Opening Songs
OP 1 - &Z (SawanoHiroyuki[nzk]:mizuki)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - Genesis (Eir Aoi)
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Episodes: 12
And here we are again with one of the shows that I regretted ever finishing. Mind you, I did not regret starting on the series...I just regretted finishing the damn thing. I wished that after the cliffhanger ending of season 1, I just told myself to stop watching the show entirely, and never ever touched season 2. But of course, its only human nature to want to find out what happened after that mind f**k of an ending that "Aldnoah Zero"'s first season presented us with. Needless to say, that was one of the dirtiest ways to end a series, though it DOES pique interest in its viewers to watch the second season. This is usually good...if your second season is any good at all, in which "Aldnoah Zero 2", isn't. In fact, I find that its actually a downright DOWNGRADE of what season 1 is, and shows us exactly how lazily the writers actually decide to dumb the show down...making it all flash and little substance....along with ANOTHER, sub-par disappointing ending, this time, one that won't have a follow up to.
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| Slaine and Inaho should just be gay buddies, |
The opening theme of "Aldnoah Zero 2" is "&Z" by SawanoHiroyuki[nzk]:mizuki. Horrible song name aside, its a decent opening theme, though I feel that its not as powerful or impactful as "Heavenly Blue", the opening of season 1. Honestly, that song was insane, it's going to be hard to top it, and unfortunately, "&Z" doesn't live up to that standard. The ending theme is "Genesis" by Eir Aoi, is another slow ending theme that tends to thrive on its emotional "feel" to pull you in. Unfortunately, I don't really like it, otherwise, it should please those who like this theme of songs.
Rating: 7.0/10
In season 1 "Aldnoah Zero" showed promise in its early episodes, then it quickly simplified itself, went downhill, and became a little bit repetitive throughout as the enemies simply seemed too easy to beat without a whole of of strategy or planning. As an action/mecha anime the first few episodes of season 1 were fantastic, and I was hoping that in season 2, they'd get back to it. Nope, unfortunately, you'll get more lazy fights as Inaho stomps all over OP enemy Kataphract on the spot without any interesting strategies or difficulties...all with his old, orange, training Kataphract that he used in the academy. In fact, I felt that the battles became even LAZIER, as fights were settled even quicker than they were in season 1. I feel a lot went into the story, character development and character interaction. Honestly, those weren't done too well too. Slaine is just downright ridiculous throughout and I can't find myself LIKING the character...even though we are CLEARLY supposed to sympathize with him...I don't. Inaho as well, he's pretty much the exact same as he was in season 1, even though he went through HELL to get to where he was. Every other character doesn't change much as well, much to my disappointment, and the new characters are mostly dull or boring. And...let's not talk about the ending.
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| Inaho's all seeing eye is great for seeing things that others can't... Can that thing see three sizes? |
After the events of season 1, Inaho and princess Asyleum were shot and left for dead. Asyleum was taken by Slaine back to the Martian floating castle and placed in intensive care, hoping that she could be saved. On the other hand, Inaho was brought back to the federation. He was miraculously saved through an operation, only his eye was shot, so his life was still salvageable. His eye was replaced by a mechanical analytical engine, which allowed him to calculate...all sorts of bullshit. It even allows him to see a lot things that others can't in first glance, he can analyze facial features, read their temperatures or even instantly get data about their body...a perfect tool for someone as talented as Inaho. Upon recovery he quickly got back into his Kataphract and dived back into the fray of war. Oh, and for some reason, when he kissed Asyleum, he got access to power the Aldnoahs, wow, talk about convenience. Calling bullshit yet? Well, you ain't seen nothing. Apparently, Slaine was accepted into Count Saazbaum's fleet, and was dubbed his son so that he could start his own career. So how will this all end up with Inaho and Slaine killing each other? Only time will tell.
"Aldnoah Zero 2" ended up being pretty "meh" in almost every aspect, it only manages to stay somewhat decent because its still visually impressive, and the musical score is EXCELLENT. Other than that, everything else is pretty mediocre and/or subpar. Forgettable characters, repetitive mech battles and a story that's all over the place drags "Aldnoah Zero 2" down, and it doesn't help that it ends on such a wishy washy note. This franchise could have been something, but unfortunately, it just falls short.
Peace.
