Silver Spoon - Season 2 Review
Decided to do a write up for the entire season here, since the OT seems pretty dead, and I think some missionary work is needed to bring the good news of Silver Spoon to more people in this thread. Too many here have sinned and fallen short of the glory of good anime.
This is probably one of the best shows on noitaminA ever. I'll certainly put it up there with Honey and Clover as a show which gives the same sort of appeal that the block has been known for traditionally. This second season has improved on pretty much every aspect from the first. The source material it's adapting at this point is much stronger, but that aside the production itself has also picked up a lot. From a good series, it has elevated into a really outstanding one. The direction feels sharper, the animation and art flows better, and the pace is much quicker which means each episode in turn feels more varied in terms of developments and events.
While the focus in the first season was more of an introduction into agricultural education, and Hachiken's encounters with culture shock and the people he meets, the focus of the second season is entirely on Hachiken as a person. This is a really satisfying and emotional character arc because the show successfully balances putting the audience in the protagonist's place, while also giving him enough dramatic beats to make the audience invested in cheering him on. Watching a relatable character try to achieve his goals while understanding the feelings he goes through at various stages is an age old narrative format, but one which doesn't get pulled off in an impressive way often, simply because it feels so formulaic. It's a massive success here though.
I don't think I've enjoyed watching something in this same way for a really long time. The second half of Hyouka was probably the last character driven show where I felt this invested in the story and characters, and it's not quite in the same way. I still think the best comparison would be something like Honey and Clover, where the characters are students in a tertiary program, and the story is about their relationships as much as it is about their hopes and dreams expressed through their academic choice.
The only thing that could have made this season end in a better way would be if they announced another season. Since they didn't there's a bit of a bittersweet feeling - the ending was outstanding, but knowing that there might not be more made makes me rather sad.
Decided to do a write up for the entire season here, since the OT seems pretty dead, and I think some missionary work is needed to bring the good news of Silver Spoon to more people in this thread. Too many here have sinned and fallen short of the glory of good anime.
This is probably one of the best shows on noitaminA ever. I'll certainly put it up there with Honey and Clover as a show which gives the same sort of appeal that the block has been known for traditionally. This second season has improved on pretty much every aspect from the first. The source material it's adapting at this point is much stronger, but that aside the production itself has also picked up a lot. From a good series, it has elevated into a really outstanding one. The direction feels sharper, the animation and art flows better, and the pace is much quicker which means each episode in turn feels more varied in terms of developments and events.
While the focus in the first season was more of an introduction into agricultural education, and Hachiken's encounters with culture shock and the people he meets, the focus of the second season is entirely on Hachiken as a person. This is a really satisfying and emotional character arc because the show successfully balances putting the audience in the protagonist's place, while also giving him enough dramatic beats to make the audience invested in cheering him on. Watching a relatable character try to achieve his goals while understanding the feelings he goes through at various stages is an age old narrative format, but one which doesn't get pulled off in an impressive way often, simply because it feels so formulaic. It's a massive success here though.
I don't think I've enjoyed watching something in this same way for a really long time. The second half of Hyouka was probably the last character driven show where I felt this invested in the story and characters, and it's not quite in the same way. I still think the best comparison would be something like Honey and Clover, where the characters are students in a tertiary program, and the story is about their relationships as much as it is about their hopes and dreams expressed through their academic choice.
The only thing that could have made this season end in a better way would be if they announced another season. Since they didn't there's a bit of a bittersweet feeling - the ending was outstanding, but knowing that there might not be more made makes me rather sad.
