THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
I recently watched the first season of 2011´s premier mecha anime “Infinite Stratos” a few months ago, and I got exactly what I wanted out of the show. Sure, the plot is non-existent, the characters are super one-dimensional and the whole setting is just a type of teenage-boy fantasy but sometimes, after watching a lot of heavy action or drama, i need something like this, and i was super excited to dive back into this light-hearted world.
Story – 6/10
My god, going back to this story after watching heavy-hitters like “The Tatami Galaxy” and “Macross” really gives your brain whiplash. Everything that i wrote about the first season also applies to the second one. But the one big difference is that this time, the show actually sets up some storylines. Yes, you heard it right, there is actually a story this time around, and it mostly thematizes the Orimura family. We finally have villains in this show, instead of random encounters with remote controlled mechs that merely serve as little disruptions from the rom-com sections of the story. And although they didn´t show any type of motivation (at least so far, but we are already two seasons into the story!) it gave the show at least a tiny bit of a direction. Other than that, this is just your typical ecchi, rom-com. The show definitely shows it´s age here a little bit, but the sections are still a ton of fun if you are able to ignore your suspension of disbelief. Even though there is some action here, this is mostly a fun, light-hearted, highschool show with a little sci-fi twist.
Art – 8/10
This season follows up the already fantastic looking first one and continues to surprise me with it´s technical quality. Like i said, this show came out in 2011, a time where these kinds of shows definitely not receive the same amount of budget as today. Infinite Stratos does still look good. Great characters models, super expressive and fluidly animated. The fights in this season are also a joy to look at. Although the final fight did not have the same amount of emotional weight as the one in season one, it looked great from a technical standpoint. Super solid stuff overall.
Sound – 6/10
The first season has one of the coolest OP/ED combos I have heard in a long time, so the second season had some big shoes to fill in. The new combo is still pretty good, but not outstanding. The sound design is pretty crisps. The variety in weapons of our characters mechs in combination with the sound design makes it so that you can tell apart the different machines just from their sound, which i thought was pretty damn cool. But overall, the BGM is nothing special.
Characters – 6/10
Man, they really went a bit overboard this time around. The show just keeps introducing new characters all the time. We have 5 new characters that play an important part in the storyline who get introduced very fast. The villains are mostly comical. I could not really take them seriously (Like, where do they even have the resources for their insane technical equipment?). The only one that has at least a little bit of mystique around her persona is the third member of the Orimura family. But even that storyline, which should have been the main focus of this season, if you ask me, is severely underdeveloped. Ichika gets a little bit better this time around, but he still makes stupid decisions left and right.
The only character who I thought was done really well this season was Sarashiki Tatenashi, who actually gets a little mini-arc all to herself. She has quickly become my favourite female character in the show (Which is hard, cause there is just one male character in the whole story).
Enjoyment – 7/10
This is the last anime season of Infinite Stratos. We will probably never get a season three after this many years. I am glad i watched this show, because i just love these kinds of stories where you just 100% know what you are getting, and Infinite Stratos has delivered exactly what i wanted. Every ecchi or rom-com fan should check this one out, even if you don´t like mecha as a genre. Everyone else...you know what you are getting into.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 6/10
