GATE Part 2

Every so and often, we come across a series where there’s some controversy. Anime isn’t shy to take risks and so we have stories that involves the military, politics, prostitution, and slavery. Putting that aside, a show is also capable of capitalizing on these risks and turn it into something of a blessing in disguise. Gate Jieitai Kanochi nite Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season is one of these shows. Returning for a second season, GATE focuses on two major arcs. A few things first though. The series has already build a lot with the first season as we were introduced to Itami Youji, a lieutenant from theGround Self-Defense Force. Also known for his otaku characteristics, Itami’s encounter on the other side of the world (beyond the GATE as I’d like to call it) leads to extraordinary discoveries. Elves, mages, dragons, and even demi-gods. These are just a few of the otherworldly that Itami encounters. Of course, between the two worlds, there’s also a lot of conflict. The conflict continues into GATE Season 2. The first few episodes also sets up for quite a bit of events for the reminder course of the story. Characters such as Zorzal El Caesar (first prince of the Empire) and Tyuule (ruler of the warrior bunnies) are just a few that causes controversy. The emperor of the Empire also seems to be planning for big things while Pina still tries to maintain a state of peace between the two worlds. Then, there’s also characters like Sherry Tyueli, a young girl who has a surprisingly crafty mind. GATE Season 2 introduces a variety of characters to instill the purpose of role diversity. It also goes to show that characters of any age, gender, or race can potentially influence a great deal in the story. Of course, Itami is still the main guy along with the three girls that we fondly adores from the first season. Furthermore, Itami’s relationship in particular with Tuka seems to have grown much deeper in one of the later episodes. Lelei development as a mage is also evident as we witness her skills against even an almighty dragon during the Red Dragon Arc. And who can forget about Rory? The ever so cunning demi-god also develops a special connection with Itami as she gets involved with an old rival. In essence, every main girl shines in their way while Itami still plays the role of being the leader of the squad. In the meantime, there’s a lot of political tension building up that really makes the second season darker than it seems. These include attempted assassinations, human slavery, and a plot to overthrow the empire within its own forces. If you remember Pina, she also becomes entrenched with controversial affairs that takes unexpected dark turns. It goes to say that GATE still maintains what it tries to do – developing story episode by episode while feeding a lot of its ideas towards a climax. It works out quite well once we realize the purpose of its intent. And while it’s at it, GATE isn’t afraid to show death and make it into a reality. War exists – both in the fantasy and real world with GATE still developing on that throughout the season. Also, don’t forget that the show has a lot of military themes and we can easily see how Japan adapts its propaganda fueled by its technological arsenal. Also, it’s noticeable that GATE continuously maintain a high level of world building. It’s easily recognized and has always been one of the show’s stronger points. Unlike the first season, the sequel has less comedy and much more on plot emphasis. By the third or fourth episode, I think it’s easy to adapt with the style as the show has already introduced enough concepts. But like most adaptations, the show does omit some material although nothing too crucial. Some of the more controversial content like sexual slavery and abuse is subtly hinted at while there’s less gore. In addition, pacing becomes somewhat rushed in a few episodes. With the story that introduces new characters, it’s not always easy to like them. Zorzal is likely to become one of the most hated characters for his cruel actions. In addition, some of the content such as sex may be uncomfortable to sink into your mind. The art style of GATE generally remains the same. As I mentioned before, the world building is one of the strongest aspects of the show and we get a good amount of quality of the fantasy world. From powerful looking dragons to artistically decorated structures, the show knows where to go for when it comes to fantasy content. This also extends to character designs that really shows their distinctive appearances. From bunny warriors to apostles, you can expect a lot of unique ways the show does to make characters look different. Similar to the first season, there’s also some realistic content like with Japan’s military. From impressive fighter jets to heavy duty mortars, the show demonstrates what military is really capable of. Supplementing its impressive technical features, the soundtrack of season 2 retains its style that fans are used to. The OP song has a familiar tune while the majority of the action choreography is nicely performed with its stellar OST. Character voice mannerism is also noticeable with Zorzal’s egoistic nature, Tyueli’s manipulative personality, or Noriko’s innocence. Well, I can’t say that season 2 of GATE is miles better than what the first season offered. However, what it does have is concrete storytelling that builds more and more. It makes viewers anticipate what’s to happen next while skillfully adapt with some of its controversial content. I am a bit disappointed that it does omit certain content though. (read the LN and manga for more details) And to add on to the fire, GATE still has characters that can make people pull their hairs out. That aside, GATE Season 2 maintains a nice balance of storytelling and characters. With less comedy and more serious business picking up, it’s a show that just keeps on giving.

