Director: Kotomi Deai, Shigehito Takayanagi,
Starring: Chris Patton, Hiro Shimono, Luci Christian, Kanae Ito, Britney Karbowski, Aoi Yuki, Hilary Haag, Ayana Taketatsu, Kaytha Coker, Kana Hanazawa, Chris Ayres,
Running Time: 325 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Textless intro and outro,
THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS Season 1 was a delightfully bright and engaging story that mixed anime tales of fighting demons that at first had to be coerced out through a little romance. It was enough genre bending to engage males and females and had me absolutely hooked. One of the other positives was that despite a slightly formulaic set-up, story arcs could last from 1-3 episodes, depending on the natural progression of the story.
THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS Season 2 continues to follow the God Of Conquest and his demon friend Elsie as they attempt to rid the world of Loose Souls. With beautifully animated visuals the characters really do come alive with many great shots at dusk adding a serene and calming glow to proceedings. We get a greater look inside Katsugari’s world with a number of funny episodes that step away from the usual girl romancing and demon hunting stories. Just seeing Katsugari going GAGA over a first edition release of one of his beloved dating sims really hammers home that this is a way of life for the character.
The gradual progression of Katsugari’s character is slow, but that makes it all the more interesting. He does begin to question his ideals of only interacting with 2D women, but he can’t stand the complexities that abound via human interaction. The show does well not to show him as some sad and unapproachable loner with huge emotional issues. It’s just the way he is, and far from being a ‘cure’ perhaps more interaction could simply be an alternative.
This series does what any second series of a fantasy show should, and that’s give us more of what made the first series so great, while gradually expanding upon the mythology. We are now introduced to another Loose Soul hunting demon which opens up an insight into Elsie’s character and how she isn’t quite the klutz that she’s portrayed as. We hear about some of the inner workings of the demon underworld and gather more info on those elusive Loose Souls. Luckily, this greater exploration doesn’t try and fix what was never broken. The episodes that do take us to a whole new level give us a look at what happens when a Loose Soul becomes more powerful, which makes for an exciting action sequence.
The relationships between characters are also progressed at a fair rate. There are hints that Katsugari is sensing change since interacting with real people and perhaps he is even intrigued by the possibility of genuine love. If this makes it all sound a bit soppy then rest assured that there is more to this than simple romance. The comedy is bang-on, creating belly laughs thanks to a series of bizarre situations and characters exiting their comfort zones.
THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS continues to be a very charming show, and I can only hope that a third season will materialize this year. With dynamic and relatable characters, humorous situations, exciting actions, gorgeous animation, fabulous voice work, engaging stories, and a real sense of heart, it’s an enjoyable Anime that should tear down age and gender boundaries. If you loved the first season then the only downside is that the theme song isn’t quite as good.
THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS Season 2 is released 21st January.
