MisterImouto

I don’t know about you, but my high school years were… not very exciting. I spent a lot of time by myself, reading in the corner of the classroom or somewhere quiet in the library at lunch. I had a group of friends, yeah, but there were only a few that I’d ever really talk to. Even then, I’d always decline if they ever asked me to go out somewhere, telling them about how busy I was or how I “had other plans”. I never said much. I remember a few of my classmates sometimes asking why I was so quiet all the time, whyI only tried to just sit there and read. I never knew how to answer. That was just how I was, I guess – I didn’t like talking, and I wasn’t very comfortable around most people. Why? I’d tell you I was shy, but I wouldn’t be saying very much. And it’s not like I was bullied or anything – no one picked on me or hated me in particular. I might’ve preferred being by myself, sure, but I still had a few friends – it wasn’t like I hated being around people. I think someone called me mute once. It’s been almost a year since I graduated and I’ve… moved on… since then, but I’d be lying if I said it’s all just in the past. When we graduated, that was that – some of us went to the same university, some didn’t. I ended up cutting ties with most of those who didn’t, and I still don’t find myself talking a whole lot with those who did. But, hey, at the very least I’ve come to realise how silly I used to be, trying to stay away from people like the plague – it’s all just a natural part of growing up, and only now did I get the chance to finally join the club. OreGairu understands this. All of it. Everything. You see it in the slight furrow of Hikigaya’s brow as his head rests on his palm, eyes brooding over to the noisiest parts of the classroom. You see it in the droop of his shoulders, hands finding solace where his trouser pockets were, as his bag bounces in perfect rhythm to each of his slow, dreary steps. OreGairu knows what it’s like to sit in that corner of the classroom, by yourself, never talking, with you finding your mouth a little stale when it’s time to leave because it’s been closed for so long. It’s just that OreGairu… does not think these things are silly. People are weird. We say one thing when we mean the opposite, we’re quick to find flaws but we’re not quick to trust. We’re nasty for the sake of nastiness, and we’re still all sorts of vicious to others even when we don’t know it. People are complex and hard to understand, incredibly strange and all sorts of unpredictable – no one plays by exactly the same rules, and we will never reach a perfect understanding of each other no matter how hard we try. I’m with Hikigaya on this one: why do we still keep trying to get caught up in this mess when we know it’ll just cause us all sorts of problems later? …Or that’s what I’d be saying a year ago, at least. Because to someone like Hikigaya – someone like me, in the past – we can’t explain why people find themselves inevitably drawn to each other anyway. Because to OreGairu, you don’t need to. It’s how when you strip away all of his self-defeating cynicism and hateful snark, Hikigaya is actually a pretty ordinary teenage boy, with all the same desire, jealousy, and fear as any other. We see it when he’s with Komachi: he’s not with the outside world anymore, he’s with someone he knows. He’s calm, he’s open, and she listens while he lets out all of his deepest wounds, all of his most buried secrets. It’s no surprise, of course, when they’re family – they’ve been there for each other for fifteen years, and they’ll be there for another fifteen more. Hikigaya says he lives the way he does because he has no other choice, but that’s not true – he lives the way he does because he doesn’t trust the world enough to share himself with it, to share the Hikigaya that banters so naturally and playfully with his little sister. But it’s a slow process. OreGairu only manages to give us a vague eventuality, a “one day he’ll change” kind of thing, because it takes actually spending time with your closest friends to realise how far you’ve managed to distance yourself from them in the first place. Hikigaya’s finally starting to open himself up to the world, even if just a little, and through OreGairu we see how that can have profound effects on other people. Even then, he still doesn’t get anything more from those who aren’t close to him than a “you’ve kinda changed”, with them finding him only slightly less boring to look at. Because… that’s how it is. Because it’s the small things like that that show how, someday, maybe when he’s dusting off one of his old yearbooks he found in his garage, he’ll be able to look back on this moment as just an embarrassing memory – when he could say he was more open, honest, and true to himself than ever before. My birthday’s coming up in a few weeks. I’ve never been to many parties, but maybe I’ll invite a few people to a movie or something. I know I won’t change in a week, and I certainly won’t change tomorrow, but in a year, maybe two, I might not be saying the same. OreGairu gave me a chance, and I’m not letting it go. But I can thank it later. For now, it’s time to turn OreGairu off – I have some old friends to catch up on.

