Fate/kaleid line Prisma Illya 2wei! is the second season based upon the manga series, which itself is a spin-off from the Fate franchise. It is ten episodes long with an OVA released afterwards. It takes place two weeks after the first season. Illya and Miyu are living happy normal-ish lives. They are enjoying time with their group of friends. However, Rin and Luvia, their mentors, return, having now settled in Japan. They are tasked to help the ley lines recover. The only reason they captured the cards in the first season in the first place was to reduce the damage they were causing to the ley lines, so it can feel like a flimsy excuse just to have the characters stick together.
The majority of the season focuses on the new character Kuro. Her background is mysterious since she basically just appeared in an episode. She seems to have a grudge against Illya and is quite powerful to boot. You have your suspicions on her true nature since it doesn’t feel like it would be anything too mind-blowing. The class cards from the first season are out of focus, and by extension, the heroic spirits are largely out of sight as well. As a result, the anime turns into more of a slice-of-life affair, further carving out its own identity away from the other Fate spin-offs.
Something that was noticeable is that the season increased the amount of fan service. Not only are the camera angles more suggestive, as well as the longer length of time it lingers on certain places, but it constantly teases Illya with Miyu in the beginning, and later on Kuro with basically everyone else. It goes to the point where there are kissing scenes which feels weird considering the ages of these characters and the aesthetics of the anime. There are whole episodes dedicated to what you would expect are purely for fan service, such as a whole episode dedicated to characters going to the bath.
The story keeps swapping between the casual slice-of-life (which is the overwhelming majority of the season to be honest), and the more serious matters involving magic. It does give it variety and keeps it interesting as a result. It takes a very idealistic approach in resolving problems such that it results in the best possible outcome. There are a lot of commentary about friendship and family so it can feel overly positive at times. Midway through the season, it surprisingly throws in several threads which ties it to the Fate universe, with mentions of this universe’s version of the Holy Grail War.
One annoying fact is how Shirou has somehow become a typical harem protagonist. Effectively all the main female characters have fallen for him. Some stereotypical shtick will constantly happen which is extremely cliched. He gets a surprising amount of focus and screentime, especially compared to the first season. Considering how this version of Shirou is pretty much a blank slate, it makes the character even more annoying and shallow than usual. If you were wondering about the person that showed up at the teaser of the first season’s finale and whether they’d show up or not, they do... eventually. Although whether they form an important part of the story is another matter.
As if to make up for the rest of the season, the finale ramps up the magical aspect, including plenty of action, which was already pretty decent and fun to watch. There are a couple of times where there is a rare good usage of 3D with the camera revolving around the participants of a fight. It added a highly fluid and dynamic feel to the scene. Illya and Miyu shows off the potential of the cards and brings to the forefront their excellent teamwork with Kuro. Having the cards be the focus again feels novel after being neglected for most of the season. It leaves a cliffhanger that is the perfect setup for the next season.
The OVA is a hot spring episode and is pretty much there purely for the additional fan service if you hadn’t gotten enough over the course of the season. It’s an excuse plot and nothing significant happens, although it can be funny at times. That being said, it went too far considering that the main characters are around ten years old.
Overall, while Fate/kaleid Prisma Illya 2wei! still needs to tweak the balance between the slice-of-life aspect and the magical girl aspect, this is an improvement to the first season. It’s fun to watch and the character interactions gives it a lot of energy. The introduction of Kuro was a bit cliched at times, not to mention it’s quite annoying to see everyone fighting for Shirou’s affections, but otherwise, this is an enjoyable season.
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