Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 is not the end of the story, but it does signal an end to any real optimism I had about the series going forward. It's apparent that we're locked into the current model for the foreseeable future, and despite the bizarre sense of nostalgia I have watching it, it's clear the series is not worth seeking out to give your full attention.

This entire second part of season two is a single fight between Buddha and Zerofuku. Five episodes of fighting might sound exciting on paper, but in practice, very little happens in each episode. Much like everything up until this point, the episodes here each feature very little forward motion in the fight, interspersed with lots of shocked audience faces and lengthy flashback sequences. The formula is obvious, and there's no genuine attempt at hiding it - by this point, you know what you're getting. The novelty of a human versus a divine being has long since lost its luster on a conceptual level. Now, the moment-to-moment enjoyment rests almost entirely on the quality of the flashbacks, the action sequences, and the comedy.

You can see where my concerns are already.

Let's start with the end, the comedy. There… isn't much here this time around. I think the prior episodes have done a decent job of putting in a few jokes or visual gags to spice things up, but in this stretch, we've only got a few awkward Heimdall-on-the-mic moments, and that's it. I couldn't even manage a sensible chuckle! It's a Greek tragedy, I tell ya.

The action sequences are sparse but serviceable. The quality has improved on a moment-to-moment basis - we've certainly cleared the bar for some of the more meme-able moments from season one - which is commendable. There's also some excellent weapon design work here with the Cataxestrophe and the Six Realms Staff. They look like cool, over-the-top fantasy weapons and conceptually have some interesting powers/effects. There's a great sequence with Cataxestrophe spawning veins and eyes all along the hilt that was honestly one of the better shots in all five episodes. Sadly, the actual use in combat was close to nil, and most of the fighting devolved into the sort of “character does a bunch of rapid swings” shots you've seen a thousand times in a thousand other shows.

The creativity of the fight choreography was noticeably lacking. The most egregious element is Buddha's future sight power. This is the second or third time we've had a vision-based agility power like this, depending on how you count it. Brunhilda even has to have an aside about how this power completely differs from the other power that Sasaki used to defeat Poseidon. The problem is that the in-ring effect is the same, and all the dramatic beats you would expect happen at the same tempo as the other fights.

The flashbacks do most of the heavy lifting in this stretch of the season, and they're some of the better ones. Zerofuku's flashback is particularly good, as it is more than just an origin story for his power set. Instead, it serves the same role as much of the great mythic storytelling that sticks with us: the nature of suffering and the unintended consequences of naivete when trying to improve the world. It presents an interesting quandary, and despite Zerofuku trying to do the right thing and being cast in a positive light for it, there is an undercurrent of pride, too - his constant cries of “it should have been me!” provide that extra twist that makes him a more complex character overall. Buddha's flashback is solid, too, though I think his persona and swagger are the real heavy hitters - he's just an excellent character design overall, definitely one of the series' best.

The strangest thing about Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 is how its mediocrity elicits a sense of nostalgia for me. The overall structure of the show is like the classic shonen fighting tournament arcs of my youth. Twentyish minutes of television with a bunch of random chatter from people outside the ring and only one or two major events inside the fight between two over-muscled weirdos? Why, I cut my teeth on this kind of television! It's not a positive per se, but it does allow my brain to settle into a comfortable place that makes for incredibly laid-back viewing. I have the same feeling when I bite into a hot dog that's been burned on the grill - it objectively tastes terrible, but it reminds me of summer days in my childhood when my grandfather would get too caught up talking and laughing to remember to take the dogs off in time. It's a bad that makes me wistful for simpler times when this was enough.

But then again, I don't blame anyone for wanting better and realizing that there is plenty more out there to spend your time watching.