GATE Part 2
GATE（ゲート）自衛隊 彼の地にて、斯く戦えり 第2クール (Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri Part 2)
- Action
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Isekai
- Military
- Episodes
- 12
- Duration
- 23 min per ep
- Aired
- Jan 9, 2016 to Mar 26, 2016
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
Months after the Ginza Incident, the uneasy calm in the “Special Region” begins to fray as peace talks stall and distrust between the Empire and the Japan Self-Defense Force deepens. News of the magical world’s comparatively limited technology also draws the attention of outside nations, turning the region into a growing point of international interest and competition.
Lieutenant Youji Itami and his eclectic group of companions find themselves caught up in the Empire’s internal power struggles, where court politics prove as dangerous as the battlefield. Princess Piña Co Lada works to persuade her father that the JSDF isn’t seeking to annex the kingdom, but pressure mounts on all sides—forcing Itami to weigh harsher options to carry out his orders and keep negotiations from collapsing.
Otaku Consensus
GATE Part 2 is strongest when A-1 Pictures and director Takahiko Kyougoku lean into brisk JSDF operations, the Fire Dragon stretch, and the novelty of military hardware colliding with fantasy politics. Its 7.71 MAL average and high popularity reflect a sizable fanbase for that formula, but the dominant criticism is just as consistent: the writing often reads as JSDF wish fulfillment, with thin or inconsistent character work weakening the court-intrigue material.
Why You Should Watch
Watch GATE Part 2 if you want isekai with chain-of-command friction, tanks, diplomacy, and adult professionals instead of reincarnation leveling, school comedy, or truck-kun mythology. It scratches some of the same military-fantasy itch as The Saga of Tanya the Evil, but with a lighter adventure tone and more ensemble banter; it also shares Overlord’s pleasure in overwhelming power imbalance without making the lead a villain. The appeal is very specific: modern logistics and fantasy iconography occupying the same frame, with dragons, elves, kemonomimi, and medieval court politics treated as operational problems. If you enjoyed Part 1 for its unusual premise rather than for deep moral ambiguity, Part 2 gives you the concentrated version.
Key Characters
- PPiña Co Lada(VA: Haruka Tomatsu)
Piña is the season’s most useful political lens, giving the fantasy side a negotiator whose pride, fear, and pragmatism make the diplomacy more interesting than the battlefield math.
- YYouji Itami(VA: Junichi Suwabe)
Itami remains the series’ most divisive asset: a laid-back otaku officer whose competence sells the fantasy for fans and sharpens the wish-fulfillment complaint for critics.
- LLelei la Lalena(VA: Nao Touyama)
Lelei stands out because her appeal is intellectual rather than loud, functioning as the bridge between magical theory and modern military reasoning.
- RRory Mercury(VA: Risa Taneda)
Rory is the show’s instantly recognizable gothic battle icon, loved for her presence and design while also embodying the tonal excess that skeptics find distracting.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
The season’s structure is unusually segmented for a 12-episode continuation: fan reviews single out the Fire Dragon mission first, then a stretch of side operations, before the political coup and war material take over.
- 2
A-1 Pictures’ production keeps the franchise’s clean commercial look, with Jun Nakai serving as both character designer and chief animation director while adapting Daisuke Izuka’s original character designs.
- 3
The sound package is one of the more consistently praised elements even in negative reviews: Yukio Nagasaki handled sound direction, Yoshiaki Fujisawa composed the music, and Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets performed the opening theme.
- 4
AniList’s tag profile quantifies the show’s hybrid identity better than a genre label can: Military at 98%, Politics at 81%, War at 74%, Tanks at 52%, alongside Dragons, Elf, Medieval, Kemonomimi, and Female Harem tags.
- 5
Its reception is notably polarized for a popular title: it holds a 7.71 MAL score from 368,933 votes and MAL popularity rank #414, while sampled user reviews range from 3/10 denunciations of propaganda to 10/10 praise for fast pacing and intrigue.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- GATE Part 2 aired as a finished 12-episode second part from January 9 to March 26, 2016, rather than as a long uninterrupted two-cour broadcast.
- Fun fact 2
- The core adaptation team pairs Takumi Yanai’s original story with Tatsuhiko Urahata on series composition, giving the anime a dedicated script-structure role separate from direction.
- Fun fact 3
- Takahiko Kyougoku directed the season, with Ryou Andou credited as chief episode director, a staffing split that points to a production managed across both overall direction and episode-level execution.
- Fun fact 4
- AniList lists both Isekai at 93% and Reverse Isekai at 60%, reflecting why the show is often discussed as a two-way portal fantasy rather than a standard transported-hero series.
- Fun fact 5
- One web critic noted that, despite there being more story left to adapt, Part 2 reaches an ending that can function as satisfactory if the anime never continues.
Studios
- A-1 Pictures
