I gave the prequel a 9, but won't and couldn't even finish the sequel since it's just so stupidly scripted with lousy scenario. Hioka staked out in his well-known white Mercedes-Benz near the set up trap rainy alley to be ambushed by Uebayashi. The scene not only looked stupid but also ridiculously weak. He was gut shot by Chikada nearly dead, yet he could recover so fast is just absurd. Then when Uebayashi got the chance to ambush him without no one around, why he didn't finish the job killing him? A dirty reporter became the snitch to Uebayashi and provided him with intelligence not even the police knew? When Uebayashi forced Chkada to cut off his finger, he sat across the coffee table, and Chkada holding the knife so close to him, why he decided to cut his finger instead of stabbing Uebayashi? It's easier than cutting his finger off, just a quick thrust or stab.
But the worst letdown in this sequel is the Hioka character. Because after the prequel, he should have become more smart, more well-experienced, more mature, since he should have learned a lot of tricks from his late mentor and partner Ogami, yet he just turned careless, stupid and weak.
This sequel, unlike one of the reviewer said it's better than the prequel, to me, was just 10 steps behind the 2018 Korô no chi, simply became a pathetic and laughable one, even simply unnecessary. I've enjoyed the 2018 story, felt excited even sometimes moved a lot, but I couldn't even finish the 2021 crappy follow-up.