Review: The World God Only Knows 2nd Season 1

I have no words for how awesome this is.

I wasn't terribly blown away by the first season of The World God Only Knows,  but I did enjoy it.  And when I saw that there was to be a second season, I was somewhat excited.  I did write a short write-up of TWGOK for Project Haruhi, so I'm not entirely cold on this series.  But enough about that. I have a review to write!

Spirits and demons, all after the break.

 The sole purpose of the first scene is to recap season one, in video game form, of course.  Well, until Keima remembers that the viewer likely watched the first season.  Cue another badass OP song.  After a mild recap from Elsie of the souls captured in season 1: all of 4, out of 100, which is "amazing progress", according to Elsie.  Later, as Keima is ganged up on, a girl shows up... and promptly beats the punks into next week.  Turns out she's got a loose soul in her.  I /never/ saw that coming.  Time for the same formula: find a way to get near her, and get the loose soul out.

The header screenshot is literally the first thing we see in the episode, complete with a chiptunes (read: 8-bit) version of the first season's opening theme.  There is no question that I appreciate a good retro video game reference, and that screenshot is just that.  Additionally, the episode makes the visual pun work by having 3 punks, who Keima says "may as well be parsley", turn into just that.

One of the few things I did have an issue with in the first season was Elsie.  She was just a bit on the annoying side, and that seems to have carried over to the new season.  Her voice is a bit grating, and she is rather whiny to boot.  Hopefully the new demon that's supposed to be introduced this season is more bearable than Elsie is.  Additionally, the first episode failed change ANYTHING to make it different from the first season.  Now, I don't mind more of the same, but what I DON'T want is for the second season to be EXACTLY like the first one.

Overall, a solid first episode for a season that's recieved a lot of hype from its fanbase.  Fluid, beautiful animation and clever writing are balanced out by the same plot formula from season one, which could become repetitve if it isn't played with correctly.  Otherwise, a good episode. Not great, but good.

The World God Only Knows II 1

Animation Quality: 4/5
Plot Advancement: 3.5/5
Action/Drama/Comedy: 2.5/5
Episode Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5

Overall: 3.5/5