In the summer of 2010 when I was on vacation, I had some urge to watch Amagami SS, which is an adaption based off a romance visual novel by Enterbrain, which only got a Japanese release. While Haruka’s, Karou’s and Tsukasa’s arcs were good, the others just disappointed me, Rihoko especially since the writer decided to become a jerk-ass and Friendzoned her! That conclusion just ruined it for me, which is one of the reasons I never finished the first season until days before the sequel airing.
Amagami SS Plus is a continuation of the girls’ arcs from the first season. Will Junichi live up to his interactions with them? Let’s find out, shall we? (Image Source)
I admit that the second season is a slight improvement over the first, although it doesn’t really bring much to the table. Sure, the presentation of Ai’s and Sae’s arc were a lot better than before. However, I felt that the length of the season (13 episodes) compared to the former made the stories seem rushed. This bothers me particularly with Kaoru’s and Haruka’s arc since they could have easily added more. Furthermore, the hot springs episode for the finale was wasteful, despite enjoying it. I think they could have used it to develop Miya a bit more rather on that.
Underneath the slight disappointment, there were a few really enjoyable and memorable moments. First is of course Junichi recognizing Rihoko’s feelings and confessing to her. When I heard that, I literally jumped up from my chair with joy since it took them this long to make such an achievement. Next is Kaoru, where they tried to split a piece of candy apart with their mouth while others watched them on the bus in addition to the faithful kiss on the beach. The former made me laugh so hard because they looked like they were making out or something. Lastly, there is Junichi’s speech to Haruka at graduation where he proposes to her. It was simply over the top with Haruka hugging him while others cheer them on. Even with these developments, I wish that there were a mini-arc for some of the side characters, especially Hibiki since she has an interesting personality that doesn’t get noticed.
Although Amagami SS Plus didn’t enrage me this time around, a few lingering flaws still bothered me. If you notice throughout all the girls’ arc in both seasons, it seems that Junichi cannot act on his own unless his romantic partner or another girl pushes him. This is best shown with Jessica telling a lie that Haruka will stay in England in order to push Junichi to propose. The weak-minded male lead is a troubling epidemic in most visual novel and other adaptations for the sole purpose of placing more emphasis on the girls. Second and last complaint is the lack of effort in designing Haruka’s relative, Jessica. They thought it was a great idea to take Haruka’s character design, change the hair color and call it a day. Sadly, this defeats the purpose of having relatives since they should at least look unique and not like twins! Aside from that, the show was good although they should have worked harder to make it a more fulfilling experience.
Final Series Rating: 8.0/10, B-, Good ¶
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