Lagrange may have been slow in the plot department at times, but the direction the staff took for the final arc must be applauded.

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(Editor’s note: We ran into unexpected issues with the coverage of this series. We apologize for the delay!)

Season 1 introduced us to the impeding doom and collision of Le Garite and De Metrio. However, that was swiftly forgotten when both parties decided to make Earth their target. Earth held the solution to their problem, the Vox’s. During the past, and with pieces introduced this season, the Vox’s had incredible potential to invoke miraculous universe-bending events that even had destructive forces. It was no surprise that people would want control of these devices and would want access to the subspace Rinne. As we may recall, that season focused on certain characters choosing sides and ending on the note that Earth would not give up its Vox’s. This plot returned back to this closing arc, except now, Le Garite wanted the power of the Vox’s even if the girls wouldn’t help them. I liked this arc as it brought much needed suspense to a season that only had one other major arc with such a moment, and that was roughly six or so episodes ago. 

Dizelmine was soundly defeated by Madoka, Lan and Megunami at the end of episode 11. However, this was in the midst of worldwide catastrophe, with a miasma that seemed to want to engulf Earth, turning it into a Rinne of sorts. The resolution to this may have been unexpected and really mellow, but it looked gorgeous.

Lagrange must be praised in the visual department. One could argue that its plot was weak for most of its duration, but to say its scenery was lacking is simply absurd. The colors used in the episode immediately following Dizelmine’s defeat and Madoka changing the will of Rinne looked stunning. The various colors rising from the waters in front of Polyhedron, the flowers flowing throughout the universe and gorgeous and photorealistic lake for Dizelmine and Villaguilio were all amazing. 

The resolution for the anime was handled well. One of the things I liked about it was that it managed to differentiate itself from other anime. Most other action-oriented anime tend to stuff as much action into the final episode that the only return to normalcy you see for characters are brief snippets during the credits. Here, the major issues were resolved before the first commercial break and then extensive time was taken to conclude the number of plotlines: Array, Kirius, Izo and Yurikano; the Dizelmine and Villaguilio; the future of Le Garite and De Metrio; and especially for Lan, Megunami and Madoka.

For our lead girl Madoka, we see that since the worlds were saved, she had graduated. I liked having such closure.

Overall, it was a solid ending for the arc, and for the anime as a whole.

GO Rating: 4/5

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Final Thoughts

This second half of Lagrange was better than the first half. Plot, development for secondary characters and action seemed much more refined than they have been in the first half. This half allowed more of the side characters to have larger roles than they had in the first. It was thankfully welcomed since the main three characters were at times unbearable to watch when dealing with their more slice-of-life Jersey Club issues.

Members of KISS, now aligned with the side of good, had much more extensive development than the main three characters had over the span of the 24 episodes. This season, they received considerable screen time, as they were present in just about every episode and had important roles in each arc. My favorite moment of theirs always involved their desires to be with Yurikano in the episodes that she was focused upon. Furthermore, having them not only fight but also explore themselves and what they wanted to do in the future worked well in keeping them relevant. Madoka also experienced this sort of issue; however, it largely went nowhere, which was disappointing.

For Dizelmine and Villaguilio, their friendship, history and future was actually compelling and made it easy to want to see both of them succeed. Their plot was also enjoyable in how it changed over time. I liked seeing the struggle that Villaguilio faced and I liked seeing Dizelmine as a character who experienced tough decisions, which allowed him to experience both sides of right and wrong.

The anime was visually appealing and had a great amount of excellent musical direction. The second season was worth watching and enjoyable. I do hope this universe is explored more, whether in manga form or as an additional anime season. It seemed like they left it open-ended, though, as there was mention of a Bermuda Triangle being linked to Rinne.

Overall GO Rating: 4/5