Starlight Ronin season 2 review: the best action anime on TV this year
Kumoya's second season trades the first season's mystery for momentum, and its finale is one of the most ambitious pieces of TV animation in years.
The first season of Starlight Ronin spent most of its run asking who Kaito really was. The second season answers that question by episode four and spends the remaining twenty on what he does about it. It is a better show for the change.
Momentum over mystery
Where season 1 was built around slow reveals, season 2 is built around set pieces. The arc structure is tighter, the supporting cast finally gets room, and the show is willing to let a single fight carry an entire episode when the story calls for it.
That confidence pays off most in episodes 18 and 24. The first is a 22-minute siege told almost entirely without dialogue. The second closes the season with a duel staged in long, unbroken shots that are rare in television anime of any budget.
Where it stumbles
The middle stretch, episodes 9 to 13, introduces a tournament subplot that the manga handled in a handful of chapters. Stretched to five episodes, it slows the season just as it had built real speed, and two of the new characters it introduces disappear once it ends.
The soundtrack also leans on the season 1 themes more than it needs to. The new tracks are good enough that it is a shame to hear so few of them.
Verdict
Essential viewing
A season that knows exactly what it wants to be, with action direction that sets a new bar for the medium. A slow middle stretch is the only thing holding it back.
What works
- Episodes 18 and 24 are standouts of the year
- Supporting cast finally gets real arcs
- Clear, confident pacing in the first and last thirds
What doesn't
- Tournament subplot drags across five episodes
- Leans too heavily on season 1's soundtrack
Hoang Nam reviews TV anime and writes our data-driven features on the industry. He has covered the seasonal charts since 2019.
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