The show takes place right after season one, where it ended in a way that helped returned to the status quo. After that, Kazuya goes back to his usual routine of thinking how to get with Chizuru, overthinking everything and wa**ing to kingdom come (no pun intended). That’s it really. There is no major plot development happening as it pretty much follows what it did in season one. For better and for worse. Season two makes me question what exactly is the plan here? It very much feels like we are going in circles here with Kazuya and Chizuru’s relationship and pretty much goes for a, “will they or won’t they?” approach when we pretty much know they will, they are just dragging this obnoxiously long because it’s so obvious; also taking in the fact as to how tropey this show is as well. This all leads to a lot of boredom and frustration because despite we already know the obvious, it doesn’t go anywhere. It tries to lead these little threads dangling like something will change or surprise you but it just fails to fool you. It fails to subvert your expectations because trying to go against the tried but true formula will hurt its marketability. This was becoming a problem by the end of season one and it’s only been exasperated here.
The main reason though I and I’m sure many other people, hate this series is our main protagonist, Kazuya. Kazuya was already feeling like one of the worst protagonists in rom-com anime but this season all but confirmed that not only the worst rom-com protagonist in anime, but one of the worst protagonists in anime period. Almost everything he does is infuriating as he continuously digs the hole he dug himself into and continues to dig. His constant doubts, constantly overthinking the situation, his complete obliviousness, constantly trying to lead Chizuru on, even though she ain’t biting, constantly leaving Ruka hanging that she may have a shot. Think every harem protagonist cliché and Kazuya is bound to have it. He does things that continuously infuriate me and the way treats other girls makes me question what they see in him. He’s also hardly straight with them and refuses to try and set those things straight as doubt constantly creeps in and before you know it, the hole is getting deeper. Mate, look, I know rejection is hard and you have already been through it, but you not just coming out and saying it is only making it worse for not only yourself, but the people around you. He’s just keeps digging and digging until he has become ingrained. He has become ingrained into the hole and cannot escape. He does try at one point to change things but plot convenience means he’s still stuck in that hole.
But it’s not like the girls are innocent in this too. Chizuru was a hardcore tsundere in season one and her tsundere tendencies have died down in season two but they have left a void in her personality to a point where she shows little personality for the majority of this season. She normally reacts to things with a shrug expression, acting like even she doesn’t want to be here as well. Yeah sure, she reacts in the obligatory, emotional scenes to get a tear jerk reaction but for most of this season, she is devoid of emotion. Ruka seems to be more clingy this season as she forces herself onto Kazuya even though she knows damn well he likes Chizuru more. Granted, it doesn’t help that Kazuya is leading her on to think she has a shot. Now if you were to ask me what camp I would stand for this show, it would be camp Ruka. After this season, not so much. She has become more irritating and should really look for someone else because her constant obsession to get Kazuya to love him back is not going to work and we, the viewer, know that. But she goes so far as to blackmail Kazuya to get what she wants, fully aware that it hurts the people affected, INCLUDING THE PERSON SHE IS TRYING TO DATE. So it just comes across as annoying and act as the other option. Again this isn’t strictly her fault, but to say she’s not innocent is wrong as she tries to sabotage things so she can have Kazuya all to herself.
Sumi is just there, again. She arrived late into season one so we didn’t really know much about her except that she is really shy. In season two, it’s pretty much the same, she’s just there to be a cute face. I’m also joining her camp now because she hasn’t done anything wrong, YET. But to be honest, I believe she will continue just there to be cute so I have more confidence in my choice. Mami’s screentime is reduced from season one as she makes infrequent appearances and it’s usually only to stir trouble by checking on Kazuya and see if she can try to belittle him for what he is doing, even though SHE’S TOTALLY RIGHT. The problem is that she comes across like a complete b**ch while doing it, so she becomes just as hateful as the people she is belittling. Another problem is she has nothing to do with Kazuya any more since breaking up with him so why she going out of her way to do it? Is she merely a plot device to see what Kazuya is doing is wrong? Or is it to take out her problems on someone else? If either both are so, it doesn’t feel like the message is coming across well. She played the, “character you love to hate,” mould well but then you see Kazuya on screen doing more and more bad s**t, her main defining trait doesn’t lead much of an impact so she still acts as a b**ch but not in a meaningful way.
