REVIEW: ‘Clevatess’ Season 2 Episode 2 – “Another World”

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2 sees the show waste little time in establishing the depths of magic‘s danger, as Alicia (Haruka Shiraishi, Kaiju Girl Caramelise) witnesses what can happen if one moves too quickly to grasp its potential. It also continues to flesh out some of the show’s new characters. 

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2 leads off with more world-building, opening with the students attending their first magic class. We learn more about the varieties of magic, as well as the nuances involved with casting it. This information blends nicely with more character setup as we see some of the students try their hands at casting a simple spell. Of these, the most important is Mary Merryweather (Yurina Kikuchi, Akane-Banashi). 

The class representative, Mary, shows an intriguing personality that evolves quickly throughout the episode. We are allowed to form a first impression of her, which is then peeled back, to show that, while what we are initially shown about her isn’t wrong, it’s not the whole story either. Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2 does a great job of melding her character reveals with its exploration of magic’s dangers, crafting a surprisingly dense episode. 

Mary gets much of the focus in Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2.

Along with everything else that Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2 does, we are also introduced to another element of life at Solsein Academy: The only metric of a student’s value is how capable they are with magic. If you are good enough with magic, you can get away with anything, and if you are bad enough at it, everyone can treat you like crap. While this concept is practically a given when anime features a hyper-focused school setting, it is nonetheless eye-rolling to see. Or it would be, if not for one particular personality who could end up revealing the folly of that attitude: Alicia.

As has been previously established, Alicia has no aptitude for magic. However, as a hero, she is still capable of feats many would call magical. And despite being transformed into a teen body previously by Clevatess (Yûichi Nakamura, Jujutsu Kaisen 0), she seems to have lost none of her impressive physical prowess. When danger strikes in the back half of Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2, we see her physical capabilities overcome a threat that some of the magically adept students fail to even scratch. It will be fun to see if any of the students try to reduce her worth to her magical aptitude.

Alicia’s chance to flex her combat capabilities delivers a fascinating moment of action for Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2. The foe she takes on has unique powers and special circumstances, making it more than just a purely combat scene. Along with Alicia’s physical abilities, the battle drives home her sharp senses and deductive mind, showing that she is capable of more than simply being Clevatess’s muscle. 

The battle we see is fine, but it doesn’t push the envelope in wow factor.

While the setup and execution of the conflict hit great on the creativity and character fronts, from an animation standpoint, it’s fine. The hits do manage to resonate with some force, and the willingness to show blood in a measured way helps reinforce the danger without ever feeling gratuitous. But beyond these elements, the battle looks fairly basic. The monster is well-designed, but nothing memorable. The camera work and animation for the movements and magic spells are also effective, but unlikely to wow with their execution. 

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2 takes some strong strides in the right direction. Despite introducing some familiar tropes into its setting, its approach to magic’s danger and its glimpses into some of its new characters continue to iterate on the season’s initial concept. Here’s hoping it can continue building momentum from here. 

Clevatess Season 2 Episode 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

Previous Episode | Next Episode