Spoiler-free review:

To Your Eternity Season 2 shifts away from the strong storytelling and character development of the first season, focusing instead on politics, religion and large-scale battles. It is less about personal growth and more about rushed introductions to a bigger cast of characters with minimal development. And the impact the story had in the final arc were minimal when compared to its scale. While this season wasn’t bad, it falls short to the previous one. 63/100

Spoiler warning:
This show made me laugh and cry last season and I was more invested into its story. This is mostly because it was focused on smaller moments and character building. The pacing of each previous arc contributed to the overall impact of the story. While the pacing was not flawless, it was certainly more coherent than season 2. My first issue with this season is related to the opening. I like Pink Blood, but after 20 episodes, I was hoping for a change. It felt repetitive and it had too many spoilers in my opinion. Also, most of the next episode previews contains major spoilers that ruins any mystery. However, before addressing other flaws, I would first like to write some of the strengths this season had.

Our protagonist, Fushi, improved quite a lot over last season. Although Fushi remained susceptible to external influences, Fushi was capable of establishing clear priorities and perspectives multiple times. I also appreciated some of the new characters even if most of them didn’t get the time to shine. I did get frustrated over some of their writing, but I still think the author did a great job with Eko and Messar. The OST was as strong as last season, though opinions may differ. I personally didn’t have an issue with the visuals, but it is a downgrade over last season. My preferred episodes from the season were Episodes 5, 18, and 20. Two of these episodes highlighted significant character development for Bonchien, which I enjoy a lot. Episode 20 was obviously the most emotionally impactful episode of the season and, in my opinion, can stand its own against several key moments from last season.

But I did find the conclusion for 2 particular character unsatisfactory this season. Cyrilla and Kahaku. I think Cyrilla was one of the worst antagonists this show had. In Episode 6, he is introduced as the representative of the Church of Bennett. This character holds significant power, and I would expect him to maintain a positive public image as the supreme pontiff. However, throughout the episodes, Cyrilla frequently laughs loudly or do evil smiles in front of crowds and other upper-class characters. Additionally, the decision to dig out the stone where Fushi was sealed and place it in the centre of town wasn’t smart. Moving it posed several risks, and strategically, relocating it to an unsupervised area seemed unwise. And finally, it was kinda stupid from Cyrilla to trust Kahaku when it is clear as day that the Guardians are his mortal enemies. I could write more and more about all of those smaller things, but I’ll leave it at that.

Now Kahaku. He appears to be one of the most hated characters this season but personally, I like him. Even if his actions are quite weird at times I saw potentiel. But my main critique is his tendency to be passive and compliant rather than assertive or decisive. Given his power and the influence of the guardians, who have protected people from the Nokkers for two centuries by the way, he could have taken a more active role against the Bennett Church and maybe even clear their entire religion right at the start. But no, he chose to trust people that he didn't know and became the housewife that keep Eko safe. I was just really sad that his character was put to the side for so many episodes until the very end.

There's another issue I would like to address. Not related to character development, but rather the logic behind how Fushi acquires new forms and how the dream world / wandering ghosts works. As established previously, Fushi can assume multiple forms, but this ability relies on dead characters choosing to remain in the living world as wandering spirits. From my understanding, the Nokkers may also have the ability to prevent a spirit from either departing to the dream world or lingering as a ghost. This could potentially explain why Fushi is unable to transform into certain characters or revive those recently killed by the Nokkers.

Though, I do have an issue understanding Kahaku's ancestors. The Hayase lineage is presented with the option to reincarnate instead of entering the dream world or persisting as ghosts. My interpretation is that the spirits of these individuals might have been consumed by the Nokker possessing their bodies, suggesting that true reincarnation does not occur, and that the children are merely influenced by the teachings of the Guardians and the Nokker within them. This would make sense and, if I’m correct, could lead to something interesting in the future since this Nokker died at the end. But the Beholder clearly state in Ep.1 of season 2 that the spirit can do as it wishes when the host die.

This is implying that the mother would need to die prior to childbirth if reincarnation is the goal, which seems problematic when giving birth. Still, it raises a point, if Hayase's spirit wasn’t consumed by the Nokker inside her body, she theoretically could have continued to follow Fushi as a ghost at any time, rather than choosing reincarnation. I doubt next season will clarify her choice or that the author will make sense of this.

I did enjoy how the Nokker inside Kahaku’s arm evolved during this season. It got smarter and knew when and how to capitalize at key moments. But I’m unable to understand why it didn’t simply kill Kahaku while controlling Eko. Why couldn’t it had used Kahaku’s form just like other Nokkers does when they steal forms from Fushi. It just decided to go back with Kahaku and leave him do as he wished until they both died in the lava. This was in my opinion dumb. And while on the subject of the Nokkers, I was overall disappointed in their total failure at making a real impact in the final battle. Yes, many died but this tragedy felt weak when you have a character like Fushi that has the ability to bring people back to life and rebuild a city in days.

But I'll end this review on a positive note. I really did enjoy episode 20 (aside from Kahaku's conclusion). The details regarding how each characters spent the remainder of their lives was nice, and I was satisfied with the response Fushi gave to his companions about his dream / goal.

Even though this season wasn’t as great as the previous, I once again felt hooked by the last episode, and I'll be watching season 3. Thank you for reaching the end of my review. Please let me know if you enjoyed or if you have any criticism by clicking the link here.