Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT Review

This is review number one hundred and eighty two. This anime is part of the Winter 2013 anime lineup. The anime I’ll be reviewing is the second season of one of my favorite shows since I started this blog. I’m’ talking about Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai. It’s a show about a group of people in a club doing funny thing together. I really enjoyed the first season and I’m really glad the second season had a lot to offer. I also want to see more of Sena. Her boobs and entire existence should be worshiped or something. Anyways, this is a twelve episode anime and it’s really great. Let’s read on.

Story

The story is still the same. A bunch of eccentric people gathered together to the Neighbor’s Club so they can hone their social skills so they can gain friends. Some relationships got more personal though and the members are slowly becoming closer in the most unexpected ways. One thing that didn’t change though is the crazy antics of the people in the Neighbors Club but can the ever growing relationships of the members affect this as well?

Taking the Pants Off

I was genuinely excited when I heard this wonderful show would have another season. I really enjoyed the first season and I remember my review of it was a bit iffy because I was harping about the story being nonexistent among other things. Being able to see the great characters do what they do best is enough to make me want to watch the second season. I get to see more of Sena and her big boobs plus my favorite trap is in this anime. Anyways, the first season did open the door for another season. I remember the first season ended with the guy realizing Yozora is his childhood friend and the two girls has seemingly subtly declared their intention to be serious with the main character. I don’t expect much from this season. I’m satisfied as long as the club themed craziness that made the first season great is here. It is but wouldn’t you know it, the second season also has a lot of surprises in store.

If you’ve seen the first season then you know exactly what to expect from the second season. The story isn’t that prominent because most club themed anime rely on the characters to make the show great. Majority of the episodes are about the characters spending time together in the club talking about anything and doing activities that range from complete randomness to things they think can help them gain friends. Most episodes just revolve around the characters and their nice chemistry together as they have fun in the Neighbor’s Club.

Of course, the familiarity with the characters helps a lot in enjoying the second season. I really miss this crazy bunch and their crazy stupid days together. One thing that the second season had though was that it was focusing a lot on the relationships of the characters. In the first season, Kodaka had some great alone moments with the two main girls of the anime, Sena and Yozora. His relationships with them are greatly focused on the anime and it looked like things are slowly heating up. Don’t expect much though because even though the relationships are majorly highlighted in the anime, the show still does not have a story to revolve on. It’s still about loosely connected episodes about the Neighbor’s Club. It was a bit frustrating to me because I love a story in my anime but the show doesn’t have one. The Neighbor’s Club does fun stuff together and Kodaka has some personal relations with some of the characters. That is basically the setup of the anime. It’s not a bad thing for this show because it was able to balance the club themed elements while slowly developing the relationship among the characters.

The wonderful thing about the second season is that the characters are greatly fleshed out. The characters you fell in love with on the first season has a gradual transformation in the second season. Some of them will really surprise you (and break your heart. ><) because the anime was really doing its best to flesh out the characters. Some characters are further introduced and their personality was focused by the anime. Those characters that served as minor tropes in the first season had a bigger role in the second season. Those characters that serve only as comic relief did more than that in the second season because while the characters are having fun in their club, the relationship among them is slowly developing. This was a nice surprise by the anime because I never expected most of the characters to actually have that big of an impact on the show.

Then there are characters that really does transform. They are introduced fully as well and we see them in a different light. I’m mostly referring to the three main characters: Sena, Yozora and Kodaka. The show started out presenting the personality that made them likeable but the show spins it and we see a different side of the characters. We often forget that the characters are in the club because they don’t have friends and the anime explores the reason why. It did get a bit serious but without a story, the show doesn’t really do much. There is enough to change the status quo so I do appreciate that. The romantic entanglement of the characters is also greatly discussed. The direction the show in regards to that is a bit surprising, to be honest. The relationship gradually deepens and you can almost see the interactions of the characters greatly changing.

There are also new characters in the anime. They don’t have that big of a role but they made other characters look great. Since most of the characters are being further introduced, the new characters add a lot to how we perceive the older characters. There are some things that I personally didn’t expect most characters would possess and the new characters brought it up. It was amazing and it’s a shame there is no story to further drive those new points home.

