First Impression – High School Star Musical S2
Shadow & Light?
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The first season of Starmyu was far more entertaining than I could have ever hoped for, so the second season’s announcement was pretty exciting. |
Minutes in and this season was already far too fabulous for it’s own good.
Man, Ageha is great. I like the whole emo kid aesthetic he has going, and adding the whole Haruto obsession thing is pretty interesting too. But it’s also nice that they could have presented him as a loner who’s fault was that he was too focused on his own goals to work well with his team but instead, they also made him a great leader for Team Yuzuriha that everyone follows because they want to. He already seems leagues ahead of the other characters as far as owning the role goes, but I suppose the coaches could pull a “just because it’s Haruto’s performance exactly doesn’t make it the best” type move. I’m glad that they didn’t set up Ageha as Hoshitani’s rival for a role since the past episodes of the anime have constantly pointed out how inexperienced he is. Plus this way, the two can have their dynamic of similarly wanting to follow in their senpai’s footsteps, but the anime can also develop Kaito. He still seems to be triggered slightly when people (Ageha mainly) compare him with Haruto, so I’m sure there’s a whole wealth of character development and angst there to explore. Actually, I wish the anime would focus more on Kaito and Ageha’s interactions as opposed to Hoshitani just so they can start addressing his whole obsession more, but I guess they have to start somewhere in having Ageha open up to someone.
If they’re going to spend the season focusing on one member of Team Ootori and his issues with whatever part of the audition he’s going for, then that’s fine by me. Hoshitani’s acting problems we’re pretty entertaining to watch even if the conclusion of the episode solved next to nothing. I guess from here, they can coach him by just telling him to become the character as hard as he can. What the episode did manage to do though, was to sway Uozomi into seeing Nayuki’s potential. Getting the biggest hardass on their side (or at least Hoshitani’s side) seems like a pretty big victory. What I really really wish we could have seen was Ootori’s performance as (what I assume from the shot was) a female, just to see what kind of voice gymnastics Suwabe could perform for that role. But oh well, the point about Hoshitani unintentionally following in his senpai’s footsteps is still a nice plot point.
Overall, it’s nice seeing the rest of the music devision interacting with one another more. …Hell if I can remember their names at this point, but it’s nice to know that other characters exist outside of Team Ootori and Team Hiiragi. It’s also nice that while there is still a at least a bit of a superiority complex in general towards Team Ootori, the other characters are at least friendly-ish towards them. Tatsumi is pretty bro towards Hoshitani at least. The addition of the Ancients is kind of hilarious. Sure, it’s a cool sounding title, but these guys are maybe in their late 20’s, and if they’re already ancient, what does that make the other alumni? But jokes aside, it’s nice to see the characters get professional level coaching.
The audition thing is making the season pretty interesting so far, since it gives the characters something to hone their strengths for. The first season seemed more like just character introductions and trying to get them to work together as a team, so this season will hopefully focus more on development of some kind. Hoshitani sure has a way to go, and it seems like the anime is only just starting to have the other characters realize his potential. But I’m also hoping that the other characters also get to further their skills as the series goes on. …A lot of this hope is because I want more individual songs, but you know, character development is always nice.
This is pretty fun so far, and the music is good. I’m a little disappointed that the intro song for the Ancients was just the Kao Council song remixed (mostly because I think Suwabe pulled it off better), but oh well. Nothing is quite Tenka no Hana for me yet (my favourite song from the last season because it made my opinion change from “wow Tengenji is an asshat” to “he’s great because his song is catchy” in a few minutes), but I’m glad to see that the song visuals are just as hilariously over-the-top as last season. Starmyu is fun because it’s cheesy, and I’m glad that they’re continuing the same kind of style over to this season.
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
