Shuumatsu no Walküre II

As one of my favorite manga I was pretty disappointed with season 1. Going into season 2 my expectations were on the floor but I'm happy to say I'm pleasantly surprised.

Season 2 features the fights Hercules vs Jack the Ripper, Shiva vs Raiden Tameemon, and Buddha vs Zerofuku/Hajun. All of these fights are great in their own way my personal favorite being Herc vs Jack. I was nervous about these fights because of the slideshow that was Adam vs Zeus in season 1. But to my surprise the animation saw noticeable improvement this season. It's nothing crazy but you can diffidently see the difference in ... the fights. They also started using CGI in the fights which looked surprisingly good considering their sub par CGI in season 1. It made the fights seem a lot more dynamic with more movement. Though the CGI looked a little sketchy at times it was overall pretty good.

The pacing was one of my biggest issues with season 1. The focus would keep shifting away from the fight to the spectators giving comments sometimes being monotonous. They would also use the same 4 shots for the crowd which was very noticeable and annoyed me while watching. Before you realized it the fighters only threw 2 attacks and the episode was already half over. Thankfully they fixed this in season 2. There were a lot less crowd shots (thank god) and they would reuse the same shots less. And when people comment on the fight it will usually be to deliver relevant information. In season 2 most of the episode (in non-backstory eps) was fighting which was really nice to see.

One of the things I really like about this series is that there aren't many dull characters. The colorful cast emphasizes the differing backgrounds of the characters. The voice acting performances (in JP) were great across the board and each voice actor fits the character. Jack is probably one of my favorite characters in the show. They made a terrible murderer into a really compelling character and was really interesting watching him fight. All the fighters in this season had interesting personalities that were expressed during their fights.

I really enjoyed the music in this show. The style of music matches the fighters and the environment in backstories. Though I wished they only used the instrumental version for 'London Bridge Is Falling Down'. I get the significance of a child singing the song but I found the instrumental version more menacing. My main criticism is the music catalogue while good is rather small and they end up reusing songs multiple times. This isn't a huge issue but it would be nice to have a wider soundtrack.

As of writing this review 10/15 episodes have been released but if Buddha vs Zero is adapted as well as the others, my score will likely stay the same.

The main takeaway is season 2 is a sizable step up from season 1. The improved pacing and animation is what this show needed. Even though it's improved I would still recommend the manga over the anime for anyone experiencing these fights for the first time. If you watched season 1 of the anime I would recommend you read the manga either from the beginning or where you left off at round 4. Then watch the anime if you like, though the anime is a decent adaptation in season 2 I find the manga to be a superior experience. (or you choose not to do any of that, it's your choice ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) But I know that season 3 (if there ever is one) is going to have some crazy fights to look forward to especially if the studios keeps improving.

*Thanks for reading if you read the whole thing! (❁´◡`❁) This is my first review so sorry if it was a little all over the place. (⊙_⊙;)

Shuumatsu no Walküre II (2023)

Maybe not the best anime I have ever seen but god damn it is gripping. The whole way through these first 10 episodes on the edge of my seat, this has been fantastic so far.

I will admit the CGI looks amazing 90-95% of the time but then there is that part of it that just seems to drop through the floor back to the early 2000s. That would be my only real gripe with the animation. The animation itself is very macho, with muscles, blood, and gore but then it is so much action. Everyone seems to be on steroids ... apart from the audience.

I really enjoy how the backstories are mixed into the fights and it really brings home the fights to be so much more impactful. Never thought I'd be rooting for Jack the Ripper the deepest of the stories so far and one of the best fights so far too. How Jack gets his Valkyrie to work with him was crazy!

10 episodes down, 5 to come later in the year and honestly I cannot wait for them to come, I wish it was another 10 episodes, not 5.

I honestly hope they keep adapting this until it finishes. That said the occasional drops in the CGI do make a difference for me, so for now, I'll go with an 8 but expect it to get to a 9 by the end.

