When I wrote the review for the preview episode a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that the second season might be losing the original appeal of the show. And with the second season, I guess I had confirmed my fears.
You know what's good about this season? The girls of Wagnaria all received a huge moé boost. I mean HUGE. The entire episode is literally overflowing with kawaii. After all, the show probably won't sell at all without the girls, I understand that. The difference in the animation quality of the two seasons is a world apart if you really want to compare.
And maybe it's a personal opinion, that's also the bad point of the second season. The cuteness boost took a toll on the comedic timing, which to me, is the real appeal of the show. Characters are really just the fundamental ingredients for it to work. More than often, that extra few seconds spent on a character doing a "moé moment" spoiled the comedic timing of that particular joke... and sometimes, ruined it.
I mentioned this in the post earlier, that Hidamari Sketch x365 (the second season) also suffered from the same problem. Hidamari Sketch was one of my favourite series of all time. It's one of the first anime productions that uses Shinbo's trademark animation style, and it worked surprisingly well with a slice-of-life series. The animation quality was way below that of an average series produced that year, yet I loved every minute of it. Riding on the success of the first season, the x365 received a huge moé and animation quality boost, much like this season of Working... and I was quite disappointed. Simply put, the show sacrificed the flair and the uniqueness I enjoyed in the original, for the otaku pandering qualities that usually sells.
I mean no disrespect to Takatsu Karino, but frankly the drawing of the manga are pretty crappy. There are hardly any real moé scenes since it's almost a pure 4-koma, yet I liked it so much that I've brought every single volume available in my local manga store.
What do you think? Is it better for Working'!! to be cute, or funny?
Should the humor take a toll for the sake of the moé?
