After the bitter disappointment that was The Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer's abysmal anime, Satoshi Mizukami fans were understandably wary about studio White Fox's subsequent adaptation of another of his manga, 2007-2016's 17-volume Sengoku Youko. Thankfully, Sengoku Youko's first cour was an undeniably successful adaptation. While briskly paced (much like Mizukami's 2018 Planet With), viewers experienced a great introduction to the story's warring states-period fantasy setting, growing to love central quartet Jinka, Tama, Shinsuke, and Shakugan. It's a ballsy narrative move for the second cour to forge a completely new narrative path, while still organically building on earlier developments.

First cour protagonist Jinka is essentially AWOL for these first ten episodes, now more of a mystery/plot device than a character. Jinka was misanthropic, seemingly always angry, determined to leave his humanity behind – only realizing at the last minute this would cost him his sanity and freedom. By comparison, the new protagonist Senya wants nothing more than to become a normal human. He hates fighting, reluctant to take up arms except when presented with no viable alternative. For the first few episodes, he's amnesic, though this potentially tired character trope is used skilfully to grant him a new beginning of sorts. Last cour, Senya was a minor antagonist, but Shinsuke took pity on him and saved him from the wrath of the Mountain Goddess. Now he must learn to coexist with the one thousand katawara bound to his soul, demons lusting for power.

We're reintroduced to Senya as he wakes from unconsciousness in an unfamiliar village, populated by humans and katawara living in peace together. He's recovering from a beatdown by the Mountain Goddess. Despite being fully aware of Senya's terrifying power, Shinsuke wishes nothing for him but to have a normal childhood, something he was robbed of by his overly authoritarian father and the Dangaisyuu organization who crammed the katawara into his body in an attempt to make a doomsday weapon. For a brief, happy moment we see Senya make friends and engage in play sword fights where it doesn't matter who wins, or who has the most power. Unfortunately, this relative peace lasts only half an episode, as Senya is forced to use his katawara powers to defend the village from a mad god, accidentally slaughtering his new friend Tsukiko's father and wrecking her village during the battle.

This single, traumatic event is almost enough to break Senya, yet the villagers – and most importantly – Tsukiko – forgive him. As he and Shinsuke leave on another journey, Tsukiko insists on joining them, and the tiny, cute water spirit Nao completes a new central quartet. Mizukami's character designs are admittedly quite plain, but he sure knows how to draw super-cute female characters. Green-haired and wide-eyed Tsukiko is delightful, and her prowess with the sword manages to best even Senya. She begs Shinsuke to become her mentor, a big step up for the formerly useless swordsman. In Mizukami's stories, his characters never stay the same – they continually grow and develop, questioning and altering their worldviews according to their experiences. Tsukiko grows into a formidable swordswoman, a trusting and loyal friend to Senya, who desires far more from their relationship. Senya feels the same about Tsukiko, but his guilt prevents him from pursuing romance.

Sengoku Youko's primary theme is about power, those who would seek it, and the purpose of it. Jinka sought the katawara's power to wreak revenge on the humanity he hated. Tama used her power in the pursuit of peace. Shinsuke sought power to improve his lowly station in life. Shakugan had unwanted power thrust upon her and used it to save her friends. Similarly, Senya has unwanted power that attracts the attention of other potential combatants. Despite his wish to live a quiet, harmless life, he's unable to do so.

The arrogant dragon boy Mudo keeps goading him into battle, eventually even kidnapping Tsukiko to force Senya's hand. Mudo doesn't stop to question his own motivations – he merely wants to become the strongest being on the planet, with little thought as to what he might do afterward – a potentially lonely path. Senya cleverly skewers Mudo's worldview by teaching him about play – they can have fun fighting one another, it doesn't matter who's the strongest – they can spend time together blowing off steam. That Senya's practiced “human” techniques can fend off a powerful dragon's attacks blows Mudo's mind, leading to profound character development.

An important minor character that ties Sengoku Youko more closely into “real” history is the Shogun Yoshiteru Ashikaga (who reigned from 1546 to 1565), whose altogether too brief appearance over a couple of episodes profoundly affects Senya's worldview. I feel his fleeting role in the story should probably have been extended, perhaps this is a result of cramming seventeen manga volumes into only three cours of animation. There's no denying that Sengoku Youko's thrilling depiction of the battle between Ashikaga and his enemy Miyoshi Nagayoshi is a highlight of the show.

Sengoku Youko is enlivened not just by brisk, mostly well-animated fights that (apart from a couple of overlong bouts) don't overstay their welcome, but by wonderfully daft humor. For example, the capricious yet generally benevolent Mountain Goddess fights using entire pine trees that blast off from the ground like Macross rockets, tearing through the sky and leaving trails of smoke behind them. It's gleefully absurd. Strange god characters like Banshouou are fun – he's essentially a huge cloud with two round, glowing, saucer-like eyes, while minor antagonist Tago (who would like to think of himself as the primary villain) looks something like Monsters, Inc. 's Mike Wazowski crossed with a Pokémon.

This second cour is better paced than the first, covering two mini-arcs, separated by an eight-year time-skip partway through. It's a narratively and thematically rich show that rewards close attention to character development and dialogue between moments of larger-than-life characters beating seven kinds of hell out of one another. Sengoku Youko's determination to keep powering forward means it's rarely boring, and the status quo forever changes. I can't help but think of it as “a better Inu Yasha.” Thankfully, unlike Inu Yasha, Sengoku Youko doesn't overstay its welcome – the second half of this arc, in its third and final cour, will bring the story to a timely conclusion, and I can't wait to talk about it.