Final Impression:
I CANNOT BREATHE!!!! /DEAD
OKAY SERIOUSLY WHAT SHOULD I ADDRESS FIRST?
LETS ALL TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE HOW BAMF HARUKA WAS THIS EPISODE. ALL THE FUCKING AWARDS GIRL.
I DON’T KNOW WHO BITCH SLAPPED EIICHI’S HAND AWAY (SHE AND SYO WERE SO IN SYNCHED), BUT HARUKA SHOWCASED HER BACKBONE BY STANDING HER GROUND AND TAKING NO SHIT FROM EIICHI. I WAS LIKE, “GURLLLLLLLLLLLLL~ THAT’S THE WAY YOU DO IT!” Whoever made any claims that Haruka has no backbone, well you may retract your statement now because she just handled this little sadistic shit like a boss.
AND SYO, THANK YOU FOR BEING THE MANLY GUY YOU ARE BY STEPPING UP TO DEFEND HARUKA. KUDOS TO YOU.
NEXT THING. Just holy shit. WHAT IS AIR!? As soon as the Happy Pulse matter came up and then actually happened- I lost all ability to can. I didn’t know what to think it was just so ridiculous and came out of nowhere- but that’s Shining for you, being insane and coming up with the craziest things you could ever imagine (and understandably a mad music scientist at that). I was even more amused to see the STARISH boys all like, “WTF JUST HAPPENED” AKA MIND BLOWN. My favorite part was when Akira was going on like, “Happy. I am happy!” and Eiichi looked like he was high on something and I think the most hilarious part of that scene was that Nagi seemed to completely brush off the Happy Pulse Feels because he is such an obnoxious brat that is way over his head.
As for STARISH’s performance… Admittedly having watched/listened to it so many times I think it did reduce the ‘impact’, especially after having heard HEAVENS for the first time. In fact, I hate to say it but while they did have their Happy Pulse and all that, I did feel like something was missing and I am pretty sure it’s that element of surprise. Which is probably another reason why I was a bit disappointed to see that the second song they sung was Maji Love 1000%. It wasn’t bad since everyone was singing along, so it was super sweet to watch, followed upby the precious credits, but still I wished it had been something else.
I am curious to see whether there will be a third season or not that would be based on ALL STARS, the third sequel of the game that had just came out this year. However with how things wrapped up with this finale, I would be perfectly satisfied if this is where this adaption ends because this season was everything I wanted and more. I don’t think there’s anything missing, so this would good solid wrap up to the series. And seriously, I am so glad they didn’t pull any bullshit cards on us like they had last season’s finale because that had really ticked me off.
Speaking which lets go through the checklist of my critics from last season and see whether they addressed the issues:
| 1) “If Uta no Prince-sama were to make a Season 2, in order to win my heart, they need to throw in that damn romance I’ve been waiting for since episode 1.” |
While there wasn’t any wasn’t in-your-face romance they at least had featured it, from bold to discreet confessions to jealousy and the boys being affectionate. Featuring Romance = CHECK.
| 2) “They focused far too much on Tokiya and Haruka. The first half was Haruka, the second half was Tokiya – logically speaking you’d think something is going to happen between the two, especially Tokiya of all the boys is given the spotlight (not to mention hogging it) and his conflict with Haruka took more time to develop compared to the other boys which was done in just one episode” |
This season did a phenomal job balancing the characters’ screentime. While Cecil was featured more than the others, it wasn’t even remotely close to how bad it was with Tokiya’s situation in season 1. It was so well balance and the best part was that we were able to learn enough about the boys to see another side of them to the point that people like myself who didn’t have any interest in them in the first season and suddenly become a massive fan. I also love the fact that they gave us Natsuki’s back story of how Satsuki came to be that many of us were extremely curious about last season after that brief flashback.
Balancing Character’s Screen time? CHECK!
Featuring Natsuki’s back story about how Satsuki came to be? CHECK!
| 3) “My third complaint is that they should’ve made this 24 episodes. Why? Well think about it, the last four episodes were completely crammed, rushed and complete bullshit, including this one. They wasted the final episode, with Haruka having returned to her grandmother’s and being all sad (at this point I don’t blame her but still) and as she makes her resolve, the boys and Shining show up- and Shining reveals that he did that to test her and shit.” |
This season was so well paced, that it didn’t need twenty-four episodes. Thirteen episodes did the job from start to finish, if there had been more I imagine they would have probably thrown in some unnecessary drama- or actually, perhaps intensify the rivalry between STARISH and HEAVENS (which if done right- probably would have worked out).
Well Pace? CHECK!
Overall Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000% was an enjoyable season from start to finish. I am really happy that while having featuring and balancing the STARISH boys’ screentime, they also threw in a good plot and conflict, the Utapri Awards and having to face a tough obnoxious rival – HEAVENS. As result we were given a nice solid wrap up. One of the things that I appreciate a lot is that both the Utapri Awards and the rivalry with HEAVENS wasn’t over the top as Shining and the Happy Pulse revelation were already enough as they were. Finally best of all, I am super pleased with the character development. While we didn’t really see them grow so much this season, it was more of witnessing how much they have grown. The boys’ attitude are very different to how they were in season 1. They weren’t united together until the very end. This season really showcased their unity as a group which played a big role of motivating and inspiring their seniors Quartet Night who were assigned as their mentors to truly become a united group like STARISH.
Read the Overall Review Here
