This review is spoilerfree. A chest of treasures. It goes without saying that the first season of Ousama Ranking has an extremely captivating style and energetic personality that pulls the viewers right in. In a way it confidently wears its enthusiasm and uniqueness on its sleeves which is a genuinely commendable trait. As a result I and many others were very eager to see what it had in store for us. However despite the awesomeness of these fantastic elements they were unable to save the anime from its biggest and most glaring flawthe primitive and lacklustre writing that is not only unfocused and allovertheplace but also has no idea how to push the story forward. In simpler terms the writings to blame for how the show turned out and I will never get over the fact that it made the entire experience feel completely lukewarm aimless and tasteless. With that in mind my expectations for The Treasure Chest of Courage were minimal. In spite of that I had at least hoped that unlike its parent series it would try to experiment with the formula and explore fresh fun ideas. I longed for compelling stories that would utilise the animes shining personality to its fullest potential while delivering unforgettable moments and imagery. As it turned out this burning desire to witness creativity was swiftly extinguished since this collage of side stories is harsh brutal proof that the visual charm and surfacelevel allure are all the show has to offer. 600https://i.ur.com/gL6VBJG.png The show stomping its potential. If we ignore Oukens https://anilist.co/character/260808/Ouken somewhat fascinating backstory for a moment it will become painfully clear how predictable and unimaginative the other tales the show features aretheir structure rigidly follows wellestablished tropes which in turn deprives them of any sort of surprising twists or exciting developments. On account of that every single thing the series presents to the viewer comes off as wishywashy and substanceless. On top of that there is no flow or synergy between them as they are randomly pieced together without any consideration for chronological order or coherency. Furthermore the characters hardships come and go without real importance or impact and the problems they face are always quickly overcome and cast aside. Consequently there is no excitement to be found here which makes it difficult to sink your teeth into anything the show depicts. While incorporating noble morals and values into the plot is indeed a neat thing it is infuriating when the show can only portray plots that lead to everythingisperfect happygolucky conclusions without any complexities or nuances that make stories truly effective and efficient. It is through the exploration of the greythe tango of light and darkness respect and depravity bliss and sorrowthat narratives succeed in being special memorable and touching. However The Treasure Chest of Courage remains narrowminded throughout its run and it only allows the sunniest happiest and most onenote problems questions and solutions to take centre stage. In doing so the anime denies itself the chance to delve into the more complex and engaging parts of its very interesting quirky world and characters and abandons the gravitas it could and most definitely should have. In a way The Treasure Chest of Courage is an example of how critical taking risks and experimenting with the plots foundation is in shaping the effectiveness of a story. No matter how stylish majestic or beautiful a series may be at first glance without solid writing it will inevitably cower beneath its ambitions and fail to impress its audience. Both the first season and this spinoff ultimately fell victim to their inherent flaws and determined that walking the path of least resistance is enough to win us over. That obviously did not happen they could have been regal but turned out to be peasantlike which is a truly saddening sight. Yet the riches are fake.