Nisekoi:

If you are reading this review, I assume that you have completed the first season already. Whether you liked the first season or not, I would like to mention that I enjoyed the first season very much and was expecting a lot from the second season in terms of plot advancement, comedy and character development. But what a shame! The quality of the anime dropped a big deal in this season (and so did it's rank).

Story: 5/10
The second season is not about the pendant or developing relationships anymore. You can't blame the studio as it is just following the manga. This season is focused on ... Onodera's sister, Haru, who has apparently got a bad impression about Raku as rumors described him as perverted monster of a person.
The premise sounds interesting but Haru is not introduced until 7th episode. That's more than halfway of the season. If you skip till episode 7, you'd miss nothing!! Literally there is no advancement in the plot and each episode is just dragged on with no conclusion. The whole production feels like one big series of OVAs.

Art: 8/10
The only element because of which I was able to go through all 12 episodes was the eye dazzling art.

Sound: 7/10
LiSA's Rally Go Round is a pretty good OP, but I didn't really liked the voice acting.

Characters: 6/10
To be honest, I really liked the characters of the show in the first season and thought they were pretty funny. But this season made me literally dislike the characters. Raku is more dumber than ever. Most of the episodes are devoted to a single character, sometimes Chitoge, sometimes Marika. But when it comes to plot progression or romance development concerning anyone or the promise girl, there is no advancement from the first season.

Enjoyment: 6/10

"It's true there is no or very little plot development but Nisekoi is supposed to be enjoyed, it's damn funny"

"Nisekoi is the funniest anime I'v watched. It has much fanservice as well, It's a must watch"

I don't care whatever the Nisekoi fans will say, this season was really a waste of time. In terms of comedy, the first season was funny but in this season, the comedy is terribly forced and jokes are thrown just for joke's sake.

Nisekoi season 2 is watchable for big Nisekoi fans. However, if you weren't a fan of the first season, don't bother watching the second season.

I don't usually write anime reviews, but after seeing one of my favorite rom-com harem series turn into donkey ass I feel the need to write something for this one and warn others about this atrocious series that ruined itself.

Ah, the story. This element might have singlehandedly brought this anime down. The 2nd season of Nisekoi has the "same" plot as the 1st. A Yakuza head's son by the name of Ichijo Raku has a pendant, and he doesn't know who has the key to opening it. The one with the key is his "true lover." Throughout the story we see a bunch of girls ... join his harem with different keys.

The first season at least had SOME plot progression, whereas in the 2nd season you might as well watch paint dry on a wall. In the 2nd season, its not about the pendant anymore, nor is it about him developing better relationships. Now, although you cannot blame the studio for merely just following the manga, the story is now focused on Onodera's sister who goes by the name of Haru. This ratchet little ignorant pitbull of a character gets saved by Raku from a bunch of gangbangers and refuses to believe that it was Raku who saved her. The only reason why she hates Raku is based off of the rumors she heard from others that described Raku as a perverted monster of a person.

Okay, premise is "alright," its safe for the audience to hope that we can see some character development within Raku and Haru right? Wrong. Not only does Haru get introduced in the 7th episode, which is more than halfway throughout the 2nd season, we get nothing before it! If you were to start at episode 7 in the 2nd season, you'd miss nothing. The episodes before are merely fillers. Even after Haru joins the harem, they are so focused on trying to push her to be the Main Focus that we get next to no character development between Raku and anyone else. It is now episode 11/12 and I have yet witnessed ANY genuine character development in the anime series except for the episodes that forced Raku and Haru together as the main dish, with a little spice of Onodera.

The Art is AMAZING. Only reason I made it this far was because of the art. It is merely eye candy, SHAFT always does a fantastic job with the artwork.

Sound is great! However nothing too special. I'd say its more on the better side because of how fitting the sound is with everything thats going on.

The characters? Oh right! This show was a harem right? Right right, we had characters other than Raku and Haru and Onodera.

Raku: The same thickheaded character as before. His blatant ignorance to everyone's feelings toward him makes one want to rip their hair out, but he cant be hated as a character. He is lovable and charming to the max when he gets screentime.

Haru: Eh, I see plethoras of comments talking about how shes the new ship with Raku but I don't like it. Her choices of refusing to believe that Raku is a genuinely good person is stressful to the audience.

Onodera: Onodera is more or less the same as the first season. We see more character development with her and Raku and thats good to see because they are the #1 ship.

Literally every other girl in the harem: They are now irrelevant and are on the anime purely for the comedic reliefs.

I wouldn't be surprised if the series gets dropped and a 3rd season never comes because I don't know what the mangaka, nor the studio is doing with this series. This show with its comedic scenes had so much potential to be a great comedic harem anime. Now however, the dream is lost. A 5/10 overall seems just about right, although theres this voice in the back of my head that is telling me that I am being too lenient. Lets hope the plot gets somewhere in the future. Cheers!

