Aldnoah.Zero Season 2 at a Glance

Did you really think that they were going to stay dead?

Well, apparently some folks did, and if you are one of them, I am pointing at you and laughing. What a mean way to start off a blog post! But, really now, how could a person claim to have watched the first season and then express shock when the show didn’t have the guts to commit to having killed off two of its protagonists? The princess might as well be Jack Harkness at this point if she weren’t such a dullard and her pristine qualities so highly valued by the show.

In case it isn’t obvious about where my sentiments lie in regards to this show, I’ll note that I spent the first episode guffawing so hard that I cried as my watching partner stared stonily at the events unfolding. Truthfully, though, I was highly satisfied with these things! Sure, there was a tiny slice of me that hoped against experience that Aldnoah.Zero would surprise us all and keep the worst characters of the show deceased, because doing so would necessarily signal a change in direction and the potential for a much, much more intriguing show, but the rest of me was excited for more material for me to sneer at, and they really outdid themselves this time. Nay, not only are Inaho and Asseylum still alive, but so is Saazbaum! And, hey, that OP that surfaces in the second episode sure seems to suggest that so is Cruteoh, everyone’s favorite tormentor of underage Terrans! Oh, and it isn’t enough for Inaho to be alive, but he now has a bionic eye that is apparently psychic! Add in a resentful, wheelchair-bound-when-convenient plot device princess with a good chance of going fully psychotic, and, lordy, A.Z, you’ve outdone yourself beautifully.

On the downside, Captain Margbaredge isn’t dead yet, so we’re stuck watching her sexually harass her second-in-command since, el oh el, teehee, so funny to watch a capable military officer get put down constantly because she can’t get a date on an apocalyptic Earth. Damn, girl, 80% of the population of the planet is dead and you’ve been on wartime military duty for at least the last twenty-one months on a ship full of children but you can’t get a date? Loooo-ser!

TL;DR, if you loved A.Z before, you’ll love it still, since it is simply Aldoah.Zero’ing even harder in these opening episodes of part two. If you were hoping that it’d become less A.Z-y and more Serious Mecha Show, watch some other damn show instead.