Amagami SS+ (season 2) discussion thread

[something]

アマガミSS+

Sequel to the two-cour multi-route visual novel adaptation that aired in Summer 2010.

Airs Friday, January 6 at 02:15 JST on TBS

Animation studio: AIC

ANN Entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13328)
Official Site (http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/amagami/)


Note
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[HitokiriShadow]

Hmmm, this episode is a "first half", suggesting only two episodes... and only one cour. Which actually means I'm vastly more likely to stick with this show. Even if its often painfully mediocre and full of wasted potential thanks to its male lead and poor to nonexistent romantic chemistry, at least its switching gears ever other episode.

On the other hand, I'm already really sick of Junichi in general, and by the end of the episode, I wanted to punch him through my monitor.

I wish I could say that at least this series started out with the best girl, but resolving her issues largely neuters her character, and as I mentioned in her arc in the first series thread, her character really requires good chemistry with her romantic interest, which is severely lacking in this show.

The one true upside is that at least Junichi is already dating the girls, so the show has to come up with something slightly different than the norm, and focus on other things. In this case, its the election, which also adds romantic complications due to the tactics Kurosawa is using.

Eh, still not sure how much I care to suffer through this show's mediocrity. It will depend heavily on how much else I stick with.

[Nagato-san]

I'm pretty glad to have one more go 'round with Amagami. I actually really liked the anthology aspect of the first series. At first Junichi annoyed me, but I soon came to find him hilariously pathetic. I also like how they are continuing from where the first series left off.

All in all, I'm pleased so far.

[Fencedude]

...so, anyone else think that both Tsukasa and Kurosawa are complete bitches, and Sae should win?

Oh yeah, and Jun'ichi, way to not even acknowledge your sister.

Fuck you.

Sae/Miya/Ai FTW!

[HitokiriShadow]

...so, anyone else think that both Tsukasa and Kurosawa are complete bitches, and Sae should win?


But don't we like Tsukasa because she's a bitch? Though I'm not sure what she even did in this episode that was particularly mean and anything she did in response to Kurosawa was probably justifiable. I probably just completely forgot about something though.

[Fencedude]

But don't we like Tsukasa because she's a bitch? Though I'm not sure what she even did in this episode that was particularly mean and anything she did in response to Kurosawa was probably justifiable. I probably just completely forgot about something though.

Oh absolutely, I was speaking in terms of the election.

Also she's being a bitch in a not particularly entertaining way, which takes a lot of the fun out of things.

[HitokiriShadow]

Oh absolutely, I was speaking in terms of the election.

Oh, okay. That makes sense. Yeah, in real life, no one should want either of them in any position of authority.

Also she's being a bitch in a not particularly entertaining way, which takes a lot of the fun out of things.

I certainly agree with that. That kind of goes with what I was saying about her character being neutered.

[HitokiriShadow]

Good, I'm very happy to see that Tsukasa didn't suddenly suffer from a severe case of stupid (as happens far too often in anime) and immediately knew what was going on. And that was a pretty nice death glare she gave Kurosawa.

I was annoyed at Junichi being a blubbering idiot about it at first, even if him being flustered was understandable to an extent, but Tsukasa calming him down by kissing him was a nice way to go. And it was a nice kiss, even if I would have liked it more if Junichi wasn't a bland sack of shit.

And it was nice to see Tsukasa tell him what an idiot he was.

That was a really anti-climactic conclusion to the election. Then they talk about how Tsukasa made such an amazing speech and we don't hear a single bit of it. I hate it when shows do that. And Tsukasa slapping Junichi in the bathroom after she told him to stand up was really irritating.

Also.... the whole thing with two different people picking the same vice president is really stupid. A) There would likely be things in place to prevent that and B) they sure as hell wouldn't allow a situation where someone could be not only nominated into the position without their knowledge but forced into that kind of position against their will.

On the bright side for the second half, the Miya/Sae/Ai scene was awesome. Why can't Miya be the main character of this show instead?

Next up: Rihoko.

[Fencedude]

On the bright side for the second half, the Miya/Sae/Ai scene was awesome. Why can't Miya be the main character of this show instead?


