This review may contain spoilers
A Mad World Unfolds..
Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off.. Season 1 was intense, but this season has way more action, blood and honestly some disgusting scenes.. And yeah we finally got the answers to the questions that we were left with.. We get to see the full dose of the Goto’s brutal madness this time and also the family’s twisted past.. Which explains why they are so messed up.. The action scenes were truly next level and Yuya Yagira shines once again.. There is a scene in ep 2 where he has a moment of realisation and goes completely berserk, that was incredible to watch.." If they are crazy.. Then I will just have to go crazy too.. "
This season is definitely not for the faint hearted.. I expected gore, but some of it was straight up sickening.. But I loved the fact they didn't try to hold back.. They were fully committed to the madness and it worked..
Special shoutout to Tsunematsu Yuri.. Her potrayal of the younger version of Goto Gin was purely cynical.. She was gaslighting, manipulating and using herself as a trophy to get her revenge.. And she was magnificient in every episode she appeared in.. Limited screentime or not, she made the drama twice as compelling with her performance..
" I am madness itself.. Born from this village.. "
When it comes to the visuals, they were violently beautiful.. Some of the frames looked insane.. And the Music matched the vibe too..
It’s a shame that a drama like this doesn’t get the attention it truly deserves.. I really hope it reaches a wider audience because it’s one that deserves to be seen by more people..
Overall, this season takes everything to the next level.. With wild action, powerful performances and a raw intensity.. It has very dark and disturbing elements with bold scenes that only make it more intriguing to watch..
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The acting is so well done by everyone. It's so easy to love certain characters and so, so easy to hate others (iykyk). Yet there's so much nuance in (most of) the characters. I do find that Kano Sumire's character lacks the same depth the other important characters have. Even for the most evil characters, we see their backstory and an insight into how they grew up. And then there's just Sumire, letting other people have control over her by choice.
I really liked what one of the girl's in the family said in ep 5: "how come it's always women who are the victims in these stories? Sacrificed by the disguising men". And it was a recurring theme in both seasons - the women who always have to be the one to make the sacrifices.
I'm also totally on a Yagira Yuya kick and I can't wait to see his next few acting projects!!
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This review may contain spoilers
Gannibal S2: Absolute Cinema - Chilling, Brutal and Unforgettable.
This was absolute cinema, straight up fire from start to finish. One of the best gore crime thrillers i have ever watched. From presentation to execution to direction, everything was top notch. I have seen many gore thrillers but this one was incredibly rich in storytelling, lore and impact right up there with one of my favorite zombie dramas Kingdom.It kept you on your toes the entire time and often left you with a complex, chilling experience.
More than the protagonists, this was truly the story of the antagonists. At one point, you start forgetting who the victims were and who the perpetrators were. The primary antagonist, Gin Goto, is one of the most fascinating characters i have ever seen in a thriller. She was raped by the entire village, including her own family (the original Gotos) and was left to burn alive during a festival as a sacrifice to the gods. Later she encountered a group of cannibals, gave birth to a boy and returned to the village with this group. She annihilated the entire Goto family, established a new Goto bloodline and became its head.
Her only son somehow transformed into a zombie like creature, enormously large, undefeatable and dependent on human flesh. The Goto family began worshipping him and started sacrificing human children to satisfy his hunger. This is the core plot of the series. However in the end, the families of the victims also massacre the Goto clan in the most brutal ways, blurring the line between victims and perpetrators even further.
There were plenty of goosebumps worthy moments. One of my favorites was the episode that narrated Gin Goto’s story through flashbacks. In the final episode, after she is killed by the villagers, her son eats her flesh, realizes it mid act, starts crying and then continues eating her. Later, while fighting his own son, he suddenly begins to eat himself and ultimately ends his own life in the most horrifying way.
The only downside was that the protagonist made a few foolish decisions here and there, which could be frustrating. But the show was so powerfully carried by the villains and the second male lead that it hardly mattered.
This show was creepy, eerie, chilling, and absolutely terrific. This was real terror, true horror.
Absolute cinema. A masterpiece.
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A thrilling end
A really solid second season. It picks up right where the first season leaves off, provides us with more backstory and lore, and wraps up the story cleanly without overstaying its welcome. I do think I like this season a tiny bit less than the first season, but not by much.I like the focus on Keisuke (my favorite character!); he has an extremely engaging dynamic with many of the side characters, and his own story arc is extremely compelling. The downside is that we really shifted away from Daigo and his family. It doesn't hamper the movement of the story and his journey wraps up nicely, but he definitely feels more like a supporting character this time around as things happen around him.
In terms of effects and soundtrack, they're still as creepy as ever — this might be the most blood-curdling drama I've ever seen and that's a compliment.
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The Traumatised Village.
Gannibal's second season can be watched as a direct continuation of the first as it starts right from where the first one ends.And mind you. The entire story takes place within a span of one night and a whole day.
Rather than focussing on the mystery or build-up, we are 'shown' or told what had taken place straightaway. It's unflinchingly disturbing and dark, but was worth sitting through till the end.
I'll write down my jumbled thoughts here:
☆ The second season brings along everything that I loved from the first -- stellar performances by the cast, even more so in this one, (particularly the actors for Goto Keisuke, Yosuke, Iwao, Kuroe and Gin who had more scenes and importance) ; convincing and nauseating horrific scenes combined with unexpectedly emotional moments.
☆ Characters: one of the highlights would be Goto Gin, aka, the half-eaten grandmother through whom the Gotos were introduced to us in the first season.
Well, she is a character you have to watch. Her past and the point where all hell breaks loose are vividly described and portrayed. It's highly disturbing. And I'm not kidding about it.