Being a huge fan of the original work, (I own all currently available volumes) I was very disappointed with Season 1. Shuumatsu no Valkyrie had the potential to be the hypest fighting manga of the current decade, but Netflix just chose to fumble the bag: amazing character designs, great fighting secuencies, enjoyable and quick-to-read backstories... if well adapted, SnV could have easily become one of the best fighting anime ever made. But Netflix just didn't want to.

However, with Season 2, they managed to offer an actually decent product. It still has evident flaws, yes, and that's why not everyone will enjoy it- but there were ... some pretty good moments, something the first season lacked, and besides the animation (which wasn't that bad this time), everything else is actually pretty good.

Overall, this season is a lot better than the first one, but I still deeply recommend reading the manga instead. It's just better in every aspect.

Shuumatsu no Walküre is fairly fade combat style anime (I didn't read the manga). It's brutal and gore like Baki and Kengan Ashura.
If the combat is enjoyable, it tends to just drag on for no reason.

You can summarize all of the combat like that :
1) I'm strong, he going to lose
2) Oh he's losing
3) Oh nope he was just training and getting ready
4) both have secret card during the fight
5) both end up on threshold between life and death and one dies

... Sometimes you have to wait half an episode to see a punch. It's slow and fade. It needs serious cuts or rearranging.
And there's no "oh, this one is better" or "no way he is going to win". They always find a secret technique to just change the course of the combat to their desire. It's annoying, especially with Shiva's fight ... this one is ridiculous on how the combat scenario is biased.

For comparison in Baki you can have 2 episode long fight, or a supposed long fight, which doesn't happen because one is clearly far better and just smash the other into pieces.
7 out of 10 is a good score, given all the problems of this anime.

"RECORD OF RAGNAROK: SEASON 2 PART 1"

Genre- Action, Drama, Fantasy, Mythology, Seinen.

With the start of its second season, Record of Ragnarok resumes the final battle between mankind and Gods. With an even more heated arena than the first three fights, the second season delivers all it promised and leaves as a cliffhanger during the end of its prequel.

In this season we witness two heavenly fights one between Hercules, the fame of Greece, and Jack the Ripper, the renowned serial killer on the streets of London, and the second between Raiden, the best Sumo wrestler, and Shiva, the Indian God of Destruction. And believe me, nothing ... can prepare you for the things you will witness in this second bout. With the backstories of all the characters and their strengths, this season brings you a whole new array of emotions and feelings. It depicts the hardships of humans in a society, the challenges faced by Gods to get accepted in the realm, and even the sacrifices made by bystanders so that everything happens as time had planned it. It speaks to you about the importance of friendship, the void mind of someone without any love, and the struggles of those who must carry on for others' sake.

While the anime may seem all about fighting if you can look between the lines and understand the story of each fighter, it is then that you can enjoy this anime even more. On its technical side, the second season brings to you a much-needed 3D style of animation at times that help refine the fight and increases your interest in the anime. All in all, this anime truly leaves you at the edge of your seat as you cannot predict what might happen next.

This anime is absolutely a "MUST WATCH."

I watched this season somewhat against my will because its previous season did not captivate me at all to continue following the work. But here we are and I must say that, to my surprise, there was a leap in quality (also because it was practically impossible to get worse).

Shuumatsu no Walküre, at first, has a theme that is difficult to go wrong, just comply with all the clichés that the genre proposes and minimally animate a fight, which this season has started to do. All fights are no longer those static and uninteresting frame shows. Now it has a more pleasant visual appeal for ... those who watch it. Nothing fancy or anything, just the basics.

There is still a long way to go to become a "good anime" in my view, but if the growing is maintained, already in the next season we can really start to have a decent anime here. In this season itself, we already had some indications that the story does not seem to be so predictable and this is good, because since the micro of the story and the main attraction, which are the fights of characters from random legends, it is not being so well executed, maybe exploring the lore of these characters before there is a final fight, or even a saga can lead to an interesting conflict, after all, practically all the fights here, the characters shown did not have a bond with those who watched and developed, or tried to develop, these bonds throughout of the fight wasn't the smartest ideas, even more so being done in the dirty way that this anime does.

In addition, it is still a bad anime, but I will still follow. In case you have a lot of time to waste, watch this anime. it may be that "lost time" is actually "invested time".

