Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary Season 2

Shoshimin season 2 is a perfect example of why you have to watch shows all the way through before passing judgement. I was a huge fan of the first season and really liked the first half of this season as well. Then there’s a big turning point around episode 7 or so that wraps up the first big case of the season and I HATED it. To the point I sorta became totally disinterested in the show, but the last 2 episodes completely changed my opinion on this season. I can now confidently say it’s better than season 1 by a big margin. If youcan get through the at-times slow moving serial arson case, you’ll have one of the most satisfying conclusions to a season waiting on you. I mean my jaw was on the floor for the last two weeks with this one and now I am desperately awaiting an adaptation of the 6th volume. This is a must watch for any Hyouka fan or fans of well written stories with great dialogue and direction. Shoshimin doesn’t really feel like an anime, it has such a nice cinematic feel to it that transports you somewhere else and allows you to fully immerse yourself in the story. Not to be overly dramatic, but this really is “absolute cinema” My experience with this second season of Shoshimin was such a mixed bag until the final arc. I loved seeing Kobato and Osanai dating other people because I felt their relationship in the first season was very toxic and bordered on codependency. Additionally, with their mental.. issues(to say the least), I felt like them being around each other would only encourage their bad tendencies and that they wouldn’t grow as characters/people. Guess who was wrong? Well, half wrong anyway. This season is pretty much one big build up to the realization that Osanai and Kobato are perfect for each other. They’re both deeply messed up individuals with a plethora of undiagnosed mental conditions, but they just work together so well. They compliment each other perfectly and by the end of this season it’s apparent, there’s no other partner for either of them. If it seems like I’m focusing intently on our two leads’ relationship, that’s because I am. It’s the very core of this series and what makes every episode so special. Their chemistry is undeniable, the way they exchange subtle jibes and the snarky replies, the attention to detail the author put into this story is amazing and it helps you fall in love with these characters. There’s really two big cases in this season in contrast to last season where it felt like we had one every week or every other week. The first one, the serial arsonist case was enjoyable until the last third where I felt it started to drag. Could’ve done with it being an episode or two shorter. It ended up really just showing why our two leads belong together. The second, the hit and run incident is easily the best in the whole franchise. For the first time, the seemingly always in control Kobato and Osanai are genuinely stumped by a case and the twists at the end had me damn near jumping off my couch. I learned a lot about Osanai in particular during that arc that changed my perception of her, making the overall relationship and series even better. There’s so many subtle details and the sudden reveals.. just perfection. Production values have always been one of my favourite aspects of this show and something that sets it apart from other seasonal anime. The letterboxd ratio giving it that film look, the subdued colors, the down to earth voice acting performances that feel believable, character designs, scene composition and direction.. this is a masterclass. If you’re a film nerd like me, enjoy the whole creative process, you’ll really find a lot of things to praise in this series. I could gush on and on about the writing, characters and cinematic aspects of Shoushimin, but honestly if you’re reading a season 2 review, you probably already know what to expect from this show. It’s one of the best mystery anime and season 2 is even better than the first. A must watch for any mystery fan and a needed continuation for anyone who watched the first. It’s that simple. They might be completely unhinged, but Osanai and Kobato will always be iconic. Shoshimin season 2 gets 10 out of 10

