Record of Ragnarok (Season Two)
The battle for humanity’s fate continues. The Gods are in the lead, but no one ever expected any of them to lose. If couldn’t happen again could it? Brunhilde is ready to do whatever it takes to ensure humanity survives!
Record of Ragnarok (Season Two)
What did you watch?
I watched the first season of Record of Ragnarok on a whim and while it didn’t completely blow me away, the final fight did and that was enough to ensure that I would watch every episode after that in the hopes that it would do it again. The first season was twelve episodes long and covered three fights between the gods and humans. The second season was listed as being fifteen episodes long so could there be more fights? But then Netflix did something odd. They released the first ten episodes and then sat on the remaining five for several months. Well, I’ve seen them all now so it’s time to review the series. There will be spoilers beyond this point.
What happened?
Brunhilde continued to orchestrate humanity’s attempts to defeat the gods. After three fights, the gods had won two and the humans one. That alone was quite an upset as it meant the death of Poseidon. Could they repeat the impossible? Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long to find out. The next match was between Hercules and Jack the Ripper. Hercules loved humanity and was ready to petition the gods to change their minds after the fight, however, Jack the Ripper had other ideas, ultimately winning the fight and evening the scores.
The next fight was between Shiva and Raiden Tameemon, the greatest-ever sumo wrestler. Their fight was just as thrilling as the others although it ended with Shiva victorious. It was close and made a lasting impact on Shiva. Even Zeus was impressed, but he still didn’t want to lose. For the next fight, he selected Buddha to represent the gods. However, upon entering the arena, Buddha walked to the opposite side of the arena and declared that he would represent humanity. Zeus allowed it and then revealed who he would face – Zerofuku, a god of fortune that had been corrupted by absorbing humanity’s misfortune.
Buddha managed to turn Zerofuku’s perspective around having survived his insane attacks, however, there was more at play here as Zerofuku’s body was taken over by Hajun, the legendary berserker of the underworld. It took everything Buddha had to push Hagun back and create an opening thanks to Zerofuku’s help. Buddha won the battle and then walked out of the arena, but collapsed in front of Brunhilde and Goll.
What did you think?
So instead of each fight taking four episodes as it did in season one, season two decided to give us five episodes per fight. Was this a little much? Possibly, but then it depends on the fight. And, in all honesty, all three fights in this season were excellent. I think the fight between Shiva and Raiden was my favourite of the three, although none of them compared to Poseidon versus Kojiro Sasaki. That is still the highlight of the series so far. Anyhow, this was a fun season with some great fights. The action is still a little too fragmented thanks to the flashbacks, but I’m enjoying the wider cast of gods a lot more as they spectate and attempt to predict the outcomes. I would definitely watch more.
What was your favourite moment?
Obviously, it’s going to be the fight between Shiva and Raiden. The flashbacks for both were fun, but the action was, without a doubt, the best part. Both pounded each other and there were several moments when it could have gone either way. Shiva is lucky he has four arms! I loved the idea that Raiden’s muscles were so developed that they hurt him and it was only with Thrud’s help that he was able to use his full power. I loved the way they developed this close connection so quickly because of Raiden’s sincere delight at meeting such a large and powerful woman. There was a lot of love. Even Shiva revealed to Zeus that he had a newfound love for humanity after the fight.
What was your least favourite moment?
I’m kind of torn here because I hate when anime glorifies characters like Jack the Ripper. He was a real-life serial killer who doesn’t deserve the attention. That said, I thought the fight with Hercules was excellent and it felt like Brunhilde put him in because she knew the gods would be out for revenge after the death of Poseidon. So, it was probably a shock to her when he won, and the victory felt incredibly hollow as Brunhilde had been fond of Hercules. It all backfired, but humanity won another fight so she couldn’t be visibly upset. Seeing her breakdown as she put up a memorial to Hercules next to Lu Bu and Adam was heartbreaking.
Who was your favourite character?
