Review of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2

Season 2 of 'Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun' continues the spirit of the first season: a generally light-hearted supernatural comedy aimed at a younger audience. If you're within its target demographic, or at least charmed by its not-so-serious tone, you will love it. If not, you may tolerate watching it but it will be something you will never cherish or forget. § Notes 1. The art direction continues to be unique. It's different from the usual, but it's a bit eerie mixed with the sense that it's comedy. You may not be impressed with the animation and the framing, but the overall art direction is worth commending.2. The sound in transition scenes continues to be great. Again, this remains one of its strengths.

3. It continues its light-hearted tone, but there are more serious stakes that made me more curious and made me expect so much this season. Unfortunately, it hasn't fully developed it as much as I would like to. Hint: There seems to be no sense of urgency in addressing it once that knowledge is revealed.

4. Unlike the first season, it's really divided into two major arcs. These two major arcs give us two major themes: 1) live every moment of your life to the fullest, and 2) face reality.

5. As you can tell, I'm not really a fan of this anime. It's not for me, but for those close to high school, this is a good or even a great watch. Let's dive into the themes, shall we?

§§ Theme No 1: On making the best use of the remaining time of your life

This theme reminds me of this quote from Marcus Aurelius: “Live as though today is your last day.” It's profound once you get it.

Perhaps the anime's light-heartedness is just a vehicle for young people so they’re introduced to these themes. They might not get it now, but they might down the road.

§§ Theme No 2: What is real?

The second major arc asks us what is real and how can we know it. It's basically a mini-lesson on epistemology. It's basically the question Descartes had asked centuries ago: How do we know we're not dreaming? On a related note, this theme is also explored partially in the K-drama W: Two Worlds.

The lesson is basically, once we distinguish what's real and what's not, do we have the courage to face it?

§ Conclusion

This may seem like a silly anime that younger people might enjoy, but I appreciate the profound themes that the anime has embedded. This is the reason I'm bumping the score to 6 out of 10 from the 5 out of 10 I gave Season 1. The anime is not as shallow as it might seem at first glance