Hi Score Girl Season Two Review
It has been over a year since the first season of Hi Score Girl was released, an adaptation of the manga series of the same name by Rensuke Oshikiri. Produced by J.C. Staff (the same Japanese animation studio behind The Disastrous Life of Saiki K and Bakuman) and Shogakukan Music and Digital Entertainment (who worked on the Pokemon and Duel Masters franchises), the second season has finally been released on Netflix. But despite half the number of episodes compared to the previous season, is it game over or a continue for season two?
Set in the nineties, season one introduced sixteen year old Haruo Yaguchi, a competitive arcade player who befriends the silent Akira Ono who also shares his passion for video games to escape from her strict schooling. But throughout the span of the first season, we see their appreciation for one another grow and become unintentionally conflicted when Koharu Hidaka falls for the oblivious Haruo.
The second season picks up after these events and jumps into this strangely emotional roller-coaster of a love triangle with Haruo being oblivious to everyone around him with his attention set on the arcade cabinets. This does create both funny and very emotional scenes as he tries to discover his own feelings as a teenager while we see how Akira and Koharu are trying to deal with theirs as well.
But while the first season spun across several years and had more episodes to slowly develop the chemistry between all of the characters, season two’s nine episode run doesn’t develop as much screen time for the other characters and instead focusses more on Haruo this time around. It’s entertaining to see him become aware of his own emotions away from video game screens, but it does take away some of the character building from other cast members.
The decision to use computer animation to animate the characters instead of traditional animation was a move that the teams should be proud of as use of CGI for anime doesn’t always create the best results. But both of the studios have managed to pull it off, creating some beautifully crafted characters that are able to make use of the technology with different camera movements and positions as well as added depth to the expressive facial features and body movements.
The use of computer animation really complements the wide use of effects and pixelated art that features across both seasons, exaggerating the characters’ engagement in their games and how it impacts their lives. Whether it’s Guile from Street Fighter acting as Haruo’s subconscious or his favourite characters appearing like they’re changing the streets ahead of him, it gives the series its own visual strengths that are very enjoyable to watch and make it stand out compared to other anime that have been released this year.
Season two may not have not been as strong as season one with a lack of screen time and focus on all of the other wacky characters, but it still packs enough comedy, heartache and all the other trimmings one would find in a good romantic comedy. And with enough video game references to fill a warp pipe, the anime has delivered another entertaining season that should appeal to a wide range of anime fans.
Hi Score Girl is available now to watch on Netflix.