(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Nisekoi: has a strange title when you stare at it. It is the second season of an anime that is quite popular, but instead of giving it a number or some kind of continuation phrase, it simply adds a colon to the end of its name. It seems quite out of place, perhaps making you wonder, “Why is that even there?” Traditionally colons in sentences are used in conjunction with lists or highlighting something specific. Or to put it another way, a colon is used when wishing to speak about a relevant thing or set of ... things. But Nisekoi: has nothing after its colon, and the reason for this becomes obvious when thought about briefly: there is “nothing” to say about the show. While this spells certain doom for the anime as a whole, it at least provides the audience with an interesting question pertaining to expectations.

STORY

Nisekoi: takes place shortly after the first season ended. Chitoge, Onodera, Tsugumi, and Marika are back, with everyone still semi-vying for Raku’s attention.

Nisekoi (the first season) is a series infamous not only for the nonexistence of romantic and relational developments but also for the insane amount of plot stalling it performs. The first season did this so much to the point that the anime had become synonymous with “keeping the status quo.” Nothing ever progressed because the anime did not want it to; expecting it to do otherwise was almost unfair given the direction it purposefully went time and again.

With this in mind, think of a grocery store chain called “Nisekoi:” and determine what it generally contains. There are fruits, vegetables, chips, drinks, meats, breads – a never-ending amount of food can be found within such establishments. A person is allowed to expect this because he or she managed to visit its parent grocery store, Nisekoi, sometime in the past. Along the same lines, it doesn’t generally contain cars, clothes, expensive jewelry, computers, and many other objects because grocery stores focus instead on selling products that pertain to their specialty. Now, this does not mean that a grocery store cannot sell these items; it is just that it is known not to. In other words, a person doesn’t go to a grocery store expecting to find the latest sapphires for sale because that is not what a grocery store was designed to offer.

How in the world does this relate to Nisekoi:, the anime? The second season suffers from what is known as “misplaced expectations.” This is a phrase that is defined as expecting “A” but receiving “B” despite the signs pointing towards “B.” For anime, these signs include the themes, any type of foreshadowing, what the characters represent, genres the show finds itself in, or any other kind of indicator for how the events will unfold. Like someone flabbergasted that he or she did not find diamonds at the grocery store, a person who has “misplaced expectations” when watching a show is not looking strictly at what the anime did but instead what he or she wanted it to do.

“Misplaced expectations” are most often associated with sequels, as it is here with Nisekoi:, because there is already a foundation with which to work off of. Normally a sequel is viewed after the previous seasons have been completed, meaning the audience has already been exposed to certain ideas or details. New projects or unfamiliar territory should ideally be approached with no expectations whatsoever but since sequels have already had some of their signs propped up, it seems as if there have to be some expectations that are simply unavoidable.

Thus a difficult dilemma is raised: what is the audience “allowed” to expect? Certain aspects are easier to agree on: Chitoge’s new romantic feelings towards Raku, a return of the cast, and the same brand of comedy are parts of the anime people can nearly unanimously expect to find in the second season. But what about progression of the plot? As has been said, the first season had quite the array of “convenient inconveniences,” so perhaps one should not expect to see any sort of movement of the narrative or the relationships between the characters. Indeed, the structure of the narrative – how the various tales are segmented in an episodic nature – demonstrates the anime’s slice-of-life-oriented framing and subsequently unwillingness to press forward. Yet one can look at it the opposite way; since there was notsuch progression, one might expect to finally see it after so long. Some of the best episodes this season, such as Chitoge reconciling with her mother, Shuu confessing to his teacher, and the investigation of Onodera’s backstory, were executed so well because they subverted the very expectations the anime had set for itself.

Since expectations vary so wildly in degree and importance, the conclusion is that all anime should be viewed through a lens that holds no expectations whatsoever, with the show being looked at for what it attempted and accomplished. To put it differently, in order to avoid “misplaced expectations” one should abstain from having expectations to begin with. In Nisekoi:’s case – as a slice-of-life construct featuring harem, romance, and comedic elements – it performs at a respectable level. The events are sporadic yet relevant; the characters are given appropriate screen-time to interact in multiple combinations; and the comedy manages to be a mixture of visual gags, misunderstandings, and over-the-top personality quirks. At the same time, the anime fails in key areas: the romance is subpar due to repetition, not all of the new additions to the cast feel as “part of the gang,” and there is very little in the way of themes.

So while Nisekoi:’s plot may not be something worth remembering, the interesting topic that ensues because of it certainly is.

ANIMATION

Although this rarely happens – and by coincidence, it has happened twice within the past five reviews – this section will be kept shorter than usual. Per SHAFT ideology, Nisekoi: adopts a less-movement-more-style direction in terms of its art and animation. Characters are often standing still, with multicolored lights and colors surrounding their backs while their faces take on a wide range of reactions. The designs maintain their same flair, with Onodera’s plain yet cute looks, Chitoge’s beautiful blonde hair with accompanying red ribbon, and Shuu’s silly cat mouth signifying his carefree nature, with everyone having both school and casual attire to match the correct occasion.

