Tanoshii Muumin Ikka Bouken Nikki

The producer of the Moomin series has stated that this second season should have never been made. And he is probably right. Across all fields, the second season pales in comparison to the first one. Still, it is hard to be mad about it, since we have already got an amazing sprawling first season that covers the original stories in almost entirety.

This is a set of independent stories that, without a few excpetions, have nothing to do with the original stories. Writing original continuation to the stories is fine and all but from watching a few episodes you'll start to notice that the series ... does not feel like Moomins anymore. This review is based on the Finnish dub.

Story 4/10

The story is not bad, but it feels very unnatural when the main cast from the first season is put through them. In essence, the aspects that made the Moomins so enchanting in the first place, particularly the slice-of-life absent are non-existent.

Art 5/10

In the art department, quality suffers tremendously when compared to the first season. Characters stand out in terms of lackluster animation and looks. Still, the characters are recognizable at a glance, but if you have seen the first season and the OVA it leaves something to be desired in terms of quality.

Sound 7/10

Sound department stands out still quite well, and the voice actors did a fine job. However, the second season suffers from out of place sound effects and music pacing, which is mostly due to the nature of the stories.

Character 2/10

This is the critical flaw in this season. The characters you witnessed in the first season are nothing like their second season counterparts.

Enjoyment 1/10

Let's just say that I get vastly more enjoyment from rewatching first season episodes for tenth-something time than delving into 2. season episodes a second time.

Overall 5/10

This series is unnecessary. Still, it doesn't take anything out from the adaptation of the source material which was done pitch-perfect, and this consists 75% of the total episodes. This is the main reason for the average score. The additional episodes don't bring anything to the table, nor take anything away from the originals. It is just out-of place filler that didn't need to be made.

Hey, boys and girls!

Say, what happens, when you take something, that was good - if not even perfect, to some degree - and then you hand it over to a someone, who's gonna make it... not necesseraly any better, but good nontherles, and then, you hand that project over to a some freaking pumpkinhead, who'll turn that into a freaking mess! I'll tell you, what'll hapen! It was Moomin, season 2!

Overall, this isn't too bad of a sequal for a series, that really didn't needed a sequal to beging with - kinda like Little mermaid, or Lion king. The premise is still the same, ... just like in the previous one, and the characters are... more or less the same, like we used to know them. Couple of voices may have changed from the originals, due to the long age of the actors or such, and the personalities of most of the main characters may stray from the old and original traits a bit, but the Moomin Valley is still the same - again, more or less - and some of the little story arcs are at least decent, if not somewhat enjoyable. It's all about the viewing eye, and my eye, sadly, knows these episodes really, really well.

The most notable difference between this season of Moomins, and it's actually good prequel, is the art style, characterization, and the stories. When the original was more or less cartoony, with it's fresh, fluid and soft animation, this one is straight anime-style, right down to the more "obvious and exaggerated" personality traits - whiny one, angry one, hopeless dreamer, etc. - facial expressions, and movements of the characters. And it shows! It is absolutely horrible to watch, and it doesn't fit with the format at all! It really is obvious that this season was mainly produced in Japan, because compared to it's more swedish-oriented prequel - also drawn in Japan, mind you! - this season almost feels like it's... both dumned down and over-exaggerated, and it's really off-putting, to say the least!

Another thing, like I said, was the stories. When the original Moomins were inspired from Tove Jansson's original books, these ones are almost entirely copypasted from original Moomin comics. Artistic liberties were made, and it shows! I mean... Moomins in the ancient Egypt, destroying one of the most priceless treasures in our modern world today, the Giza's pyramid... I don't even know, what to say about that! It was in a original comic book strip, and the comics are actually pretty hilarious and fun to read, but the adaptation into anime and execution is so unforgivably horrendous, that I don't even want to consider this season as canon! And what about the antics with Da Vinci and Mona Lisa in the renaissaince era ... or how about wild west and Billy the Kid...? Is this a parody from Alfred. J. Kwak or what?! The history buff in me screams in agony...

The musical track is luckily still the same, allthough some of the view new pieces really succeeded to pierce my ears really good, same with the new voice actors, when the old ones were too old, or died... I don't know which. Some of my favorite characters, like the Witch, Groken, and the Magician/Hopgobblin are also abcent, which is a real shame, since the latter was my first childhood crush.

Despite all of my gripes with this season, this is not a bad sequel... it's just didn't need to exist. The original series ended with the final winter, in Moomin valley, most of our loved characters are long gone on their marry ways, and Snufkin leaves forever from the Moomin valley, never to return again. This one... I don't even remember, how this ends, but let me tell you, it ain't good! Again, this is not bad... it's just different, than what would be expected... or should be. Give it a chance, but prefer to the original show. It's just easier that way.

Story: 5
Art: 6
Sound: 6
Characters: 4
Enjoyment: 5
Overall: 4