Let's be real for a second. If you’ve spent any time in the anime community, you know that talking about The Seven Deadly Sins is basically like opening a can of worms. Especially when it comes to the second season.
The Seven Deadly Sins Season 2, officially titled Revival of The Commandments, is where things got complicated. It’s where the stakes jumped from "saving a kingdom" to "literally preventing the apocalypse." It’s also where the animation quality became a heated topic of debate, though the real "melted faces" didn't happen until later seasons. Honestly, looking back at it now, season 2 was the peak of the series in terms of pure, adrenaline-pumping shonen hype.
What actually happens in Revival of The Commandments?
The story picks up right after the battle with Hendrickson. You might remember the end of the first season felt almost like a series finale. The kingdom of Liones was safe. Meliodas and Elizabeth were vibing. Everything seemed fine. But then, the seal on the Coffin of Eternal Darkness breaks.
Suddenly, we’re introduced to the Ten Commandments. These aren't just your run-of-the-mill villains. They are the elite warriors of the Demon Clan, personally picked by the Demon King. Each one carries a "Commandment"—a literal curse that triggers if you break a specific rule in their presence. For example, if you lie in front of Galand the Truth, you turn to stone. It’s a terrifying mechanic that forced the Sins to stop relying on just raw power and actually think about their actions. Or, you know, just get way stronger.
The Escanor Factor
We can't talk about The Seven Deadly Sins Season 2 without talking about the "Lion’s Sin of Pride." Escanor.
Fans waited years to see him animated. His introduction is arguably one of the most iconic moments in modern anime. Think about it. Galand and Melascula stumble upon a scrawny, trembling bartender in a cave. They think it's a joke. Then the sun rises. Escanor’s transformation isn't just a physical change; it’s a total shift in the show's power dynamic. When he looks at a literal demon god and asks, "And who decided that?"—it changed everything.
Escanor brought a level of arrogance that felt earned. Unlike Meliodas, who hides his power behind a pervy smile, or Ban, who is just immortal and reckless, Escanor is pure, unadulterated strength. He is the personification of the sun. His fight with Estarossa later in the season remains a high-water mark for the franchise.
The shift in tone and the Meliodas mystery
Season 1 was a fun adventure. Season 2? It’s a tragedy in the making.
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We start getting these uncomfortable glimpses into Meliodas’ past. Why does he look like a kid? Why was he the leader of the Ten Commandments? The revelation that he is the Demon King’s son—and that he’s essentially cursed to watch Elizabeth die over and over—adds a layer of darkness that the show desperately needed. It shifted from a "save the princess" story to a "break the cycle of fate" story.
You also see the Sins get absolutely humbled. For the first half of the season, they are basically running for their lives. Diane loses her memory (again, which was a bit annoying for some fans), King is struggling with his wings, and Ban is off on a side quest trying to revive Elaine. It felt like the team was falling apart just when the world needed them most.
The animation controversy: Setting the record straight
There is a massive misconception that A-1 Pictures "ruined" the show in season 2. That’s factually incorrect. A-1 Pictures actually did a stellar job with Revival of The Commandments. The fights were fluid. The colors were vibrant. The sound design, especially the heavy "thud" of the Commandments’ footsteps, was top-tier.
The confusion usually stems from the "Signs of Holy War" four-episode special, which some people mislabel as season 2. Or, more commonly, people retroactively hate on season 2 because they’re thinking of the disastrous animation in season 3 (Imperial Wrath of the Gods), which was outsourced to Studio Deen and then further to Marvy Jack.
If you go back and watch the fight between Meliodas and the Ten Commandments at Vaizel in season 2, the choreography is actually quite good. It’s brutal. You feel every punch.
Why the "Commandments" mechanic worked
Most anime villains are just "stronger" than the hero. The Ten Commandments were different because they were "unfair."
- Zeldris (Piety): If you turn your back on him, you're a slave to the Demon King.
- Gowther (Selflessness): If you have desire in your heart, you lose your memories and feelings.
- Grayroad (Pacifism): If you kill in its presence, your own life is stolen.
This forced the writers to get creative. You couldn't just "punch harder" to beat Grayroad. You needed Merlin’s hax abilities. It turned the battles into a high-stakes game of chess where one wrong move meant instant death or eternal damnation. It gave the side characters—like Slader or the Holy Knights—moments to actually matter, even if they were outclassed.
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The emotional core: Ban and Elaine
While the world is ending, the heart of The Seven Deadly Sins Season 2 is actually a very quiet, sad story about a thief and a fairy. Ban’s desperation to bring Elaine back leads him to some dark places. His reunion with his "father" Zhivago is one of the few times the show slows down enough to let a character breathe. It’s a gut-punch. Seeing Ban, the man who can’t die, weeping over the ghost of a man who taught him how to steal... it's heavy stuff.
Is it worth a rewatch in 2026?
With the Four Knights of the Apocalypse sequel currently running, a lot of people are looking back at the original series. Does season 2 hold up?
Mostly, yes.
The pacing in the middle gets a bit bogged down by the "training arc" at the Druid shrine. Seeing Meliodas have to face his darkness over and over can feel repetitive. But the payoff—the Siege of Liones and the introduction of the true power of the Goddess Clan—is worth the slog.
It’s also the last time the show felt "big." In later seasons, the world felt like it shrunk down to just a few locations. In season 2, the threat felt global. You saw the impact on civilian villages. You felt the weight of the Demon Clan’s occupation of Britannia.
How to watch it properly
If you’re diving back in, remember the naming conventions are a mess on streaming platforms like Netflix.
- Season 1: The 24-episode original run.
- Signs of Holy War: These are 4 OVA episodes. They are not season 2, but Netflix often labels them that way.
- Revival of The Commandments: This is the actual season 2.
- Prisoners of the Sky: The movie. It’s non-canon but fits roughly around this timeframe.
Actionable insights for the dedicated fan
If you want to get the most out of this arc, don't just stop at the anime. The manga art by Nakaba Suzuki during this period is phenomenal. His use of cross-hatching and scale makes the Ten Commandments look way more terrifying than the anime ever could.
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Check out the "Seven Deadly Sins: Origin" game trailers if you want to see these characters in a modern, open-world setting. It actually captures the scale of season 2 better than the later seasons of the anime did.
Keep an eye on the character parallels. Notice how Estarossa’s design is a direct callback to the "wanted" poster of Meliodas from episode 1. It’s a brilliant bit of long-term storytelling that many people missed on their first watch.
The series has its flaws—the fan service can be a bit much and the power scaling eventually goes off the rails—but for a brief moment in season 2, everything clicked. It was the perfect blend of mythology, heartbreak, and "oh my god" moments.
Before you move on to the later arcs or the sequel series, make sure you've truly grasped the tragedy of Meliodas' brothers. The relationship between Meliodas, Zeldris, and Estarossa is the skeleton that holds the entire plot together. Without understanding their resentment, the ending of the series won't land. Go back and watch the scene where Meliodas dies at the hands of the Commandments. Look at their faces. They aren't happy. They're miserable. That’s the level of nuance that makes season 2 the best of the bunch.
Next time you see a "who would win" debate online, remember: it doesn't matter how strong the character is if they're standing in front of a Commandment they don't understand. That's the legacy of this season. It made power about more than just a number; it made it about character flaws.
Stay critical of the later seasons, but give Revival of The Commandments the credit it deserves for being a high-water mark in shonen history.