[angel.shade]

Okay, let's see here.

Spoiler for The Good:

Well, it was definitely enjoyable. The shift from useless, annoying Keiichi to Rika as the protagonist was definitely one of the highest points of the series. Rika is a very interesting character, while I've always found Keiichi to be tiresome. The prominence that "dark" Rika took above the more moe standard Rika was also a very nice touch.

The answers to all our burgeoning questions finally delivered, as all the pieces start to slot into place. The plot resolution was absolutely welcome, and the ending was enjoyable if it was something of a stretch in places. After seeing all the characters go through a shitload of pain, suffering and general reality-warping and mind-twisting, it was very gratifying to see them finally win over destiny and break the cycle of June 1983.

Spoiler for The Bad:

My biggest disappointment in the series was the horror element is almost nonexistent in season 2. I realize that this brings the series closer to the original games, but as a tragedy it's far less enjoyable to me than it was as a moody, reality-bending horror that reminded me heavily of the Silent Hill games and the movie Jacob's Ladder. The disturbing, visceral violence and imagery of season 1 was replaced with somewhat less-disturbing emotional tragedy. I still have the images of Shion torturing Satoko to death burned into my brain just as deeply as the "mirror scene storeroom" in Silent Hill 3.

There also seems to be a significantly larger amount of the "club activities" slice-of-life filler in season 2 than there was in season 1. I don't like this. I don't mind the occasional sprinklings of comedy, but when I go into a series expecting to have my mind raped, I don't want to see a bunch of girls forcing each other to dress in ridiculous outfits after losing a card game.

The level of moe-blob fanservice in season 2 also seemed a lot more pronounced thanks to Hanyuu's presence. This isn't entirely a bad thing (Hanyuu is a very ironic character after all the general badassery build-up surrounding Oyashiro-sama) but at the same time it really does harm what I loved so much about season 1.

Matsuribayashi-hen also left me feeling hollow as an ending. It felt entirely too easy, and it made the plot leap that every one of the friends had begun to recall their lives in the other realities and avoid going insane and killing one another. This left the entire group free to fight against Takano without any distractions. The ending was one of the most disappointing I've ever seen, actually.

Spoiler for The Ugly:

The worst (and most inexcusable in my opinion) was the animation quality, however. It was never really better than mediocre and often dropped far below acceptable standards. There's not really much more to be said about this, though the first season suffered the same poorly-drawn fate as its successor.

Also I hate Keiichi. A lot.

All in all, I enjoyed Higurashi Kai quite a bit, but the first season still remains on top as far as I'm concerned. I hope they decide not to do a third season.