The second season of D.Gray-Man, also known as the 2nd stage, is based on the manga series. It continues directly after the first season and is comprised of 52 episodes. It takes place in an alternate 19th century, where an organization known as the Black Order employs Exorcists. These Exorcists wield weapons imbued with Innocence to battle against the Millennium Earl. The Millennium Earl takes advantage of the despair and loss felt by others by tempting them to call their lost loved ones back. As a result, this creates akuma, whose sole aim is to kill as many humans as possible. Over the course of the first season, a new group known as the Noah has appeared and aids the Millennium Earl.
The time for filler is finally over and the plot actually starts moving in a good direction with improved pacing. That isn’t to say that the pacing isn’t slow, but it’s not at a standstill like the first season was. The anime finally breaks the repetitive cycle of weird happenings being caused by Innocence which attracts akuma, ad infinitum. As Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, Krory and Bookman prepares to set sail, they are delayed by a huge swarm of akuma sent by the Millennium Earl. This leads to a pretty significant arc in which Allen is facing off against not only the Noah, but despair itself.
We can see the heavy toll that all this constant fighting takes on the characters. While not to the point of actually killing off those characters, we can see what drives them and what matters most to them. For example, Lenalee’s focus on friendships defines her as a character and it heavily shows throughout the season. It gives several characters a one on one focus. There are some great ones like Krory but not so much with the ones like Lenalee, since she loses her strong persona and becomes helpless for the bulk of the season.
This was already the case in the first season but it is even worse here. Characters will be swarmed with Level 2 akuma who cannot aim for their lives and are defeated in one hit. The power degradation of these enemies is disappointing and happens way too quickly. This only gets worse as the season progresses. Although when the story finally introduces more formidable enemies, the fight sequences are better. The hits (when they occur) feel like they have impact. The inconsistency in power levels continues through the arcs as the next one may have characters struggle a lot against only two or three akuma, it’s frustrating and annoying.
The Noahs are shown to be on a completely different power level. They are much more above and beyond even the most powerful akuma. While the Noah are evil, they are charming as villains in their own way. Each of them have a quirky personality that allows them to steal the spotlight in the scenes that they are in. There is plenty of crazy stuff that happens. Whether these are easier ways for a character to get out of a pinch or foreshadowing of something greater, only time to will. The anime thrives on foreshadowing and teasing though. The tone also shifts to become darker and more serious compared to the first season’s lighthearted nature.
The show also goes to lengths to avoid characters or akuma actually hitting each other. Scenes are strategically angled and transitioned so that it heavily implies the hit. It is more apparent now because this season has a lot more interesting fight scenes that you want to watch but cannot. The pacing yoyos and can be painfully slow at times. Allen is put onto the sidelines but you know that he is going to gain a new power. Yet a lot of episodes are spent waiting and waiting, as he struggles to attain that power. You’re left wanting for something to actually happen but when the comeback actually occurs, it is quite epic and appropriate. This part takes place around halfway into the season and from then on, it feels the amount of epic moments happen more frequently.
Nearly all episodes have a sort of recap at the beginning, which is ridiculous. These recaps (and some during the middle of an episode) take up several minutes each time. The worse ones are where it mixes repeats of previous episodes with new scenes. There are still the same issues here and there with deliberate slowed scenes to drag out the episodes but on the whole, it is much better than the first season.
The voice acting is great. The standouts include Allen, whose voice gets deeper as the anime progresses, and the Millennium Earl, who in one scene is positively dripping with emotion. Towards the end of the season, there if a bit of arc fatigue. Most of the season has the characters fighting against the Noah, in a never ending battle where more things just keep on coming. Once that arc finally finishes, it lulls you into a false sense of security where you are expecting a slow unwinding into the finale. However, several substantial events happen, throwing in a low of new concepts in the process to give us a hefty season finale.
Overall, the second season of D.Gray-Man improves a lot compared to the first season but it still leaves plenty to be desired. At its core, it has an interesting concept and the world itself is fascinating. It’s too bad that it is hampered with its fixation on dragging out scenes and episodes, and avoid direct hits during combat as much as possible.
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