ligerallday

"What the hell is with everyone telling me to change? I don't want other people telling me who I am" - Hachiman Hikigaya A sequel to any anime always presents a challenge to both the creators and viewers of the show simply because the creators have to produce something better then what it started with in order to satisfy the majority of people that wished for that second season and the viewers have to decide whether or not the sequel lives up to the expectations that they wished for (In this case 2 years ago). Let me start by saying this... Yahari Ore no SeishunLove Comedy wa Machiatteiru. Zoku is by far absolutely brilliant in what it brings to a "typical" high school anime combining elements of drama, comedy, and romance into show that screams to be watched by the masses. Story: While most high school anime focus primarily on romance, drama, or comedy, Zoku balances the 3 elements and incorporate each to make a show that isn't over saturated with love triangles or clueless airheads that can't take a hint. What is also phenomenal about the show is the realism that it portrays as we take the perspective of Hikigaya and dive into his life as a ordinary high school student who just wishes to be alone. The story focuses primarily on the troubles and tribulations of high school life whether it be helping a friend with social anxieties or assisting the student council president in daily activities. It takes these everyday problems that students have to deal with and creates these situations where Hikigaya is forced to cooperate. What grasped my attention the most is how Hikigaya deals with these situations that he is presented with and what he does to resolve these problems through is own personal beliefs and the experience he has gained by observing society and the fake attitudes that people conceal behind a mask of popularity and social status. What drives the show and makes it worthwhile is to see how Hikigaya handles these situations along with his fellow club members and the sudden shifts, turns, and drops this emotional roller coaster of a show throws at you as you try to discover the "Real Things' this show truly offer. Characters: At the time you're reading this I can safely assume that you watched the first season of the show and have a general understanding of how our 3 main characters act and behave so I can make this short and simple. Let's start with our main protagonist Hikigaya Hachiman, If you haven't seen the first season then I advise you to go to that now because Hikigaya can be described in one word and that is Pragmatic. Hikigaya always takes things at face value and honestly doesn't care about what people think. He's anti social in a way that he wishes to be alone because he knows this would not only benefit himself but the people around him. It creates this awkward tension that makes Hikigaya either loved or hated by some but personally I see Hikigaya as a character that should be respected because of how he analyzes the world around him which to some respect is cruel but 100% true. Then we have Yukino Yukinoshita, Yukino can be described as an "Ice Queen" and will literally never "let it go" if you ever cross her bad side. She's smart and beautiful in way that is both cute and deadly at the same time. She has this "Royal" essence that makes her a force to be reckoned with and her snide remarks towards those she finds inferior make Yukino a beautiful nightmare you wish you can witness. Lastly we have Yui Yuigahama who is our cheerful little ball of sunshine that brightness up everyone's day whenever they are feeling down. She is the type of girl that needs support and friends to keep her company and will do anything to keep that friendship lasting until the very end. Art/Sound: The animation of this season compared to last is a enormous improvement beyond many levels of quality. They switched to Feel Productions and I applaud the overall animation quality knowing how hard it must of been to make Hikigaya's eyes seem more dead then usual along with the cast being improved drastically in only a 2 year gap. The backdrops were stunning, The art style fit the theme well, and by far it was the best animation they could have possibly created. The opening was fantastic as I believe it was a better opening then it's predecessor and the ending was also catchy as sung by the voice actresses themselves just as last season did. The OST's of the anime were good as it fit the show nicely at just the right times and I have no complaints at all for it was simply put, better then last season. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku did everything it was set out to do and more. It provided a story that made me want to watch over and over and left me depressed as I waited each weak for each episode to release. It brought back that sense of nostalgia 2 years ago when I was watching the first season and it reminded me how much I love Hikigaya. If you like an anime that revolves around a school setting where the premise of the story is everyday problems that have to be solved by someone who really doesn't wish to be part of society then please watch this show. I can't recommend this show enough and you won't be disappointed. The novels are the main source material where this anime is adapted from and I wait for the day that maybe... and just maybe... a season 3 will be announced.