Scissor Seven Season 2 (Anime) Review: Sensational!

Scissor Seven season 2? Sensational! I’ll stop alliterating now, but I was blown away by this season!

It combines everything I love about the show; its perfect blend of comedy and action-heavy seriousness, the way the quality of animation and art, every character being fleshed out and utilised. This show is one of the absolute anime I have watched and enjoyed. the fun of watching it is inexplainable! It isn’t without flaws, obviously, but Scissor Seven is currently my anime of the year for this season alone.

Alright, I’m hyping it up quite a lot, so I’m going to take a deep breath and give my early yes or no. I would recommend this anime if you are a fan of martial arts, but aren’t in the mood for anything too heavy. The show can occasionally wallow in silliness but has that One Punch Man quality of getting you excited for fights in the middle of comedy scenes.

Story

We’re back babyyyyy! Returning to Chicken Island, where Scissor Seven takes place, is an absolute joy. Every character we encounter in this anime is oozing personality, in their designs and dialogue. I mention in a lot of my reviews how important it is for characters to interact well, and SS just nails it.

All the interactions are fun, some are funny and some are just touching. This show strums so many heartstrings for me that I was legitimately sad when it ended. We deal a little more with Seven’s past this season, while simultaneously fleshing out some key members of the cast. When the show dedicates itself to its characters, it shines.

That being said, it can be a little incongruous when we switch from hunting assassins and future challenges to driving around town on Seven’s scooters. I could also have done with less ancillary characters, as they can distract from why we’re really here. I want Seven’s story, I want Thirteen and Dai Bo’s story. I want you to expand on your universe show, not rando hairdressers setting up a new shop.

I was a little jarred by the immediate jump from last season’s finally to the goofy opening of season 2, but without wishing to spoil anything more, we get on track very quickly. This is a show that likes to tease you with bits and pieces. It makes you want more and boy do I, but looking back on it, I do wish they’d provided more.

There’s only so much teasing a series can do before I stop caring and SS is getting dangerously close to that line. Still, the ride is fun and the characters are entertaining. It’s nice to have a show dedicate itself to building the small world you mainly interact with while also showing off a bigger one we’ll get to see later. Hopefully. Please…

Art

Again, the art is stellar. Serious characters are given so much presence next to the goofy ones, and watching Seven switch between the two is a joy. The fights are choreographed well enough to be pulse pounding. Just don’t expect this to be a long drawn out fighting anime, each fight is resolved within the episode it starts, with the exception of a choice few.

That can be good and bad. It makes the interactions feel fast and fluid, but can occasionally cut the tension. Even so, this show doesn’t waste its budget. Everything feels planned and is well executed. I can see how this style would put some people off, but for me it helped offset the clichés by having some silliness in its art.

Music

I love the music here. Every setting has its own theme that perfectly captures the feeling. It doesn’t seem like a lot, and granted I don’t find many anime that have inappropriate music, but I cannot stress the importance of this. A single song out of place can ruin a scene. Good music elevates an anime from good to great, while mishandled sound design can ruin any story.

Conclusion

Some of you may have noticed I didn’t have much to say here. There isn’t really, the show has maintained the quality of the last season. I warned earlier that they need to be careful about teasing too much, because that creates unachievable expectations, but other than that the show is just wonderful.

I watch a lot of anime. I stop watching a lot of anime because they go off on tangents or have cookie cutter characters that add nothing. I stop watching a lot of anime because they take so many of the basics as a given and deliver a lacklustre performance in the details. Scissor Seven is polished to a mirror shine, which just make the details that much better.

Please watch this show, it is very good and it deserves success.

Scissor Seven: Season 2
Release date: May 7, 2020
Produced by: Sharefun Studio, AHA Entertainment, Nurostar