Thursday, June 13, 2013

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 2000% Episode 11--FEELS EVERYWHERE

UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 1

TOKIYA EPISODE KYAAAAAAAA

UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 2 UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 3

I've been dealing with finals and some family emergencies this week, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to put together a post. However, after seeing this episode, I knew that I couldn't put it off. This is easily my favorite episode of the entire season.

Despite getting a huge amount of focus in the first season, Tokiya's role in the show seemed to be usurped by Cecil--although that choice increasingly seems to be because of Cecil's smaller role last time. In any case, this episode more than made up for this season largely ignoring Tokiya, giving him the important role of pulling Haruka out of her rut.

UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 4 UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 5

I do wish that Haruka's songwriting block was developed a bit more, since she goes pretty quickly from being depressed about Heavens singing the songs she intended for Starish to becoming someone who lacks a creative spark and is motivated only by results. It makes sense, but watching her struggle with it a bit more would've given it more weight than something that seems to have taken place within a day. That aside, what Tokiya decides to do about it had me grinning the whole time. Everything that this season seemed to have forgotten about his character development from last season came back in full force, and I love it when a show takes things full circle.

UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 6 UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 7

As soon as I saw where Tokiya had invited Haruka, I knew where they were going with this. Although Tokiya's alter-ego Hayato has long been put to rest, if it weren't for that chance timing with the commercial that day, Haruka's passion for songwriting (and the ridiculous yet lovable plot of this show) wouldn't exist. Therefore, it only makes sense for Tokiya to be the one to remind her of that moment. He even quotes back her own words about wanting to make everyone happy. He's the only one who can take her back to the start, when writing music for idols was her dream. And then everyone else shows up to tell her that they believe in her... I'm sorry, I think I have something in my eye...

UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 8

Maybe it's just the timing, but damn I loved this episode, even with the surprising off-model animation that suddenly came up this week. Maybe they spent all the budget on sparkles. And was it just me, or did Tokiya get the moe makeover with larger eyes? Anyway, I'm happy to see that my suspicions were unfounded and Tokiya got an awesome episode. Plus, we got not just the character song, but a new Starish song featuring lyrics such as: "We love song!" Can this show never end? Please?

UtaPri 2 Episode 11 Screenshot 9
I never knew how much I needed megane!Tokiya until this moment

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

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