Ah, episode two, just in time for a little boing boing action…
What They Say:
Hey, I’m president of the Amusement Club, Toshino Kyoko! Just kidding. (Snap, wink) Now that we’re finally an anime, I thought I should establish my character! (You don’t need to do that. by Yui) The second episode goes in a different direction. The student council that quietly supports the school is on the move. We’ll take on the student council like any good school anime! Come with me, Yui and Akari! And Chinatsu-chan, leap into my arms!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After a fun opening episode that got us to know the girls, and really made me a big fan of Kyoko right from the start, the show brought in a bit of tension at the end about the use of the room coming to light after the acceptance of a fourth and cute member. With this episode, they’re getting ready to handle all of this but it comes with a very amusing revelation right from the start. Having Kyoko being the perverted young woman she is certainly provides for laughs, but making her the smartest in the class she’s in only adds to the cuteness of it all since causes Ayano nothing but stress and frustration. She has it in big time for Kyoko and every little thing Kyoko does just gets to her. And Kyoko knows how to do just that, and mocks her with it, such as talking about how she’s a far better stripper than Ayano.
Naturally, it does come down to a more straightforward competition between the two over what’s going on with an upcoming test as the place where it will happen. While the fate of the Amusement Club’s room is at stake, the stakes are high for Ayano as well as if she loses, she’ll have to join the club herself. The nature of the relationship between Kyoko and Ayano is definitely one that has a great flow to it as they play off each other well, Ayano with her easily frustrated nature and Kyoko who knows how to push all the right buttons. The other members of the student council get involved a bit and they add some additional cute color to it all. So much so that the growing of the cast here feels natural and far too adorably cute.
The episode spends a lot of time with the growing cast across the board and has a lot of fun with it as we get to know them. It does keep tabs on the core cast as well, but it knows how to flesh things out while making sure we aren’t overexposed to the main characters as well. Like the main four, they’re all cute and adorable in their own way and have plenty of fun moments, though of course they do delve into things like chest size issues and the like, as well as the rivalry between Kyoko and Ayano. Allowing those two move off center stage is an interesting move to take, but it works well here I think and we get to like the new additions from the student council. While the chest-envy gags may be familiar, it’s handled in a fun way here even while doing things we’ve seen before. And I have to admit, the animation design and atmosphere from it here does a lot to help smooth it out as it’s so appealing, as are the performances by the voice actors.
In Summary:
This show is just far too adorable. It’s hard to pinpoint what it is, but the characters have all come to life easily in these first two episodes, even with introducing a whole new group in this one with the student council. They may be stereotypes to some degree, but they feel more nuanced and connected to each other, as if they have existed prior to the series itself, and that helps to make it all the more fun. The fun of everyone here, from the start with the challenge to the extended time spent with the student council members is a hell of a lot of fun. Kyoko still wins the show, but these new girls add a lot of flavor to it and just about all of them are close to being able to being the lead themselves.
Grade: B+
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.