"Gate: And So the Second Round of Propaganda begins" ^^ is honestly a fitting title for this show. Why? 'Cuz there's more JSDF propaganda in this season. However, that doesn't mean I love this show less. Also, when I say JSDF propaganda, I don't mean that in a bad way. It's Japan's show so they can do whatever the hell they want with it. People who criticize this show for having "too much JSDF Propaganda" are a bunch of hypocrites anyways because I can bet you, they're the same people who watches American films that contains a ton of "F*ck Yea! America!". (There will be someSPOILERS in my review) [Story]: (7.6/10) Ever since first season of GATE wrapped up, I became a big fan of this show and despite the issues that the first season had, I still ended up loving it. When they decided to split the show into 2 cour, I patiently waited for the 2nd Season every single day for 2-3 months before it aired. I was like one of those fanboys screaming like a girl...I was just so excited. Now that the series has finished airing, is it better than the first season and did my hype die down? You'll find out soon enough. The 2nd Season of GATE continues right from where the 1st Season left off and is picked up from there. The show is separated into two arcs and adapts the "Fire Dragon" arc and the "Douran" arc. Let's focus on my most anticipated "Fire Dragon" arc. I was really hyped for this arc ever since they teased it during the last season. Mostly because I wanted to see how Itami, his harem and his platoon will handle the Fire Dragon. However, the 2nd Season didn't really start off with the "Fire Dragon" arc just yet. It starts off with the Japanese Senators and the JSDF holding a peace talks with the Empire. This part of the show was a bit slow but also appreciated because it shows us how the JSDF aren't just there to cause mayhem and destruction. They're also there to help out the mysterious world's citizens. Their first step was to try and improve the lives of the civilians by setting up a Healthcare System. After the setup, this is where the actual arc begins. Ahh, the "Fire Dragon" arc..So what did I think about this arc? For the most part, I enjoyed it but I don't think it was great. In the previous season, Tuka's father died and we all knew that except her. When a certain someone decided to open Tuka's eyes and forced her to face the reality, she entered into a horrible state of PTSD. This is actually the first time this show made me feel sympathetic for someone else. Let alone, a female character who I thought was just some member of Itami's harem and nothing more. He then decided to do the unthinkable so she doesn't have to face the reality which is a horrible way of dealing with someone's PTSD. I gotta give props to Itami though for being a badass but sooner or later, people need to face the reality so I'm going to have to side with Yao on this one. I think he kind of did the right thing. Here's the part that I don't like. I didn't really like the way they handled Itami's past to try and relate to Tuka losing her father. Appearantly, something similar happened to Itami's parents and that's the whole reason why Itami helped Tuka kill the Fire Dragon. It felt like it was shoehorned in and it was done really poorly. Itami's backstory wasn't properly explored, it wasn't expanded and they only spent a short amount of time on it which made his backstory seem like an asspull. The arc got a nice payoff though so I can sort-of let it slide. How the arc ended is what I always wanted to see from this show and I got it. The JASDF (Japanese Air Self Defence Force) raining down democracy and freedom and the JGSDF (Japanese Ground Self Defence Force) going there and showing us what happens if you mess with the JSDF The next arc is the "Douran" arc. I was actually surprised that they adapted this arc. I mean, when they advertised the second season, they only showed the Fire Dragon arc on the trailers so I thought it the entire season was just the FD arc. Anyways, this arc focuses on two events. The first event is Itami accompanying Lelei to a town that looks so futuristic but it's not. To be more specific, it's an Academy City that trains mages. The second event is a coup inside the Empire in an attempt to destroy the peace between the Empire and Japan. Honestly, this arc is slightly better than the first arc because a lot more things happened here than the Fire Dragon arc and also a lot of politics are involved in this arc, which