Give yourselves a pat on the back.
No huge surprises in the Spring 2015 poll – Fate always figured to come out on top (though Ore Monogatari!! gave it a good fight) and it’s obviously a disappointment that 4th-place Digimon Adventures Tri has been delayed at least until Summer (the next update is supposed to hit in May). But great job in putting Kekkai Sensen in the top 5 – that surprised me, but it’s turned into one of the best shows of the season.
As I sometimes do, I thought I’d list the Top Five from LiA and Random Curiosity side-by-side:
| Lost in America | Random Curiosity |
| Fate: UBW | Fate: UBW |
| Ore Monogatari | Oregairu 2 |
| Arslan Senki | Digimon Tri |
| Digimon Tri | Owari no Seraph |
| Kekkai Sensen | Arslan Senki |
That’s more overlap than I’ve seen in some seasons, but I still like the LiA list a lost better (no surprise there). Kekkai Sensen is the biggest surprise for sure (it was 12th in the RC poll – Ore!! was 13th), though I wasn’t expecting Owari no Seraph to be so high at RC (it was 9th here) and it did indeed have a very good premiere (though it’s gotten less interesting since).
Drake Chandler
April 23, 2015 at 2:23 pmYou just can't beat big names like Fate that rule over the season. As for the polls, I'd say I like LiA's better too, but I'm really glad to see Oregairu so high in RC as that's definitely my AOTS.
Nadavu
April 23, 2015 at 5:20 pmHey Enzo, I wanted to ask, how come Yamada-kun wasn't covered in the season's preview? Did you find the premise so bad that it did not warrant a mention?
admin
April 23, 2015 at 9:13 pmMore like the OVA was so bad the premise wasn't interesting enough to overcome it. I've watched the first two eps and they're certainly better than the OVA. Not anything great or that I'd be keen to blog, but fairly amusing.
Kaname
April 23, 2015 at 6:31 pmKekkai Sensen is a something I'm kinda fond of.
Axel
April 23, 2015 at 7:24 pmI'd like to let you know, Enzo, that looking back at your initial impressions of the first season of Oregairu, I think you'd really enjoy this second season. It feels like the "light novel trappings" that you complained about during the start of the first season have really been stripped back, and the dialogue and action is much more nuanced and interesting. Whereas the first half of the first season often put attention on these terrible, jokey ancillary characters, the last half redeemed the series for me with their examination of the protagonist, whose twisted, damaged, and ultimately naive worldview forms the heart of the series.
And even then, these three episodes of the second season alone have trumped the entirety of the first season, in my opinion. They really bring out the potential of the subject material that you said you glimpsed in the first few episodes of S1. I'm not sure if this upgrade is due to the source material or the change in director (who is much more adept at visually enforcing what's happening in the story in an artful manner). The massive upgrade in production values does a lot more than make the series look good, as well — there's a lot of face and body cues that bring the characters to life, especially in a series about high school social politics. I don't do this often, and I was initially not even THAT big of a fan of the series, but I've rewatched each of the S2 episode multiple times trying to read character motivations in dialogue and body cues in hindsight, something which I haven't really done since watching Hyouka. Much like Hyouka, it just feels like a very purposeful production all in all — all of the components, the directing, the animation, and the writing, really synergize to bring out the potency of the material.
Drake Chandler
April 23, 2015 at 8:03 pmYou couldn't be more right sir. S1 had its episodes I didn't like and really was only made as me memorable as it was for me because of episode 12. This season though is on an entirely other (and elevated) level.
admin
April 23, 2015 at 9:14 pmMaybe I'll give it another look when time permits. Didn't think the premiere was any great shakes.
currycurry
April 23, 2015 at 10:04 pmI'm with both of you. While I liked parts of the first season, I didn't think it anything special. S2, however… damn. The nuance is off the charts. I keep thinking and rethinking scenes and dialogue. There's two to three layers to everthing said and done. Sometimes more.
sonicsenryaku
April 24, 2015 at 4:54 amI gotta agree with the readers…to an extent anyway. oregairu season 2 an upgrade of the first season. Part of the enjoyment comes from being invested in what happened the first season but the second part comes from the fact that season is just much more polished than the first. Sure the story is still wrought with just a tiny bit of melodrama, but hey this is highschool so it comes with the territory. Aside for my small gripes regarding certain times were the story needs to narrate itself to the viewer in order to explain things or when character dialogue doesnt come out as organic as one would like of a story that is aiming for the caliber that it is, Oregairu season 2 has grown out of the LN trappings that i felt bogged down the first season considerably and it has turned into the story watari wataru always meant for it to be.
