Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 ⬢ Surprisingly Warranted

Original Run: October 1, 2022 - December 24, 2022
Number of Episodes: 13
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Based on the Series Created By: Take

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Hana Uzaki and Shinichi Sakurai (voiced respectively by Naomi Oozora and Kenji Akabane) have known each other for years. Their friendship then re-sparked upon entering college. Now, the two are basically inseparable. To anyone looking in, it couldn’t be more obvious the two have feelings for each other.

However, it would seem the only people in the world who don’t realize that are Uzaki and Sakurai. No matter how far their relationship goes beyond just friends, they appear incapable of fathoming that things could be more between them.

Except, that final layer of denseness is breaking. All it will take for it to finally come crashing down is one last push.

Series Positives

Looking through the review of Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out season one (Uzaki-chan 1), it’s clear the show succeeded unexpectedly. At the very least, it had a lot more charm and character than some of its more…voluptuous aspects might have suggested. Of course, assuming you are not a die-hard fan of the franchise, it might be necessary to review the events of season one.

This isn’t to say the first installment was unmemorable; it did leave some impression. The issue is that Uzaki-chan 1 didn’t end on a note that begged for a sequel. The release of Uzaki-cha Wants to Hang Out Season 2 (Uzaki-chan 2) was an awkward surprise since it opened the series up to a crucial make-or-break question:

Is there more that needs saying?

How this season went about resolving that question didn’t do itself any favors. Regardless, Uzaki-chan’s answer was “Yes, but barely.”

That means this season had enough good aspects to prevent the whole thing from wasting time. It is those aspects that this section of the review will focus on. However, it’s worth acknowledging that many of the positives we can associate with this installment came with a trade-off.

With that in mind, Uzaki-chan 2 was, like its predecessor, a slow burn. As the series progressed, it got better. In fact, as the season was entering its final few episodes, what was developing was surprisingly challenging to put down. And since it needs specifying, the in-question “development” was Uzaki and Sakurai’s relationship.

Unlike season one, where Uzaki and Sakurai were oblivious to their feelings for one another, season two took away that obstacle. The realization that this pair might have a romantic affection towards each other hit them like a ton of bricks. The resulting fallout from their respective Ah-Ha moment gave this installment its reason for existence.

Like last time, this series often relied on the strength of Uzaki and Sakurai’s chemistry, which has been – without exaggeration – truly spectacular. What Uzaki and Sakura like about each goes much further than physical attraction. The two are much more open, loud, bombastic, and energetic when together; they feel comfortable in one another’s presence.

And to give them some massive credit – particularly Sakurai – our leads rarely brought up the other’s more notable traits. Within this entire season, Sakurai maybe gave a momentary reaction to the you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me bust size of Uzaki. Heck, given how easy it would have been, Uzaki-chan 2 never seemed too concerned with fanservice.

Granted, this show did not pass up the opportunity to put Uzaki in a bikini whenever it could. Still, all things considered, this series was remarkably tame.

That gets to the heart of what has made the Uzaki-chan franchise so unexpected. It would not have been difficult for this show to sink to the lowest common denominator as much as possible. After all, if all you knew about this series was Uzaki’s character design, you’d probably expect nothing less.

And yet, you could go into this show and come out with a decently executed romantic comedy. Sure, upon pushing back some of the series’ more blatant gimmicks, it’s not a whole lot to write home about.

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to say this show didn’t prove that it warranted a sequel. But again – barely.

Series Negatives

THE CAT; THE CAT IS BACK.

What is it doing? Why is it here? What is up with its face? Why does it perpetually look as though it has seen the horrors of all human wars since the dawn of time while taking a poop? AND NO ONE IS ACKNOWLEDGING IT.

Is this actually a negative? That’s hard to say, but the cat is a freaking constant, and it’s baffling.

That aside, Uzaki-chan 2 did not have the strongest start. As mentioned earlier, this season, like its predecessor, was a slow burn; it took time for things to find their stride. While that might have been all well and good last time, here it was annoying. After all, why is this series acting as though it started over?

As this season went forward, it became clear that the goal was for Uzaki and Sakurai to confess their love for each other. Except, that didn’t begin in earnest until episode three, which was well past the point any show should expect to hook its audience. This series already had an entire other season to build up the base relationship between the leads. What more was there to add before moving on to the next step?

Additionally, Uzaki-chan had built the majority of its credibility around the relationship between Uzaki and Sakurai. Fortunately, the series set itself up so that the two could work individually – albeit Uzaki was much better at this. Therefore, if one of our two leads had to do something alone, this show’s pacing or atmosphere didn’t suffer.

Thus, why Uzaki-chan 2 thought it would be a good idea to occasionally abandon that notion and focus solely on other characters without Uzaki or Sakurai doesn’t make sense. Everyone else in this show lacked any sense of memorability, which makes sense. They weren’t the stars.

As luck would have it, though, Uzaki-chan 2 recovered its footing in due time. Then again, it doesn’t make sense why this series would risk audience abandonment with such a slow start.

Final Thoughts

A little infuriatingly, this season did open the door for a season three. Only time will tell, but if there is another installment, this series is already playing with fire. It got away with returning once; it best not push its luck.

Pessimism aside, this season had more moments worth enjoying than not. Mainly, this show has two lead characters that are very much worth following. And when this series did find its pacing, it was amazing how addicting it could be.

Thus, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 squeaks out a recommendation.