First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

OP Sequence

OP: 「ノーポイッ！」 (no poi!) by Petit Rabbit’s (Sakura Ayane, Minase Inori, Taneda Risa, Sato Satomi, Uchida Maaya)

「笑顔とフラッシュがやかましいこれが私の自称姉です」 (Egao to furasshu ga Yakamashii Kore ga Watashi no Jishou Anedesu)
“Her Smile and Flash Are Annoying: That’s My So-Called Older Sister”

I feel rejuvenated. My exhaustion is fading away.

GochiUsa is Back

For those who didn’t see the first season, or don’t remember what went on, here’s the story up to the point. Imagine I just said story with light airquotes, because there’s not much story to go on. Hoto Cocoa (Sakura Ayane) lives and works at Rabbit House, along with the master’s daughter Kafuu Chino (Minase Inori) and their friend Tadeza Rize (Taneda Risa). Their friend Ujimatsu Chiyo (Satou Satomi) works at another café called Ama Usa An. Their other friend Kirima Syaro (Uchida Maaya) works at the herbal tea café Fleur de Lapin. Chino also has some friends in Jouga Maya (Tokui Sora) and Natsu Megumi (Murakawa Rie).

That’s it! That’s the story. In my four facets of slice-of-life matrix, I would mark this as an atmospheric/cuteness SOL. There’s certainly character moments (such as Chino’s shyness), and there’s comedy (the Chino’s friends and dragging-Rize-into-the-Manzai-trope scenes were my favorite), but it’s definitely all about the kawaii and the fuwa-fuwa. I’ll give you an example of what I mean. I spent the day at the State Fair of Texas, which, if you’ve never heard of it, is where they fry everything. (Oreos? Check. Burgers? Check. Butter? Check. Beer? Check. Don’t ask me how that works, but it’s been done.) I spent hours walking around that in the sweltering sun, and when I got back, exhausted and mildly drunk, it took only one episode of GochiUsa to rejuvenate me! It’s a miracle!

Okay, so the shower and nap probably did that. But an episode of GochiUsa helped.

Fuwa-Fuwa and Kawaii to the MAX!

Where was I? Right, the fuwa-fuwa and kawaii. I’ve covered so many premieres in the last week, so it’s nice to once again be able to say that this was a good reintroduction to the cast. Using the framing device of Cocoa sending a letter back home, we got to spend time with each character. This is pure cute-girls-doing-cute-things, and it’s all cute, all the time. I love how slow the pacing is, making it supremely relaxing. Then add in the cute character designs, which are a treat for the eye. Then finish with the beautiful friendships between the characters, which heal the heart and soothe the soul. There’s no point to GochiUsa. There’s no goal. It’s about experience. Let your spirit be healed by cute anime girls doing cute anime things! Praise be.

Looking Ahead – More of the Same

I could talk about Shino being shy, or Chiya unexpectedly mugging for the camera, or how Rabbit House is at risk of lawsuits, but it’s all right there on the screen. This episode confirms what I expected from the first season: Nothing has changed. This is the same GochiUsa as before, with no drop off in quality, and maybe a little improvement from early visits from Chino’s friends and Aoyama Midori (Hayami Saori), the “struggling novelist” who needs to get off her ass and stop complaining about not being inspired! (Must not rant self, pull yourself together.) Nothing has changed, and with GochiUsa, that’s a good thing. There’s nothing more to say.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – GochiUsa is dead. Long live GochiUsa! Nothing has changed from season one, and that’s good #gochiusa s2e1

Random thoughts:

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: The best content is in email, My morning routine, True Ends, and Rejection, the secret place, & fundamentals

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「ときめきポポロン♪」 (Tokimeki Poporon♪) by Chimame-tai (Minase Inori, Tokui Sora, Murakawa Rie)

Preview

End Card

27 Comments

    3. I would let the fuwa-fuwa of this show consume me–if I could find a complete BD-version fansub of season 1 (the one I’m waiting for still has only four episodes subbed–no word on the rest or if it’s dropped), and weren’t so disillusioned with the moe fandom right now (which I’d rather not discuss since it only makes me think about certain people I’m angry at).

      OnePunch, if you’re gonna rewatch JoJo, do it from the start of Phantom Blood up to the end of Stardust Crusaders‘ Egypt arc (and ya might want to re-witness Mad Max: Fury Road for the extra testosterone)…

      Incognito
      Reply

  4. Shows like this are beautiful at melting your stress away and restoring peace to your heart. In modern times I would say they’re a necessary part of one’s entertainment menu. A way to let the stress, the tension, the excitement, all the heated emotions just flow away and be soothed for a time.

    There’s no point to GochiUsa. There’s no goal. It’s about experience. Let your spirit be healed by cute anime girls doing cute anime things! Praise be.

    It almost sounds like you’re starting a religion. You’d probably get a surprising number of converts. 😉

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. The church is already under construction, and the website will be done soon. Naturally, it’s going to be a seed faith. Sow your seeds in the bountiful soil laid down by the kawaii anime onnanoko, and you will be rewarded with everlasting dakimakura and happiness!

      Huh. That paragraph went to about twelve kinds of weird in no time flat. Hrm. *shrugs* Eh, whatever. Praise be!

