WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. For Date a Live Episode 2, I am finding this anime is quickly becoming ridiculous and totally absurd, but I am enjoying it anyway. I have found some of the best anime series to be the most ridiculous, so the absurdity of this show is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the anime can properly own it and manage it. So far, Date a Live is doing exactly that.
As for Shido, he is clearly showing himself to be a caring individual. It is interesting that he has a team of perverts working with him giving him love advice. He does not seem perverted himself, but his team may stir him in a perverted direction later, which plays into the idea of trying to date multiple individuals. The fact that Shido is working around perverts also provides opportunities for humor and comedy as well as fanservice as the show goes on.
Looking at Tohka, I am really liking her as a character. She seems friendly and caring about others, but also strong, disciplined, and willing to stand up for herself and her own self interests. She seems like she will be a very cool character in this anime.
I’m also liking Origami as a character. She’s quickly becoming a major character and is extremely intriguing and confusing. I also found the scene when she was dreaming to be quite intriguing, confusing, and tense. It’s unclear what’s going on, but hopefully it will tie in nicely with the plot.
There was also some nice humor in this episode. Part of the humor is because of how absurd everything is. Much of the humor also relies on the ridiculous personalities of the characters. When shows have absurd parts, they sometimes downplay their most absurd moments, which makes them fail to work well and makes the absurdities stick out as a flaw. So far, Date a Live isn’t making this mistake. Instead, it’s openly embracing its most absurd and ridiculous moments, which makes them work beautifully.
There is one thing I thought Date a Live Episode 2 could have done better though: it could have clarified the role of the AST more. It is unclear if the AST is working with Kotori and her group or not. In one case, Kotori seemed to be working against the AST. However, in some images it seemed they were part of the same organization, which makes matters confusing. The anime could have presented this more clearly.
Since the show is still early, there are lots of paths it can pursue. It’s still too early to tell for sure how everything will work out. Date a Live is definitely giving itself many paths forward. This is beneficial as it allows plenty of flexibility. It is also positive as it keeps the viewer guessing and makes the anime less predictable going forward.
Date A Live. Shirane, Hideki. Funimation, 2013. Web.
Date A Live Wiki. “Ryouko Kusakabe.” Date a Live Wiki. Date a Live Wiki, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2021. <https://date-a-live.fandom.com/wiki/Ryouko_Kusakabe>.