CHARACTERS

Due in part to Nisekoi:’s everlasting preventative measures, the characters likewise often find themselves not developing. Being a slice-of-life outing, this is usually the case; characters do not normally experience drama or introspection of the same level as a psychological thriller, so it is understandable that the majority of their character istheir “character.” Onodera is still her extremely shy yet vastly determined self, Chitoge remains as the typical “tsundere” (with more “dere” than “tsun” this time around), and Marika is as overly obsessed with Raku as she has ever been. However, there are moments where the show provides further insight into the cast. These were brought up previously: Chitoge has the relationship with her mother mended, Shuu adds another dimensionality to his person through the heartbreak he embarks on, and Onodera’s past reveals just how genuine and sweet her feelings are for the boy she loves so much. These are the exceptions, not the rule, but divulging beyond what the characters normally offer was a definite boon.

In relation to Chitoge’s small plotline, the show actually introduces four new characters, namely Hana (Chitoge’s mother), Paula (Tsugumi’s friend), Haru (Onodera’s sister), and Fuu (Haru’s friend). What is interesting is that Marika seems to be missing a new connection, which leads to two problems that the anime has in regards to the newcomers: their non-harem presence and their eventual nonexistence.

First, they are not directly related to the harem. Their inclusion seems nonsensical, since their relation to Raku is nearly nonexistent. To an extent this is understandable since there are already four women on the list. But careful consideration reveals that the new characters are there to highlight aspects of the veterans; Hana brings out Chitoge’s more personal and vulnerable side, Paula demonstrates Tsugumi’s transition from tiger to cub, and Haru makes it abundantly clear how kind Onodera is. Fuu is, once again, an exception. She has implied feelings towards Haru, but she is hardly around long enough to discuss. This is all well and good, but the problem is that none of these girls improves upon the harem nature of the anime. In fact, some even regress it; Hana refuses to mention some important detail regarding Chitoge and Raku’s childhood whereas Haru literally forces Raku away from Onodera. Disrupting arguably the most important facet of the show is nothing more than a negative.

Second, their removal from Nisekoi: leaves it in an awkward position. Essentially, the new characters, after being introduced and used for their singular purpose, leave the stage to never be utilized again. Fuu’s case is the extreme, with her making around two appearances at most, but this also holds true for Hana, Paula, and even Haru. They show up, do their business, and are never heard from again. It not only makes it difficult to really care about them but also makes them feel less important, as if what they do manage to take part in while they are around holds no merit since, like them, it is quickly forgotten.

SOUND

The opening theme is a big bundle of fun. The whistling, the back-and-forth singing, and fast beat keep the song from ever slowing down, upping the playfulness it provides. Alongside the incredible range of the main vocalist, the piece is not only fitting but a joy to listen to as well. The ending theme is arguably stronger than the OP, matching not only its playfulness but improving on overall catchiness. The “la’s,” very simple beat, and various vocalists working individually and in harmony gives the track the feel-good vibe it was undoubtedly aiming for. Beyond the main OP and ED is a bonus opening theme that precedes Onodera’s magical girl romp and a slew of ending themes – nearly one for each girl – to shake up the formula time and again. These pieces are not as impressive but their inclusion is certainly not unwanted.

The rest of the soundtrack is mostly filled with background tracks that coincide with the present mood. Standard fare such as jazzy tracks for the laidback times, weird onomatopoeia pieces for the happy ones, and Nisekoi:’s signature guitar plus accordion for those heartfelt moments can be heard. As an OST, it is not as involved or worthwhile as the large amount of EDs to choose from but they at least serve their purpose well enough.

Voice acting for the anime is somewhere above average. Special shout-outs are deserved for Kana Hanazawa as Onodera for her recognizably cute voice, Nao Touyama as Chitoge for her often frustrated speaking, Kana Asumi as Marika for her super-girly way of talking, and Ayane Sakura as Haru for the perfect younger sister performance.

ENJOYMENT

This anime has another reputation, in that the girls are quite popular. Not just one of the haremettes but all of them are usually seen in a positive light. Sure, everyone has his or her favorite – mine is Onodera – but everyone in the game of love is quite entertaining to see. Onodera’s blushes are the best, Chitoge’s faces are hilarious, and Marika’s calm demeanor despite being downright bonkers would always make me smile.

Yet, there was something missing this season. The characters are the same and so is the comedy, but the “magic” never felt present. The main cause of this was due to the shift in perspective; Raku was almost always in the center with the girls revolving around him whereas the second season felt a bit too all-over-the-place. That is, instead of the girls “competing” with one another it felt more like “taking turns,” defeating the purpose of the harem in the first place. It is even worse since the anime does not and will not fully commit to one path anyway, making individual exchanges feel pointless.

And despite my harping, I liked Haru’s character. Seeing her so evil towards Raku, based on perhaps one of the most ridiculous misunderstandings of all time, was quite comical. In a way, she acts as the anti-haremette, where she does not want anything to do with him but he always seemed to dote on and care for her more so than any of the other girls. Seeing her flustered beyond belief while ever so slightly becoming comfortable with his presence was likewise a lot of fun to see.

