My first review, let´s go!
Ah, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni!
More of the same? Or something completely different?
Some might say that it's one or the other, I myself say that it's both at the same time.
This will be a retrospective on the second season of Baka to Test, and will contain little to no spoilers, so let's dive right into it.
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! is just like it's first season a true comedy. And it very much stays in the roots of the genre. The amount of jokes thrown at the viewer is very high, and just like the first season of high
...
quality. All the jokes used in the series get refferenced or come back multiple times, and that was made the first season very great. As where a lot of people would agree that the jokes are being reused like the knife and fork you use each and every meal, I actually think this is a good thing. Because it works. Truelly this is a matter of oppinion, but I quite like the jokes.
During the first two episodes you can emidiately notice that the creators tried to get even new viewers up to date with the characters and with the jokes from the first season so that anyone can jump in and enjoy the fun. Because essentially that's all this anime is. Fun. Or atleast that's what it was in season one.
What I really did not expect from the anime is the amount of background story they add to a lot of the characters. I will not say which characters get their own "arcs" but I will say that it greatly improves some of the characters, whereas you wouldn't normally understand why they act in a certain way or why they feel like they do. And this give the anime a lot more depth then it had in season one, which to everyone who watched the first season is quite shocking. And I personally like that. Speaking of character developement.
All the characters from the first season are back, and none get added, this means that the anime spends most of it's time building on the already existing characters and this makes for quite a good amount of character developement. Not only on a personal level, but also on a more social level. A lot of characters have had their role thrown all over the place, whereas Yoshi's sister used to have a pretty decently sized role, she now only has about 20 lines of dialogue. And characters like Hideyoshi and Voyeur have been greatly build opon and improved. Again, I like this. Especially Voyeur, who went from being a supportive character to being an actual main character, and man he has been improved. And so has Hideyoshi.
As you may have noticed, I have paid little to no attention to the female characters yet (apart from Hideyoshi) and this is for a very good reason.
Believe it or not, but the girls get a lot better of a role in season two. In season one they were kind of there and did not really accomplish much, this has totally made a 180° turn. They become much more relevant to the plot and the actual overal experience, which in my oppinion should've been done in season two.
Another welcome addition to the series is how not everything takes place inside of the school anymore and I like how the plot has been greatly improved. What am I saying, I like how there IS plot now. And that makes it already a lot more interesting to watch.
The art and animation has also had an incredible boost in quality. This is very noticable and just like the first season fits the show perfectly. You can truely see how much it has improved in the character specific episodes how much effort they put into them, just from the visuals.
You might ask yourself this: "Is it truely without flaws?" And, well... no. Offcourse not. No show is without flaws. However, all the flaws that there were in season one have been pollished and refined. The episodes aren't as repetitive anymore, the story is actually there and most importantly, the characters actually have something about themselves to say, a story to tell, sometimes even quite literally.
The only actual flaw that I DID have with the anime is how it sometimes feels that the show is flying all over the place, especially in dialogue. There's not much transition between events and some stuff it just flat out skimmed over. But I guess this can be forgiven because at heart, this anime is and stays a comedy for viewing pleasure only.
Some people might say they were disapointed with the second season, and I can see why you would think that, if you like change. But honestly, the formula worked great, so there is no need for any change.
And with those words I leave you with my thoughts on Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni!
Which is in my oppinion worth watching.
- The Randor69
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Jun 19, 2012
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni!
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My first review, let´s go!
Ah, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! More of the same? Or something completely different? Some might say that it's one or the other, I myself say that it's both at the same time. This will be a retrospective on the second season of Baka to Test, and will contain little to no spoilers, so let's dive right into it. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! is just like it's first season a true comedy. And it very much stays in the roots of the genre. The amount of jokes thrown at the viewer is very high, and just like the first season of high ... |
