Category: Series/Seasonal Reviews

Space Dandy Season 2

Space Dandy Season 2

Space Dandy Season 2 anime series cover art
Space Dandy Season 2

Overall, Worse Than Season 1

Space Dandy Season 2 (Space☆Dandy 2nd Season / スペース☆ダンディ 第2シリーズ) is more of a second cour than a second season. There’s not a real break between the 2 seasons in terms of content. And, there was only a 3-month gap between them airing.

Still, as you can tell from the title of this section, I didn’t think Season 2 was as good as Season 1. But, it would appear that I’m in the minority for thinking this. Apparently, most people rated Season 2 higher than Season 1.

I do see what people like about Season 2, though. It was more interesting visually. And the episodes were a lot more unique than any in Season 1. But, the big flaw with Season 2 is that it’s boring.

Meow and QT disguised as a janitor and a vacuum in a high school from the anime series Space Dandy Season 2
Meow and QT disguised as a janitor and a vacuum in a high school

There’s not really an overarching plot in Space Dandy. The episodes are pretty random, even in Season 1. But, Season 2 took that randomness to the extreme. It felt like every episode was completely disconnected from every other episode. And many of these random episodes felt more like filler than anything else.

For example, there’s Episode 4, pictured above. In this episode, Dandy enrolls in a high school and the entire thing is a musical. It was a struggle to get through that episode. And the episodes on either side of that one are about as different from it as you can get.

In Season 1, the focus of the series was comedy. We saw Dandy, QT, and Meow in wacky situations because they were funny (for the most part). Season 2 takes a different approach. The episodes are even weirder, but they’re no longer funny. Instead, they try to tell unique stories in 22 minutes — and it doesn’t work.

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There Was Definitely Potential

As I’ve already mentioned, there were good things about Space Dandy Season 2. It looked good and some episodes were more stylized than others, which made them stand out. Episode 3 may have been the most visually distinct. But, Episode 5 was my favorite.

Another good thing Season 2 did was get Honey and Scarlett involved more. We actually get to see Honey in situations outside of Boobies. And there’s even an entire episode dedicated to Scarlett. That’s something I wanted. Though, this season fell short of actually adding either of them (Honey) to the Aloha Oe crew.

We also got some new characters who I thought were pretty good. Johnny is a new recurring character I liked. He’s the Commander of the Jaicro Empire, which is the rival of the Gogol Empire. Johnny also dreams of becoming the biggest rock star in the universe.

Meow, Johnny, Honey, Dandy, and QT from the anime series Space Dandy Season 2
Meow, Johnny, Honey, Dandy, and QT

There’s also the best character of the series, Ton Javrolta. He was only in one episode, but he definitely made an impact. Here’s the thing, though. Every episode in Season 2 introduces a new featured character. And because of that, none of them are around long enough for me to care about them.

If this season had a bit more continuity, it could have been better than the first season. I would have been fine with more Johnny and less of the random puppet guy who wears people’s skin. And, of course, Honey should have played a bigger role.

Something else this season almost did right was how it used the Gogol Empire characters. Dr. Gel and Admiral Perry had real roles at the end beyond failing to capture Dandy. But, it came too late. It was only in the final episode that they were anything more than gags.

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It Wasn’t Episodic, After All

In the end, it turns out that the series wasn’t episodic, after all. And, there was actually an explanation for why the episodes were so random. It’s because Dandy has the ability to travel between dimensions. This is something that came up multiple times in this season.

The first episode of the season explores this idea. In it, Dandy and his crew jump from dimension to dimension and meet their counterparts in each one. Later, there’s an episode about Dandy dying and going to the afterlife. He’s able to come back to life by jumping to a dimension in which he’s still alive.

And, of course, this explains how the Aloha Oe crew died at various points in Season 1. They did die, and then we jumped to a different dimension in which they were still alive. This explanation ties everything together.

