Last updated April 22, 2006.
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July 16, 2005: Da Capo: Second Season

Kotori
We all know they just wanted an excuse to show Kotori in a gym uniform.

Against my better judgment, I've started watching Da Capo: The Second Season because I watched all of the first season and I seem to have forgotten everything I've learned about sunk cost. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Da Capo machine, this franchise is the poster child of mediocre anime.

Aishia
I have a feeling we're going to be seeing this expression from Aisha a lot.

Thankfully, the second season has (so far) contained no Nemu or Sakura (two of the first season's main characters, both of which were annoying as all Hell), wisely focusing on Kotori. Thank God. Kotori is the best character of the show, and making her one of the leads is a great idea that may yet redeem the series. So far, Kotori has been a blessed vessel of pure Yui Horie sweetness.

Aishia, Junichi, and Kotori
Aishia, Junichi, and Kotori

The second episode was better than the first, mostly because its levels of exasperating shounen contrivances and exaggerated "awkward" situations were either acceptably low or non-existent altogether. The second episode also revealed that Kotori is smart enough not to jump to ridiculous conclusions or suffer from terrible misunderstandings. The show has Miharu for those types of shenanigans, although (again thankfully) for comedic purposes, not plot advancement.

Kotori
Kotori figures it out because, well, she's not stupid.

I'm still unclear as to the living arrangements. It seems Junichi lives alone now, but Miharu freely comes and goes. I don't fully understand why Kotori went home the night after Aisha arrived, but I guess Kotori probably has parents who wouldn't be too thrilled about her crashing with Junichi. Besides, then he might discover that she apparently has no nipples.

Aishia
I like how they added the ominous reverb when Aisha said goshujin-sama.

There's also no explanation yet as to what happened to Nemu. Maybe Junichi fucked her into a coma again, and this time for good. It's a cinch she'll reappear at some point, but I would be more than happy if we never heard from Nemu or Sakura again.

P.S. Needs more Utamaru.

July 28, 2005: Da Capo SS

Oh man, episode three of DCSS was packed with the sort of crap that makes Da Capo a sorry series. There were bullshit misunderstandings and unlikely moments of maid incompetence aplenty.

Utamaru
Needs more Utamaru.

Did someone say "maid"? Yeah, some time during the night, Aisia decided to become Junichi's maid. Where did she get the uniform? Magic. No, seriously. Magic. Or possibly Nemu's closet....

Criminy, I was okay with Aisia when she never talked. Now I'm thinking I'd rather have Nemu and Sakura back. Actually, I'm sure of it. You suck, Aisia.

Aisia and Junichi
Junichi realizes his new houseguest is a nutjob.

The thing is, I can believe she's unfamiliar with tofu. I can even believe she's unfamiliar with bananas. I'm even okay with the magic; there was plenty of magic during the first season. But that nabe error was inexcusable. And how can she not know about toilet paper? She must use the three seashells. Aisia's moon logic is completely bonkers, folks, and it's not cute.

Kotori
Oh, Kotori. You and your hats.

Kotori remains the show's bright spot. She's pretty much the only normal person on the show. (Yeah, she can READ MINDS, and she's a TOTAL SWEETHEART, but aside from that...she's PERFECTLY NORMAL, okay?) Of course, being the only one that's not a freak, and being the most sensible and intelligent character on ths show, she kinda seems out of place.

Still, if you can watch Da Capo Second Season without loathing, and just kind of let your mind ignore the more odious elements, some of the comedy bits are genuinely funny (e.g., the guy walking his dog, and Miharu's continuing misfortune with bananas).

December 26, 2005: Da Capo Second Season

Man, there were a lot of tits in Da Capo Second Season episode seven. There must have been...57 tits in there. (Apologies to Steve Martin.)

In other news, I'm okay with Nemu being on the show as long as her life continues to be a dramatic maelstrom of misery, or as long as she gets fucked into another coma.

Utamaru
Unexpected Utamaru screen wipes are pretty fresh.

Actually, once the episode count reaches the teens, D.C.S.S. gets...well, I can't quite say the show gets good, but the dramatic elements get interesting enough to overshadow the stupider bits.

Along those lines, I really liked Kotori's composure and reaction when she realized Aishia had just made a fool of her. I'm glad to see the show remains consistent with her character's maturity and intelligence in comparison to its menagerie of twits—at least throughout the first season and eighteen episodes of the second season.

Kotori
Poor Kotori. Someone get her a better show.

The rest of the cast really is a collection of twits. Aishia definitely gets too much screen time and talks way too much. I would probably be okay with Aishia's character if she never talked, to tell you the truth.

Nemu is back, and while the show does at least lamely raise the obvious issue given the events of the first season, it also ducks around it with a number of contrivances. Fortunately (?) the viewer can't be too enthused about a Junichi-Nemu pairing because at least one episode does paint him as a lazy, ignorant bastard with Nemu as his inexplicably doting slave. It basically makes both of them so unlikable that it sort of seems like they deserve each other's wretchedness. Good riddance.

April 09, 2006: Da Capo SS episode 26.

Kotori
I'll watch more Da Capo if it's Kotori Maniax, only without a shitty ending.

  1. Poor Kotori.
  2. Thank God I can finally stop watching this crap.

 

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