Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul – 03

Shingeki no Bahamut 2 - 03 - 01No question about it, this has been one hell of an impressive three-episode entry for Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul.  It takes everything that was good about the first series (less Favaro of course – for now) and highlights it at the expense of the stuff that didn’t work so well.  That’s a great formula for sequel success but rarely followed, and of course we don’t know if “Virgin Soul” will be able to keep it up for an entire season.  But so far at least, it’s definitely on pace to outstrip the first season by a good margin.

Shingeki no Bahamut 2 - 03 - 02It’s an interesting mix of characters here, inside an intriguing and emotionally engaging premise.  Nina has hooked up with Bacchus and Hamsa, as we know, with the latter (clearly this duck is a Hunter X Hunter fan) turning her into a money-making machine by challenging the local macho dudes to arm wrestle.  Considering Nina eats her way through a battalion’s share of food and the bounty hunting business has all but dried up under Chaorice’s rule, you can’t blame him, and Nina doesn’t seem to mind.  That is, until an attractive dude in glasses shows up and forces her to wrestle him (to a draw) blindfolded.

Shingeki no Bahamut 2 - 03 - 04The big reveal this week, of course, was that Favaro was Nina’a teacher – though once she started talking about him it became pretty obvious that was the case.  He’ll turn up soon enough, surely, but for now the focus is more on the death struggle between Chaorice and Azazel.  And that included the focus of Heaven, where the angels have turned their attention on Mugaro (his flashes of  power having caught their attention).  Whoever he is, Mugaro seems to be at the center of the plot for “Virgin Soul”, to the point where he might be this season’s MacGuffin just as Bahamut was the first’s.

Shingeki no Bahamut 2 - 03 - 05There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of grey with Chaorice – the evidence is he’s flat-out evil.  It seems to have reached a boiling point with Kaisar, whose open protest of the king’s latest ploy to draw out the Rag Demon probably signals he’s out for good as a knight.  If there’s a common theme between the first season and this one, it’s Kaisar’s struggle with personal versus professional honor, and knowing him it seems a sure bet that in the end he’ll make the right choice no matter how personally painful it is.

Shingeki no Bahamut 2 - 03 - 06One way or another I think things are coming to a head, our first real transitional point of the season.  That may not involve Favaro but it would certainly impact Kaisar and Azazel, and probably Nina too.  Azazel has taken Chaorice’s bait knowing full well it was a trap, and ordered Mugaro not to intervene.  There’s also the fact that Bacchus has been offered a hefty bribe (re-admittance to Heaven) to turn Mugaro over to the angels.  It certainly would have seemed far-fetched to say Azazel would be the protagonist fot a sequel when the first season ended, but so far at least he’s really the closest fit in “Virgin Soul”.  And as a character, he seems to be dramatically up to the challenge.

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5 comments

  1. P

    I have been absolutely loving this second season. I remember liking the first season, but this is on an entirely different level. Probably my second favorite series this season (after Uchouten Kazoku of course).

  2. s

    Nina has no business working as effectively as a main character as she is right now. When i saw her in the pv’s i was like “there’s no way she would work as a lead in this series”..low and behold three eps later and i love this girl. Heck, this series based of an online card game has no business being this good but it is. And do not fear enzo; as i mentioned before ive been looking into the production of this series and mappa so far is ahead of schedule in producing these eps. Like boku no hero, there shouldnt be any production troubles this time around (well, at least for boku there definitely shouldnt)

  3. Thanks a lot Enzo, I don’t know the first season and was going to let Virgin Soul pass, but after reading your comments on the second episode I decided to give it a try and man I am hooked now; the production is flawless and the soundtrack in particular plays a key role for me. Looking forward to the fourth episode – and to your comments as well!

  4. No problem. This first season is certainly worth checking out too if you have some time.

  5. R

    I like the first season a lot — it’s on my top 5 list of 2014 — and I’m glad that Virgin Soul lives up to the expectations of many.

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