Dandy and Ton Jravolta dancing from the anime series Space Dandy Season 2
Dandy and Ton Jravolta dancing

As cool as it is that everything came together in the end, it still doesn’t make up for the journey. At the end of Season 2 Episode 13, the universe is reset and we end up back at the start of Season 1 Episode 1. That’s neat. But I was still bored watching most of Season 2.

There are 2 ways I can view the conclusion of the series. Either it was a band-aid solution to the problems of Season 2. Or, it was the cause of all the problems of Season 2. Neither is a good option.

Something I do want to point out is that this is kind of normal for Shinichiro Watanabe anime. Look at both Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. They were largely episodic and had episodes that felt like filler. And then, in the end, everything got tied together and there was some real plot.

Conclusion

In the end, I’m giving Space Dandy Season 2 a 6/10. It was fine — there were good parts, and there were bad parts. And if we combine that score with the score I gave Season 1 (8/10), Space Dandy gets a 7/10 as a whole.

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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 anime series cover art
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2

A Good Second Half

Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 (Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka IV: Fuka Shou – Yakusai-hen / ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうかⅣ深章 厄災篇) has a very long title. It’s also the 2nd cour of the 4th season of DanMachi.

Of all the seasons/cours of DanMachi so far, this one was the best. I already liked the 1st cour of Season 4. And because of that, I expected this cour to be good, as well. But, it was even better than I thought it would be.

Why is Season 4, as a whole, better than the previous seasons, though? For me, a large part of it has to do with this season going back to the series’ roots. It’s all about exploring unknown parts of the dungeon.

Anya, Chloe, Tsubaki, and Runoa searching for Ryuu in the dungeon from the anime series Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2
Anya, Chloe, Tsubaki, and Runoa searching for Ryuu in the dungeon

In Season 4 Part 2, things go a step further. It’s no longer just about exploring the lower floors. Bell and Ryuu find themselves fighting to survive in the deep floors. And while they’re doing that, we also get to follow Bell’s party making their way through the lower floors.

But, that’s not all. There’s also a bit of content following a third party in the dungeon made up of Tsubaki, Anya, Chloe, and Runoa. So, we get to see dungeon exploration from 3 different perspectives.

Oh, and to top it off, Season 4 Part 2 finally gives us the tragic backstory of the Astraea Familia. We already knew they were wiped out in the lower floors of the dungeon. But, in this cour, we actually get to see how it happened and the events leading up to the tragedy.

This cour has a lot of good content.

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I Need More Astraea Familia

Overall, the flashback scenes of the Astraea Familia weren’t that engaging. Most of them featured boring things like the Familia members debating justice. But, toward the end of the season, we got to see the Astraea Familia in action for a little bit.

Now, of course, the action we got to see involved the decimation of the Astraea Familia. However, they were very cool while they were dying. I didn’t care much about Alise until we got to see her final fight. She was such a cool leader and I’d love to see more of her.

Unfortunately, I doubt we’ll ever get a spin-off anime following the Astraea Familia. The only DanMachi spin-off anime we have is Sword Oratoria. And let me tell you, Sword Oratoria isn’t good. It’s fine and has some good supporting characters. But, it’s nowhere near as good as this season was.

Alise speaking to the Astraea Familia from the anime series Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2
Alise speaking to the Astraea Familia

Lefiya Viridis and Ais Wallenstein were the protagonists of Sword Oratoria. They’re a thousand times worse than Ryuu Lion and Alise Lovell. Just the fact that an Astraea Familia spin-off would follow those two makes it better. Lefiya is insufferable and Ais is as boring as watching paint dry.

But, would an Astraea Familia spin-off actually be fun to watch? After all, we already know how their story ends. With the exception of Ryuu, they all die fighting the Juggernaut. Well, that doesn’t really have any impact on their prior adventures.

We know the Astraea Familia was an accomplished Familia. They were capable of traversing the deep floors. And they had a rivalry with the Rudra Familia, which was allied with Evilus. There’s a lot of potential content to cover in a spin-off series about them. And in this season, we didn’t even dive into their individual backgrounds.

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Ais Wallenwho?