The first season of Shoshimin: How to become Ordinary was mundane and calming, but left me with a sense of curiosity at what was coming next. This second season departed from more of the slice of life elements, and went into a more full-fledged mystery anime. Maybe some would wonder why this series did not start with the more high tension mysteries to draw a bigger crowd in to watch it, but to that, I would say that this season only worked so well because of the slower elements of its predecessor, as well as the character building from that. Before the events of this season,we know that Jougorou and Yuki split up, and through the events of this season, we learn just how much they are attached at the hip. Everything that happens feels like it is a destined event to eventually get them back together, because, as “ordinary” as they are trying to be, they are drawn to mysteries, and cannot look away from them. To me, their relationship is one of the most interesting around, and when they work together on something, they are as formidable as can be in how sociopathic and cold they are. As for the mystery itself, it is a very intriguing way to go about it. Firstly, everything that happens in the story is important in some way, whether it is foreshadowing, character development, or just a seemingly random detail to something, which I really enjoyed. Secondly, when we watch a mystery anime or a mystery novel, especially ones that involve a culprit, one would want a definitive answer right? Yes, the anime provides the viewer with some, but that is not the focus of it. Who the culprit is does not matter in the grand scheme of things, but it is the process, the way the beholder sees the environments around him that is of greater importance. The way the anime is directed and framed makes it feel like you yourself are in the shot with the detective, and perhaps, YOU are the detective, and you’ll come up with an answer. The anime will give you some, but the answer that you came up with yourself could be just as valid, and some things you’ll just never know. It always leaves you curious. To compliment the already amazing storytelling, I was in awe with how the already great looking visual direction from the first season was elevated to even greater heights in the second season. If it was not already clear from the opening song visuals, the effort in the backgrounds made the mysteries as immersive as they could be, so much so it made it feel like each episode was only five minutes long. It makes a big difference when an anime commits to a visual style that works with the genre perfectly. The centerpiece to my liking for this anime would have to be the cute and cunning Yuki Osanai. What’s not to like about her? She loves sweets and is so passionate about them, and always teeters between being adorable and being the biggest menace you have ever seen, absolutely mauling poor boys like the wolf she is. It has been a joy to watch her little revenge tales unfold between both seasons of the anime. Also, by golly, her voice actress, Hina Youmiya, has been killing it recently with her voice acting performances. I do not think there could have been a better casting than her with Yuki. The relationship between the two main leads was also very endearing, and handled in a subtle but impactful way. As the mysteries, backstories, and the rest of the plot got told, Jougorou and Yuki’s relationship and developments, whether they were together or separate, slowly but surely blossomed into something quite special. In my review of the first season I began with this: “Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary* is quite a curious title. With it being a mystery anime, even just its title leads me to question things. “Shoshimin”, is translated as the petite bourgeoisie, which refers to someone in the lower middle class. So indeed, that might be what constitutes an “ordinary person” in a financial sense. Who or what is trying to be ordinary though? The characters? The whole plot itself?” After watching this season, I still do not have a proper answer for this, but I do find it worthy of note that while both Jougorou and Yuki are always tangled in mysteries and cases, when they themselves are not the subjects of the case, they rarely influence the end result from the culprit. If by chance, they did however, they would never do it intentionally. Their detective prowesses are not foolproof, and that is what it means to be a normal person. Early on in the first season, it was said that “an ordinary person must never stand out. They must spend every day in peace and do everything possible to avoid anything that interferes with that.” Whether or not Jougorou and Yuki followed this motto, only they really know if they did. In the end, we as the viewer are merely the observer. I do like how questions are unanswered though, because it lets us stay curious. Overall, this season was a marked improvement to the first in terms of the tension, as it stepped outside the mundane mysteries from the first season. Every episode had me thoroughly immersed, and I grew to love the characters more and more, with the excellent dialogue and visual storytelling. As Yuki clearly motioned toward her sundae in episode ten, this was indeed “absolute cinema”.

