Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「夏色プレゼント」 (Natsuiro Present) by Iguchi Yuka, Asumi Kana, Hikasa Yoko, & Ogura Yui
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「テントに泊まろう！」 (Tento ni Tomarou!)
“Let’s Sleep Over in a Tent!”
Yama no Susume is back, and each episode has a 13-minute run-time instead of a lonely 3-minutes. It makes the transition smoothly.
The Gangs All Here
The story picks up right where season one left off, with all of the cast already introduced. Normally I would be happy that main character Yukimura Aoi (Iguchi Yuka) is already joined by her friends–genki osananajimi Karaue Hinata (Asumi Kana), cool sempai Saitou Kaede (Hikasa Yoko), and gentle cooking superstar Aoba Kokona (Ogura Yui)–but in truth, I enjoyed the introductions last season. Normally I would be full of praise because we don’t have to waste time with introductions anymore, but in a slice-of-life, wasting time is what we’re here to do. It’s not a negative by any means though, because it let us dispense with the fidgety details quickly and get into the love of the climb camping.
Kawaii Girls, Kawaii Art
No two ways about it, this series has some nice art. The character designs are pleasing to the eye, and the animation may even be slightly improved from the first season, though it’s hard to tell. For a fuwa-fuwa series that’s watched for relaxation–this one clocks in mostly on atmosphere and characters in my four facets of slice-of-life–it helps if it’s nice to look at, and this series is.
For The Love Of Mountains
Yama no Susume is a story told by a true enthusiast. I don’t share mangaka Shiro-sensei’s love for mountain climbing, but I can feel it, and it’s a pleasure to hear someone talk about their passion so well. And when those people are cute girls? Sign me up!
This week it’s about camping, albeit in Hinata’s backyard. Dang overprotective parents. I can only say that it showed admirable fidelity to what it takes to set up a tent, because I was getting Boy Scouts flashbacks the entire time. But I know we never cooked this well, and we certainly didn’t have any of this. Kokona-chan for best waifu and Kaede-chan for best sempai!
Looking Ahead – As Before, So Now
Encouragement of Climb made the transition from 3-minute short to 13-minute short admirably, as I expected it would. I would expect more of the same from the rest of the season. A good atmosphere-driven slice-of-life is always appreciated in my book.
I have no current plans to continue blogging this, but I’ll certainly be watching it, so check in with me on twitter if you want to chat. Be amazing all!
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The yama nakama are back for more fuwa fuwa climbing fun. This week: Camping! Boy Scouts flashbacks everywhere… #ヤマノススメ #yamasusume s2e1
Random thoughts:
- Pugs, continuing their domination of the dog roles in anime. Apo still best pug though.
- At first I wasn’t sure about chocolate and coffee in curry–I like it spicy–but then again, I like all those things in beer. Also I’m super hungry right now. Kokona-chan, cook for me~!
- Hinata’s house is really nice, damn. Hinata-papa is clearly doing something right, or is secretly a pirate.
- Kokona-chan has someone she likes? FIND HIM AND KILL HIM! …oh, it’s a fluffy mascot? THIS CHANGES NOTHING!!
Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Disorganized ≠ creative, Don’t make customers regret their purchase, Anchor, and Expectations & different types of stories.
I’m looking for an artist for some commission work. If you’re a talented illustrator, email me at stiltsoutloud(at)gmail(dot)com with some samples. If I like what I see, I’ll explain what the job entails. (Or if you’re just really curious.) And yes, this is a paying gig.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「Tinkling Smile」 by Ogura Yui
Glad to see this cute little show back (with extended time too!).
To many moes shows this season………not good for my heart x(
I have yet to watch the first season but this show bring some joy in me. I would love to watch more of it.
Mmmm, so fuwafuwa. I had to go back and rewatch the first season to properly reintroduce myself to the characters, but that’s not a hardship.
This is the first time we’ve seen Aoi’s mother, or had any hint that her parents might not approve of her new hobby. Hopefully that won’t become a significant issue in the future.
PS: Kaede is surprisingly sexy under her uniform.
The original was pretty good for a short, so I’m glad it’s getting this semi-short sequel. ‘Tis a pretty relaxing show for sure, and watching them get into the details of setting up camp and such was pretty fun (and relevant, as I’m going camping two weeks from now).
Also my yuri goggles activated by themselves seeing that ED sequence (especially the part that you captioned). Maybe it’s Aoi’s voice actress…
It’s one of the things that set this show apart from the other ‘cute girls doing cute things’ shows, in that it actually has relevant and useful information which people might find useful!
Great to see it back, with longer episodes and a longer run.
dat Kaede.
So glad to see this cute show back for a 2nd season.
they should consider having a show about cute girls teaching us to cook, with more details, OP and ED. I will definitely be watching.
I was actually thinking the same thing during the curry scene!
I’d watch the fuck out of that. Why hasn’t this happened? Come on Japan, get your shit together.
Frame it with an internal story rather than talking directly to the viewer so that it feels like a slice-of-life show rather than an educational series or a cooking channel. That way people could watch it for its own sake or because they like the characters: all the standard reasons for watching a normal series. That way it wouldn’t scare away people who are just looking for something relaxing, but could still teach people the things it’s trying to teach.
I was disappointed they didn’t show them setting up a REAL tent. A REAL tent will have half the pegs missing, the poles will catch every other second and will be a real bitch to get into the corners.
And Kaede is my waifu Stilts, you can keep the lolis.
HAH! True, true. It was a somewhat idealistic view of the event. Not once did one of them start cursing or throw something in frustration. So much for realism!
I’m okay with this XD
This, Locodol, and Jinsei will keep me in fluffy ほのぼのs for a while. Whoops forgot Barakamon! Craaaap, this summer is a bumper crop of the fluffy stuff. And I’m totally alright with that.