The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide

Seirei Gensouki - Spirit Chronicles Season 2

Just after rescuing Celia from her wedding, Rio witnesses six pillars of light. He heads towards them at Aishia's behest and finds three people he never imagined meeting in his world... and they need his help!

Seirei Gensouki - Spirit Chronicles Season 2 is based on the light novel series by Yuri Kitayama with illustrations by Riv. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Mondays.

We've all got that one not-so-great isekai series that we can't quite quit. This one is mine. While I do think it gets bloated later on, the novels this sequel season is likely to adapt should stop just short of that point. In any event, I'm surprisingly happy to see this series back, picking up from the cliffhanger the first season ended on. If you don't remember, that was the reveal that Miharu, specifically, has been brought to the world where Haruto was reborn, just after he'd decided to move on from his past life and forget about her.

Although this episode doesn't do much with Haruto's attempts to move on, it does crash his two lives together in ways he hadn't anticipated. Hot off of rescuing Celia from a horrific marriage, Haruto and Aishia see the summoning lights that remind us that this series is, in fact, isekai – it's just combining two subgenres in one show, the rebirth and the summoned. The summoning circle Miharu and company get pulled into is plainly not intended for them, though; Miharu's friends Takehisa and Satsuki are in its center and vanish first, leaving Miharu, Aki, and Masato to follow a moment later. Does this explain why they're dropped in a field where they quickly fall prey to slavers? Possibly. More importantly, they're deposited in a spot close enough to Haruto and Aishia that they can be sensed and, therefore, rescued.

While this episode largely serves to bring Haruto/Rio's worlds together, it also plays with the timeline a bit. We know that Haruto died in his early college years, Miharu was isekai'd long before that, as a high school first year. That means that Haruto was reborn back in time, allowing him and Miharu to be the same age once again when they meet. It's a little convoluted, but still an interesting conceit; certainly more interesting than the harem antics that begin when Aishia, nominally not understanding human norms, says that she's going to sleep with Haruto. Miharu doesn't think that this Haruto is her Haruto (and why would she?), but she clearly feels more awkward around Celia and Aishia, and Celia's outburst doesn't help. It's obvious what's being set up, and that will likely only get worse (or at least weirder) when the Spirit Village girls return to the plot.

My biggest gripe here is the way that Aishia's translation ability is shown. Because both Celia and Miharu are still speaking their respective languages, the show uses a double-layer of voice tracks, so we can hear an echo of the other language behind the main one. It's like having an itch deep inside your ear trying to listen to it, and if you're sound-sensitive, be aware that it's truly awful. That aside, I'm oddly pleased to see this second season materialize – and it's reminding me to pick the novels back up.