'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess Season 2

This might actually be my favorite comedy anime — it got some really good laughs out of me, and by the time the last episode was ending, I even felt a little sad. It keeps exactly the same vibe as the first season, though for some reason this one had a little something extra. The animation is still really good, and the story even managed to add a bit more depth through Sakura. The characters are great too, and the one I probably find the funniest without a doubt is the Infernal Lord. I don’t know if there will be another season, but if there is, youcan be sure I’ll watch it.

TTTP is a comedy which follows the no-name-given Princess and commander of the Imperial Army's Third Legion, a fearless and unmatched warrior heroine who gets captured by the Hellhorde and tortured by the demons in an attempt to get her to spill imperial secrets. If that sounds grim, it really isn't. Her condition is very favorable and she's usually allowed to roam freely, she's friends with all her torturers, and the torture in question is things like being bribed with tasty food. The show doesn't take itself seriously at all, going all-in on the absurdity of its premise. Despite that, the actual heart and message ofthe show seems to be about finding joy in the simple things in life, which makes for an odd but surprisingly compelling juxtaposition. The show's biggest flaw is the repetitive nature of its basic formula. Each episode is split into several mini-episodes, and the bulk of them follow the pattern of "someone arrives at Princess's cell" → "they reveal the focus of their torture (usually food)" → "she insists she won't break" → "they add a second layer to the torture and she immediately folds". This gets very repetitive very quickly; it's not as bad watching weekly, but this is certainly a poor show for binging. Season 2 also does a better job at mixing things up than the first season did, but this issue is still prevalent. While I find the standard formula to be so-so, the episodes that mix things up are great. The show is absolutley at its best when it commits to a Nichijou-esque "characters treating an everyday situation with absurd gravitas" routine. In particular, the Demon Lord is comedy gold every time he gets focus. I absolutely adore the running bit of him just being a good-natured family man, and how he refuses to act on most of the secrets his torturers get out of the Princess for silly reasons like "We can't attack on that day, my favorite anime is airing" or "Exploiting that weakness in their defenses would be kind of unfair, wouldn't it?" This show's lows are a bit dull and repetitive, but the highs are really high. The art and animation are consistently good. I enjoyed it overall, though I do wish the author committed more to their clear strengths in absurd slice-of-life comedy as opposed to putting so much focus on the series's core formula.