Synopsis
After Gravion was able to use its ultimate attack, the Zeravire threat seemed to have temporarily stopped. However when it rises back up all of a sudden, the Earthgertz and its trump card, the super robot Gravion, is needed to defend this world again.

Last week, I covered the first Gravion series and didn’t have much praise for it, overall. It was not a horrible show by any means, just very mediocre, with a lot of limited animation, faceless antagonists, and unbalanced character growth. Today, I am looking at the sequel series, Gravion Zwei, which is a better show than the first series. However, that isn’t saying much, so let me go into more detail.

It has been some time since the last Zeravire attack, with Eiji and the other Gran Knights not doing much since this hiatus. Eiji, for his part, is still no closer in finding his sister Ayaka, try as he might to look. Meanwhile, the EFA is nearing completion of its Mass Production Gravion, known as the Gran Trooper. It is led by Faye Xin Lu, a young woman who seems to have ties with Toga and holds some resentment against him. Soon, the Zeravire do indeed return. Can Gravion handle the Zeravire this time around? Will the Gran Troopers be effective? Will Eiji finally find his sister? This and more will be answered as time marches on.

Like the first series, Gravion Zwei is an anime series produced by Gonzo and runs at 12 episodes as opposed to the first season’s 13, running from January of 2004 to March of the same year. The music is also still very good, with JAM Project once more performing the Opening and insert songs. The ending is also more rock based, though still lighter than JAM Project’s work. The animation problems I mentioned in my review of the first season are still a little present, but not to that much of an extent, thankfully. As a whole, the show does feel it has a little more budget this time around, for whatever reason. Though there are still instances of stock footage, they are handled better, and it even subverts your expectations at some points. Also, like with the first series, this was also brought to the United States and given a dub. It more or less is like the first season’s dub, though it feels they have a little more experience and things just come off as sounding better. There is also an instance of characters singing a Japanese insert song in English with the lyrics changed some. I found it to be all right, but your mileage may vary on that scene.
 

The Gran Knights get an upgrade to Sol Gravion, but it happens pretty late in the series, which is kind of a shame since it does seem pretty impressive.

The protagonists are the same as in the first series, with the inclusion of Faye, though she never joins the Gran Knights and stays with the EFA for the whole series. You do get a lot more backstory on characters like Eina, Toga, Leele, and Mizuki this time around, which does have the effect of making them more well rounded than they previously were. Faye herself is an interesting character, as she acts as somewhat of a contrast to Toga. You also learn the whole story behind Sandman and what his deal is, which does make him more “human” in a sense, though some may not like the mysterious facade being taken away like that.

The antagonists are still the Zeravire, and they are finally given a “face” behind them and why they act the way they do. However, due to the purposes of the review, I can’t talk about it too much since it is spoilers for the whole show. I will say that it is an interesting revelation, if a little convoluted. As for the Zeravire designs, they are still imposing for the most part, and they actually are more of a threat this time around instead of being dispatched by Gravion’s new weapon of the week.

Finally, touching upon the story for this season, one can say that the story here is more than just basic like the first series was. There does feel like there is much more at stake this time around, with things becoming compounded as characters like Toga struggle with their worth. It also expands upon some points that were brought up in the first series, which is good, as they would have been wasteful otherwise. Pretty much all the plot threads throughout the series are also wrapped up, which brings a nice sense of closure to everything.
 

That isn't to say that there are points of the story early on that feel like they are nothing but filler, but you also have to understand that the show plays up the fanservice for its intended audience. Which isn't a bad thing, in my opinion.

In conclusion, Gravion Zwei is a much better series than the first, going out of its way to fix a lot of the problems that were present in the first attempt. However, I feel that you would need to watch the first series regardless, to fully enjoy how the plot wraps up in the second series. This series, like the first one, is available legally in the states through Sentai Filmworks. You can either get in a combo boxset with the first season, or try and track down the set for just the second season, though the latter is much harder to find as of this writing.