plays a huge role in everything that's been going on so far. For example, we get to see why the JSDF wasn't deployed earlier to save the Japanese Senators and why they didn't liberate the Empire sooner. I talked about the pacing issues in my first season's review and I want to talk about the pacing issues in this review again. Just like the first season, this season's first arc was rushed and the 2nd half was still somewhat rushed but not by much. They shouldn't have rushed the 1st half because that's the whole reason why I didn't like the Fire Dragon arc that much, despite its nice payoff at the end. Instead of rushing the arc, they should have spend more time on Tuka's PTSD and Itami's backstory which would have made a huge impact at the end of the FD arc if those 2 aspects weren't so rushed through. I have no issues with the 2nd half's pacing because it was mostly politics and Itami's journey to a mage town and what he and the girls did in that town. I'm sure you noticed this when you watched the first episode but Gate Season 2's atmosphere is a lot darker than the previous season. I actually never expected this show to touch on subjects like Rape, Abuse, and etc. They're obviously censored but they're still somewhat disturbing as shit. So my first issue with this season was the pacing and now, to the second issue that I have with this season. The side characters DON'T getting enough screentime and by side characters, I mean the soldiers in Itami's platoon. I really liked their character interactions and their personalities from the first season but in this season, their screentime was gutted in half in favour of developing Tuka and Lelei's character...which wouldn't have been a big issue if the main characters' development weren't so rushed either. The final issue that I have is with the ending. It was cheesy as hell and it made it look like an ad saying "Join the JSDF and you'll get a waifu for your war efforts". I have no problem with JSDF Propaganda but that scene was really cringey as f*ck. ______________________________________________________________ [Art/Animation]: (9/10) The 2nd Season’s art and visuals looks exactly the same as the first season and no surprise there, as the show was originally intended to be 24 episodes. So because of that, my rating for this section will be the same. I don't know if this is just me though but the background looks a bit weird. Remember when you used to colour those colouring books and no matter how hard you colour, there's always a few remaining white small dots? That’s what the background looked like which made it seem like A-1 Pictures’ budget was running dry or they ran out of time. ______________________________________________________________ [Sound]: (9/10) Just like the Animation, every soundtrack was re-used from the first season. Although, I don’t have any complaints with the soundtrack since they weren’t bad to begin with. In fact, I preferred they kept the soundtrack because they’re goddamn amazing and it gives me goosebumps all the time. Especially that soundtrack that plays when the JSDF shows up and gives those Empire bastards and the Fire Dragons a sweet taste of democracy and freedom that we all take for granted. Now the OP and ED theme song(s) The OP theme song is “GATE II: Sekai wo Koete “ by the Akeboshi Rockets. Ok, I gotta give the Akeboshi Rockets some credit for changing how their latest song plays out. There’s still the usual drumbeats at the beginning but at least it didn't sound the same as HOTD’s first 5 sec of the OP. Overall, I liked this song and I thought it was good but I want to talk about the OP Animation. 90% of the scenes were re-used scenes from the first season, 5% were ripped off from the opening of one of their shows called “The Asterisk War”, and the last 5% are a bunch of character’s face shots. Talk about being lazy... The ED theme song is “Itsu Datte Communication” by Lelei, Tuka and Rory. I really love Gate's 2nd ED theme song. It sounds so much better than that funky 1st ED theme song. It's not like I hated the 1st ED theme song. In fact, I loved it but I prefer the 2nd ED. I just love it when the main heroines of a show sings the ED of a show. Hell, I wouldn't mind if they form an idol group. Now, in terms of the ED Animation. Hands down, their best ED Animation yet. In the 1st ED, it's just a simple Humvee riding through a tunnel with glowing lights. In here, the ED Animation is simple, yet hilarious. Call it a propaganda