Have you ever found yourself searching for something, even if it seemed impossible to attain, or even impossible to exist? Oregairu Zoku not only discusses and shares a unique perspective on this exact type of problem, but presents it in a way that is one of the most realistic representations of the feeling of yearning ever in this medium.
Story: While the first season felt more comedic in nature, and plot points mostly didn't matter, the opposite holds true for this second season. While, yes, the comedy still shows up in certain scenes, the majority of the show is spent listening to inner monologues, the implications that arise due to a certain plot element, and the aftermath of messy cleanups. In this season, the events still jump around, but you feel as if continuity has continued not just from the events in this season, but also the previous. The stakes are much higher in this season, and one character doing one action or going to an event with another person all has an impact on the dynamics of the club. While yes, the story still jumps around the year, you can still see the scars left over from earlier parts of the story. Even with this time jumping in the story, a severe change can be seen from the first season to the next. This change manifests in the form of events impacting character growth and aspirations. With a certain festival in the distance for the majority of the middle of this season, we see not only a shift in Hachiman, but a complete 180 in terms of his character. While this shift is ultimately a change due to his character, it's the event in the story that fostered this change in him. With this change, we see the reactions to characters actually impact each other in a realistic way, rather than them playing off on character dialogue like a comedy troupe. This change brought a significant improvement to the storytelling aspect of Oregairu.
Art: While Brain's Base did a great job highlighting the playful tone of the first season, allowing us to get attached to the characters with an artstyle that exposed the superficiality of characters, this second season allowed for the maturity of the characters and situations to truly prosper. In a way, the first season modeled Hachiman's shallow perception of others, while this second season gives you a full, comprehensive look at the actual state of these characters. However, with this studio change from Brain's Base to feel. came character design changes. Case one would be the redesign of Yukino. In season one, Yukino comes off as a stereotypical ice queen, sporting long black hair and a snarky personality. With the shift to season 2, her art changes to focus less on an icy exterior, but to one that harbors conflict. Yukino in this season seems to be putting on a fake smile in many scenes that she is in, which shows this odd sense of something being out of place. This change was extremely beneficial to her in the long run. Hachiman and Yui felt similar, but a slight touch up and lighting (which the first season seemed to lack on), their characters fit the new change. Overall, this new artstyle accommodated the new depth in character development with the new lighting that was capitalized on.
Sound: As if I already didn't like the first season's OST enough, the second season blew it out of the water. The new opening is upbeat, and perfectly captures the essence of the show, especially in the lyrics. While the first season's opening featured what seemed to be Yukino's perspective, this new opening may be that of Hachiman's. There even seems to be a bit of foreshadowing in the lyrics, and the title of the song itself reflects the overall theme of this season. Opening aside, the OST gets an upgrade from the previous season's. Alongside the amazing openings and endings comes the piano versions of them, which each provide the characters with a sort of theme while also setting the mood in the most dramatic scenes. Associating the characters with these themes give the characters that extra bit of flair that most shows don't have, since you don't hear character themes in the openings/endings alongside the actual show.
Character: Season 1 focused on introductions and first impressions. However, while these impressions carried over into this season, the first season did not capitalize on the colorful secondary characters, which ended up making them feel a bit like wasted potential. With this new season, not only do we see more development in main characters, but we also get character arcs that focus around these side characters. A notable example of this is seen towards the end of the show, where we see a new character be introduced to us while receiving her own arc. The events that occur throughout this arc lead into the next one, where Hayama is seen to have more to him than meets the eye. This fluidity of arcs allows for character development to feel as natural as real life. With these arcs focusing on side characters, we also are able to see the development of Hachiman as a result. The relationship between 8man, Yukino, Yui, and the other cast is malleable, and the character desires all change too. This change from the last season to this one is what allows for main characters to feel even more realistic while giving the side characters enough backstory and development to make them stand out in their own regard. Perhaps, leading into the next season, we will see further discoveries in side characters that show us their true personalities. Overall, the shifts in character personalities in this season works for the better.
Enjoyment: Oregairu Zoku isn't an action heavy show. By that, I mean that the plot doesn't really do much, and that character interactions and changes are due to the drama that occurs between them rather than major events that change them. While it may feel slow in certain aspects, such as Hachiman's relationships with Yui and Yukino, the rest of the season comes at you at full speed, especially with character desires and revelations. With this in mind, this season is one of the most enjoyable second seasons for a drama-heavy show by far.
Overall: With a complete change in art, improvement in sound, and a couple steps towards a direction allowing for side characters to have as much relevance as the main cast, this season led Oregairu in a direction that is positive. This season works with the successes of the first season, and corrects the shortcomings of it as well. Overall, this season provides a story that's not just relative, but one of the most realistic ever in a work of fiction.
