Miss Monochrome The Animation 2

The Japanese T-Pain is back! Miss Monochromosome returns to bring us longer episodes! More songs! More rope to hang ourselves with! Yet despite my trepidation at returning to a short that I hadn't enjoyed previously, it seems something happened in the last two years that means this Miss Monochrome was actually a somewhat enjoyable watch (maybe it was the GF:Beta cameo? Maybe not).

Season two of Miss Monochrome picks up where 2013's story left off. Left penniless after being conned by Mana-chan out of her fortune, Miss Monochrome now lives in a tiny, tumbledown room with a newspaper bed with only her charging station, her job ... at the convenience store & her faithful robovac Ruu-chan left. But those setbacks clearly haven't put a dent in her determination to pursue her dream of becoming a top idol, so she's back on her feet with a plan to make an album & go on tour. If only she knew where to start.

The changes between season one & two of Miss Monochrome are pretty much all for the better. The story this season has a much more relaxed pace than in season one, which struggled with its shorter run time & less focused story to feel like more than something stuck in front of a music video promo. The longer length of each episode means that each story has more time to be setup & carried through, & since most of the characters in season one return to season two it means less time is needed for character introductions. It's also clear even before the announcement of season 3 that season two really shouldn't be viewed as a complete story in itself, which explains why its climactic episode feels like a mid-season finale rather than an actual ending.

The humour also seems to have improved noticeably. References are given more weight than just a passing quote or remark, & some episodes indulge in some particularly absurd scenarios. My personal favourite was when Miss Monochrome is briefly whisked away on a whirlwind romance - sorry, "friendship"- by a giant battery (Shocking, isn't it?) There are some atrocious puns (promoter...pro-motorist...Initial D reference opportunity!) & it does suffer the usual anime problem of repeating a joke ad nauseum, though.

The returning characters are all more or less as they were. Maneo continues to be Miss Monochrome's well meaning but not all that helpful boss & manager. Mana shows up now & then to remind everyone that she's happy to help when the opportunity to defraud presents itself. Kikuko is there to offer encouragement when her & Miss Monochrome's paths cross, & Ruu-chan continues to be the little robovac that could. The only noticeable change to the existing characters is Miss Monochrome seems to have learned sarcasm between season one & now, but not how to express it in a way others can pick up on it. This ties in with the main new character introduced to the show, Yayoi, who is a gullible klutz that will all too eagerly rush out to do whatever ridiculous thing Miss Monochrome tasks her with. The other main addition is Akiko, a coworker at the convenience who can also play a wicked guitar riff. Overall they're an enjoyable bunch to watch, though Yayoi's insistence of saying "I'm such a klutz" every episode gets annoying pretty fast.

It would be amiss to talk about Miss Monochrome without mentioning the music, since that's what it's really all about. I won't pretend to be a fan of what's normally considered idol or vocaloid music, so I wouldn't say any of it was particularly enjoyable. However, it all seemed okay for what it is & the OP in particular had some charm to it that meant I didn't skip it after the first listen. The same can't be said for the ED, though. Not because of the song, which was alright for what it was. However, the ED sees the return of the 3D Monochrome performing a mocapped dance routine & it's even more the stuff of nightmares than last time. The mocap is good enough that the body moves like an actual person, which makes Miss Monochrome's oversize anime head bobbling about on top of her shoulders look like something out of a horror film.

Much to my surprise, Miss Chromosome 2 turned out to not only be an improvement on season one, but actually rather enjoyable to someone who didn't really like it previously. It's not without its problems, but it has it's charm & the focus of lighthearted comedy rather than the usual teen melodrama that usually makes up idol stories is a refreshing change. Will have to wait & see if season three continues this, but for now Miss Chromosome 2 is a enjoyable first half & a notable improvement on what came before.

I was certainly glad to hear that there was a second season coming out for Miss Monochrome. Now that I have watched it, I must say that I am somewhat disappointed.

For those who don’t know the story of Miss Monochrome, Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 is a continuation of the first season, Miss Monochrome: The Animation. Our main character, Miss Monochrome, wants to stand out and become a famous idol. Although she has taken a few steps to become one, she doesn’t know what else to do from there. As a result, she decides to make her first album and go on tour.

The ... pacing in this anime is somewhat slow as the episodes carry on with its story. With that being said, the story progresses much more. Something that should be noted, before you watch this, is that it builds its suspense off of the first season. If you watch this alone, you might not feel the same suspense as for the people who watched the first one. I advise that you watch the first season before you watch this. The thing that interested me the most about Miss Monochrome was its ridiculous, over-the-top comedy. While Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 pertains some of that over-the-top comedy, it doesn’t hold that same amount as the first season.

Needless to say, the art style of Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 is very reminiscent of the first one. The atmosphere is upbeat, light, and the character designs are unique as always. However, the upbeat atmosphere sort of counteracts with Miss Monochrome’s sense of humor making the anime seem a bit of a mess. There is also a bit of 3D CGI included, but only at the ending theme song like the first season.