Nisekoi: causes people to harbor many valid and invalid expectations when moving from the previous season to the next. Disregarding them entirely, one will find a fun little anime, with some comedic characters, nice music, and stylized art. Unfortunately, the charm from the first season is lost in translation, the plot is lackluster, and the newcomers are rather weak. To summarize, here is what should have been added to its title: “Nisekoi: Not Sure Where to Go from Here.”

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, abstaining from “misplaced expectations” leaves a slice-of-life narrative that finds strength in its events and comedy but weakness in its romance and themes

Animation: Fine, okay art style, nice character designs, about average actual animation

Characters: Fine, the originals return, with some receiving extra attention compared to the rest, and newcomers arrive but leave little impact

Sound: Good, good OP, great ED, nice array of other OPs and EDs, okay soundtrack, above average VA work

Enjoyment: Fine, Onodera and the other girls are fun, as is Haru, but the “magic” is no longer present

Final Score: 5/10

When the second season of Nisekoi was announced, I was expecting for it to finally have the revelation. Now that I've finished it, I am so disappointed as I was given 12 episodes that has nothing to do with it. All of the episodes can just be considered OVAs as it has no concrete connection to the "main storyline" of the anime.

BUT! Don't get me wrong, it still lives up to the genre it belongs, which is RomCom. It succeeds in bringing romantic scenes and comedic ones. It's just that it pains me that this show lead me towards nowhere.

This is a review(duh) so let's ... start talking about where it shines the most and finish it with where it fails

ART&ANIMATION
The art and animation is better than the first season's, which is saying something because the A&A in the first season is already good enough. In this season, we're given much more detailed backgrounds that is a must-see for art lovers. The fluidity of the animation is smooth. Colors are vibrant and clear. Character designs suit each character and are well done (Haru's hair is a wreck, though).

SOUND
Soundtrack is OK, nothing special. OP is one of those rare ones that I don't skip. Some episodes have a different ED but I can't think of a reason why as for me, most of them are skippable. Voice acting is also OK, nothing special.

CHARACTERS
We've got two new characters to add in Raku's entourage of high school girls, Haru & Paula. However, they're unnecessary as they add no value to the story. This season showcased the minor characters more than the main characters but most of the time, it just doesn't work. There's no real character development that helped progress the main storyline. Sure, there were "some" character development but for what?

STORY
This season feels like a bunch of fillers set on 1-cour. The story concerning the pendant is gone. It strayed from the main storyline which really made me disappointed. There's even that one episode that's about magical girls that didn't make any sense at all. However, there are strong episodes that are commendable like episode 10&11. It tells us the stories of some characters and I really loved how realistic and relatable they could be.

ENJOYMENT
Truth be told, the second season of Nisekoi is an utter disappointment for those awaiting of what will happen among Raku and his harem. It has its fun moments but that's not going to compensate for its lack of plot development.

The only thing I could say is that if you're going to watch this to satisfy your eyes, then go because this one is worthy to satisfy them. If not, then don't even bother.

Overall = 5.6(6)/10

I was surprised by how much filler was in this. There was like 4 good episodes maybe? The arc with Chitoge's mom was good. Onodera's and Raku's past with each other is fleshed out in one episode. Everything else felt mediocre (not to mention those magical girl designs were ugly af...) and the thing that bugged me the most was the focus on minor/new characters that I didn't really care about. I'm also pretty tired of Chitoge hitting Raku, and he seems to be getting blander. There was basically no relationship development besides Chitoge's acknowledgment that she likes Raku. Onodera's little sister Haru was okay ... and got better, but she was stupidly judgemental and quick to conclusions for most of her screen time. Overall I guess I don't regret watching this but I wish shaft had used their time better. I think I would describe this season as cheap.

I dislike this season because:

1) episodes has been reduced (1st season have 20 while this time only 12)

2) there is too much filler in this season

3) many part of the episodes are not connected to earlier episodes

for those enjoyed the 1st season, you can continue watching this 2nd season but don't put your hopes too high as it might disappoint you...

Nisekoi: sadly did not live up to my expectations after a fantastic first season. Season 1 was really special in terms of character moments and development, but sadly this season really did not have a lot of that outside of the Chitoge focused episodes which I absolutely adored and definitely lived up to my hype. Frankly most of this season felt like filler, there was essentially no progression throughout the whole thing and at times I found myself a bit bored due to nothing of any real substance taking place, which is very disappointing. The Nisekoi charm is definitely still there but that can only ... do so much when the insanely interesting relationships and characters introduced in season 1 don't have any time to shine or any real focus applied to them, which is a shame as I was really really looking forward to all this.

The Chitoge episodes really were great, but they were pretty scarce within the season. The initial arc with Hana was probably my favourite across the entire show and showcased some incredible progression, but after that the show seemed to just devolve into filler and nothing really mattered at all until the last episode which brought my score from like a 7 up to a 9 (which is very generous but I just feel bad scoring it any lower because I do really like this series).

