Review: The World God Only Knows II 2

Was blushing madly like the tsundere you are part of the plan, too?

Another week, another loose soul to capture. Such is the life of Keima Katsuragi, the "Capturing God".  After last week's antics, who knows what Keima will do to finish this job.  While I wait for Madoka to resume, I might as well get this episode reviewed.  Who knows, it might be a total surprise.

It's not like there's a jump here because I like you or anything!


The episode opens with Keima and Kasuga on not-a-date, she wants Keima to know that it's not a date... by punching him.  Seems the idea of this date, and her clothes in particular, were to make her look weak.  After some "trouble connecting", which is partly fueled by Keima playing his PFP during the whole date, it is decided that the not-couple will go to the arcade and the movies. After the movie, it's carnival time... and Keima keeps playing his gal games, while Kasuga has a ton of fun...  You won't get the cute ghost Kasuga out if you keep doing stuff to piss her off, Keima.  That is, unless the plot forces the cute ghost to get caught...

I didn't mention this in my last review, but the girl this arc centers on hits every characteristic of your average tsundere dead-on, from the vehement denial that it's not a date, to the "Don't get the wrong idea or anything." line.  She even hits Keima for absolutely no reason.  If you follow me on Twitter, then it's no secret that I rather enjoy this character archetype. (Read: Kei is my waifu.)  However, your mileage may vary, so don't take what I say as set in stone.

I liked the date idea, despite how ancient the plot is.  It added some depth to Kasuga's character, and seeing Keima gets abused is just so damn amusing. For more amusing injuries, see Kuroko Shirai getting her neck snapped.  Other than that, nothing really stood out that I didn't say in my last review.

Even though the plot was well-written, the sheer age of the idea is bad, since it's been done so many times.  Additionally, Kasuga just acts like a generic tsundere in this episode.  Additionally, the activities during the not-date were so incredibly typical of dates.  The episode could have at least tried something different, something fitting of the unique characters this show has.  But, instead, we get a generic date.  At least Keima admits the date was weak.

 Overall, the unique characters balance out the generic plot.  Animation quality is spectacular, as usual, with few, if any, off-model shots. The writing for this episode was rather bland, owing to the generic "date" plot, and the wrapup for the character arc felt forced and very rushed, a sharp contrast to the 3- and 4-episode arcs seen in the first season.


The World God Only Knows II 2

Plot Advancement: 3/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Comedy/Romance: 3.5/5
Episode Plot: 1.5/5
Animation Quality: 4/5

Overall: 3/5