The second season of the TV anime "The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten It," based on a popular light novel, began airing on TOKYO MX and other channels on April 3rd. The second season, the first new installment in approximately three years, is directed by Chihiro Kumano. In the first season, Shu Fujimiya and Mahiru Shiina gradually grew closer, and in the final episode, they finally became a couple. The second season depicts their days after they became a couple. What will change in the second season? We asked Director Kumano.
◇Showing from a distance
"The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten It" is a love story between Fujimiya Shu, a high school student who has just started living alone, and Shiina Mahiru, the most beautiful girl in school, known as "Angel." The two begin interacting when they happen to live next door to each other in an apartment building. The first season of the TV anime aired from January to March 2023. The first season was popular, leading to the production of a second season, but what does director Kumano, who is participating for the first time, think of the appeal of the work?
"The points I wanted to convey were very clear, so I felt I could do it without hesitation. It might be a rare type of work these days. It never goes off on a tangent, and the 'arrow' never changes. I think that's what makes it interesting."
It's clear that Zhou likes Mahiru, and there aren't multiple heroines. Perhaps the fact that it depicts a kind of pure love is what made it "unusual." The two became lovers in the final episode of the first season, but...
"The key to the second season is that they can do many things they couldn't do in the first season. They can go to various places together and see different sights. Their expressions become more varied, and simply put, they become brighter and happier. On the other hand, the problems they deal with also become heavier, and they overcome them together."
The anime depicts sweet scenes between the two lovers, but it's not just close-ups of their faces; the wide shots are also impressive. While anime featuring pretty girls often emphasize showing their faces, why did the camera pull back in this one?
"There are several reasons why we do this intentionally. If we only use close-ups, it becomes monotonous, and by using wider shots, you can see the full movement of the characters, which is also cute in its own way. Moving the characters with wider shots is fun from an animation perspective, and it also adds visual contrast. We also thought it would be better if the camera didn't get too close between the two of them. In the second season, the situations in which the two of them are together will also be important. There will be more outdoor scenes, so we tried to show the surroundings as clearly as the characters."
Perhaps it's related to them becoming a couple, but the overall impression is that the screen has become brighter.
"The concept was to make things brighter, so I changed the colors. The most obvious change is the hair color. I also raised the overall background color by one level. I think it gives off a brighter, gentler impression."
The tempo is crucial in expressing the exquisite distance between the two characters. The relationship between them is carefully portrayed with a mix of impatience, sweetness, and excitement.
"I make sure to show the silences clearly. Even when they speak, I make sure they make eye contact first, and I value showing the time that flows between them realistically. The characters in this work are mature and composed. Mahiru is a prime example of this. There isn't much of the boisterousness you'd expect from middle or high school students, so I'm conscious of that. To put it bluntly, I thought that if I followed the original story, it would naturally be sweet. They spend a lot of time looking each other in the eye, and I tried to convey the sweetness by showing expressions that indicate they're thinking about each other even when the other person isn't around."
◇Don't over-sacre the midday sun
Mahiru, also known as "Angel-sama," is an extremely popular character, having ranked first in the female character category of "This Light Novel is Amazing!" for four consecutive years. How to portray her cutely will be crucial.
"Regarding the second season, as symbolically depicted in the ending, we made sure to show that she's 'not an angel.' We're not denying the title, but rather showing that she's a girl with human qualities. We didn't portray her as an unattainable ideal; she has the same joys, sorrows, and anger as any other person. We tried to show that she's a flesh-and-blood human being, without over-sanctifying her. And then there's the color. We raised the tone of the colors to make her complexion look healthier, reduced the shadows in her hair, and adjusted it so that the redness of her skin wouldn't be lost. We wanted to avoid making her look like a beautiful doll."
In the second season, we can also see Zhou's growth.
"It wasn't something I had anticipated, but I was really pleased with how Taito Ban's (who plays Zhou) voice had changed. It sounded naturally more mature, and there was a relaxed feeling to it that I liked. I heard it during the first voice recording session, and I tried to bring that out by adding expressions. This might contradict what I said earlier, but Zhou and Mahiru are quite philosophical and their reactions aren't typical, but their worries are still those of teenagers. That's something that was worth thinking about. It couldn't be done with a template, and it was challenging to show that."
From Director Kumano's words, it's clear that he's trying to carefully depict the relationships between the characters.
"It was fun. I wrote the storyboards for all the episodes myself. From the moment I was entrusted with directing, I wanted to do it myself. It would be impossible for a battle anime with lots of action, but slice-of-life dramas are actually my strong suit."
It's amazing that he wrote the storyboards for all the episodes by himself. Director Kumano approached the work with extraordinary passion. Including the negative space created by the wide shots, the second season portrays the relationship between the two characters with even greater subtlety. (Manami Anima/MANTANWEB)
