Jormungand Season 2: Perfect Order

TL;DR - Jormungand: PO is a good anime The crazy hijinks and bold plans with Koko and company continue in the sequel to Jormungand. How does the second coming of Jormungand fare? I’m here to tell you that it’s better this time around. How do you improve Jormungand’s formula, you ask? You make it more focused. Spoilers for the first season finale below. So, Koko and her friends are still roaming the world and everything is swell. Oh wait, no it’s not. The story takes place right after the end of the previous one. R is a double agent who is spying on Koko for the CIA;Hex, a woman from Kokos past, is here for blood; All this while Operation Undershaft is trying to figure out what the hell Koko is trying to do. So let’s look at the formula set for the previous season and see it it still is in place here. 1. The crew arrives. 2. Stuff goes awry and they need a way out / need to out-think their opponents / straight up kill dudes. 3. Mission completed and on to next arc. Yep. Although this time around the arcs are longer and more focused on storytelling rather than outmanoeuvring and killing enemies. Here’s a run-down on the cast if you need to freshen your memory. Koko Hekmatyar: Arms dealer, handling business mainly in Europe and Africa. Very charismatic and beautiful. Usually very energetic and behaving sometimes like a child, she has a ruthless interior and on multiple occasions called a monster. Although usually cool with a smile on her lips, Koko has one of the most intimidating glares in anime. Jonah: Child soldier. His parents were killed in an air-strike and he became a child soldier shortly after. Has a strong hate for weapons, but still works for Koko, often serving as her bodyguard. He shows more understanding than expected from a child. Lehm: Ex-Delta Force operator. Used to be active in Somalia. Second in command of Koko’s crew. Veteran mercenary who takes charge when armed conflict arises. Used to work for Koko’s father. Very versatile in weapon use, ranging from long-distance sniping to close quarters combat. Valmet: Ex-Major serving for UN forces in Africa. Her unit got slaughtered by Chen Guoming and she lost an eye in the attack. Since then, she suffers from anxiety whenever she sets foot in Africa. Very proficient with knives and pistols. She is also in love with Koko, something which often is used as comedic relief. Then there are the rest of the cast, that aren’t given much other than support roles most of the time. Technically only Koko and Jonah are the only real main characters, but Valmet and Lehm are given much more time on screen than the other side characters, so they sort of sneak into main roles. Mao: One of the regular grunts of the group. Was discharged after a training exercise went awry. Picked up by shortly after. The only one of the group to have a family (as in wife + kids). He lied to them in order to leave. Teaches science to Jonah between missions. R: Former Italian intelligence officer. Revealed in the last episode of the former season to be a mole for the CIA. Ugo: Former Mafia driver and enforcer. Spared by Koko when his family was destroyed. A behemoth of a man, he possesses immense strength. The crew’s driver when needing a getaway. Lutz: Former police sniper, part of a counter-terrorist unit. Very hesitant to kill young targets. Tojo: Previous Japanese black-ops operative, working in places like Cuba. In charge of teaching Jonah maths between missions. Wilee: Former explosives expert and ex-lieutenant of the 20th Engineer Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps of the US Army. Assigned to give Jonah English lessons between missions. Is the only member aside Koko to be black-listed by the FBI. The perils of having a huge cast like this is just as apparent in the second season as it was in the first one, but the show does a better job at dealing out screen-time this time around and you quickly get a good vibe where everyone’s at. It’s still the same colourful cast with no subs, so if you liked them in the first season, there’s more goodness here. The opening arc, dealing with R being a double agent and Hex coming after Koko is without a doubt the series’ strongest, with some strong, emotional moments. It sets up a season that is in its entirety better than its predecessor. The stakes are raised for Koko and her compatriots. Nobody’s safe in this crazy world. The second season takes a step back from the group dynamic at times and focuses solely on Jonah and Koko. They’re interesting contrasts. Koko is the daughter of a shipping magnate and presumably had a very peaceful, or at least pampered life as she grew up. Jonah meanwhile, grew up in a war-zone and had his parents blown up by a bomber, coincidentally sold by Koko’s brother, Kasper. Jonah hates weapons with all his being, and Koko sells them for a living. The two make a fantastic leading duo and represent