      Stilts
      Reply

  5. that ED… MUST RESIST…

    anyway, if there would be the most cutest anime award for this year, i give it to this anime RIGHT NOW… gochiusa wins it by a landslide.

    https://randomc.net/image/Gochuumon%20wa%20Usagi%20Desu%20ka/Gochuumon%20wa%20Usagi%20Desu%20ka%20S2%20-%2001%20-%2002.jpg

    better not delete that photo cocoa!!!

    so is this getting covered? this first episode is way too powerful and as to animation quality, it doesnt drop it actually raised! … skirt animation, hair, there’s definitely an increase in animation quality and detailing.

    Jeffers
    Reply

    1. No plans to cover this weekly. To be honest, I’ve probably already said all I can say about the entire season, though if some plot breaks out, one of us might flit back in for an END post. No promises though, since there may very well be nothing more to add.

      Stilts
      Reply

    2. A problem they’ve discovered over the years is that it’s really hard to “cover” slice of life anime. Nothing happens in them, after all, and there are only so many ways to say “OMG this was so adorable” before folks start realizing that that’s pretty much all you’re saying.

      Wanderer
      Reply

      1. Ayup. What Wanderer said.

        Comedies have a similar problem, particularly for pure comedies like Danshi Koukousei. I remember Divine counseling me not to pick that up on my very first season for that reason. You have to find a theme or something to talk about, or really dissect the gags and explain why they work, otherwise you’re stuck saying, “That’s funny!” and, “That wasn’t!”, which helps no one because comedy is so subjective.

        In a way, slice-of-life shows would be both easier and harder to blog than comedies. There’s usually less to say, but at least everyone agrees about what needs to be said, and ya don’t have to be a professional stand-up comedian to talk about the former intelligently, lol

        Stilts
        Reply

      2. I whole-heartedly concur in that there’s an inherent challenge in blogging about slice-of-life, so it’s not a bad decision to not cover this. With that being said, I imagine it would take a certain mindset to write about anime such as these: at least one blogger I also follow does indeed delves into the comedy and mundane, exploring how these might impact the audience and also relates at back to their own experiences. Even then, they don’t do this for all the episodes during a season, but come back every now and then to provide their thoughts as the season progresses.

        teh_pwnerer
        Reply

  6. Ah, The Girls from the rabbit town are back…Good for them

    You know i still had doubts about the place that’s sets in, so i was thinking, where are they is that place is still in Japan, and if it does, where, Hokkaido (Probably?) i hear that it had a lot of western theme towns or sort…and as for that town i think that western cafes and restaurants are the Main business forte there, and it’s also a vacation spot for…Military People (WOT!!)
    Again…I’am Just Saying BTW!

    Now As for the FF:
    https://randomc.net/image/Gochuumon%20wa%20Usagi%20Desu%20ka/Gochuumon%20wa%20Usagi%20Desu%20ka%20S2%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
    ……well!
    And…
    https://randomc.net/image/Gochuumon%20wa%20Usagi%20Desu%20ka/Gochuumon%20wa%20Usagi%20Desu%20ka%20S2%20-%2001%20-%2028.jpg
    I Predict that this season will have some sort of a Business Drama there…but who knows

    Namaewoinai
    Reply

  7. This episode had me smiling from start to end. It was that enjoyable. The jokes were great and cuteness is just right. And personally…Chiya best girl! I like her personality and she gets even more fun to watch when she’s with Cocoa. It’s so cute it’s scary how Chiya and Cocoa are so in sync in their thought process.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    1. I’m a big fan of Chiya too. To me she really reminds me of Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura who is also one of my top favorite characters so it’s hard for me to not like Chiya haha.

      Anyways, this show really is like the Aria but about cares and such. Great way to wind down from a crazy long day! Soo cuuuttte~ So relaxing~

      Silver
      Reply

      1. GochiUsa is really that kinda show isn’t it. It can entertain and relax you. Actually the shows that were adapted from Manga Time Kirara have been consistently great for me, namely this show, Kiniro Mosaic, and Wakaba Girl. I think what makes Chiya so fun to watch is she’s so random. Only Cocoa can understand her. One of the things I looked forward to in the first season is seeing Chiya’s antics, especially when she and Cocoa are together. That moment when Cocoa became a temporary waitress at Ama Usa An is a big highlight from last season, that and them messing with Sharo with their “coffee, green tea” act. Definitely looking forward to this season to see what Cocoa’s big sister Mocha is like, that and more Chiya.

        Zhinvu
        Reply

  10. The ED sequence of this anime is so god damn sweet I think I now have diabetes….

    God I missed this show, first season was one of my favourite fuwa fuwa SOL’s ever, the 2nd season does not disappoint in the slightest. Early call on Rize for prime waifu candidate =)

    Thundershock81
    Reply

  11. Whitefox sure is doing wonders for this anime seasons.
    A very nice Gochuumon S2 and Utawarerumono indeed…
    (it feels like I’m watching a well-told folk tale for the latter)

    Techim
    Reply

    1. It’s the combined effort of White Fox and Kinema Citrus that makes this show look so damn good. White Fox alone is perfectly capable of handling a show of this caliber, but with Kinema Citrus (also no stranger to SoL/CGDCT shows) backing them up, they can go the extra mile and create a visionary masterpiece.

      Firelord
      Reply

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