I wrote extensively about Ryuu Lion being the best girl of the series in the last few episode reviews of Season 4. But, I’m going to do it again here because I can. There isn’t a single female character in DanMachi who’s better than Ryuu. Period.

Think of all the female characters in the series. Ryuu has more development than all of them. Oh, you like Hestia? Her entire personality is that she’s obsessed with Bell. There’s nothing more to her character than that. Ais is the female lead, you say? Has she even played a role since Season 1?

Multiple supporting characters get more screen time and development than Hestia and Ais. There’s Lili, Aisha, and Haruhime, just to name a few. Aisha and Haruhime were supporting characters in Season 2 and they’re still around. Even Wiene, Season 3‘s female character of the season, was in Season 4 more than Ais.

Ryuu Lion from the anime series Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2
Ryuu Lion

I do need to point out that I don’t know what happens next in this series. It’s possible that we never see or hear from Ryuu again. After all, she was the female character of the season this time around. But, what makes Ryuu different from Wiene and Marie is that she’s been around.

Ryuu has been in the series from the start. And it’s not as if she only got character development in Season 4. She was always one of the more interesting characters. But now, with Season 4 Part 2, she’s easily the most interesting.

At this point, I want the series to make Ryuu the official female lead. She pretty much already is. Who cares that Bell has a crush on Ais or that he’s devoted to Hestia? Ryuu has gone farther with Bell romantically than either of them. She keeps winning.

Conclusion

I ended up giving DanMachi IV Part 2 a 7/10. That’s the same score I gave to the original season and to Season 4 Part 1. But, Part 2 is better than both of those. The 1st season is like a low 7. Season 4 Part 1 is a standard 7. And Part 2 is a high 7.

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Ranking of Kings

Ranking of Kings

Ranking of Kings anime series cover art
Ranking of Kings

Bojji’s Grand Adventure

Ranking of Kings (Ousama Ranking / 王様ランキング) is a fantasy adventure anime based on a web manga. It’s 23 episodes long, began airing in the fall of 2021, and was animated by Wit Studio.

As you may have guessed by the fact that I’m reviewing the series now, I didn’t watch it while it was airing. But, the second OP of this series was in the DoubleSama Discord server’s “Best Anime OP of 2022” bracket. Not only did that remind me that Ranking of Kings existed, but the second OP is extremely good. It’s what made me want to watch it.

So, what is Ranking of Kings about? It’s about the adventure of Prince Bojji, a tiny, deaf, and mute boy destined to be the next king. Or, he would be the next king if those around him didn’t think his disabilities made him incompetent for the role.

Prince Bojji sitting on some ruins from the anime series Ranking of Kings
Prince Bojji sitting on some ruins

To prove everyone wrong, and to prove to himself he can do anything, Bojji sets out on a journey. The initial plan was for this journey to be rather short and simple. But, no good adventure has ever gone to plan.

On his travels, Bojji discovers a lot about himself and the world around him. Most importantly, he learns that his disabilities don’t define who he is and what he can do. He may not be able to speak, but he can still make friends. And while he may not be physically strong, he can still fight in his own way.

The series also covers the best and worst of people. On one side, there are those who only take from others and even commit genocide. But, on the other, we see that kindness can be found in even the most unlikely of places.

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Some Amazing Characters (Hiling Appreciation Section)

I’m already jumping into spoilers. So, if you don’t want the series spoiled, go watch it and come back.

Ranking of Kings has a lot of great characters. And, it might surprise you to find out that Bojji isn’t one of my favorites. He’s fine. The characters I like the most are those who are on Bojji’s side no matter what. The ones Bojji can always count on to be there for him.

There were many of these characters. In fact, pretty much every character — even the “villains” — cared about Bojji in their own way.

But, my favorite character of the whole anime has to be Queen Hiling. Kage might be Bojji’s #1 fan. However, Hiling has been in Bojji’s corner since day 1. And what I liked most about her is that we didn’t know that at the start of the series.

