke Kishio as Kaname is the standout performance here though. The smugness in his voice when he deals with Zero, the regality that he possesses when he deals with subordinates and the respect that his voice commands from other vampires are always present in his performance and I can’t wait to hear more.

Overall

            Fans of this series did not need much of a hook to be pulled into the second season. If you haven’t seen the first season you still have time to get caught up. Vampire Knight Guilty though is going to keep pressing on and with this opening episode; fans have been given absolutely no reason not to follow. Recommended for fans.

Final Impression After One Episode: Recommended.

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