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These two special episodes of the second season of Yama no Susume are pretty different from each other and have to be treated separately.

-- Bra no Susume --
The first one is similar in concept to the special episode of the first season, in the fact that it's basically an episode like the other ones but with added fanservice (which is extremely mild in the actual anime): this is something that can be seen everywhere in the universe of moe shows, and even if it's rather surprising to see fanservice in Yama no Susume which is praiseworthy for its lack of boob-grabbing and similar tropes it's ... not something that would bother the average viewer too much; Bra no Susume has a complete plot which departs from mountaineering and focuses only on cuteness (bra cuteness) and, while it would probably be a little bit clashing if inserted in the middle of the regular anime, as a special it's nothing out of the ordinary.

In the end, if you like seeing the characters from the actual show and you don't mind fanservice then this episode will be pretty enjoyable.

-- Yama no Susume Best Ten --
The second one departs again from the style of the actual anime, but in a different way from Bra no Susume: Best Ten is designed as a behind the scenes where the characters from Yama no Susume comment on the show itself, and this special is filled with breakings of the fourth wall and over-the-top sequences that alter the telling of some key moments of the anime. I don't intrinsecally despise these solutions when they are well executed and there's plenty of slice of life shows in which they would work, but I didn't feel like Yama no Susume was one of them: while I could accept the emergence of fanservice in its specials, these wacky sequences contrast very much with the generally relaxed feeling of the rest of the anime, in a way that seemed forced to me; it's a kind of humour that gives a very different feeling from the normal episodes and I don't think it suits well with the whole spirit of the show.

If I had the possibility I would still tell my past self to watch it for the sake of completion, but I would warn myself against its general weakness, silently wishing for another kind of ending to this very good season.

The second season of Yama no Susume has all the cuteness and the good scenery of the short first season, but in its 13-minutes-long episodes it adds a richer and more complex storytelling and a bigger development of the protagonists and their relationships, so that it maintains the moe elements while giving more space to plot and characters.

Exactly as in the original season it's possible that you are worried about the length of the episodes, but again you shouldn't: if the pace is somewhat slower than in the three minutes previously allowed (as one could reasonably expect), this also permits some more interesting dynamics among ... the 4 main characters which could not have been fully explained in those short episodes; on the other hand, if you're worried about them still being only half the length of a regular anime episode, it's very typical of slice of life shows to have episodes that are already basically divided into two or more sections, each with its own plot, therefore you have nothing to fear: this anime allows as much time to develop a situation as the average anime.

Now to the characters: these are basically the ones you would find in any "cute girls doing cute things" anime, and if you have seen the first season you will not find any surprise; some secondary ones are introduced when needed and a fifth girl will appear around the end (as shown on the poster), but the 4 girls you have already been accustomed to will remain the undisputed centre of all the action. As I already said several times their dynamics become more complex: in fact it should be recognized that, using at its best the elasticity of their characterization, several times the girls depart from their basic traits to allow more intense, dramatic or emotional moments that make Yama no Susume more than a stereotypical cute comedy. The art accounts for the theme of the anime and does a good job (though not outstanding) both in drawing kawaii girls and beautiful landscapes as it is supposed to do.

In the end, if you liked the first season you should definitely watch the second; I also sincerely hope there will be a third one, as suggested by the late appearance of Honoka and a couple of other hints: I believe there is potential for more stories, and I want to see more of these four adorable friends.

This special is a little longer than the episodes from the first season for a simple reason: it's a perfectly normal episode followed by a minute or so of fanservice.

Though being surely an unusual move for Yama no Susume to have fanservice, since it's completely absent for the whole first season, I didn't feel like it was awkward or forced, especially considering its mildness: in fact, given that there were no panty shots, no boob-grabbing, etc... but a very simple girl's locker room that followed quite naturally the events of the first three minutes, I think I wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't ... for the nature of the rest of the show which was absolutely free from these nods to the fanbase up to this point. Anyway the rest of the episode is really enjoyable, as much as the other ones, and unless you are very prudish or very easily embarrassed in anime you will certainly be able to witness the end of this special without any problem.

A new chapter in the collection of "cute girls doing cute things" anime, Yama no Susume is a series of short episodes (which evolved into a longer second season) that does not deserve to have such a low score, 6.85 at the time of writing, being objectively a very good show that satisfies the target audience of slice of life and moe enthusiasts.

