Moyashimon Returns

IT'S BREWING TIME...again

Moyashimon Returns...with the same plotlines, just to the extreme?

Moyashimon Returns brings us back to Sawaki and co. as Sawaki continues his education in the agriculture college and really Returns is more or less the same as the first season sans the introductions but taken things a step further as it were.

Why?, because Returns has ANOTHER school festival in this case a harvest festival, another experiment with Professor Itsuki this time with rice in making miso and sake, bringing back Sawaki and his dilemma of not telling Hazuki of his ability as well as Haruka's plotline of his overbearing and strict father comes in, ... just this time placed having Haruka's fiancee Ryuuta voiced by Tooru Ookawa in the place of the father and is Haruka's main obstacle. So yeah, the same plotlines are pretty much the same as the first season but taken some plotlines to the extreme and for characters, well they get development to a certain extent, this time mainly Hazuki and Haruka and the newest character come in halfway through the season in the form of Marie voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro who has similar problems with Haruka and Sawaki and shown more as a manifestation of the problems the both of them have, that of her not communicating with their father and taking over the business (but in Marie's case, it a bit more complicated than what Sawaki is going through). Hazuki gets a mild development during Professor Itsuki's miso and sake making as she found a mysterious opening in one of the warehouses and she investigates it.

Really in terms of character development giving screentime to Hazuki was great and at first LA thought bringing Haruka's father problems back was odd but by the end of it and with Marie tied up in all this, Haruka and by extent Marie was greatly developed, even though it was something Haruka somewhat already learned in the first season but maybe put into a bit more depth. Mutou, Yuuki and the two idiots are regulated to comedic sidelines though the two idiots do get screentime thanks to Haruka and the most mixed character development LA had with this season was....Sawaki himself. See LA saw that Sawaki was mostly a reactionary character and he just got roped into everything in the first season, sure this second season does something similar but at least in this second season he does things of his own will (mainly in trying to help Hazuki, Haruka or the two idiots) but thanks to Marie and her similar dilemma to Sawaki he gets some too, BUT he's ONLY needed when he's needed where Hazuki or Haruka and even the two idiots get more screentime and development with their friendship with Haruka more than Sawaki as a result of this second season, so it's a kinda two steps forward, one step back for Sawaki's development, like it was needed and it did it to a certain extent but he was in the sidelines. Haruka once again took the forefront of this season even if her development only started halfway through the second season with some thematic notion of "everyone working together" and it was...decently handled especially since it was tied to Marie's development.

The microbes once again takes exposition about the information on agriculture, that mostly on miso and sake creation as well as wine making. The only thing LA will say about the expositional microbes is that they got more screentime as usual and as a result reduced Professor Itsuki's screentime but not only that but sometimes the expositions were kinda tangential at times, like yes the information in miso, sake and wine making was decently interesting but just how it was transitioned into it wasn't.

On the other side of things, the seocnd season really ship teased the main cast, mainly Sawaki with Yuuki and Marie but it's taken for laughs mostly while Haruka and Misato was GREATLY teased through most of the second season, only because of the incident that happened in the first season that actually pushed it even further this season and really that's all it really ended up being, only teasing us, nothing more.

The animation done once again by Telecom animation Film and Shirogumi was pretty much the same as the first season so LA won't say much as LA's first season review pretty much says it all.

As for voice cast, well the the regular cast is back with the addition of Miyuki Sawashiro as Marie, she was a nice addition and though LA doesn't know any French, she did good in that too. Nonetheless LA LOVED Mamiko Noto as Mutou as she was the best comedic relief of this second season and her one liners and drunk-like delivery made the comedic moments shine, while on the other perspective, Sayaka Ohara did great in the dramatic department with her development getting serious and once again Noriaki Sugiyama and Katsuyuki Konishi as the two id- Kawahama and Misato respectively were great as always as comedic relief. All in all, MVP's being Mamiko Noto and Sayaka Ohara but good voice cast nonetheless.

