Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul: First Impressions

I strongly remember a friend putting a gun to my head to watch Rage of Bahamut: Genesis. I obliged to stay alive.  I continued it out of pure enjoyment. The series was very predictable but enjoyable, to say the least. Nothing beats watching an unlikely group of adventurers travel great bounds to stop a great threat from ending the world. Let’s see if this sequel is worth your time.

If you have not watched Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, I do strongly recommend checking it out. It is a fun ride. You will be pleasantly surprised that a series that originated from a mobile app can be this good. Even if you watched the first season and you did not think it was great, you will be able to appreciate this season more.

When this season was first announced, I didn’t know what to expect. With the way things ended in Genesis, there was no real way to know where the story would go. I didn’t watch any previews or read the synopsis for the season what so ever. Went in completely fresh. What I took away from the first episode was a very familiar feeling. I thought back to how I first felt when I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Woah guys! Don’t all come at me at once, hear me out.

In Force Awakens, you find yourself reminiscing how you felt when you watched Star Wars: A New Hope. You can even see a very similar formula used to make it. You are greeted with new faces going through similar circumstances that original cast did but also greeted with familiar faces. Not just any familiar faces but all the familiar faces that made its predecessor great in the first place. You are reminded this is a NEW journey with some OLD problems.

I had many arguments with friends regarding this opening. Some think the first opening is better but I completely disagree. I cannot really say if it is because of the music but I can say visually, this opening is much better.  I am very happy they decided to not use a CG-heavy dragon in this opening versus the contemptible Bahamut from last season. Bahamut really took away from all the great things of Genesis’ opening and the series. I hate CG.  While the color scheme and art style fulfill my needs visually, the biggest issue I have with this opening is the first arc is entirely summarized in it. Thankfully this is only part of a 24 episode season which is double Genesis’ run time.

I can’t help but believe that Studio MAPPA learned from their mistakes last season and applied solutions to previous issues. This time around they are using CG minimally. When I say minimally I mean when it is absolutely necessary. I do understand that it is used mainly because it is cost efficient. That is when it SHOULD be used.  Also, many fans complained about side characters not getting screen time. Totally agree. Some of Genesis’ greatest moments were because they utilized the side characters. This season, most of the now main characters are the series’ previous side characters. What?! A studio listening to the community?

This season is littered with great anime. Usually, we need to weed through the bad ones but I can honestly say this season has almost entirely passed my three episode test across the board. I am obviously talking mainly about the series that caught my eye. This series has surpassed my expectation not only as a new series anime but as a sequel. I look forward to seeing what the next adventures will be for new and old characters. Hopefully, we will have a less predictable finale than Rage of Bahamut: Genesis. Virgin Soul is currently Streaming on Amazon’s Anime Strike. If you want to catch up and check out Genesis, it is streaming on Anime Strike, Crunchyroll, and Funimation.