Let's start addressing the elephant in the room: can this show be good with three-and-a-half-minutes-long episodes including ED? Yes, no doubt: it's a slice of life, it hasn't a dense complex plot which has to be carefully developed in order to be enjoyable; ... it's just 2 to 4 girls mountaineering, everything that has to be said for plot purposes fits perfectly in the short span of time that the anime is allowed to occupy, with plenty of room left for the enjoyment of the cuteness of the characters and of the beauty of the scenery (which is good enough for a scenery-centered anime although not great). If on the other hand you are wondering how a show about mountaineering can be cute, let me reassure you: all the characters are very sweet, and honestly in a world where loli/basket anime Ro-Kyu-Bu! exists anything can be moe (by the way Yama no Susume's Kokona and Ro-Kyu-Bu!'s Hina, who have the same role in their shows as the "loliest" girls, have also the same seiyuu).

Overall if you're interested in the genre the runtime should not discourage you: Yama no Susume is a very good choice, and if at the end you're feeling like you would have wanted more of this, well, go straight to the second season (it's as good as the first, and much longer!).

Yuru Yuri is a must for those who like cute slice of life comedies and just love to watch a bunch of girls enjoy their afterschool together; it would probably not add anything new to your experience of this genre (except for a big and actually entertaining love polygon), but it won't fail to make you giggle during all the 12 episodes.

The story, as always, is very simple: the four girls that compose the (unofficial) Amusement Club hang out in the club room, visit each other's houses, go to the beach, have fun with the girls from the student council, etc...; the characters are also ... pretty standard, with the exception of Akari as the protagonist with no presence whatsoever, a fact that's paradoxically remarked constantly throughout the series, even in some "break-the-fourth-wall" instances. What is particular about Yuru Yuri and adds quite a bit to both story and characters is in fact the yuri announced in the title, which touches nearly everyone and affects nearly every relationship in the show: probably in real life this long chain of crushes (Chinatsu loves Yui, Kyouko loves Chinatsu, Ayano loves Kyouko and so on) would destroy the group but here its presence actually strengthen the bonds among the girls; there is a slow but steady evolution in the show where everybody gets gradually closer to each other thanks to it, although it's probably better executed in later seasons where for plot reasons the "improbable couples" episodes are more frequent, but anyway it's evident that all of them simply really like to spend time together despite and/or thanks to all the different love interests within the group.

On the technical side, the art is good and all the characters are drawn cutely, as expected from this type of anime (and they sure were good at creating the horrendous Chinatsu drawings, it has to be said, they were genuinely terrifying); the background music is ok, nothing special, and the opening song is quite catchy.

In the end Yuru Yuri is a very good choice if you're entertained by cute girls doing cute things and you're not annoyed by girl love, of which you'll have plenty, I can assure you.

Oregairu is an anime whose premise screams "Look at me, I'm not one of those generic romcoms!"... and to a good extent it manages to keep the promise it makes with its audience, although not completely exempt from defects plotwise: it will surely be a pleasant innovation that will entertain the weary viewer of school and slice of life comedies, but don't expect a revolution in the genre.

Story: 8/10.
Our male protagonist finds himself stuck in a club against his will, alone with what are meant to be his two love interests: nothing revolutionary, as announced; the two girls already met him in the past but ... he doesn't remember it: also pretty cliché. However, more than the situations, it's the perspective from which the situations are seen that is not easily found around: away with the flag-rising and the smiles in the light of the sunset at the end of a "we-don't-call-it-a-date-but-it-secretly-is"; now we get bitter thoughts and cynical smirks, and the actions of the characters are coherent with the whole mindset of the series. The plot is not new, and honestly it is also pretty average, but the plot is not the same as the story: it's how the plot is told that is the strong aspect of the show.

Art: 8/10.
The drawings are good, the main characters are pretty detailed most of the time and the scenery is ok; there is nothing special about it, but it surely keeps up with the level that has been reached nowadays.

Sound: 7/10.
I never am particularly attentive to the background sound and to the songs, and this anime did not impress me in any sense in this direction; the opening and closing songs were just fine, but almost always I ended up skipping them to see the actual show.

Characters: 8/10.
The male protagonist is surely (and deservedly) the focus of the whole series: his wry and misanthropic monologues, his ruthless and caustic way of solving others' problems, ultimately his "loner-'cause-I-like-it" personality are completely the opposite of what we get so often from the nice MCs that we always meet in the average romcom, and it's in a word refreshing; this does not avoid in him some stereotypical helplessness, that actually arises from his own cynicism: he doesn't see the hints of romance around him exactly because he can't help but liquidate the matter as the false hopes of some random popular high school guy. Still, he surely has an appeal to many viewers (including me) who will identify themselves more with him than with the usual male protagonist of this kind of comedies.
The other characters too have some depth and originality in them: the two girls in his club are more than one-dimensional stereotypes, especially Yukino, whose not yet completely explored background has still much to offer for the second season. As for the secondary characters, they're likeable, even the ones that could easily fail (like the big chuunibyou and the girl who nosebleeds at BL); what I found appealing is that there really is a group of characters (Hayama's friends) that falls into the standard behaviour of romcoms, but it clashes so hardly with the harsh eye of the protagonist that it's still interesting to watch.

