Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT - 01

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One year later, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai comes back with its sequel. A noticeably different sequel from the start.

If I had to compare the this season to the last, I'd say it's become more shameless in a bad way. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai was always a little shameless with its comedy but at the same time there was a sense of restraint. A line not to be crossed if you will. However, I fear that the line may have been crossed.

Fan service was always a part of this series, but even this episode takes it too far. The boob and ass shots haven't only increased, but they've gotten more hentai. Case in point, a close up of Sena's ass as she's being spanked.........yeah. Definitely more on the questionable side of things. Had this increase in hentai been met by an equal rise in comedy, I wouldn't have complained, although you can guess how that went.

Haganai NEXT was still kind of funny, but didn't remind me of the previous season. This wouldn't be a bad thing if the previous season was bad, however that's not the case here. The first season's quite demeanour worked to its favour and that has been thrown out the window, cheapening the sequel from the start. It still had it's moments, but not as many as it could have had. For me the "heaping" was boring and it wasn't until Kodaka visited Sena that I had some laughs.

It's understandable that the first season took some time to build up the comedy and it's also understandable that we can dive back in, but it didn't work here. Whether this is because of the light novel content or the change in director - my money's on the latter - Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT is not getting me excited like the prequel did. Put another way, this sequel is the child screaming for attention.

With the only problem being the exaggeration of everything, all hope isn't lost. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT can still go back to being the series I liked by simply toning it down. It's easier to tone down then to add, so let's hope it does just that.