Yokai bad. That’s the premise that the new arrivals in town have for a mindset. Can it be more than just that?
What They Say:
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While Nura hasn’t exactly been the kind of show you could introduce your kids to, as it had some violent material in the first season, there’s still something about a show that primarily features middle school students that you don’t expect to hear the line “Let us feel your jugs” come through. But we get just that as two of the more “attractive” yokai in Aotabo and Kurotabo in the area as they’re meeting with all sorts of other yokai that sparks a mini celebration of sorts. The series is having a slow time really getting on track again, though the first episode did provide some good back story that helps to smooth things out a bit, but once again it feels like it’s not quite sure where it wants to go just yet and feels somewhat listless.
The arrival of these two clanless yokai does start things moving a little bit though as they cause plenty of trouble in town as all the girls seem to want Aotabo over Kurotabo, and that just sets him off a bit which in turn draws the attention of two onmyouji that have arrived in town as well and see them as a good chance to flex their muscles a bit and earn a little more skill and experience. As is said, the real training is actual experience and Ryuji lets Mamiru know that’s the only way he’s actually going to get better at what they’re doing. What becomes interesting is that the two are here to see Yura, as it turns out that she’s Ryuji’s brother and is having a hard time understanding why she’s training in some ruins when real experience is literally all over the place.
The two brothers provide a little more flavor to the series, but it also brings us two more characters that sees everything in black and white. When they come across Nura, who is with Yura at the time, it just sets them off about how he’s managed to deceive her all this time, and that leads to the main bout of action here. It does all go fairly predictably as Yura has to step up to establish herself against her elder brothers, defend Nura to some degree because he is her friend, and to try and get them to realize that not all yokai are bad, even though she herself has her own issues with that from what she’s seen and what she’s grown up being taught. None of it comes to conclusion here, but none of it really compels you to come back for more as well, unless you were completely sold in the first season.
In Summary:
The start of the season really gets going here by bringing some of Yura’s family and the conflict that they’ll provide, but it’s so basic and predictable that it’s hard to really get into because of its one-note nature. Characters that see only in black and white terms can be interesting if given enough space to expound on it and to use their beliefs against a larger backdrop, but when it’s made smaller and more personal, it tends to not work as well since they come off looking more deranged and simply evil in a way. Yura’s family does just that here as there is no room for gray, no room for nuance, in their beliefs and that paints them into a corner. They do add some menace to the show from the start here, but not enough to really engage yet.
Grade: C
Simulcast By: Viz Media
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.