Enjoyment: 8/10.
I have seen a lot of generic comedies, and I surely like this genre (otherwise I wouldn't have arrived to watch so many of them). But this particular anime captured my attention for the new direction it took, which deeply changed the way the story was conducted with respect to what it is to be usually expected: because of this, I easily spent a whole afternoon enjoying this series in one sitting, which is a rather good indicator of the way I felt while watching it.

Overall: 8/10.
Oregairu is certainly an experience that's worth doing, both for those who aren't usually fond of this genre (since they'll find themselves with a more realistic viewpoint on what school life is) and for those who have seen everything in the pretty uniform field of romcoms (since they'll meet an original MC and a refreshing perspective on those same experiences they've seen so many times).

Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! is one of those animes that both lighten and enlighten your day: it tells you the story of a family caught in a very difficult moment and of a college student who goes out of his way to keep the three daughters of his sister together (yes, I know, two of them are stepdaughters), despite the hard time that this decision is going to give him. In fact the challenges will be numerous, but Yuuto (our MC) will make any sacrifice necessary for their happiness; and this is most certainly going to make you smile.

Story: 9/10.
The story is in my ... humble opinion one of the strong points of this anime. The plot is not at all complicated though, and it does not need to be, the situation is already tough enough for the girls: they discover that their parents' flight has gone missing and that their life is going to radically change, with them almost surely divided among the other relatives. Yuuto intervenes and chooses to keep them all together in his rather small apartment: from that moment onwards there are very few major events, while the show concentrates on the dozens of real-life problems that this brave but maybe too light-hearted decision will bring on the new family, mostly a chronic lack of money, of time and of sleep. It's this focus on realism that got me: this show didn't need any sudden plot twist to keep you worrying and caring about the main characters; and even with the many little difficulties and the sad event that was the cause of everything, it managed to remain a very heartwarming anime.

Art: 8/10.
There is nothing much to say about the art: the characters and the background are both very good, and the colours are as warm and bright as the show; as expected, the three main girls are drawn in detail and they sure look beautiful and cute.

Sound: 8/10.
I never pay much attention to the background sound of an anime, and well, as a matter of fact that's what it should do, not to catch the attention but to just convey a certain atmosphere suitable to the moment without the audience even noticing it: it worked. Also, the opening was great for me and I listened to it in its entirety every time.

Characters: 8/10.
Segawa Yuuto is the other strong point of the anime. Sure his decision was sudden and not very well pondered, but it was definitely not just on a whim: he was just repaying and even honouring his sister for doing the same thing years before. Also, his behaviour was even impeccable when he had to face the harsh reality of growing three children while going to college: not once he faltered, not once he put himself before the girls' well-being, and he worked as hard as possible to give them all that they needed to have the life they deserved.
The girls too were not just adorable but seriously involved in helping back Yuuto not to kill himself in the effort of making everything right for the four of them (well, here I'm clearly talking about Sora and Miu). I could have a couple of perplexities that are not real downsides: first, the love that Sora feels for Yuuto seemed to me a little gratuitous, as if it was just decided that there had to be some love tension somewhere in the anime (this did not stop me from shipping Yuuto x Sora for the whole series); second, Sora and Miu seemed to remember to feel pain for the loss of their parents only when Hina was reminding them about it (but again, everyone copes with loss in different ways, so it didn't bother me very much in the end).
As for the secondary characters, there were somewhat funny stereotypes as the cool beauty and the lolicon, but they were not too annoyingly flat to be a burden to the anime: they actually had their moments of seriousness and honest help, so sure, ok, I guess I forgive their other excesses.

Enjoyment: 8/10.
This was a very enjoyable experience for me: it didn't have the drama that such a premise could signify for an anime, but instead it focused on making you cheer up for this group of unlucky children and their new tutor. It was a formula that worked very well on me, although it could not maybe be the same for someone less prone to be influenced by kawaii characters and situations; anyway I think it's very likely that you will find yourself smiling throughout every episode, not only for their adorableness but also for their unforeseen strength.

Overall: 8/10.
Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! is an effective combination of light moments that you could find in any close family and moments in which the issues coming from the reality of their situation hit the characters (mostly Yuuto), and in both occasions you see them always react in the same way: with a contagious smile. I cannot but recommend it, as it will sure give your day what you need, be it a laughter or a tear.