The Asterisk War Season 2
学戦都市アスタリスク (Gakusen Toshi Asterisk 2nd Season)
- Action
- Comedy
- Ecchi
- Fantasy
- Romance
- Harem
- School
- Urban Fantasy
- Episodes
- 12
- Duration
- 24 min per ep
- Aired
- Apr 2, 2016 to Jun 18, 2016
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
*The Asterisk War Season 2* picks up as Genestella students Ayato Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld push into the next round of the Phoenix Festa, following a hard-fought match against the Urzaiz sisters, Irene and Priscilla.
Their momentum is quickly tested when the truth about Ayato’s sealed powers spreads, leaving the pair at a serious disadvantage. With the tournament growing more demanding, Ayato and Julis are forced to rethink their approach if they want to stay in contention—and the obstacles ahead only become tougher to overcome.
Otaku Consensus
Otaku Consensus: The Asterisk War Season 2 lands as a competent, crowd-friendly continuation whose best asset is A-1 Pictures’ tournament staging: Kenji Setou and chief director Manabu Ono keep the Phoenix Festa material moving with cleaner urgency, flashier duels, and more character-forward momentum than its reputation suggests. Its ceiling is limited by familiar harem-school-battle writing; even positive reactions tend to frame it as solid and watchable rather than distinctive.
Why You Should Watch
Watch The Asterisk War Season 2 if you want polished light-novel arena combat without the heavier melodrama of darker magic-school shows. It scratches the same itch as Chivalry of a Failed Knight and Infinite Stratos: ranked academy battles, romantic tension, weaponized special powers, and a cast built around rivalries as much as affection. The appeal is in the format discipline: 12 episodes, a clear tournament spine, frequent tactical resets, and enough comedy/ecchi texture to keep it in high-energy harem territory. Viewers who enjoy seeing a studio like A-1 Pictures turn familiar genre machinery into sleek, easy-to-binge entertainment will get the most out of it, especially if the draw is colorful duels over deep deconstruction.
Key Characters
- AAyato Amagiri(VA: Atsushi Tamaru)
Ayato functions as the classic battle-school lead, but Season 2’s appeal comes from watching his limitations affect team tactics rather than simply powering through every match.
- JJulis-Alexia von Riessfeld(VA: Ai Kakuma)
Julis stands out because the season treats her as a true co-pilot in the combat drama, not just a romantic prize orbiting the male protagonist.
- CClaudia Enfield(VA: Nao Touyama)
Claudia is the cast’s strategic social operator, giving the harem setup a sharper edge through poise, confidence, and controlled ambiguity.
- SSaya Sasamiya(VA: Shiori Izawa)
Saya brings the tech-heavy side of the series to the foreground, matching the show’s guns, robots, and artificial-intelligence tags more directly than the fantasy-leaning fighters.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
A-1 Pictures handled the 12-episode second season as a compact Spring 2016 run, airing from April 2 to June 18, which gives it the feel of a focused tournament cour rather than a sprawling continuation.
- 2
The production credits separate chief direction and episode-level direction, with Manabu Ono as chief director and Kenji Setou as director, a structure that helps explain the season’s emphasis on steady pacing and clear duel presentation.
- 3
Its AniList tag spread shows how hybridized the series is: School and Urban Fantasy both sit at 79%, Magic at 76%, Female Harem at 70%, while Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Guns all register at 40%. That mix is more tech-fantasy than a standard sword-and-spell academy setup.
- 4
The season’s reception profile is unusually revealing: it has broad visibility with MAL Popularity #573 and 269,771 votes, but its 6.98 score and #4957 rank place it firmly in the divisive middle tier of mainstream battle-harem anime.
- 5
Fan commentary repeatedly singles out the fights and more upbeat theme songs as the easiest wins, while the recurring criticism is that the series remains entertaining genre craft rather than a standout reinvention.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- The anime credits Yuu Miyazaki as the original creator and okiura for the original character designs, while Tetsuya Kawakami handled the anime character designs for the screen version.
- Fun fact 2
- The staff list includes dedicated mechanical and prop roles: Shinobu Nishioka is credited with mechanical design, and Hiroshi Mimata with prop design, matching the series’ blend of fantasy combat and manufactured weaponry.
- Fun fact 3
- Nao Kudou is credited as CG Director, while AniList marks CGI at only 10%, suggesting CG is present as a production tool without defining the show’s visual identity.
- Fun fact 4
- AniList’s 67/100 score and MAL’s 6.98/10 score are closely aligned, giving the season a rare cross-platform consensus as a watchable but not elite genre entry.
- Fun fact 5
- Despite mixed critical reactions, the series has substantial platform engagement: AniList lists 1,161 favourites, while MAL records more than a quarter-million user votes for this season.
Studios
- A-1 Pictures
