Things finally lightened up this week, as Hachiman was tasked with dealing with the fallout of his “solution” from last time. Being the student council president already sounds like a crappy job for him, but not getting any credit for it, being sabotaged by the actual president’s inability to handle conflict or responsibility, and not even being able to share the burden with his friends? Yeah, this is one shitty bed Hikki has made for himself. My favorite parts of this episode were the understated scenes between Hikki and Yui in the first half, but the ridiculous meeting with Iroha’s “collaborators” was pretty damn funny. I guess we could use a break from all the crazy tension.

My full ANN review is here. Notes after the cut!

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The student council arc resolved in an uneasy peace this week, with Hachiman convincing Isshiki to rescind her own club request. Of course, this solution isn’t actually great either for Hachiman’s group or for the school overall – once again, he chose a slash and burn solution that only solves the most immediate problem. Joining the student council probably would have been the best thing for all three of our protagonists, but that’s the kind of thing Hikki can only realize once he’s already been told. Life is tough for our brittle little teenagers!

My full episode review is here. Notes below!

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Yeah, Oregairu is brilliant. I’ve already written a couple thousand words about it today, so I don’t really have much left for this blurb besides: damn. This sequel is doing everything I could have hoped for, focusing on the show’s strengths, highlighting its strongest characters, and generally executing at a higher level than the original. We are very lucky to have it.

My full ANN post is here. Notes below!

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