Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Kengan Ashura’ Season 2 on Netflix, Brings the (Emotional) Pain as Ohma is Rendered Unfit for Battle

Gladiator arenas have long been a spectator sport in the world of Kengan Ashura. Combatants fight to the death in brawls called Kengan matches. When fighter Tokita “Ashura” Ohma (Kaiji Tang) is scouted by a company called Nogi Group, he takes the gladiator business by storm. Kengan Ashura Season 2 follows Ohma as he, under Nogi Group representative Kazuo Yamashita (Keith Silverstein), remains stuck in the ICU recovering after a bout of dangerous fights. Will Ohma have to sit Round 2 of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament out? How much time does he have left after a series of brutal clashes? That’s what this season aims to find out.

KENGAN ASHURA – SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Through a haze of flames, the camera approaches Ganryu Island, where the Kengan Annihilation Tournament Arena is located. There, hundreds of representatives from multiple companies will duke it out to claim a new representative for the winning organization. The narrator runs down the rules of how things work while some of the combatants flash onscreen. This quick introduction to the series is meant to get new viewers up to speed while filling in details for those who haven’t tuned in since the last season.

The Gist: The Kengan Annihilation Tournament is only in its second round, but Ohma is going strong at the beginning of this second season. His manager Kazuo is over the moon with their latest victory, but the future is far from secured. The excitement over Ohma’s bloody victory over the Kure family lingers, but there’s an even more difficult matchup on the horizon. Though he was in rough shape after his last battle, Ohma insists he’s totally fine, and soldiers on.

But things clearly aren’t well with him. While enjoying a steak dinner with Kazuo after his victory, Ohma collapses into the floor mid-bite. A terrified Kazuo gets him medical care, but it seems the worst has happened: Ohma is now in a coma. Kazuo ruminates on whether he should withdraw from the tournament as we learn a bit more about Ohma’s shadowy past. But if Ohma has to pull out, what will happen with the Nogi Group, and who would emerge victorious from the tournament then? The very first episode of the second season is already full of difficult moments and even harder decisions as Ohma struggles to get back on his feet – with a questionable future, to say the least.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? With all its stylized fights and nonstop visceral action, Kengan Ashura is a dead ringer for shonen fighting series like Baki with some of the style and glitz of Record of Ragnarok. It also has sprinklings of shows like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure in that sometimes the people entering combat just tend to look ridiculous, but in a good way. If you like watching fighters knock each other’s lights out, you’ll feel right at home here.

Our Take: If you’ve seen any of Kengan Ashura, you already know the type of bone-crushing combat Ohma has taken part in, so it won’t come as a surprise that he randomly dips into a coma. It feels like it’s been a long time coming. No normal man would take these kinds of ridiculous blows and come away unscathed, and when they do in these types of fighting anime, it’s hard to believe they’re human. So it can be more difficult to accept victories from “the little guy” when they feel like superhuman giants already.

That’s why it feels like a much-needed grounding moment for Ohma, who believes himself invincible. It also forces Kazuo to reckon with whether or not the Kengan tournament is worth continuing to participate in, especially if it comes at the cost of Ohma’s well-being. Even the other combatants find themselves questioning whether Ohma will come back out of this alive, which shines a light on which of them are more than just “meat” for executives to force into fighting. They could all use this as an opportunity to scheme, which some of them certainly do, but some of their reactions are interesting and unexpected.

This episode also reveals how dedicated Kazuo has come to be to Ohma as he sits tirelessly by his side in the hospital. Though you wouldn’t guess someone appointed to manage a fighter would come to care about them more as a person than a tool with which to win a tournament, the bond the pair come to share this early is touching and worth tuning in for among all the violent turns the show takes – as is learning more about Ohma’s past in general.

Sex and Skin: None in these episodes, but the violence may get to you, especially if you’re invested in Ohma’s health. Honestly, you probably will be more than him.

Parting Shot: Kazuo remains in the hospital with Ohma watching over him as one of the latest Kengan matches takes place. He tells his assistant that he can’t leave Ohma alone as a new match kicks off without the pair at the arena.

Sleeper Star: Keith Silverstein does a great job as the unassuming Kazuo Yamashita, who acts as Ohma’s manager for the Kengan matches. It’s clear that he has a good heart, even if he might be a little bit of a coward. Silverstein brings out the good in him, and makes him a genuinely believable ally for Ohma.

Most Pilot-y Line: The show’s narrator lays everything out pretty simply during the opening moments of the first episode: “Prized fighters are courted by corporations from across the world. This is the Kengan Annihilation Tournament! Four hundred and seventeen corporate affiliates have registered, representing 1,205 competitors. One hundred and fifty-one participants fought in our preliminaries. Of those, only 32 remaining fighters have made it here to Ganryu Island, while their corporations are fighting to be granted the honor of selecting the next leader.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. Kengan Ashura Season 2 starts off on a jarring, terrifying note for fans of Ohma. It’s unclear whether he’ll pull out his latest stint alive, and with him down for the count for the foreseeable future, the Kengan tournament must still continue on. This season opener is a must watch as it sets the stage for what could be one of the most emotional yarns for Kengan Ashura yet, because who wants to say goodbye to Ohma? We certainly don’t, not this early in the game.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.