Nobunaga no Shinobi: Ise Kanegasaki-hen

A no-brainer if you've watched the first season.

The same adorable gag humour, the same charm and creativity, the same colourful, bright chibi art/animation, without missing a beat.

Chidori, the shinobi, while still as adorable, naive, and kickass, keeps growing throughout as she learns more about the goings-on and tactics of war and war time from the people and events surrounding Nobunaga during his ongoing fight for a unified Japan.

Like Season 1, events move fast--as it should in 3 minutes--gaining more speed once it moves into more meaty affairs, each lovingly depicted with their own original, comic twists - watered down and in tune with history, ... of course.
Many more characters are introduced, all as quirky and amusing as the next, leaving the viewer with much to root for, or laugh at, or both. Even not knowing the history/characters, it's all fairly understandable and still enjoyable.

Coupled with bg-music and inserts that never fail to excite, the series altogether continues to make for an exceptional 4-koma anime that, honestly, I wouldn't mind watching for ten more years. ;) It's a fun almost-necessary stress-buster of a ride.

3 minute shorts of warring states period comedy, with a dense but adorable and deadly kunoichi, a very friendly portrayal of Oda Nobunaga, and a cast of other zany characters. This second season is somewhat more serious and focused on history than the first, with the heroes in serious trouble on many occasions. Gags are still a major part of the series, but unfortunately the reliance on repetitive jokes from the first season is even more pronounced. Nobunaga's role also shifts from a serious tsukkomi to a funny-man, with practically every joke sadly based on his love of sweets (though those who don't laugh with ... him risk getting shot).

A notable number of new historical characters are also introduced this season, often very briefly, though this a least provides some new gags. Mitsuhide may have been meant to take over Nobunaga's straight man role, but doesn't get a great deal of screentime. Overall, the humour is still okay, the story is quite decent for 3 minutes, and this is still a fun little historical adventure.

It goes without question that if you watched the first season of this show, then you will most likely enjoy the second season as its just more of the same. The three minute run time per episode is fine for the comedy that each episode has, while also telling more about the battles and struggles that Nobunaga had in trying to unite Japan.

There is some more serious moments in this season than the previous one, as it shows that Nobunaga's quest is getting more dangerous and its taking its toll on not only himself but his allies as well. The comedy does alleviate the more ... serious situations, but the fact that some jokes and gags from the last season are told again in this season, does make them feel repetitive.

Its just more of the same as it was last season, just with some more historical characters being introduced and the plot setting up for more big events to happen. With the music still being OK, the character design being decent and the actual historical events while still being a cliff note version of what happened, still being entertaining. Its still a fun little series to watch and to learn a little about history as well.