This is review number two hundred and twenty two. This anime is part of the Spring 2013 lineup. I’m basically finishing up. It looks like I can do one review a week and I can still cover the current lineup with no problem. I did slow down though but I am happy right now that I can do reviews and have a personal life outside of it. Anyways, the anime I’ll be reviewing is Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san Z. It’s a thirteen episode anime about a demon and a lot of blood and porn. Yeah, let’s read on.

Story

This anime is about the everyday misadventures of Akutabe Detective Agency and the demons they summon to help solve their cases. Rinko Sakuma, Akutabe’s hired assistant, has recently summoned a demon named Azazel that pretty much does a lot more harm than good. It’s all worth it though just to get the job done, I guess.

Taking the Pants Off

First let me just say that I am a bit weirded out at the kind of shows that receives a second season. I really need to know the criteria for green lighting a second season because it’s all so very random to me. A second season of Yondemasuyo Azazel 2 is something I was clearly not expecting. I did enjoy the first season but in very small doses. I never imagined Production IG would be convinced to push another season though. I guess a lot of people enjoyed the low brow toilet humor the show has to offer. To be honest, this show is kind of one of a kind. From the really ugly characters to the comedy gore and even the traumatizing sexual humor, there is something remarkable about the show. There are a lot of surprising things from this anime but probably the one that caught me off guard is the fact that the story is actually improved. It’s still the same stupid show but the effort given by Production IG really made the second season far better than the first. This is a clear proof that if Production IG really does give a damn, they can present some really outstanding anime.

If you’ve seen the first season then you are already aware at the kind of gag the anime thrives on. It’s the over the top superbly offensive kind of comedy that can turn people off. Sexual humor is the standard with sagging boobs, little mascots groping people and sexual images that are often censored. It’s all the about the shock value though. Most people would be grossed out or appalled but others would simply laugh loudly at it. If you can laugh at this:

Then you’re pretty much set. Keep in mind. This is just one of the many stupid things you’ll see in this show. The sexual humor is just a piece of the pie you’ll see in this anime. It also loves gore. There are a lot of unnecessarily bloody scenes in this anime. Azazel often has this gag where he would get his face crushed in, his body exploding or just expelling alarmingly large amount of blood for comedic effect. This isn’t the kind of cartoon violence that anyone can just enjoy. The anime often censor guts and spray the walls with blood on almost every episode. Here’s a GIF that can nicely sum up the gore in the anime.

Did you enjoy that? If you did then I’m sure you’ll love the anime. These nicely flow with the story though so there is a method to the chaos the anime creates. It’s one of the reasons why I love this anime. It’s paced well and its unique brand of comedy is smartly incorporated in. I will still point it out as many times as I can that this isn’t for everyone. This is one of those anime that really has a specific target audience and I guess there are enough of them satisfied enough to let Production IG give them another season.

Like I said though, the one thing that greatly improved in this anime is the story. It’s still the same kind of content as the first season. Most episodes usually revolve around a case the team is involved in or some sort of misadventures about a character that spirals into something more. The interesting part though is that the show cuts these stories into two parts. The first episode would often setup the story and lay the groundwork for the next episode. The second episode would then conclude the story. This 13 episode anime with 11 minutes each feels more like seven normal anime episodes cut in pieces to fit the time format. The pacing of the show is just like any normal anime and you barely feel the time constraint. Since the anime is dividing the stories into two episodes, there is no rush to deliver gags or pushing forth the punch line of the episode. It’s all surprisingly paced well that you can enjoy it just like any normal anime. It’s a brilliant move because the limitation of the time format is non-existent. To be fair, the first season also did the same approach towards the end but I guess they smartened up and realized that they can apply the same format to overcome the hassle of character introductions and stuff like that. It really flows well and you can enjoy the offensive gags even more.

The interesting thing about the second season is the lack of episodes concerning our main character, Rinko Sakuma. She is the only flower on top of a manure field in the anime and the first season was heavily about her normal life with a not so normal job. The show takes a look at the way she coped with the odd job, grow a relationship with the demons and learning to slowly adjust to her now weird life. The second season changed the approach. Rinko had very little role in the anime aside being Azazel’s summoner. The second season mostly had stories about the other characters. It was a nice treat to see some of the familiar nutcases getting their own episodes. The first season often gave an episode to them so they can be properly introduced. In the second season, their own brand of craziness is highlighted a lot more. From the mermaid’s crazy and obsessive attitude to even Akutabe who barely appeared on the first season, there were some pretty fun stories concerning the rest of the characters. I personally missed some of these oddballs because I did enjoy their character in the first season. A normal episode being only about them is pretty sweet.

