

A caveat: I have not read the manga. The anime may not be a great representation of the source material, but I would not know and I do not intend to find out. There are a lot of spoilers in this review, and I've tried to spoiler tag major storyline information, so if you have not watched the show, be warned.
The first season of this show had a lot going for it: beautiful art style, a storyline set primarily during COVID along with a parallel storyline set in 2030, and a mystery about the "harem". But instead of riding the high set up by the first season, the show's second season is one giant flatline. There's no peaks or valleys, just one flat narrative. If anything, Airu's storyline is the one bright spot in the season.
Midway through the season, in the 2020 storyline, Airu has begun dating Touya, a guy he meets during a rebellious phase. Airu's lingering attachment to Kizuki becomes a problem for their relationship and in the 2030 storyline, we see the now adult Airu and Touya meet up by coincidence at Kizuki's first swimming competition in several years. Airu is there to watch Kizuki and Touya is there to photograph the event. The two begin to catch up and Touya shows Airu some photos he's taken of Kizuki, saying, "I think I understand now why you liked him back then." Airu apologizes to him, saying, "When I met you, I didn't know myself. I'm sorry for hurting you." Airu then adds, "You saved me from loneliness and helped me find my true self. I'm can be happy now because I met you. So, thank you." It's such a beautiful scene because sometimes people are not our destination, they're just part of our journey. After the two say their goodbyes at the swimming venue, Airu's boyfriend walks up and asks, "Is that him?" and Airu says, "Yes. My savior. I finally got to thank him."
I loved this scene, but as it comes midway through the last episode, I found myself asking, "Why couldn't Mizuho and Kizuki's storyline be written this beautifully?" And this speaks to a larger problem with the show itself. I don't know if the adaptation is wonky, or there were different people writing different storylines, but the writing feels uneven.
Mizuho as a character feels empty. In the 1st season we see her pursue her dream of becoming a mangaka
Of the other two potential love interests, Shin had the most going for him. He became a doctor for Mizuho, essentially. Seeing her deep sorrow as children when she lost her mother, he wants to be able to cure everyone so that Mizuho never has to experience that kind of sadness again. We're told time and time again how handsome he is, and he is, all the guys are because of course they are. There's no way we'd buy into a reverse harem unless all the guys were hot, right?
Meanwhile, Kizuki GHOSTS Mizuho for three whole fucking years, and then shows up at a fireworks show where she was supposed to meet up with the other guys, all of whom conveniently cannot make it on time. I'm sorry, why was it okay for him to ghost her for three years?
I also want to point out how unrealistic it is for Kizuki to become a competitive swimmer at 27 with a shoulder injury that has not been properly rehabbed. He's competing with men much younger than him and in much better shape than him, but we're supposed to believe that quitting his job and going back to competitive swimming with no income is somehow an inspiring choice. This is a grown man who is nearly 30, is he living at home now? What is inspiring about this?
This show puzzled me and I hope it made its money back because we need more shoujo on the air, but not like this.
14.5 out of 16 users liked this review