Mar 31 2012 03:32 PM Amagami SS Plus, a sudden anime original 2-episode epilogue for each of the 6 main heroines of the Amagami game.
Like the original series, each girl's arc will be reviewed separately...though there isn't much to review since it's only 2 episodes each compared to 4.
Tsukasa Ayatsuji: Still as solid as ever and remains the best of the 6 heroines. While we all know the end result thanks to the 10 years after conclusion in the original it was a nice and somewhat suspenseful arc with a nice touch of conflict. Kaori Nazuka did a great job continuing her role as Tsukasa despite recently giving birth.
Rihoko Sakurai: An epilogue many were hoping to resolve the short end of the stick that Rihoko got. Luckily she did get the kiss from Junichi but that's really about it. The arc was still boring at the end of the day, especially coming off a strong Tsukasa arc.
Ai Nanasaki: Now...Ai's arc was somewhat fun but what they really did was throw in a bunch of events from Ai's other endings in the game to make up her arc with a few original bits. At best the arc was average.
Kaoru Tanamachi: I don't know why they decided to switch Kaoru with Sae but regardless, this arc was not as fun as I was hoping. It started off with typical Kaoru antics but the conclusion was rather anti-climatic. They get left behind on a trip and have to find their way back without any pocket change. It just didn't feel like Kaoru's character was truly brought out.
Sae Nakata: The third most interesting of the arcs surprisingly. Sae basically taking on Tsukasa's task in Founder's Festival, which really added to her shy character. While the narrator was plain annoying this time around, the romantic development between Sae and Junichi played out quite well. The 10 year jump was unexpected, but interesting to see.
Haruka Lovely Morishima: Hints dropping all over the place claiming that Haruka's arc would be the key this season similar to how Tsukasa's arc was in the original. The question was it? In my opinion, no. It was definitely without a question second best though by a long shot. Jessica trolled Haruka and Junichi so hard but I really loved the confession at the end anyways. Indeed the arc was a bit rushed but for the 2 episodes it had, it was definitely a lot of fun. Not to mention Haruka's personality remains one of the best of the cast. It was also fun seeing Shizuka Itou "talk to herself" in dialogue format.
"Miya Tachibana": What a waste of time this was. The fanservice was nice, but not suited for this show. I had a bad feeling there was going to be more fanservice when they started showing Tsukasa fanservice in the PV prior to the show's initial airing but I never thought they would go this far.
Animation hasn't changed for the most part but I really disliked the ending animation sequence when they show the heroine of the arc lip singing the song. Poorly timed and often out of character.
OP was catchy and good, though I preferred the original 2 opening themes. ED was also okay. I preferred some of the character songs over this tough.
Enjoyment? up and down depending on the arc. It was 2 episodes only for each character, so I will say that it managed to hold my attention more than the previous series even if the arcs were dull.
Overall, here is the final breakdown of each heroine. Note that Miya's arc weighs half as much.
Tsukasa Ayatsuji: 8/10
Rihoko Sakurai: 5/10
Ai Nanasaki: 5/10
Kaoru Tanamachi: 5/10
Sae Nakata: 6/10
Haruka Lovely Morishima: 8/10
Not Enough Nishishi: 3/10As expected though this season was going to be worse than the original not just because it's mostly anime original, but also since Amagami SS already left us with pretty conclusive endings.
Preliminary Score: 7/10
Final Score: 6/10 