Miss Monochrome The Animation 2

The first season had basically 2 characters - yet it was perfect. Every story was locked to the childlike android personality that naturally led to fiasco, but in a comical development, and Monochrome's never giving up attitude in her ever miserable circumstances was inspiring, just as was the season's tear-jerking happy ending. The title was a success so the second season could afford: many new characters, OP+ED (vs just ED) and other things. But the magic of the original series was left behind in the Season 1. There're, sure, nice things that the fans must and will enjoy: a perfect OP; Monochrome inventing delayed joke as herthing; Mana-chan's cameo - that she rocked - expected nothing less from her; lots of little cyber jokes... But it is all diluted in a lot of water, and - most of all - not held together by the original concept: as Monochrome became successful, she lost her charm and the sympathy of the audience. I think her mission was fully completed in S1.

I have already written a review for the 1st season, and most of my thoughts are the same, though I shall comment on a few obvious differences and how good they are. Narrative. The episodes are longer. Therefore more content. I have to say, the anime doesn't have anything substantial in these longer episodes, it is like the 1st season but drawn out, what I will say however is that the anime does indeed have a plot going for itself in a linear direction, unlike the 1st season's episodic nature. It makes for a lot more interesting stuff but it is still in line with therandom nonsense that happens with Miss Monochrome and her life. It is good, but quality doesn't improve or impair. As for characters, it is the same, more specifically, there is very minor development in any character. As for the new character, Yayoi, she is a walking cliche, being a klutz when working and an aggressive person behind the wheel. I don't think she is a bad character, especially for an anime like this, but that is pretty much everything to say about her. Very generic. At least she has more character than Maneo. Audiovisuals are the same, you know you want to stay for the ending to see best girl vibe and sing. Enjoyment is the same as well. Not good, not bad. Good to pass the time with, a little comedy that won't hurt, get a few laughs out of, but doesn't give much either. Overall - 6.0 (6) (Click "Overall Rating" for score breakdown)

I was certainly glad to hear that there was a second season coming out for Miss Monochrome. Now that I have watched it, I must say that I am somewhat disappointed. For those who don’t know the story of Miss Monochrome, Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 is a continuation of the first season, Miss Monochrome: The Animation. Our main character, Miss Monochrome, wants to stand out and become a famous idol. Although she has taken a few steps to become one, she doesn’t know what else to do from there. As a result, she decides to make her first album and go on tour. Thepacing in this anime is somewhat slow as the episodes carry on with its story. With that being said, the story progresses much more. Something that should be noted, before you watch this, is that it builds its suspense off of the first season. If you watch this alone, you might not feel the same suspense as for the people who watched the first one. I advise that you watch the first season before you watch this. The thing that interested me the most about Miss Monochrome was its ridiculous, over-the-top comedy. While Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 pertains some of that over-the-top comedy, it doesn’t hold that same amount as the first season. Needless to say, the art style of Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 is very reminiscent of the first one. The atmosphere is upbeat, light, and the character designs are unique as always. However, the upbeat atmosphere sort of counteracts with Miss Monochrome’s sense of humor making the anime seem a bit of a mess. There is also a bit of 3D CGI included, but only at the ending theme song like the first season. Moreover, the characters are the same except that Miss Monochrome has developed a sense of humor and a bit of a selfish personality. For example, she is more sarcastic in this than the first season. Being the android that Miss Monochrome is, she doesn’t know when to use sarcasm properly. While some may find this humorous, others may find this to be off-putting as the same jokes are repetitively used. Speaking of sarcasm, when Yayoi Konno, a new character that wasn’t seen before in the first season, takes what Miss Monochrome says to heart, she creates a larger than life situation which usually results for the worse. Expanding on a few characters I mentioned, some additions include Akiko, a talented guitarists who is conveniently an employee at the store where the main characters work at, Yayoi Konno, Miss Monochrome’s promoter who is a bit of a klutz and overambitious about the work she does, and there’s an idol group called Caramel, but I won’t go into too much detail about them. Surprisingly, all of the voice actors and actresses have returned except with a few new additions. If you didn’t know, Ruu-chan has gotten a voice actor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak as much as I hoped for, but nonetheless, he was still fun to hear. Akiko and Yayoi were also fun to hear, I thought they were a great addition to the show as they seem to create fun moments. For those who wanted an opening in the first season, Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 has added a theme song called Black or White which is about one minute long. Also, the ending theme song is called Step by Step which is about two minutes long and mocapped with a 3D CGI version of Miss Monochrome which is similar to the first season’s ending. Both songs are sung by Miss Monochrome; if you’re a fan of VOCALOID, you might like the way she sounds. To me, the opening and ending theme songs sounded all right, I did not hate it nor did I like it. Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 does make references to other shows here and there, incorporating it into the story which indeed make it funnier. It also references jokes back to the first season. However, the only issue I had with this anime was that it didn’t seem to have the same amount of humor like the first season. Some episodes were funnier than the others and other episodes felt stale. Like I said before, it felt like it was more plot driven and climactic. If you want to get a better understanding of the comedy and story, it is advised to watch the first season. On the other hand, if you want to understand the references they make, note that this is not required to make it more enjoyable but you might want to check out a few other animes such as Initial D, Golden Time, and Wooser no Sono Higurashi. Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2’s humor pertains some of its unexpected funny moments, however, it is not as random as it was in the first season. Unfortunately, the show sets up for a third season. Hopefully, we will see Miss Monochrome become a popular idol. I look forward to watching the third season.

Welp, I ended up watching more knock-off Miku, and I'm surprised how much better this is than the first season. I think it helps that the story focuses more on the business side of becoming an idol. Plus, the length of the episode has nearly doubled! This definitely feels like the animation studio has gotten the hang of things when it comes to this franchise. They even fixed mistakes that were in the earlier episodes, like how in the first episode the robot vacuum suddenly talks but then they remove that in the next episode. It also helps with their experiments using a play onwords, such as the multiple definitions of an album and how they initially go on tour. Episode 2 was my favorite episode - they did the Tokyo Drift! I was surprised that the robot vacuum suddenly gained magical transformation powers, but it fit very well in the context of that scene. I do wish that they stopped making Yayoi-tan so clumsy all the time, though. I find her constant tripping on nothing to be a bit annoying. Episode 8 was weird. They probably needed to pad for time. I recommend skipping that episode. The ending was somewhat satisfying, however Mana still owes Miss Monochrome from the first season! I realize that I didn't talk about the music in the first season. However, considering that there was only one song, I don't have much else to say, other than the repetition was annoying. However, there are quite a few songs this season, and I enjoy them more than the song in the first season. Again, it felt like they were getting the hang of things this season. It feels like everything has more direction, from the anime to the music. Music theory-wise, I enjoy the ending theme, but I also enjoy the opening theme for its lyrics. I still have no idea how she became so popular around this time, but I'm glad I enjoyed this one a bit more. Best part is you don't need much context from the first season in order to get into this one. All you need to know is she wants to become an idol, and you don't have to worry about the rest. There's just one more season in the main storyline, then a couple OVAs and the music clips. I'll let you know how those go!