Yama no Susume S2

Title:Yama no Susume S2
Encouragement of Climb S2
ヤマノススメ セカンドシーズン (Japanese)
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Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: ASUMI Kana
IGUCHI Yuka
Aoi and her friends continue their hobby of mountain climbing.

A sequel to Yama no Susume.

See also: Yama no Susume Next Summit.


24 episodes.
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch Stretch [series:2939#628]
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(All episodes watched):

This is an all-too-rare show which is almost totally devoid of fanservice and instead relies on honest comedy and infectiously likeable characters to entertain us. It isn't ROFLOL funny, but friendship counts for something, and as a result we can't help wondering how the girls mountain climbing ambitions and relationships with one another will work out. The show has been promoted from a 3-5 minute short in its first incarnation to 12-minute 'half episodes' this time around. Episode five is a little odd in that there's no mountain climbing or even planning for future climbs, just a spat between two of the girls. But again the girls are likeable, and what it takes to get to the top of a mountain in Japan is interesting, even if it is more a matter of uphill hiking than the dangerous, near-vertical sort of mountain climbing that might spring to an American's mind. Actually, that's one reason why it is interesting. The girls ultimate goal is to climb Mt Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, and watch a sunrise from there. When the possibility that Aoi, who is stricken by altitude sickness, might not be able to struggle all the way to the top was revealed, I felt a distinct anxiety; I had gotten to like her and the other girls to such an extent that a failure on her part would hurt me, too. That came as a surprise, considering that the stakes in this show about climbing not-too formidable mountains had seemed pretty low previously.

I was certain that this would be a one-season, 13-episode show, in part because it's only a half-length anime, but no, after 13 episodes Aoi has yet to achieve her ultimate goal and the story continues. It might always be based on an incomplete manga, of course. Some episodes include no mountain climbing, just stuff like Aoi getting a part-time job to finance her hobby or being taken to a park for some unconventional therapy regarding her fear of riding cable cars and stuff like that. I assumed that the series would climax with Aoi achieving a goal which she had failed to attain before, but no, we got an arc conclusion instead regarding a vague worry she felt about a friend. That suggests that there may be yet another season of the show in the making. This was an amusing and interesting show, but I sort of feel that it would be best to keep it at half-length episodes, because I doubt if I could muster the interest to last through full 23-minute ones.

Curiously, while this series was playing a volcanic eruption occurred on a mountain in Japan, killing at least 36 people who were presumably engaged in similar activities to Aoi's fictional group.

Last updated Friday, March 06 2015. Created Wednesday, July 23 2014.

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