Spoilerfree review: To Your Eternity Season 2 https://anilist.co/anime/138565/ToYourEternitySeason2/shifts away from the strong storytelling and character development of the first season focusing instead on politics religion and largescale battles. It is less about personal growth and more about rushed introductions to a bigger cast of characters with minimal development. And the impact the story had in the final arc were minimal when compared to its scale. While this season wasnt bad it falls short to the previous one. 63/100 Spoiler warning: This show made me laugh and cry last season and I was more invested into its story. This is mostly because it was focused on smaller moments and character building. The pacing of each previous arc contributed to the overall impact of the story. While the pacing was not flawless it was certainly more coherent than season 2. My first issue with this season is related to the opening. I like Pink Bloodhttps://www..com/watch?v=HwKsxD1i5JY but after 20 episodes I was hoping for a change. It felt repetitive and it had too many spoilers in my opinion. Also most of the next episode previews contains major spoilers that ruins any mystery. However before addressing other flaws I would first like to write some of the strengths this season had. Our protagonist Fushihttps://anilist.co/character/136548/Fushi improved quite a lot over last season. Although it remained susceptible to external influences it was capable of establishing clear priorities and gave its perspectives multiple times. I also appreciated some of the new characters even if most of them didnt get the time to shine. I did get frustrated over some of their writing but I still think the author did a great job with Ekohttps://anilist.co/character/203214/Eko and Messarhttps://anilist.co/character/203209/MessarRobinBastar. The OST was as strong as last season though opinions may differ. I personally didnt have an issue with the visuals but it is a downgrade over last season. My preferred episodes from the season were Episodes 5 18 and 20. Two of these episodes highlighted significant character development for Bonchienhttps://anilist.co/character/138876/BonchienNicoliLaTastyPeachUralis which I enjoy a lot. Episode 20 was obviously the most emotionally impactful episode of the season and in my opinion can stand its own against several key moments from last season. 800https://i.ur.com/v0oDa9W.jpeg But I did find the conclusion for 2 particular character unsatisfactory this season. Cyrillahttps://anilist.co/character/202866/Cyrilla and Kahakuhttps://anilist.co/character/138875/Kahaku. I think Cyrilla was one of the worst antagonists this show had. In Episode 6 he is introduced as the representative of the Church of Bennett. This character holds significant power and I would expect him to maintain a positive public image as the supreme pontiff. However throughout the episodes Cyrilla frequently laughs loudly or do evil smiles in front of crowds and other upperclass characters. Additionally the decision to dig out the stone where Fushi was sealed and place it in the centre of town wasnt smart. Moving it posed several risks and strategically relocating it to an unsupervised area seemed unwise. And finally it was kinda stupid from Cyrilla to trust Kahaku when it is clear as day that the Guardians are his mortal enemies. I could write more and more about all of those smaller things but Ill leave it at that. Now Kahaku. He appears to be one of the most hated characters this season but personally I like him. Even if his actions are quite weird at times I saw potentiel. But my main critique is his tendency to be passive and compliant rather than assertive or decisive. Given his power and the influence of the guardians who have protected people from the Nokkershttps://anilist.co/character/232832/Nokkers for two centuries by the way he could have taken a more active role against the Bennett Church and maybe even clear their entire religion right at the start. But no he chose to trust people that he didnt know and became the housewife that keep Eko safe. I was just really sad that his character was put to the side for so many episodes until the very end. 800https://i.ur.com/jAhAJE6.jpeg Theres another issue I would like to address. Not related to character development but rather the logic behind how Fushi acquires new forms and how the dream world / wandering ghosts works. As established previously Fushi can assume multiple forms but this ability relies on dead characters choosing to remain in the living world as wandering spirits. From my understanding the Nokkers may also have the ability to prevent a spirit from either departing to the dream world or lingering as a ghost. This could potentially explain why Fushi is unable to transform into certain characters or revive those recently killed by the Nokkers. Though I do have an issue understanding Kahakus ancestors. The Hayasehttps://anilist.co/character/136545/Hayase lineage is presented with the option to reincarnate instead of entering the dream world or persisting as ghosts. My interpretation is that the spirits of these individuals might have been consumed by the Nokker possessing their bodies suggesting that true reincarnation does not occur and that the children are merely influenced by the teachings of the Guardians and the Nokker within them. This would make sense and if Im correct could lead to something interesting in the future since this Nokker died at the end. But the Beholderhttps://anilist.co/character/136553/Kansatsusha clearly state in Ep.1 of season 2 that the spirit can do as it wishes when the host die. 800https://i.ur.com/jsmETHT.jpeg This is implying that the mother would need to die prior to childbirth if reincarnation is the goal which seems problematic when giving birth. Still it raises a point if Hayases spirit wasnt consumed by the Nokker inside her body she theoretically could have continued to follow Fushi as a ghost at any time rather than choosing reincarnation. I doubt next season will clarify her choice or that the author will make sense of this. I did enjoy how the Nokker inside Kahakus arm evolved during this season. It was smart and it knew when and how to capitalize at key moments. But Im unable to understand why it didnt simply kill Kahaku while controlling Eko. Why couldnt it had used Kahakus form just like other Nokkers does when they steal forms from Fushi. It just decided to go back with Kahaku and leave him do as he wished until they both died in the lava. This was in my opinion dumb and out of character. And while on the subject of the Nokkers I was overall disappointed in their total failure at making a real impact in the final battle. Yes many died but this tragedy felt weak when you have a character like Fushi that has the ability to bring people back to life and rebuild a city in days. 800https://i.ur.com/QIItQZm.jpeg On a positive note I really did enjoy episode 20. Aside from Kahakus conclusion the details regarding how each characters spent the remainder of their lives made me happy and I was satisfied with the response Fushi gave to his companions about his dream / goal. Even though this season wasnt as great as the previous I once again felt hooked by the last episode and I am going to be watching season 3https://anilist.co/anime/162669/ToYourEternitySeason3/. Thank you for reaching the end of my review. Please let me know if you enjoyed it or if you have any criticism by clicking the link herehttps://anilist.co/activity/936231664.