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie II

This manga and anime will not please everyone. You need very low standards to be able to understand this show. Each season consists of 2-3 battles in which candidates of humanity compete against gods. In a battle that will decide the further existence of mankind. The good thing about the show is that the battles are hard to weigh who will win. The bad thing is that the series consists only of flashbacks and fights that have a very similar sequence.

I like how "simple" this one is. No great plot, but simply the representation of how two unshakable will clash. Unfortunately, the ... animations are far from good, at least the pacing in season 2 is much better than in the first season. Sometimes you don't need more than that.

The second season was especially longed for because of the Hercules and Jack the Ripper fight, which is undoubtedly the favorite for most people. Not only did this fight show a new perspective, but also the development of both characters and a very nice conclusion. The hero represents justice on the side of the gods. The people struggling for their lives send a mentally ill serial killer into the ring. On which side should you wish for victory? Either way, it is only open that the gods were right in their judgment of humanity or the downfall of humanity. But the fight took a completely different outcome than I had expected at the start.

[Story 3]

Regarding the plot, there is practically nothing to say. The series has an interesting concept and at least a decent implementation regarding the fights. But otherwise, it's kept too superficial, which can't arouse the interest of many. Maybe something will develop in the manga, but so far it does not seem to be the case. An anime and manga that is only about successive battles in the Colosseum are still relatively refreshing.

[Animations 5/ Music 7]

The animations have improved a lot, unfortunately, they just reach average quality. But apart from the animations, I'm happy that the pacing has finally improved. Season two, unlike the first, is much faster and doesn't feel like old chewing gum anymore.

Even the first season had very good osts, this has not changed here.

[Characters 5]

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie has a large number of different characters, but only a few get any real attention. Especially only when they enter the battle ring. I like their backstories, ambitions, and the fighters' unbreakable will. Unfortunately, this doesn't bring much variety, since you know exactly how the sequence will be. Each fight starts with both getting heated, both getting hyped, both realizing the opponent is strong, getting a background in turn and then using their trump card and one winning. Even though it's hard to tell who will win, the process is very much the same. And the characters get their personality practically only from the background story. My hope so far is that the characters who survive the battles will be fleshed out more. So far, however, nothing has happened.


[Conclusion 5]

A simple yet fascinating Anime and Manga that I am still actively following. It's hard to put into words, but I think it's precisely because it's so simple that it's so pleasing. Of course, you should keep your hands off of it if you expect a story or anything else large-scale. Here you will only see fights, nothing more.

[Enjoyment 6]

English is not my native languange, so sorry if I say something wrong ok?

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie is my favorite manga, I really love the first season, and I really don't care with the bad animation BUT... when I started to read the manga I realized, the manga is so much better... When Netflix announced season 2 I was fear, I don't wanna see Slide Show again, but Graphnica surprise me, the animation oblivious isn't a Demon Slayer, Jjk, or Sol Levante, but is very acepptable, The design still perfect and Jack vs Hércules was so perfect🔥🔥🔥

Honestly, I believe the sixth battle gonna be very beatiful ... to see, I can't wait to see the seventh battle

A sequal that overcame its crucial flaws in order to deliver a highly entertaining cinematic expereience.

Whilst not to say it has reached the quality of the big name shows, the fight choreography and animation has improved substantially from the first season. Movements and strikes are much more fluid and impactful. Frames are fresh and no longer recycled. Suspense is kept between scene cuts without excessive stalling.

Character designs continue to be unique and flavorful, with the opening fight of this season, featuring Hercules versus Jack the ripper, being one of the best fights seen so far. The backstories are more in depth and covered ... with much more detail, as well as presenting much better motivations and targets for the fighters.

The worst offender of the first season is the disasterous use of comedy, which was thankfully removed almost entirely in season 2. There was still some jokes here and there, and not all at the best of timings, but overall the immersion was not broken or ruined at all.

If you have watched the first season, this sequal is the best part of it, minus the stuff that made season one feel unwatchable. I hope if this anime gets a third season, the production team follows the examples of this season to deliver another enjoyable anime.