Because we aren't allowed to have nice things.

This show is severely brought down by Jun'ichi having a complete nothing for a personality, giving us no reason to care. About anything.

Also, one thing you didn't mention is that it turns out that Kurosawa actually WAS after him.

WHY?!

WHY DOES ANYONE WANT HIM!?

Ugh.

[bear]

WHY?!

WHY DOES ANYONE WANT HIM!?

Ugh.
Because he's a dish rag that they can boss around?:rolleyes:

For Kurosawa the only other possible reason is because her enemy has him.

[HitokiriShadow]

This show is severely brought down by Jun'ichi having a complete nothing for a personality, giving us no reason to care. About anything.

This has always been my big problem with the show. Made every single romance impossible to get invested in, because its impossible for the girls to have any chemistry or interesting relationship with nothingness. And some of the girl's personalities (Tsukasa and Haruka in particular) really need good character chemistry to work well. Junichi's complete lack of personality (in most arcs) made the first series a real chore to get through.



Also, one thing you didn't mention is that it turns out that Kurosawa actually WAS after him.
Yeah, I guess I facepalmed so hard at that that I managed to temporarily forget about it.

[Fencedude]

Rihoko is much more Junichi's speed. They are very much on the same level. And are both morons.

Blah blah stuff.

[HitokiriShadow]

Junichi seems like a completely different person in this arc than he was in Tsukasa's.

I forgot how dim Rihoko is.

And this whole "guys trading porn at school" thing is getting more than a little out-dated.

Oh, and Makabe is a douchebage. Someone please inflict severe physical pain on him.

[HitokiriShadow]

Yes Makabe, I'm sure she'll regret rejecting a borderline rapist creep like you.

Yay for Hibiki and Haruka scaring him off.

There was a surprisingly large amount of Miya in this episode, which was the main thing that made the episode even remotely entertaining. The episode instantly became dull and irritating to watch the second Rihoko or Junichi started speaking or it otherwise shifted focus back to them.

Oh, and I guess Rihoko's sempai were amusing for their 10 seconds of non-recycled screentime.

[Fencedude]

Nishishishi

So yeah. Junichi and Rihoko are both intensely lame, but...I can actually buy them in a relationship, unlike Junichi and basically any of the other girls. So yay. The one believable (heterosexual) relationship in the show is over and done with. Its all downhill from here.

Hibiki and Haruka is still the best relationship.

[elior]

Nishishishi

So yeah. Junichi and Rihoko are both intensely lame, but...I can actually buy them in a relationship, unlike Junichi and basically any of the other girls. So yay. The one believable (heterosexual) relationship in the show is over and done with. Its all downhill from here.

Hibiki and Haruka is still the best relationship.why downhill from here ?nanasaki arc is pretty good too and her story in season 1 was pretty believable too

[Fencedude]

why downhill from here ?nanasaki arc is pretty good too and her story in season 1 was pretty believable too

What part of "I don't like Junichi and think his relationships with these girls are lame and unblievable" do you find hard to understand?

[bear]

Actually, I thought Junichi managed to pull off a decent confession and didn't act like his usual dorky self (too much anyway). That's damming with faint praise....

[Fencedude]

Even by the standards of this show, this "crisis" is unbelievably pathetic.

Seriously, the shits I do not give that Junichi and Ai can't go on a date on Christmas, solely because he's an incompetent idiot.

Miya once again stole the episode, with an able assist by Baroness Tsukasa.

And our required Hibiki/Haruka couple cameo.

[HitokiriShadow]

There was a lot of stupid in this episode. Especially the whole cram school hell week thing and the unbelievably stupid (and cliched; this is, unfortunately, not the first time I've encountered the "oh no, I'm such a fucking moron that I put every single answer on the wrong line and totally never noticed it" thing) reason for Junichi having to do it.

The Ai/Junichi relationship was probably the one I found the easiest to buy into in the first series. It had one of the less bland Junichis and it had less of an impact on the relationship with the girl. Ai doesn't really need someone with an actual personality to work well like Tsukasa and Haruka do. And I found her pretty likable and enjoyable.

