This season is incredibly slow compared to the first season. The main characters were developing well last season but they ground it to a halt in this one. Every match feels exactly the same, just with a different set of faces. The Mizusawa gang seemingly loses all confidence at the start of every match, but by the end of them, win or lose, they've got Superman levels of confidence. EVERY match.
This season has got more inner monologue per 26 minutes than any single human is capable in a day. The directors insist we know what all 100+ characters are thinking at all time, even when they are completely irrelevant to what's going on in the episode, and they insist on making every thought as detailed as a doctorate's thesis. The directors also insist on making every single emotion, positive or negative, super dramatic, as if our characters are trying to defuse a bomb. ALL THE TIME. Chihaya could be about to fart during a match, you would've thought she just received a letter informing her that her mother died with how intense her reaction is. It takes so much away from the more genuine moments of the season.