shots or whatever the hell you want but I really don't care what you think. ______________________________________________________________ [Characters]: (8/10) In the previous season, a new character was introduced almost at the end of the first season. All we knew about her is that she ventured out in search of the "Green People" (She was talking about the JSDF) in order to ask them for help killing the Fire Dragon. In here, we get to know more about her personality during the Fire Dragon arc like how she's an asshole and how she doesn't have sympathy towards another person's feeling. It seems like she does but the way she's handling it makes her look like a bitchy, selfish, insensitive person by telling Tuka the whole truth about the fate of his father. This, however, makes Itami look like a badass by pretending to be Tuka's father. Even though he "puts his hobby over work any day", he did his duty as a JSDF soldier to help out Tuka. Itami felt empathy towards Tuka because he knows what it feels like to lose a parent. Like I said earlier though, Itami's backstory about his parents seems like an asspull and for that reason, Itami's empathy towards Tuka didn't leave that much of an impact for me....Just a little bit, actually xD While Tuka got much of a spotlight in the Fire Dragon arc, the show also focused on Lelei during the "Douran" arc. We learned that Lelei has a sister who fails at everything in every conceivable way. Though, I kinda understand now why Lelei's teacher (from S1, Ep. 3) would rather "mount a curvy woman like her". She has the hots but she's one of those typical dumb blondes. ______________________________________________________________ [Enjoyment]: (8/10) I still enjoyed the 2nd Season of Gate but compared to the first season, not by much. Just like the previous season though, I did enjoy the military aspect of the show because military in anime are portrayed as an incompetent unit who can't stand for themselves whereas in Gate, it's vice versa. I'm also a big military enthusiast so I have a bit of bias towards this show. ______________________________________________________________ [VERDICT] "Gate: And So the Special Defence Force Fought There - Season 2" is an enjoyable-but flawed sequel that finally concludes the story of Gate. I am aware that the Light Novel still has some stories to be told like "The Civil War" arc but I'm satisfied with how the anime version ended. I'm also happy that they finally explained how the "Gate" works which I thought would never happen. If you watched the 1st Season of Gate and you enjoyed it then I can still recommend that you watch this season. Don't expect it to be better than the first season though. Pros: +Show's atmosphere is darker than the previous season +Good story, despite some flaws +Great Animation +A-1 Pictures kept the amazing soundtrack +Tuka and Lelei's much-needed character development +Just like the last season, portrayal of JSDF and their weaponry/military vehicles are almost realistic. +They finally explained how the "Gate" works Cons: -Pacing issues -Itami's backstory seemed like an asspull -Side characters didn't get enough screentime [OVERALL]: (7.8/10)

what can i say? good? not that great? mediocre? wait, it's not mediocre but not that good this anime should have label "FOR MILITER-OTAKU" see that little strip between those words. that has meaning too. first, if you don't know and don't enjoy explosives and guns. this anime had typical story that offers you. so, it should be hard to enjoy this anime second, "japs propaganda is so strong with this one" is not an exaggerate statement. but wait, it's still using accurate military tactic and strategy. so, if you enjoy that. this anime should be fine this anime has not much too offer except guns, military tactic, propagandaand fanservice. well, the story isn't so bad that it hurts your brain. it's not good but no bad either. predictable situation, with predictable outcome sparkled with sweet propaganda of JSDF. but still it pleases your eyes and your ear i recommend this anime for those who "immune" to propaganda and those who loved guns and military tactic. well, there's not much anime that gives you accurate military tactic besides this one so, 8/10 is the most high score i can stretch for this anime. based on my opinion

