I’ve noticed a trend with Tsurune: Tsunagari no Issha.  Though it’s fair to say it was remembering as much as noticing, as it was often true with the first season as well.  That is, I tend to be considerably more engaged in the second half of episodes than the first.  You’d think that’d be normal but I find it to be fairly rare, actually.  I think there’s some quality of resistance being worn down – there’s too much smiling in this series, and its unending earnestness can be a bit much at first.  But somehow by the B-part I’m caught up in its world and that stuff doesn’t seem to matter so much.

I’m sure there’s much angst to come, but so far S2 has been considerably brighter in emotional tone.  There’s some minor drama at Kirisaki, as one of the bratty twins (they have names; I don’t remember them) – the one who had target panic during the prefectural tournament – asks to be yanked from the starting lineup for the upcoming tournament.  That’s a big event for Kirisaki of course, as it’s their chance at a get out of jail free card and a ticket to nationals that in a normal year they’d be frozen out of.  There’s also a look inside Shuu’s personal life – extremely rich, with an adoring younger sister and absolutely no parents in sight.  Being raised by a vinyl-loving butler?  Poor little rich boy indeed.

With the Kazemai gang, it’s mostly the usual low-key schoolboy hijinks, albeit with a few hints of potential drama.  Kaito runs into a couple of old teammates from his dark past, though he seems only momentarily to be thrown off his game.  Ryouhei is the one who sees Shuu’s little sister (perhaps having come to the event against his wishes) seemingly lost and guides her to the spectator area, though he has no idea who she is.  Once the first round starts Kazemai wins their first round bracket fairly easily, though one of Ryouhei’s arrows is misdirected by the staff and he has no spares.  No one else on the team is the same height (even a noob like me can see why that would be important) which leaves him out of luck for a replacement.

If there’s any antagonism or resentment at all between Shuu and Minato after what happened at the last tournament, Kirisaki’s ace betrays none of it.  He cheerfully complies when Minato drags Ryouhei over to borrow an arrow or two, even though his are “black eagle” feathered and apparently worth a mint.  As always, the attention to detail with these kyuudou scenes is off the charts – and that too is a factor in the way this show wears you down and draws you in, make no mistake.  We’re in Shinkai “more real than real” territory here – the way animation in the right hands can evoke reality better than live-action, just as impressionist art can do so more than a photograph.

There are a couple of new faces here, first off this Oji-san (his strap says “Nakazaki”), who provides Shuu’s sister with a running commentary about what’s happening in the tournament.  And then Nikaidou-kun, who we met briefly at the end of the premiere.  He attends a school called Tsujimine High, attended Kirisaki Junior High with Minato, and appears to carry a hefty chip on his shoulder.  Minato is nothing but admiring of course – he tells Ryouhei that Nikaidou’s kyuudou form is “just the coolest”.  I don’t know if Tsurune is the sort of series that has villains or even antagonists, but at the very least Nikaidou and Tsujimine look like they’re going to a different kind of rival than Shuu and Kirisaki.