Hello!! Kin-iro Mosaic is the second season based on the 4-panel manga of the same name. Again, it is comprised of 12 episodes and is in the slice-of-life comedy genre. It follows Shino and Alice, who live in Japan as high school students. Alice was originally from England, who travelled to homestay in Japan with Shino. Three years earlier, Shino had homestayed at England and the pair quickly became friends. Shino is obsessed with all things Western to the point of creepiness. This is immediately apparently from her breakfast consisting of Western food such as toast to her classic Western inspired clothing that can be classed as cosplay.
Shino also seems to not be able to leave Alice out of sight, worrying about her when she's gone for even only five minutes, to the point of calling the police. Alice herself is more innocent and trusting, having the appearance of a primary school girl, which is a sore point for her. Rounding out the pair are their friends. First of which is Karen, who is also from England and was Alice's friend. Karen remains hyperactive and a prankster, which usually leads to funny scenarios such as when she plays a prank on Alice when ordering at a fast food restaurant, leading to Alice embarrassing herself by mimicking Karen.
Yoko is the comedic relief of the group. While all the characters are funny, Yoko is especially so with her main purpose being her cluelessness and unable to take a hint from Aya. Aya's somewhat tsundere attitude to Yoko, and Yoko being oblivious to Aya's feelings is still as amusing as ever. Aya is the more sensible one of the group. You can't help but cheer for Aya, as she slowly musters up her courage as the season progresses.
The group of friends are now in the second year of high school and are in separate classes. Shino, Aya and Karen are in the same class with the new teacher, Kuzehashi, while Yoko and Alice are in the other with the teacher from their first year, Karasuma. The new teacher, Kuzehashi, is the new recurring character, who looks cold from the outside, but inside, she really wants to be friends with her students. The first few episodes explore this aspect and how Karen defrosts her demeanor, leading to some hilarious results and metaphors. There are some other minor recurring characters such as fellow classmate, Honoka, and Yoko's twin siblings.
Western culture is once again focused upon for their novelty. Alice and Karen, due to their Western background (and their blonde hair), are often admired by other students and even their teachers. There is less English spoken compared to the first season, although still feels very exotic whenever it is spoken. Ironically, while Alice and Karen are often fought over, the reverse happens when they fight for Shino's attention. Plot-wise, the anime focuses upon the daily life of Shino, Alice and her friends. These include Alice wanting to get a dog (as she misses her dog Poppy from England), growing flowers, the summer vacation, trip to the beach and Alice's past in England with Karen. It's interesting enough and the picturesque animation is stunning once again.
The humor keeps the anime going, and most of it comes from visual gags along with exaggerated dialogue and reactions. There are two visual styles, the normal cute one and then an even cuter one used during gags. The ending is somewhat open-ended and doesn't attempt at any sort of closure, so it just kind of ends. Overall, Hello!! Kin-iro Mosaic is decent for what it tries to achieve. The characters are endearing and each has enough unique quirks to be memorable. The humor is spot on and manages to carry through right to the end.
---------------------------------------------------
For other anime reviews, have a look at this page.