This review is for the first season and the second season of GATE. For a while, I had a habit of watching an episode or two of anime before I went to sleep, especially when I did not have something early to do the next day. Since GATE came out every Friday, I decided that it was the best show to fill the pre-sleep role. There would be no chance of accidentally binge watching fifty episodes because there would only be one episode available each day. That was the worst decision I ever made. GATE has one of the suckiest stories I have ever watched.However, the way in which it sucks is surprising. It has good scenario writing. It also integrates political intrigue and military strategy masterfully, thus creating a story that is smarter than most anime out there. So what failed? I think the fundamental premise is what fails. GATE follows the story of Itami a Lieutenant in the Japanese army. A hole in space-time in Tokyo opens to another world, one with magic, elves, dragons, and most importantly, undeveloped technology. The Japanese army proceeds to subjugate the other side (both militarily and culturally) to “help the natives”, fighting against swords with helicopters. While all that is going on, GATE tries its best to portray the realities of war, never shying away from gore, prostitution, slavery, and slaughter. However, in order to make it palatable to the anime audience, GATE also sets out to incorporate harem and slice of life elements into it. So one moment, people’s heads are getting blown off. The next moment, Itami is getting doted on by a bunch of cute girls (this part is especially weird; GATE seems to want to fulfill every fetish there is). This conflict between light and dark subjects is something that GATE had to resolve with the premise that it had. It chose to solve this conflict by making the tone of the show light-hearted. As an example, here’s a minor spoiler. The JSDF (the fictional section of the Japanese military Itami is in) swoop into a city to rescue a princess from a siege, and they do this by mowing down an entire regiment of the opposing army with helicopters and machine guns, all while “Ride of the Valkyries” is playing in the background. If you’re curious what that is, it goes da-da-da DUN DUN…ok that doesn’t help, but it’s that song that plays in every movie when something triumphant happens. There are tons of other scenes like this in the show. At first, we might find it fun to watch. It’s kind of like a video game, right? The targets are getting mowed down, and after a few more kills, we might get a killstreak prize (a tactical nuke! Brag about it to your friends). It’s textbook wish fulfillment. However, if we think about it, it’s actually messed up. Helpless soldiers on the other side are seen as justifiably stomped on, while the JSDF is seen as the benevolent civilizer. But shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the strong be condemned for bullying the weak? Shouldn’t the JSDF be portrayed as evil, not the opposing army? Of course, these are just fictional characters and no one is actually dying. However, consider this: GATE was written by a person who used to be in the Japanese military, and is sometimes shown to Japanese military recruits. When viewed in that light, the choice to employ a light tone in GATE feels rather manipulative. The show tries to make us feel as if basic human rights violations are OK, using cute girls, a bright color palette, and some clever villain characterization. In other words, GATE uses wish fulfillment to justify the unethical things that happen inside it. In doing so, GATE is manipulating the minds of its audience. The show tries to get us to turn a blind eye to military transgressions, passing them off as “oh, the enemy king is EEEVIL” or “there was no helping it”. Eventually this leads to “the army can do no wrong”. That’s dangerous. If you’re not convinced that media can influence thinking, just look at North Korea. Somehow, the media there has convinced its people that The Fearless Leader doesn’t poop. Something about all this doesn’t sit well with me. Part of the assumption that GATE makes in its propaganda campaign is that as long as there’s cute girls, violence, and an interesting story, anime viewers are fine with whatever goes on. No way that’s true. At least, I hope that it’s not true. This show’s problem lies not in its quality. It lies in its ethics. If you’re going to watch, you’ll have to make a decision. You can equip critical thinking glasses, and in doing so realize that you hate being manipulated. Or you can watch brainlessly. Just understand the risks if you choose the latter option.