Themes of sexual assault, rape, cannibalism, gaslighting, etc are all an integral part of this season.
While I admire Goto Gin as an individual character whose sole purpose was to somehow keep herself alive through any means, I absolutely despice her actions and think that she got exactly what she deserved in the end.
She just had to become Tantai Jin 1.0 instead of showing an ounce of empathy.
☆ In a very twisted way, I can understand why the villagers are how they are. To me, they weren't crazy. And even the final episode and the scenes depict the extent of the impact the Goto family had on them.
Keisuke and the remaining younger generation (including the villagers) were the focus of the second season and they did not disappoint.
I was very surprised to know that Nagata Takato was a part of the cast as I was unable to recognize him.
It was also unexpectedly emotional, particularly the end of EP7, where I legit had goosebumps.
☆ As for Agawa Daigo... His character was the most 'human' of them all. Yes, his enraged actions led to a chain of events that ultimately ended up with terrible consequences (although, to me, it was for the best), but in the end, he is ultimately a character I respect. (Hats off to Yagira Yuya, whose performance I had slready noted in the first season.)
All in all, it was a bittersweet journey for me. Strange, but nevertheless, memorable.
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Gannibal Season 2 – Episodes 1 & 2 Review
The new season kicks off right where Season 1 ended, immediately pulling you back into the eerie world of Kuge village. While there aren’t major surprises yet, the setup is intense, keeping you on the edge of your seat. The entire cast returns, delivering strong performances, with Yuya Yagira once again standing out as Daigo Agawa. The cinematography and production values are top-notch, though I did miss the original Season 1 OST. With so much still to uncover, I hope they wrap up the story well this season. Looking forward to the next episodes!Was this review helpful to you?
Plat de résistance et dessert
Attendue depuis bientôt trois ans par une horde de fans affamés, Disney+ remet enfin le couvert avec la saison 2 de Gannibal, la sensation de 2022.Une si longue attente laissait craindre un plat réchauffé, voire de la viande avariée — surtout au vu des prestations de Yagira Yuya aussi molles qu’un mochi, ces derniers temps (Lion no Kagura, ...). Maintenant que je suis arrivé au bout de cette saison, quelle note attribuer à ce plat de gourmet qu’est Gannibal saison 2 ?
Rassurez-vous tout de suite : vous entrez toujours dans LE grand restaurant. Les acteurs restent au top, et une myriade de nouveaux personnages fait son apparition, comme une farandole de desserts venant ponctuer un menu signature déjà bien connu. En réalité, beaucoup avaient déjà été introduits dans la saison 1: l’équipe spéciale, Sumire ou encore les deux frères de Keisuke — mais jouant alors des rôles assez secondaires. Ils prennent de l’ampleur dans cette saison, mais le format de 8 épisodes ne permet pas de développer pleinement leur back ground, ce qui reste dommageable.
Même si on frôle parfois l’épisode thématique d'un personnage, les excellents scénaristes et l’auteur du manga évitent cet écueil classique en alternant régulièrement les points de vue. On restera surpris tout de même par l’étalement du flashback des années 50 sur trois épisodes. Surtout face à l’urgence qui transpire de ces presque huit heures.
On est d’ailleurs quasiment en temps réel, car cette saison s’étale comme du beurre en quantité limitée sur le jour suivant le dernier épisode de la première. Était-elle prévue dès le départ ? Évidemment non, et ça cela voit juste un petit peu, notamment dans les longueurs et silences inutiles du dernier épisode. Mais Gannibal, bien avant Shogun ou One Piece, fait partie des surprises nippones de la plateforme Disney. Révélant au monde tout le potentiel d’une production japonaise avec des moyens occidentaux.
On pouvait craindre une deuxième saison mollassonne, car tout semblait réuni pour cela : unité de lieu (cet escalier devant l’entrée des Goto omniprésent), de temps (une nuit, une journée), de personnages (on reprend les mêmes, ou du moins ceux encore en vie), et on recommence. Une tragédie en huit actes, avec la famille Goto au centre de l’intrigue, reléguant étrangement la famille Agawa à l’arrière-plan. En même temps, avec deux ans de plus, la jeune Shimizu Kokone ne pouvait plus paraitre son âge. Les scènes ne pouvaient qu'être limitées en nombre. Avec cette saison 2, on assiste presque un spin-off qui ne dit pas son nom, où même les trois frères Goto sont écartés de la trame principale. Car vous le comprendrez assez vite, le personnage principal, est une tout autre personne, plutôt absente de la première saison.
La série perd-elle alors de son intérêt ? Loin de là. Le mystère de la première saison étant rapidement levé, on pouvait se demander comment maintenir l’attention sur huit nouveaux épisodes, surtout après la cascade de violence et de sang des deux qui l'inaugurent. Une boucherie sans nom, sans comparatif avec un épisode d'il y a trois ans, afin de marquer les esprits et d’interroger sur les six autres peut-être. Il faudra donc s’accrocher à ces fusillades à l’américaine, avant de revenir à une horreur plus japonaise par la suite.
Mais ici, plus rien ne sera vraiment suggéré. Certains partis pris, comme l’introduction des tribus et leurs looks façon Hunger Games/Twilight, pourront faire sourire. Mais c’est vraiment le seul moment où le ton faiblit. Kasamatsu Shō et Yagira Yūya transpirent toujours les hormones et la violence, les classiques, y a que ça de vrai en cuisine.
Gannibal n’a rien perdu de sa superbe et mérite ses trois étoiles au guide des dramas. Un plat de résistance bienvenu, qui devrait rassasier une faim entretenue bien trop longtemps. En attendant — on l’espère — le plateau de desserts des spin-offs, spécialité maison de Disney.
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