Eminence in Shadow, Second Season Review

Overall Rating 6.5 out of 10 - Few improvements over the original, but mostly the same issues as before.

I can still recommend watching.

I wrote a section about Eminence in Shadow in separate article about Fixing Things Without Fixing Them. That conveys most of my ideas about the second season. However, I will write a little more here now that I have completed the whole second season.

Overall, second season is an improvement over the first. However, that is mostly because of greatly reduced role of Alexia in second season. Without first ark, I can give first season the same 6.8 and without Alexia at all even 7. I would have raised the score even higher, but couple of other issues, do drag it down. Namely Gamma was ruined, Diabolos-chan was somewhat worse than in the original. Delta was developed in an unlikable way.

Show still mixes things I like with things I hate. There were slightly less things I hate in this season.

Another good thing about the second season is rather climatic ending. Original ended rather anticlimactic. Shadow, fought with Iris and legendary swordswoman at the same time, but that was hardly relevant to the plot. 

In contrast here the finale was a true feast, especially last two episodes. Cunning conspiracy plot, bad guys almost doom the world to extermination. Shadows defeats them all and saves everyone.

Second ark and beginning of third ark had hard to explain moves, that were probably added to spice up the plot, but author clearly overplayed their hand. All the drama about Shadow abandoning Shadow Garden was painful to watch and there was no particular reason to keep it secret from the rest.

First ark was not so aesthetically pleasing either, but it had Mary in it.

Overall, it is still mostly good, if flawed, experience.