I wish ‘yahallo!’ was a tribal greeting somewhere.
Impression
Yahallo!
It’s been a while since Oregairu has last graced us with its presence – exactly two years, to be precise. I was hoping it wouldn’t be too difficult to remember what had gone on plot-wise with the previous season, and thankfully the subtle intro served as enough of a refresher. Hikki and Yui joined a club dedicated to helping people, led by Yukinon. I’m not sure of the exact details, but I know there was a girl who decided to lead the committee for their school’s cultural festival despite being way out of her depth. It was then Yukinon who had to clean up the mess she made, and the girl got jealous and threw a bitch fit or something. To solve the problem, Hikki committed social suicide but got the job done. I also remember thinking that whatever he did wasn’t as toxic and fake as some of their personalities were – but then again, I generally tend to agree with anything Hikki says. It would be difficult to get by in life the way he does, but as far as I’m concerned his take on it is not wrong. My only point of disagreement would be his ‘I hate nice girls’ monologue, which, while not fundamentally flawed, should not have been applied to Yui in that instance. I mean, she’s exactly as Hikki describes, but they’ve implied that she does actually like him, and has for some time now, which makes it quite hard to see Hikki push her away all the time.
It will probably be several episodes before the new girl, Isshiki Iroha, is introduced, so for now we’re back to having the Service Club taking on various requests and solving their classmates’ social issues in the way only they can. I actually had zero recollection of who Ebina was, and so I’d assumed it was either some random girl or someone who’d become important later on. Even when Ebina herself walked in, I still didn’t remember. And then she started speaking, and suddenly I realized: Ebina was the fujoshi! It all makes sense now! I did recognize Hayato though – he was the nice guy in the popular clique who turned out to be a genuinely nice guy, to the surprise of both myself and 8man. At least, he’s got to be if he’s still friendly to Hikitani-kun and isn’t either Totsuka or Yui. I am okay with him, although prior to that revelation I believed he was the fakest faker around. Sometimes I still have my doubts. Anyway, as for Ebina and Tobe – they’d be a strange couple together, but I don’t think it’s something the Service Club can’t pull off.
I wonder whether there’ll be any headway made this season with romance within the Service Club. I know Yui has tried before, but Hikki shut that down in true Hikki style. However, now that the sub-plot concerning his car accident is now over, there’s no reason why a bit more progress can’t be made – other than the fact that group dynamics do change once romance is involved, and that Hikki himself is probably quite averse to anything even remotely concerning a stereotypical high school life. Incidentally, I support Yui. I know there’s a lot of top banter with Yukinon, but Yui is just too sweet, and she slowly won me over last season with her cheerfulness. There may be some implications of romance in the OP actually – Yukinon is continually depicted as walking away from Hikki, while Yui holds on to him. It may or may not mean something, but there are my two cents. Hikki might end up going for Totsuka or something, and Ebina would really get her wish in that case. You’re protecting the wrong smile you know.
The last thing I want to mention is the studio switch from Brains Base to Feel. I’m not sure whether this is a problem, but I’m leaning towards it being one. It is almost a tradition that second seasons of anime turn out weaker than their predecessors, and I’m worried that a change in studio is going to be what makes Oregairu fall in line with that tradition. It’s not really noticeable as of yet, but the drastic change in character designs indicates that Feel are willing to make changes, and thus may change the aspects that made me like the first season of Oregairu. I did prefer the old designs, but as someone who knows nothing about art style in animation it’s just something for me to get used to – the characters looking ‘softer’ is about as much as I can say. That, and the fact that Yui looks just as cute either way. I also think they’ve toned down Hikki’s dead-fish eyes, which is a pity.
Sorry if that sounded weird.