Moyashimon Returns is really the same plot beats as the first season but taken up to an eleven...as much as it's about a kid who can see microbes with the naked eye but this is merely for the first half of the anime, for the last half however it does spice things up a bit with a new environment with it also trying to give resolutions to the main cast's minor plot threads it kinda felt hanging in the first season as well as the new character who somehow has the same dilemmas as two of the main characters but it was new, whether it was done well. All in all, if you WANT to see resolutions or more development from Haruka and Hazuki then this second season is a good enough as a sequel even with the almost same plot beats as it's first season but cranked up even further.

Moyashimon Returns was stirring something big but stirred all the same and the result was some decent miso, sake and wine, much like the first batch of food.

Moyashimon Returns is the sequel to the original Moyashimon series. The original series was made back in 2007. The 1st season was pretty good, but they left some minor cliff hangers, but it was still satisfying. It was not until FIVE years did another sequel to the series arrive.
The Moyashimon series is probably one of the most under looked anime out there. I mean if you read the synopsis it basically says it's a anime about a college student who has the gift to see microbes. I mean who wouldn't look the other way if it's about a man who can see microbes ... and goes to an agricultural school. I see why people look down on this anime because it doesn't seem very exciting. But I gave it a try and was surprised by the outcome.

Story: 7
It's about a college student who has the gift to see microbes and he attends a agricultural university, which is just chalk full of microbes. Moyashimon Returns picks up where the 1st season left off. At first glance the story seems bland, but it's actually pretty funny how these characters get into crazy situations. It certainly is an original story, but it doesn't really appeal to many people, and is a reason why this anime is under looked.

Art: 7
The art in this anime is basic. There's nothing to fancy about it either. I do have to say the art from season 1 and season 2 changed, I personally think the 2nd season art had slightly better art quality. Overall, the art doesn't really stand out, but it's good enough art to make you keep watching.

Sound: 8
There's not much to say about sound. The anime opening and ending are actually really good! They are simple, calming, and cute to watch. It definitely gives a boost to the score!

Character: 7
The characters of the story are pretty basic, normal everyday college students. The good thing is that they all have their unique personalities that add onto their character persona. When the characters are together, it is really funny and entertaining sometimes seeing the situations they get into.

Enjoyment: 7
This show is actually really funny! I definitely enjoyed the comedy a lot! I think the 1st season was funnier than Moyashimon Returns, but this one was pretty hilarious none the less. People say it gets boring sometimes, and sadly yeah it sometimes does. The comedy, characters, originality, the supernatural element and the little bits of drama, are what makes this show enjoyable.

Overall: 7
Listen guys, I personally enjoyed this show and a 7 is a relatively high score. "Don't judge a book by it's cover" because honestly this show is worth trying out. If you don't like it that's fine, but it can be really enjoyable for someone else. This anime is definitely under estimated and tossed aside just because it isn't as exciting as some shounen series. Personally, this anime is very enjoyable if you have the time to watch and it's sad to see a pretty good series overshadowed by other ones.

Thank you for reading till the end. Give me your feedback by liking or disliking, or by even leaving a comment on my profile.

As a big fan of the original I was naturally very excited too hear they where making a sequel and I had high hopes that this series would be just as good as the last “how could they possibly screw it up” I asked myself . Well the anime industry seems eager to screw up everything they touch these days so the answer to that question came rather unwelcomingly in the form of Moyashimon Returns, a series that as flawed as a plane with a hole in the side and as hollow as a bamboo shoot. The only redeeming quality of this series is that ... it rotten corpse like body can feed the many bacteria and fungi that the show goes to such pain to educate us about. So what went so horribly wrong you ask well before that heres a quick recap of what this show about.

The first series of Moyashimon took place at an agricultural university and centred around a first year student named Sawaki Tadayasu, after arriving he is taken under the wing of the eccentric professor Itsuki Keizo after he discovers Sawaki has a special gift: that he can see all kinds of microbes, Not only that, but they dont look scientifically accurate but instead like cute chibi creatures with smart mouths. Throw in two degenerate but likeable losers, a cross dressing best friend, a dominatrix like girl and some good writing and you have Moyashimon, a simple and weird yet highly enjoyable anw ime that while not very successful and gathered something of a cult status.