All these girls besides Sumi have had their problems as characters grow and they seem to be developing new ones as well. It continues to get more and more degrading as time goes on. Not helped by the fact that Kazuya continues to be a piece of s**t and doesn’t fix the problems that he, himself, has created. It goes on and on to the point where the narrative basically boils down to how far does the hole need to go? Who in their right mind thinks that characters performing actions that only make you dislike them (and not in a good way) and not sensible humans would make for an interesting narrative? Can someone please get Sumi out of this s**tstain of a show before she might become a disliked character as well.
In the animation and sound department, nothing really has changed from season one. The animation is still mediocre at best but the character designs for our female leads are still very pretty. Say what you want about their personalities, at least they are designed to be drop dead gorgeous, with good fashion sense as well. Soundtrack still remains good in my opinion (one of the very few high points) with it trying to capture these emotional scenes better than the characters, but feels wasted in a show that fails to invoke any emotion other than hatred and apathy.
Which leaves the opening and the ending. The opening from season one was actually a really good opening with it being visually solid and gave you the impression that this would be a fun show full of lively characters. While only half of that was sort of true, the OP was still a fun one. Season two’s OP however feels like a poor imitation of season one’s OP. Titled, "Himitsu Koi Gokoro" by CHiCO with HoneyWorks, it pretty much follows the same beats as season one’s OP, except it’s not done as well. It’s not as lively or catchy, nor is there much energy into it. It reuses the same scene when the chorus kicks in and uses a scene from season one to, I guess, match up the lyrics for the song but fails doing so. This feels so inferior that it actually matches the quality of the show.
The ED is just a collection of still images having the four main girls be centre stage. Titled, "Ienai feat. asmi" by MIMiNARI, it feels like a wasted vocal performance of an ED that just looks quite bland in what I can only describe as an alternate universe where Kazuya doesn’t exist and the four girls get along because of it. Granted, it does bring out the girl’s cuteness so I’ll give them that. It is better than season one’s ED where Kazuya was figuratively jacking it (unfortunately not in San Diego) because the only thing good about that ED was its symbolism.
This review was honestly a review of not just season two but also the building gripes that I had of season one and it honestly felt like a review of both season one and two. Season two seems to take season one’s problems but only increases the intensity of them while also creating new problems that this season created. It slowly becomes a rabbit hole of aimless story direction and unlikeable characters that only gets worse the more you think about it. With that in mind, I just want to say this:
I’m done.
I’m done with this s**tstain of a protagonist that treats the people around him poorly and makes decisions that only get worse.
I’m done with a plot that contrives its way to keep the girls around this pathetic protagonist while having no idea what it wants to do next despite knowing where it wants to end.
I’m done with these girls that do things that only make you want to hate them and are simply pretty faces used to sell waifu figures.
I’m done with a series that treats its audience like f**king simpletons by appealing to the lowest, degenerate graphic through clichés and tropes that they know work but don’t do anything to subvert or change to make it feel more unique.
Listen, I’m not saying that I’m above it and I’m not a degenerate. Far from it, I have recently watched Monster Musume. I’ve sat down and watched episodes of Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World and Vermeil in Gold this season. What I’m saying is that it doesn’t try to be anything but appealing to the lowest common denominator that it knows we can be suckers for. Hell, it got me to watch this s**tshow again, but that was because I wanted to see if it would get worse and it did. From what I can gather as well, it would seem that it is going to get worse from here. We’ve still yet to reach THAT CHAPTER yet. You know the one, the one that exploded on Twitter and it ending with Kazuya posing for the cover of the next Nirvana album. That will probably bring me back out of sheer curiosity to see how it gets animated. But for now, I’m done. If you are still able to sit through and watch this series beyond this season, well more power to you mate, you clearly have a higher tolerance to this than I do. But I will be one of those people who will wash their hands and say, “I’ve had enough.”
Story: 1/10 (A story that feels aimless and is trudging through mud at a ridiculously slow pace with what feels like little progress.)
Characters: 2/10 (Sumi is the only you can like because she hasn’t done anything that would make you want to punch her in the face for being a bad person.)
Animation: 5/10 (Animation is still painfully mediocre but the character designs are still on point.)
Sound: 6/10 (Soundtrack is still good but hampered by a slightly worse OP but a slightly better ED.)
My Personal Enjoyment: 1/10 (I’m done)
Overall score: 3.0/10 Recommendation: Don’t F**king Bother