The first part of the second season of Record of Ragnarok definitely has seen an improvement in production values. The use of 3D animation is far more desirable than the previous iteration. Unfortunately, passable animation, while an enhancement, is still not enough to overcome the lack of substance in the narrative. The matchups remain amusing, but more is needed to overcome the void left in storytelling. Like before, too many characters leave not enough room for meaningful exploration. The relevant audience members, valkyries, and remaining combatants simply exist, and basic knowledge dialogue explanations leave some characters feeling incompetent. This can be entertaining, but little else.

So season 2 of Record of Ragnarok, just came out on Netflix. Safe to say, its bad. But not that bad!

To those that don't know the record of Ragnarok, its a series that deals with fighting. The entire show is about fighting. Everything.

Humans vs Gods, the Gods have become dissatisfied with Humanity, so the Gods voted to set the Humans for Extinction. In a last ditch effort, Humanity has set forth a tournament where Gods will be pitted against the Strongest Men from different Eras. An extremely interesting premise.

The manga is one of the most popular ongoing Series right now. A legitimately Top tier Manga, ... that has beautiful art, amazing fights and stories. Every chapter is just HYPE.

Then the first season came out. Boom terrible adaptation. The biggest complaint of the first season was the atrocious Animation, with the Majority of the fights being SLIDE SHOWS.
Second season while improved on its animation, no longer requiring slide shows for the majority of the time, unfortunately, its replaced Slide shows with CGI. There are moments when CGI can be well done, like Dorohedoro or any Studio Orange projects. This time it's not that visible, they ,,blend,, it well with the animation!
It's a small step up from its previous season, but it's still not deserving what a Great Manga series should have.

Now the art is fine, actually very good. But its very obvious that because the art is so well done, the animators are having an extremely difficult time animating it smoothly whilst keeping the Art consistent. I'm sure they could, but because of time constraints, they simply can't. SO they opted out and went the CGI route instead, since im gonna assume that saves up A LOT of time. Or maybe because of pore budget from Netflix!😢

I've never been so disappointed in an Anime Adaptation since Promised Neverland.
But I must admit that the fight between Jack and Herkules was FIRE, the soundtrack, and the voice actors were so GOOD!

,, London bridge is broken down, broken down... my fair lady,, 🔥GOAT fight🔥

Anyways thats my rant, Record of Ragnarok while improved, does not do the Manga justice. READ THE MANGA.

The premise of Shuumatsu no Walküre is to say the least interesting if not an really potential formula of succes ( if its done right) and for die-hard fans of shonen animes this one its gonna caught more than just a couple of eyes, at least was the case for me when i started watching the firt season.

Now this one had an degree of improvement in comparision with his precuel which had few to bassicly nothing of animation and were a bunch of still frames accompained of dialog, this time at least they had the dignity of adding a little of movement to the series ... although not much and luckily the only time that the cgi took appeareance was in the firt fight because was an pretty cheap one.
One of his biggest flaws are the key moments loose all impact and feel really hollow (speaking of fightings) , the studio behind of it (graphinica) it might not have enought resources to pull off this kind of series focused so much on the accion, the backstories of the characters were pretty visible which ones had a little better treatment (though no single one was decent).

Worth to mention that like the previous one the drawings looks really crisp and clean in most of the time and really in that aspect cant complain, also the design of the characters are sick as f@ck and all of them are freaking awesome in that aspect.

This series makes me remember of the lastest two seasons of baki *Hanma Baki: Son of Ogre and Baki: Dai Raitaisai-hen* (with this last one having as only worhty thing the fight of Kaku Kaiou against Hanma Yuujirou) where there is a bunch of building up for the characters and their backgrounds that really ends up in nothing sadly because the fighting itselft is really poor or non-existent and the lack of decent and epic secuences made the experience quite dissapointing and i say this because what makes right inducing all the hype to the viewer with really good presentations of the characters and everything just falls flat in the key moments.

Sound wirse didnt stand out in anything with maybe the exception of the ending and maybe one track but the rest passed unnnoticed.

