Leon returns as an NPC in the otome game of his nightmares, but having won (and totally dominated) a massive battle that’s one of the main events in the game, any hope he might have of going under the radar is gone with the wind. In fact, now wary of him, the kingdom’s nobles have assigned Leon to guard the Saint—who just happens to be the thorn in his side as another person in this game who has lived a previous life. He’ll join her and others, including Carla and the hostage, Princess Gertrude, as they search for a lost item. All the while, Ange and Olivia remain dedicated to Leon; the other women remain vicious and overbearing; and Luxion, well, Luxion remains his rational, utilitarian self.

Oh. My. Goodness. I forgot how hilarious Trapped in a Dating Sim is. This is truly one of the funniest series I’ve watched in recent years, and season two picks right up from one left off by dropping laughs all over the place. We get a taste of all the good stuff—Luxion’s dry wit, Leon’s facial expressions, and the otome hunks being their bimbo selves. I laughed out loud multiple times, something I rarely do even with comedy anime. All that said, I need to note that I was so obsessed with the first season that I took up the light novels, and loved them just as much…until I didn’t. I hit a wall with them as the series turned from parody into the very type of series it was satirizing. Suddenly, the series simply wasn’t good anymore. The arc that killed my love for the LNs should occur this season, but I’m hopeful both that the anime will work better than the original novels and that—should it pass volume five—that material returns to what works for the series. Because when it works, this is one of the funniest, most outstanding isekai around.

Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs season 2 can be streamed on Crunchyroll.