A new chapter in a story.... that's what a sequel is. That new chapter may improve the story, or it may make it worse. However, there's also the possibility that you may enjoy the sequel as much as the story that came before it; for me, that was the case with Snow White with the Red Hair. I had actually watched the first season (and reviewed it), and I really adored it; since I reviewed the first season, I decided that I would review the second season when it was done airing. That's proving to be a difficult task; I mean, what is there tobe said about this season that I already said about the first season?
In case you are not familiar with this series, Snow White with the Red Hair follows a girl named Shirayuki, who is an herbalist known for her unusual, apple-colored hair. When the prince of her country of Tanbarun, Raj, tries to make her his concubine, she cuts her red hair and escapes to the neighboring country of Clarines. On the way there, she meets Prince Zen and his two aides, Mitsuhide and Kiki, who help her when she's in a real pinch involving Prince Raj. Upon arrival to the castle in Clarines, Shirayuki aims to become a court herbalist, working diligently toward her goal. Oh, and should I mention the blossoming romance between Shirayuki and Zen?
The art in this anime is as beautiful as ever; Bones really does a great job in this department. The ending theme, "Page ~Kimi to Tsuzuru Monogatari" by eyelis, is also quite a beautiful song, and I honestly liked it more than the ending theme for the first season. As for the opening theme, "Sono Koe ga Chizu ni Naru" by Saori Hayami..... well, it can never be better than the opening theme for the first season, but it's still a very nice song! Unlike the first season, which I watched the English dub of, I watched the Japanese version of the second season. I must say, these seiyuus really nailed their roles, especially Saori Hayami as Shirayuki! (Maybe I'm just being a Saori Hayami fangirl when I say that, but still!)
The story is still kind of easygoing, but there is one arc in particular that may really leave you on the edge of your seats. As for the characters, along with the great character development for the characters already in this anime, there are even more likable characters introduced in this season, especially Raj's younger siblings; they just put a smile on my face! Speaking of Raj, I never thought I'd come to like him, but believe it or not, I did; his character developed into one that was less....selfish, to say the least. The romance between Shirayuki and Zen was as sweet as ever, too, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face in this season.
Overall, season two of Snow White with the Red Hair is as great as season one. If you watched season one of Snow White with the Red Hair and liked it, I recommend for you to watch season two. Now that I've finished the anime, I've either got to read the manga or wait for a third season of this anime about a romance between a girl with hair the color of apples and a prince of the country she arrived in!
Mixed Feelings
I did not like the second season very much. In the second season Shirayuki gets to dress pretty, have tea with her agressor (which, granted, happens to be one of the best characters in this season), get kidnapped, get kidnapped again and cry. There is a whole lot of crying. It's like she isn't even the same character anymore. Once I noticed how little agency* this new version of Shirayuki had, I also noticed that there wasn't a single thing that had happened because of her. It's not only that she could be substituted by a pretty red lamp and the story would be thesame, it's that she wasn't important enough in her own series to even merit being the reason plot happens. Things happened because people were trying to do something else and she happened to be there. Motivations for characters were reused. It's just bad storytelling in general.
The break from slice of life into badly written adventure, for instance, felt like something done just to have Zen going all fairy tale prince. There are no consequences for the main characters: nothing is gained or lost from that action. A secondary character does gets to find himself, but he's the only one impacted by half the season.
There are, still, a few good things: Raj's and Obi's character archs were great, as was that Mitsuhide episode (though he and Kiki get no character development).
* No biggie, it's just she's the MC. You kinds expect the main character to actually DO THINGS instead of having things done to them. And then cry. While mumbling the name of their lover. ¬¬
cacassandrale179
May 16, 2021
Not Recommended
I'm a little bit surprised by all the raves for the second season of Snow White with the Red Hair, but to me it was such a chore to watch through. A lot of the positives in the first season - Shirayuki being kidnapped and escaped her own home, fought back against her captors, try to enter the castle on her own talent..etc. kinda lost in this season. Instead, Season 2 devolved into exploring the side characters more (not bad in itself) but the role of damsel-in-distress from Shirayuki get worse here. Where is my capable heroine? All Shiruyaki did this season was drinkingtea, lecturing Raj, got herself captured by some evil pirate lady, and conveniently rescued by Zen.
The only positive episode that I truly enjoyed was Mitsuhide's loss memory arc, which was hilarious, and his backstory with Kiki. Even Obi shine here in this season. As for Shirayuki, I don't know, if we replace her with a lamp, I feel like the story wouldn't change much. She continued to feel happiness in her relationship with Zen, reunite with her father, and be in good companies of her friends. It's hard to care about her when I'm not exactly sure what's the conflict in the story for her character is anymore, and the lack of portraying a shojo heroine with more negative emotions - anger, hatred, pain, kind of make it less relatable to follow through. I guess maybe I'm a little bit too old and jaded for some feel-good shojo romance. What a shame, beacuse the 1st season of Snow White with the Red Hair was pretty decent.
