Review: ‘Clevatess’ Season 2 Fails To Harness Its Potential

Clevatess Season 2, produced by Lay-duce, sees its titular protagonist strike out on a new quest to unravel the mysteries of the recently fallen foe, Drel. Accompanied by the hero Alicia (Haruka Shiraishi, Blue Box), the two set off to uncover their former enemy’s secrets and learn magic at an exclusive academy renowned for unparalleled magical study. But they aren’t the only ones searching for secrets within the school’s famed halls. 

More often than not, when art fails to come together, it tends to be a matter of execution. When you can see what a piece of media was trying to do, but it just doesn’t come together right. Perhaps a plot feels rushed, or a critical element doesn’t resonate like a story clearly meant it to.

There never feels like a compelling enough reason to set Clevatess Season 2 in a magical school.

But you can understand where things went wrong. However, much of what holds Clevatess Season 2 back from the lofty accomplishments of its predecessor is truly baffling, as it fails on a far more fundamental level than simple execution.

The season’s shortfalls begin with the core decision to send Clevatess (Yûichi Nakamura, To Be Hero X) and Alicia to school. When this plot development is first presented, it makes sense. Magic is a new force in this world, and Clevatess has promised to teach it to the young prince Luna, so having Drel’s secrets housed there seems convenient for the larger plot. And setting an anime story in a novelty school is always popular, so why not?

The problem with the concept is that the last reason—that it’s a popular thing to do—ultimately feels like the only reason for the choice at all. Very little happens that feels like it needed to be at a magical school, and by about halfway through the season it’s clear that absolutely no one, including the faculty, is actually here to learn/teach. There is no point in setting up the familiar tropes and trappings of an ultra-exclusive school setting when the story rapidly abandons them. 

While a sizable number of new faces appear, none stand out memorably.

The other major thing that Clevatess Season 2 fails with is its lead. In season one, the Lord of Dark Beasts is intriguing because of his observations of humanity and his interactions with Alicia. For much of this season, both of these elements have been left behind.

Spending most of his screen time separated from his companion and dealing more with others of his kind than humanity, Clevatess regresses to the largely condescending know-it-all he started season one as. Only a couple of times does the lead get the chance to be more than a cardboard cutout sporting great power. 

The failure to stick the landing with its lead hurts even more because the season adds no noteworthy new characters. While a sizable number of new faces appear, none stand out memorably. A few get strong plot moments as they face their own challenges or contribute to the story’s resolution, but none leave an impression strong enough to make you hope they’ll return later.

Clevatess Season 2 shines in its lore and world-building.

The show uses Alicia better. Separated from her benefactor and frequently facing threats that imperil the lives of the students around her, the hero is often forced to look outside the time-honored solution of putting her sword through someone to save the day. The character undergoes a lot of growth as she is forced to face some particularly cruel challenges, coming out the other side every inch the hero fans would expect her to be, and sporting some impressive new powers to boot.

While the setting is never fully realized and the core characters are a mixed bag, one element where Clevatess Season 2 shines is its lore and world-building. The nature of magic, how one obtains it, and the source of humanity’s fixation on heroes are all explored skillfully. The hero myth in particular does a great job of putting a spin on the origins of the tradition that’s both surprising and believable. The way the concept morphed over time feels authentic to how concepts can become romanticized over time, until they barely register as what they originally were.

Helping to spice up the show’s sometimes stumbling efforts is a solid amount of action. Many of the dangers create interesting setups and solutions, allowing for a fair amount of tension and excitement to play out most of the time. This is particularly impressive given that the narrative must contend with one lead who has near-godlike power and another who is almost unkillable thanks to the first. Nevertheless, the series weaves circumstances into its tale that allow for moments of genuine danger as they challenge the threats laid before them. 

Cleavatess Season 2 never fully utilizes what the first season introduced.

Despite getting a lot right with the action in Clevatess Season 2, its final clashes prove to be less than satisfactory. While the series goes through the trouble to place threats on the board that should test even its strikingly powerful lead, the moments of peril in the final few episodes wrap up far too fast to feel satisfactory. Even with a brevity that undercuts the victory, the biggest clashes still feature gorgeous animation and a fair amount of spectacle while they last. 

Clevatess Season 2 fails to harness many of the best elements of its first season, while also never fully utilizing much of what it introduced. There are enough sparks of greatness to keep hope alive that a third installment could right the ship, but even if it does, this season is an underwhelming entry in the dark fantasy franchise.

Clevatess Season 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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