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary, the 2nd Sweet Bite — The second bite is not so sweet now, eh? If I have anything better to say about how the novelist of Hyouka, Honobu Yonezawa, took his work and elevated it with the Shoshimin Series, over the course of the 2 seasons that we got for the past year, it is the literal definition of "a second bite at the cherry." An opportunity: a second chance to do something, especially if the first fails outright. If you're not impressed with how the series' nuance of sweet things comes into play back in Season 1 last Summer, Season2 changes things and takes it up ten notches, much for the better. This slightly longer 12-episode season has not one second of it that is mundane, if ever at all. With Season 2 adapting the later released novels of Volume 3 and 4's Shuki Gentei Kuri Kinton Jiken a.k.a The Case of the Autumn-time Limited-Edition Candied Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes, as well as Volume 6's Toki Gentei Bonbon Chocolat Jiken a.k.a The Case of the Wintertime Limited-Edition Chocolate Bonbons, which essentially brings the anime up to date with the original source material. If you thought that Season 1 looked plenty fine with all of the warm, fuzzy feelings of mystery cases that are only limited to their surroundings, then Season 2 will be quite the whiplash, bringing another two more cases that will inevitably bring you for a wild ride, as the Shoushimin name of the series gets quite the "show, not tell" attitude of more nuanced storytelling that'll blindside you every step of the way. If anything, I appreciate Season 2 more because of how the seemingly "ordinary" cases have been given much oomph in story and structure, and this tightly run "train wreck" of a psychological thriller story has so many moving parts that it leaves essentially no space for error to be committed. In fact, while the "regularly ordinary" citizens of Yuki Osanai and Kobato Jogoro seem like the perfect couple for each other, being two sides of the same coin, it's not until the sequel that their misfit friendship is tested to the limit, with the new characters that come to make their spot in the ever-growing trend of sinister cases that always seem to never end with their clues, theories, and resolutions somehow being sideswiped all at the same time. Unique to Season 2 are the new characters of Takahiko Urino, Tokiko Nakamaru, and Yuto Hiya. Given Jogoro's time with the Newspaper Club's president, Kengo Dojima, and how Season 1 basically set up the premise of how they print newsworthy articles for their own school, only for seemingly minor inconveniences that would result in the ousting of Jogoro's only confidante (outside of Osanai herself), the addition of the trio adds even more layers to what is already the result of, or rather, the outcome of mankind's malice and intimidation. The addition of outsiders into the cases just opens up a new can of worms for the usual cases ranging from arson to murder, being given the element of unpredictability as to where the story beats from every critical point in time, right till the finality of the matter that WILL inevitably result in at least someone getting hurt, intentional or not. Of course, Osanai and Jogoro are more than just jigs in a somewhat never-ending puzzle to still try and figure out how "ordinary" they can become, where they've clearly known that they've gone beyond the point of no return, but with a sliver of hope that people can accept them for who they are, much less the "couple" who are thinking minds alike. And most certainly, the inclusion of the one always playing the act of "heroism", his good and best friend confidante, as well as the femme fatale, playing good hosts to the regular crew, being obstacles stopping them from achieving what is best for each other. Otherwise, pretty much everything about the sequel here remains the same, from the immense captivity from series director Mamoru Kanbe's outstanding directorialship to Lapin Track's cinematic hue of production that doesn't miss the series' overarching feelings that remain just the same as its prequel. The only difference is with the change of the OP/ED theme songs, and while going from Eve to Yorushika for the OP evokes much subtlety that the latter does better vocal-wise, the other half from Ammo to Nagi Yanagi feels the same, but something tells my gut that Ammo did it better. If you have been on the fence about the Shoshimin Series ever since the premiere debut last Summer, this is more than just a P.S.A. that Season 2 just does everything better, execution-wise. I find it even harder to believe that it took 15 years for the author himself to once again concoct another story from the difference in time comparing the Autumn-time and Wintertime cases, but believe me that these two cases will absolutely show you why this series is, once again, like Hyouka came out to be, another masterclass of writing from Honobu Yonezawa. A mystery show, for the Ordinary, by the Ordinary, but one that'll keep you on your feet towards the end.

It's not often a second season surpasses the first, but Shoushimin Series pulls it off, and then some, raising the bar significantly. While Season 1 offered enjoyable yet ordinary everyday mysteries, Season 2 shifts gears into a full-on psychological suspense, delivering an experience that's both gripping and deeply satisfying. The slow-burn storytelling and detailed build-up of tension are executed incredibly well, especially during the second arc. I found myself completely locked in every episode, trying to piece together what on earth was going on. When everything finally clicked perfectly into place, it made the payoff all the more rewarding. Just like Season 1, this season has anincredible opening and ending, featuring great songs and captivating visuals. It's genuinely surprising how overlooked these gems have been. If you enjoyed the first season or simply love a compelling mystery, don't miss out on this. Shoushimin Series Season 2 is a bold and successful follow-up that actually does something different and pulls it off.