the tension and morals towards the end of a magnificent series. The morality of the characters are brought froward into the centre this time around, and when Koko reveals her master plan that she’s been working on for a long time, it’s surprising it wasn’t brought up earlier. I can understand the reason why it’s hidden for so long, but I don’t agree with the choice. It would have been interesting to have it in the open for longer and see how it affected the supporting characters. So, the story. It’s better, considering there’s actually a story this time. From the first episode to the last, every episode is connected to Koko’s goal, which is revealed a bit into the season. The series sheds its episodic skin, and so the arcs are more focused and character-driven, much to my joy. The art is just as clean and well-done as it was in the first series. Maybe even better. Some backdrops are absolutely stunning. The character design is much like the first series, although a bit more realistic in general this time around, when it comes to the supporting cast of revolving antagonists/partners. The voice acting and soundtrack of the series is way better than the first season. Actors have more opportunities to get heated here and some excellent dramatic episodes bring out the best of all. The music is still top-notch, and the opening song especially is fantastic. The theme and pacing are still the same in this second serving of Koko’s adventures. The more story-focused approach leads to a better balanced product, with the episodes being better structured and the tone being a bit darker. With it, my pleas for the show to have less comedy are answered, as the show did turn towards the more serious in this venture, and the show is better off without the forced comedic elements. The antagonists and threatening forces this time around are more realistic and grim. There’s not a crazy villain with ridiculous fighting techniques. It’s guns vs guns and tactics + strategy in a wild dance of death. Enjoyment-wise, Jormungand: PO lands a step above its former series with more thrilling planning; cooler action; better humour; and tear-inducing, heart-wrenching drama. Once again with a Jormungand series, the variance is its strength, balancing several genres and giving them good time. It’s one of those series’ where you finish one episode and keep watching. Not because there’s a crazy cliffhanger, but because the atmosphere, characterisation and execution of the series is so fantastic that you can help wanting to spend more time in Koko’s mad world. Jormungand: Perfect Order is a rare gem to find in today’s anime world, a show with an identity so unique and fresh you can’t help but be swept away by its charm.

I'm going to make this short and simple. The character development was prize the for the show. It's not easy selling weapons, knowing that your life is actually on the line and that you are considered a merchant of death.Some arms dealers do for the money, some do it for the fame, but Koko does it for World Peace. Arms dealing might not be the greatest idea for world peace, and can be considered downright hypocrisy, but Koko's work is based on necessary evil, where evil deeds must be done into order for good to arise. As for other protagonist, Jonah, he travels and protectsKoko with his life, even though his parents were killed by the very weapons sold by arms dealers. It might be ironic, but he does it as a sacrifice so others can live a better life, even though he hates wars, weapons, and arm dealers. Jonah and Koko might have contradicting beliefs, but they work together for the betterment of others. I also enjoyed the other characters. It's nice to know a girl who can kick your ass like Valmet, who's probably the scariest and most physical imposing member of the group, but she does show some softness towards Koko, but no mercy against men. The other characters like Lehm, Willie, Tojo, Lutz, and others all might come from tough backgrounds like special forces and secret organizations, but they tend to grow on you as human beings. As for the story plot, the first series (Jormungand) is like a scattershot of action and of the group's adventure through the arms market. However, it's this series that connects the dots and shows what Koko was plotting all along. I admit that I was confused what Jormungand had to do with the anime because it took all the way to the last couple episodes to know what Jormungand was all about. Anyways, I must say the show is enjoyable due to the innovation and cooperation of the group to achieve their goal. Also, the combination of the undercover arms dealers and intelligence organizations teaches a lot about the underworld of arms trading and intelligence gathering, which some might be considered fictional. Conclusion wise, I actually want the series to continue due to the underwhelming ending, but the manga is complete as well as the anime.

