The romantic-comedy antics and occasional monster fighting of the hit Gainax series continues with Volume 2, giving us four more episodes to enjoy. And between the usual rom-com hijinks (complete with the standard "camping/hot springs", "beach" and "festival" episodes), we FINALLY get another monster battle and a deeper look into who or what Hikari may be and what her role on Earth is.
Things kick off in Episode 5, where Hikari joins Takeru and company at their school (with a little help from Jennifer to get the transfer to go through). Initially excited at doing something new, the ever-cheerful Hikari soon learns that school isn't quite what it's cracked up to be. Then, the group kicks off the start of summer break to go camping in the mountains, with a “test of courage” that has Takeru trying to figure out what to do with Hikari. It's off to the beach next, where the girls get decked out in swimwear and more struggling with affections on the part of Takeru and Mari (this is also where the second monster fight of the whole series takes place!). Finally, we get a “slice-of-life” episode where the gang gets ready for the Bon Festival, Hikari makes a new friend in a bell cricket, life lessons are learned and new secrets and mysteries are revealed.
The series has been great to watch from the start, but now things are starting to get interesting with this new batch of episodes. It mainly has to do with the fact that more about Hikari is being revealed, in particular a “dark side” of her, which may or may not be her “true” self, that was first glimpsed in Episode 1 and now makes regular appearances throughout the episodes on this volume. We also get a new character in the form of Ioneos, a mysterious robot with a strange attitude and connection to Hikari, calling her “Mistress” and reacting to her praise and admonishment. Oh, and he seems to be Jennifer's new drinking partner, Gainax once again brining new twists to anime standards with a robot that gets drunk (never mind the fact that he's a robot, which shouldn't get drunk, or that he doesn't have a visible mouth). I can't say much about some of the other mysteries and revelations that pop up without spoiling anything, but needless to say it finally does tie into the “extinction” theme first hinted at when the first episode started and what Hikari's real role is and what part Takeru, who has sworn with his life to protect Hikari, really plays in the whole scheme. Just from learning what's revealed, you KNOW things are going to go bad for our characters just as they start to get good, which can be typical of any kind of show.
Now back to the lighter side of things, which pretty much takes up the whole series (probably why this show is only twelve episodes, there are only so many ways this could get stretched out before it gets both repetitive and boring). As mentioned before, a lot of the romantic-comedy stuff seems pretty standard, right down to the “episode types” used, but it's still fun to watch it all go down. Takeru may act like the usual idiot who struggles with how to approach his feelings, but you get the idea that he doesn't want to screw it up (something a lot of us can probably relate to) at the same time you tell him “Just go for it, you weenie!” It's also fun to watch Mari struggle with her own feelings, especially with the fact that Hikari isn't your typical romantic rival and doesn't play the “game” according to the “rules”. Throw in Sakurako and Amika playing both sides in the little love triangle (giving advice to Takeru in how to deal with Hikari and to Mari in how to snag Takeru), little Kimi's dealing with Ryo and Akari's antics and the various bits of fan service floating around (especially in Episode 6, heh heh...), and this just continues to be a fun show to watch.
But probably the best part of series, in particular these episodes, is Hikari as a character. Watching her just go about enjoying life, even the simplest things it has to offer like the feel of the wind or the smell of the ocean, you can't help but like her. She even enjoys doing what most people might find boring, like work or school. And even when she overdoes it when she tries to help Takeru (like in Episode 7 when she tries to help out), it just seems so sweet because she wants to be with Takeru. It probably helps when Hikari's darker side comes out (noticable not only by a change in attitude but in hair color, no, really), who is the complete opposite of the “regular” Hikari, that she seems more lovable as a character. Given how creepy she acts when like this, that's not a hard idea to suggest.
