A quick summary of the plot.

Okay, so IS: Infinite Stratos 2 is the sequel to IS: Infinite Stratos, right? So, we knew roughly what we were getting into when we began watching, right? And we knew from the start that it was going to be bad, right? Right? Right.

This post is going to be short and to the point because hey, if you’ve seen the first season then you know exactly what to expect from the second season.

There’s really no point in delving deep into the pros and cons of Infinite Stratos 2 because it’s not a great show, and we all know that it isn’t a great show. I’m not sure it even ever tried to be a good show. So, the criticisms:

• the protagonist is bland, self-insert and utterly useless (and asexual)
• the female characters are all classic archetypes, and only a few are portrayed in a somewhat decent manner
• fanservice first, cool mecha fights second
• the art and sound are on the same page as those from season one
• 15% action, 35% fanservice and 50% yawn-inducing snore fest
• absolutely no re-watch potential
• it’s not funny, not particularly well-written and not really all that appealing
• cliffhanger ending
• new girls because the first five were too few and not good enough

There are more, but that’s about the gist of it. Overall, I did not enjoy season two as much as I did season one, but that’s probably largely due to the difference in age, maturity and anime viewing experience between the old me and the current me.

That being said, Infinite Stratos 2 was kinda fun to watch. The primary reason was probably nostalgia; I remember liking the first season, and so the second was sort of a way to relive some portion of that enjoyment. And the fights, short as they were, were pretty fun to watch. The girls are all insufferable, but some of them are worth watching anyway (*cough* Laura).

Normally I would critique the plot, but I don’t think Infinite Stratos 2 needs it. Tabane stirs up trouble for the fun of it, Chifuyu is the best character and Orimura Madoka is an angst-ridden antagonist. Ichika sucks at piloting his IS and needs to rely on his seven potential love interests to take care of him. Intersperse scenes of said girls attempting to grab Ichika’s attention and ultimately failing miserably.

There is one thing that I will take out of this that is worth commenting on and pondering: when a group of people collectively idolize and desire an individual, why is actually obtaining said individual taboo? It’s a fairly common element in harem shows, and it finds its way into real life in individuals such as Japanese pop idols and the culture surrounding them. Basically, the fans of an idol-type individual all commiserate with one another about how they can never earn his/her affection, yet simultaneously compete with one another in an attempt to do so anyway. But then if there is even a slight sign of one of their number succeeding, the rest all band together to destroy the chances that one individual has of actually achieving his/her goal. In Infinite Stratos, both seasons, each of the girls tries her best to have Ichika select her as his love interest, even to the point of cooperating with one another in their endeavors. However, the moment one of them actually gains an edge over the others, the rest of the girls have to intercede and impede the progress of the girl that actually stood a chance. Each of them is so selfishly intent on scoring with Ichika that they inadvertently maintain the status quo. It’s the prisoner’s dilemma, but with greedy and selfish anime girls instead. But yeah, rant over.

Interestingly enough, I am pretty sympathetic to both of the new girls simply because they don’t follow that pattern I described above, Though of the two, Kanzashi will probably fall into line with the rest as soon as the ‘plot’ resumes, so she can probably be dismissed. The one outlier is Tatenashi, who gets exactly what she wants through cheery manipulation, determination and abuse of authority rather than through the nonsensical rival game that the other girls keep up. Plus Tatenashi actually has the IS piloting skill to back up her authority, so yeah. Laura is my personal favorite, but Tatenashi is hands-down the best. Houki sucks, I don’t care if she’s the canon pairing.

But I’m thinking too much. Thinking is one thing you don’t want to do while watching Infinite Stratos 2, because if you do then you’ll realize how bad it is. Still, it was a decently enjoyable use of time, and since it’s only a one cour anime I figured eh, might as well.

My final score is a 4/10.

Rick out.