The animation was among the issues. The fact that all of the creatures were created using computer graphics annoyed me since it made them appear strange and uninspiring. I will give them credit for that because I did enjoy the character designs.
The beginning is the second. Although I have read the first light novel and plan to read the others shortly, the beginning of the show was very different from that of the light novel. The anime began when they were in the new world, which is not how the light book began, therefore they didn't include any new content that wasn't already in the light novel. The light novel opens with them attending their school; anime doesn't really depict them attending classes, and I believe that was a mistake.
If you were adamantly against the first season, you won't like the second one either. Less edgelord, less awesome ass pulls, less coldblood Hajime moments... This season, all the elements that set Arifureta apart from previous harem power fantasy isekais are less noticeable. I was mostly drawn to the first season for this reason, thus I am really disappointed. It pleased me that Hajime was able to grow from his mistakes and become an OP edgelord. He is still there in the second season, although it is much less obvious.
The beginning is the second. Although I have read the first light novel and plan to read the others shortly, the beginning of the show was very different from that of the light novel. The anime began when they were in the new world, which is not how the light book began, therefore they didn't include any new content that wasn't already in the light novel. The light novel opens with them attending their school; anime doesn't really depict them attending classes, and I believe that was a mistake.
If you were adamantly against the first season, you won't like the second one either. Less edgelord, less awesome ass pulls, less coldblood Hajime moments... This season, all the elements that set Arifureta apart from previous harem power fantasy isekais are less noticeable. I was mostly drawn to the first season for this reason, thus I am really disappointed. It pleased me that Hajime was able to grow from his mistakes and become an OP edgelord. He is still there in the second season, although it is much less obvious.