Yuji's existence disappeared on Christmas Eve, after he and Shana dealt with the Statue of Pride - to everyone, including his closest friends and family, it's like he never existed. With two exceptions: Shana and Kazumi, who still believe that he exists as the letter they'd given to him haven't disappeared. Their hope is well-founded, but perhaps not in the way they expect, as Yuji has himself made a contract with a Guze no Tomogara - and become the new leader of Bal Masque... I have to admit to a certain attachment to the Flame-Haired, Burning-Eyed Hunter. My eldest is named after her, after all. But while I saw and loved the first season, I missed the second (didn't get a UK release, and I never got around to importing it before Geneon went toes up) - and it took all of about 2 minutes of the first episode of this season for me to realise that no, this isn't one of those shows that you can drop into without knowing what went before. Cue a half-hour visit to Wikipedia for some emergency catch-up reading. With that done, though, events here made a lot more sense, and I have to say that the way they've set up this season, with Shana and Yuji now essentially being on opposite sides after fighting together for so long, has a whole ton of potential. Some things haven't changed, though. Shana, Kazumi, Margery and the others are still great to watch, poor Kazumi is still unlucky in love and all the more adorable because of it; Shana, now with added self-doubt and the complications that come from Yuji's new form, still manages to keep her rather unique outlook on life. It's almost like I haven't been away, despite it being two and a half years since I last watched any of the series. And now I desperately want to catch up on what I've missed in between. THE GOOD: All the old favourite characters, being just as awesome as they've always been, with Yuji's change in 'status' opening up plenty of possibilities. THE BAD: Don't have any, yet. Not quite up there with Mirai Nikki as my pick of the season, but not far behind it.
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