Episodes: 12
Genre(s): Slice-of-Life
Aired: Apr 2018 – June 2018
Also known as: Amanchu! 2, あまんちゅ！あどばんす
Summary: The second season of Amanchu! You can find my thoughts on the first season over here.
Review: For some, this second season will just as enjoyable as the first, if not more. For others, this season will prove to be rather disappointing.
This will largely come down to your stance on yuri in Amanchu! See, in most shows which feature a cast that is predominately women, there’s often little moments of intimacy that blurs the line between romance and friendship. Call it shipping material, call it subtext, etc. Amanchu! had plenty of that in the first season as well as in Amanchu! Advance.
Where Amanchu! Advance differs, however, is the unexpected and unheralded arrival of a boy to deny and sink the biggest ship in Amanchu! Furthermore, Teko comes to the conclusion that the boy’s feelings for Pikari is simply different than her own feelings for her best friend, which comes across as the denial of queer romance altogether. Some have said Teko might have been confused at the moment and jumped to conclusions.
I don’t buy it. It was handled rather poorly and it’s enough for some viewers to lose heart and conviction in watching this series to completion.
But say you’re the type who cares little for romance altogether so none of this affects you. It’s still objective to say, then, that this second seasons took a turn for the whimsical and fantastical rather abruptly with dreams. I personally liked the arc, but it did drag on for a bit too long and the tone is just so different compared to that of the first season.
Still, the fact remains that it is a pleasure to see Teko grow so much as a person. To me, that’s what keeps you invested in the series. So many people related to Teko as an anxious wreck, and it’s just so satisfying to see her come such a long way. Sure, she makes some mistakes and missteps just like Amanchu! Advance itself fumbled how it handled the situation with Kokoro. But, the journey – t’was grand and lovely.
I also really appreciated how some of the supporting cast received some love and attention. Mato-sensei, I’m looking at you.
Aaaaand I suppose it was for the better that some new characters were introduced, too. Some more than others, for sure.
tl;dr – if you like yuri at all then proceed with caution or pretend this season doesn’t exist. Otherwise, be prepared for drastic and unexpected tonal shifts, especially when compared to what was going on in the first season. Seeing Teko’s growth helped balanced the scales nonetheless.
The Lily Garden 