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Old 2008-01-03, 05:49   Link #31
gaguri
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
The second season has become far more tamed than the first.

The biggest problem I had with the second was its lack of tension. And I'm not talking just about tension from mystery or thriller moments, but the dramatic tension that develops within and between characters. In the first season, there are two powers that are at work inside each character; one is trying to manipulate fear and turn it into a raging demon, and the other is trying to believe in their friends no matter how suspicious they are, or how hopeless the outcome may be. Season 1 masterfully executed this, jumping from seemingly innocent mood to the frightening horror that lurks under it...until the evil finally overwhelms the good. Look at Shion's arc. She is constantly in a great torment, because she wants to protect Satoko for Satoshi's sake, and she wants to believe in her sister, and she wants to spare Keichi because she likes him in many ways. But she is constantly confronted by visions, hallucinations, and at the end defeated by the syndrome, because she lacked the strength and belief in her friends. I think that's what made her defeat more terrifying and sad at the same time.

In season 2, there is no conflict in this sense (well, majority of the second half anyway) because the characters have already won. As Rika said before, it doesn't matter if they reached a BAD END when they all died, because they all united together and believed in each other. They have already won. There were tension developed throughout here and there, like the friends trying to win Satoko's trust (the phone call scene) or Keichi calming Shion's murderous rage down. But other than that, most of the drama came from 'will they succeed or will they not' rather than 'will the character finally open up and believe in each other, or will he go crazy and kill everyone'.

So that's how I saw them as two different type of dramas. And you're right, maybe it's just that I'm liking the first type better than the second, and neither is necessarily superior to each other.

I also think the directing in season 1 is superior. The way they built up suspense when Shion was leading Rika to the kitchen before the bloody battle, or the way Rena (and Shion/Mion) slipped in and out of innocent and murderous mood...I'd have say they were top notch. And the fact that season one shouldn't really be blamed for lack of explanations, since they were all explained in the second season. Story of season 1 and 2 essentially need each other to stand solid and talking about one without linking to another should be avoided.

I still think this season is a very good one though, for reasons already stated before.
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