Overall this season did not have much to offer at all in terms of plot or development which was very saddening, it was still enjoyable but it had some very boring moments compared to season 1 which I enjoyed thoroughly for its entirety.

Uh, so this season was pretty disappointing. It contained so many fillers that even if you don't follow the manga, you will have missed nothing.

Story: 5/10

Essentially nonexistent. There seemed to be some sort of story in the first few episodes, but the later ones are 100% filler and there was even one episode that was just a pure spin-off from the parent story. There is basically no romance development; just random short stories that do nothing to move the plot forward.
Some people might say that the second season remained faithful to the manga. It did, but there was enough source material that they ... could have skipped all these filler episodes. Instead, they chose none of the plot-advancing parts and just stuck with useless short stories.

Art: 7/10

It actually feels like the art downgraded from season one.

Sound: 7/10

Average opening and ending. Many of the soundtracks from season one are reused in season two, which is neither good nor bad.

Characters: 6/10

Even though the characters are pretty generic and fall into harem character archetypes, they still somehow managed to keep it interesting in season one. In season two, however, they failed to focus at all on any of the characters and thus we get zero development. The same characters from season one are still the same exact characters you'll see in season two. No growth, no development, no advancement. It's just not possible to give 6+ characters development in only 12 episodes. A lot of people have said that this season could have been much better if it were 24 episodes, and I agree. They simply crammed too much into too little time, resulting in a shallow story and shallow characters.

Enjoyment: 7/10

Overall just pretty disappointing. It's hard to find any redeeming qualities in this season when they executed the first season so well.

Overall: 6/10

Usually it's a good idea to watch sequels even if they're terrible, just so you can keep up with the story in case there's more sequels, but this season was so filler that you can probably just skip the entire season and wait for a (hopefully) season three.

Nisekoi, this title makes me wonder, was my love for Nisekoi: fake, or was it not? Well surely it cannot be fake, right?

Before I continue on, if you want a more in depth review then you may skip this read. I will also assume you have watched AT LEAST the first season of this show, and know a little bit of base knowledge for this season so I can "spoil" some of the more obvious stuff.
For those of you who take the time to read this, thank you.

Story 4/10 (Let's dive right into it~)
"Raku and the girls are back! The hunt for the key ... to his heart and locket continues in the second season of this fan favorite anime series." This was the synopsis, or the outline/summary/plot of the anime that they seem to tell you. But in all seriousness, there really wasn't much to do with the key and the locket in this season. Sure the characters who have a key tell you how they feel, and sure they talk about it, they just don't really capitalize on this point. Which, was a major flaw, and the synopsis sort of, well got my hopes up. The story/plot in this season merely turned into a love fest of needy girls. And the filler episode, just sort of destroyed me, I was not into that episode at all.
The story wasn't much of a story in this season, I mean they did make progress it was just sort of awkward to react to. When I say, "make progress" I meant, "almost no progress."
Sure some episodes were sweet and heart warming, but mean while, others just didn't feel necessary. Overall I was ready for the worst, but really anticipating the best. Story wise I was let down. (Disappointment...)

Art 7/10
I'm not usually too picky when it comes to art. For Nisekoi I'm not that dazzled, but I do have to say that the very bright colorful, in your face color palette was good. The animation was pretty good, I've definitely seen animation like this before.
Nothing that outstanding, but something I liked.

Sound 8/10
I'm also usually not that picky when it comes to sound either. There are a few points that I'm looking for though, like having a nice opening/openings and nice closing/closings. In the first season of Nisekoi I was truly amazed, I fell in love with pretty much every opening and closing that it had to offer. For the second season, that wasn't the case. Still, the sound track was still quite good, and it fit the anime well. Same with the voice acting, all the voices are pretty spot on, I enjoyed listening to them.
In all seriousness the sound is probably the highlight of Nisekoi: .

Character 5/10
When I watch Nisekoi, I love watching for the characters. They aren't THAT unique, but they all have their weirdness's to them, which I adore. When it came to Nisekoi: I felt like they didn't stick true to how the characters were in the first season. Of course, you do have to take to account how the characters feel/act around the MC, after the events of season 1. Which does change how the characters are in Nisekoi: quite dramatically, which was "meh" to me.
While the characters did change, most of them had very little progress made in terms of story. I feel like the show sort of denied progress for characters who needed it, and let characters who didn't need it, get it. They added in some new characters to this season, which I didn't mind, but having characters sort of just "being there" can just be a waste of time. Overall most characters barely made any development and the characters became sort of predictable, and bland. Bland because they sort of just do the same thing or act the same way over and over and over again.

Enjoyment 6/10
I fairly enjoyed Nisekoi:. Once I realized that the show was going to focus more on the character aspect more than the story aspect I sort of realized that I should just enjoy it on how it is. Of course story plays a huge part on enjoyment for me. So when you start to stray from that I also start to stray from that, meaning I end up not focusing on it too much since I know i'll just get my hopes up. Overall my enjoyment was purely based on the characters, sound and art. (Which can be a good thing, but at the same time also a bad thing.)

