While I feel that I know the characters better in S2, it didn't end up being any less confusing than the first series. The first had me more confused about who's who and why they're doing xyz, while the second one had me confused about exactly what goes on in the battles (especially the naval ones).
But it's one of those series where I can let it go over my head and just enjoy it for the action and characters, so that's what I do when it happens.
So many happy-looking, big-boobed girls watching the war 0_o