Pop Team Epic TV Special

Hoshiiro Girldrop was one of my favorite animes of last year, and I went into the second season with the expectation that it would be similarly meaningful. And when it started off, I had every reason to believe that it would be. Needless to say, every episode was easily the highlight of its week, and I watched each one at least 28 times (maybe twice that for episode 10, which I’m sure other viewers will understand). But looking back on this season now that it’s reached its conclusion, it doesn’t fit together as neatly as I would have hoped. It sacrificed cohesion in favor ofmaximizing the bombast of every individual episode, and while I’m sure will appeal to some viewers, it fails to capture the magic that made the first season so special to me. A major factor in this is that Daichi’s role in the story has been significantly reduced. I think that this likely because Daichi became a rather controversial topic in the fanbase after he broke up with Sosogu midseason, and that many fans were only interested in content related to the Drop Stars. However, Daichi’s motivation for his actions (insecurities over feeling that he was getting in the way of Sosogu’s growing career) resonated deeply with me, and it was the resolution to this arc that made the show so personally affecting. But I know that not everyone is a Daichi apologist like I am, so I can understand why they chose to handle him how they did. Still, I can’t help but wonder if the writers were a bit too concerned over catering to their audience. The first season had some bold choices that definitely risked alienating parts of the audience, and everything in this season felt sterilized in comparison. Many of the moral complexities that had been previously introduced, such as Korona’s connection to the Yakuza or Erika’s custody battle with her ex-husband, seem to have been dropped without explanation. This gradually reduced my investment in the characters as the season went on, though I think the writers more than made up for it in the homestretch. I wasn’t expecting an anime to have such a nuanced take on the role of social media in our lives today, and I found the climax of the season to be both engaging and informative. In conclusion, the Pop Team Epic Special is a delightful showcase of experimentation with different mediums. Nearly every art form explored over the course of the main series makes a reappearance, along with the new addition of clay work. I don’t think any of the segments are going to have the same longevity as some of the highlights from the main series, but I also don't think that's the point. All I care about is that the staff were able to have fun making something that they thought would be interesting, and on that front, this is a huge success. Fall in love again next week~