So it should have been the easiest one to not fuck up..... and they fucked up here with all of the stupid. Junichi falling asleep in her groin/belly/whatever would have been cute.... if it had happened at one of their homes or in a park or something. But the Nurse's office/"this is so embarassing, what if someone sees us" part mostly killed it.

And that was the BEST part of the episode (other than any time Miya spoke, particularly when she Nishishi'd).

[Fencedude]

Well, that was rather nauseatingly cloying.

Also, nothing happened. At all.

At least we got to see Miya grope Sae's boobs, and Haruka and Hibiki, on a date, again.

[HitokiriShadow]

And if anyone found Miya/Sae implausible before, they really can't anymore. Probably worth remembering that A) Miya does not have an arc/game route of her own and B) Sae's arc was one of the ones that didn't end romantically (though considering Rihoko's arc in this show, that could well change in two episodes).

I think there was something involving Junichi and Ai going on a date in this episode, but I really can't give a shit. And I had completely forgotten about the incredibly stupid manufactured crisis until the beginning of this episode reminded me.

[HitokiriShadow]

Oh, fuck you Junichi. That was *entirely* your fault and of course she was on Inago Mask's side, that was her job! And I cannot find the words to describe how fucking stupid it is that that would bother you. I cannot believe people are supposed to sympathize/project onto this emotionally stunted moron.

It's amazing how quickly my feelings from watching this show can go from utter boredom and disinterest to incredulous rage.

[Fencedude]

Yes, I totally watch this show to see Junichi be a dick to his girlfriend. What the fuck?

Well, at least the "crisis" this time wasn't entirely his fault.

[HitokiriShadow]

Congratulations, Amagami. You are the proud owner of the most cliched anime episode in existence. I lost track of how many of them this episode blandly went through, without the tiniest sign of even attempting to distinguish itself from the thousands of times they've been done before, just in the first half of the episode.

The ~30 seconds the show blessed me with lines from Miya and Keiko were literally the only parts of the episode that were not hitting a new record for being mind numblingly dull. This episode somehow managed to be offensively boring.

And that was *before* it reminded me (by letting Keiko get some lines and remind me that she's better than half of the main girls combined) that the reason these Kaoru episodes suck particularly hard, even by Amagami's abysmal standards, is that the scenario was designed to focus extra heavily on Junichi/the girl to the almost complete exclusion of any supporting characters. Which is a big problem since, well, Junichi. I don't think there's any need to elaborate at this point.

..... Why am I watching this show again? Oh, right, Miya and the occasional sightings of Haruka and her girlfriend. I'm not sure how much more of this I can bring myself to sit through just for that. I was ready to bail after this episode (even before I actually watched it) but then I remembered that Sae's arc should at least mean a decent Miya presence, right? I'm not sure what I can possibly gain out of watching Haruka's arc though. It's just going to piss me off more than usual since the show has now made it a point of teasing Haruka/Hibiki in every single arc since Haruka's in the first season, and Haruka's arcs are the only ones that make that explicitly impossible while sticking her with one of the blandest vacuums of a male lead ever created. Normally it would satisfy my masochistic urges, but I already have Gundam Age and Zero no Tsukaima to take care of that.

[Fencedude]

I gotta admit, I got some giggles out of them being saved by Junichi's useless friend.

Also, Kaoru has sexy hair.

But seriously, this episode was really boring.

And now the next two arcs are going to focus on breaking the two best yuri ships of the show. Bah.

....but hot damn that end card.

[HitokiriShadow]

ZOMG, an episode of Amagami that (mostly) didn't suck!

Thanks mostly to very generous dose of Miya. Imagination Miya was particularly amusing. I think Miya had more lines and screentime than Sae.

On the other hand, it also had one of the absolute worst scenes of Junichi being a moron. That they spent something like five minutes (or what felt like it, anyway) on Junichi choosing lunch food is a testament to... I don't know, something very bad about this show's production.

And then there's the narration. Virtually all of it is stating the blindingly obvious without anything resembling wit or a punchline. The two or three times it attempted something resembling a joke it utterly failed for a variety of reasons.

[Fencedude]

*looks up from the book he got distracted by during the episode*

Oh? Its over?

*goes back to reading*