Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    One Piece But Why Tho 5

    Fathers of ‘One Piece’: Powerful Bonds, Legacy, and Found Family

    06/13/2025
    Elena Street Fighter 6 But Why Tho

    Elena Brings Style And Versatility To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    06/06/2025
    Lune and Sciel from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Lune, Sciel, And The Romance Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Fails To Realize

    06/05/2025
    Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro

    Everything To Know About Eve Macarro In ‘Ballerina’

    06/05/2025
    Marvel Rivals Ultron

    Ultron Brings Aggression To ‘Marvel Rivals’ Support Class

    05/31/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Anime » REVIEW: ‘Record of Ragnarok’ Season 2 Focuses On Emotion In Part 2

REVIEW: ‘Record of Ragnarok’ Season 2 Focuses On Emotion In Part 2

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez07/12/20234 Mins ReadUpdated:12/01/2024
Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Record of Ragnarok Season 2 blew away my expectations earlier this year, and now in Part 2, the series takes five episodes to showcase fight number six. After a cliffhanger in Part 1 of the season, Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 starts where the last left off, with Buddha fighting on the side of humanity. Announced as the god’s next fighter Buddha decides to fight on the side of those he came from and save them since no other god will. At a virtual tie, Buddha winning can mean something big for humanity, but if he loses, they lose big.

Record of Ragnarok is an exciting blend of hyper-stylized animation, fantastic action, and intriguing explorations of mythological gods and heroes based on the manga series from mangaka Ajichika, Shinya Umemura, and Takumi Fukui (published in English by VIZ Media via their VIZ Signature imprint).

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

While Season 2 Part 2 brings more of the same, it does have one element that it changes up. Instead of showing the audience multiple fights, this section of the season focuses on really just one—granted it ends up being more than meets the eye.

For the first time, Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 gives the audience a battle for humanity with two connected individuals. On one side, the Seven Gods of Good Fortune represent Zerofuku, the God of Misfortune. And on the other, Buddha. While their fight itself is the best that studio Graphinica has created yet, the interpersonal relationship and growth of the two characters over the course of the five episodes is really what makes this back half of Season 2 a great finale.

In the series’ signature style of weaving in lore into a fight, audiences are introduced to the two most charismatic and empathetic characters of the series so far—and arguably of the entire series if you’ve read the manga. On the charismatic side, Buddha has your attention. Wearing a sleeveless shirt, slides, and a man-bun, this iteration of the great prince turned god is all about calmness, or rather a lack of emotion. He doesn’t remember Zerofuku, and he’s really just going with the flow of things, which means fighting for those who need it.

Ascribed to the middle path, much of the information we see about Buddha is about how he achieved enlightenment and how his choices created a following of people who followed his stride. He doesn’t push away suffering but notices its utility as a necessary element of life. Happiness isn’t something found outside of pain but rather something that comes from within. And those pieces of wisdom are what inform Zerofuku.

Zerofuku takes the spotlight in Record of Ragnarok Season 2.

Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 - But Why Tho (1)

While Buddha is a scene-stealing character, Zerofuku’s depth and loneliness make them one of the standouts of the series. Born to ease the misfortune and suffering of humanity, Zerofuku learned quickly that taking the world’s suffering into himself may have eased one element of human pain, but it also begot a new one. Upon taking away their pain, Zerofuku opened the humans in his care up to gluttony and depravity.

Without suffering, they turned to excess while Zerofuku carried their physical pain, sorrows, and trauma with him. While he reels from this revelation, Buddha stumbles into his village. Watching a human inspire happiness without excess while people are hungry and downtrodden shakes Zerofuku’s core, making him question his importance to the world before attempting to dish out divine retribution to humanity. As the two meet in the arena, this difference in their approaches to life and suffering takes center stage as much as the action.

Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 offers viewers some twists that keep the story moving forward and push the tension of the fight, but the reason that these five episodes of the season work is because of the relationship that Zerofuku and Buddha form in the ring, their past, and a fairly nuanced take on the important role that suffering plays in life and what resiliency builds in humanity.

The best fight of the series so far, the Record of Ragnarok Season 2 being split into two parts wasn’t absolutely necessary. That said, Buddha and Zerofukko hold onto the spotlight so strongly that I can at least understand why it was split in two, even if I prefer to watch it all in one go. Despite the usual pacing issues that have become more a feature than a bug of the series, Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 is the best yet in terms of building characters, connections, and consequences for choices made in the past and the present. Season 3 can’t come soon enough.

Record of Ragnarok Season 2 is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.

Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2
  • 9/10
    Rating - 9/10
9/10

TL;DR

Despite the usual pacing issues that have become more a feature than a bug of the series, Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2 is the best yet in terms of building characters, connections, and consequences for choices made in the past and the present.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Bungo: Stray Dogs,’ Episode 51 — “The Strongest Man”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Warrior’ Season 3 Episode 5 — “Whisky and Sticky, And All The Rest Can Wait”
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Juggernaut in Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11 But Why Tho
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 11 — “The Great Kaiju Battlefront”

06/13/2025
Challia in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 10
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX’ Episode 10 — “Yomagn’tho Blockade”

06/11/2025
Sho in Fire Force Season 3 Episode 10
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 10 — “Advent”

06/07/2025
The ship being discovered in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 9
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX’ Episode 9 — “The Rose of Sharon”

06/04/2025
Arthur in Fire Force Season 3 Episode 9
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 9 — “Holy Sword, Resurrected”

05/30/2025
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 8
8.0

REVIEW ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX’ Episode 8 — “Falling on the Moon”

05/28/2025
TRENDING POSTS
Yoo Su-bin, Kim Shin-rok, Go Min-si, and Kang Ha-neul in Tastefully Yours
6.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘Tastefully Yours’ Is A Half-Baked Romantic Venture

By Sarah Musnicky06/11/2025

For all its emphasis on flavor, execution, and satisfying a customer, Tastefully Yours ultimately proves to be underwhelming.

Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night with the Duke Episodes 1-2
8.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 1-2

By Sarah Musnicky06/12/2025

The bar is set pretty high with The First Night With The Duke Episodes 1-2. While exposition-heavy, it is a delightfully silly watch.

Y'shtola in the FFXIV Commander Deck - Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy Interviews

Magic Designer Explains The Challenge Of Picking A Face For The FFXIV Commander Deck

By Kate Sánchez06/11/2025Updated:06/11/2025

FFXIV Commander Deck pulls highlights core characters and mechanics, with Y’shtola as its Commander. But building the deck, wasn’t easy.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here