John the Armadillo is back, along with those other guys in the show. Yes, it's the second season of The Vampire Dies in No Time, one of the most consistently funny gag anime of recent years. This is largely because it successfully combines several subgenres of comedy. It melds slapstick with wordplay and jokes about work, among others, all without descending into anything too mean. Its humor is more universal than many comedy shows because if you didn't find the gag in the first part of an episode, the one in the second part is likely based on a completely different style.

That does not mean some bits are not a mixed bag because the series is also very fond of a running joke. Draluc's status as the fainting goat of vampires is, of course, the most obvious one, with his total inability to transform into anything remotely threatening functioning as his second, less frequent gag. (Episode one of this season has a particularly good transformation.) Less endearing is Yakyuken Lover, a vampire obsessed with playing strip yakyuken, a variant of rock-paper-scissors. He's a two-fold issue, combining a gag that gets less funny with each appearance with a more obvious outcome than most repeated jokes. There's always an exception – he meets his nemesis this season – but generally speaking, he's just not as well-thought-out as some of the other repeating gags. He's a bit more balanced out by the fact that others in the “perverted vampire” camp aren't quite as prevalent this time around; Mister Lewd Talk is there, but mostly we've got Hinaichi still suffering from his influence from last season rather than him hypnotizing more people repeatedly, and Nudenium is mostly a visual joke. As far as new running gags are concerned, the real winner this time is when the vampiric burdock root falls in love with Sagyo, a member of the Vampire Control Division of the police. Once they meet, the burdock root - which looks like an eyeball spider - becomes omnipresent, riding around on Sagyo's head with no one noticing or caring. It's like his very own combination of John and Draluc.

As with the first season, each episode is divided into two or three smaller segments. This continues to work because each bit can play out in just the right amount of time. Jokes come relatively quickly each time, and the show keeps things from lingering past their welcome for the most part. Toying with Ronaldo doesn't get old because we see it in clips in the middle of longer stories. The same goes for Hinaichi's sudden lapses into her kiddy version of the lewd talk. It's a balancing act, and The Vampire Dies in No Time has it down pat.

Of the new material (i.e., not running gags from the first season), Draluc's brief turn as a game reviewer in episode two is hands-down one of the best. Draluc is approached by Autumn Books, Ronaldo's publisher, to launch a new magazine feature reviewing games. His first assignment is notoriously one of the worst games ever published. The entire thing is pitch-perfect, from the various ways that the game is bad to Draluc's desperate attempts to remain professional while wanting to cram the game and console down the editor's throat. The reveal at the end is excellent, and this is one of the season's stand-out moments. Other great moments include Ronaldo, Draluc, and a few others being trapped inside a barrier. They promptly use the barrier's looping mechanism to see their butts. There is also a vampire who uses his powers to regress everyone in age - barring Draluc, of course. Toddler Ronaldo pulling off his pants to show baby Hinaichi his penis, which he's very proud of, is funny as she thinks it's a dangly toy for grabbing. (Incidentally, yes, you see toddler penises in this episode.) A lot of the humor could be termed low-brow, but it doesn't dwell on it, which again helps to make each episode segment feel more fun than not.

While most of the cast is familiar from the first season, we are introduced to some new characters, most of who are vampiric. They're all cut from the same cloth, with powers that are more silly than threatening, like making it snow a lot (but not stop). The exception is Bosatsu, a vampire cat of perfect squishiness, who has allowed himself to become the pet of Ronaldo's terrifying editor. Bosatsu stands out because of his feline form that keeps getting in the way of his evil plans. He thinks he's going to use his owner. But like most cats, he ends up loving the pampering he gets as a house kitty. Bosatsu only gets one episode, but it does nail the entire cat personality.

The Vampire Dies in No Time may not win any awards for art or animation, although it does pretty well in the former department. It isn't the sort of show you can have in-depth discussions about unless you're really into discussing how the opening themes went from swing dancing to the hand movements from "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round." But it is consistently funny and often manages to stick the landing with its gags. If you've missed this underrated gem and you need a laugh, definitely make time to check it out.