Prince Bojji and Queen Hiling from the anime series Ranking of Kings
Prince Bojji and Queen Hiling

When the series started out, Hiling seemed like this evil stepmother character. It seemed like she disliked Bojji and wanted her own son to become the next king because she wanted power. But, that couldn’t be further from the truth. To Hiling, both Bojji and Daida are her sons, and she always does what she thinks is best for them.

I was planning to write about other characters here, too. But, I might as well just make this the Hiling appreciation section of the review.

I absolutely loved when we got to see some of the flashbacks of when Hiling first came to the castle. It was great to see how much she wanted to connect with Bojji. She was one of the very first people to put in the effort to learn sign language so she could communicate with him.

She also inspired others to do the same.

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An Unexplored World of Possibilities

Besides Hiling, there are other good things about Ranking of Kings (I swear). There are a lot of other good characters. Kage of the Shadow Clan is a great companion for Bojji. King Desha is a cool pseudo-antagonist. And there’s even Bebin, an assassin who, like Hiling, cares about Bojji despite how it seems at first.

But, all these good characters lead to my biggest issue with the series. It sets up an amazing world of interesting characters and places. And then, we only get to see a small fraction of it.

For example, let’s consider the title of the series. What is the Ranking of Kings? It’s an international ranking of all the kings of the various kingdoms. This concept introduces a lot of cool ideas and places we could explore. But, we don’t. Instead, I think we know of like 4 kings in total.

King Desha summoning lightning from the anime series Ranking of Kings
King Desha summoning lightning

Also, since this is a fantasy series, there are a lot of magical things going on. And we don’t really explore those either. Are there other giant creatures that can speak like the 3(2)-headed snake? Do more people have superpowers like Desha’s lightning and Ouken’s immortality?

I’d also like to learn more about the Demon. We got a bit of backstory involving the Demon and Miranjo. But, I would have liked more than what we got. The existence of the Demon was one of the most interesting things about this world, to me.

And, I should mention that the anime doesn’t cover the entirety of the series. Chapter 155 is the final manga chapter covered. But, as far as I know, there are 185 current chapters and it’s still ongoing. So, it’s possible we get a second season. But, I honestly doubt it will happen.

Conclusion

In the end, I gave Ranking of Kings a 9/10. It has some slow parts in the middle. And I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the season ended. But, the world and characters are very good — mostly the characters. If you want a great fantasy adventure anime to watch, this is a good pick.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

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Space Dandy

Space Dandy

Space Dandy anime series cover art
Space Dandy

Series Overview

Space Dandy (Space☆Dandy / スペース☆ダンディ) is a sci-fi comedy anime from the same team that brought you Cowboy Bebop. It’s also the team that brought you Samurai Champloo, which I think is better than Cowboy Bebop. But, Space Dandy is a bit different from both of those series.

Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo both have their comedic moments — Champloo more so. However, comedy is what Space Dandy is all about. So, just because Space Dandy takes place in space doesn’t mean it’s anything like Cowboy Bebop. It’s not.

One thing Space Dandy has in common with those other 2 series is that it’s episodic. There isn’t an overarching story — at least not in the first season (which this review is about). Instead, Dandy and his crew go on wild adventures in each episode that are unrelated.

Adélie and Dandy in a restaurant from the anime series Space Dandy
Adélie and Dandy in a restaurant

It’s possible that the second season could try to tie everything together into a single story. But, that’s going to be pretty hard to do. You see, a lot of the episodes of this series don’t end in ways that allow for the story to continue after them. Dandy and his crew don’t always survive the episodes.

Could this series take place in a multiverse where we’re seeing different Dandys? Sure. But if that’s the angle you’re going for, I think you’re reading too much into it. At the end of the day, it’s an anime that’s fun to watch because of the characters and the situations they get into.

I should also mention that Space Dandy is for mature audiences. It’s not an ecchi series. But, it does have what I would consider a small amount of uncensored ecchi content. Because of its designation as being for mature audiences, I expected there to be more.

