REVIEW: ‘Clevatess’ Season 2 Episode 1 — “Solsein, The Divine Academy”

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1, produced by Lay-Duce, catches up with its cast and the larger world in the wake of last season’s finale. It does a solid job of establishing the whys for where the story is taking leads Clevatess (Yûichi Nakamura, To Be Hero X) and Alicia (Haruka Shiraishi, Blue Box), as well as quickly reestablishing the series trademark moral ambiguity. 

When trailers first dropped for this season, it was surprising to see the show headed for a school arc. For a series that felt very different than a lot of other anime on the market, shifting to something as cliché as a school arc felt like a disappointing turn. And while it’s impossible to pass judgment on the choice from a single episode, Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 does its best to craft a strong, in-universe reason to go to this well-worn setting. 

How Clevatess and Alicia find themselves heading to school helps establish the story’s initial stakes. There are both political and practical concerns, as they and others seek to discover the secrets of Drel’s magical research. What else the man learned before his death at the end of season one could be used to tip the current balance of power. 

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 feels right at home with the series’ prevailing attitude towards people.

But while Drel is condemned for both his actions and his methods of research, nobody seems bothered enough by anyone to want to outrightly reject his results. As details of his practices are brought to light, they elicit disgust. But that disgust quickly fades at the prospect of acquiring the fruits of his labors. 

This double-sided attitude we see in the setup moments of Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 feels right at home with the series’ prevailing attitude towards people. The only surprise in the situation is Alicia’s silence. As the most staunch moral compass, one would expect her to at least voice misgivings about the research, but perhaps that will come later. 

Once the destination is set, Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 spends the rest of its time establishing the major personalities of  Solsein Academy. We get quick glimpses of numerous characters, many of whom seem to fall into familiar archetypes. From privileged bullies to fretting first years, everyone you’d expect to be present is. 

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 delivers a solid opening.

Despite most of the characters feeling overly familiar at first glance, the series has earned enough faith from its first season to garner a stay of judgment. The narrative has frequently pulled complexity from its characters, whether main personalities or supporting players, so there is a strong reason to hope that it’ll find more to do with its student body than play into familiar roles.

As this is a school of magic, the narrative wastes no time expanding upon the core elements of the burgeoning element of the series. We see a brief clash that not only showcases particular spells but also entirely different approaches to magic, showcasing that there is more than one path to becoming a master of the mystic arts. 

The best element of Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 is the return of its starring duo. Clevatess and Alicia quickly fall into their familiar banter as their personalities play off each other wonderfully. The way Clevatess continues to do as he wishes and the endless frustration Alicia experiences from it, amplified by the fact that he is frequently right, create an enjoyable interaction that injects moments of levity that break up what is otherwise largely story setup.

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 delivers a solid opening. Even if setting up a school arc isn’t the most exciting concept for big fans of the medium, the series has shown enough writing chops to earn a chance to see if it can make the familiar concept worth exploring again. 

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 1 is streaming on Crunchyroll on July 8th, 2026. 

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