World End Economica Episode.02 (PC) Review

Four years have passed since the incident where the main protagonist Haru became paralyzed and Hagana disappeared. During these four years the entire cast has tried to move on with their lives but Haru, who is still partially paralyzed, has yet to overcome his mistake four years ago that cost him everything. Haru is now living a life his dream out of reach and seemingly without hope for the future. However, one day a rich and mysterious noblewoman, Eleanor, appears from out of nowhere and offers him a mission: to help her seek vengeance by uncovering the biggest fraud on the moon. Haru is sceptical at first, but when he finds out who is up against, he gladly takes on the task.

The story does a very good job of expanding on the character development and story from the first episode. It is a story about forgiving oneself for mistakes and to learn from them, to learn to move on and to become a better person because of it. The story is filled with regret, hate, and loss giving further depth to Haru. It is interesting to see how each character evolves throughout the story, and how the events from four years ago have affected everyone.

World End Economica: Episode 2 is, however, a quite different from the first episode. While Episode 1 focused a lot on stock trading it is only ever briefly touched upon in Episode 2, which for some might be seen as a welcome improvement; however, with that element gone most of the action also vanishes. Episode 2 is a very slow ride from beginning to the end. The shift in focus makes this a much more emotional title than episode one and shows off a variety of quality writing to keep the reader interested but if you enjoyed the trading element of the first episode you may feel somewhat disappointed with Episode 2.

The slow pace is further amplified by the ending, with World End Economica: Episode 2 feeling more like padding between more important episodes. The story does not actually progresses that much through the episode, with Haru's self-reflection of the events from four years ago occupying most of the plot, and, while the uncovering of the big fraud might have served as a great plot, it doesn't offer the adrenaline pumping action to the story it Episode 2 requires.

It is not a bad idea to focus on the emotional growth of characters, especially when those parts are as well written and developed as they are here with Isuna Hasekura capably showcasing the utter chaos going on in Haru and Eleanor's minds throughout the story. However, after the roller-coaster that was episode one, fans might have certain expectations that this episode might fall short of.

World End Economica: Episode 2 serves as a good bridge between episode one and three but as a stand-alone title it would have been weak and is hardly going to be the most memorable part of the trilogy. The lack of action might leave some bored, but this is still worth checking out if you enjoyed the first episode.