RESUME

This season was more entertaining than his predecesor but still i feel that didnt made justice to the overall premise and how awesome could have end up if some studio with more milage were behind of it, its not an bad anime but also not even an good one i feel it was mehh with a couple of moments pretty dopes that didnt hold though all the series and it might (like me) make you furious because its almost impossible to screw up if the animation aspect as well as to some working in the backgrounds of most of the characters were better treated. Good drawings and interesting premise but pretty mediocre to say the most average in all the rest.

This writer definitely didn't research even little bit about Hindu text this man just Google it Hindu God name and write it down start making his own story & just when did Shiva and rudra becomes friends it sounds like I'm friend of my self WTF
Same with Parvati,Durga,kaali 3 wifes again WTF she is single person if i start calling you with different names it didn't mean you are going to become 3 different person this show is totaly disrespectful towards indian culture and Hindu beliefs
Also you can easily see racism
i mean Chinese lost also White person lost but Japanese won in second season British ... person is serial killer but geuss what Japanese is respectful SUMO warrior i mean seriously

Similar to season 1, we have a second season of "Record of Ragnarok" which doesn't have Fate or Demon Slayer level animation. In my opinion, the animation is acceptable for a viewing. All of this is made up by the amazingly fun premise, which as you know, pits the "best" humans against Gods in one on one matches that always result in death, to decide the fate of humanity.

For me, the premise/scenario of the manga already sold me the show. It's just exciting by nature. Basically, the Gods are overpowered so humanity's picks are the most outrageous characters, picked to beat the Gods. Jack the ... Ripper, Adam (the first man), Sasaki Kojiro (most famous Japanese swordsman, etc). If you enjoyed the absurdity of drifters, you will love this show. The premise is basically an excuse to create spectacular battles...And it just works and is just EPIC.

A similar anime would be Baki, especially in the tournament arc. But you know what? I find Baki to be less interesting, even though it has better animation, because the scenario/premise is just less interesting that Ragnarok (exception would be the escaped convicts arc of Baki which is hilariously fun).

In season 2, we get Jack vs. Hercules, Shiva vs. Raiden, and Buddha vs. Zero. All of which are fantastic fights.
The character's rendition are very colorful and simply entertaining and hilarious. Special mention for Buddha who is basically a chad who doesn't give a S about any God because "I reached enlightenment all by myself".

Yes we would like Madhouse type million dollar animation. Yes it could be done better.
But it's still an 8/10 for enjoyment's sake alone, if you like "absurd fights between historical celebrities" anime.
Out of drifters and Baki, Ragnarok is my #1 in the genre. I can't wait for season 3.

It doesn't really have a plot, but each fight is like a final boss fight of an anime series. The depiction of the gods are also really creative, and beautifully drawn. I really like how they portrayed Buddah. They go in depth into the background of each fighter, which reminded me of Fate/Zero. I'd recommend this anime to people who like Baki fight scenes, and also people who are into Gods from all sorts of civilizations. There isn't really a good guy/bad guy in this series. The second season is definately better than the first season in my opion. I really enjoyed this anime!

Please note -
At the time of writing this I also completed "Season 2 part 2" which is only 5 episodes and I certainly believe it belongs attached to this for a total of 15 instead of 10. My opinion expressed here also includes those 5 episodes. If that gets me negative points then so be it but I don't want to write a whole separate review for one single fight all while struggling to avoid spoilers.

Record of Ragnarök II is a continuation of the first and overall I'd say they made a few improvements compared to the first season.

Let me start with what continued ... to the strong for the show in my eyes. I did continue to like the pairings chosen for the fights. I felt kinda bad for one of the gods in this season though but Brunhilde does want to win after all to save humanity. The show also continued to do the short back stories well in this season and if I had to say they did a slightly better job with those this time around

Before I get into what they improved in between seasons I will say that the way in which they ended continues to be a little lacking for me. A winner must be chosen, and someone has to lose to have that happen but it's just the way the show goes about it. I truly didn't expect any side to go 7-0 but really... I am also not expecting each fight to have a decisive victor in the end of every fight either...I don't know, its just the way every fight has boiled down in the final moments has just not been my cup of tea for this series so far...

