I was a bit surprised that Junior Character Tomozaki Phase 2 didn't win enough ANN reader votes for the weekly streaming reviews of the second season, as I was under the impression that the first season was quite popular . I guess I was wrong. For some of my online friends, each subsequent volume of Tomozaki's source light novels might as well be a completely new testament to the Bible. I'm not too obsessed. I haven't read the light Novel but I absolutely loved the first season, it felt like a less staring, more broadly entertaining take on My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.
As before, Second Stage's greatest strength is in its complex, nuanced character development and dynamics. Unlike SNAFU's Hachiman, Tomozaki is less likely to be mistaken for a murderer in training. He's a pretty typical teenager – less confident around crowds and people he doesn't know well, preferring to spend his time enjoying an environment he can control – the online game Attack Families ( or AtaFami for short. It's a blatant homage to Super Smash Bros..) His main rival on the game leaderboard, NO NAME, is Aoi Hinami. They continued to scrim online regularly throughout this season, but Tomozaki's AtaFami alter ego “nanashi” remained the undisputed winner.
For the most part, the show focuses on Tomozaki's character development through real-life interactions, as directed by puppeteer Hinami. Now, I don't think there is a teenage girl alive with the determination, drive, and absolute psychological understanding that Hinami shows when manipulating the image of herself or the classmates around her. that. She is a disturbing character who will do almost anything to maintain her status and enforce her version of justice while keeping herself clean and seemingly above reproach.
The conclusion of the five-episode first season shows Hinami at her Machiavellian worst, with even Tomozaki and several other characters retreating in horror at her blatant emotional manipulation of the bully Erika is emotional. The results are (supposedly) positive, but in order to achieve a rigid version of justice for the bullied Tama, Hinami reveals a little more of the cold and calculating monster underneath my countless masks. This whole episode was uncomfortable and I know it made some viewers feel uncomfortable. Still, I found the examination of group dynamics surrounding bullying fascinating, even if I hesitate to call it”entertaining.”
Hinami is an unlikable character at this point in the story. Although her influence on Tomozaki's social status benefited him, I was glad to see him morally opposed to some of her methods. She is a great character, although unrealistic. The show couldn't exist without her, although the second main arc covering the rest of the season featured her much less prominently. Instead, the focus shifts to the two female protagonists. Hinami gives Tomozaki a choice between – the shy, introverted writer Fuuka Kikuchi and the blue-haired goddess with the radiant smile and chaos Mimimi (absolute Best Girl). , I won't have any disagreements, fight me).
Mimimi seems more like a standard “genki girl” character in that she is lively, optimistic, and gives people silly nicknames (e.g. Tomozaki is “Brain”), but she is quite self-aware and thoughtful. I love her deranged but supportive friendship with the much quieter Tama. I was rooting for Mimimi to get her guy, but is Tomozaki the right guy for her? In contrast, Kikuchi is more difficult to quantify. She is introverted, very focused on her writing, and tends to be more self-defeating in her attitude. I never really liked her character, but I can see how Tomozaki would like her. It's a sign of good writing when you can appreciate the nuance and development of characters without being particularly impressed with them.
I found the season finale to drag a bit, especially given the reliance on the school play as a plot device. Honestly, it's a bit clumsy and even frustrating–I don't care about the story's characters in this story, even if they are thinly veiled versions of the “real” characters. ! Tomozaki and Kikuchi's discussion of a fictional author's novel and character also offers a higher level of abstraction than their actual feelings, and at times, I found it difficult to analyze (or care about) the Interaction between them!
As emphasized in the previous ANN article, Tomozaki's beautiful wallpapers are mainly based on real-life locations. This definitely gives the film an air of realism. Overall, this is an enjoyable show with decent character animation and expressive designs. I also liked the energetic opening and ending songs by eight-member band Dialogue+, with lyrics and sound effects that relate heavily to Tomozaki and Aoi's competitive gamer personalities.
Overall, this is a very classy piece of anime with deep, interesting characters that, while very affecting, sometimes work on a level or two, removing the more primal emotions that I think it will evoke something in the viewer. I often sit back and appreciate the author's storytelling talent rather than feeling as deeply invested in the characters as I would like. Like the superficially similar SNAFU, Tomozaki is not an anime for everyone. There's very little action; it's mostly talking heads and introspection, but I still recommend it to those with enough patience to appreciate its subtleties.