Da Capo IF 2 ~ DCSS all over again
It must surely be intentional. When D.C.if 1 was released back in last Christmas, I hailed it as a most worthy vehicle of Kotori goodness; inheriting all the emotional poignancy, character charm and musical brilliance that was Da Capo season 1. Today, it breaks my heart to report that D.C.if 2 (released with the DCSS boxset yesterday in Japan) TOO took on much of the attributes of the franchise's 2nd season.
For those who understood the magic of Da Capo season 1, you would have loved the spiritual successor that was D.C.if 1. Overflowing character charm aside, the episode was incredibly coherent and focused on what the viewers are most keen on -the Junichi-Kotori relationship. (Much like DC1 was about Nemu-Junichi.) That thrust was never dulled in all 25 min as the Junichi-Kotori relationship was developed layer by layer, accompanied by some of the greatest bgm in animedom. The issues were real and affecting, their love - sweet yet tormenting.
D.C.if 2 felt waffling like its co-DVD release. Both Kotori and Junichi dwelled on their struggles way beyond the attention span of interested viewers. While I blame partially the poor employment of bgm in this installment, the real downer, I believe, was the direction and pace of the tale. 10 min of the 25 ep was squandered on Aunt Agony therapy which contributed weakly to the eventual resolution of their problems. Where the issue portrayed in D.C.if 1 was deeply affecting, the solution presented in D.C.if 2 was trivialising.
It pains me a greatly to cast D.C.if in the great hall of anime infamy where Mahoromatic resides. Now I can only recommend part 1 and whistle innocently when asked about part 2. Still there was great Kotori charm found in this ep (Kotori is absolutely stunning in her wedding gown) but overall, a vessel unworthy to host the beauty that Hontou ni Taihen desu's eternal goddess.
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March 26th, 2009 - 11:10
Haven’t received the DVD yet, but my initial thought was that, being one of the 20-or-so people who actually liked D.C.S.S., there may still be a good chance that I like this OVA! ^^; I assume that I will have a better time understanding the actual complaint when I watch the DVD as well, so we’ll see… Too bad you didn’t like it, though.
March 26th, 2009 - 14:30
Er, what?
Mahoromatic is an excellent anime. The last 2 eps of S2 simply don’t exist. The rest is a solid 8.5 out of 10 show!
March 26th, 2009 - 14:43
That’s really disappointing to hear about all the waffling going on. I was hoping to see some kind of resolve just like we saw in the first Da Capo series. Still I think the only thing I look forward to in this is Kotori in a wedding dress.
March 26th, 2009 - 20:09
Well, at least you enjoyed the first ep. It could have been Kotorimaniax all the way. :3
March 26th, 2009 - 21:30
relentlessflame/Adun: I may made it sound a lot worse that it actually is.
Was probably just underwhelmed after a superb ep 1. At the very least, Junichi and Kotori were still consistent leads who carried the tale well. My main grip is with the story execution. Uninspiring and bland. Sigh. Still I hope you guys can enjoy it 
Mentar: For some reasons, my disappointment with Mahoro S2 extended beyond the final 2 eps
I suspect season 2 retained much of S1′s humour but not enough of its heart. That said, ep 2 of season 2 was the most hilarious of the mahoro franchise, beating even the gut-bursting summer special 
Zyl: heh yeah I suppose it could have been much worse. Fortunately for ZEXCS, D.C.if is not that terrible to be mentioned in the breath as Akane Maniax. XD
March 27th, 2009 - 17:07
The finale of mahoromatic was awesome. Gar suguru reunites with long lost androidr meido? Cmon. It was AweSOME.
March 28th, 2009 - 20:55
Well, at least the Da Capo ~if~ gave us something good, in the form of this… http://moe.imouto.org/post/show/68128/
Latest Megami has it. Already put an order for one.
March 28th, 2009 - 22:07
EXM: I always thought if Mahoro knew she would cause Suguru to be a vengeful, self-loathing being for the next 20 years, she would surely have not appeared in the household. What Suguru did essentially betrayed all of Mahoro’s ideals and hopes for him. I’d have given him a tight slap as Mahoro when I reappeared in that final ep
Of course there’s more but that’s one of my major gripe with the end.
Kurogane: That was HEARTSTOPPING! Now we know anime deities hear AND answer prayers XD Thanks for the link!
April 2nd, 2009 - 23:18
Sad news. As someone who caught a bit of bishoujo burnout while watching the first episode, I thought the finale would lift my hopes up. I didn’t watch this one yet, but I think I’ll have to rewatch the first one with the right mindset. I hope to update my blog post too when that happens.
I hope it’s not as bad as you make it seem to be. Fortunately, there’s more Kotori in the D.C.if game, right?
April 4th, 2009 - 06:43
I didn’t read your post yet as I don’t want to be spoilered, but does anyone know if subs are out?
(Hail Nemu)
April 4th, 2009 - 14:35
Sorry for my earlier off, delete it please if you can.
Sadly, but I have to agree with you. As much as DC.if1 reminded me of the beautiful, hearttouching, etc moments DC gave me, DC.if2 was a shallow letdown. At least compared to the first ep.
After all that build-up, instead of some screaming-crying emotional burst, we get Sakura waltzing in as the walking/talking deus ex machina and solves everything with a handful of words of wisdom. Meh.
I noticed the lack of bgm or at least there wasn’t much at those key moments, and even Kotori’s song felt flat.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than grateful that we got as much as these OVAs, but honestly.. this part could have been done a lot better.
Hail Nemu!
April 6th, 2009 - 07:13
bluemist: It’s just vexing that after years of whining for some Kotori -centric goodness, the fans get a half-hearted attempt. I know ZECXS is capable of so much more (for example ep 1). Sigh.
Kvakond: Touche! All excellent points. I felt a little cheesed off when Kotori started singing. It reminded me a little of DCSS 15 where she also broke into song after being ‘rejected’. XD