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The Aloha Oe Crew

Dandy is the titular character and captain of the Aloha Oe spaceship. He works as an alien hunter, but that doesn’t mean what you might expect. I thought it would mean he tracks down and kills rogue aliens. Instead, it means he finds unknown aliens and registers them with the government.

Through their job of alien hunting, Dandy and his crew don’t make that much money. But, what they do make, Dandy makes sure to spend at his favorite restaurant, Boobies. Boobies is basically the restaurant Hooters but in space. It’s full of waitresses wearing skimpy clothing.

QT is the first mate of the ship. He’s a vacuum cleaner robot who doesn’t do all that much in terms of helping capture aliens. Instead, his role is primarily to take care of the Aloha Oe. QT is the one who cleans and maintains the ship.

Meow using his phone from the anime series Space Dandy
Meow using his phone

While none of the Aloha Oe crew members are particularly smart, QT is the smartest of the group. He’s usually the voice of reason on the ship. However, that’s a pretty low bar considering the other two. At the very least, as a robot, QT isn’t prone to acting on impulse.

Meow, or Mymyamo, is the final crew member. Dandy and QT originally captured him in a Boobies restaurant thinking he was a rare alien. But, Meow is actually a Betelgeusian, which is a very common cat-like alien. Even after finding this out, Dandy keeps him around because he thinks Meow might be useful.

As it turns out, Meow isn’t useful at all. He spends the majority of his time online — usually on his smartphone. He also eats all of Dandy’s food on the Aloha Oe. And his room is so messy that even QT gave up trying to clean it.

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Better than Cowboy Bebop?

Is Space Dandy better than Cowboy Bebop? Most people don’t seem to agree with me, but I think so. Cowboy Bebop is definitely a good anime. But, Space Dandy is more fun to watch. And I get it, Space Dandy is a comedy, so it being more fun makes sense.

However, I also think the format of the series works better in Space Dandy. Both series are episodic for the most part. Yes, Cowboy Bebop actually gets a plot toward the end. But, a lot of the series isn’t much more than filler (cue the angry comments).

With Space Dandy, the episodic nature of the series doesn’t hinder it at all. Each episode is funny in isolation. And because there’s not really a main story, the episodes can do even crazier things. For example, the crew (and everyone else) die and become zombies in one episode.

Boobies waitresses from the anime series Space Dandy
Boobies waitresses

Episodic anime that are serious are kind of a thing of the past. A lot of older anime were like this. I don’t know why. Maybe they thought it would be hard for viewers to follow the story every week. But, that’s something I’m going to hold against Cowboy Bebop in this comparison.

What I’m trying to say is that I prefer Space Dandy because it’s more flexible in what it can (and does) do. Sure, the characters might not be quite as deep and there’s nothing in terms of a main story. But, that’s kind of the point.

Now, before you let me know why Cowboy Bebop is the best anime ever made in the comments, watch Space Dandy. Even if watching it doesn’t change your mind, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it. Or, you might find out that it’s not for you. But, that’s okay.

Conclusion

So far (season 1), Space Dandy is an 8/10 from me. I’m hoping the second season is even better, though. I’d like to maybe see another main character introduced. Perhaps even a female character.

Also, I want to say that both the OP and ED of this series are great. Though, I’m not sure which of the two I prefer. The song of the ED may be better. But, the OP’s visuals are better.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. I’d also like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Season 2 is Available now.

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Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School

Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School

Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School anime series cover art
Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School

Return of the Molcars

Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School (PUI PUI モルカー DRIVING SCHOOL) is the second season of the Pui Pui Molcar anime. And, like the first season, this season contains 12 2-minute episodes. But, unlike the first season, this season has a theme.

As you’ve probably surmised, the theme of this season is driving school. But, what does that mean? Are the molcars attending a school to learn how to be racing molcars? That’s what I initially hoped. However, that’s unfortunately not the case. In this season, some of the original molcars must attend a remedial driving school.

