party disco step and smile (happy lesson advance)

today i finished happy lesson advance.

chibi-r and i had a few doubts with this one – sometimes it’s hard to follow-up a good series – as much as i loved onegai sensei, i really am hesitant to watch onegai twins – incest just isn’t a point of comedy for me.
in any case, chibi-r lent me his happy lesson advance set as he’s watching other things at the moment, and i must say that it is brilliant.
my only very slight disappointment was that kanna didn’t have very much screen time at all in this one, and she is one of my favourite characters – but she got quite a bit in the first series, so it’s alright.
once again each of the characters get at least one episode dedicated to them as we examine how they live their lives.  the introduction of a new character bodes well – while potentially being destructive, it absolutely helped in the portrayal of the character’s feelings.  this really is a beautiful series, and so much more emotional territory is explored – it’s the perfect continuation of the first series.
i suppose my other main irk with these series’ is hitotose’s lack of expression.  he always hides how he feels, and is quite brusque in voicing his concerns, if ever.  that being said, it’s part of the story element, and part of how the mothers respond to him.
each character in these series’ is a different expression of love.  even loud and boisturous gokajo-sensi/mama and seemingly flighty uduki (cosplay character) have very poignant moments as they did in the first series.  some might say that the second series is more of the same, but it really goes farther – not as in it has more in it than the first series, but more in the sense that it has just as much, but it’s a continuation and further exploration of love and intimacy between people.

as some have said online before, at first glance it appears similar to love hina, but of-course is very very different.  poor fumitsuki, the class president and love interest to hitotose, rarely actually gets to be alone with him, and though they do get a few moments, and fumitsuki does get one fantastic moment with him, ultimately the series asserts that is’ not about romantic teenage high-school romance.  where at the end of the first series fumitsuki was rather central to the story arc, in this she is more emotionally involved with all of the characters.  i suppose in that sense, advance really does feel like all the characters know eachother more, are becoming more comfortable or more awkward as thing get revealed, and as their relationships develop.

of-course it’s no haibane renemi, but they are two different styles with different agendas which they both achieve magnificently.  i really feel that happy lesson, though at times greatly humourous, is one of the most honest and expressive animes that has been made.