Final Verdict 5/10
When people say, Nisekoi should be enjoyed for how it is, it should be, I do not disagree on this point. I do agree with people who say, well this season made me sad, since it did make me sad. I was sooooooooooo, disappointed. The quality just dropped, you know when people say, it went "0 to 60 in 2 seconds!" That's sort of how it was for me, except it went from 0 to 60 then steadily back to 0 in a few episodes. The 0 to 60 was season 1, and then the drop to 0 was season 2.
I recommend this to those of you who want laughs, since this series is just funny. But beware that this season of Nisekoi can be highly disappointing, and well just not that good.

TL:DR: Sequel isn't good as prequel.

In the beginning I have to thank to my long travelling time to-and-fro in between my place and my uni so that I could finish Nisekoi, 2 seasons along with the OVAs, inside the bus. I hope that the passengers wouldn't consider me as a weirdo or whatever because Nisekoi isn't something that you can watch in public (especially during certain scenes, welp)

Story: 5

Nisekoi: continues whatever left behind in Nisekoi... or not. There are only very few episodes about the main plot, while the rest are "technically" fillers. As I mentioned in my review about the first season, I never ... read its manga so I didn't know anything about the second season. Since the studio decides to follow the manga plot, you can hardly blame anyone for this.

Rather than calling Nisekoi: a second season, it's more like a visual novel, with Raku as the main character entering different characters' routes and helps solving their problems.

Breakdown for each episode:

EP1: Chitoge
EP2: Tsugumi
EP3,4: Chitoge
EP5: Marika
EP6: All of them
EP7: Kosaki's little sister, Haru
EP8: First half filler, second half Haru
EP9: First half filler, second half Kosaki and Haru
EP10: Shu and maybe... Ruri
EP11: Kosaki
EP12: Chitoge

Pretty much summarising "second season".

Art: 8

Still very good compared to the first season, so it remains as 8.

Sound: 7

Well, I don't really like the OP as compared to that of first season. EDs are again performed by VA and OST is just "meh" for me.

Character: 5

Aside from characters from the first season, we have new characters joining second season, but does that mean good? No.

Unfortunately, most of the old characters show little to no development in the second season. We have new character, Haru, who is a protective little sister who tries to keep her sister (Kosaki) as far away as possible from Raku due to a lot of misunderstandings. Eventually, it seems like she joins the "harem" group as well. We also have another new character called Paula, who appears as a rival of Tsugumi, but there's zero development about her.

The only thing that I am surprised of, is during Shu's route, ended with Ruri's VA singing the ED. (For a moment I was expecting Shu's VA singing the ED lol)

So, Shu x Ruri confirmed? :P

Enjoyment: 7

Well, there are still a lot of funny moments throughout the series though I have to admit that the cliches are being overused.

Overall: 6

If you have some time, Nisekoi is okay as a whole, but don't raise your hopes too high when you watch its sequel. Otherwise, be prepared to get disappointed (like me).

In short, Nisekoi: doesn't have an ending (in anime) yet so I am guessing there will be a third season... no idea. If you wish to know how the story goes, read the manga (which is not going to happen, for me)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for the OVAs....

if (your interest = fan service)
watch it;
else
don't watch it;

Needless to say, I watched them and oh gawd the amount of fan service... (insert your own imagination here).

Phew, a long review eh.

before anything, id like to say that i have enjoyed the first season. it had an amazing plot, not to mention the character adaptation and the comedy.

As far as goes, for the season, the story hasn't really developed in plot wise or even comedy wise. to be honest, i was looking forward for this season, and the story just wasn't even relevant. same characters, daily life and nothing more.

Okay, if you really enjoyed the first season, i don't think it would be a huge waste of time to watch this season, yet i doubt you'd benfit anything plot wise. If you didn't enjoy the ... first season, i bet, this is a huge waste of time.

overall, even the comedy wasn't as good as the first season and the plot didn't go anywhere regarding the main story.

[TL;DR: A season-long filler. Absolutely nothing significant happens in this second season, no character development, no payoff, the overall story doesn't budge an inch. It's still pretty, the animation is still great and the slapstick and fanservice still overpowers everything. Ultimately: fun, but a waste of time. It's not bad, it's just lackluster. Good for a chuckle or two if you have nothing better to do on a boring afternoon.]


After the first season of Nisekoi ended, many theorized there won't be a second season anytime soon. Unsurprising, since the source manga has been spinning it's wheels for a while now, producing nothing but filler content ... in droves. Adapting it to a new season seemed like a waste, maybe a few OVAs at most. But kicking logic in the butt, here it is: [Nisekoi:]

In this second season the main story of Ichijō's locket, the "fake" relationship with Chitoge, the girls with the keys and him finding his long lost soulmate is just completely shelved. What we do get, is a straight up filler season with loosely connected by-the-book story bits, some fan service and two new completely superfluous characters who add nothing to the story. Ichijō and his harem keep circling each other with some fun moments but basically no payoff. The rest is just your average slice-of-life set pieces with a new school year, Valentine's Day, Christmas Eve, the obligatory swimsuit/fanservice episode (pool cleaning this time around) and so on. An exercise in mediocrity.