Specifically, Potato, Shiromo, Teddy, Choko, and Abbey return — as do some side characters. But, why are our molcar heroes in remedial driving school? Have their molcar antics finally caught up with them? The answer to that question is yes.

The molcars from the anime series Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School
The molcars

In the first season, the molcars got up to all kinds of hijinks. But, they never did too much damage. In fact, they often turned out to be heroes by the end of each episode. But, in the first episode of this season, they destroyed an entire city block. Thanks to their incompetence, multiple buildings were left in ruins.

Luckily for the molcars, they (and their drivers) escaped prison. Instead, their sentence was to graduate from a remedial driving school. And this school seems to be far stricter than anything the molcars have been through before. It’s safe to say most of these molcars wouldn’t be on the road if this was their original test.

Now, before I move on to discussing the driving school in more detail, I need to drop a bombshell. Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School isn’t as good as the original season. It’s still good. But, it failed to recreate the magic of season 1.

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Remedial Driving School

So, what’s wrong with Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School? Why isn’t it as good as the first season? Well, one of my main issues with it is the setting. Almost the entire season takes place on driving school grounds. It’s just not a very interesting setting.

There’s one episode that stands out for taking place elsewhere. In it, the student molcars take a trip to the beach and traverse an underwater tunnel. That was a pretty good episode. But, other than that, they were all kind of similar.

Often, the episodes simply involve the molcars learning a specific driving lesson. For example, there’s an episode in which they learn to ignore distractions while on the road. Distractions include things like vegetable stands (shown below). A respectable molcar should be able to avoid the temptation of such obstacles while on the road.

Student molcars encountering an obstacle from the anime series Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School
Student molcars encountering an obstacle

To me, what made the first season of Pui Pui Molcar so good was how every episode was unique. There was a cat episode, a zombie episode, an Indiana Jones episode, a time-travel episode, etc. The season as a whole didn’t have a cohesive story. But, it didn’t need one to be entertaining.

Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School attempts to have a narrative. And that doesn’t work for a few reasons. It cuts out the wacky scenarios we got in the first season. Each episode only has 2 minutes to work with. And there’s no dialogue. Those last 2 points go hand-in-hand.

Since there isn’t much run time and there’s no dialogue, that limits the story that can be told. So, what we’re left with is a very basic story about the molcars relearning how to drive properly. If we get a third season, I hope it goes back to being an episodic series.

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Peter the Molcar

There are 2 new characters introduced in this season of the anime. The first is the driving school instructor. He’s a human, so he’s inherently not as interesting as the molcars. But, he’s a major character of the season, so he’s worth mentioning.

The driving instructor is very strict and doesn’t approve of any of the molcars at first. He finds something wrong with them all, whether it’s how they act or how they look. And one of his first actions is to make them look the part of respectable molcars.

Peter is the other new character. He’s a molcar, so he’s automatically a better character than the driving instructor. Peter is a special molcar. The others each have their problems. But Peter’s entire existence is a problem. It doesn’t seem like he can do anything right. And, we even see that he’s afraid of other traffic.

Peter in an underwater tunnel from the anime series Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School
Peter in an underwater tunnel

Speaking of Peter being afraid of traffic, the scene in which we find this out is very good. It’s probably my favorite scene of the season. I don’t know what episode it was in. But, if you watch Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School, you’ll know it when you see it.

I’ll also say that Peter isn’t the worst of the main molcars. His definable characteristics are unique enough to make him stand out. Meanwhile, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about Choko. And despite Potato and Shiromo being the main 2 molcars, they’re pretty generic.

Teddy’s defining characteristic is that he eats trash — that hasn’t changed in this season. And Abbey is the itasha (痛車) molcar. In case you aren’t sure what itasha means, it’s a combination of the words for “pain” and “car.” It refers to cringey anime-wrapped cars like Abbey was in season 1.

Conclusion

In the end, I gave Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School a 7/10. It was still a good anime as far as shorts go. But, it was nowhere near as good as the first season. And the general consensus seems to agree with me. The majority of viewers preferred season 1.

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