It’s hard to pick between Raiden and Buddha, to be honest, and they are only getting the top nods because Brunhilde was not nearly as expressive as in the first season, which was a shame. I think I have to go with Raiden because of his reaction to Thrud and my hidden love of sumo wrestling since I discovered Hinomaru Sumo. He also had the most interesting backstory of the six fighters in this season. I would have loved to see more of Brunhilde and Goll, but we spent more time seeing what Loki and Ares thought this season, which wasn’t a bad thing.
Who was your least favourite character?
This one’s a little easier. I really didn’t care for Zerofuku in any of his forms. As the seven gods of fortune, they were annoying and came off as cartoonish villains. When he was in the god of misfortune form, he felt more like a demon and even more so when he became Hajun it felt like a fairly natural progression. In fact, I didn’t like him when he was on Earth running around taking everyone’s misfortune away. His design was odd and he just came across as naive and annoying. I think that was probably the point because he’s supposed to contrast Buddha who was more relaxed and sure of himself.
Would you like some more?
Overall, I felt like this was better than the first season with the exception of Kojiro Sasuke’s fight which is still the best one. So, I would definitely watch another season. For one, I want to find out if they stop Ragnarok or not and no doubt the fights are going to get better and better. Maybe, there’s even the chance that there could be a better one than Kojiro’s fight. That chance is more than enough to ensure that I will keep watching. If they’ve done it once, they can do it again. On top of that, it’s a fun series that is easy to sit back and enjoy.
What have you learnt?
I talked about the pacing in the first season and how I felt like it was too slow. Ironically, this season was even slower, but I learnt that the pacing can be slower if you change the way you watch it. When I reviewed the first season, I was watching one episode at a time and then reviewed them. I continued that process with the second season. Then, there was the infamous break at episode ten. By the time Netflix released the last five episodes, I had changed the way I review shows. So, this time, I watched five episodes in a row as if it were a movie.
That changed everything. The pacing issues didn’t seem as noticeable even with the fight lasting five episodes. It felt like the story flowed better and that made the fight more enjoyable. That doesn’t fix the issues with the first season or even this season other than I would advise that you watch each fight in one go. Think of them as extended OVAs or movies. So, much like Kojiro’s fight changed my thoughts on season one, watching Buddha’s fight in one go made the second season that much more exciting. It just goes to show you can change the audience’s experience by adjusting the length and format of the story.
Other Posts in the Series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Ragnarok
- Episode 2 – Worthy Opponent
- Episode 3 – Killer Move
- Episode 4 – Joy
- Episode 5 – FILE No. 00000000001
- Episode 6 – Great Emulation
- Episode 7 – Expelled from Paradise
- Episode 8 – Grace Abounding
- Episode 9 – Tyrant of the Ocean
- Episode 10 – Greatest Loser
- Episode 11 – The Swallow Gazes into the Abyss
- Episode 12 – And Ragnarok Goes On
- Season Two
- Episode 13 – Good vs. Evil
- Episode 14 – The Indomitable War God
- Episode 15 – Birth of a Monster
- Episode 16 – The Final Labor
- Episode 17 – Requiem
- Episode 18 – Conflicting Motives
- Episode 19 – Hundred Seals
- Episode 20 – The Pinnacle of 1116
- Episode 21 – Resonance
- Episode 22 – The Brink
- Episodes 23-27 – Buddha versus Zerofuku
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- Season One
- Episode 1 – Ragnarok
- Episode 2 – Worthy Opponent
- Episode 3 – Killer Move
- Episode 4 – Joy
- Episode 5 – FILE No. 00000000001
- Episode 6 – Great Emulation
- Episode 7 – Expelled from Paradise
- Episode 8 – Grace Abounding
- Episode 9 – Tyrant of the Ocean
- Episode 10 – Greatest Loser
- Episode 11 – The Swallow Gazes into the Abyss
- Episode 12 – And Ragnarok Goes On
- Season Two
- Episode 13 – Good vs. Evil
- Episode 14 – The Indomitable War God
- Episode 15 – Birth of a Monster
- Episode 16 – The Final Labor
- Episode 17 – Requiem
- Episode 18 – Conflicting Motives
- Episode 19 – Hundred Seals
- Episode 20 – The Pinnacle of 1116
- Episode 21 – Resonance
- Episode 22 – The Brink
- Episodes 23-27 – Buddha versus Zerofuku
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