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Boku wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai (Haganai NEXT) – Because I don’t know what a friend is
This is from S1, doesn’t matter– Sena and Yozora
Without a doubt, this season has been focused on ‘Kodaka x Sena’, while revealing many more plot details along the way- so let’s get right into it.
SPOILER ALERT
The Neighbour’s club continue with their wacky array of daily activities, with major events namely being Kobato’s birthday, The neighbour’s club movie and The Melancholy of Mikazuki Yozora.
The story has been progressive, more so than the first season, but not quite as much fun.
We learnt and delved deeper into the psychology of Yozora. She’s perhaps one of the most egotistical girl i’ve ever seen in any form of media, and doesn’t restrain in displaying said attribute. She’s pretty much stuck in the past with her memories being with Kodaka and will react with hostility towards any oppression to that memory. Quite literally. Although quite the dutiful president, she sometimes mixes personal feelings with the club’s direction and wants to ‘have it her way’ , fortunately, for everyone’s good, the rest of the group has something else to say in most cases.
Her ego got the better of her when she gets busted by her own club for plagiarizing the script of a famous movie, for the club’s movie. Apparently her head was too high up in the clouds to see that everybody in the club is valid a person as everyone else. Thankfully, she is not totally adamant and has some dignity after all, which can be seen from her tactful actions as the club president in the last few episodes. She still remains very sentimental and egotistical when Kodaka is involved though, up to the point of hating Sena by her very essence , when quite obviously Sena just loves a healthy rivalry with her. Wether she chooses to embrace a normal relationship like everyone else or stay the same way- rooted to the past – will have to wait.
No, I don’t think egotistical people are bad, because that’s what gets a story going and adds more spice into it, so that’s why Yozora is an interesting person in my book.
On the other hand, Sena is as oblivious as always , but that’s because she is purely concerned with her own things and doesn’t quite give a damn about other people. In this season, she unfortunately becomes the victim of Yozora’s vicious ego when it’s largely not her fault, so i can fathom why Niku would be the more ‘reasonable’ and ‘likable’ person here. Nevertheless, she remains objective-driven and in most cases, more saner than Yozora. Props to Niku for keeping her cool.
and who can forget about the MVP !
Back in the first season, the moment she opens her mouth, you can be assured that you’re gonna laughing. [Unfortunately] Her behaviour has taken a turn in this season into a more mature one, and i’m totally fine with that ( yes, my Yuri psyche is depressed right now ).
Rika takes the cake for being the most proactive and sensible, albeit sometimes unfathomably lewd, person in the Neighbour’s Club. This genius has gone out of her way to ensure that The Neighbour’s Club functions logically and actually.. well… have fun ! She plays a more vital role in this season as she becomes the intermediary between Kodaka and Yozora-Sena triangle, which probably sounds like a middleman in a harem ! *cough* As i was saying, she has definitely been the most interesting character this season. This genius helps Kodaka realize how important he is the functionality of the Neighbour’s club and how his relationships impact everyone around him. That sounds nothing like the ecchi-crazed person she was last season, right ?
so definitely, she’s one of the most awesome characters this time round.
As for the story itself, I think that the ‘over-arching’ arch of how-the-life-of-a-loner goes is still prominent over here, because of the distinct personality traits of each of these outcasts.
The story, and the Neighbour’s Club could have turned out like a weirdo enclave should Yozora had her ways undisputed, because she doesn’t quite get the concept of normal human relationships and instead choose to cling on to Kodaka –while normally expanding the club. I for one, think this could turn out very interesting.
Kodaka on the other hand is reluctant about relationships to the level of Shinji Ikari though he’s not as quite.. low in testosterone count as he is, but that’s beside the point ! He claims that he want everyone to have a happy ending, but isn’t aware that when there’s happiness, unhappiness will also be created ( oh snap, so Madoka). You can’t keep running away from the choices that you’ve to make. That’s just the harmonics of relationships that we all must live in this imperfect world. And having no friends will just make it harder to realize this fact. Thus we can’t totally blame him for feigning his density towards ALL intimate attempts with him- it’s just too foreign a concept for him. It will take time.