Despite the lack of story, the show still shined because of the great characters and the comedy they present. It was the same as the first season. The characters are mostly eccentric. There is the gullible yet beautiful girl, the serious yet shy one, the perverted genius, the guy that looks like a girl, the middle school girl with the eight grade syndrome, the loud and energetic girl and the boy that is unfazed by most things. When these characters interact, you’ll really get something worth watching. This was actually the part that I missed about the anime and I’m glad they were able to make it even better. The further character introduction and the expanded topics and activities the characters had was a great way to fully showcase the comedy. I also appreciate the addition of some references and parody in the anime. I was surprised that they talked about MayoChiki and even had some scenes from the anime itself redone to serve the parody.

I still cannot get over the fact the anime had no decent story to work at and just bits and pieces to make the episode structured properly but I still love how the characters make the save. This show greatly relies on its characters and I love how they were nicely showcased. There are no boring moments in this anime despite the lack of a story and I’m sure you’ll fall in love with them more than you did the first season because there were some new things presented about them that make them more rounded and loveable. This is another great show that proves that you don’t often need a great story to make a great anime. Give us amazing characters and the whole experience can last for two season and maybe even a third one. I want a third one.

Sight and Sound

The character design is still the same. We still have those great designs by Buriki (who is handling the characters for PA Works new anime, by the way) with the characters having amazing faces and really stunning looks. The girls mostly have the best features. Their faces are really amazing. They have big expressive eyes that look fierce yet tame coupled by some petite lips that complement the roundness of the faces. This is combined by the nice wavy and really colorful hair to match the personalities of the characters. There is also that nice touch of blush in their cheeks to make them look cute. They aren’t just cute though because the characters have really curvy bodies to accentuate their sexiness. Even the lolicons have nice sexy bodies that make them dangerously attractive. The whole design is topped by some really amazing outfit designs. Some are restricted barely showing anything while some clothes are really fashionable and some are showing a lot of skin. Either way, the clothes make the characters sexier in an innocent way while their face gives off an aura of cuteness that combines well together. This is why I love Buriki’s designs ever since I saw it first on Denpa Otoko. The girls have great designs but I often find the guys lacking in that department though. The main character looks plain and even the nice features on him aren’t pronounce unlike the designs on the girls. It’s a bit disappointing because genders aren’t treated equally in terms of designs.

The animation is pretty great. You can see this from the OP sequence with the characters just going crazy and this stays the same throughout the anime. The animation was able to capture the zany personalities of the characters. There are a lot of running around and hurting each other in the anime that was nicely presented in terms of animation. The added affects were also a nice touch. The animation was really great because it makes certain scenes more interesting making sure the anime has no boring moments in it.

The anime’s OP is “Be My Friend” by The Neighbor’s Club. This was sung by the characters of the anime and it is really a great song. The chorus was done in unison and their voices blend well together. The song is super energetic and everyone had a nice line in it. The verses were pretty great with the singers really capturing the personality of their characters and then it just blows up in the chorus. The OP sequence features the characters in cosplay just being their crazy self as they interact with each other. It teased some of the events of the anime and had a nice montage of the characters.

The anime’s ED is “Bokura no Tsubasa” by The Neighbor’s Club. This was also sung by the characters and it also shares the same bubbly nature as the OP. This one is more mellow though and it features a sweet song about being in love. The verse was really nice and I love the lyrics that nicely lead up to a very wonderful chorus. It’s amazing. The ED sequence features the romantic situation in the anime and it has some beauty shots of Sena and Yozora looking all cute and sexy.

Overall Score

6/10 “It’s an amazing second season that made all the good things of the first season even more amazing.”

I love this show. The characters are nicely presented and I love how they actually transformed despite the lack of a decent story. Their interactions and the comedy they present really made the whole experience worthwhile. If you love club themed anime with great characters and strong comedy then you’ll love this anime. Of course, if you’ve seen the first season then you should see this one just to see how much the show has changed. You won’t regret watching this one. I recommend it.