Rejoice, Arc fans! After a four year hiatus, almost to the exact week, the return of Skeleton Knight in Another World is upon us. One of the few Isekai series to break out of the mold of slop audiences seem to get every season, Skeleton Knight grew a devoted fan following through its first season. This is back in 2022. And most of that was due to the endearing nature of the main protagonist Arc (Tomoaki Maeno) and his trusty sidekick,spirit animal Ponta (Nene Hieda). Arc, originally a gamer from Japan who after falling asleep while playing a game awakes to find himself inside said game, has one major issue though. The character that he picked to play as, who he has now inhabited inside the game, is merely a skeleton inside a suit of armor.

The second season of Skeleton Knight in Another World picks back up with Arc and Ponta, along with now trusted travel and fighting companions, Elf warrior Lady Ariane (Fariouz Ai) and Shinobi Chiyome (Miyu Tomita). Together, they make their way to the sacred hot spring that could possibly return him to a human form. However, we soon find out that the party hasn’t exactly been travelling in a direct path as Arc can’t help himself from helping others in need around him. The first episode finds Arc and Ariane as the victims to a pair of imposters, abducting women and children disguised as our heroes. This ends with the reveal of a familiar foe from the first season, in a very funny throwback to how Arc and Ariane met. But it also leads to a discovery of a larger looming problem which could lead to this season’s main foe. The second episode is more of a side quest involving an elf bride that Ariane wants to check in on, but could also tie into the main story in due time.

Skeleton Knight in Another World may have a very familiar setup, but where it differs from other stories of similar ilk is where it shines. Isekai’d gamer that already knows the layout of the world he’s in and how to exploit it, check. Adorable sidekick that immediately endears him to others, especially fantasy women, check. Broken power system that immediately makes him the most powerful being, check.

But there are a lot of interesting contradictions here, like him constantly having to hide his face makes it harder to find people willing to trust him, and his almost Ted Lasso levels of exuberance and charm make Arc almost immediately likeable. And it also leads itself to plenty of humorous opportunities. Add in his voracious appetite, which always has to be satiated behind closed doors, and Arc becomes iconic. Ariane’s furious loyalty to Arc, but open willingness to also call him out on his shit, without just being a fawning party member there just to fill out the harem quotient also makes her endearing.

The animation style is passable and along the same levels as the first season, but that’s never been the main draw for Skeleton Knight anyways. The voice cast is impressive with some of the more recognizable names in anime today, and helps to drive the story forward through some excellent timing. The humor is back and on point though as Arc remains as goofy as ever. And that should make fans of the series quite happy.

Debuting on July 4th, with an expected 12 episode run with new episodes debuting weekly on Saturdays, Skeleton Knight from Another World Season 2 looks primed to be one of the most watched series of an extremely packed summer season this year on Crunchyroll especially. Its humor and endearing nature will hopefully excite fans returning to the series after an extended hiatus as well as enthrall a new audience eager to follow Arc and Ponta on their escapades.  I know that personally I’ll be checking in every Saturday to see what the rest of the season has in store.