Though with all due respect my beloved Rika, I think the ending was really out of place and you really didn’t have to ball him all over , right?
I can safely say that the charm of this anime relies strongly on its characters and interactions. I honestly think they could’ve done away with the fan service because this bunch of people are worth giving a damn about if they tried hard enough.
So Kodaka, what will you do ?
Unfortunately, they seemingly cut back a bit on the animation and Season 1’s visuals seem more solid albeit a bit dull.
Don’t worry though, i’ll be coming back.. for more ! We will be waiting.
And thus the final verdict for this anime is:
FINE
Not as much fun as Season 1, though redeemed with high points in character development — i would say it’ll take time before the real fun begins.
stay tuned
Cheers
Keerakun
Haganai Next 2 – The Homos and the onee-sama
Was expecting to be entertained wholeheartedly on a Friday evening, but guess not.
In this episode, The Neighbours’ Club watch a ‘M’ version of a supposedly full-blown homosexual-esque anime called ‘Homo C’.Yozora is initially against watching the ‘lewd garbage’ but is then convinced to watch it as a whole club.They react unanimously in a positive manner, praising the movie.Sena questions Yozora’s double standards on the activities that are permissible inside the club. Sena is then forced to read out a line from the Visual Novel game she has been playing in order to justify the lewdness of the content. She successfully reads out the suggestive line — the club becomes bewildered — then is criticized for her lack of sensitivity towards such type of content. She storms out of the clubroom in her usual burst of tantrums. The next day, Kodaka is called out by an unknown sister as he walks through the park. She attempts to proselytize Kodaka because of his hair colour — only to have Kodaka say that it is of a natural shade of colour. The sister reveals her own name to be ‘Kate’. Maria appears out of nowhere and cheerfully hugs Kodaka, but is surprised to see Kate, ‘the old hag’ hanging around him. Kate teases her, and then reveals that she is Maria’s sister. She is actually grateful to Yozora and Kodaka for changing Maria’s behavior which used to be that of a passive shut-in.
Walking towards class, Kodaka is joined by Yozora. She requests for Kodaka to compare his answers with hers as they have just finished their finals. Soon, Kodaka could see that Yozora was just attempting to bring up conversation topics so they could talk with each other. Sena comes in out of nowhere and brags about her ‘perfect answer sheet’, then engage Yozora in the usual heated conversation as they walk towards the school block.
———————–
I summarized the episode plot like a true scriptwriter. Way to go. Apologies if it was boring, but subtitles are present in the gallery for the sake of communication-because, as you can see, this episode wasn’t very emotive.
our thoughts are in unison
I have mixed feelings about this episode. It was a rather poor attempt at deepening the relationship between Kodaka and Yozora. If it wasn’t for Rikka’s oh-so flowery tongue in the language of suggestiveness, this episode would have been a total let-down. The cheeky references to the other two anime (go figure) that AIC has produced were absolutely hilarious, if not ridiculously lewd- but hey, that’s Rikka for you alright. And as for Yozora’s assertiveness over club activities – I think we have covered this in the first season ? And also how they have gone over how hardcore Sena’s ecchi games can get ? I’m sorry, but recycling the same sequences and applying new fillers just don’t cut it for me- and for the more conscious audience. If i must point out a positive; the scene where Yozora reacts to how ‘friends can kiss each other’ did well to show us Yozora’s perception on personal issues. Okay, deep stuff. We know for sure that Kate, Maria’s sister has been added to the cast and things will probably pick up to become more interesting as she becomes more involved in the orderly chaos that is the Neighbour’s club.
Perhaps I over analyzed the screenplay.. emphasizing proper character development of SOCIALLY INEPT people from the very moment i picked up season 1..