Worst ending I've ever seen in a show. Right before this I finished Beyond the Boundary and that had a crap ending, but it was just saccharine sweet bullshit that ruined the last minute or so of the show, but this goes above and beyond that. Jormungand is a show about an arms dealer planning and maneuvering to execute her master plan to save the world from war. The problem? Her plan is fucking assinine. The entire show hints at this super complex incredibly important end game that's the reason we've been sneaking around and orchestrating all these different conflicts, and thenthe plan makes no fucking sense whatsoever. I don't know what to say other than that. The entire story leads up to the reveal, but even the slightest amount of critical thinking will tell you that the plan will never work, has too many drawbacks, and the main drawback mentioned (not to spoil, but its a fucking humdinger) could be mitigated with a little extra effort. The entire show this wonder squad of badasses has been nigh untouchable and 50 moves ahead of the opposition. No one ever pulls a fast one over on the main characters, and they just mow through any and all opposition without a thought. There are no stakes, and it throws all logic and character development under the bus at the last minute. As soon as the reveal happened this went from an 8/10 to a 3/10.

+ + + SPOILERS + + + You see that note above? That's a spoiler warning. For over a year I've been mulling about Jormungand, and whenever it came up in discussions with my friends, we all had one agreement: Holy shit, the ending was atrocious. Don't worry, we'll get to this part. But first, I need to build up to the point I'm trying to get across here. Jormungand is not a thinking man's anime. While the attention to detail for the guns is spectacular, their usage is ... not so much. In season 1 there's a shoot out with hundreds of rounds exchanged near point blank - andnobody gets hit. Valmet, who primarily wields a KNIFE in an anime where about everyone is armed with GUNS is able to cut down foes left and right. "Alright, we get it," you say, "just don't think about it." You're right, Jormungand is an anime where you shut your brain off, and you just follow along for the ride. That changes in this season. In the final arc, what the series has been building to the entire time, Koko is successful and launches Jormungand. A super-satellite that uses quantum computation to hack into any piece of technology with a connection and get it to behave how she wants it to. Koko spews out a line about how "nobody will fly or sail again." Apparently, Jormungand will be able to hack the planet into peace. Allow me to finally break the ice. + + + RANT + + + ... DOES THE WRITER REALIZE AIRPLANES FLEW AND SHIPS SAILED BEFORE THE INTERNET EXISTED?! ... DOES THE WRITER KNOW THAT TWO WORLD WARS WERE FOUGHT BEFORE THE INTERNET EXISTED?! ... DOES THE WRITER KNOW THAT NEWS & INTELLIGENCE REPORTS WERE ABLE TO CIRCULATE WITHOUT THE INTERNET?! This concept that Jormungand can just hack the planet to peace is the BIGGEST plothole I have ever seen in an anime. Sure, you can disable critical military infrastructure. Internet. GPS. Datalink. Even radio communication. But at the end of the day, that only hinders war. It does NOT stop it. The notion that Jormungand can just "disable" humanity's ability to wage war by hacking it is ABSURD. A faction could, without internet connectivity, program an anti-satellite missile to target the Jormungand satellite and launch it at said Jormungand satellite. If that ASAT missile can not receive data, Jormungand CAN NOT hack into it. This technology has been around since 1950. The simple fact of life is that MOST military technology is NOT connected or hackable ... you can't hack a gun anymore than you can hack a nuclear missile. Do you know why? Because militaries around the world realize that having their weapons be vulnerable to getting hacked & disabled is a really, REALLY bad idea! Jormungand is insanely stupid. It's a series where you can shut your brain off and follow along for almost the entire show, but then the show makes the critical error of asking the audience to think about the ramifications of the Jormungand satellite and what it means for warfare, and the future of humanity. And it doesn't take a second of fully fledged thought to start poking massive holes into the idea that a quantum-computer-powered satellite COULD NOT stop war, hell, they can't even turn off the nukes! The entire series was ruined by the embarrassingly bad and poorly thought out conclusion. It's just so nonsensical, so obtuse, and so poorly thought out. It's like skateboarding down a street just to hit a rock at the end and become a meat crayon on the asphalt. That's what this ending felt like to my friends and I.