Moreover, the characters are the same except that Miss Monochrome has developed a sense of humor and a bit of a selfish personality. For example, she is more sarcastic in this than the first season. Being the android that Miss Monochrome is, she doesn’t know when to use sarcasm properly. While some may find this humorous, others may find this to be off-putting as the same jokes are repetitively used. Speaking of sarcasm, when Yayoi Konno, a new character that wasn’t seen before in the first season, takes what Miss Monochrome says to heart, she creates a larger than life situation which usually results for the worse. Expanding on a few characters I mentioned, some additions include Akiko, a talented guitarists who is conveniently an employee at the store where the main characters work at, Yayoi Konno, Miss Monochrome’s promoter who is a bit of a klutz and overambitious about the work she does, and there’s an idol group called Caramel, but I won’t go into too much detail about them.

Surprisingly, all of the voice actors and actresses have returned except with a few new additions. If you didn’t know, Ruu-chan has gotten a voice actor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak as much as I hoped for, but nonetheless, he was still fun to hear. Akiko and Yayoi were also fun to hear, I thought they were a great addition to the show as they seem to create fun moments. For those who wanted an opening in the first season, Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 has added a theme song called Black or White which is about one minute long. Also, the ending theme song is called Step by Step which is about two minutes long and mocapped with a 3D CGI version of Miss Monochrome which is similar to the first season’s ending. Both songs are sung by Miss Monochrome; if you’re a fan of VOCALOID, you might like the way she sounds. To me, the opening and ending theme songs sounded all right, I did not hate it nor did I like it.

Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 does make references to other shows here and there, incorporating it into the story which indeed make it funnier. It also references jokes back to the first season. However, the only issue I had with this anime was that it didn’t seem to have the same amount of humor like the first season. Some episodes were funnier than the others and other episodes felt stale. Like I said before, it felt like it was more plot driven and climactic.

If you want to get a better understanding of the comedy and story, it is advised to watch the first season. On the other hand, if you want to understand the references they make, note that this is not required to make it more enjoyable but you might want to check out a few other animes such as Initial D, Golden Time, and Wooser no Sono Higurashi. Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2’s humor pertains some of its unexpected funny moments, however, it is not as random as it was in the first season. Unfortunately, the show sets up for a third season. Hopefully, we will see Miss Monochrome become a popular idol. I look forward to watching the third season.

If you have watched first season then look forward to longer episodes (still very short compared to normal anime), more development and all the same kind of comedy and slice of life from the first season.

If you are a newcomer, you might check out the first season first but in the end this series is so light hearted and light plotwise that I would say that you can jump right into watching this (but you would be missing out why Miss monochrome strive to become an idol)
And as a newcomer why watch this series? Because it is indeed a very fun and unique short episodic ... anime about Miss Monochrome, an lovely female android who tries her best to be an idol and stand out more.... And one thing is for sure, she does it in her own very unique way :P

I have already written a review for the 1st season, and most of my thoughts are the same, though I shall comment on a few obvious differences and how good they are.

Narrative. The episodes are longer. Therefore more content. I have to say, the anime doesn't have anything substantial in these longer episodes, it is like the 1st season but drawn out, what I will say however is that the anime does indeed have a plot going for itself in a linear direction, unlike the 1st season's episodic nature. It makes for a lot more interesting stuff but it is still in line with the ... random nonsense that happens with Miss Monochrome and her life. It is good, but quality doesn't improve or impair. As for characters, it is the same, more specifically, there is very minor development in any character. As for the new character, Yayoi, she is a walking cliche, being a klutz when working and an aggressive person behind the wheel. I don't think she is a bad character, especially for an anime like this, but that is pretty much everything to say about her. Very generic. At least she has more character than Maneo.

Audiovisuals are the same, you know you want to stay for the ending to see best girl vibe and sing.

Enjoyment is the same as well. Not good, not bad. Good to pass the time with, a little comedy that won't hurt, get a few laughs out of, but doesn't give much either.

Overall - 6.0 (6)
(Click "Overall Rating" for score breakdown)

The first season had basically 2 characters - yet it was perfect. Every story was locked to the childlike android personality that naturally led to fiasco, but in a comical development, and Monochrome's never giving up attitude in her ever miserable circumstances was inspiring, just as was the season's tear-jerking happy ending.

The title was a success so the second season could afford: many new characters, OP+ED (vs just ED) and other things. But the magic of the original series was left behind in the Season 1.

There're, sure, nice things that the fans must and will enjoy: a perfect OP; Monochrome inventing delayed joke as her ... thing; Mana-chan's cameo - that she rocked - expected nothing less from her; lots of little cyber jokes...

But it is all diluted in a lot of water, and - most of all - not held together by the original concept: as Monochrome became successful, she lost her charm and the sympathy of the audience. I think her mission was fully completed in S1.