Because my little show about the neighbour’s club can’t be this bad.
Perhaps I need to
.. let my hair down.. like what Rikka did.
Keerakun
Cheers
My lazy ass twitter:
https://twitter.com/lolztrollz
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- justification of otherwise suggestive material
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- The uniforms really remind of Yu Yu Hakusho – an awesome anime
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- ditto
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- This is why Rikka should never shut up
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- Reminiscent of Season 1
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- Deliberate camera angle
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- She can be pretty direct
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- Prejudice
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- Why do they employ preadolescences as nurses again..
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- onee-sama vs onee chan
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- Good for her
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- This scene to develop character and further their relationship was pretty weak in my opinion
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- Typical Rikka behavior
Be my friend ! Haganai NEXT 1
Boku Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai NEXT / Haganai NEXT
At long last the ‘bishojo-ladden ecchi adventure’ can resume. The wait for shows worth watching has been aggravating ( at least for me ) but that burden has been alleviated a bit by the arrival of this interesting harem off-shoot. The last season was interesting enough – yes, i’m talking about all aspects of the show, not just how well-endowed Sena is or how much of a bitch Yozora can be – and i’d be crazy not to look at this one.
First things first, we continue from where the last episode of season 1 left off, but after an uncertain amount of time. The way Neighbour’s Club has it, everyday has just been as fun and fulfilling as K-ON -esque houkago activities !
Neighbour’s club being related to HTT ? hahaha–no
Okay, maybe the above statement would have been true if you took away the pseudo-sadistic nature of Yozora and Sena’s haughty tendencies, plus the many other elements that come together to comprise the Neighbour’s club — and then add music into it.
Clubs aside, the first episode had the club resuming its activities ( whatever the the hell they may be ), activities that has never been quite defined concretely by the almighty leader Yozora. Sena becomes the usual fodder for Yozora’s wide array of prank and as usual, it ended up rather hilarious, if not amusing. This time, they talked about how nobles used to have all sorts of ‘funky’ and ‘thick’ hairstyles- these were supposed to reflect their nobility. Being the royalty she is, Sena’s pomposity got the better of her as Yozora and Rikka proceeded to give her hair a total makeover. Yes, Sena never learns.
Then Kodaka gets invited to study with Sena at her house. You might be surprised at what Niku has had in store in her room all these times – and so I was. Kodaka remained unproductive and was invited to stayover at her house. The episode ends in what may seem like a yaoi bathing room scene, but with Sena’s father genuinely asking about Sena’s welfare in school , to which Kodaka gladly answers truthfully.
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Contrary to what many people say about the ‘better visuals’ I would beg, no, PLEAD to differ. Most of the scenes with lights were overexposed, making all the character’s skin tones look much brighter than usual. The contrast is rather off. The colour tones themselves look under saturated and thus the Neighbour’s club looked like as if it had anemia after season 1.
The animation, as it is dependent on what happens in the episode, will be looked at later, though I am generally satisfied with– BE MY FRIEND — hell yeah,
Season 1’s visuals were superior. Period.
Not really that appealing for a first episode in terms of screenplay, but the few laughs and the carried-over feelings from season 1 were in place, so no problems with character development right there. Which is why, I look forward to the next few episodes with great enthusiasm, just as much as how Sena swears her revenge on Yozora every night before going to sleep !
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- What a bunch of pu— F-f-f-orgive me, Kodaka !
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- Entertaining as ever
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- OP stuck inside my head soon as i heard it
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- Be my side ?
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- Luring
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- Lured
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- I find her blatant obliviousness very amusing
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- Whoop Whoop
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- Getting mad at the ‘wrong’ aspect of things– So Sena
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- ‘Well, i’ll just leave two adolescents alone in a room to study’
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- And you thought otaku rooms were worse ? pfft-
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- Stella easily saved this part of the show
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- scrub scrub scrub
Cheers
Keerakun
bagnochokoreto 