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I kind of think the opposite with the new designs (though I do agree everything blends in too well in this one. The first season had the colors so that everything stood out from one-another). But! (at least from what was shown so far), this Feel version does seem to have waaaaayyyy better quality. First thing I noticed was the concert. The concert in season 1 was poorly animated for as far as concerts go. They were all jabbing their hands against their weapons and bobbing up-and-down, while in this one the movements were more natural and their fingers actually did something. I’m 50/50 with the new Hikigaya. On one hand he looks more appealing….on another he lost some of his cynical charisma. Also….Ebina, please don’t change your fujoshi ways 0_0
I don’t remember having that sort of issue with the concert, but it’s been far too long either way! I did appreciate them re-animating the key scenes from the school festival arc though, just in that it helped to jog my memory, but it may also have been their attempt to make up for what Brains Base put out a few years ago. I will have to get used to Hikki’s new design, but at least his wit and ideals haven’t changed 😀
Yahallo! Yay Oregairu is back! I wasn’t too sure about the studio change and animation change at first, but it’s growing on me now. Everyone looks similar give or take, and Yui is still adorable (same goes to Totsuka and Yukinon, but I preferred her old design actually). I’ll miss Hikki’s dead fish eyes though. However he does look more appealing as someone else said and not as, well, lame? Oh and somehow I feel like that blonde popular girl isn’t as pretty as before or something, but I’m not sure, it’s been a while. Let’s hope Feel continues to do a good job though, the first episode was pretty solid.
Also, I’m glad someone else is on Team Yui, I just love her and she is really sweet. She’s definitely my favorite character in this series (Hikki is w̶a̶y̶ a bit too awkward for me, and Yukinon I like but she’s just not my “type”) It’s a shame that the majority seems to prefer Yukinon over Yui though.
Sorry for the late reply! I think the dead fish eyes helped complete his cynical persona, it was almost part of his personality!
And yes, Orange is best girl! But a lot of people like the Hikki/Yukinon banter. It’s the little things, like how she can’t simply pour a cup of tea for him normally, and instead has to pour it and return to her seat before going, “hurry up, it’ll get cold”. His way of saying thanks is then, “I don’t like hot stuff”. I can see why people would prefer such an odd relationship (or maybe they just like Yukinon herself) although it does start to tread on slightly more generic ground with scenes like walking her back at night – during which she acted surprisingly dere.
I am of the opinion that the new art style is a drastic improvement over the original. A common point of debate is the reduction of ‘dead fish eyes’ that Hikkigaya suffers in the transition; I personally find that the depiction in the previous season was somewhat crude.
The first iteration of dead fish eyes used thick, dark lines. The lighting/blending in the previous season was not nearly as complex, leading to a comparatively simplistic style with moderate animation. Such a style I feel is too forward, and flat (in the sense, that there is comparatively less leeway for animation). In the new iteration, Hikigaya’s eyes are softer, more subtle and well blended. The overall result is a broader range of expressiveness, and I would argue it assists in humanizing the characters better by granting Hikigaya more breadth as a person than simply the maxim of cynicism (shout out to his voice actor for a fantastic performance, this episode and the next).
Hitting on another point you mentioned, I saw the reanimation of last season’s conclusion as an impressive exertion of Feel’s animating muscles. I thought the scene’s fluidity to be a justification of the new style.
Overall, I found this episode to have flown far beyond any of the high expectations I had already set for the season beforehand. The final scene, at night, impressed me the most. Before 20:52, Hikkigaya trails behind Yukino closely, when she pauses at the crosswalk. She then looks right, looks left, appearing to be unsure of her direction.
Hikkigaya then says “You go right here,” as if to confirm this.
I found this to be an obvious callback to when Hikkigaya was ran over by Yukino’s car. She looks around to check for cars, not because she’s unsure of where to continue, but Hikkigaya lets it stand as the latter. Yukino still feels uncomfortable about that incident, as her way of walking in front of him and checking the road is a wonderful way of depicting that. Meanwhile, Hikkigaya crosses the road quickly, as if reassuring her that he doesn’t mind (whether that is true or not, we do not know). There is a debate to be made about whether she really was lost or not, but I will address that later.
After this, Yukino trails behind Hikkigaya. The distance between them has elongated compared to when they were fairly close before, and Hikkigaya calls her out on it. It’s a small matter, but his conversation shows that he cares, as a friend. Yukino then goes to claim, that she does not want to be seen with him at the dead of night, lest someone get the wrong idea.
