My sense of it all was to start to try and develop our last hero - Ruti. Now living in Zoltan, with help from Red, Rit and Tisse, Ruti seems to be taking a keen interest in trying to find out how she can live as not-the-hero. With such a shallow personality in the first season, the differences between then and now are like light and day. She's more into what she's doing, she has more of an ability to think on her own, and doesn't jump to violence right away. In a sense, I guess you can say that the first half did accomplish something, but doing so over such a long haul barely feels like enough reason to do it.
Red and Rit are mostly unchanged from the first season. The apothecary, and Zoltan in general, are much less of the focus on this season, so Red and Rit are mostly used to guide us through the story elements. They both take on a bigger role in the story in the back half of the season though, and mostly for the better. It's here that they focus more on Red's smarts, which is at least a little enjoyable, especially consider who he fights in the last episode. The romance bits in the story are not quite as evident than those found in the first season which is where it had some of its better plot points. There is some, and it was decently told.
With Ruti effectively out of the picture as a hero, Van takes up the mantle as the new one. His personalities mirror what Ruti was in the first season, though a little too similarly for my liking. His ideals stubbornly cling to him and figuring out what to do with him does feel like the objective of the back half. He clings to his Divine Blessing like a mother and child and it can get old. He is guided by Ljubo, Esta and Lavender. Ljubo was an addition I didn't mind. I actually like that they gave him more personality because they certainly had issues with this before. His love of wine and cigars made me chuckle on a few occasions. I wish they did more with Esta because she clearly has a strong sense of duty to try and guide an imperfect hero. Lavender has a very strange backstory, one of which I just couldn't attach myself to. Maybe her purpose is to push Van's older ideals, but would much of changed without her? Her interactions with Rit might be a redeeming quality, but that's about it.
The second half of the story, as I alluded to earlier, was much stronger than the first because now at least our Zoltan group have an objective. The pacing is pretty unsteady, as some episodes have far more to them than others, while the encounters between Van's part and Red's fared much better. Tisse and Yarandrala are a little more involved in the story as we carry along, but it sometimes does feel like the roster is a little too overcrowded.
The way in which they decide to leave the story off seems about right for what I expected. Not every adventure story needs to result in violence, and even if the action sequences here were much better than last season. It never got too silly like some of the scenes did last time around. The way forward doesn't seem super clear so I have a hard time seeing this get another season, but I've been surprised before. (Story: 6/10, Characters: 6/10)
Art: Studio Flad returns and they do a much more consistent job than they did the first time around. Quality never really crumbles, and the colouring and lighting remain mostly consistent. (7/10)
Sound: Like with last season, I wasn't terribly impressed by any of the tracks, but they are enough to get you by. Voice work was much stronger this time around, in part because I feel like Tia Ballard (Ruti) settles into her role better than in the first season. As someone who loves her work, I was pretty disappointed with how she acted as Ruti, so that's nice to see. Aaron Campbell (Red) and Jad Saxton (Tisse) still offer strong performances, while Dani Chambers (Rit) is someone you can never go wrong with. Macy Anne Johnson (Lavender) was probably my favourite though - where'd she pull this one from? I'm used to hearing her in more subtle, quiet roles. (8/10)
Overall: Banished From The Hero's Party, I Decided To Live A Quiet Life In The Countryside Season 2 scores out roughly the same as the last season. It's strength lies in the back half, which is the opposite of last season, as the story around Van was stronger than anything else. I'm glad they built a little bit on top of Ruti after she is no longer the hero, and even if it's not the most interesting thing to listen to, they probably picked the right character to base the first half around. It's hard to judge what kind of audience this would appeal to because it doesn't do anything on an exceptional level. It's just another season, talking about Divine Blessings and Zoltan. (6/10)