So many years later with the studios all out of new ideas they decided to give it another season, this of course having nothing to do with the massive success of Arakawa Hiromu`s (Full metal alchemist) new manga Gin no saji (silver spoon) which is also set in an agricultural university, yep their completely unrelated, just a coincidence...

So anyway what went so terribly wrong with this sequel you ask, well to understand that you have to know a little of what was so good about the original. The first series was no masterpiece, it was no emotional roller-coaster that took you to far of worlds but what it was, was a quirky, fun imaginative series that was highly original in climate of rip offs and carbon copies. The story knew exactly what it was, a weird and humorous tale of a bunch of losers and rejects learning about microbes from a man who may or may not be insane and all the wacky hijinks that this in-tales. The characters where likeable and given just enough depth to make them relatable and for us to care about them but never so much that it ruined the comedy or messes with the tone of what is a pretty silly series.

Then this series came along and right of the bat I knew something was wrong, for some reason they started this like it was just another episode of the first season, despite the fact that the original aired 5 years ago, they just jumped right in without taking any time to set up what the hells going on or whose who, if your new to this or haven’t seen the original in a while then your fucked plain and simple. Then as the first few episodes go by the problems start to emerge, they somehow thought it would be a good idea to remove the humour from this series and replace it with, well nothing, and then have some stupid sub plot about the professor having a secret room and have one of the female characters try to find it because she doesn’t like it when people keep things from her, for some reason, even though shes keeping things from other people all the while the main character does nothing except utter awkward dialogue but it okay because the story goes nowhere and is devoid of any humour or life, oh wait thats bad. Everything about this series feel rushed and like it was trying to appeal to mainstream audiences by removing all the quirkiness that made the first series so good. Also for some reason Sawaki the main character is ignored for much of this series, I mean I know he wasn’t the strongest main character in the first season but at least the story followed him, as it should hes the main, but in this it follows everyone but him giving him and in turn the story this bland feeling that seems to emulate from the whole series.

Then the dumbest thing ever happens one of the characters Hasegawa is forced to go to Paris by her rich father to wed a child-hood friend against her will, so the guys gather up some money and try to rescue her from her forced marriage. Do I even need to explain whats wrong with this, how did we get from a weird and fun series about microbes to serious drama and running trough france trying to stop a woman from getting married, a women who constantly complains about being a “bird in a cage” while she drives in a limousine through the French country side, yeah life’s really been a bitch to you, watch you dont hit any peasants on your way out, bitch.

Its amazing that they didnt realise that you cant have serious drama mixed with a comedy about a guy who can see microbes , okay writers, those dont mix, they just fuck with the tone and make things awkward, right got it, moving on. So next the even more dumbest thing ever happens they introduce a character called marie who`s father owns a winery, everything about this character is pointless, badly written and just distracts from the story. For some reason it goes to great lengths to tell us about her problems which despite like 3 episodes or something mentioning it I still don’t quite know what the hell she was moaning about, something about her father or wine or who gives a fuck, literally why did they think this would be interesting to people who enjoyed the first season or anyone for that matter. Half this series is wasted in a pointless sub plots and mindbogglingly strange decisions with the story and the other half is just unfunny, rushed and poorly written, damn even the editing was jarring and getting on my nerves did this series do anything right except, with the microbes of course they still fun.

I mean how much more could you possible fuck up the second series than this one did, all the jokes what little there are suck, the characters are flat with the life and uniqueness from the first season sucked out of each, the story is a confused mess that skids all over the place and feels nothing like the light hearted, creative series that I so enjoyed, the main characters does nothing while boring side characters that we dont give a shit about whine and complain about stuff we also don’t give a shit about. It a mess plain and simple, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, fans of the original stay away, everyone else just ignore this and watch the original.