Having said all that, I would highlight two things about this season. The first is the mini-arc of Chitoge and her mother in episode 3-4. It was really well done, the story was intense and it had a really satisfying payoff. (Also, the 4th episode was ONLY one that touched on the main story, even if just a vague hint.) The second one is episode 10, where we learn more about one of the least used support characters, Shū. It's a pretty slow episode with lots of dialogue, but one of very few where the emotional charge wasn't ruined by badly timed slapstick.

Other than that, there is really nothing remarkable about Nisekoi: in the slightest. It's not "bad" per se, it's just kinda lackluster after the intensity of the first season. The art style and the animation is still top-notch, the music and sound is still good and it's still kinda fun to watch the Nisekoi gang doing their thing, but after watching the whole thing I felt like I wasted 12 episodes to nothing. The series stays true to the source material, I give it that much, but maybe this should've been the point to go a little bit original. I'm still hopeful for the third season...

But, then season two comes along and everything that made this show stand out from the herd vanishes. Raku and Chitoge having to fake their relationship is hardly mentioned. More characters are introduced but they only serve to expand the harem. The episodes about Hana (Chitoge’s mother) were great because they served to humanize Chitoge and make Raku’s plight seem worthwhile. But the ideal that they have to perpetuate the illusion is used only as a barrier to Chitoge and Raku admitting they might actually have developed feelings for each other. Haru is presented as yet another obstacle in Raku’s path to Kosaki but because ... she doesn’t consider her own sister’s thoughts and feelings she comes off as annoying to the nth degree. I wish Paula had gotten all of Haru’s screen time. Watching Paula figure out that Tsugumi liked Raku and press her about it would’ve been far more entertaining. Do these 12 episodes diminish the first 20? No. Are the just as good? No! Just another sequel that doesn’t measure up.

Nothing. Absolutely no plot development whatsoever. This entire season was like an OVA because you're expecting progression from the first season - but nope. You don't find anything out and somehow every single episode is a filler episode. Sure, it isn't necessarily a bad series, but this season was VERY disappointing and underwhelming, especially after that first season. Every episode felt dragged out too.


I can't tell if the first season was animated this badly or if they had a step down in quality. Honestly, if you pause an episode at any point with a character on screen, they were pulling a weird face or had ... an eye facing the wrong way. Accompanied by that, there is very rarely a scene with more than one character moving at a time, and it is like the characters are talking to statues and then they swap places, only the one talking is allowed to move.


The music in this is why it got such a high rating - the op and all the different eds were all amazing songs and were well animated. It feels like that is where all the effort went into - there wasn't a single song I did not enjoy, and they were all animated well - very high-quality audio and very good choices.


Chitoge Kirisaki (Ojou-sama, Half-san) - The fake girlfriend of Raku to prevent a war between their families' gangs breaking out.

Kosaki Onodera - (Dera-chan, Onee-chan) - "Don't let go no matter what, okay?".

Raku Ichijou (Young Master, Second Master, Raku, Ichijou-kun, Beansprout) - "I may just be a "fake" boyfriend, but if anything happens, I'll be the one to protect you. So don't worry".

This season is almost is you have taken a bunch of OVAs and turn them into a season. There is no connection at all between episodes (except for Haru-chan), the plot is basically nonexistent and it's not as funny as season 1.

There is not even a reason to watch all the episodes, you could watch the 1st, then watch the 6th and you wouldn't be losing anything major.

The characters are okay, but they were definitely better before and the new ones, although cute, are incredibly annoying (especially Haru-chan).

The only thing I can't argue about is that the art is beautiful, every character looks so good ... (especially the new ones) and is principally the reason I kept watching it.

In conclusion, I can't recommend watching this season, it's hard to enjoy.

Hey remember season 1. It was pretty good right? Well sadly season 2 isn't the sequel we were looking for. The story was worse than last year as they made no progress and the last episode made me want to make me pull my hair out as it made no sense at all. The good thing is that the art stayed the same as their art is beautiful. I liked the the opening rally go round, but that's it when it comes to sound and music. NOW the thing that really got me triggered was the characters. The original cast didn't change at all which ... is fine. Except Markia became more annoying and Maiko's arc was stupid. But Nisekoi just had to add more characters. However more characters is not always better. The new cast sucks, and are not fully developed at all. The anime would be better without them. I still enjoyed the anime but not as much as season 1. Let's pray that season 3 can fix all of these problems

While I've written a review for Season 1 of Nisekoi, I think Season 2 is different enough to warrant it's own review as well.

The first season was much more about Raku's journey to find who gave him the locket. This was driven by the fake relationship between him and Chitoge, and the gangs who were constantly on the brink of war. Now, in season 2, those plotlines are almost completely gone.