It would be easy to treat this as a ‘tsun’ in tsundere moment. Indeed, the line delivered here is the most natural and expected for that archetype. But for Yukino, she introduces this as an excuse, and the beauty of the scene is how it relies on the dynamic between hero and heroine prior established. As mentioned, at the beginning of the episode, Yukino pours tea and tells Hikkigaya that it will grow cold, to which he gives thanks by claiming that he dislikes hot drinks. It speaks to their relationship as a whole, which is filled with caustic comments where the undertone is the opposite. Here, Yukino would naturally make an excuse, and not speak her mind, and she would lace it with an insult to Hikkigaya to preserve her pride, a known character flaw.
And this time, normally, Hikkigaya would reply with a retort of his own, but her delivery ends up hurting him instead. They feel like friends emotionally, but her words bring him callbacks to what damages him the most (his “I hate nice girls” speech and the such help build this trait of his). So instead, he just hastily agrees and leaves it at that.
And finally, at the hotel, Yukino feels the need to thank him for walking her back to the hotel. In that particular situation, she acknowledges that as the polite thing to do, that it is warranted; she uses it as a mode for apologizing for what she said before, and turns away quickly. Hikkigaya just says nothing, thinks nothing; then thinks of Totsuka. It is easy to think of that as another joke as well, but the effectiveness of that line is in how he decides to forget about this situation in general. Yukino’s apology ended up rubbing salt in the wound instead; by lacing it with the idea of ‘appropriate for the situation’, it no longer feels authentic and embitters him instead.
Throughout the entirety of the scene, the framing of the camera was excellent, as well as the music and delivery of the script. The music is slow, unintruding and melancholy for the night. It has a romantic undertone, as if this is a moment a touch more intimate. The camera frames the small distance between them, and their shoes; their pace is matching, which is hinting that this is chance for them to grow closer. The next shot frames Hachiman, and part of Yukino, but not her eyes. It puts the scene more in Hachiman’s perspective, and puts Yukino’s feelings at a mystery.
Cut back, behind Hachiman, scene change accompanied by a beat in the score. We see Yukino from Hachiman’s perspective, and while her head turns seem like she is lost, the depth of the road reaches far into the background. Hachiman makes a subtle posture change, like a sigh or a scoff.
Shift to Yukino. We get our first view of her eyes. She appears lost, but the movement of her mouth and ever so slight widening of her eyes, as Hikkigaya delivers his line, suggests a form of surprise unusual to the circumstances. Her expression makes it look like she is playing it straight, but there is a subtle difference in eye height compared to mouth movements that makes it look forced.
The view then displays Hachiman casually crossing the road, with Yukino hesitant. She clearly is recalling something here.
From here, we continue following Yukino, closely, and the distance between them grows, to represent an awkward atmosphere she feels. When Hikkigaya delivers his line, its the usual accusing tone, while Yukino’s first line is an attempt at justification to avoid further pressing. Hachiman denies it to illustrate he doesn’t care, about the undertone she’s struggling with. Her next line: she delivers it quickly, at the onset. “Maybe not for you, but it wouldn’t be good for me.” It’s the preface to her default excuse, As soon as it comes out of her mouth, she regrets it. Her tries to turn towards Hachiman, but it already came out, and she decides to follow through with it. She delivers the line hesitantly, and the framing shows: she can’t look him in the eye. It’s an obvious excuse to hide her feelings, but her pride won’t let her not follow through with it. Her hand clutch is a motion that suggests it’s a big deal for her, but in a different light it’s a sign she’s regretting what’s coming out of her mouth.
The next frame simply shoots Hikkigaya’s hurt expression. His tone rises at the start; and then he tries to calm down. He turns away, and we frame back to Yukino. Her expression shows that she realized, he took it to heart. Her voiced breath depicts apprehension. In the next shot, the distance expands, to represent the tears in their relationship.
The final frames are innoculous shots, of Yukino and Hikkigaya. The atmosphere has grown subdued, by the nature of their personalities, and Yukino pulls her arms close to her chest. The posture is very defensive. She says thanks, a bit hastily, and then immediately turns away. Listening and watching closely, the pace of her steps has subtly increased.
Finally, body shot of Hikigaya. He expression is dull, to mimic his thoughts, a virtually flawless execution.
It is for this reason that I drop the pretense of sounding intelligent and say, “OMFG ship Hikki and Yukino argasdfgsadgjjgghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”.