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This anime, on the surface, seemingly gets right everything that its predecessor got wrong. The animation, once somewhat crude and simple, is now beautiful and seamless. The backgrounds, once uninspired, are now works of art themselves. Yet, within this transformation, the creators/directors lost what made this series (the light novel and the first adaptation) originally so riveting and masterful.

The centerpiece of the franchise, unquestionably, is its main character Hikigaya Hachiman. His indomitable introversion, his fierce pessimism, his wry humor, his witty sarcasm, and, perhaps most importantly, his awkward attempt at reconciling his wishes/desires with the world around him, make him the incredible character that ... he is. Yet, these are the qualities that he seemed to have lost in this second series.

Hachiman’s pessimistic monologues and somewhat vengeful critiques were replaced by quiet reticence. His once astute and cynical invectives were replaced by insipid observations. The moments where he would once be awkwardly flustered, he would now be expertly calm and cool.

This second season seems like a fatal misinterpretation of Hachiman’s character and what made him so likable in the first place. It is true that he tries to embody the very definition of lazy. Nonetheless, he never really lacked in energy or spirit. Somewhat paradoxically, you could say he was in fact invigorated with the “spirit of laziness.” However, in this second season, he just acts and talks as if he is actually listless, tired, and uninterested. In short, the directors transformed Hachiman from a once thoughtful, pessimistic, and awkward character into someone who seems like he is “too cool for school.”

Oregairu is one of my favorite series. The light novel is riveting, as is the first season of the anime. But in an attempt to beautify the art and the main character himself, this second season perhaps robbed him of what made him so wonderful in the first place: his personality.