Now to what I think has improved. I touched on that I think they improved telling back stories in this season. Another thing they improved on and I think this one is a massive improvement is the pacing of the fights. I think a lot of this has to do with the lack of frame cycling and such drawn out talking. The fights this season felt faster and even more action packed this time around, especially after the first one of this season.

Record of Ragnarök has a lot of potential in my eyes and the creators have done a good job overall, especially going from season one to season two. I liked the "surprise" turn of events that happened at some point this season too. Much better then season one for me and a solid watch for the action fans who like a little bit of mythology. Looking forward to season 3 whenever that is supposed to be done with development

English.
Wow, what a great continuation this first part is, it shows us everything, a human who doesn't deserve to win even though we are of the same race, a benevolent god who was once human, a treacherous god and a battle between bodies without weapons, it's great As the author can surprise his readers in each of the battles, it may be that in some the filler feels more but seeing the original content that is the manga I think it was necessary to extend it in 15 chapters giving each battle a one more episode to better explain some things, although this sounds like ... a good idea, it also commits the same sin as the previous season, which is having a lot of filler, so much so that they show us some characters that, although relevant in the future, were not really necessary These, if you liked the previous season, you would love it the same, plus they will always leave you wanting to see the next season at that very moment.
That if you notice that the season was done very quickly and does not have much detail in the animation in my opinion, for this very reason there are times that the stages or the people in the audience remain static in one place, if we leave aside that detail the season gives us a great story that will leave us entertained at this, highly recommended second season if you liked the previous one.

Español.
Guau que gran continuación es está primera parte, nos muestra de todo, un humano que no merece ganar aunque seamos de la misma raza, un dios benevolente que fue alguna vez humano, un dios traicionero y una batalla entre cuerpos sin armas, es grandioso el como el autor puede sorprender de sobra manera en cada una de las batallas a sus lectores, puede que en algunas se sienta mas el relleno pero viendo el contenido original que es el manga creo que fue necesario extender este en 15 capítulos dandole a cada batalla un episodio mas para explicar mejor algunas cosas, eso si aunque suene esto una buena idea también comete el mismo pecado que la temporada anterior que es tener mucho relleno, tanto es este que nos muestran unos personajes que aunque relevantes en un futuro la verdad no eran necesarios estos, si les gusto la temporada anterior le encantara está igual ademas de que siempre te dejaran con ganas de ver la siguiente temporada en ese mismo instante.
Eso si se nota que la temporada fue hecha muy de rápido y no tiene mucho detalle en la animación a mi parecer, por eso mismo hay veces que los escenarios o las personas del público se quedan estáticas en un solo lugar, si dejamos de lado ese detalle la temporada nos da una gran historia que nos dejará entretenidos a está, muy recomendable segunda temporada si te gusto la anterior.

Record of Ragnarok S2 - God vs Human

This is one of the shows which deserves more recognition for its unique concept. In terms of animation, it is better than season 1 but it is still average. The facial expressions and humor are also great. The Ost used in the fight is just too awesome. The backstory concept is also great but they showed the wrong info about Lord Shiva they can do some research about the same. The funny thing about the character design of side characters like Lord Indra is that their appearance is even better than the gods who are fighting in the ... battles.

It includes my favorite fight of the series so I'm glad this is way better than S1.But it still lacks in animation sadly.It is very upsetting one of the most unique fights of the manga will be just okay.But spectacular voice acting made me watch this season and I don't regret it.I recommend manga more but if you want to watch it isn't that bad

One of the good points of the anime is they took their time with each fight with giving each of them almost 5 eps and made a very good decision to make a break just before the 6th fight and tease ... it like this.I look forward to 6th round.

If you've already watched season 1 you already know how this goes.

This time there is no "slideshow" moment, and the animation got a bit better.
The fights are just up to par, if not better than season 1, (round 4 being one of my personal favorites).
The "manga is better" statement still remains, but it is a good adaptation.
This time there's also some more fighters interactions outside of fighting, which is appreciated since they don't have much time to shine outside of their round.
For those who enjoyed season 1 will definetly like this sequel, for those who didn't I don't see them watching this one.