Category: Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Only three monthsago I was a weekend in Paris for a holiday, so it was kindof nice to see it in animated form. And some parts of this episode definitely rang home to me, like how on one hand it profiles itself as this hip charming city, yet still is full of merchandizing stuff, how the hotels are small and how things are pretty expensive. There was one part that I found a bit fishy: the creators handled the language barrier right, but how did they know the exchange rates between euros and yen instantly?

But still, there is something I’m really wondering here: what’s the point? Why is Paris important fo this series? All the characters did in this episode was eat out expensively and spend money. There were hardly any microbes, plus it doesn’t really add anything to the premise, setting or characters. Haruka’s whole wedding has been going on for nearly the entire season, but has much changed?

On top of that, this episode also wasn’t really fun, it wasn’t surprising, it wasn’t entertaining. It was just… there. I’m really starting to wonder whether my original assessment for this sequel was right: why was it made? What does it have to add? Right now this feels like the Paris-hen of Nodame Cantabile: sure it has its moment, but was it really necessary? There are virtues in being concise, you know?
Rating: 3/8 (Mediocre)

Hmm, this school festival arc in the end didn’t really work. It had a purpose: raising enough money to get to France, but the way in which it did it was uninspired and stereotypical.

The thing is that in the first episodes of this season, I praised this series for nailing college life. This episode… doesn’t really feel like college. It’s all so overblown, one-sided and riddled with bad innuendo jokes, portraying half of the campus as a giant pervert. The idol thing in particular was just bad.

What’s more is that this series is starting to feel a bit lazy. I mean, I can understand a lack of germs around Haruka, but within that auction, there wasn’t a single germ to be found, which is a little weird if you ask me. It just seems to me like the creators forgot to put them in or something. It’s pretty serious for a show to forget its main gimmick like this…

The one fun part of this episode was the boxing match. That brought in some creativity at last, and it feels fully in line with the school itself.
Rating: 3.5/8 (Enjoyable)

Ah, another school festival arc. The second series this season that has a school festival that takes up multiple arcs. Unfortunately, this is such an overused backdrop that every series that uses it needs to have something that makes it stand out. Moyashimon comes with mexican liquor and housewives.

To be honest, this was probably the weakest of Moyashimon Returns so far. For one, it was building up to a joke that will only arrive next week (a joke that seems pretty lame, by the way) so very little happened, but the cast seemed to miss its usual chemistry. I also think that Misato and Kawahama went a bit too far, but that might change next week. The problem is that with only eleven episodes, 20 minutes to waste on a simple build-up episode is a lot of precious time here, so I do hope that the creators know what they’re doing.

And I dunno, this series has a bit of a bad luck to air right alongside Hyouka’s school festival arc, which did put in a ton of detail in its setting. I can’t help but compare the two, and with that, this feels rather empty. The mexican liquor was interesting, but beyond that I didn’t see much more extra detail in how the school was portrayed.
Rating: 3.5/8 (Enjoyable)

This second season did have a bunch of strange plot decisions, I give it that: I mean, at this point the main character of this show has pretty much changed into Hazuki. A germophobe. Because of that, the microbes have completely changed their role in the series due to the lack of interaction between them. Right now, this is a series that has a character who happens to be able to see them, and they’ve become narrators and commentators.

Now, is that a bad thing? I wouldn’t say that that automatically is the case: the series just needs to provide something to make up for this change of focus. And it has done so with its lectures and slice of life, both of which are excellent. This episode showed new stuff about old alcohol brewers and their businesses, which was quite interesting to watch.

The slice of life in this series also is the kind of slice of life I really like: it doesn’t focus on the daily grind, but on the small details, like the characters sitting down to eat some kind of new snack, or hanging out at a bar. They’ve provided lots of interesting conversation in the process. My only complaint is Haruka. I know arranged marriages are still a big thing in Japan, but this is a cliché that has gotten to the point of being a dead horse that’s too often used to introduce tension when the creators lack inspiration. If you wanted some drama around Haruka, you could just as easily have given her some money troubles that would prevent her from carrying her studies further.
Rating: (Great)

The creators here nailed college, with one exception, which became clear to me with this episode: how come there is only one member of the cast who drinks? I mean, it’s college: the time which is notorious for people drinking themselves into a coma over and over again. I don’t care about the minimum age in Japan being high: Japanese students have got to have found some ways around that, right? In any case, my biggest issue is that with this, the “drinks a lot” has become a stereotype, rather than an actual character trait, due to the main cast being portrayed so black and white.

Also, my memory on the first season is completely fuzzy: I really don’t remember much of it, but haven’t some things changed in the process? I mean, for example I cannot remember that the microbes actually gave classes on fermenting (which are really interesting, by the way). In any case, what also strikes me as a big difference is that the cast is much more fun to watch now, now that it doesn’t have to bother with introductions. It makes the characters more… down to earth.

This meanwhile was an arc for Hazuki to flesh her out, and I must say that the creators used her well, but also the rest of the cast worked quite well together. I’m just wondering where the creators plan to go with that arranged marriage stuff…
Rating: (Great) – (Note: I am going to think of something new for these ratings, I just don’t have the time for that right now)

Holy crap, I am so late! And screw this, I’m going to blog Moyashimon. This episode convinced me that it deserves a second season. As a matter of fact, it could very well become better than the first season at this rate. It really deserves this with such a tight script, and it’s definitely more than just a comedy. Plus, I have a point that I want to make.

Over the past weeks, I noticed quite a few people who commented on how uneventful this season is. And I’ve been thinking, the only way in which I can agree with that is if you’d compare it to last season with its huge quantity of standout series. Nevertheless, I’d still call this season a stand-out one, and definitely a unique one.

I mean, this isn’t like 2011’s summer season, which had a ton of series with amazing starts. What this season does have however, is creativity. Seriously: there is Uta Koi with its tons of historical content, Moyashimon with its focus on bacteria, Jinrui with its fairies and satire, Horizon with its powers and world. On top of that there is the dramatic heavy hitter of Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Hyouka and Uchuu Kyoudai which carried over from the previous seasons, and Hunter X Hunter is getting to the point where it gets really fired off. I mean I don’t know about you or anything, but I have more than enough to watch this season. If I had to label it with one word, it’d be “interesting”. Perhaps it’s not the most dramatic season (aside from perhaps Eurka Seven and Natsuyuki Rendezvous, but there is more than enough to keep you busy.

Anyway, Moyashimon: did it always have such a good script here? I mean, there is a lot of interesting dialogue in this episode, and unlike with shows as Joshiraku, it feels like the characters are actually explaining things to each other, rather than just provide exposition. The characters here have a chemistry together and feel just like real college students. The acting in this show is quite well done, if perhaps overshadowed by the other Noitamina-series this season.

Also, I remember again why I have hardly any memories of the first season: its ending was rather bad. Sure, with this second season it’s not an ending anymore, but it still was a rather rushed gimmicky episode whose concept ended with a very disappointing cop-out. I hope that the creators aren’t going to do the same for this second season.
Rating: Excellent