The end of a journey is upon us. I've been rewatching the second season on Crunchyroll in preparation for the finale (on episode 3 as of now), and walking into this episode I have some thoughts of this season when compared to the past one:
-The comedy has been better. Sure, the sound track still lacks proper comedic toned music, but the actual jokes has far better timing in general. I'm sure by the time I reach the mid way, things will look even better than I first saw it.
-The music is still great. Yes, this is clearly a score that doesn't fully cover the needs of the series, but it does fulfill the romantic side of things. The track that played during episode 2 with Kusunoki's feminine side materializing is among the best things I've heard not only in this show, but in this season. I'm getting the second OST for sure. *that and they use Lum's track for Elise lol)
-The voice acting is excellent. Ito Kana as usual is Elise, now and forever, but Hiro Shimono had really grown in to the role and impressed me this season. Other roles that stand out is Kana Asumi as Chihiro, but I think I'll expand on that once I get to rewatching that string of episodes again.
-The direction has more impact. Chihiro's arc along with Shiori's had been the best of the both seasons, with Shiori's looking visually superior and Chihiro's having the stronger dialogue. But both show a general level of caring placed into them that carried across and made for some fantastic viewing.
-And finally, it looks nice. While not exactly the best looking show, it does have a consistent look about it, and has no major failings in that regard. That and the retro feel the show appears to be going for is working in it's favor.
So, as I rewatch, I pray that this finale episode doesn't fall to the mistake the finale from the past season fell to. And that is not having enough comedy to counter Keima's obsession with galge, which lead to a very disturbing episode. Don't hold back and let loose, is what I hope will happen here.
Picture from the author's blog