Sure, they exist, however they are not included in the same capacity as the first season. I don't remember Claude even being mentioned in Season 2, and the relationship was only brought up at times ... when a new character who wasn't in the loop needed to remind us.

Similarly to the first season, this season of Nisekoi does two things exceptionally well. It's art-style is out of the park, and the use of single episode stories to flesh out characters is performed spectacularly. Most of the characters are still stereotyped, however the story that these single arcs have been building at least allow us to see what type of characters they are. Interestingly enough, this season also allowed for backstory of some major characters, which was severely lacking in season 1. My complaint about the characters being "cookie-cutter" rings much less true by the conclusion of this season.

Still, this show is blue balls the anime. I swear to God, I like this show yet the only characters showing some growth are side characters like Ruru, Shu, or Odenara's younger sister. If this glaring issue could be fixed, this show could easily be an 8 or a 9 for me. However when previous episodes seem to rarely have relevance to a current plot, it's hard to build a lasting investment.

I'm gonna give this show the same rating as I gave the first season. They changed some things up, however they didn't really improve the issues I had with the first season.

The anime disappointed me, I thought it was going to close the story, see who the protagonist was going to stay with but nothing like that happens. Instead we have 12 chapters that lengthen the series for nothing. The only good chapter is the first of the season, where it seems that they are going to change the narrative but they don't. That disappointed me a lot. The truth this second season is pure disappointment. The animation is maintained, new characters appear with good designs, the soundtrack accompanies. But there is nothing that makes me recommend you to watch this anime.




En español:
El anime me decepciono, ... pensaba que iba a cerra la historia, ver con quien se iba a quedar el protagonista pero no pasa nada de eso. En vez de eso tenemos 12 capitulos que alargan la serie para nada. El unico capitulo bueno es el primero de la temporada, donde parece que van a cambiar la narrativa pero no lo hacen eso me decepciono un monton. La verda esta segunda temporada es pura decepcion. La animacion se mantiene, aparecen nuevos personajes con buneos diseños, la banda sonora acompaña. Pero no hay nada que me haga recomendarte ver este anime.

I didn't really like this season as much as the first one, and I like the first one a lot.
Why? Well:

>This season has practically no story, it is more into showing dumb interactions in uninteresting episodes.
>9 out of 12 episodes are just filler. Even so, the 3 that actually have something to do with character development, are probably the best in the whole series. Those really saved the season for me.
> The story gets an slightly above average 6; but it is just because Chitoge and Maiko's episodes.

>I don't have any problems with the show's art. In fact, I really like the style that ... Shaft puts in their shows. The opening theme is fun and vibrant, and there are some other themes that really got stuck in my head. 8/10 for the art, and 7 for the music.

>Characters... I hate Haru. She is so annoying. The new characters introduced in this season are extremely annoying to me. About the cast of the first season, except for Chitoge and Maiko, they don't really get any developement. This is the main reason why I didn't get into this season.

>Even with the flaws this season has, I love Nisekoi (first season better) and i find myself coming back to this anime over and over again.
>Second season is not a really big deal, but i did enjoy it to a certain degree. It gets a 6 for my personal enjoyment. And an overall score of 6.

>I recommend you to watch the first season and if you really got into Nisekoi, you should read the manga. Even if it still full of filler, it is quicker to read it.

Thank you for reading and hope this was of some help. Later!

As of right now i do not know if i am going to keep watching this anime, as they keep doing only secondary stuff and forgetting the main plot...
Like i stated in the previous "review" this type of avoiding the plot thing has become old and people are bored of it, it is for this reason that a lot of anime's fail to continue as they try to extend an anime by avoiding the plot whereas if they keep the plot they could create more and more complex plot points...
But alas they disregard the plot and keep making unusable stuff like bringing other characters in ... the midst of already troubled waters...
Yes i mean Kosaki's sister, they have a great character that they haven't exploited and wasted it Tsugumi which is one of the main reasons i started watching the anime for just to watch how little they use her character or even care for it...
This anime while fair to watch it is in fact not the type of anime you would enjoy doing a marathon off...
Again the story is just being kept on hold on every fucking episode and as soon as you see a ray of hope about the plot it is darken by a stupidity they make on the anime...
The few episodes that Tsugumi's character has been use are fun but in the end fail to capture you as she is in love with Raku too while denying it and is just kept in the dark after being shown a little...
Oh in the first season we had Chitoge and Raku tried to open the pendant with Chitoge's key to see if she is the "girl" (at this point we don't know if she was the one who gave him the pendant or he gave her the key or what the fuck is all this about) who was promised to be married to him and it ends breaking the key inside the pendant and he sends it to be repaired for it to take in anime time about 6 months to be repaired...
When repaired they want to try again and check who is the girl but this time with all 3 keys in hand just to let them know that they can't because the lock has something and won't open not even with the right key...
Again this is the kind of bullshit we are tired of seeing, atleast try to come up with better excuses to delay the plot but having so long and then not being able to give us anything is detestable and an insult...
As for the rest of the story it is to be seen...