Pork Bowl reincarnated?!
Okay, let me get this out of the way first. I am enjoying this season way more than the first. Seriously, while the first season was grounded with lots of important life lessons told through a very warm, happy perspective (although it does incorporate dark humor) the comedy aspect was never fantastic for me. It never got more than a giggle out of me for the entire season. Season 2 though has definitely nailed the comedy aspect. For the first time since I started this series (from Season 1), I laughed out loud at a joke. So congratulations Silver Spoon, the comedy aspect is finally working and in full force!
Anyways, on to the episode itself. This week we see Hachiken coming across a stray puppy during campus cleanup! Of course our ‘Never Say No’ lead decides to take him in, and jokes ensue as the little pup takes on the nickname ‘Vice Prez’. We see Hachiken being Hachiken as he easily takes on the role of being the caretaker of the new addition to the cast, and paying for all of the pup’s expenses no matter how much it hurt his wallet.
We also see him and the rest of the class checking on cows in heat the only way Silver Spoon knows how – fisting the cow. Yup. Fisting it. Jokes ensue again. Really funny jokes as the students grab on to their arses for dear life as they imagine the life of a cow having a foreign arm up there, and SOME MORE JOKES as Hachiken gets treated after trying to help Komaba from a falling cow.
This week is definitely the funniest episode so far (including season 1’s episodes of course). Seeing Vice Prez for the first time melted my heart, he’s adorable. Just like…Pork Bowl ;_; I have still not gotten over it so leave me and my tears be Once again this allows us to see Hachiken being the genuinely nice guy he is – taking up the responsibility of finding a proper home for Vice Prez, paying for his shots, and it’s not until Tokiwa and the others pitch in does he get some financial assistance for Vice Prez’s food expenses. This brings us to what Mikage mentions during her conversation with Hachiken – that he’s been denied so much in life that he’d do anything in his ability to prevent others from being denied the same as well.
This parallels with how a cow is about to slip and fall on Komaba (the school’s ace baseball member that could just bring the school to Koushien) and how Hachiken needlessly tries to push Komaba aside to make sure he doesn’t get hurt (though I say needless because Komaba easily evades the cow), causing him to get a little injury instead. Instead of seeing it in a more positive perspective than Mikage, Komaba (while grateful) tells Hachiken that he should think less about others and more about himself, and that seeing Hachiken hurt because he was trying to help Komaba wasn’t a good feeling. In other words, be less selfless. This is once again the series seamlessly tying some comedy with character development. Hachiken is just such a nice person, but people have different perceptions on this kindness of his, and as Komaba said he really does have to tone it down. This was something Hachiken’s brother mentioned in Season 1 as well, but this time it’s a lot clearer. This ‘sacrificial syndrome’ of his is also going to tie in with Hachiken’s relationship with his Dad given how this trait of his definitely stems from his upbringing.
There really isn’t another series in this season’s lineup (or even in Fall’s leftovers) that is as comfortable in its own skin as Silver Spoon is. That of course means that Silver Spoon is probably going to have no hiccups at all. It remains a great series from beginning to end with no major flaws at all really, and continues to be one of the most enjoyable anime for me to watch.