Since the amazing experience that was season 1, I started on the first few episodes of season 2. To be completely honest, I had hated the new character designs at first. It was all so...bishonen like. Not that I have anything against bishonen, it's just that it looked wrong on Hikigaya Hachiman. His face was previously full of sharp lines, dead fish eyes and had sharper facial features. Now, it seems to have been sanded off, into a round pretty looking face.
I guess that i felt that it was going against his character, who was said to be unattractive in a sense. Thankfully, the change in designs did NOT change other character's reactions/interactions with him. You could say that it sort of grew on me as well.
With the usual pace of release for subbed episodes, I got impatient and started on the light novel.
Yes. From the very first one.
It was kinda painful to read about all the events that i had already previously seen, but it was a good refresher as well. I loved reading about all the events in first person perspective (Hikigaya's) and it made me enjoy the novels all the more.
The first few novels have a rather cheery and light hearted atmosphere, focusing more on comedy. The interactions between members of the service club were stellar, and I could really see why this novel is as popular as it is. At first glance, I felt that the writing was too 'simplistic' or 'amatuerish'. But that is just me being a lowlife, so ignore that.
But as I continued reading, the writing became a thing of beauty.
The way the sentences melded together, the flowery but hard hitting paragraphs that conveyed the emotions the characters felt...it was absolutely wonderful.
After the first few novels, the atmosphere starts to take a rather different turn. I think it was the sixth or seventh novel maybe?
The problems of our main characters (namely Hachiman, Yukino and Yui) begin to surface. Their problems were always there, but it was at that point where things started to change. Wataru Watari brought another level to writing that I've never seen before. The novel began to show their true colours, their beliefs, what drove them to act as they did. It was addicting, to see the them try to fix themselves, piece by piece and for them to admit their short comings.
There were times the novel made my chest clench in pain, and flutter with unbridled joy at others. Wataru Watari's writing is truly a thing of beauty. I look forward to seeing how season 2 does the anime justice, and what happens on vol 10.
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