I would say your lukewarm reception to the premiere probably had to do with your disconnect with the first season (which i myself had; even tho i felt it had potential) as well as your memory of season 1 probably being a bit hazy if you didnt rewatch the first season; although perhaps you still feel that the material is still stuck under semi-pandering shtick to be considered good, which would be acceptable. But yea, when you got time, give it another shot and see what you think this time around. There's some good stuff this time around as the characters are acting more like…well…characters; and the series is starting to exercise subtlety
Axel
April 24, 2015 at 5:22 amGlad to hear some solidarity on this. And I'd love to see you blog about this series, Enzo — I feel like there's a lot to talk about with this one, and I always run to read your opinions. I can understand why you might be lukewarm about episode 1, but episode 2 is really where all the fruit comes to bear. If that one doesn't win you over, then I'll give up while I'm ahead.
Athos
April 24, 2015 at 1:40 pmHmm… I tried reading the novels some time ago, got up to volume 3 before I gave up entirely. The romcom tropes were one thing, but the protagonist's inner monologue was just insufferable.
The anime, on the other hand… I don't know if it's because it gets better after a point, the anime took liberties, or just the fact that protagonist keeps his thoughts to himself now, but wow does it make me wanna cheer for him. So far it's the only show this season for which I wish next week has here already.
Who knows, maybe it's all downhill from here, but I'm grateful for what I've got right now.
Chrysostomus
April 24, 2015 at 12:26 amYeah Enzo I really, really wish you would blog about Yahari S2. It's just so good, and for a "harem romcom" it has barely any comedy, barely any fanservice and so much depth to it. It's really one of a kind among high school drama anime.
cm_1
April 24, 2015 at 4:20 pmEnzo, I'm wondering whether you keep watching Oregairu S1 or not? I know you do not blog it, as stated in its First Impression way back on S1. However, I've seen you commenting about The S2 Character Design changes in Animesuki. So, was that is merely a simple comment, or you do actually kept an eye on it?
admin
April 24, 2015 at 10:02 pmJust a comment on the designs themselves. I blogged several eps of the first season, but I haven't watched any of the second after the premiere.
elianthos80
April 24, 2015 at 10:18 pmHmmm… I'm feeling rather out of tune with the season so far. Out of the top 5 above the titles in common with mine are just Ore Monogatari and Arslan and I've yet to watch any of the latter. I've red about the Fate franchise and checked some reviews but never watched an episode. Just not feeling it.
My only lock pick was Baby Steps s2. I think I was the last one voting for Eikoku Ikke, Nihon etc *waves to the other 4 brave souls*. No subs yet for it btw, if ever? *sighs*
elianti
April 24, 2015 at 11:49 pmIf you you don't mind watching it dubbed in English, you can watch Sushi and Beyond on NHK World if you manage to catch it while it airs. They also regularly air re-runs. Actually right now I JUST missed what must have been at least the fifth or sixth re-run of the first episode.. At least the episode on Sunday looks to be a good place to start..
You can view the air schedule and video player(only if it's airing live, I think) here:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/sushi/
admin
April 25, 2015 at 11:38 amThanks. I've just never been able to find it at the right time. And I kind of prefer it raw to dubbed anyway, to be honest – it's not that hard to follow.
Zeta Zero
April 25, 2015 at 2:04 amMostly following
GITS: Arise – Alternative Architecture
Kyoukai no Rinne
Arslan Senki. Curious to see where they go with it.
Not really feeling Kekkai Sensen.