How to Make an Awesome Sequel to an Incredibly Successful Otome Adaptation, as Demonstrated by UtaPri:
1. Recreate What Immediately Made You Stand Out
UtaPri's first season started with a ridiculous J-Pop number that had even more ridiculous choreography, which for many people was The Best Part. And they've done it again, this time with 2000% more pelvic thrusts and butt shaking. Try to get through the first two minutes without laughing. I dare you.
2. Everyone Gets Their Chance in the Spotlight
This episode spends most of its runtime introducing everyone. The harem themselves get silly sparkly sound effects when they first appear, and then say something cheesy to the female lead to indicate how in love they are with her. And then, of course, the teachers have to show them how it's done, with Shining Satome coming down from the rafters with an aerial fabric routine and then Ringo and Hyuuga also descend from the ceiling in ridiculously sparkly outfits because why not.
3. You Can Never Have Enough Bishounen
With the six current members of Starish, plus the "secret" firefly cat prince, the current number in the harem is seven. This is not good enough for UtaPri 2. Four more guys are introduced via hallucinogenic music video, although one of the guys is strangely missing when it's over. (Otoya shouting "They're real?!" at the end was probably my favorite part of the episode.) These guys are apparently the "seniors" of the Master Course, and are supposed to help the original harem get used to the life of a star. It's safe to assume that they will spontaneously fall in love with Haruka at some point.
4. So We Heard You Like Homoerotic Subtext
This one's for the fujoshi. There's subtext everywhere. We've got guys touching each other in the opening, consolidated living arrangements, and one of the new guys is even handing out cute nicknames, like "Otoyan." If you listen closely, you can hear the doujin, fanart, and fanfiction creating itself.
In conclusion, I wasn't aware of how much I missed UtaPri in all its cheesy, ridiculous glory until I was watching this episode, and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait to see what levels of silliness we get out of the Master Course where the boys have to work with the seniors on the path to becoming real J-Pop stars. Objectively speaking, yes, this show should be horrible. The characters are little more than a collection of stereotypes and jokes, and the premise is flat-out stupid. But the show is aware of how silly it is, and takes it to the "so bad it's good" extreme. It's probably the most entertaining thing I've seen in a while, and after running through a string of increasingly bad "serious" otome adaptations, I'm happy to get something silly, sweet, and cheesy. The show does assume some familiarity with the characters if you haven't watched the first season, but if you can get through the dance sequence, then you know what you're in for. Oh, UtaPri. You are too fabulous for your own good.
Images from Crunchyroll.com. This post is also available at OASG.
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