Majority of the episodes are still about the cases and misadventures the team often stumbles in. It’s a simple format and it usually escalates in the most stupid way. The new characters and cases our team is involved in are pretty insane at times. Can you imagine an episode about an exhibitionist thief with a really long penis? Don’t imagine it. Here’s a picture of it:

Yeah. Makes you want to watch it, right? There are a lot more of these kinds of episodes so again I’ll say that this is not for everyone. Nothing in this anime is restrained. Nothing. The way the episodes slowly escalates the craziness is something I find entertaining though. It’s just one stupid thing on top of another and the randomness of the episodes often catches me off guard. The fact that most of the episodes end without any payoff is something that I also enjoy. It makes you simply just watch and see the chaos unfold.

The characters are all pretty much the same. There wasn’t any heavy focus on them anyway. The old characters are still the same stupid bunch of demons and people like they were in the first season. There was very little character development as well. Aside from some episodes revolving around most recurring characters, they were still the familiar characters you enjoyed in the first season. All the old characters from the demons and even the angels get their time in the second season. Yes, if you’ve seen the first season, prepare to see God in this anime as well. The new characters are all pretty awesome. They’re the centerpiece of most episodes so their brand of craziness was nicely brought out. Some of them will really catch you off guard. I was really not expecting how stupid most of these characters are but I really love how they made every episode really interesting.

This is a really enjoyable show. The first season was pretty great but the second season was improved a bit. The fact that the story is now more properly presented is something I am a true fan of. The toilet humor and everything else comes second because some of them still didn’t sit quite right with me. Most of them had me laughing though. Production IG did a good job of presenting this anime. Tsutomu Mizushima is also a really great director. I’m glad he had good faith to improve this show. He really has a good eye for anime and I’m glad he’s doing great at Production IG. Let’s hope to see more awesome stuff from this talented director. He’s truly one of those people that rarely disappoints.

Sight and Sound

Character design is pretty much the same as the first season. It’s pretty shocking to see more beautiful characters in the show though as oppose to the first season having only Rinko as its eye candy. There are some surprisingly pretty characters in the show and I just love how they’re as appealing as our protagonist. This anime loves really ugly characters though but I think they restrained themselves a bit here. The first season was full of people with jowls, whiskers and basically having dog faces. There aren’t a lot of them here in the second season but I guess my eye has pretty much adjusted to the fugly design of the anime. I was honestly even seeking out truly disgusting looking ones just for the heck of it. In fact, even the ugly characters have their own unique charm that I do appreciate. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still ugly as sh*t but pretty great in terms of the anime’s standard. Most of them look pretty human though and it doesn’t stray far from how any ugly person would look like. The first season enjoyed over exaggerated features on its characters but nothing was off in the second season. I’m not including the sagging boobs and other stuff but the second season doesn’t have much visually jarring character unlike the first one.

The character’s hell versions are also featured in the anime. In the show, the demons become cute mascots when they are summoned but they are actually really cool demons in hell. This was teased in the OP of the first season but they now appeared here in the second season. Seeing the bad ass version of the demons are pretty awesome. Azazel has a nice muscular body with nice details on his bottom half since he has hooves. Beelzebub looks like a rich kid with a crown and a gentleman attire. It’s pretty surprising how unremarkable he looks though. It was still a treat to see these characters true form. Some of them are pretty interesting to see and it’s really a treat to see them act stupid in their normal forms.

Animation has also slightly improved. You won’t notice it much because it’s a pretty time restricted anime but the anime has done away with reusing backgrounds. The first season sort of had this technique of using the same background but widening or shortening the shot to avoid detection but it’s easy to spot if you took enough screenshots. The character’s movements are also improved because the anime really took the time to do some flashy movements like some dance scenes, gorier scenes and some flashier camera styles that I can tell they weren’t able to do in the first season because of time constraints. It’s not that much though and the animation style of the first season is still applied in the show.

The anime’s OP is “Revival!!” by Team.Nekokan [Neko] featuring. Chihiro Yonekura. It’s a pretty decent song. The lyrics are pretty good considering the anime does have some dark comedy in it. The lyrics talks about despair and rage but in a very lighthearted manner. I also love how casual the singer’s voice is. It feels great to listen to it, to be honest. The OP sequence pretty much summarizes the entire anime. Every story is crammed in but nothing to give away spoilers. It’s also a nice way to nicely anticipate the following episodes. The anime has no ED. It usually plays the credits while the anime is ending the episode. The first episode used the OP as its ED though. For a short anime like this, an ED isn’t really needed anyways.

Overall Score

6/10 “It has the same kind of humor as the first season but with a more improved story format.”

If you enjoyed the first season then I’m sure you’ll love the second one. Let me point it out again though that this is not for everyone. This anime have some pretty f*cked up gags that is not for the close minded. The amount of toilet humor, sexual gags and ugly characters can easily turn anyone off. Check the pictures and decide for yourself. If you enjoy low brow comedy then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this anime.