STEEL ANGEL KURUMI THE SECOND
Because they thought we wanted it, that’s why.
Review by: Craig "Machine guns in the jubblies" Norris
Length: 12 episodes, 15 min. each
Genre: Action, romance, shoujo-ai
Watched: 1-12, subbed
I thought the first one was decent, so that’s why I was willing to give the sequel a chance, despite the stereotype of sequel series being dubious at best. Well, turns out there’s a reason stereotypes get made: sometimes they’re right on the money. Steel Angel Kurumi the Second shows us that you shouldn’t rehash something you did right the first time.
Plot synopsis: Shrine maiden Nako is exploring an underground storage area with her childhood friend, Uruka. They find a puppy wandering the passageways, and it leads them to a large statue. Much to Nako and Uruka’s surprise, the statue starts chasing them! After escaping the tunnels, the statue breaks open revealing Steel Angel Kurumi Mark II, whose lips land squarely on Nako’s. Now Nako is Kurumi’s master, much to the chagrin of Uruka, who wanted Nako’s lips for her own.
Artwork: The success of the artwork in the first series stemmed from the fact that the Steel Angels looked out of place in their environment. With the second series taking place in the present day, that contrast is lost. Sometimes the sheer amount of different colors used in a scene becomes oppressive and confusing. Also, sometimes the artwork looks much flatter than in its predecessor series. If you are expecting the same quality animation as in the first series, I am sorry to say that you will be very disappointed.
Music: Some of the same tracks get reused in this sequel. The opening is a remix of the original, and the in-episode music utilizes more of the fluffier tracks than anything else. Containing much less action and drama than the first series, the use of such tracks is justified, but the fact remains that it lacks the range that fans of the first series have come to expect. Overall the quality of the original did not transfer over to the sequel in terms of music quality.
Characters: Well, the Steel Angels are the same characters we know and love. Kurumi is still innocent and energetic, Saki is still sweet and reserved, and Karinka is still boisterous and confrontational. Nako is a junior high school 
student who works as a shrine maiden and plays the cello. She often gets embarrassed by how Kurumi hangs all over her, worried that their relationship might be misinterpreted. Indeed it has, by Uruka, who has had a crush on her for a long time. Uruka is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist who spoils her rotten, and confronted with Kurumi, who presents an obstacle in the way of what she wants, she becomes very contemptuous and jealous. As a result of a daydream run rampant, Uruka kisses Saki and awakens her. Now, not only is Saki devoted to Uruka, but she still has a crush on Kurumi, making for some very awkward situations. Karinka was awakened by a guild of mystics for the purpose of destroying Kurumi, whom the mystics believe violated her programming by attaching herself to one human as opposed to protecting all of humanity. The puppy is actually an accessory of Kurumi’s, and anyone who is savvy of video games will immediately draw parallels to Rush, the sidekick of Megaman. One success of the sequel is the consistency of the personalities of the Steel Angels from the first series.
Plot: Well... Karinka’s got a new hair style! That’s about all I can think of in terms of plot. There’s some stuff about a group of mystics who want to control the Steel Angels, but that pretty much fizzles out after a while. Really, the central issue is of Uruka being jealous of Kurumi’s relationship with Nako and dispatching lots of big robots to try and destroy her. A few snippets of plot are thrown in towards the end, but really it looks like the show was an excuse to rehash the old characters and have girls kiss each other. That’s not really a bad thing, as I thought the shoujo-ai elements in the series were tastefully done, walking the line between humorous and romantic. However, that was all I felt was really worthwhile about the show. In fact, the only screencaps I want to show in this review are the ones that show shoujo-ai, because everything else really had no substance at all. It’s my own personal protest. The degeneration from a plot line about the possible destruction of humanity to a bunch of crushes was really rather disappointing.
CHICKS!: One thing I will say about this series is that male characters get next to no screen time, leaving one free to enjoy the chick-ness to its fullest extent. As stated before, the Steel Angels have the same personalities as in the first series. However, a twist has been added in that Saki now has a crush on not one, but two girls who will not return her affection. That poor, sweet, 
adorable girl. All she wants is some hot girl-on-girl! Is that really too much to ask? Nako has the schoolgirl look (patent pending) going in full swing, complete with glasses and short hair. She’s still in junior high, so she’s still young, but I think that makes Kurumi’s crush on her even more noteworthy. A bodaciously busty babe fawning over someone who’s barely a teenager is indeed a strange pairing. Uruka is a year older than Nako, and is tremendously spoiled. She’ll do anything necessary to get her way, even pretend to like Kurumi. She’s rather flat-chested, and the appropriate jokes are made throughout the course of the series. However the human characters take a back seat, and the Steel Angels represent the majority of quality when it comes to chicks.
Overall: It’s fluffy, it’s without substance, and it by no means lives up to the standards set by the first series. Luckily it’s fairly short, so if you decide to sit thorough it you won’t feel guilty about wasting too much time on it. However, if you are a fan of shoujo-ai, I highly recommend this title, as the relationships between the girls are very nice and not overdone. But if you sit down to watch it with the expectation that it will have the same scope as the first series, you will be extremely disappointed. Only watch this series if you are in the mood for something brainless and without plot. Or if you like watching girls kiss each other. Which I do.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Shoujo-ai portrayed well
+ Consistent characters
- Downgrade in production values
- Virtually no plot
Rating: 5/10
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