The second season of I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying is once again 13 episodes long. Each episode is only a short three minutes long (what thirty seconds for the ending theme) and the reason for that is that the source material is a 4-panel manga. It focuses on a married couple, Hajime and Kaoru, where Hajime is an otaku and Kaoru is your everyday normal person. That being said, Hajime’s otaku traits are more subdued now that he has a job and everything.
The “big” reveal at the end of the first season is not mentioned at all until later on, which is a bad habit that actually happened during the middle of that season already. Instead, we are treated to the usual funny gags, which instead of just focusing on being funny, has a secondary focus to them as well. For instance, Kaoru is worried that Hajime and her is not very compatible, and luckily this type of anxiousness gets resolved by the end of the episode, but also makes the story have more substance to it.
The jokes don’t come as hard and fast as the first season but the episodes overall are still very strong. From time to time, an unexpectedly funny scene will come and when it does, it’s really good. Despite some of the content, the anime continues to feel like a wholesome peek into married couple’s life where it’s not perfect, but it’s not bad either. It gives you that warm fuzzy feeling whenever Hajime and Kaoru express how much they appreciate each other’s company.
Due to the short episodes, the story can only really go that far. Despite that, it still does an excellent job at personalizing each of the characters making them unique, distinctive and memorable. Running gags such as Miki and Mayotama’s “relationship” making strides are unexpected but helps provide some variety rather than exclusively focusing on Hajime and Kaoru.
It dives more into the backgrounds of each of the pairs. We learn more about Hajime and Kaoru’s past, such as expanding on how they actually came to realize they liked each other. While Hajime is what you’d expect considering his interests (i.e. uneventful). Kaoru’s is a lot more eventful. Then there are Kaoru’s friends, and the way that they met their partners is every bit as interesting and funny as the protagonists’.
The anime has a simple aesthetic and frequently goes for cuteness. This works well with the type of show that this is, and complements the humor. Kaoru and Hajime’s brother Mayotama are prime targets for this, they are constantly shown their cute side, from their voices to the reddening of their cheeks when embarrassed.
It’s only the last few episodes that it deals with the first season’s finale. Even then, it doesn’t do anything concrete. However, it does hammer home the way that the pair actually has several close friends, who all look after each other, so as per usual, it gives you a happy perfect ending.
Overall, the second season of I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying is less funny than the first season. Instead, it swaps some of the humor for more character development. It’s a different angle, and although it pulls it off well enough, the lower frequency of gags is noticeable.
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