In my review of ___Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu_ S1, I mentioned how the simplicity of its advertising banner's artwork caught my eye and lead me to watching, and thoroughly enjoying, the unique concept and adorable dualistic relationship between Haruka and Yuuto grow across the show's first 12 episodes. The final episode in S1 really brought it all together and I couldn't wait to see how the characters and plot would grow in S2 Purezza. 12 more episodes later, I sit here writing this review with strong feelings of being disappointed and let down.__

There are so many aspects about Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza that, in my opinion, were not only inferior in comparison to that of S1, but also more off-putting and confusing. The first and foremost pertains to a plot device mentioned in the final episode of S1 - that being the encounter that Haruka and Yuuto had as kids, long before meeting at the time the anime takes place. I thought they did a great job of implementing Yuuto's realization of said encounter while leaving Haruka in the dark - it sets S2 up perfectly in terms of further exploring this crucial plot point so that both of them learn the truth. Not only did Purezza fail to expand upon this point, it just seemed to ignore it entirely. I was genuinely excited to see Haruka and Yuuto's relationship take the next step and become 100% official in S2, and I believe expanding upon this past childhood memory would have paved the way for said relationship. Instead, their relationship remained more or less the same as it was at the end of S1.

__The second off-putting aspect of _Purezza_ comes in the form of perhaps the most important plot point in the entire show: Haruka's secret love of all things anime, manga, etc. If you're going to name the title of your show after such an important plot point, you'd better make sure it's understood and expanded upon throughout each season. S1 did just that, but I'll be honest - I can legitimately only think of one instance where Haruka's secret love of otaku culture is mentioned, that being in the very first episode of Purezza. In comparison to S1, S2 had virtually zero major moments of Haruka's secret being revealed to those who weren't already aware of it. There were many such moments in S1, but I almost get the feeling that this crucial character trait and plot device was more or less scrapped for unnecessary characters and filler.__

__Speaking of characters, that leads me to my third off-putting aspect of _Purezza_. I mentioned in my review of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu S1 that the small cast characters who revolve around Haruka and Yuuto make for great support while keeping the spotlight primarily on Haruka and Yuuto. Purezza decided to expand upon said cast of characters; so much so, that it would've been better if they just hadn't. The cast of _good_ characters from S1 all make a return, but there are SO many unnecessary side-characters - many of whom are shown once and never seen again. Characters like Tohka and Haruka's army of maids made an appearance once or twice and were then subsequently removed from the remaining episodes, something that begs an entirely new question: Why even bother including them at all?__

1. Music: 75/100 - This is the first ratings section in which Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza ranks worse than its predecessor, and it won't be the last. That, however, is not to say that the music in S2 is bad - far from it. While the opening and ending themes weren't quite as memorable as the ones in S1, the fact that I can still remember them and hum them in my head every now and again speaks to the enjoyment they brought me.

2. Plot: 50/100 - Purezza had a chance to take the established plot and characters from S1 and build upon it significantly, but it just simply failed to do so, in my opinion. Everything I enjoyed about the plot from S1 was downgraded at best, or outright removed at its worst. S1 had so much charm and uniqueness, but I feel as though ___Purezza_ elected to focus less on story and more on fan service in its episodes.__

3. Characters: 62/100 - Classic case of choosing quantity over quality, to be honest. There were so many characters in Purezza that just didn't need to be added, to be honest. The new characters who actually got extended screen-time were very few and as a direct result of this, the main characters from S1 suffered in terms of memorability. There's honestly not much more I can say about it - it's just disappointing.

4. Art & Animations: 74/100 - There really wasn't much change in art and animation style in Purezza from that of the 1st season, in my opinion.

At the end of day, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza failed to live up to the expectations I had for it and was, in my opinion, a significant downgrade in comparison to Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 's 1st season. Now, that's not to say that I didn't enjoy watching it - I did! It's just disappointing, from the perspective of someone who really enjoyed S1, to consider what they could've done for the plot and characters, but just didn't. I would encourage anyone who loved S1 and is planning on watching S2 to simply lower your expectations. Do that, and you'll probably enjoy it just fine.