Kyoukai Senki season 2

 The Gundam series that isn't Gundam is back, and hopefully as enjoyable as the first season.

And great fun that was, a true mecha series, so let's hope this will be something to look forward to every week as well once again.

 

The story makes a jump of 8 months forward, finding Shion and Gashin in battle.   They need to get refugees out, but with just their two machines it is near impossible to take on the opposing North American force.  But right at the moment they seem defeated and the refugees threatened, a black AIMAM intervenes, quickly taking them down.  Amou and Kenbu have returned!

Together with the chief, they brought supplies and replacement parts courtesy of an organisation called ARES, as the chief tells them she was the one that developped Ghost originally.  Bringing upgrades for the two other AIMAM as well, they decimate the opposing North American army.  But Amou seems changed, being no longer his joyful self.

The North Americans have enployed the Ghost AI in a new model, commanded by captain Watt, bringing it to the field against an enemy Russian force, quickly defeating them.  In the meantime, Amou tells them what happened during the months he was away.  They arrive at a sanctuary city, and decide to help them out to protect them from a pending North American assault.  But the enemy has downloaded copies of the Ghost program, making them far more vicious and hard presses the defenders.

Chairman Kidyo in the meantime is trying to forge ways to have the colony recognised and supported.  This can lead to a part of Japan being declared independant again as New Japan, supported by the Chinese, Russian and Oceanic governments.  But the NAC doesn`t seem to fond of this idea, as it unites the others against them.  So Brad Watt goes into a meeting with Amou.  But NAC forces attack, decimating the chinese defenders, collapsing the front line as Shion and Gashin rush to the front.  With Gashin's new and improved gunfighter mech getting it's field debut, but Amou is held hostage in the end by the NAC, but Watt gives them a window to escape.  They make it back home, but at a great cost...

 

 

The NAC manipulates the events to be able to launch a large scale attack on the New Japan area,  and during battle Captain watt in the Ghost installed unit isolates Amou in order to battle him in a duel.  They are fairly matched, but as Watt is getting more and more injuries due to turning off the safeties inside his cockpit, Gai shortcircuits, leaving Amou defenceless.  But the other AI's arrive just in time to back Gai up and bring Kenbu back online.  Together with the AI's, and his believe in them, he overcomes both Ghost and Watt, destroying the enemy unit, but at the cost of Gai who dissolves in his cockpit.  But Japan has been established again as a nation, and peacetalks with the NCA are starting up...

Yup, I liked this series as a great mecha fix the past weeks.  As I said at the beginning, this could just as well been a Gundam series, and it was great fun to watch.