I have finally found time and mood to watch Hakuouki Hekketsuroku, the second series of Hakuouki! I really wanted to watch the prequel, Hakuouki Remeiroku, as I heard there's no Chizuru in it and so I decided that I have to finish watching Hakuouki Hekketsuroku first before I watch the prequel. It's been some time since I finished watching the first Hakuouki. Chizuru is still as irritating as ever!!! If only Hakuouki is not an otome game. Even without Chizuru, the story would have progressed very well. Anyway, like the first series, Hakuouki Hekketsuroku follows the events that happened to Shinsengumi in history. The second series covered more events and thus, sadly, we have to see the deaths of some characters. Story: (7/10) – Fairly Good The Edo Era has ended after 260 years of history and the Meiji Era begins. However, bitter strife still continues between the soldiers of the new government and former Tokugawa retainers. This is the stage in which the surviving members of the Shinsengumi find themselves upon their return to Edo following their defeat at Tobafushimi.  As mentioned, the story mainly follows the history. The main difference is of course the existence of Rasetsu and Chizuru. I personally don't quite like the concept of Rasetsu but well Rasetsu is less irritating than Chizuru. Character: (9/10) – Very Good The male characters are still as cool as ever. Though it's sad to see Hijikata, Souji, Sanosuke, Heisuke, Kondo and Sannan die, since Hakuouki follows the history of Shinsengumi quite closely, their deaths are inevitable. As for characters like Hajime and Shinpachi, according to history, they survived so it's safe to assume that they have survived in Hakuouki too. Art/Animation: (9/10) – Very Good The art is without doubt very pretty and the animation did it justice. Music: (9/10) – Very Good I love the themes, in particular the Ending theme, "Akane Sora ni Negau" By MAO. It's a very nice romantic song. Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good For the second half of the series, I cried in almost all the episodes. Even though I knew who would be dying, it's really sad to see them die. Also, if Chizuru is not around, I would definitely have enjoyed the series more! Overall: (8/10) – Good I'm a fan of Shinsengumi and it's really nice to learn about its history. The male characters in Hakuouki are really cool but it's sad that the female lead character is damn annoying. The romance at the end was redundant in my opinion. Frankly, the only character I can see having a love relationship with Chizuru is Heisuke. But well, in order to show the whole history of Shinsengumi, Hijikata's love route was being shown instead.
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