The Duke of Death and His Maid pleasantly surprised me. What I originally thought would be something more irritating and drawn out ended up being one of the more wholesome and engaging romances I've watched in quite some time. Unlike other shows that use the whole idea of teasing for the sake of dragging out an unenthusiastic romance, The Duke of Death is a rather bittersweet story about two people who desperately want to be together, they just can't yet. It all culminated in an ending where the Duke declared that he would break his curse not just to embrace the love of his life but also because the friends he made instilled a sense of confidence within him. It was heartwarming, and now, in season two, it's nice to see what was extensively a major buildup in season one has become the status quo. Alice and the Duke are, by all accounts, a couple that everybody acknowledges. The playful teasing from season one is still here, but it feels more positive and routine. So what happens when the major romantic developments of the series have more or less been resolved? Well, we have time to focus on other things!

Who was the mysterious witch who cursed the Duke when he was a child, and for what purpose was he cursed in the first place? Can the curse be removed, or do unique circumstances revolving around it need to be looked into? The curse is always a prevailing plot point throughout the series, but while season one treated it like a circumstance that primarily made the romance more tragic between our leads, here, the journey of ending the curse jumpstarts other plot points rather than something that gets resolved on its own. The curse ties into almost every character interaction throughout season two.

For example, conversations would start alluding to a lead on resolving the curse, but then the next couple of episodes will focus on how said lead involves other people who will go on to have their own arc. Then, the arc ends, and we must investigate another lead instead. Again, while almost everything introduced eventually ties into the main plot point of the Duke's curse, it's done so tangentially that you could arguably cut out a good chunk of these plot threads in the series and it wouldn't change the overall narrative progression of the show. In many ways, it comes off as padding or an excuse to give other characters more screen time while everything going on with our main couple is put on hold. I'm used to shows dedicating one or two episodes to side characters so that they can get some development, but season two of The Duke of Death spends roughly two-thirds of its time doing this. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this approach. Still, it does make the show feel like it's dragging its feet at times, especially when every other episode has a solid segment in it that also focuses on random, out-of-pocket gags (yes, let's spend ten minutes talking to a genie right out of Aladdin and then never talk about it again). These gags are funny but don't add anything and hamper the show's focus.

None of this is helpful. Arguably, other dramatic plot points, such as the mystery around Alice's mother, don't go anywhere. The circumstances surrounding her mother were heavily foreshadowed towards the end of season one, and it is brought back here in season two but doesn't have much dramatic weight. It was solely to tie Alice's past to the Duke's curse since it's heavily implied that the two are connected. I understand what the story is doing, but I would argue it's unnecessary, especially since the two already have their emotional stakes to tie one another together. That sense of unnecessary dramatic tension is arguably the biggest problem with season two.

Now, the trade-off for this is that the side characters end up becoming the best part, and if it weren't for how well their character interactions were handled, I would be lambasting this decision a lot harder. Similar to how many narrative plot points revolve around the Duke's curse, our main couples' relationship reflects the larger cast's growth. We have our circus duo Cuff and Zain developing their relationship into a more romantically charged one, we have the Duke's brother Walter starting to make connections with other people who empathize with his struggle as the second-born son in an aristocratic family, we have the main overarching villain realizing that she too is deserving of a happier life than what she was given and we even get one-off quirky characters that manage to express love in their own way. It is sweet and makes a lot of the characters come off more as adults slowly realizing that they are allowed to find happiness in this world, similar to how the Duke realized in season one that he doesn't have to be alone despite his curse.

The Duke of Death has always done an amazing job of blending that idea of romanticized whimsy with a slight undertone of tragedy. It's about characters realizing they're allowed to be happy despite the traumatic circumstances surrounding them. This is perfectly reflected in the anime OST, which has a very Alice in Wonderland vibe, with some unsettling strings accompanied by a very gentle yet atmospheric tone. Although I will say that there are more tracks here that focus on the more silly and spontaneous moments of our characters rather than the dark, foreboding ones, and I think this is a conscious choice to show that everyone is slowly deviating away from their darker backgrounds into a world that feels brighter than what we had before. Another thing that reflects this is the abundance of insert songs sung by the characters in the series. I won't go so far as to call the anime a musical, but the number of insert songs has increased and puts a smile on my face. I hope the songs get dubbed when the series releases on home video.

Speaking of the dub, it continues to be solid, with the definite highlight continuing to be Kristin McGuire and Clifford Chapin as our two leads. They carry over a lot of the chemistry they had from season one. The voice acting across both languages continues to be incredibly expressive; however, it does feel like the animation this time didn't justify itself nearly as much as season one. Most of the main cast is rendered using 3D models, while background characters and elements are drawn in 2D. I was okay with it in season one because there were still plenty of moments where the CG could be incredibly expressive, but I don't recall as many moments of expressiveness here in season two. If anything, I found many more jarring animation scenes where the 2D and 3D clashed a bit more. It wasn't terrible, but it consistently reached the realm of distraction.

Of course, with season three announced, there is much more story to tell as major elements have yet to be resolved. Season two ends less conclusively than season one, so it's good that we have that season three announcement to look forward to. Overall, season two feels more like a transition point than a standalone season. The narrative progression and main plot points didn't get as much focus as I think they should have, as the narrative focused on building everything around the Duke's curse and our prominent couples. While this led to many side characters getting great focus and incredibly tender moments that felt earned, it didn't make the pacing drag a bit, especially when things are only tied in tangentially. I think you could've told the main story of season two in half the amount of episodes. Still, now that we've gotten everybody roughly on the same page as our main characters, I'm looking forward to seeing how season three closes out its significant questions. It might only be a half step in the right direction, but at least it's still on the right path.